When to include Strength training


(Jim Van Der Woude) #1

Hello everyone,

Been doing keto for 2 weeks now and feeling good except since yesterday. Just since the last 2 days I felt a bit keto flue like in my first days. Been checking my readings and everything and tracked it back to 2 days ago where I did my first Strength training. Felt so strong, but apparently it kicked me out of ketosis. For how long should I wait before I can lift weights again without getting low reading/kicked out?

Many Thanks!

Jim


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

A) Don’t worry about your ketone levels. Exercise consumes ketones, especially when you are not yet fat-adapted, which takes somewhere between six and eight weeks of ketogenic eating. After fat-adaptation, the muscles actually prefer fatty acids to ketones (which are partially-metabolised fatty acids).

B) During your adaptation phase, it might be good not to stress your body too much. Fat-adaptation is a stress all by itself, involving, as it does, mitochondrial healing and the reactivation of cellular processes that had gone dormant. If you feel too stressed, back off until your endurance returns. Endurance, as I mentioned usually returns within six to eight weeks. Explosive power takes longer to return, but it will eventually do so. By the two-year point, the glycogen levels of keto-adapted athletes are indistinguishable from those of carb-adapted athletes.


#3

Eat the right way and don’t concern yourself with the whole “kicked out of ketosis” thing. Constantly checking ketone levels is a waste of your time and money. It’s always the right time to include strength training. It makes you stronger, improves metabolic rate and improves health overall. If your lifting starts suffering while you adapt you can also consider a TKD/CKD protocol. All depends on your goals.

Also, regardless of how long you eat keto a hard ass kicking lifting session will lower your ketones significantly, no different than anything else where you burn up all your fuel doing something. It’s not a concern.