Is intermittent fasting suitable for athletes and active people?

What you should consider during your training

Intermittent fasting is a great way to feel fresher and fitter, and to lose weight at the same time. But is this form of fasting also suitable for active people or athletes? Could it even improve athletic performance? We took a closer look at this form of fasting:

What forms of intermittent fasting are there?

• The 16:8 method: The last meal of the day and the first meal of the next day should be 16 hours apart. During the eight-hour eating window, you should only eat two meals and avoid snacking.
• 5:2 method: On five days of the week you eat normally, on two days you eat very little.
• Alternate-day fasting : With this method, you eat normally one day, and then only about 25 percent of your usual energy intake the next day. You therefore alternate between "normal" days and fasting days.

How long should you do intermittent fasting?

Unlike other forms of fasting, such as therapeutic fasting or detoxing, intermittent fasting is practiced over a longer period . If intermittent fasting works well for you, you could theoretically practice it for a lifetime.

Are there any risks associated with intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is not recommended if you have certain pre-existing hormonal, metabolic, or cardiovascular conditions . These include, for example: low blood pressure, diabetes, migraines, amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), or malnutrition.
For your own safety, speak to a doctor before you start intermittent fasting.

What does science say about intermittent fasting?

Fasting is said to have a variety of health-promoting effects , from weight loss and protection against type 2 diabetes to the prevention of inflammation.
The German Federal Centre for Nutrition (BZfE) stated that intermittent fasting cannot be recommended without reservation for the prevention of metabolic diseases due to a lack of studies. However, studies have shown that during these periods of abstinence from food and fluids, your cells are able to recycle themselves by entering a process called "autophagy," which, among other things, helps to promote bacterial diversity within us.

How do you properly combine intermittent fasting and training?

Choosing a suitable training program is crucial when practicing intermittent fasting. When you fast, your body burns fat reserves for energy because glucose stores are nearly depleted after 16 hours of fasting. If you then engage in intense endurance training, your body will draw energy from these fat reserves, but unfortunately, it will also use muscle tissue . However, if your muscle mass decreases, your performance will also decline. Another risk associated with muscle loss is the development of so-called " skinny fat, " which increases your body fat percentage. This puts stress on the body, and it may react with water retention. To avoid this, endurance training during intermittent fasting should ideally be combined with strength training.

Strength training combined with intermittent fasting can be a real boost for your workouts and muscle growth, because the body produces more growth hormones during periods of fasting. This is even more pronounced in low-repetition workouts than in high-repetition workouts. Therefore, it's better to do an intense workout with fewer repetitions . This puts less stress on the body than a long workout with many repetitions. This way, you stimulate the production of growth hormones and maintain your muscle mass even during fasting.

CONCLUSION

Intermittent fasting without exercise, or with exercise in combination with endurance training and intense short strength training sessions, can boost fitness and muscle growth. However, you should generally avoid fasting during intense training. Those who don't want to forgo intermittent fasting despite intense training sessions should primarily use recovery days for intermittent fasting.

Reference: EzThaiphoto; iStockphoto.com|coffeekai