Intermittent Fasting for Muscle Gain and Fat Loss
nrg500
Posts: 1,233
I have been researching about Intermittent Fasting. According to the articles I have read, this can be used by bodybuilders and can be maintained as a part of your lifestyle. Basically, an IF program consists of 2 or 3 meals per day depending on the goals
I know many of you will be surprised that this comes from me who is an advocate of 5 to 6 meals a day
Anyway, share your IF programs that gave you desired results. There are various ways for an IF program but I think I will try Martin Berkhan's once I fully understood the principles
I know many of you will be surprised that this comes from me who is an advocate of 5 to 6 meals a day
Anyway, share your IF programs that gave you desired results. There are various ways for an IF program but I think I will try Martin Berkhan's once I fully understood the principles
Comments
According to Martin Berkhan's program, a fasted training (training on an empty stomach) should be done but 10 grams of BCAA (Branched-chain Amino Acid) should be taken 15 minutes prior to the workout
Where can I buy BCAA supplements here in the Philippines ? Is ProMatrix7 a BCAA ?
more info: http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bcaa.html
I think Heretic is also doing IF
I will be doing IF starting tonight around 9PM
Feeding will start tomorrow 1PM thru 9PM
agree hehe more details mga sir
http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html
The details are there
It is a blog site of Martin Berkhan
He is a proponent of Intermittent Fasting. Damn, that guy can maintain 3% to 5% body fat for years but he's an endomorph
It seems like he made body types insignificant
But here are the basics.
16 hours fasting then 8 hours feeding
fasting starts at 9PM then ends at 1PM of the next day. feeding is 1PM to 9PM
training is done fasted but you will need to take 10 grams of BCAA (branched chain amino acids)
Intermittent fasting is generally a concept of following an alternating time frame for fasting and feeding. Among the most popular IF programs include:
Eat, Stop, Eat: (24 hours of fasting 1-2x a week)
The Wariors Diet: 20/4 (20 hours fasting, 4 hours feeding)
The Fast-5 Diet: 19/5 (19 hours fasting, 5 hours feeding)
Leangains: 16/8 (16 hours fasting, 8 hours feeding)
For the purpose of staying on topic and in response to nrg500's question to me in his other thread, I'll talk about Martin Berkhan's Leangains.
As mentioned above, a 16-hour time frame for fasting is followed by an 8-hour feeding period. The larger feeding period lets an individual consume his required number of calories without exceeding it; a good compromise, if you will, compared to the other fasting methods. It is highly recommended for around half of the fasting period to be done while at sleep and upon waking up. An individual who sleeps 7-10 hours a day can easily stave off more than a half of fasting hours. A typical 8-hour feeding rate can be comprised of 3 meals with your post-workout meal taking the brunt of your calorie needs. The Leangains approach lets you keep muscle mass, and in some cases even gain some despite losing body fat.
For someone with a day job who chooses to workout at night, it can go like this:
12-1 PM or around lunch/noon: Meal one. Approximately 20-25% of daily total calorie intake.
4-5 PM: Pre-workout meal. Roughly equal to the first meal.
7-8 PM: Workout
8-9 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal).
I cannot follow the above routine as I'm very busy in the office. The last thing I want is to be lethargic while in a meeting with a company Principal lol. In my case:
7-8 AM: Meal one
11 AM -12 PM: Workout
12-1 PM: Meal two
3-4 PM: Meal three
4 PM - 7/8AM: fast
Exceeding an hour, maybe even a couple especially for those with hectic schedules is fine so adjust things accordingly with regard to your working hours and gym time.
It is important to note though, that 8 hours of feeding time can be very short for some people. Aspiring mass monsters like Milksworth and Redwarriors may find it hard to add significant bulk with such a narrow time to eat. Athletes who train multiple times a day may find fasted training a pain in the ass even with the consumption of BCAAs. In my experience, fasted training affects strength-endurance and overall explosiveness. Hardgainers like Rrobin and Monching may also find it difficult to gain significant mass within an 8-hour feeding frame as there's only so much calories that an individual can stuff in just one sitting.
I didn't feel really weak but I can feel that I am hungry
I tried doing 3 sets of 12 reps of regular push ups and 3 sets of 12 reps of elevated push ups (feet are raised by 1.5 feet)
I was able to complete the 3 sets of regular push ups but I was only able to make 10 reps on the last set for the elevated push up
Rest between sets is around 60 seconds
My current body weight is 80.2 kg. Bench press capacity (before injury) was 120 lbs
Here is my progress
Still no weight training coz of injury
You won't lose muscle if you fast for 16 hours. It shows on my results posted in the first page
According to him, you will only lose muscle after 24 hours of fasting
Here is my training session
Inclined Bench Press - 100 lbs - 2 sets of 8 reps
Declined Bench Press - 100 lbs - 2 sets of 8 reps
Flat Bench Press - 100 lbs - 1 set of 6 reps
Dumbbell Overhead Press - 25 lbs - 2 sets of 12 reps
Dumbbell Side Laterals - 15 lbs - 1 set of 8 reps
Leg Raises (Captain's Chair) - 3 sets of 12 reps
I was able to complete the session but I had a problem with the chest exercises
After the Inclined Bench and Declined Bench, I loaded 120 lbs for the Flat Bench coz I know this is my current strength level. When I tried to lift the barbell from the rack, it felt like it was glued. I can't even lift it by an inch. I reduced it 100 lbs but the first set felt so heavy already and I was only able to do 6 reps
I think taking only 10 grams of BCAA won't allow me to do 3 chest exercises.
But I really need to try this fasted training approach
Flat Bench
Inclined Bench
Declined Bench
^ If you only have to choose two, which one will you remove from your program ?
I will try to remove the Declined Bench Press for my next session
It is too early to tell that IF won't work for me
I'll update this thread regularly with my results