is "fasted" training really that bad?

[Ted Nugent]

im sure most of you are familiar with "Intermittent Fasting" and a fair amount of folks on here do/love it. however some of them swear by fasted workouts while others firmly believe that eating before is absolutely neccessary. I am just curious as to what really happens when you workout in a "fasted" state, which could be anywhere from 12-16 hours since the last feeding. Are all the fears of rapid catabolims and burning off all your muscle actually legit? i have tried fasted, semi-fasted, non-fasted training and they all have their benefits. Basically im wondering what (if any) are the potential negative side affects of training in a fasted state. Please dont bash on Intermittent Fasting and the whole "just eat" comments :)

[asianboy101]

im sure most of you are familiar with "Intermittent Fasting" and a fair amount of folks on here do/love it. however some of them swear by fasted workouts while others firmly believe that eating before is absolutely neccessary. I am just curious as to what really happens when you workout in a "fasted" state, which could be anywhere from 12-16 hours since the last feeding. Are all the fears of rapid catabolims and burning off all your muscle actually legit? i have tried fasted, semi-fasted, non-fasted training and they all have their benefits. Basically im wondering what (if any) are the potential negative side affects of training in a fasted state. Please dont bash on Intermittent Fasting and the whole "just eat" comments :)

Im not doin IF but im fasting the month of Ramadan right now. living in scotland sunrise is around 4am and sunset around 8pm so cant eat/drink from sunRISE to sunSET which amounts to a 16 hour fast.
i really have no choice but to do fasted workouts. i woirkout around 4pm so 12 hours after last meal and no meal for 3 or 4 meals after workout. i can tell u that i have had no muslce loss after 3 weeks.
my aim was fat loss but this seems unusally difficult even thos im not eatin anyting. my weight has stayed exaclty the same! :(

[TaoistWarrior]

Carl Lenore did a SuperHuman Radio show on this very topic. It was the studied opinion of his guest, a researcher in this area, that fasted training is not catabolic.

I believe they concluded that you might not be quite as strong on a fasted workout, but that you'd be mobilizing more bodyfat for energy, and would not be in danger of losing significant muscle mass.

[Ted Nugent]

Carl Lenore did a SuperHuman Radio show on this very topic. It was the studied opinion of his guest, a researcher in this area, that fasted training is not catabolic.

I believe they concluded that you might not be quite as strong on a fasted workout, but that you'd be mobilizing more bodyfat for energy, and would not be in danger of losing significant muscle mass.

thanks man! so if your not finding that your energy/stregth are affected you could "safely" train fasted? im interested as to why you WOULD NOT burn a little more fat since your body is not burning significant amounts of muscle it would have to use SOMETHING for fuel right?

[iDrive]

thanks man! so if your not finding that your energy/stregth are affected you could "safely" train fasted? im interested as to why you WOULD NOT burn a little more fat since your body is not burning significant amounts of muscle it would have to use SOMETHING for fuel right?

I think people assume muscle wastes away much faster than it actually does. Not saying you're jumping the gun here but I think at it's most basic that "lift and eat" (or "eat and lift" if that tickles your fancy) is a lot closer to optimal than many people who try to micro manage timing, ratios and such.

Even if a fasted workout used some muscle for energy it would most likely be replaced (and then some, possibly) when you ate post workout. In my opinion, assuming you're lifting and eating, I think to lose a significant amount of muscle mass you need to try pretty damn hard.

[TaoistWarrior]

The whole BS about how quickly your body becomes catabolic is a coordinated conspiracy by supplement marketers who want to sell you "fast proteinz" for after your workout and "slow proteinz" for before bed.

IMO fasted workouts are fine. Yes you will mobilize some more bodyfat for fuel. I just know for me, from personal experience, that I feel better, lift better when I have some pro before my workout (about an hour-two hours.) But if i started doing IF and fasted workouts, and I adapted, much of that might be different after the body adapts.

Nothing wrong with some BCAA before your "fasted" workout either brahs.