In the shared kitchen of the TOUR and BIKE magazine editorial offices, abstinence is the order of the day: herbal tea or vegetable broth; the oven and fridge are - almost - empty. On some days there is nothing on the plate except pills and capsules, and powder dissolved in water to drink. What's going on? We are fasting - and still want to continue exercising. We have chosen three different methods for fasting: classic (therapeutic) fasting, sports fasting and intermittent fasting.
Our fasting cure test subject, Stefan Frey from sister magazine BIKE, followed the basic principles of the Buchinger fast as a short cure for healthy people. He completely abstained from solid food for five days and did about an hour of moderate exercise a day - including cycling to work.
Sports fasting is a modified, to a certain extent intensified form of therapeutic fasting. The trend is currently spilling over from the Netherlands to Germany, and adds exercise close to the anaerobic threshold to fasting: TOUR editor Matthias Borchers volunteered to be a test subject.
Another colleague, fitness editor Björn Kafka from BIKE, has been experimenting with intermittent fasting for some time anyway: with this method, you don't eat anything for a longer period of time every day - usually 16 hours. You are allowed a few carbohydrates directly around training.
Which method will be the best in the end? Or the worst? Is it even possible to exert yourself without falling off the bike?
You can read the conclusion in the PDF download below.
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