Ketogenic diet or low-carb diet is about limiting your intake of carbohydrates and substituting it with fat. Since carbs account as the fuel for the body, one may consider what options are open when it comes to exercising. Although a keto diet restricts the primary fuel of the body, it does not rule out the option of exercising. In fact a keto diet along with suitable exercises are an excellent way to invigorate the body, providing it with ample energy sources.
Exercise and Ketosis
The conventional view of weight loss is that you consume less food and workout longer with extended cardio sessions. However, although the thought seems to be very promising, it is practically impossible to cut off your energy resources in form of reducing food portions. Moreover, if you really want to see impressive results in terms of weight lost and lean body, you need to focus more on what you eat. Therefore, the initial step is to focus on the quality of ketosis process ensuring healthy intake of foods. Make sure that your body meets the required ketones count with the help of ketone test.
Though the process of ketosis helps regulate your metabolism, exercising keeps the heart healthy, shapes the body by building muscle mass and provides strength to your bones. However, before you start off with exercising, you should be aware of the types of exercises and how they affect your body.
Different Types of Exercises
Exercises primarily come in four forms namely stability, aerobic, anaerobic and flexibility. Their functionalities are discussed one by one.
Stability
All exercises that aim in improving your posture by providing muscle strength, improving alignment and controlling movements are known as stability exercises.
Aerobic
Any fitness regime that lasts over three minutes is known as aerobic exercise. It is also commonly referred to as cardio workout.
Anaerobic
A workout that involves shorter intervals of training with increased intensity is known as anaerobic workout. For example: Rope Jumping
Picture: RDX Adjustable Skipping Rope
Flexibility
Exercises that help the body increase its elasticity are known as flexibility exercises. Increased flexibility helps in improving muscle strength, which often decreases with time causing injury. Examples include yoga and post-workout stretches.
Effect of Ketosis On Body
While moderate level exercises such as aerobic or stability exercises will boost your overall health, you need to adjust your diet, if you plan on exercising more than 3 days in a week. A good way to supply the body with carb reserves is to consume a fruit 30 minutes pre and post-workout. This would supply the muscles with the required glycogen and aid in muscle recovery, without disturbing the ketosis of the body.
Get to know about the basics of Keto Diet here.
Ketogenic Diets And Its Types
Ketogenic diets vary based on the amount of carbs consumed.
20-50grams of carbs in a day account for Standard Ketogenic Diet.
20-50grams of carbs taken 1 hour before exercise make up the Targeted Ketogenic Diet. It is ideal for fitness enthusiasts who opt for high-intensity workouts.
Consuming less carbs on certain days and then consuming higher carbs on remaining days make up the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet.
Health Benefits Of Exercise During Ketosis
Usually people think that ketosis halts us from performing regular exercise. However, this is not the case. In fact studies have revealed significant health benefits of working out during ketosis.
A study conducted on athletes showed 2-3 times increased fat burnout in participants who consumed low carb diet for a period of 20 months.
The same research indicated that the levels of glycogen depleted were the same for athletes with low carb diet as well as for athletes with high carb diet.
Ketosis helps lessen fatigue that usually follows post-workout
Blood glucose levels are controlled in exercising individuals with higher weight count during ketosis.
Adaptation to ketosis not only improves overall health, but also aids in performing better at workouts with lesser carb intake.
