Strength Training & Low Carb Diets

Low-carb diets are quite efficient for weight loss, as convincing the body to burn fat instead of carbs results in quick and efficient results on the scale. However, low-carb diets are not without their drawbacks. For individuals who perform a large amount of resistance training, a low-carb diet can retard progress by making it more difficult to gain weight and strength in the gym. However, with some tweaks, a low-carb diet can be made to work with the requirements of resistance training instead of against them.

Low Carb Problems

• Understand the basic problems that are likely to arise when combining low-carb dieting with strength training to better understand the rationale behind the recommended solutions. The issues most likely to confront you while lifting on a low-carb diet are feelings of muscle flatness and general levels of fatigue. This is caused by the overall lack of glycogen in the body, which is the fuel source derived from carbohydrates. This can result in reduced strength while lifting and reduced endurance while lifting or performing supplemental cardiovascular training.

Low Carb Solution

• Make subtle changes to your low-carb plan to compensate for these potential issues. One very simple change involves increasing the daily number of carbs to avoid being in a ketogenic state. According to Canadian Olympic coach Charles Poliquin, ketosis is "overrated" for making progress. In other words, it is entirely possible to keep your body fat under control without needing to consume less than 30 grams of carbs per day. Generally speaking, anything under 100 g of carbs per day is fairly low-carb, and can help you increase your performance levels back to baseline in the gym, especially if you pay close attention to carb timing. The best time of the day to consume the bulk of your carbohydrate intake is directly before training. This should be intuitive, as carbs provide the body with a quick energy source, and there is no better time for quick energy than right before your daily workout. Therefore, if you are planning on eating 100 g of carbs per day, consume 50 of those roughly an hour before training, with the remaining 50 split evenly across the remainder of your meals for the day. This will help to provide your muscles with the necessary energy to survive the workout, while allowing your body to continue shedding fat at a reasonable pace.