Here is a little OFM Training Tip that we encourage all of our athletes to do - It is called looking for and feeling “The Switch”.
This is really what Fat Adaptation is all about.
What is the Switch?
The Switch is when you can literally feel your body start to tap into your fat stores. It is when the hormonal and enzymatic pathways necessary are ramped up to sustainably fuel you from your own endogenous energy sources, rather than be dependent upon external calories.
The Long, Slow Warm-up is Key.
We spoke about the long, slow warm-up in a previous article and how this type of warm-up will get the hormonal signaling and subsequent enzymatic upregulation of the pathways necessary to fuel the body in a sustainable way using fat via Beta Oxidation and Ketosis from the Liver. Optimal Fat Metabolism even provides glucose via Hepatic gluco-neogenesis without catabolizing muscle protein, so your body can meet the metabolic demands of high level performance!
When you take this time for the switch to occur, you are now optimizing fat metabolism while minimizing the damage of oxidative stress from burning a lot of glucose. It doesn’t matter if you are doing a high-intensity interval workout, a tempo run, or a long duration workout/activity, your fat burning is locked in. This is the key to getting your performance up without the side effects of bonking, GI stress and recovery issues due to the damage of oxidative stress.
After the switch occurs, you can bring in the exogenous calories which will act as an energy booster instead of being the main form of energy. Fat adapted athletes will tell you that the extra calories are like rocket fuel!
Fat - your sustainable energy source.
We are not against carbs at OFM. In fact, part of the OFM (Optimized Fat Metabolism) strategy is to bring in strategic carbs when you need them instead of relying on them.
How would you like to train and race without the fear of bonking, GI issues and a recovery so quick you have to experience it to believe it? I encourage you to get fat adapted and look for “The Switch”. When you feel it, you won’t want to fuel your body any other way.
