The FastDay Forum

I've been doing the 5:2 routine for the past 3 months and the results have been good(1lb-3lb/week). I will be wrapping up the Insanity workout this Wednesday(9 week routine) and starting this workout regimen called All Pro which is for beginners. It's essentially a 3 day split of compound exercises targeting different muscle groups.
My question is whether I could continue the 5:2 diet with this weight lifting routine? Has anyone tried this diet while lifting heavy? I fast on wed and sun so I could fit non-consecutive workouts on mon, thur and sat.

Currently at 5'9, 177lbs.

Hi Mike. Welcome. If you have done Insanity whilst fasting I would have thought you would be able to do this too. I don't think its possible to train on a perma low calorie diet but this is somehow more doable. (For me at least). Kudos to you that you have done Insantity. I was thinking of starting P90x this week and wondering the same thing about 5:2. Good luck

Hi AlphaMikeFoxtrot, and welcome to the forum!

First of all, I've never done any real weight lifting routines, I'm just a girl who uses dumbbells a bit . However, I've seen the Insanity programme and from what I gather, it's a pretty tough workout programme. So if you can survive Insanity while doing 5:2, I'm sure you can do weight lifting while doing 5:2 as well.

If you look up for Brad Pillon, author of Eat Stop Eat (which is pretty similar fasting method to 5:2), he also does body building, so lots of weigh lifting I guess, while fasting.

So I'd say go for it. Good luck!

I don't know your program.

All I can say is I did my first Crossfit comp at the weekend, cleaned 40kg for a PB, snatched 25kg x 25 (was in a wod so lost count) and possibly more informative for you deadlifted 80kg x 14 which is BW. I've done 4:3 since January & now do 16:8. I'm 42, a woman & completely unfit before starting CF.

Do eat lots & try to eat clean, it makes it easier. I still eat chips & chocolate...

Hi Mike. Welcome. If you have done Insanity whilst fasting I would have thought you would be able to do this too. I don't think its possible to train on a perma low calorie diet but this is somehow more doable. (For me at least). Kudos to you that you have done Insantity. I was thinking of starting P90x this week and wondering the same thing about 5:2. Good luck

Hey,
I've finished one round of the p90x program. Did the program as per their food plan(except the last few weeks which was as per the 5:2 plan). Saw good results.

Hi AlphaMikeFoxtrot, and welcome to the forum!

First of all, I've never done any real weight lifting routines, I'm just a girl who uses dumbbells a bit . However, I've seen the Insanity programme and from what I gather, it's a pretty tough workout programme. So if you can survive Insanity while doing 5:2, I'm sure you can do weight lifting while doing 5:2 as well.

If you look up for Brad Pillon, author of Eat Stop Eat (which is pretty similar fasting method to 5:2), he also does body building, so lots of weigh lifting I guess, while fasting.

So I'd say go for it. Good luck!

Yeah, I will give it a read. Insanity was tough. Especially the second phase where the "max circuits" started which prolonged the duration to about an hour. I'm just glad that I did all the workouts religiously and in real time without taking breaks. Just one final workout left.

I don't know your program.

All I can say is I did my first Crossfit comp at the weekend, cleaned 40kg for a PB, snatched 25kg x 25 (was in a wod so lost count) and possibly more informative for you deadlifted 80kg x 14 which is BW. I've done 4:3 since January & now do 16:8. I'm 42, a woman & completely unfit before starting CF.

Do eat lots & try to eat clean, it makes it easier. I still eat chips & chocolate...

It's a 3 day split with the first day being your heavy workout and the subsequent ones of decreasing intensity. It's the usual stuff with bench press, barbell curls etc for a newb weight lifter.
5 weeks make one cycle, so my aim is to do it for 3 cycles to lower my bf%

The reason I ask is because usually you're supposed to load up on carbs before lifting. But I plan on lifting only during the feast days, so it won't be a hassle. The other days I plan to do 30-40 minutes of cardio

I fast on training days as I would not be able to do the met con otherwise. I probably eat a lot of carbs on other days but that is slowly changing. Leangains is the major reference for fasting, training & bf% stripping, imo.

Enjoy.love lifting now.

I fast on heavy lifting days too and it's fine.

I'm bumping this thread because I'm starting a weight lifting program for toning up and for strengthening muscles for running. I'm a total newbie to weight lifting and I've no idea what I'm doing. I have help from a friend who was certified as a personal trainer (this is something that has to be updated, which she hasn't done, but she certainly knows more than me!)

I've been reading around a lot about it. It seems that the old advice given to women who don't want to bulk up - lift lower amounts for more reps - is not accepted now. Evidently it doesn't work the muscles enough to make any difference. Do any of you have opinions about this?

Also, these weight lifting sites are crazy. No wonder people never picked up IF from them. They're off in their own little world of getting nutrition out of frickin' bottles. OMG the supplements. It's scarier than processed food! However, having said that, after reading around a bit (like on the precision nutrition site)… I wonder if branched-chain amino acids are worth looking into, especially if I'm working out on fast days, not near meal times. Opinions?

Just dug this up as I was curious to read if anyone else was in a similar position.

I have been doing the All Pro routine for 3 cycles now, so over 3 months.
I've lifted on fast days and feast days. I find I perform better on feast day, but I'm still able to perform on fast days so I don't try to align lifting with feast days deliberately..but if the two co-incide it's always a bonus

I think lifting and 5:2 compliment each other nicely.

The key is to experiment a lot. And by that, I mean you need to try out different timings for your fasts, for your workouts, also trying out different food choices and overall macro-nutrient and caloric numbers, as-well as timings for those meals as-well.

While the human body operates pretty much the same way for everyone, our lifestyles and personal preferences differ a lot. So you really have to experiment with different protocols to truly find the methods that "click" with your lifestyle and subjective preferences. It's a hassle - no doubt about it. Everyone would like to be given a set of guidelines, a bunch of yes/no answers and just get to work and get results right off the bat - but the truth is, it's rarely that simple. You just have to put in some effort yourself and figure things out for yourself.

In general, fasting should have negligible effects on your weight lifting goals. Scientific studies have found that even when training fasted, you are unlikely to suffer noticeable strength loss and if your lifting program is top notch - there should be nothing stopping you from putting on quality muscle.

One thing I do suggest, is to keep any weight loss at a minimum. 1lb a week is plenty. If you try to lose faster, you risk more muscle loss and strength loss. And on the flipside, gaining weight (muscle) is an even slower process, so again - 1lb a week is heaps. Take it slow, be smart and you'll do fine.