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Old 08-20-2012, 08:38 PM   #22
Chirogator
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Another thing to consider to is that while the whole calories in vs calories out deal plays a huge role in losing the initial fat mass, it becomes much more of a game of hormones when you're trying to trim the last bit. When you're on a ketogenic diet (which if done properly should be a HIGH FAT diet, but that's another topic altogether), high intensity exercise is no longer your best friend because cortisol levels ramp up much quicker with this mixture versus on a more balanced (aka normal carb intake) diet with some HIIT. Cortisol is one of your biggest antagonists to leaning out. Same thing goes for steady state cardio at ~70% of max heart rate (ie. jogging) while on a keto diet. I would advocate a lot (aim for about 2 miles 5 days/week) of fasted low level cardio (walking) in the morning while on a ketogenic diet and cutting out jogging/running/ and any glycolytically demanding exercise (HIIT or circuit training or crossfit or anything like that). Up your calories a bit (1700-1800 would probably be more appropriate), do some heavy lifting 2-3 days per week and do lots of fasted walking every morning. Combine that with a lot of sleep (at least 8 hours/night if possible) and you'll mitigate the cortisol effect of a keto diet and you should see some excellent results off of that. Also an occasional refeed with a lot of carbohydrates (upwards of 800g of carbs once every other week or so) will help mitigate muscle loss and could even put you into an anabolic mode for a little bit which will help retain muscle and keep you from wasting away into nothing. Seems a little counterintuitive but I've seen it work for many of my clients and patients and I'd bet it'd work well for you too. Google "cyclical ketogenic diet" for ideas about the refeed.
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