All very good questions!
Yes, you can lift while fasting, even on an all-water fast believe it or not. However, you’d necessarily require some assistance. I have, and am currently using the ECA stack (once before the gym). Though my lifting energy level, vigor and weight amounts are unaffected, they are done with lessened intensity, as evidenced by the minimal but necessarily increased time between sets.
I see no Biblical problem combining physical purposes with fasting for spiritual understanding (a word from above, if you will), closeness, and/or sacrificially. It would appear that such a dual purpose was actually meant to be.
Let me tell you in advance that this experience will cause you to question the very reality of catabolism. I’m not saying that it doesn’t exist at all, just not in the way we’ve always believed. Permit me to support my statements.
Firstly, our beliefs about muscle catabolism are very similar to the ‘actual’ process undergone during calcium conversion in the body. 99% of calcium is stored within the bones, while the remaining 1% circulates throughout the bloodstream. The latter requires constant external replenishment, via food and supplements (along with magnesium) to maintain that sole percentage point. However, when this ratio is lost, the body leaches the bones’ calcium stores. This in turn causes Brittle Bone Syndrome, which if unchecked leads to full blown Osteoporosis.
Catabolism holds to a similar premise in the absence of available nutrients (bloodstream and liver glycogen), fat and muscle reserves are tapped. Now followed to its logical conclusion there fat cells should shrink (this happens) and muscle size and capacity should diminish. However, such a process would necessarily leave the muscle (like the bone) in a weakened less functioning state, i.e. you shouldn’t lose muscle without losing strength. Nevertheless, this is not what we see during fasting, instead as very well explained in the link I cited, the muscle’s capacity goes unhindered. Now due to my entrenched bodybuilding background I was of course incredulous of such a philosophy, that is until I experienced it for myself. Although overall muscle belly size and fullness diminish slightly, obviously depending on the fast’s duration, and its composition (water, juice, fruit, etc.) strength is unaffected.
Secondly, I’m a movie buff, and anyone familiar with the movie ‘Little Man’ knows that Marlon Wayans is simply not that short. They used a child’s body, as evidenced in bonus footage, then resized and transposed Marlon’s head onto it. But in the movie ‘The Machinist’ (a pretty good movie, by the way) Christian Bale, who is very muscular, was depicted as an emaciated factory worker. Those of us who know Christian’s work immediately assume technology similar to that of ‘Little Man’. But as the movie goes on you begin to question whether or not this seemingly ravaged body is that of Bale’s, and indeed it is. He starved himself for four months (losing 62lbs) down to 110lbs. Only to later regain that plus en route to Batman Begins. This picture actually makes him look much bigger than he is…
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-machinist
The point here is that fasting doesn’t even approach starvation because of the body’s more than adequate nutritional reserves. But only during actual starvation will muscle be taxed to the point of cellular, fiber, ultimately tissue breakdown. And even then it is readily recoverable, since homeostasis is eagerly awaiting the cue from that first bite.
As I write, I’m downing the first half of a gallon of cold distilled water having gone from dinner 1/7 to breakfast 1/12, as a primer for my now dinner 1/14 to lunch 1/24. And I’ve never felt better, I beat my alarm clock awake (atypical for me) and I’m refreshed and energetic throughout the day, just as reported in many fasting accounts. Workouts are about 15minutes longer, but no less fulfilling. Our continuous muscle fiber stimulus makes it even more resistant to shrinkage. And since digestion is removed from the equation, all of that energized oxygenated blood used for inputting food can go to outputting waste body, organ, tissue and cellular as well as providing energy for the day.
Remember it takes approximately 20hrs to fully digest one meal, and that’s if your system is working optimally. This can be easily measured by the “Corn Test”. Eat a meal with a good sized serving of corn, document the day and time of said meal and monitor stool (again writing down elimination times), when no more corn is present in a movement, go back to the one before it (the last with corn) and that’s how long it took to completely eliminate the meal.
M.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by nirish_mark20
