Intermittent Fasting Preventing Muscle Gains (Studies) | Jerry Brainum

On this week’s episode of the Escape Your Limits Podcast, Jerry Brainum is back by popular demand for a second interview. He has a distinguished background as a competitive bodybuilder who trained alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger during the 70s. Alongside achievements in bodybuilding, Jerry has over 30 years’ experience in researching and writing about all aspects of fitness. His remarkable career includes a 10-year stint as editor of Muscle and Fitness magazine, being an editor-at-large for Flex magazine plus 28 years as a regular contributor to Ironman magazine.
In our last interview, Jerry debunked the truth of steroids, bodybuilding, and the deadly effects of “safe supplements”.
Today, Jerry shares all about:
• Can intermittent fasting be beneficial to building muscle?
• Is intermittent fasting effective for weight loss?
• The potential long term health benefits of intermittent fasting
• Self-regulating AMPK and mTOR. How do the two interact and respond to cardio and resistance training?
• Age related muscle loss and its negative effect on mortality
• The science behind the term ‘muscle memory’ and why it’s harder to develop muscle in later life
To watch the full interview, click here: • Fasting, Supplements &...
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#fasting #intermittentfasting #weightloss #fastingformusclegrowth #fastingforweightloss #ampk #mtor #sarcopenia #musclememory

[@darth_pronator]

One data point. I’m a 54 y/o male. Low carb had gradually stopped working well for me. After 5 months of disciplined low carb and zero weight loss, I started a new program - monk fast (36 hour fast) just once every 10 days, and super low carb every other day (including no sugar alcohols), regular strength training and no cardio. I have lost 30 pounds in six weeks with minimal muscle loss. I think I am getting the benefits of fasting, but doing in infrequently enough that I’m not slowing my metabolism or losing muscle. If you feel like you are stuck at a weight and things that have worked before aren’t doing the trick, give it a shot!

[@lichtsoldat7697]

True, you're not going to get massive while intermittent fasting, but you will be way healthier! You can eliminate high blood pressure, lose a ton of unwanted weight, look better, have more energy. I even eliminated all my asthma symptoms! I have had asthma all my life and I have not touched an inhaler since starting OMAD dieting since 2015. So, there are lots of benefits of intermittent fasting and OMAD. Combine it with healthy food choices and you'll feel and look great!

[@pashagymlife977]

Your certainly can put on size, I do my 16/8 but I get everything in them 8 hours, 3000 calories easy, not all healthy but mostly. Works for me anyway, I'm 15 stone at the moment pretty big

[@cradohaps-bb5nd]

because eating is death. so u feel better when you dont. duh

[@sdfghgtrew]

Best way to lower blood pressure is to do cardio. And ofcourse not be fat.

[@johndoesha9599]

@@pashagymlife977 NOBODY got massive muscles eating just 3000 calories a day 🤣😭

[@pashagymlife977]

@johndoesha9599 depends on the person, for me 15 stone natural I'm fairly big. 3000 calories for me works. Nothing funny about it

[@hihi9674]

Jerry Brainum has been in the bodybuilding game for at least 50 years now, if not more. I can listen to this man all day long! Fantastic interview!! Subscribed.

[@000jole000]

Summary in Bullet Points: Initial studies showed that longer intermittent fasting could hinder muscle gains due to catabolic effects. Recent studies suggest shorter intermittent fasts may not significantly impact muscle gains with sufficient post-fast protein intake. Intermittent fasting has benefits for the immune system and overall health but may not be better for weight loss than traditional calorie counting. Balancing mTOR (muscle building) and AMPK (longevity-related) is essential for overall health and muscle maintenance. Resistance training is crucial for maintaining muscle mass, especially as people age. Satellite cells contribute to muscle memory and can be maintained through resistance exercise.

[@_N4VE_]

So what is a short fast considered. rn i do 16-18hrs is that too much that will hinder my muscle gains? I do muaythai/lift

[@zenfitnutrition8908]

I've been training since 1976 I am now 58 year old pro natty classic international champion still competing I'm very very knowledgeable with fitness nutrition bodybuilding physique sculpting strength tai Chi Qigong healing Chinese medicine and natural herb sports supplementation and I still enjoy listening to and "learning from Jerry " , thank you Jerry give the dog a hug for me hug your dogs today peoples . God Bless keep the Pump 58 Tony zen .

[@tommstanley6021]

I decided to comment here because I might have some personal information that could be of value to viewers in regard to the subject of fasting as it relates to your training. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I don’t really agree with what Jerry is saying here. That’s kind of weird, because I think Jerry has some of the best information available on just about anything he discusses, however there is ages-old research that demonstrates long-duration fasting will preserve muscle, not waste it away. Your body breaks down and uses other less important tissues for protein requirements until it gets down to about 3% bodyfat, then muscle catabolism becomes a concern. A few points to note before I get to the relevant information: • I’m a 59 year old male that has been training with varying degrees of commitment for most of my life since, I was about 14 years old. I’m 6’ 7”, weigh 106 kgs, have a 36-inch waist and an arm measurement of 15 ¼’ with the rest of me in typical proportion. I’m not a bodybuilder, but I’m in good shape. • Three years ago, I began to use an HIT protocol of a warm-up set followed by a single set to failure, 8 to 12 reps per set with 3 to 5-second negatives and rapid but controlled positives. I alternate between either one full-body workout per week, or a three-way split of Legs/Chest n Back/Arms n Shoulders. Sometimes I’ll make it two sets to failure and sometimes I’ll have periods where I train more frequently but for the most part, I stick to one set to failure, once a week and have been stunned by the consistent results. • I began doing regular periods of fasting about six years ago. I don’t do intermittent fasting, I do extended fasting and I do it several times a year. I only do water fasting and that means no food; only water, black tea or black coffee. • I find a three-day fast to be a nice, refreshing detox. Five days is a bit of a mental juggle but feels good to know you can do it. Ten days allows your body to initiate some internal healing and after about the fifth day, the hunger goes away, so it’s actually pretty easy. Sixteen or more days is mentally challenging for your friends (they’ll all be worried that your starving yourself to death) but will bring on some serious autophagy and other well-studied physiological processes of internal healing and rebuilding. Four years ago, I did a fast for 28 days but what’s relevant here is that in Dec 22/Jan 23, I did 24 days and I have workout details to show the impact. At the start of the recent 24-day fast, on December 26th, I weighed 114kgs. During the fast, I had many days of hard work on my steep, hilly farm but I also continued to workout, doing full body workouts, twice a week, three sets of 12/20/15 reps, working hard on the second set but not going to failure. • My next meal was on January 17th and I weighed 97.8 kgs. • My next proper workout was on January 21st and on literally every exercise, my working weights were reduced to what I had used pre-fast for the warm-up set, which is about 70% of my working set, so call it a 30% loss of strength and in most cases, for fewer reps. • By mid-February, some strength was coming back and isolation exercises like barbell curls, lateral raises and flyes were getting close to my pre-fast weights/reps but on all compound exercises like squat, bench press, deadlift and overhead press the weight stayed down, though the reps were increasing • In the first week of March, my body weight was back up to 105 kgs and a couple weeks later stabilised at 106 kgs. • The next workout where my weights and reps were comparable to the pre-fast numbers was on May 14th. It took five months to get back to where I was when I started the fast and each workout since has resulted in gains so now, in mid-June, I’m a bit ahead of where I was on December 25th. One more point worth noting is that when I do three, five or ten-day fasts, it has no impact on my workouts. I would encourage people to not be too concerned about catabolism having a lasting effect because during the fast, your body will preserve muscle and after the fast it uses stem cells and other processes to rebuild itself. You can do your own research into what I’m saying and decide for yourself, but I thought it would be useful for people to learn what to expect and how long it might take to get back the strength they could lose during a fast, from an experienced lifter who’s actually done this.

[@powerandpresence5290]

I have tried doing workouts when fasting, but it absolutely devastated me. I was so exhausted by the third day I could barely walk a few hundred metres. In recent fasts I have avoided workouts, and I have not had that problem.

[@LTPottenger]

That's interesting. When I try to work out on longer fast then I lose strength if I don't eat after the workout. But maybe I need to adjust something in my workout style.

[@tommstanley6021]

@Anthony Lol ... not really, I used an actual tape measure to get that number, not the imaginary one typically found in gyms 😅 Also, as mentioned, I'm not a bodybuilder and I'm 59 years old. They were close to 17 when I was younger but as Jerry points out a few times here about aging processes, time does this to us, whether we like it or not. I still have nice shape on the tri's and good fullness and peak on the bi's. I'm happy with them.

[@tommstanley6021]

@@LTPottenger For about 20 years, I've eaten with a 'carb avoidance' kind of diet, not actually counting but say 100 grams max per day, so my body will be accustomed to to reaching for fat for energy. That would help with general energy levels but muscle contractions are powered by glucose, so I'm not sure if that could account for why I don't feel low on strength when working out on a 3 to 10-day fast.

[@TomCapel-il7of]

@tommstanley6021 Is that 1 set to failure per body part or 1 set to failure on say 3 exercises per body part ,with the slow eccentric phase ?

[@markwhite6782]

I'm no expert in anything. All I have to offer is a data point, my data point. I was 59 years old, short, 5'5" (also ugly but that doesn't matter) 191 pounds with high blood pressure, high triglycerides, asthma, arthitis, fatty liver disease and low energy. I knew nothing about diet and nutrition and every appointment to my PCP ended in yet another pill to take for my symptoms. In the process of being fired from my job of over 35 years for refusing an experimental vaccine I was at a low point. Well, look forward to retirement and wait around to die right? Being forced to wear a mask at work while others didn't, walking through different doors entering the building or being unauthorized to drive a company car set me apart as a leper. I had had enough and I decided I was going to get healthy. I was determined because hate was my motivator. Hate is a very strong motivator and I hated what they were doing to me so I went to youtube and I was shocked to say the least at what I learned. I dropped all soft drinks and sugars, went on a low carb diet and intermittent fast on a 16:8 schedule. About 10 days later I couldn't tell anything until I went to the scales and was 7 pounds lighter. All excited and pumped up I immediately went to an 18:6 schedule and started resistance training. The 18:6 did something to me that made me able to start prolonged fasting. First a 24 followed by a 36 a week later. During this time I was weighing daily watching the pounds come off and starting to see muscle tone. I now do a 4 day fast once every 2 months and am still on an 18:6 IF schedule unless of some special occasion like the grandkids B-Day parties I no longer eat sweets. Again, your milage may vary but I'm on month 25 now, 46 pounds lighter and best of all I take no pills anymore. I have blood pressure readings of 125/70 and blood work every 6 months that show low triglycerides and all numbers good. My asthma I was taking medicine for was nothing more then visceral fat crowding my lungs out and I can once again run without wheezing. Turning 61 next month and I again feel 20 ALL BECAUSE OF DIET AND EXERCISE and to add I won my case and got to keep my job so life is once again good. I would have never imagined this but COVID saved my life.

[@RoidfreeSenior]

I used to be worried that intermittent fasting would cause strength & muscle loss, but having been practicing recently have learned this is not true

[@ericwillingham6956]

Agreed

[@arodderz]

Yup, as long as we're getting the calories, it still works as a muscle builder, albeit maybe not as efficient as a regular diet

[@cal82252]

Jerry's knowledge is amazing!

[@CashewsClayy]

Jerry always has great info to share .

[@DanWokoun]

started IF and working out with kettlebells 3 years ago. I'm 5'10 and went from 320 lbs to 195lbs. I can hit a golf ball a mile but not always straight lol. I have experienced nubie gains and have built good strength doing IF. I can't imagine going back to what I was doing. cool content

[@ABC-48483]

My favorite guest man I love this Guy

[@HaMashiachSaves]

Exactly! You do not lose muscle intermittent fasting. In fact, if you supplement with Leucine during the fasting window, anabolism continues 🤓

[@phoenixrisin2269]

“Leucine must be a hell of a drug”~ Rick James

[@anonperson3972]

I do intermittent fasting, and although I'm by no means massive. I am a natty lifter weighing 210lbs. I havc also measured my levels and find I can enter ketosis in the morning. I like to stay in ketosis during the week for work and then fill my glycogen stores up on the weekend. I found doing low carb and fasting all the time lowered my performance. But eating carbs q couple of days a week works well

[@bobz4968]

Jerry is uncanny in his depth of knowledge

[@bobz4968]

@Anthony pretty funny! He would be better served to lean out. Yet some of the greatest coaches look like crap. He does have science to back up his bro-knowledge. I’m surprised. He had to devote himself to learning in order to get the details right.

[@Steve-hh9gs4yo2i]

Jerry has the greatest last name!🧠

[@jaydickey1049]

Love to see a list of things you can use to raise AMPK in addition to green tea and curcumin. Thanks.

[@gothops2632]

Jerry looks like he's been living at the canteen! 😄

[@mikevaldez7684]

@zman3918 He's fat

[@davidcoomber4050]

See how you look when you get in your 80s

[@davidcoomber4050]

To isolate any diet with regard to one issue of health is ridiculous, fasting cleans out dead matter from the body like a oil change making every aspect of health and fitness better. Building muscle isn’t the only goal , if it is take juice and be the biggest body in the graveyard

[@user-om4be5yc3z]

Great but requires deeper information RE mTOR /Ampk balance. Thanks

[@alienautopsy9326]

Jerry’s the man

[@TINKYSTEELE]

Jerry and Mike mentzer were scientists in another life lol

[@Jessica-tz3wb]

I have been doing 16-8 intermittent since begining of the year, I do exercise 4-5 times a week, boxing, HIIT, not really weight lighting though, in the begining, I didn't count calories, I was doing exactly what Jerry said, overload food in the eating window, lol, so I was not able to lose any weight. only able to maintain my weight. then I started to count calories and continued the 16-8 fast, and I was finally able to lose 3 kgs in 4 months. (I started with 59kg.) For me, I found fasting without weight lifting really doesn't help muscle building, I actually gained 1% fat percentage, although I lost 3kg.

[@nustuffout]

Love this guy

[@zbite4625]

So cardio increases AMPK, is HIIT going to do so?

[@pepsastomna7758]

Older studies show a maximum of 50 g protein absorbed per meal. Even lower values depending on the person. How in the hell would one meet a 120-150 g protein goal if he fasts on 2 meals or less ? There are simply no notable bodybuilders in their competing age doing fasting. Not sure why you guys keep spouting this shit about muscle gains during fasting. Yes, once you age it is a very good choice, but for competitors and people struggling to build muscle - it would be a dead end diet.

[@jonathanmcguvey9408]

We evolved to take in large quantities of food at one time, for example after a successful hunt. We are made to fast if our circumstances require it, and then fill up with a lot of nutrients when we find food. The gut can absorb ~20g of protein per hour. Team 3D alpha on KZbin has good videos discussing this protein synthesis as it relates to diet. Timing of meals and protein intake doesn’t matter very significantly. If you eat 200g protein in 1 sitting, your body will proceed to absorb the majority of it. You might lose a small amount compared to eating 10 meals of 20g each, but it won’t make a big difference. It’s very easy to eat 120g protein in 2 meals. It’s not that much chicken or steak. Most bodybuilders don’t do fasting because they require a much higher amount of calories than is needed for non-competitive people. The volume is just higher as they’re pushing the limits of human size

[@pepsastomna7758]

@@jonathanmcguvey9408 It's not calories mainly for bodybuilders. They do not grow properly on omad or 2 meals a day. The whole concept of 1 meal a day is based on hunter gatherers, but they never had the level of vanity modern working out people do. It's not feasible the same way. Those guys were never building big muscles the way we do.

[@christianjon8064]

So you want to do a lot of cardio in the beginning of a fast and that’s gonna deplete glycogen stores and kick you right into ketogenesis and autophagy

[@igorkusnirik635]

absolutely right.

[@Kainthemain]

I think you just need too have a balanced diet

[@HitlerlandBoi]

15:56 obtain as much muscle as you get older

[@brucelee_nsx6348]

What if your workouts are already aerobic? My workouts are intense and I’m always sweating and out of breath. Do you think it’s a good balance of MTOR and AMPK for my type of workout? My physique is considered somewhat between bodybuilding and body sculpting. I’m 60 years old 5’7” 160 pounds and 10% body fat by choice. I don’t see the need to be shredded.

[@christianjon8064]

Pretty sure 10% is totally peeled and shredded

[@anthonyortiz7924]

@@christianjon8064 That would be 4-5%

[@dinosaurmuscles4534]

If you do a Carnivore Diet, you don't have the glycogen issues, and as such, the 16 -18 hour daily is extremely beneficial.

[@dinosaurmuscles4534]

@@heatherdombroski9398 That is 100% incorrect. In fact, it is the best diet for the heart. You have been lied to by Big Food and Big Pharma for decades. They have gotten rich off of your ill health and you have never bothered to open your eyes. The lower the red meat in diets over time, the higher the incidents of heart disease. Do some actual research and get your face out of the TV Kellogs commercials.

[@MarzMindset]

Fasting helps the gut. Just look at Jerrys Gut, says it all.

[@backfru]

So not eating, for extended periods, doesn't increase muscle growth? Shocking

[@osamaabdelfattah5469]

Gynostemma, good herb to activate AMPK

[@rampar77]

I don't think any one wanted to build muscles is interested in any fasting or cardio.

[@annamariou1395]

Fasting with low carbs.

[@waragainstavg]

I don’t think those doing IF are looking for muscle gain

[@holmes426]

Are you kidding me? That man doesn't look like the one who applies fasting 😂

[@georgemoonman2830]

Whose taking health advice from the guy wearing a blue tent

[@KennethLeeAtLGA]

It always amazes me a person with this much knowledge looks so bad..stay away from high glucose foods and eat more red meat and berberine

[@fgk9397]

Who looks bad?

[@KennethLeeAtLGA]

@@fgk9397 left side in blue

[@michaeljohnson2922]

Man boobs. My wife does those Ironman triathlons. I’m always amazed how many people are 70+ years old and look and move like they are 40. They eat mostly vegetables and heavy carbs and just a little bit of meat

[@KennethLeeAtLGA]

@@michaeljohnson2922 do you know who Dr. Chaffee is? Real winner!

[@gavinmontague7170]

That should tell you that low carb diets are complete frauds and that’s carbs don’t make you fat that’s why people in Asia living on rice based diets are always trim and when they move over to America and eat less rice and more meat and dairy they become just as fat and sick as typical Americans.

[@kurtfranklin2680]

This guy doesn’t look like he’s African more than 20 minutes without a meal

[@paulrush4545]

ok, this guy looks or a lot like " lance Armstrong "

[@hrod9393]

The natural increase in MTOR as we age could be evolution's attempt to retain more muscle and immune system as we age ? I think the rapamycin is a possible good supplement, just to lower MTOR to keep balance, not to shut it totally down.

[@LilH3llKAT]

Subscribedddddddd

[@davidnorman5488]

Why take health advice from an obvious out of shape source?

[@davidcoomber4050]

Because he is in his 80s has done everything there is to do in body building including winning Mr Universe , is the most respected source of advice on the net and knows more than most doctors. When you get to 80 perhaps you might understand bro , every pro body builder at Golds Gym asks Jerry for advice because he isn’t working for a company selling shit like most of the health gurus on social media

[@RTC1655]

whoosh

[@vanessamartins2437]

​@@davidcoomber4050agree. Also is like saying a fat cardiologist is necessarily incompetent in treating patients. Just discriminatory nonsense

[@holmes426]

2.50 exactly. That's why intermittent fasting doesn't make sense.

[@STrader251]

Love the interviewee. Very knowledgable. The interviewer is absolutely terrible. Literally no personality and has to read off notes.

[@wii7876]

Yes he tried but stumbled a lot with trying to get a sentence or question out in a coherent timely manner. After a while his skills will improve so give him time, he is obviously new and is nervous and inexperienced. Interviewer please watch it back and see where you could improve, more concise and succinct possibly? Keep going and don't give up, you will succeed!

[@AndyL940]

There is evidence of caloric restriction extending average life .. Japanese studies have shown this