Low Carb Diet & Weight Lifting

At first, it may seem that low-carb dieting and weight lifting are worlds apart: decreasing your carb intake leaves you feeling sapped, while lifting at your max requires all the energy you've got. But reducing your carb intake can assist in dropping weight, and can be a viable approach if undertaken properly. All it takes is a few changes in your approach to the weight room.

Function

While conventional diets advocate the metabolism of carbohydrates and calories, low-carb diets aim to induce a state of ketosis, whereby the body metabolizes fat. And contrary to popular debate, it is indeed a more effective form of dieting, but not necessarily in terms of weight loss. According to a study conducted by Linda Stern, MD, internist at the Philadelphia Veteran Affairs Medical Center, weight loss results from regular diets and low-carb diets are similar, but effects on glycaemic control are more favorable with a low-carbohydrate diets.

The Facts

In spite of the positive effects of low-carb dieting, it can be a challenging endeavor if you're a weight lifter. On the one hand, it sheds your pounds quickly, but on the other it depletes your endurance levels and diminishes the volume of lifting that you're usually accustomed to. It may also lead to a decrease in muscle size, and possibly affect your limit strength. However, if managed correctly, these outcomes can be curtailed.

Solution/Prevention

According to Joe Weider, one of the founding fathers of modern bodybuilding culture, if you're training on a low-carb diet it's important to lift as heavy as you can in short sessions, as your glycogen--carbohydrate--stores will be lower and easily depleted. You'll also need to rest longer between sets to prevent the premature onset of fatigue. If you include cardiovascular exercise, don't exceed 60 percent of your maximum heart rate. Avoiding anaerobic exercise--70 to 80 percent--will help prevent you from sapping your remaining glycogen stores.

To maintain your energy, limit strength and muscle size, cycle onto creatine, which boosts your body's production of ATP, the chemical fuel muscles need, and increases cell volume and hence size. You should also aim to up your protein intake and synthesis to compensate for your new found shortage of calories. Consume a whey protein recovery shake immediately after your workout. Spike it with glutamine, which acts as an alternate source of energy to carbohydrates, and leucine, an amino acid that helps prevent muscle breakdown.

Considerations

Any long term low carbohydrate diet is going to lead to you plateauing far short of your potential levels of strength and endurance. If your goal is simply to be skinny, then that's fine, but if you ever want to induce any real gains in muscles size or strength, you're going to need to follow a more balanced diet, with between 30 and 50 percent of your calories coming from carbohydrates.

Warning

Compatible with weight lifting or not, low-carb diets can be dangerous for some people. According to nutritionist Robert Atkins, MD, people with kidney problems--creatinine level over 2.4--should avoid low-carb diets, since an increased protein intake can be detrimental to kidneys with decreased function. Pregnant women should also be cautious, as carb restriction can rid the body of fat vital to the growth and development of their unborn child.