Keto and Exercise
Making the decision to go on a ketogenic diet is not an easy one. People who follow the ketogenic diet do it for all sorts of reasons. Some may simply want to lose weight while others may be attempting to treat a medical condition. Since weight loss comes so easily when you follow a ketogenic diet, it leaves many people wondering whether exercise is a good idea. While the common sense answer is that you should exercise, this isn't always the best advice. A ketogenic diet has certain limitations and you'll need to choose your exercise routines carefully. There are some types of exercise that are more beneficial to an individual who is in ketosis. With so many myths about how the ketogenic diet can affect you, it's important to take care to make certain you're getting the right information.
EXERCISE BENEFITS
It's important to note that a ketogenic diet can be used for a long period of time without noticeable side effects. There have been studies that attempt to gauge the effect of a ketogenic diet over a long period of time. These studies have shown it to be safe and capable of reducing the level of triglycerides, bad cholesterol and blood glucose levels. It's also been shown that the diet can improve levels of the good cholesterol. Studies have not seen any adverse side effects in a keto diet, but there are also some benefits for the athlete.
People often wonder whether they need to exercise since the ketogenic diet is so effective at helping you to lose weight. There are multiple health benefits, including improved bone mineral density, improved immunity and improved diabetes management. Exercise is also suitable for helping you to improve your brain and cardiovascular health. People who exercise and maintain the diet can also expect to have an increased life expectancy. High blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease and cancer can also be reduced through exercise.
While there are several studies that show exercise can help improve your mood, stamina and general well-being, exercise can only do so much if you aren't taking care of your diet. The way you eat has a large impact on your risk factors. Exercise will make your body strong and help you enjoy your life with more energy, but it's really the diet that is going to have the biggest impact on your weight loss. However, the combination of a good diet and exercise seems to have the most dramatic effect on fat loss. To maintain optimal health, it's important to find time to get your exercise.
CARDIO
In a study from Ohio State University, a group of elite endurance athletes was monitored on a ketogenic diet. The athletes who ate very few carbohydrates burned more than twice as much fat as the athletes who followed a more traditional high-carb diet. It was the highest fat-burning rate that has ever been recorded by researchers. The study targeted top athletes who were competing in running events that exceeded more than 30 miles in a single race. This is crucial because keto dieters are often told that endurance running is simply not possible on a keto diet.
These are athletes who regularly run for three hours at a time out on the open road and on a treadmill. The study was restricted to athletes who had been running for at least six months while on a ketogenic diet. Since it can take some time to enter ketosis, this ensured that all of the athletes were used to the diet and not suffering from some of the side effects that plague newcomers to the diet. The athletes were heavily monitored with sensors. Researchers found that oxygen consumption, perceived exertion and calorie expenditure were all the same. The low-carb athletes saw a fat burn that was almost double that of the standard athletes.
Another important takeaway is that the low-carb burners also had normal levels of glycogen in the body. This surprised the researchers, and they only have some vague guesses as to why this may be the case. People have often believed that you need to bring in carbohydrates to maintain adequate levels of glycogen. This is why endurance sports have often been frowned upon for ketogenic dieters. However, the results of this study seem to suggest that provided you give your body the right nutrients, the body can compensate and keep glycogen levels stable even when carbohydrates are limited. The study suggests that the human body is highly adaptable, and we are well-prepared to switch to a "keto mode" when our diets permit.
STRENGTH TRAINING
If you want to build muscle, many keto dieters will insist that it can't be done without carbohydrates. While it's not wise to begin a strength training routine while your body is adapting to a strength-training regimen. One of the biggest issues with ketogenic diets is that you need to eat enough calories to maintain adequate muscle growth. A ketogenic diet eventually naturally suppresses your appetite. This means that you will have to ensure you're keeping your caloric intake up if you plan on taking part in a strength training regimen.
Weight training is perfectly fine on a ketogenic diet. The muscle-sparing effects of the diet will make it possible to preserve and build lean muscle mass. A proper weight training routine won't necessarily make you bulky, but you will get stronger and increase your muscle density. For women who are concerned about becoming bulky through exercise, most women simply don't have the hormones required to make that kind of change in their body. Strength training will typically only result in a more defined body. It takes some serious effort and a carefully controlled workout regimen to pack on pounds of muscle.
One benefit of strength training is that by packing on the muscle, you'll increase the rate that you burn calories even at rest. This is why many people who are trying to bulk up will concentrate on building the muscle first and adding a significant number of carbohydrates to their diet and then cut back to begin building a more defined physique. However, the myth that you can't build muscle and stay lean at the same time simply isn't true for the keto dieter. On a keto diet, your body will be able to grow while continuing to act as a fat-burning machine.
HIIT
Perhaps one of the better methods of burning excess fat and getting in shape is through the use of high-intensity intermittent training, also known as HIIT or HIIE. This training technique allows you to get the best of both worlds. You're training your cardiovascular system while building muscle and cutting calories. This sort of exercise also typically results in more calorie burning in less time over conventional exercises like cardio.
One of the issues with cardio exercise is that it puts extra strain on the body. This results in an increase in the production of cortisol, which can result in those pounds packing on around the stomach area. Cardio also makes you hungrier, and you'll be more likely to overeat and counter the effects of your fat burning unless you're a highly disciplined athlete with the resources to maintain a high level of nutrition. A typical HIIT session results in less hunger and greater overall fat-burning. Other studies have also shown how HIIT has been shown to outperform cardio exercise for increasing fat loss.
HIIT training also tends to take less time than a cardio session. Since you're focusing on short periods of highly focused energy, you can spend less time in the gym and still gain the benefits of working out. Studies have shown that aerobic exercise has a negligible effect on body fat. However, it's important to note that any kind of exercise can help build your heart muscle and help you to get in better shape. It seems that our bodies were designed to work best when engaged in short, but powerful exercises. Research indicates that subjects will enjoy greater levels of subcutaneous fat loss and regular HIIT sessions can improve both aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels.
Another important factor of HIIT training is that it can provide increased in skeletal muscle adaptations and can have a dramatic effect on insulin sensitivity. However, most of the current studies have been undertaken with only moderately overweight people. It has yet to be seen if the same effects will apply to obese populations. Since HIIT training requires using short bursts of energy, it's possible that an individual's weight must be under control before the other benefits begin to surface.
CONCLUSION
Regardless of the exercise you choose to engage in on a ketogenic diet, it's important for you to maintain optimal health by getting the exercise needed to keep your body strong. Without exercise, you'll still lose weight but you won't get the benefits of increased bone density, a stronger heart, and better overall base fitness levels. The ideal workout for you is the one that you most enjoy. If you love running more than 30 miles per week, you can engage in endurance sports. While it isn't the most effective way to burn fat, it may be the right exercise for your interests and composition. For those who want to build muscle, strength training provides a viable option. However, strength training and cardio have been shown to be less effective than HIIT training. Hands down, current research supports that for the best all-around performance and body composition improvements, HIIT shows incredible promise. HIIT is a very promising area of research and even a two-week program can produce some impressive results.