Keto Workouts: Can I Retain Muscle?

The ketogenic diet is a very low-carb, high-fat, moderate-protein diet that is often used for weight loss. While it has been linked to various health benefits, its effect on athletic performance remains controversial. Some claim that keto can boost fat-burning and enhance endurance, while others argue that it could drain energy levels and make muscle growth more challenging.

So, can you work out on keto without losing muscle? The answer is yes, but it may be more challenging than following a traditional high-carb diet. Here's why:

First, the keto diet restricts carbohydrates, which are the body's main source of energy. This can lead to decreased energy levels, especially during high-intensity workouts. While the body can use fat as an alternative source of energy, it is not as easily burned as carbohydrates, resulting in less efficient fuel for the body.

Second, muscle growth requires a good amount of protein, which may be limited on a keto diet. Protein is necessary to promote muscle synthesis and tissue repair, and restricting protein intake can hinder muscle growth. Additionally, keto diets are often low in calories, making it more difficult to consume enough protein to build muscle mass.

However, it is important to note that some studies have shown that it is possible to build muscle on a keto diet. By ensuring adequate protein intake, incorporating strength training, and making other adjustments, individuals may be able to successfully build and maintain muscle while following a keto diet.

Eat enough protein

Protein is a crucial macronutrient for building and maintaining muscle mass. It is the building block of muscles, and a sufficient intake provides your body with the amino acids necessary for muscle synthesis and repair.

When following a ketogenic diet, it is important to ensure you are consuming adequate protein to support muscle growth, especially if you are engaging in strength training or resistance training. The recommended protein intake for building muscle is typically between 0.7 to 0.9 grams per pound of body weight, or 1.6 to 2.0 grams per kilogram. However, some bodybuilders and competitive athletes may benefit from consuming up to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

To determine your ideal protein intake, you can use a macro calculator, taking into account your weight, height, lifestyle, sex, and activity levels. It is also important to note that you may need to increase your protein intake if you are engaging in intense workouts or strength training.

• Game meats (venison, elk, bison, duck, etc.)
• Chicken
• Eggs
• Fish and seafood
• Nuts

Additionally, protein supplements such as whey or casein protein can be a convenient way to increase your protein intake and ensure you are meeting your daily target.

By consuming enough protein, you provide your body with the necessary building blocks for muscle growth and repair, which is essential for maximizing muscle development while following a ketogenic diet.

Don't cut carbs completely

While the keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein diet, it is not necessary to cut out carbs completely. In fact, doing so may be detrimental to your health and fitness goals. Here are some reasons why you shouldn't cut carbs completely when following a keto diet:

Avoid Nutritional Deficiencies

Carbs are a basic nutrient that the body turns into glucose (blood sugar) for energy. Cutting carbs too drastically can lead to nutritional deficiencies and side effects such as "keto flu," brain fog, constipation, and mood changes. Some people may also experience more serious side effects like stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting. To avoid these issues, it's important to still include some carbs in your diet.

Maintain Energy Levels

Carbs are the body's main source of energy, especially for high-intensity activities. Cutting carbs completely can lead to decreased energy levels, making it more challenging to perform high-intensity workouts. This is because fat, which the body relies on for fuel during keto, is not as easily burned as carbohydrates. By including some carbs in your diet, you can help maintain your energy levels and athletic performance.

Support Muscle Growth

Muscle growth requires a good amount of protein, and while the keto diet may not restrict protein intake, it is often low in calories, making it more difficult to consume enough protein to build muscle mass. Additionally, the body uses carbohydrates stored in the muscles as fuel for high-intensity exercises. By including some carbs in your diet, you can support muscle growth and improve your performance during intense workouts.

Prevent Deprivation and Cravings

Feeling deprived and experiencing cravings are common when following a restrictive diet like keto. Allowing yourself to have some carbs can help prevent these feelings and reduce the risk of overeating or giving into temptations. It's important to be mindful of your carb intake and choose high-quality carbs that fit within your keto macros.

Improve Overall Health

While keto can have weight loss benefits, it is not always the best option for overall health and well-being. Most nutritionists do not recommend the keto diet as it is considered too restrictive and nutritionally incomplete. By including some carbs in your diet, you can improve your overall health and ensure you're getting a variety of nutrients that your body needs.

Get enough calories

To build muscle on keto, it's important to ensure you're consuming enough calories. This means eating at a maintenance level or at a surplus to promote muscle growth. Use a macro calculator to calculate your calorie needs, and consider adding a custom calorie surplus. A good starting point is a 10% surplus.

It can be challenging to eat enough on keto, as the low-carb, high-fat diet is very filling. However, as long as you're hitting your protein goal, you can add extra fat to increase your calorie intake.

To build muscle, you need to be eating more calories than you burn. The number of calories you need to consume will depend on factors such as your weight, height, lifestyle, sex, and activity levels. First, determine your maintenance calories by weighing yourself at least three times a week and recording your food intake over the week using a calorie-tracking app. If your weight stays the same, that is roughly your maintenance calories.

When trying to build muscle, it's recommended to increase your calorie intake by 15% above your maintenance calories. For example, if your maintenance calories are 2,000 per day, you should aim for 2,300 calories per day to build muscle. As you build muscle, adjust your calorie intake once a month to account for changes in your weight.

Additionally, it's recommended to gain no more than 0.25-0.5% of your body weight per week to prevent accumulating too much fat. This means that, in addition to getting enough calories, you need to ensure those calories are coming from the right sources.

Incorporate strength training

Incorporating strength training into your fitness routine while on a keto diet is a great way to improve your overall fitness and bone health, as well as boost your mood.

To build muscle on a keto diet, it is recommended to consume an adequate amount of protein, as it is the building block of muscles. Most studies suggest that eating 0.7–0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight is ideal for building muscle. However, some are concerned about consuming too much protein, as it could encourage the body to use gluconeogenesis, a process in which amino acids are converted from protein into sugar, which could stop the body from making ketones. Nevertheless, studies have shown that people can safely consume around 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight and stay in ketosis.

In addition to consuming enough protein, it is important to train correctly. This involves promoting hypertrophy in your muscles by lifting weights, such as free weights, machine weights, or body weight.

If you are looking to add muscle mass, it is also crucial to eat more calories than your body needs, and these should come from fats in a ketogenic diet. This is because building muscle requires a calorie surplus.

Furthermore, you can time your protein intake to maximize its benefits. While nutrient timing provides minimal results for regular trainers, it is still important to fulfill your daily nutrient needs. However, it is best to avoid consuming large amounts of protein in a single sitting, as this can bring you out of ketosis. Instead, break up your protein intake evenly throughout your daily meals.

By following these guidelines and incorporating strength training into your keto diet, you can effectively build and maintain muscle mass while reaping the benefits of the ketogenic diet.

Prioritise rest and recovery

Rest and recovery are essential to achieving your fitness goals. Training hard without allowing your body to rest and recover can be counterproductive for your health and performance. Rest and recovery are when your body repairs your muscle tissue and prepares you for your next workout.

Typically, a muscle group needs about 24-48 hours of rest to repair and rebuild after a training session. If your exercise program involves high levels of volume or intensity, it can take even longer.

Active Recovery

Active recovery is low-intensity physical activity that helps you recover from training. Walking, yoga, light aerobic exercise, and mobility drills are some examples of active recovery. Aim to reduce soreness and improve the clearance of exercise byproducts by targeting the same muscle group you last exercised.

One advantage of active recovery is that it reduces your insulin levels and increases fat-burning compared to passive rest. However, remember to still take a day or two of full rest each week for optimal recovery.

Rest Days

It's important to schedule at least one or two days of full rest each week. Even elite athletes benefit from time off. If you're feeling fatigued, a week off from your usual routine may be necessary to allow your body to reset.

Sleep

Sleep is a crucial part of the recovery process. Aim for eight to ten hours of sleep each night, especially if you're working out regularly. Sleep deprivation adversely affects your fitness, but naps, extended sleep periods, and better sleep practices can improve your performance.

Stress Management

Excessive stress can hinder your recovery. Try to minimise life stressors and practice stress management techniques like deep breathing, mindfulness meditation, and yoga to lower your cortisol levels and improve your recovery.

Periodization

Periodization is a strategy for structuring your training methods, volume, and intensity over time to align with your long-term goals. For example, if you want to improve your squats, you can use undulating periodization for eight weeks or longer:

• Week 1: Warm up, then perform 3 sets of 8 squats (moderate weight)
• Week 2: Warm up, then perform 3 sets of 5 squats (heavier weight)
• Week 3: Warm up, then perform 5 sets of 3 squats (even heavier weight)
• Week 4: Warm up, then perform 3 sets of 10-15 squats (deload with easy weight)

Repeat this process for the second month, with additional weight.

Deloading

Deloading is a planned period, usually a week, where you reduce the intensity or volume of your workouts. For example, if you're lifting weights, you can do the same number of reps with reduced weight. Include a deload week once every four to 12 weeks to improve your recovery and performance.

Stretching

Stretching can help you relax, reduce soreness, and speed up your recovery. Low-intensity static stretching after exercise increases the activity of your parasympathetic nervous system, helping you attain a restful state. It can also reduce muscle soreness and inflammation.

Dynamic stretching, which involves moving your joints actively through a range of motion, offers similar benefits without adversely affecting your performance. Perform dynamic stretches before or after your workouts to prevent injuries, enhance performance, and speed up recovery.

Massage

Massage is another effective way to address muscle soreness and inflammation. Research shows that self-myofascial release (SMR), a form of self-massage, may be more effective than static stretching, dynamic stretching, and sports massage for improving mobility, mitigating muscle soreness, and speeding up recovery.

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