Should I Be Doing Fasted Cardio?
Written by Drew Shempp
Do You Need a Snack Before We Go? Or Should I Do Fasted Cardio?
There is a mountain of things on the internet to be found about nutrition, and another mountain when it comes to fitness and nutrition. The pebble bouncing in my brain today is whether or not to train fasted or feed prior to training. There is room for both! But it is wise to consider your duration of training and goals and body composition.
Fasted Cardio for Performance?
Swimming through school I would get up around 5am to be awake for practice that started at 5:45. For the longest time I would swim fasted. Our practice would be about 90 minutes long, and once done I would be ravenous! In my second year I was very sick during one winter season, had to take some time off, and even upon returning I was weak and decided to go with a bottle of Riptide Rush gatorade.
I sipped this through the whole session, and had steady energy through the whole first session. Fast forward about a week and I was returning to full speed and feeling better but also realized that my energy was down still. I spoke with the sports nutritionist there, after hearing what my usual routine was and assessing what I was reporting she pushed me to get back on a liquid carb of some kind. I hopped to my local store and got a tub of gatorade powder, and used it bit by bit.
She also brought to my attention the ½ rule. The ½ rule is the utilisation of ½ the grams of carbs / mins of training. So if you train for 90 minutes, then you need about 45 grams of carbs to sip on while training. This is a practice that I still use to this day. I am not quite the miser I once was in measuring the amount that goes into my intra workout, but at this point I have memorized the right amount(ish). So even if I haven’t eaten close to my session(s), I will intake some sort of calories to gas me through whatever the workout brings.
What Is Your Training Goal?
Another perspective we need to consider is what is your goal with your training? Are you training for a competitive goal? Weight loss? Are you training to enhance your sport or activity you enjoy? If a competitive goal is something you are looking to enhance, generally volume and multiple sessions a day are something you need to practice and utilize. More sessions dictates more fuel! Multiple sessions in a day will thrive if your sleep, and fuel levels are up topped off! Weight loss becomes more of a quality of calories challenge. But as long as we’re in a caloric deficit you’re on your way! But depending on your session length the ½ rule could still apply as long as the overall calories and needs are met. Finally, if you’re training to build the body up for your favorite activity, then some carbs and calories in your training may also be a great option. For this use, I see training as a means to build your surfing, mountain biking, climbing, motocross, etc, so you don’t want to take away from your activity at any point! Use an intra-workout as a means of fuel for the workout, to continue the fuel for the activity in question.
We can see that there are a few paths to choose from and direct our energy, time and money. In the end, ask yourself what you want to do with your training:
- Is it a body composition goal?
- A fitness goal?
- A mental goal?
Assess this with a coach, ideally one with a background that is familiar with nutrients and how they influence our training ability and sustainability. Nutrition is complicated, but with a few trials and changes, you can make it work for you and come out thriving on your intake to propel you to new levels of strength and capacity you have only dreamed of.
Interested in nutrition?
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