WORKING OUT ON THE CARNIVORE DIET

Working out on the carnivore diet is pretty much like training on any other kind of diet but there are a few key differences to consider if you want to maximise your results. For example, some training methodologies may be more difficult at different stages of your carnivore journey depending on how "fat adapted" you are.

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Are Workouts Essential?

No. Working out on the carnivore diet isn't essential. But it's extremely useful for one BIG reason. Insulin resistance.

One of the main reasons people choose to go on the carnivore diet is for weight loss, health and autoimmune issues. Almost all of which are dependent on your insulin levels and your insulin sensitivity.

The more insulin resistant you are, the more you'll struggle to lose weight, get healthy and manage your autoimmune sensitivities.

Training is one of the best ways to help become more insulin sensitive because the muscles are the main sources of insulin uptake. In other words, bigger/more toned muscles help you manage insulin.

Becoming Fat Adapted

Becoming fat adapted essentially means you're body can utilise fat as a source of fuel in the most efficient way possible. This is important for someone who wants to undertake any kind of exercise program because it's the difference between poor performance and great progress.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?
It can take anywhere from 30 days to 12 week to become fat adapted and even longer than that to begin performing at your best, especially if you participate in high power activities like strength training and power lifting.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'VE BECOME FAT ADAPTED?
You'll know when you've become generally fat adapted because you'll be able to go for long periods of time between meals without feeling hungry. You'll know you're fat adapted for workouts when you begin to return to exceed your previous personal bests.

HOW DO I BECOME FAT ADAPTED FASTER?
There are a few things you can do to become fat adapted for training on the carnivore diet:

1. Don't cheat - at least not for sometime. Even a single cheat day can set you back if you're in the early stages of fat adaption.
2. Increase fat intake - fat is now your primary source of fuel so it stands to reason you're going  to need more of it. If you begin to lose weight too quickly, it could be a sign you need more fat.
3. Workout fasted - training while fasted has been shown to increase fat oxidation and could improve the efficiency at which you metabolise fat for fuel. Consider working out first thing in the morning, but take it easy.

Carnivore Diet Workouts

For most, training will suffer on the carnivore diet, especially for those who spend most of time doing glucose specific training like strength training or bodybuilding. Although muscle size and quality often increase with no training at all when starting out on the carnivore diet due to the increased protein intake, it's not without its challenges.

Bodybuilding on the carnivore diet

One of the killer questions for people on the carnivore diet is whether or not you need carbs to build muscle. While carbs aren't essential, they do help because you need three things from your diet to build muscle:

1. Testosterone - Testosterone is made from cholesterol so it's not surprising that some people will see a spike in testosterone levels when going carnivore. Don't worry, ladies. Estrogen is made from testosterone so carnivore won't make you look like a man.
   
2. Growth Hormone (GH) - Growth hormone is created naturally by the body but there are ways to increase it's production such as fasting and exercise.
   
3. Insulin Like Growth Factor (IGF-1) - This is where the carnivore diet is not ideal. IGF-1 is made from insulin. So if you have low levels of insulin from not consuming many dietary carbohydrates, you'll also have low levels of IGF-1.
   

With the recipe for muscle growth in mind, if you want to build muscle on the carnivore diet, you'll likely need some supplementation with carbs.

I know, I know, there's that one guy who is massive and he's strict carnivore. He likely built massive amounts of muscle while on a standard diet and is now maintaining those muscles with a high protein, carnivore diet and training.

Strength Training On the Carnivore Diet

Strength training on the carnivore diet is a minefield of information because we hardly have any reputable research on the topic. One of the biggest myths about strength training is that you need lots of carbs to lift heavy.

While this may be true as you go through the fat adaption phase, most seasoned low carb strong men always return to or exceed their previous personal bests when you consider a strength to weight ratio.

Or in other words, strength athletes will almost certainly get smaller in size due to the fat loss and lack of water retention, but muscle mass will increase due to the extra protein intake.

With that being said, increasing strength requires super physiological amounts of training which may require some supplementation with carbs.

Endurance Training on the carnivore Diet

Endurance training is probably where the carnivore diet excels because it requires the least amount of short bursts of powers and relies heavily on fat as a source of fuel. Many endurance athletes are now turning to low carb or zero carb diets to fuel their workouts and competitions.

Sport Specific Training on the Carnivore Diet

Whether combining a carnivore diet with your sport is a good idea is still a big unknown. What we do know is that you can get stronger, faster and fitter on the carnivore diet, but how that fits with your own training and competitions can be quite complex.

For example, it doesn't make sense to try and become fat adapted a few weeks before a major event and it might make sense to use carbs during some events, even when you are fat adapted.