Is this too much workout for Keto diet?

[FitnessJunkie]

I'm about to embark on the Keto diet and excited about it. I'm in the process of figuring out a diet plan using the Keto principles. However in the meantime, I was curious about my workout.

Currently I do 60 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. I also do a split lifting routine (high intensity...short durations). For example:

Monday: Chest/Back + 60 min cardio
Tues: Abs + 60 min cardio
Wed: Arms + 60 min
Thurs: Abs + 60
Fri - Shoulders + 60
Sat: Abs + 60
Sun: Legs (no cardio)

I've been doing this for 6.5 weeks now and doing fine. I was curious that once I move to the Keto diet, will this be entirely too much? Is the split routine good enough? And what if I reduce cardio to 30 minute sessions.

Thanks much for your help.

I'm currently 179 and about 15% BF. I'm looking to get back to a shredded 160 that I was a year ago.

[jaim91]

That's almost exactly what I do as part of my contest prep, and the keto + workouts aren't effecting my energy levels.

I would start with less cardio at first though, that way, in case you plateau, you won't have to be doing insanely long bouts of it to see results

[FitnessJunkie]

Great. Thanks for the info.

I will be posting my food plan in the sticky sometime tomorrow...I hope you can critique it

Thanks

[Teacher77]

Currently I do 60 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. I also do a split lifting routine (high intensity...short durations). For example:
...
I've been doing this for 6.5 weeks now and doing fine. I was curious that once I move to the Keto diet, will this be entirely too much? Is the split routine good enough? And what if I reduce cardio to 30 minute sessions.
...
I'm currently 179 and about 15% BF. I'm looking to get back to a shredded 160 that I was a year ago.

If your goal is to drop bf%, you should make your diet your priority and tailor your workout to your diet, not the opposite.

Now, that being said, a keto diet can totally sustain unlimited amounts of cardio, as long as it remains low intensity, bellow lactate threashold (slow jogging, walking with incline, ride the bike, etc. but no sprinting).

As for the split, you can keep it that way if you feel it's best for motivationnal reasons or whatever, but it's definitly not optimal for fat loss. Lemme explain.

The best keto diet for fat loss is the CKD. On that diet, the goal is to be in ketosis most of the time with average/low glycogen stores (optimal for fat loss and muscle sparing) and to refill glycogen stores to the highest-possible level each week end. To acheive that, two training guidelines should be followed :

1) Each muscle group should be worked a first time as early as possible after the carb up, in order to bring glycogen stores from their high levels (post-carbup) to their optimal average/low level. This average/low level (70 mmol/kg) is optimal for fat loss because at such a level, muscles will rely mostly on fatty acids for fuel. The longer the carbup you had, the more glycogen you have to deplete so the more you have to workout in the beginning of the week. But in all situations, you should work your entire body a first time with a two day split monday/tuesday or monday/wednesday.

2) Each muscle group should be worked a second time, in a single workout just prior to the begining of the carbup. That workout is the so-called "depletion workout" and its purpose is to bring glycogen stores from the average/low level they had all week to a nearly depleted level where performance drops drastically. The whole body must be hit on that single day because glycogen supercompensation will occur only in muscles worked in the hour or so preceeding the begining of massive carb ingestion. Also, glycogen must have been nearly depleted (25-40 mmol/kg) for supercompensation to occur. (Further depletion once performance has started to fall massively is not recommended because your will also drop the enzymes required to resynthetise glycogen).

Not following one or both of these guidelines is not optimal. If you don't do that whole-body depletion workout, you won't enjoy supercompensated glycogen stores that would allow you to workout harder the week after. And if you don't workout a first time early in the week, well your muscles won't burn fat for energy + you will lose some of the accumulated glycogen because supercompensated levels only last for 3 days or so.


EDIT : oh i'm stupid. I should have read more closely. Your split isn't that bad at all because you work large muscle groupes sunday and monday. Assuming you carbup on friday/saturday, that acheives exactly what i've been saying and working smaller muscles (shoulder and arms) during the week is acceptable. However, i'd add a depletion workout on friday !

[curly-top318]

wow, great info teach!

[Teacher77]

wow, great info teach!

thanks ;-)

[FitnessJunkie]

thanks ;-)

Heya Teacher. Thanks a ton for the advice! It is truly helpful. Just a few questions.

So it sounds like my Sunday (legs) and Monday (Chest/back) will suffice after the carb up day (which will be Friday even through Sat lunchtime or dinner).

I was planning on doing arms (wed) and shoulders (Fri). Do you think it would be optimal if I did arms/shoulders (Wed) and total body workout on Friday?

Now my routine would be shifted as follows: (assuming carb up from Friday evening through Saturday lunch or possibly dinner)

Sunday (Legs) - no cardio
Monday (Chest/Back) + 30 min low intensity cardio
Tuesday: Abs + 30 min low intensity cardio
Wednesday: (Arms/Shoulders) + 30 min low intensity cardio
Thursday Abs + 30 min low intensity cardio
Friday: Total Body Workout (high intensity) + 30 min low intensity cardio
Saturday: Abs but no cardio (used as day off)

Thanks again!