Strength Training While Fasted?

Ive been training fasted for probably a year now and occasionally plateau but i can usually find the solution in my diet or sleep patterns. But just recently ive hit a rough patch. my lifts are decreasing while my bodyweight is increasing and im getting more rest that i did before the strength loss. I dont understand and im curious if maybe its the fact that i lift on an empty stomach

It might be the lack of food. I remember recently I had trained back on an empty stomach and had no pre-workout. I felt so weak. I mean, I got my lifts, but they were harder than they should have been. So you might want to eat beforehand. Just my suggestion. Good luck!

That’s probably not the only reason, if it’s what you normally do… but I’ll bet adding some food and maybe some caffeine before you lift wouldn’t hurt. You could experiment with it, that is probably going to tell you more than we will be able to.

If you want more help, though, maybe tell us things like age, lifts, exactly what is stalled, what kind of programming you are following, etc.

If you’re training fasted, I assume you’re also training in the morning? How much time do you have between waking up and training?

bcaas and creatine pre

19 yr old 5’11" 215 lbs. Ive gained about 5 pounds in the last three weeks or so. I take creatine mono and 300 mg caffeine pre-workout on an empty stomach. I lift somewhere between an hour and three hours of waking up (depends on day of week). Ive been using 5/3/1 for the past two years. My lifts WERE 570 squat, 365 bench, and 620 dead about a month ago. they’ve all dropped about 10-20 pounds since then. and no ive never used any “help”.

the only thing i can think of is stress or empty stomach.

I was really trying to see if there were any lifters that really just felt as if they couldnt lift while fasted and why

Those are all well within natural fluctuations for stress. No need to freak, considering a drop of 10-20 lbs on a 600 lb dl is only 2-3%. You simply can’t always be at your best 100%. Could easily be stress. Just keep plugging away and eating a lot.

suppose i didnt think of the decrease in weight as a percentage. when you put it like that it doesnt sound as tragic

maybe you need to back off in training for a few weeks - just get the minimum reps etc or could try a new program.

Some people also rave about humapro for fasted excercise

How can you possibly know exactly what your 1RM is on all those lifts, and how much it has fallen in the past couple months, without having tested them then and now? If you DID test them then and now, then that may be part of your problem (too much showing off, not enough training).

For your question, I absolutely cannot train on an empty stomach. I can’t even do cardio without someting in my stomaching prior. I get the “pukey coughs” where I start spitting up bial and stomach acid and shit. Its terrible. I like to eat about an hour before working out, with cardio afterwards.

I trained fasted, first thing in the morning for a summer a long time ago. I had good results, but now I have a lot of trouble training with nothing in my stomach. If you’ve got an hour or more between waking and lifting, there’s really no reason I can see to strength train fasted. Start with small amounts of food you tolerate well and then up the quantities as you get used to it. I’d be very surprised if you don’t find things improve.

If my stomach is empty and it’s time to work out, I have some dates or a banana or two. It’s quick easy to digest energy and some potassium to keep that crampy feeling at bay. Otherwise, my workouts are flat.

[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
How can you possibly know exactly what your 1RM is on all those lifts, and how much it has fallen in the past couple months, without having tested them then and now? If you DID test them then and now, then that may be part of your problem (too much showing off, not enough training).

For your question, I absolutely cannot train on an empty stomach. I can’t even do cardio without someting in my stomaching prior. I get the “pukey coughs” where I start spitting up bial and stomach acid and shit. Its terrible. I like to eat about an hour before working out, with cardio afterwards.[/quote]

With 5/3/1 I’ve used “projected maxes” more so than actual maxes; although, i do test them every couple months or so. I gave the range between 10-20 lbs ( i believe) as i am not exactly sure how much my strength has decreased. i just know that i am not progressing. My goal is not too show off and i am a serious lifter.

thank your for answering my question and i think i may attempt to lift unfasted during my next mesocycle

Do not put too much stock in the calculated maxes. By definition you will have some downslopes and rough days. Think of it like the stock market–as long as the general trend is up when graphed, you are doing good. Comparing bits and pieces is not beneficial.

And yes, try eating.