Hi there,
I’m wondering how deep into bonking territory it makes sense to go during my fasted training sessions. I generally hold up pretty well for about 2 hours just below my AeT in a fasted state and then start to get some pretty significant light headedness, weakness, trouble concentrating, etc. On longer sessions I’ll usually bring an energy bar and eat it when I start to crash, and then I’ll continue on for the duration of the session. I do that because it’s more comfortable, and it seems to be what you all suggest for a fasted protocol. That said I’m wondering if I would get additional fat adaptation benefit for pushing onwards in that bonking state. I’m pretty well attuned to my body and I know I’m not at the point of collapse or passing out or anything, and I don’t really mind training through discomfort, especially in a controlled gym setting. But I also know that in many arenas of training it’s counterproductive to train right up against one’s limit (can invite overtraining, can invite unwanted hypertrophy in strength training, etc.). So would continuing on in a fasted state when I’ve started to bonk help me improve my fat adaptation, or would it actually undermine some element of my training?
As an aside, I moved to a city without access to hills several months ago, so my uphill training has been on a treadmill (thankfully the local Y has a couple of machines that go up to a 30% incline). I’ve noticed that I seem to bonk faster on the treadmill than in the hills. I usually feel pretty similar after 2 hours climbing on the treadmill as I would after 3 hours climbing in the mountains. The only explanation I can think of this is boredom inside vs endorphins outside, but it’s a pretty marked difference.
