Ive decided to take a temp hit to performance in exchange for getting the tail end of my cut out of the way now. I do weightlifting as a hobby and need the final 2kg (which I know from past experience ive lost over 2 days before) off for making my weight class, dw im not about to compete Im just getting myself prepared to go down to the comp weight when one becomes available.
On that note, Id like every possible piece of scientifically backed advice for preserving muscle on a fast, as I understand it, HGH and test Spike during the first 24-36 hours, Im likely going to do a 48-60 hr one, starting on Thursday with a near zero carb diet and plenty of sat fat for the biggest test boost I can eek out. last meal on Thursday will be the start of the fast, Ill have 2 days of training, Friday is a much higher intensity than Saturday and I’ve done high intensity on a fast before, but I know past day 3 the strength depreciates hard hence the 48-60 hr time frame.
Sunday is always a rest day so I can refeed with plenty of sat fat, protein and a smaller amount of carbs than normal so I don’t have a rush of water weight put back on completely killing the whole point of the fast.
Are there any bits of supplementation, activity or sleep advice you guys can give me I should take into consideration for this fast? Maximal muscle preservation is the goal. As much water weight (permanent) and fat off as possible.
Many thanks all.
I dont have data, but anecdotally, i cannot go to failure while prolonged fasting.
I mean I can, but I am WRECKED the next day. Almost feel sick, and tired beyond belief. Where as if I go 2-3 reps before failure I feel fine. Keep this in mind on longer fasts.
If you have fat to burn, your body will not go after muscle during a fasting period. In order to maintain muscle, you have to keep your muscles active. In this case, its more about atrophy and muscle wasting due to inactivity than fasting. You already know that your capacity goes down the longer your fast, so Rolling 48’s with Keto refeeds might be the way to go for you.
There’s a guy named Cole Robinson on Youtube that talks a lot about this. He can be kind of hard to watch, but he knows what he’s talking about. He wont really tell you anything more than what I just did, but he’s can be highly entertaining.