Long-distance triathlon glossary·Fasted

Fasted training : low-glycogen sessions

Load

Session performed in the morning without prior carbohydrate intake to improve fat oxidation.

Fasted training means exercising in the morning without breakfast, or after a low-carb evening, to force the body to prioritise fat oxidation. Reserved for short Z1-Z2 sessions under 90 minutes: beyond that or at high intensity, performance drops and muscle catabolism rises. Effective in base phase to improve fat utilisation at Ironman pace.

In TriPaced:

In TriPaced, some short Z1-Z2 sessions are tagged 'fasted OK' in session notes. A long session or interval workout will never be planned fasted: the plan flags this explicitly.

Related terms

  • TSS : Training Stress Score
  • CTL : Chronic Training Load (fitness)
  • ATL : Acute Training Load (fatigue)
  • TSB : Training Stress Balance (freshness)
  • Sweet spot : the efficiency zone
  • Threshold : the upper sustainable limit