ckd - weightlifting

[TheFinalSQL]

I've been reading a lot about Cyclical Ketogenic Diets, but I am not sure I agree with what they are saying.

Monday through Thursday I generally walk 4.2 - 6 miles (depends on what time I actually get out of bed) in the morning while fasting. Then in the evening I do 15 minutes of cardio on a recumbent bicycle and then lift weights (power lifting) between 30 minutes and 1.75 hours.

Friday through Sunday I walk 4.2 to 13.2 miles first thing the morning, always fasting.

By Friday I am pretty tired, I take the 3 days off from weightlifting to recover. But as far a no energy, I keep up with my training partner during weightlifting and he is on the carb bandwagon, he also does not do any cardio before lifting.

Where does this idea come from that you cannot do weightlifting without carbs? I thought ketones did convert to glycogen.

The hardest part is that the weightloss has definitely slowed down, I am hoping that is because of more muscle gain than fat loss.

[neutronnorman]

CKD is a God-send..the holy grail of diets if you are seriously into gaining muscle mass while getting cut. The problem with a CKD is when to start and end your carb load. When you master that point and can properly tweak it, you'll be amazed at what you see in the mirror every two weeks or so. As I write this, I can't stop staring at the striations and vascularity on my forearms. CKD's are trully amazing.

[chinadoll]

I am with you Final. I have not had any issues with my workouts while on Atkins. As long as I do eat before working out energy has not been an issue. I also do cardio AFTER strength training. I found if I did it first I wasn't getting the same results with the weights.

[neutronnorman]

It's not about energy, it's about hormonal modulation. Insulin is the second most anabolic hormone next to testosterone. There is no question about CKD and the fat loss / muscle gains it produces. Ketosis, which I'm sure most people are not in once in the OWL levels, is very catabolic. It's a mute point.

But I would not recommend a CKD for any male that's over about 25% bodyfat. It can really cause a stall and, believe me, you will not be spilling ketone bodies in your urine untill 3-4 days after carb loading.

It is very difficult to do a CKD. IT IS NOT FOOL PROOF LIKE THE AD. You must be hyper aware of your body and constantly be monitoring yourself during the carb up. The carb up period can last from one simple meal up to 36-48 hours. It depends on your insulin resistance and metabolism, in general. It's taken me 3 months and I still do not have it down right. I'm still experimenting with the carb amounts. I seem to do well, and that's me, at about a 12 hour carb up with approximately 250-300 grams of carbs. I seem to lose about 1 - 2 lb every 2 weeks and get noticeably more cut and vascular.

I repeat, do not try a CKD unless you are pretty lean. You better know how to use fat calipers and be willing to feel like crap for 3 days after.

When I reach my personal goal, which I'm getting really close to, it is going to be Atkins all the way. I will go up the OWL rungs without no modifications.

Anyway, this is not a CKD forum, and again, I opened my big trap.