A ketogenic diet has been rapidly gaining traction as a diet which generates significant fat loss. Until recently, it has been thought that ketogenic diets, while great for fat loss, significantly reduced the capacity for performance. Dr. Jacob Wilson has more recently been a proponent of the diet, along with Dr. Jeffrey Volek. Together they collaborated on a study examining a keto diet on strength and power in resistance trained males.
Study: Examined 25 resistance trained males with an average squat of 1.56 times body weight. 13 (n=13)in the keto group and (n=12) in the western diet group. The groups were accommodated to their diets for 2 weeks (which is the time research has generally shown for individuals to become keto-adapted), and then began the resistance training protocol in week 3. The keto group was verified to be in ketosis via bloodwork. Keto diet was 75% from fat, 5% from carbs, and 20% from protein. Western diet was 55% carbs, 20% protein, and 25% from fat. A carb re-feed was given to the keto group between weeks 10-11 to avoid error in the dexa body comp measurements.
Results: Lean body mass significantly increased in both groups with no differences between groups. The keto group significantly increased lean mass from weeks 10-11 during the re-feed, with no change in the western diet. Additionally, over the course of the study, the keto group made significantly greater gains in lean mass: “. An absolute delta analysis revealed that LBM changes between weeks 1-11 and 10-11 were significantly greater in the KD when compared to the WD group (p<0.007) ” (Wilson, Lowery, Roberts, Sharp, Joy, Shields… D’Agostino, 2017). Muscle thickness also significantly increased in the keto diet. No significant differences in strength or peak power were found. The authors did note an improved testosterone level in the keto group, which increased 118 ng/dl while the western diet decreased 36 ng/dl.
Conclusion: The authors contribute the gains in LBM partially due to increased glycogen content during the re-feed with additional storage of water (which is common during a spike in carbs). Therefore, it appears as if a keto diet is a viable diet for strength/resistance training athletes, although it may not have any benefits over traditional dieting.
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