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Nelson, honest question, how many fasts have you done? I just want to understand your experience with it. I'm reading this thread trying to understand your view.
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Steve how many fasts have you done? trying to get a comparison.
I Maintain -- Fasting is the WORST Thing a Bodybuilder Can Do
- Thread starter nelson montana
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Nelson, honest question, how many fasts have you done? I just want to understand your experience with it. I'm reading this thread trying to understand your view.
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Steve how many fasts have you done? trying to get a comparison.
Nelson +1 for you for calling out this fasting BS. Bodybuilders CANT build muscle if they don't eat! simple. Wtf is all this talk about not eating all day??? has everyone gone new age insane. We are supposed to train hard and eat hard. I think a lot of groupthink about fasting and it doesnt work for many muscle building plans for sure.
I've done close to 10 prolong fasts that have exceeded 5 days and I do atleast a 24 hour fast once a week and I intermittent fast almost everyday. this has been my lifestyle for the past 3 years. I started fasting though in high school so it has been 20 years total of experience.
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I've got a buck says no one needs to eat 8 meals a day. And if a 150lb guy eats 5000 cals a day he'll get fat. So much for 'eating hard'. 99% of our members wont exceed 200-210lbs which in the real world still makes them 'big'.
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True. But too many obsess over eating 300g or more of protein a day, or getting 'all my meals in'. I follow a couple via YT and it's 'I'm eating meal 7' etc. As you say, for the majority, it's hardly noticeable. It's only a little more obvious in even competing athletes. There's also the point I've made elsewhere - even if we say it DOES have an effect (for both extremes) it's a LONG TERM only thing. And too, too many take the short term view.
I really love these kind of debates where there are a bunch of people with tons of knowledge. I can say that fasting has got me into the best shape of my life at 37. Now, that being said, I am not nearly as big as I once wanted to be. I maintain a "decent" amount of muscle but am much more concerned about staying lean and mean. If I was going to try and add mass I would definitely have to put more food down. It is really individual and depends on your goals.
nelson montana
<b>V.I.P. - Author</b>
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Wrong question. That would mean the perspective is coming from personal experience and those with the most experience would be the most knowledgable. That's like saying the guy who drinks the most alcohol is the most knowledgable about the benefits of alcohol.
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Thanks bro, you get it. I address this very point in the upcoming article. It's a logn one but it explains in depth why it's so hard to grow muscle and what is necessary for the best results.
Asmodean21
New member
God I cant wait for the podcast 
science aside being hungry sucks ass. I dont like hunger pains and weak feelings. That's why I dont do it.
science aside being hungry sucks ass. I dont like hunger pains and weak feelings. That's why I dont do it.
No Nelson, it's the RIGHT question. How many times have you done a fast? like fasting for 24, 48,72, 100 hours, 10 days etc. If you have not done a prolonged fast, how do you know it doesnt work?
Also, your comment on alcohol makes no sense. By your logic, I can describe to you the feeling of being hung over from a book? never drinking alcohol myself I would just guess the side effects were _____ fill in blank. That's not how it works these days Nelson. Maybe 30 years ago sure. But these days we have a thing called personal proof too, you have to USE trenbolone to Comment on trenbolone, if you never used it, how do you know the side effects of trenbolone? you're just guessing. Nothing personal Nelson, but I think you're completely off on this one. I doubt you have enough experience to make a solid, unbias judgement.
Does fasting somehow make a person crave the cawk? Is it reversible?
Bro I told you not to reveal our DM conversations about your cawk craving problems [emoji23]
nelson montana
<b>V.I.P. - Author</b>
How many times how you jumped off a building to see if you can fly? If you've never done it, how do you know it won't work?
patriotsrule19
New member
Nelson you are saying jumping off building is comparable to learning how fasting works for bodybuilding through actually trying it?
I agree with @austin316 here, looks like you lack fasting experience first hand. You keep avoiding the question, so how many times have you done fasts? It's not bad to admit you never did fasting and your view is based on a few articles combined with your personal views. That's fine but you should disclaim that IMO.
nelson montana
<b>V.I.P. - Author</b>
Wow, nobody here gets analogy.
Well, as a matter of fact , I have fasted. I had to fast for 48 hours due to a stomach issue. What's your point?
patriotsrule19
New member
I got the analogy Nelson, but it's not valid to this discussion. You are correct about blank comparisons, yet in Fasting, without 1st hand experience, judgements about it are flawed at best. Once you fast for a month, at least IFF (18/6), and combine it with bodybuilding, you can get a good gauge on how it works. However, without actually fasting, the claims you make don't pass the smell test. Nothing personal here but it is what it is Nelson.
Fasting and muscle (fasting+bodybuilding), either fat loss or muscle gain, have a direct relationship. In fact, it's likely fasting accelerates muscle growth and fat loss.
I did IF religiously for a few years. I think its great for fat loss and health benefits.
With that said, its definitely not ideal for performance, and building muscle and strength.
This is based on my extensive real world experience doing both fasting and a traditional bodybuilding diet which I do now. I do fast on rest days which is typically weekends. On training days i find a bodybuilding far more beneficial for my goals to keep getting better.
I may transition back to fasting daily at some point when I no longer care about progress and concentrate more on health and longevity
With that said, its definitely not ideal for performance, and building muscle and strength.
This is based on my extensive real world experience doing both fasting and a traditional bodybuilding diet which I do now. I do fast on rest days which is typically weekends. On training days i find a bodybuilding far more beneficial for my goals to keep getting better.
I may transition back to fasting daily at some point when I no longer care about progress and concentrate more on health and longevity
nelson montana
<b>V.I.P. - Author</b>
I completely disagree with everything you say. But it's okay.
Sure, you have the right to disagree with him. And I have the right to disagree with you.
I just want to point out the extensive scientific, medical and anecdotal research supporting fasting vs. "fasting sucks" that's supported by opinions, broscience and subjectivity. The 'fasting sucks' crowd seems to just have old information that's all.
Let's face it, fasting is factually good for your health, and bodybuilding, fitness is all about health. Logically, fasting is good for our fellow weight lifters.
P.S. Nelson, I am open to debate, but I looked backed multiple pages I see a lot of studies SteveSmi cited to prove his argument, and your side seems to be personal + subjective. You know it is possible to be wrong about something and change your mind when you get new evidence. That was the case for me and fasting, and I hope you look at it more objectively as a legendary writer.
P.P.S. For those who don't know, Nelson is an original writer about steroids and our industry, even as far back as the 90s. He's a legend.
yes you had a stomach issue and you fasted and fixed the issue. had you ate for those 48 hours your body would have never had the chance to fix itself and it would have had been a grind. had you thrown a steak, mashed potatoes, stuffing during that your body would have threw it all up to get rid of it, would have went out both ways. your body does not want food always, it does not want food a lot of times cause it wants to heal.
50% of the work your body has to do everyday is for digesting food. imagine fasting and your body now getting to use that 50% on something else like repairing injuries? hmmmm.. sounds good right? in bodybuilding we deal with injuries and tons of small problems that sometimes turn chronic. rather then continueing to pound away at our bodies we are told by smart people to 'lay off the gym for a bit' to allow our bodies to heal up. pro athletes at the highest levels from NFL players to bodybuilders do the same thing when they get injured. right now as a I post the best QB of all time Drew Brees has to ride the bench cause of his rib injuries because if he were to play then he risks more injuries and more severe problems. so resting him for 3 weeks is smarter than throwing him back in.
well fasting is the same way. it is about giving the body a break, letting it reset and repair. so it is fantastic for EVERYONE. from top level bodybuilder to a weekend warrior with regards to fitness. nobody is saying that a huge bodybuilder should have fast to grow huge, but him doing something like a 24-48 hour every 2 weeks along with 1 or 2 longer fasts a year would have greatly benefited him. in fact we know today that many top athletes from all sports including guys like Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and many more fast daily
also this myth that fasting is not good for performance is flat out wrong. the best workouts you will ever have were while fasted thanks to boosted HGH and adrenaline. and fasting will result in greater performance over time.
is fasting great for strength? not in the short run no, but long term you can get stronger with fasting "strong body=strong mind"
but back to bodybuilding. here is the advice i give to top level guys who want to eat tons of protein and eat 8 meals a day. follow that diet but pick your spots to fast in between, it will greatly extend your life and give you a lot of benefits. something like i mentioned above. 24-48 hour fasts every 2-3 weeks and then 1 or 2 longer fasts a year. during that fast no supps, no steroids, no working out even.. just drink water. do that then go back to your excessive diets, steroid use, over training ,etc. you will actually boost performance long term and help your body bigtime. its a win/win/win
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