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High Intensity Workout and Low Energy


Jeff B

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Hi, This is my first post and second time doing whole 30. I am just starting week 3. I love how I feel, how I sleep, etc. However, I am also training for a Kettlebell competition on 10/20. The competition is the Hour Long Cycle (an hour of one-arm clean and jerk switching each minute without putting the bell down for the hour) with a 36kg bell. This is a cardio and strength combination. Since I started whole 30, I feel that my long-term energy begins to fade much more quickly, and I feel greater muscle fatigue than before starting whole 30. Does anyone have any insight as to what might be happening? I read that sometimes there is a dip in your performance around week 2. Additionally, what are some good pre-workout meals that will not fill my stomach too much (I don't like working out on a full stomach). Thanks in advance.

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Performance (especially the endurance portion) can suffer in the first 14 days or so as your body figures out how to convert over to burning fat for energy. This tends to take a bit longer and be a bit rougher for people who were reliant on carbs/sugars in their pre-Whole30 lives. Take it easy if you can. Make sure you are eating enough overall as well. The meal template is a range of portion sizes for protein, veggies and fat servings so it's possible you may simply need to eat more.

PRE workout is to be protein and fat (hardboiled egg and mayo, chicken thigh and guac etc). It's not a lot, just a couple bites so it shouldn't really fill your stomach. Pre workout can also be optional depending on how you feel - do a bit of experimentation and see how you do.

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Ladyshanny,

 

Thank you for this info. Last time I did whole 30, I didn't have this same feeling, but I think I was not as in-tune with my body then (W30 was much more of a shock then) and I wasn't trying to meet a difficult goal. I took your advice and added a higher fat pre-workout meal of 1/2 a complaint sausage and a bit of mayo. I felt the best I have in my workout since I started whole 30. 

 

Thanks again!

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On 10/2/2018 at 11:39 AM, ladyshanny said:

PRE workout is to be protein and fat (hardboiled egg and mayo, chicken thigh and guac etc). It's not a lot, just a couple bites so it shouldn't really fill your stomach. Pre workout can also be optional depending on how you feel - do a bit of experimentation and see how you do.

Why would you want to take in that much (really any) fat pre-workout? I understand protein, to get ahead of muscle breakdown, but the fat you want to burn in a workout is from your internal stores, anything you eat will take way too long to absorb, and mostly lead to a risk of gastrointestinal distress, right?

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On 10/7/2018 at 10:20 AM, Endurance Steve said:

Why would you want to take in that much (really any) fat pre-workout? I understand protein, to get ahead of muscle breakdown, but the fat you want to burn in a workout is from your internal stores, anything you eat will take way too long to absorb, and mostly lead to a risk of gastrointestinal distress, right?

It's not a lot, just a couple bites. The pre-workout is really just to let your body know that food is readily available and that it can go ahead and burn stores. Any fat you consume is just a small amount and wouldn't stop internal stores from being used.

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15 hours ago, ladyshanny said:

It's not a lot, just a couple bites. The pre-workout is really just to let your body know that food is readily available and that it can go ahead and burn stores. Any fat you consume is just a small amount and wouldn't stop internal stores from being used.

That's helpful, seems very reasonable - thanks ladyshanny

Any sense for why you'd avoid carbs pre-workout? Especially first thing in the morning, my understanding of the classical advice was always top off your glycogen stores after your sleep-induced fast. I can see if you're working out later in the day you have plenty in the tank, but unsure of how that lines up with an early morning workout.

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5 hours ago, Endurance Steve said:

That's helpful, seems very reasonable - thanks ladyshanny

Any sense for why you'd avoid carbs pre-workout? Especially first thing in the morning, my understanding of the classical advice was always top off your glycogen stores after your sleep-induced fast. I can see if you're working out later in the day you have plenty in the tank, but unsure of how that lines up with an early morning workout.

The idea is that over time (7-14 days on Whole30 for most people), you'll become fat adapted which means your body is easily able to switch between fat and the faster carbs/sugars for energy. We avoid the carbohydrates pre-workout so that the body is forced to access stored fats. I suppose if you are an incredibly lean person with absolutely no body fat to spare, this wouldn't work - but for the vast majority of people, they have the energy stored within. ;) 

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On 10/10/2018 at 10:34 AM, ladyshanny said:

The idea is that over time (7-14 days on Whole30 for most people), you'll become fat adapted which means your body is easily able to switch between fat and the faster carbs/sugars for energy. We avoid the carbohydrates pre-workout so that the body is forced to access stored fats. I suppose if you are an incredibly lean person with absolutely no body fat to spare, this wouldn't work - but for the vast majority of people, they have the energy stored within. ;) 

I think that logic makes a ton of sense for more aerobic / endurance types of workouts. For high intensity / sprint type of work I think that's still going to be carb fueled even once fat adapted so you'd want to top off the glycogen stores, right?

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