Should you train fasted?

The short answer is, no.

I want to preface this article by saying that fasting does have incredible health benefits - but we are talking about fasting and exercise. It’s a different ballgame (especially for women).

I know it’s tempting to follow the trends of fasting/low carb diets but if you want to perform and recover better, you do not want to be lacking adequate fuel and nutrients.

Women train better in a fed state and that’s a fact.

When you train, your body needs energy and energy comes from carbohydrates. It goes deeper than this though, if we avoid carbohydrates and decide to train fasted, we are quite literally piling stress from inadequate nutrients on top of exercise stress, to a woman who is likely already stressed from modern life (women are more susceptible to chronic stress)! The normal release of cortisol (which is actually positive if adapted) will be heightened if that training is done fasted. Prolonged high cortisol can lead to menstrual cycle disruption, thyroid issues, anxiety and fatigue. 

When I say ‘fed state’ I don’t mean have a three course meal prior to training. It could be as simple as a banana with some nut butter. It really is a myth that training fasted burns more fat. If your program is periodised right, you're fuelling your body with nutrient dense foods and you're recovering well, you won’t only feel better but the physical results will speak for themselves!