Fasted exercise - Matt Metzgar

Matt Metzgar

Fasted exercise - Matt MetzgarSeptember 18, 2011

Running on Empty

I've noticed a couple curious things lately in regard to eating and exercise. First, I've noticed that if I ocassionally skip dinner, or just have some carbs like potatoes but no meat for dinner, that I actually feel better upon waking the next morning. Of course, I'm not doing this every day, but if I do this once or twice a week, then I am virtually guaranteed to feel better the next morning. This points to how occassionally restricting calories in the evening, or perhaps restricting protein in the evening seems to yield benefits.

Today, I noticed how this carried over into exercise. I have been exercising fasted in the morning, going for an intermittent run on the nearby trail. Last night, I just had some potatoes instead of dinner, and this morning I ran before eating anything. This combination seemed to really prime my body for running. I don't know if it put me in "fat-burning" mode or something, but I was just really cruising on the trails today.

It's amazing how good you can run on an empty fuel tank. I wish someone would have told me about this 15 years ago. I remember reading Runner's World for a few years straight back in my twenties. Never once did I see an article that recommended running while fasted. Guess it wasn't the expert publication it was supposed to be!

Matt Metzgar: Deceleration

Matt Metzgar: Deceleration

July 16, 2011

Deceleration

I wanted to throw out some wild speculation about running. Sometimes you see a runner with good form and posture lose that posture when they start to decelerate. An example would be a baseball player racing to first base. After they hit the bag, some players kind of let their bodies go and their limbs flail a bit. Another example would be a runner hits the finish line and then loses his posture for the next few meters or so.

I wonder if this deceleration period has a greater potential for injury. During the high-speed running, the core is probably engaged and therefore the body is protected to some degree. But if that protection is disengaged immediately after the goal is reached, there may a be a brief window where injuries are more likely.

Posted at 10:36 AM in Exercise | Permalink

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Comments

josh said...

I own CrossFit NYC, and get to see a huge number of athletes at all levels working hard.

There, I've anecdotally noticed exactly this sort of effect on the deadlift - atheles tends to use their best form through the majority of a set, yet a sizeable percentage then go totally limp while lowering the weight at the end of the set.

Inevitably, it's in that poor form, no core engagement final movement that they end up tweaking their backs.