Intermittent fasting has become a popular method for athletes to help manage body weight. Additionally, athletes with early morning athletic practice often omit breakfast and arrive in a fasted state. It is unclear how fasting impacts performance in softball players. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate anaerobic performance in NAIA Softball players following an overnight fast. METHODS: Eight NAIA female softball players participated in this randomized cross-over study. Athletes were on the active roster at Our Lady of the Lake University. Athletes were 20.7 ± 0.5 years old, 163.1 ± 2.1 cm tall, 151.5 ± 10.0 lb. After subjects signed an informed consent, body composition was analyzed using bioelectrical impedance analysis (24.8±2.2% body fat). Subjects were randomized to a fed or fasted condition. If fed, subjects were asked to eat within 2 hours of testing. If fasted, athletes were asked to eat between 12:00pm and 8:00pm the day before testing and to refrain from eating the morning of testing. Athletes arrived at the lab between 6:00am and 8:00am. All subjects were led through a standardized dynamic warm-up. After, subjects completed one modified YMCA Bench Press test (using a 45lb bar). After, subjects completed a 100m shuttle run and three trials of a 120ft sprint (1 minute recovery, best time used). Subjects were then led through a standardized cool-down. Subjects repeated the battery of tests in the other condition at least 48 hours later. Data is presented as means±SE. Paired-sample t-tests were used to determine significance between conditions. Significance was defined as
