Living in the Ketone zone is much more than just restricting your carbohydrate intake and crossing your fingers. Ketosis, the bodys ability to burn fat as energy, can help you achieve goals from decreased inflammation to fighting cancer but for many its about shedding weight. The process can be tough both mentally and physically. The high rate of failure in implementing a Ketone Lifestyle is because the recipe is not as simple as many people try and make it. Today we are going to focus on key ways to help you keep your sanity and burn fat at the same time . Goals are certainly achievable, dedication to the process is necessary, but using the following pro tips will speed up your results without halting your performance.
1. Carb Cycling around your Workouts.
We have all probably had that friend who is 2 different people on the ketone diet, one minute they are cool and the next they are snapping or losing it during a training session. Carbohydrate restriction is very hard on the body and mind if you have never done it before. Living in ketosis has been proven in the clinical setting as well as the general population to yield results but many find that improper fueling creates big problems when your are trying to smash every day in the gym. First off, you gotta chill bro. Until you find rhythm in a ketone lifestyle, scale back on your High Intensity training sessions during the week. Remember that you are on 50-90 g of carbs per day vs. 250-400g of carbs in the modern American diet! Your body is eating itself if you try and maintain 5 days per week of 80-95% exertion during training sessions. Instead of getting pissed and draining yourself, try and maintain a healthy 50-90g ketone diet and then 2 days per week, up your carbs to 300-350g of nutrient dense carbs and smash a couple workouts with your homies. This carb cycling is totally normal when living in the ketone zone and much healthier for your mind and body. *refer to my previous posts on what good carbs should be.
2. Low Intensity Cardio After weightlifting.
Weight training is necessary for fat loss and muscle gain. If you want strong bones, beautiful muscle definition, and strong joints I highly recommend you do it. Weightlifting in ketosis can sap you of your energy if you are not careful. Days where weightlifting are on the fitness menu I recommend getting in and out with a plan of attack. The magic number, as we practice in the daily programming is 30-40 minutes. This time includes warm up and mobility. Not a lot of time to fart around eh? Well, when in ketosis, your body is going to blow through the available glycogen pretty quickly and switch to fat burning. Sub maximal lifting <90% are quick, small rep sets for a reason. If we extend our weight lifting to past 40 minutes we run the risk of peaking CORTISOL which is the death of gains. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is 'anti-androgenic' which means that it can kill testosterone and send your body into stress zone. When your body is stressed, it stops burning fat and basically goes into preservation mode. As you may or may not notice, we always run after heavy squat days. Not only am I shaking your body loose after a tasty squat session but that low intensity cardio keeps cortisol at bay and allows your body to burn more fat. If you are on your own, I would recommend 25-35 minutes of low intensity cardio which will allow your body to hunt for fat to burn and yeild results quicker.
3. BCAA's and high glycemic Carbs after workouts.
As we discussed, the Ketone lifestyle is all about timing. Just as your carbs need to be timed appropriately around your workouts, so does the supplementation. Remember basic physiology, Carbohydrates are essential for recovery and muscle growth. Long and lean type-2 muscle fibers are great but we can all agree that having functional strength is necessary for what we do. Because of this truth it is essential to plan your Branch Chain Amino Acids BCAA's and high glycemic carbs right after your workouts to mitigate catabolism of the muscle and spur fat loss. Ketosis is tricky in that fat is great fuel but it is slower burning. After a workout or training session your body is frickin dying for some sugar and nutrients to repair what has been bust up. Timing out your BCAA's (*leucine, iso-leucine, valine, the most important ones) with some high glycemic carbs like fruit or a smoothie is a great way to stay on track and keep fat burning at the same time as muscle repair and growth.
4. Go big on fats in the morning.
If you are like me, the only sane part of your day is the morning. You get to control when you get up, you get to plan your meal, and generally it is a low stress time. One of the best times I have found to set yourself up for success in a ketosis lifestyle is during breakfast. Jam packing your breakfast with eggs, grass fed butter, nuts, smoked salmon, MCT Coconut Oil and low glycemic carbs (asparagus, bell peppers , spinach, etc.) will keep your full longer and provide energy enough until 12;30 or 1 pm when you can eat again. Your brain has consumed a lot of carbs during the night and your hormones have hopefully been refreshed so this is a great way to give them sustained fuel for optimal function. The other great aspect of filling your tank with fat in the morning is that when you body runs out of easy to grab fat for fuel it is already in ketosis and can move seamlessly to body fat.
Living in Ketosis does allow for freedom from inflammation, decreased disease, and better body composition. 'Freedom isn't free' as they say so you must stay dedicated to the process. You can use these tips as well as the vast amounts of tips available from people you know or can seek out. As you can see from my tips above, the Ketone diet of an active athlete looks slightly different than a sedentary office worker. Moderation and consideration of your lifestyle will only help make the process easier to live with and yield results faster. I recommend everyone with the goal of optimal health to try a ketone lifestyle, if for nothing else besides decreased inflammation. The newest science is showing amazing results for athletes and especially in the realm of cancer research.
Good luck and Ill be here to support you on the way to the best version of yourself.
Love,
Eric
Programming Notes 3/5-3/9
3/5
Baseline:
5 Minutes Easy Rowing
25’ Lateral Banded Walk
12 Banded Press and Rip
12 Scapula Pull Ups
12 Single Leg Glute Bridges
12 Piked Push Ups (handstand push Up Scale)
Jump Rope Prep:
-Calf March
-High Knees
-Single Skips
-High Jump Single Skips
-Cadence Drill 3/1 (3 singles + 1 Double X5)
-Cadence Drill 2/1
-Cadence Drill 1/1
Push Jerk Prep:
-barbell Press X 10
-Push Press X 10 (wider foot stance, focus on tall chest)
-Jump/ Land (no Bar) X 10
-Push Jerk X 10
*spend 6 Minutes working up to the workout loading.
WOD:
3X 5 Min Intervals
20 Cal Row
60 Double Unders (scale to ability)
20 Push Jerks 135/95
*rest remaining Time
*stimulus is to be intense and unbroken
3/6
Baseline:
400m Run
12 Bird Dogs
1:00 Side Plank Hold L
1:00 Side Plank Hold R
12 Standing Toe Touches (each side)
12 Kip Swings
1:00 Deadbug Ipsalateral Reach
Deadlift Prep:
-single Leg Romanian Deadlift (barbell Only) X 10
-Barbell Good morning X 12
- Barbell Bent Over Row X12
- Barbell Romanian Deadlift
*spend 5 Minutes working up to workout Load
Step Ups:
* kettlebell for weight. One held in farmer carry position/ one held in front rack
-establish box height (knee should be parallel with hip when step is performed)
- stand tall on box before trailing leg touches top
-practice Kettlebell Holds on step up
Pull Up Prep:
-negatives X7
-Kip Pull Up X10
*scale to banded Pull up or Australian pull up
WOD:
400m Run
20 Deadlift 275/155
40 Box Step Ups *farmer carry/front rack hold
50 Pull Ups
40 Step Ups
20 Deadlift
400m Run
Cool Down:
Banded Hamstring Stretch
3/7
Baseline;
Partner Warm Up:
8 Min AMRAP
P1: Bike 15/12 cals
P2: 5 Dive-bomber Push Ups/ 5 Air Squat/ Max Reverse Lunges
Banded Shoulder Mobility:
-LAt Band Stretch
-Bully Stretch
-Scapula Distraction
-Half Moon Pose
Gymnastic Strength:
3X
:20 NOSE TO WALL Handstand push Ups *scale to Box HSPU or Piked
:30 Handstand Hold
1:00 Rest
WOD:
Performance 15 Min EMOM for Reps
A: Bike For Calories
B: American Kettlebell Swing
C: Front Squat 155/105
D: Wall Climb *scale to Piked Walk Outs
E: Rest
3/8
Baseline:
3X
1:00 Jump Rope
1:00 Mountain Climbers
1:00 Lateral Line Touches *holding athletic Position and Posture
Agility Warm Up @ 10m Each
High Knee Pull
Quad Pull
Squat 180 **stepping the leg high over hip, swing opposite leg to 180, squat
High Knees
Butt kickers
Marching High Kicks
Groiners
Straight leg shuffles
Fig 4 Drill
Lateral Shuffle
Carioca
Lateral Bounding
Sprint W/ Change of Direction
WOD:
6 Rounds For Time
12 Box Jump Overs
400m Run
10 Toes To bar
Cool Down :
Couch Stretch
Downward Dog
3/9
18.3!!!
