Intermittent fasting questions!

[Leonfrose]

Hey guys, just recently joined the community (although I have been following nerd fitness for about 2 months). I'm a teenager and I follow atkins instead of paleo (gives me more edge on eating) and love ketosis. Anyways, I also use intermittent fasting twice a week until dinner, where i have a normal meal and a protein shake. Now, my question is, when I am "bodybuilding", ie training certain muscle groups for size, can my body handle that on intermittent fasting days? I will eat a protein filled breakfast the following days, so I'm hoping my muscles will hold up for breakfast with what I eat during dinner. Any info would be much appreciated, thanks!

[notanartmajor]

People will probably give different answers. Some will say go for it, some will say you'll die. Matt Kroc will tell you he trains heavy with no sleep and having not eaten since 1996, and he probably isn't kidding.

The only wait to know for sure is to try it, just make sure you work it so that you're getting a meal after lifting, which it seems you are doing.

[Dio]

How old a teenager and have you finished growing height wise yet? If not, you risk a chance of fusing your bones early.

Intermittent fasting for general development often isn't too much of an issue, but since you're going for muscle bulk it is. The muscles want fuel-at-the-ready. People serious about bulking cosmetically will eat a HUGE portion of their calories immediately before/after/and during working out and otherwise starve themselves to keep the muscles lean.

Is it fair to say as well that your main focus is cosmetic and not over-all health or fitness? Because the functionality of muscle comes into play as well with that question.

[ZenGwen]

I'm following Leangains at the moment, on a protocol which has me working out early in the morning and breaking my fast in the afternoon, so it's similar to your situation. But there are some important differences.

Working out during your fast is something I heartily recommend. Various studies supporting it can be found if you'd like, but just on an anecdotal level, I have been training fasted for months now and really enjoy it. I feel better when training fasted than after some food, and my gains are at least as good. Just remember to have something small with a tiny amount of protein first. This used to be a cup of coffee with milk for me, now it's some BCAAs.

After your workout, though... I really wouldn't fast all the way to dinner, especially if you are really trying to build muscle mass. (Although it occurs to me I'm assuming an early morning workout here, which might be wrong.) You really want to have your biggest meal of the day right after working out, ideally. If not that, at least a decent shot of protein, like a whey protein shake. If you are going to continue your fast for any significant amount of time after your workout, look into getting some BCAAs and have them every hour or so until you eat. (This is what I do.)

Not only will that help you build mmuscle a lot faster, but it will also be good for your recovery. The DOMS I have the day after lifting with no protein afterwards is SO MUCH WORSE than the DOMS when I've had some. And that kind of thing can have a big effect on how much effort you can put into your training - bad recovery stalls gains!

Edited to add: There's a huge and very useful thread devoted to IF/Leangains over here, check it out.

And welcome to the forum!

[Leonfrose]

Thank you all! ZenGwen, I love your approach and am deciding to go with that! Dio, it is all of the above, cosmetic, fitness and health. I mix crossfit with my bodybuilding, and I was just curious how it would go on days where I focus on muscle developement. And I am 16

[ZenGwen]

Glad I could help, Leonfrose.

Man, it's surreal to realize there are kids born in the 90s who are now old enough to be asking about this stuff... I feel old, and I'm only 23!

Anyway, as a teenager who is into crossfit, you are seriously cool in my books. Even though you make me feel old.

[epaleocookbooks]

I know plenty of powerlifters who keep their strict workout schedules, whether they're carb-cycling, fasting, eating normal - whatever. You may not have as much energy during those times, but you should definitely still get in there and do what you can handle.

[oystergirl]

If you have gone through your major growth spurt then you should be fine doing 2 days intermittent fasting as long as you are feeling well and feeding well on the off days. Best of luck!