Can Keto help with endurance exercise? Don’t you require carbohydrates?
These inquiries are not the first of their kind. In fact, in the early 1980s, when Empire Strikes Back (the second Star Wars film) was released, a researcher called Stephen Phinney asked them.
We’ll get to his experiments shortly since the results are relevant to Keto dieters interested in fitness. But first, we’ll go into the underlying adaption when you transition to utilizing fat for fuel on Keto.
So, whether you’re a biker, jogger, swimmer, hiker, soccer player, or weekend warrior, this last episode of our Keto fitness series will benefit you.
What Is Endurance Exercise?
Endurance exercise, often known as endurance training, refers to activities that build aerobic capacity. Aerobic capacity, also known as cardiorespiratory fitness, is the maximum quantity of oxygen you can use when exercising.
This is expressed as VO2 max, or your maximum oxygen intake during strenuous activity. The greater your VO2 max, the more aerobically fit you are thought to be.
You may be wondering how the Ketogenic diet impacts VO2 max by now. The quick answer is likely, not much.
However, VO2 max isn’t the only metric in endurance training. For example, it does not provide information regarding actual performance or fat burning.
We’ll get there eventually.
How You Fuel Endurance Exercise
Energy is required to fuel muscular contraction during activity. This energy is stored in an adenosine triphosphate or ATP molecule.
ATP is a kind of energy that may be used. Your body (mostly) employs one of two processes to generate ATP:
- Fat
- Carbohydrate
What is the primary determinant of which fuel is used? Carbohydrate availability.
When carbohydrates (glucose) are available, your body preferentially utilizes them to produce ATP. When they aren’t, you get too fat for energy.
The body switches to fat for fuel because carbohydrates are scarce in the Keto diet. This not only increases fat burning, but it also opens a previously inaccessible enormous fuel store.
What is the name of this procedure? Keto-adapting.
Keto-Adaptation
The transition from carbohydrates to fat as a major energy source is called keto-adapting. According to the data, keto-adapting might take 2 to 8 weeks, depending on your metabolism.[1]
Let’s have a look at how endurance exercise is often fuelled. If you’re acquainted with ultra-endurance endeavors—marathons, long swims, Ironman, etc.—you know that athletes need constant carb replenishment during these efforts.
Why? Because your body can only store a certain quantity of carbs—about 500 grams in muscle and liver cells as glycogen. That equates to only 2000 calories of energy.
A marathon requires a lot more than 2000 calories. That’s why ultramarathoners sip the sweet gunk. They need the additional energy.
However, if the athlete is Keto-adapted, she will have access to a more plentiful energy source: body fat. Even in a slim person, body fat stores around 20X the calories as glycogen.[1]
The carb tank has 2,000 calories, whereas the fat tank contains more than 40,000. Having access to the fat tank is a considerable benefit.
But does this advantage carry over into the field of endurance sports?
Keto for Endurance Training
Stephen Phinney, a world-renowned Keto researcher, conducted an intriguing experiment in 1980.[2] He evaluated the endurance of six fat adults (on a treadmill) in two ways:
- A normal carb-containing diet
- A protein-supplemented fast (a hypocaloric Ketogenic diet)
The outcomes were not subtle. After six weeks of Keto-adapting, the individuals could run nearly twice as far on the treadmill before feeling weary!
In 1983, Phinney conducted another investigation, this time on bikers. He discovered that cyclists burnt considerably more fat after four weeks of fat-adapting with no reduction in VO2 max.[3]
More research has now emerged indicating that Keto is suitable for endurance training:
- Trained cyclists increased their time to fatigue during moderate-intensity exercise after two weeks of high-fat dieting [4].
- Many ultra-endurance runners have succeeded with the Keto diet, burning more body fat for energy during lengthy runs [5].
According to this research, the primary advantages of Keto-adaptation include improved fat burning and decreased tiredness time. This is reasonable. Because the fat fuel tank is substantially more prominent, you may strain yourself longer when Keto-fueled.
What about other performance indicators? The verdict is yet out. For example, one research on top race walkers discovered that, while they burnt more fat on a low-carb diet, they needed more oxygen to sustain the same amount of exercise—not a good indication.[6]
Recovering from Exercise on Keto
Is it possible to recuperate from exercise without carboloading? To find out, let’s look at two recovery markers: lactate and glycogen.
#1: Lactate
Lactate (or lactic acid) is formed as an alternative fuel source during exercise. The excess lactate is eliminated by the liver following exercise.
However, harder and longer exertion causes lactate to build quicker than it can be removed. And the more lactate that builds up, the more recovery is hampered.
What role does Keto play? One month of Keto eating enhanced the lactate threshold in cyclists in one 2014 research.[*] In other words, they could remove lactate more efficiently at greater intensities.
Another study found that ketosis athletes had lower lactate concentrations after exercise than carb-fed athletes. This indicates a faster recovery.[7]
#2: Glycogen
Keto-adapting does not imply that you utilize no carbohydrates for energy. More challenging, more extended activity always necessitates the use of glucose. The balance changes away from carbohydrates and toward fat in the Keto-adapted athlete.
This is where glycogen comes into play. If you recall, glycogen is your body’s carbohydrate storage tank. The more glycogen is drained during activity, the greater the weariness.
Keto may minimize the requirement for glycogen by reducing the need for glucose. This would help the Keto-adapted athlete to conserve carbs and avoid tiredness.[8]
Keto For Endurance Exercise: The Bottom Line
Fat may power endurance exercise and a carbohydrate-fueled diet given enough Keto-adaptation time. Numerous studies suggest that when people switch to Keto, their fat burning and time to fatigue improve.
This does not imply that Keto improves all areas of endurance performance. It may or may not, depending on the measure used.
Allow 4-6 weeks to Keto-adapt on a low-carb diet before training for endurance on Keto. This encourages your body to burn more fat during exercise while requiring less carbohydrates.
Finally, pay attention to your body. Not everyone feels their best when exercising on Keto, so consider reintroducing carbohydrates. Check out Carb Manager’s guide to exercising on Keto and our in-depth look at the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet for particular methods of carb cycling, exercise recording, and more. Thank you for reading, and good luck with your training.
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