Fitness professionals hear a lot about fasted training these days. How does it apply to infrared workouts?
Let’s explore this.
First, what is fasted training anyway? Simply put, it is training on an empty stomach.
The easiest way to accomplish this is to discipline yourself to train in the morning without breakfast. Most trainers believe that a steady state of cardio is the best way to benefit from fasted training. In fact, all workouts can be applied with a fasted approach for added fat burning.
As reported by the Huffington Post, accredited practicing dietitian, sports dietitian and nutrition consultant, Jessica Spendlove states that, ”The benefits of a fasted workout include increasing aerobic capacity and increasing the fat utilization (the use of fat as a fuel source).”¹
My advice is to train hard in the morning and stop eating no later than 8 p.m. the night before. Following your morning fasted workouts, you can begin eating again and you should consider an acai bowl with added protein as a breakfast to follow the fasted workout. Keep your food intake intervals from 8-12 hours, then back to the fasting interval. Be sure to hydrate with water and try mixing it with a “During and After” workout amino/electrolyte powder (less than 10 calories) to give your body what it needs during and after fasted infrared training.
In addition to more efficient fat burning, working out in the morning has been proven to elevate your energy for the rest of your day. This is a huge advantage for a business executive. I can speak to this from years of experience. Training in the morning can skyrocket your work productivity with more energy and focus.
Some experts believe that a sensible approach is to train in the morning on a 12 hour fast (let’s say your last meal was at 8pm and your fasted workout begins at 7 a.m. with breakfast at 8 a.m.). This amount of time leaves just enough carbs in your system to get you through the workout and still allow you to burn more fat. Others would argue that more fasting time is necessary to obtain the most fat burning benefit. I agree that longer fasting intervals can lead to more fat burning during the workout, 16 hours is optimal, but 12 hours is better than something less.
This type of fasting is known as intermittent fasting since it involves a daily cyclic approach to eating. If you want to unleash your warrior, then practice daily intervals of a 16 hour fast and meals during the other 8 hours. Remember that your primary goal with fasting is to burn more fat while keeping the muscle.
So what happens when your fasted cardio is done inside of an infrared sauna? Fat burning goes to the next level! Infrared exposure elevates the release of fat and the oxidation of it through the lungs.
One study found that regular infrared sauna use can result in a 4% drop in body fat over a period of four months.²
It may be time to try intermittent fasted infrared training and see how much more fat you can burn during your workouts. 💪🏽🔥
