Intermittent Fasting and Crossfit: Are They Compatible?

Crossfit and Intermittent Fasting are two extremes for the body.

Intermittent Fasting is a nutritional strategy. It has been applied in the last two decades with increasing strength. Although at the beginning the results of studies were not so conclusive, and the support of nutritionists, today, things have changed.

Many studies behind this approach support the clear benefits they provide. It’s not just losing weight but also improving and enhancing our health from within. Something that could be combined with Crossfit, a popular training method.

Believe it or not, Crossfit has been around for many decades. This was, unknowingly, the training that Marines and other soldiers had to prepare themselves. However, recently a company of the same name patented the training style and made it popular.

One of the most sensitive points in Crossfit is the feeding. This is a demanding style of training, so correctly calculating what we eat is vital. New nutritional strategies have been designed and used for this purpose, among which seems to be the Intermittent Fasting. However, are they compatible?

Adapting Your Metabolism to Crossfit

Crossfit without eating

The first question we should answer is whether we can do Crossfit at the same time as we stop eating, the basis of Intermittent Fasting. If we follow a 24/24 scheme (where we eat one day and not the next), what would happen to us that day without glucose if we do a workout as demanding as Crossfit?

Several things come into play, and we will explain them one by one. However, the most crucial thing could be the basic adaptation of the human body: We can not all endure the same impact.

We must train little by little to develop our metabolic flexibility. We are not talking about the Crossfit, but about trying to enter the Intermittent Fasting before seeking to join it with the Crossfit. You can have some periods of Fasting. Like from dinner to the next lunch. That helps you realize what it feels like and how far your body can go.

If you try both, your performance will be severely compromised, and the Crossfit session will be meaningless. Your diet must be adapted and personalized so you can have the energy.

Adapt the eating part of your Intermittent Fasting

If you are dieting with a caloric deficit, looking to lose weight, the Crossfit will only weaken you, and you will feel dizzy, nauseous, weak, etc. A set of not very good symptoms that will get worse little by little until your next meal.

However, if your diet is super-energetic (looking for more calories than you usually consume), perhaps your last meal will be enough to withstand the impact of the Crossfit. Again, this is all a personalized program you should not try on your own.

Once you adapt and get into a new phase of your life, you will notice the benefits that come with the famous “metabolic flexibility.” Not only will you improve your sports performance, but you will also improve your body shape and composition, and cognitive performance.

Conclusion

Crossfit and Intermittent Fasting can go well together if both are done regarding your own body and slow adaptions.

For example, instead of eating breakfast, you can for example sip down a glass of water and 10g BCAA. After the workout, refuel again with 10g BCAA. This you can repeat every few hours until your first meal.