Nutrition
Here's a quick summary:
- The ultimate Paleo diet for strength athletes is a diet based on the caveman diet, with a few starchy carbs and exercise nutrition thrown in to support training with weights.
- There is no such thing as essential carbohydrates, but tell that to someone who combines large amounts of anaerobic training with a no-carb diet and whose chimes have been lifeless for a year.
- The pathway of anaerobic energy production runs on glucose/carbohydrates. High-intensity muscle contractions require glucose.
- The true value of a nutritional approach based on the diet of our ancestors is what that approach removes from the average person's diet.
Let's make it simple. The optimal nutritional approach for a combination of health, performance and improved body development is to follow a caveman diet - animal protein and vegetables, no junk - with the inclusion of a few select starchy carbohydrates and appropriate training nutrition to support a workout with weights - that's it.
It's a "pimping" of the classic "don't eat junk, match the macronutrients to the demands of your sport" nutrition plan. And even though this is slowly becoming a mainstream approach, as evidenced by the legions of new Paleo converts pondering whether a caveman had access to rice crackers or quinoa, the dust has far from settled. Many office workers still follow a high-carb diet that would be better suited for athletes, and many strength athletes follow a no-carb diet that would be better suited for sedentary populations.
The principle of specificity has been lost in the insistence on dogma and people are confused across the board.
Paleo musings
What has been lost in all this intellectual talk and academic posturing is what should be the true goal of any educator - to give people simple, effective, actionable strategies that will help them produce results in the real world.
So let's leave it to the gurus to argue this out for the purpose of nutritional supremacy. You should focus on finding the most effective way for your individual situation and goals.
The Paleo way
The caveman theme is simple. It works for virtually anyone from the advanced athlete who has been overloaded with information by the fitness industry to the complete beginner who doesn't know much about nutrition (or doesn't care much about nutrition) and needs a simple approach to get started.
Paleo simplifies the overly complicated and gives people workable steps rather than hopelessly overwhelming them with lofty scientific debates. Ditch processed junk and eat more plants and animals. I'd wager that for 90% of people that removes 90% of all doubt.
Paleo sh...t on the "health industry" that thrives on uninformed consumers. Organic junk is still junk. Gluten-free junk is still junk. Gluten-free organic cookies are still cookies and are not good for your health or your body composition goals. Wild salmon and spinach are also gluten-free.
But in some elite athletic or academic circles, you may not even mention words like "paleo" or "caveman". If you did, it would make you seem less innovative or advanced and guaranteed not to give you access to V.I.P parties where everyone gets off on their own qualifications. So we have flowery language, unnecessarily technical dietary strategies and an obsession with unimportant details. Are you no longer interested in getting things done?
While the science underlying such complicated approaches is mind-bogglingly complex and could take a lifetime to master, the most effective nutrition and exercise programs are often also the simplest.
Stop cramming junk into yourself
Take it from someone who has worked with clients of all ages and former athletes who have wreaked havoc on their bodies with uninformed and extreme methods: the cumulative effect of your diet over the course of your life is what really matters - not some 10 week window of time. Serge Nubret once said "Every disease comes from food". I believe that genetics and environment also play a role, but food is the part you can control.
If we leave out the theory, marketing material, endless discussions with studies and counter studies and pointing to that one genetically blessed guy who gets away with it, then you can't tell me that if you take a step back and just use your common sense that you think that stuffing junk into you every day can be good for your long term health.
There are many athletes who look good on the outside but are wrecks on the inside. They are extremely unhealthy and struggle with side effects such as insomnia, depression, increased risk of disease, metabolic damage and digestive problems.
Whether you like it or not, choosing the right foods is important for optimizing your overall health. If you want to keep eating pizza and cake every day, of course you can.
Low carb is for couch potatoes
The Paleo approach is certainly not the only way, and it's definitely not the only method I use, but it is effective for certain populations.
A sedentary person doesn't exercise and certainly won't deplete their muscle glycogen stores (300 to 500 grams), so they don't need to worry about replenishing them on a daily basis. Carbohydrate-rich diets (300 grams or more per day) are more appropriate for athletes and regular exercisers who go through a cyclical depletion and replenishment of their muscle glycogen stores.
Inactive people need only worry about consuming sufficient amounts of carbohydrates to keep their liver glycogen stores adequately replenished, which regulate normal blood sugar levels and provide energy to the brain and nervous system. This can be achieved with about 100 grams of carbohydrates per day. You don't need to remember any of this - just remember that athletes can cope with more carbohydrates than people with an office job.
That's why scientific research shows that lower-carb, caveman dietary approaches may be the best approach for improving body composition and biomarkers of health for overweight, insulin-resistant and sedentary people.
The bottom line
If you are severely overweight, insulin resistant and/or sedentary, then a Paleo style diet may be the best approach for you at this time. Maintain a calorie deficit, eat adequate amounts of protein, consume about 100 grams of carbohydrates in the form of vegetables and fruit and consume your remaining calories in the form of healthy fats.
Where all the sectarian fanatics go wrong
Let's talk about the Paleo diet in terms of its generally accepted, well-known version - the low-carb, high-protein, high-fat version (eat animal protein, non-starchy vegetables, fruits and healthy fats).
There is no "one" Paleo diet and the food choices and percentage distribution of macronutrients vary depending on the time and region under consideration (Inuit vs. Kitavan, etc.). I know this isn't fair to the Paleo movement, but this article is about simplifying things, giving people applicable strategies, and explaining them in terms they know.
Specificity matters
The problems start when a nutritional approach becomes a pseudo-religious cult - fanatical teachers preach it as the only way with no possible modifications based on individual goals, hardcore followers condemn all other methods, brainwashed students who may stunt their progress or harm themselves by following the teachings of an inflexible system spread the fear that if a starchy carbohydrate ever touches your lips, the wrath of the four winds will destroy your village.
You will never convince me that a 150 kilo, obese, insulin resistant, sedentary office worker trying to save his life should eat the same as an athlete trying to achieve maximum performance. But that's exactly what you must believe if you dogmatically follow one of those "one size fits all" systems.
The true value of a caveman approach to nutrition is in what it removes from the average person's diet - high fructose corn syrup and table sugar, trans fats, unhealthy oils - and not in a religious adherence to the one specific macronutrient distribution scheme regardless of individual activity levels, metabolic state or goals.
Why? Because 100% Paleo (as it is usually defined) simply does not address the differences in individual activity levels, individual metabolic factors, overall health, and the differences between average citizens and elite athletes.
Starchy carbohydrates and avoiding the "skinny-fat" syndrome
Animals and plants provide us with the essential amino acids, essential fatty acids and macronutrients we need to survive and function normally. Everything else is about providing us with the energy we need for our daily activities.
"Added fat" is a source of energy and not an essential nutrient. This can be a good or bad thing depending on your overall calorie needs and goals, the type and amount of training you do, and the composition of the rest of your diet. A healthy and active human body is adaptable and can cope well with both.
Low carbohydrate diets are well suited for certain populations - sedentary, insulin resistant, etc. - and should be the default diet for probably 70% of our population.
However, exercise generates a unique metabolic environment - an altered physiological state - and changes the way your body processes nutrients both during activities and up to 48 hours after a training session. If you train intensively three or more days a week, your body will be in recovery mode virtually 100% of the time. It is in an altered state 100% of the time and its nutritional needs are completely different from those of an idle couch potato.
In a sports nutrition context, carbohydrates are therefore considered essential. I know there is no such thing as essential carbs, but tell that to the guy who combines large amounts of anaerobic training with zero carbs and whose junk has been lifeless for a year, or the gal whose thyroid hormone levels and metabolism are shot.
I believe that starchy carbohydrate consumption should be directly related to high-intensity, glycogen-burning activity levels. Fats should be regulated up or down accordingly so that you stay within your required calorie levels. If the training is different, then the diet should be different. This is simply common sense that goes beyond dogmatic creeds.
The anaerobic energy pathway runs on glucose/carbohydrates. It cannot use fats or ketones. While the body can use fatty acids for energy at rest (and the brain can use ketones) and even those who only train in the aerobic zone can adapt to fat as an energy source, intense muscle contractions require glucose.
Therefore, chronic carbohydrate deprivation combined with anaerobic training can impair performance and eventually lead to muscle wasting - the skinny-fat syndrome, i.e. you're thin but still flabby. The body will break down amino acids as a reserve energy source to get the glucose it needs for high-intensity activity. You know how it's said that fats and ketones protect muscles better than carbohydrates? Not necessarily when anaerobic training is involved.
And low-carb diets with consistent high-intensity activity can come with a host of metabolic, hormonal and physiological drawbacks, which can include impaired thyroid hormone production, low testosterone levels and sex drive, a reduction in metabolic rate, muscle breakdown, skinny-fat syndrome, insomnia, depression, irritability and reduced immune function.
For those who fear carbohydrates during their fat loss phases, remember that total calories are still the most important factor. If you train with weights while maintaining a relative calorie deficit, you can still include some starchy carbohydrates in your diet while still losing significant amounts of body fat.
The hybrid approach
Use the Paleo diet as a base template for your food choices - avoid processed foods and favor animals and plants. Include some starchy carbohydrates in your diet to support your training with weights. Try to minimize sugar, gluten, anti-nutrients and toxic compounds. What you are left with are root vegetables (yams, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes) and white rice. You may be okay with gluten or dairy, but a large percentage of people don't do well with them. Test it out and see what works best.
For a simple educational template that you can memorize as easily as the Paleo diet, I recommend the traditional rural Japanese diet, which consists of fish and meat, non-starchy vegetables, fruit, rice and root vegetables.
I don't care if this is historically or anthropologically accurate (i.e. what was eaten in a village in 1678 compared to a village in another region in 1594). This approach is only meant as a simple tool to give people viable strategies.
If you don't want to feel like you're turning into a Japanese person, the Uri peasant diet (meat and potatoes), the Okinawa diet (pork, vegetables and sweet potatoes) and the Kitavana diet (fish, fruit and root vegetables) are other good examples and templates. Carbohydrate-based diets minus processed junk is the common theme here.
The bottom line
The natural bodybuilding standard of a calorie deficit, adequate protein intake, vegetables and fruit for micronutrients, moderate amounts of fat as a by-product of animal protein sources and some starch to support anaerobic training, combined with hypertrophy-based strength training are far better for fat loss than the current low-carb, high-fat diets combined with cross-training and boot camps.
Find a way to win
I encourage you to take some responsibility and experiment on your own to find out what works best for you. Don't be like a chick waiting to be fed what your mommy thinks is appropriate for you.
Maybe you see this as not having a point of view. Maybe you see it as bro-science. I would call it figuring out what works. And as for the true application of the scientific method, even scientific research studies only give you steps one through three: question, hypothesis, and prediction. Each person has to do steps four and five for themselves - test and analyze.
You should use science and systems to find a well-informed starting point, but you shouldn't dogmatically cling to anything regardless of the source. Just find a way to win.
By Nate Miyaki | 01/14/14
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/paleo-hybrid-
Some fat loss myths never seem to die. While they may not slow down your progress, these myths can still waste your time. Maximize your fat loss by avoiding these 9 myths. It seems like old myths never die. Although we live in an age of unrivaled information sharing, most of the old fat loss myths continue to be passed around.
Most of this unfounded advice is quite harmless, but can waste your time with unnecessary practices. The following fat loss myths still prevail. I regularly see them being spread around. I even recently received a spam email containing each of the following myths.
9 Fat Loss Myths
Myth #1 - Eating regularly will increase your metabolic rate
It seems like this notion will never die.
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that regular, or frequent, meals increase metabolic rate. A review of relevant studies concluded that total daily calorie expenditure was the same regardless of the meal frequency used (1).
The frequency of meals in this meta-study ranged from one to seventeen meals per day. The scientists came to the following conclusion: "Studies that used whole-body calorimetry and doubly labeled water to determine energy expenditure over 24 hours found no difference between many small meals and few large meals." Since 1997, all recent research studies have supported this conclusion.
Myth #2 - You need to eat protein at every meal
Adequate protein intake is essential for fat loss. It helps your body maintain valuable muscle mass and helps you improve your body composition while losing weight. While it's not bad to eat protein with every meal, it's not necessary. As long as you achieve an adequate daily protein intake, it generally doesn't matter when and how you eat your protein.
Don't panic if you miss a protein meal. You won't become catabolic and lose all your muscle gains. This obsessive belief has ruined the day for many.
Myth #3 - You shouldn't eat carbs after 2pm
This is another persistent myth. As long as you have your daily calorie intake under control and you don't consume excessive amounts of carbohydrates relative to your other macronutrients, it won't matter when you eat those carbs. There is nothing magical about consuming carbohydrates in the late afternoon or evening. The human body does not have a magic switch that suddenly turns all carbohydrates into fat after 2pm.
The assumption behind this myth is that the metabolic rate slows down during sleep. However, this is generally not the case, even though the human metabolic rate initially slows down by 35% after falling asleep (2), it later increases significantly when you reach REM sleep.
The end result is that your metabolic rate during sleep is not lower than when you are inactive during the day (3, 4). In addition, it should be noted that exercising during the day will also lead to an increase in your metabolic rate at night (5).
Myth #4 - You need to do endless hours of cardio training
Wrong, wrong and wrong. Even though 3 to 4 cardio workouts of 20 to 30 minutes per week are great for overall health, cardio itself is not an efficient fat loss tool - diet is more effective.
Let's say you walk 5 kilometers per hour. 1.5 kilometers burns about 100 kcal. So you'd have to walk over 50 kilometers a week to burn a pound of fat. And even if you walked that much, you wouldn't lose any fat if you don't have your eating habits under control.
Don't overdo the cardio. Use a structured diet plan and the weight will come off. Do some cardio every week for better health and fitness.
Myth #5 - You should cut your calories immediately
Just blindly cutting calories doesn't address bad eating habits, nor does it help shape a new lifestyle. Without addressing the eating (and drinking) habits that got you into this mess in the first place, there's a good chance you'll fail again and regain the weight you lost.
Before you rashly just cut your calories, you should seriously evaluate your diet. Try to remove 90% of the following:
- Sugary drinks and fruit juices (fruit juice is like fruit without all the good nutrients found in the pulp and skin.
- Processed foods (ready meals, most frozen foods, etc.) - Junk food snacks (cookies, crackers and candy)
Once you've removed all of this nutritional junk from your diet, you can choose healthier options instead. At this point, it's time to start controlling calories.
Myth #6 - Rapid weight loss is always a good thing
While it may be necessary for severely overweight people who are trying to improve their health as quickly as possible to lose 4 to 5 pounds per week, this is not the best way to lose weight if you want to look good when you're done. Let's leave out extremely obese people and talk about you. Most of us need to lose a maximum of about 20 to 40 pounds of fat. If this is the case, and you want to look as good as possible when the fat loss process is done, then you should aim for a fat loss of 1.5 to 2 pounds per week.
This rate of weight loss will allow you to maintain as much muscle mass as possible while losing fat. This is what you want. If you lose weight quickly, then you will lose muscle mass and fat and risk looking thin, but still soft and kind of flabby.
Myth #7 - Fasting cardio is best for fat loss
Not true. Without going into all this discussion about different types of cardio and the optimal time to do cardio, I want to use some common sense.
We've already seen that diet drives fat loss and that cardio only has a minimal impact (unless you have enough time to work out for hours every day). Once you understand this, I would strongly recommend that you simply do the following:
- The type of cardio you enjoy.
- The type of cardio that is appropriate for your age, health and fitness level.
- Cardio training at the time of day that makes the most sense for you.
While HIIT cardio may be the best form of cardio on paper, HIIT could also be risky for you. Walk, swim or go bowling. Just get moving. Once you've started to improve your fitness and conditioning, you can do more challenging forms of cardio when you need to. And it makes far more sense to do cardio at a time of day when you're neither pressed for time nor tired. You are more likely to enjoy your cardio training and stick with it without missing a training session. Returning to the topic of cardio training while fasting, here is a quote from Schoenfeld on the subject:
To summarize, the literature does not support the efficacy of early morning exercise on an empty stomach as a tactic to reduce body fat percentage. At best, the net fat loss effect associated with such an approach will be no better than exercising after a meal and may even produce better results (6).
Myth #8 - Choose low-fat foods to lose fat
Eating fat will not make you fat. This is one of the most quoted but also most ridiculous nutrition myths. This myth needs to die and I want to encourage you to help with this process. Excess calories make you fat. Candy, cookies, chips, crackers, high-calorie fast food, convenience foods, sugary drinks... most people consume too many of these foods while consuming too few real, whole, nutrient-dense foods. Low-fat products often contain sugar for flavor or are misleading from the start. How many times have you seen the term "low fat" on a packet of sweets or cookies? Of course these foods are low in fat - as they are almost entirely made up of sugar! A "low fat" label on a food is often meaningless. That food can still be very high in calories.
A high calorie diet will make you gain weight. Control your calories and you will control your weight. Fat will not cause you to gain weight if your eating habits are sensible and balanced.
Myth #9 - Avoid fruit during the fat loss process
This is another foolish fat loss myth. Yes, fruit contains some sugar, but no, fruit is anything but high in calorie density and it's hard to overeat on fruit. In addition, fruit is packed with vitamins and minerals. We're going to toot the same horn here: total calorie intake is the most important factor when it comes to weight gain. I have yet to meet a single person who got fat from eating too many strawberries, apples or oranges. A reasonable amount of natural sugars and carbohydrates found in fruit won't make much difference and certainly won't make your belly grow if you have your total calories under control. If you want to lose fat, it's best to eat a variety of fruit and vegetables each week. This will allow you to get a wider range of vitamins and minerals and is great for overall health.
Fat loss summary
Here is a summary:
- Eat meals that fit your daily routine and needs. There is no urgent reason to eat every 2 to 3 hours. This will not increase your metabolic rate, but could cause you to waste a lot of time trying to figure out what to eat at 6 to 10 meals a day.
- It's okay to eat a meal that includes little or no protein. This won't affect your fat loss or the maintenance of your muscles. Aim for a minimum amount of protein per day. It won't make much difference when you eat this protein.
- Eating carbohydrates after 2pm is fine as long as you keep your total calories under control. These carbohydrates are not directly converted into fat.
- Your eating plan is your primary fat loss mechanism. Use cardio to support overall health and improve your fitness, but not as your primary tool for fat loss. Cardio training combined with a poor diet will not result in fat loss.
- Before rushing to reduce your calories, you should analyze your poor eating habits. If you don't take steps to change these habits, you risk getting fat again when your diet is over.
- To maximize your muscle mass during fat loss, you should aim for a weight loss of 1.5 to 2 pounds per week. This will help you look your best when your diet is over.
- When and how you do cardio doesn't really matter. Choose a form of cardio that you enjoy and do it at a time of day when you are likely to have the most energy.
- Eating fat does not make you fat. Excess calorie intake makes you fat. Low-fat foods are not inherently low in calories. They are often overloaded with sugar. Be careful.
- Eat a wide variety of fruit each week. The small amounts of sugar and carbohydrates contained in fruit will not affect your fat loss as long as your total calorie intake is within a reasonable range.
References
- Bellisle F, McDevitt R, Prentice AM. Meal frequency and energy balance. Br J Nutr. 1997 Apr;77 Suppl 1:S57-70.
- Seale JL, Conway JM. Relationship between overnight energy expenditure and BMR measured in a room-sized calorimeter. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1999 Feb;53(2):107-11.
- Zhang K, Sun M, Werner P, Kovera AJ, Albu J, Pi-Sunyer FX, Boozer CN. Sleeping metabolic rate in relation to body mass index and body composition. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002 Mar;26(3):376-83.
- Mischler I, Vermorel M, Montaurier C, Mounier R, Pialoux V, Pequignot JM, Cottet-Emard JM, Coudert J, Fellmann N. Prolonged daytime exercise repeated over 4 days increases sleeping heart rate and metabolic rate. Can J Appl Physiol. 2003 Aug;28(4):616-29.
- Biston P, Van Cauter E, Ofek G, Linkowski P, Polonsky KS, Degaute JP. Diurnal variations in cardiovascular function and glucose regulation in normotensive humans. Hypertension. 1996 Nov;28(5):863-71.
- Brad Schoenfeld, MSc, CSCS, NSCA-CPT. Does Cardio After an Overnight Fast Maximize Fat Loss? http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/articles/does_cardio_after_an_overnight_fast_maximize_fat_loss.pdf
Source: https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/9-fat-loss-myths
Email number 54 - More of the same
"Hey Roman, I want to be defined and I know this is your area of expertise. I am running 5/3/1 and making pretty good strength gains with it. However, I would like to lose 25 pounds in 8 weeks. How can I modify the program and what diet should I use?"
My mouse pointer circles briefly over the "Delete" button, but since I reply to every email I receive, I type in the same answer I've given 53 times before.
"If you do almost everything right, your diet is perfect and you do regular intense cardio, you can lose fat with almost any reasonable training plan."
Then I gave him specific instructions.
And even though I already had a lot of practice answering this question, I wished I understood it better.
Why on earth would anyone want to lose fat this way?
Sure, it's possible, but it's certainly not optimal. And for me, it's all about optimal approaches.
A better way
I have five principles for fat loss programs that I'll share with you below, and none of them are really complicated. Even more straightforward is the overarching theory I use to design extreme fat loss plans. It's the broad basic idea, if you will. It is as follows:
All facets of the program must be aimed at fat loss.
And now we're talking about radical fat loss - not this half-hearted "I just want to lose a few pounds." If you want fast results, it's not enough to modify your diet and do some extra cardio. Heck, if it was that easy, a lot more people would be walking around with decent muscle development and visible abs.
Extreme fat loss is something I deal with every day. My clients want to get lean in the shortest time possible and that's exactly what my programs aim to achieve. For this to be possible, a complete and comprehensive approach is necessary. Keeping in mind the basic idea I mentioned above, this means that all aspects of nutrition, cardio, supplementation and training with weights must be geared towards this specific goal.
My recommendations:
Nutrition
Finding the exact balance of macronutrients that will help you succeed can be a little tricky. Not only is this highly individual, but it's also important to realize that no calorie formula is perfect. In order to achieve radical fat loss with my clients, I have to start somewhere. Here are a few general recommendations to determine calorie intake.
To determine maintenance calories, I use the following formula:
| Current body fat percentage | Caloric Intake |
| 6%-12% | 37 kcal per kilogram of lean body mass |
| 12%-15% | 35 kcal per kilo of lean body mass |
| 15.1%-19% | 33 kcal per kilo of lean body mass |
| 19.1%-22% | 31 kcal per kilo of lean body mass |
| 22.1% and above | 29 kcal per kilo of lean body mass |
The obvious reason for this structure is the rate of fat loss. The more fat you have on your ribs, the faster you can lose it and the more you can lose without sacrificing lean body mass. For this reason, you can eat fewer calories and still maintain a useful rate of fat loss without compromising the metabolic processes responsible for fat loss and muscle gain.
In terms of macronutrients, protein intake is considered to be between 2.5 and 3.3 grams per kilogram of lean body mass. There is no real magic number here. As long as you consume a little more than 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, you should be in the green zone. The reason for a range is to leave some room for individual adjustment, with satiety being the determining factor. If you start with a lower protein intake and feel hungry, then you can increase your protein intake up to 3.3 grams per kilogram of lean body mass. This allows you more flexibility in meal size and food choices.
As for carbohydrates, you should limit your intake to 1.1 grams per kilogram of fat-free body mass if you are insulin resistant or do not do well with carbohydrates. On the other hand, if you do well with carbohydrates, you can go up to 1.6 grams per kilogram of fat-free body mass.
The rest of your daily calorie intake should come from fat. Of this fat, you should consume 1 gram of fish oil per percentage of body fat. If your body fat percentage is 10%, that would be 10 grams of fish oil.
The most important thing to remember here is that you don't need a radical reduction in calorie intake to achieve a radical reduction in body fat. Although a calorie deficit of 400 kcal will not go unnoticed in terms of both satiety and energy levels, the effects in this respect will not be extreme. For fat loss without sacrificing muscle mass, it is much more efficient to generate a higher deficit through an increased level of activity.
Cardio
Do high-intensity interval training (preferably sprints or jumping rope) or complexes at least once a week. In most cases, I have my clients do one HIIT training session and one complex training session per week. I consider complexes to be cardio training and not training with weights.
Supplementation
I recommend the use of fish oil and a fat burner.
Training with weights:
Why is training with weights crucial for fat loss results? I have 3 reasons for this:
- It generates a higher calorie consumption than a cardio workout of the same duration.
- It increases the activity of metabolic processes involved in fat loss over a longer period of time.
- It is better suited to maintaining existing muscle mass, which keeps the basal metabolic rate high.
Now that we've covered the basics, let's take a closer look at how to put together the perfect weight training program for weight loss.
1 - You need to train often
If you want to lose fat, you need to exercise - and you need to exercise often. In almost all cases, it's more effective to spread your activity over a longer period of time (while still getting enough rest). For fat loss, I prefer two workouts per day, splitting the workouts between weights and cardio.
Of course, training twice a day is not possible for some people and in this case I allow them to do their weights workout and their cardio workout back-to-back as long as they make sure the weights workout comes first.
The high training frequency ensures a consistently increased metabolic rate, a strong and constant increase in EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption) and a resulting increase in energy expenditure.
Here is an example of a three-week training plan I created for one of my clients whose goal was to lose 18 pounds in 8 weeks.
Week A
| Morning | Afternoon | |
| Monday | Sprint HIIT workout | Training session with weights #1 followed by 15 min rope skipping |
| Tuesday | 20 min. continuous rope skipping | Training session with weights #2 followed by 10 min. walking on the treadmill |
| Wednesday | Complexes without weights | No training |
| Thursday | No training | Training session with weights #3 |
| Friday | Training session with weights #1 followed by 15 min rope skipping | No training |
| Saturday | At any time: training with your own body weight | |
| Sunday | No training | No training |
Week B
| In the morning | Afternoon | |
| Monday | Training session with weights #2 | 20 min. HIIT jumping rope |
| Tuesday | No training | Complexes |
| Wednesday | Training session with weights #3 | Walking on the treadmill |
| Thursday | No training | No training |
| Friday | Training session with weights #1 directly followed by a HIIT sprint training session | Training free |
| Saturday | No training | No training |
| Sunday | At any time: training with your own body weight followed by 15 minutes on the treadmill |
Week C
| In the morning | Afternoon | |
| Monday | No training | No training |
| Tuesday | Some kind of HIIT training | Training session with weights #3 |
| Wednesday | Complex | Training session with weights #1 |
| Thursday | No training | 20 min. Steady Jump Rope Work |
| Friday | Training session with weights #2 | |
| Saturday | Training with your own body weight followed by 10 min. rope jumping | HIIT sprint training session |
| Sunday | No training | No training |
This client trained 23 times in 21 days or an average of 7.6 times per week.
In fact, this client trained five times in 60 hours! This may sound crazy, but if you take a closer look at the training program, you will see that phases with a lot of training are followed by sufficient rest phases.
If this still seems like too much, then read on.
2 - The training sessions must be short
When creating a training program aimed at fat loss, it is important to remember that you will start each training session with a moderate energy deficit generated by your diet. Each training session is designed to increase this energy deficit as much as possible without killing you.
Long training sessions (anything over 45 minutes) are unsuitable for radical fat loss programs. Considering the reduced calories and the structure of the workouts, this would give you the perfect recipe for overtraining, injury and stagnation. I'm certainly an advocate of pushing yourself hard, but there's a fine line between well-intentioned intensity and stupidity, and the dividing line between the two can be defined by how long you train during a fat loss program.
In addition to this, based on what I've observed with hundreds of clients, the decline in performance towards the end of a 45 minute training session is so severe that it's basically pointless to spend any more time training. Unless you have exceptional work capacity (and in this case, the question is why the hell are you fat and need a radical program), 30 to 45 minutes is enough.
Don't believe me? Wait until you try the workouts I've put together for you.
As I mentioned earlier, short workouts will generate enough stimulus because the frequency of the workouts is high.
3 - The workouts need to be done at a fast pace
One of the aspects of training that is least talked about is training density, which is defined as the amount of work you complete in a given period of time. The higher your training density, the higher your calorie consumption will be.
The easiest way to increase your training density is to shorten your rest intervals. I generally don't like rest intervals much and don't recommend long rests even in my hypertrophy programs, but for fat loss it is absolutely necessary to keep the rest intervals short, which will also make the workouts themselves short and miserable.
Here's an example:
| Types of exercises | Examples | Pause (sec.) |
| Between competing upper body muscle groups | Chest and shoulders | 20 or less |
| Between non-competing "large" upper body muscle groups | Chest and back | 15 or less |
| Between non-competing "small" upper body muscle groups | Biceps and triceps | 5 or less |
| Between non-competing "mixed size" upper body muscle groups | Chest and biceps | 10 or less |
| Between straight sets of squats or deadlifts | Squats, deadlifts | 45-60 |
| Between squats or deadlifts alternating with lower body exercises | Squats and reverse lunges | 30 or less |
| Between squats or deadlifts alternating with upper body exercises | Deadlifts and bench press | 25 or less |
| Between non-competing lower body exercises | Lunges and calf raises | 20 or less |
| Between lower body exercises alternating with "small" upper body muscle groups | Lunges and biceps | 10 or less |
| Intermediate lower body exercises alternating with "large" upper body muscle groups | Romanian deadlift and chest | 25 or less |
| Between straight sets of explosive exercises | Repositioning, jump squats, push press | 35-45 |
| Between explosive exercises alternating with "small" exercises | Repositions and curls | 15 or less |
| Alternate between explosive exercises and "big" exercises | Push press and lunges | 25 or less |
These guidelines are rough and advanced. I use them as a starting point and try to reduce the rest times further where I can. If your fitness is poor, then you will probably need to increase the times above. It probably doesn't need to be mentioned that you need to reduce the weight on many exercises.
Additionally, I would like to mention that even for the more advanced of my clients, these numbers are only realistic during the first half of the training session. After this we generally need to add a few seconds.
4 - Workouts need to focus on the most effective exercises for fat loss
Not all exercises are the same. Just as deadlifts are better than leg curls for building mass in the leg curl area, some exercises are clearly superior for fat loss.
My fat loss programs are based on an a-list of exercises to which we add other exercises. Generally speaking, my fat loss workouts consist of two to four circuits, with each of these circuits consisting of four to six exercises. At least two of these exercises are from the A-List.
Without question, the following exercises are the top exercises for fat loss:
- Lunges (all variations)
- Step-up
- Push press (standing shoulder press with momentum from the legs
- Transfer
- One-legged squat variations
- Full body pulling exercises (pull-ups, inverse rowing)
These exercises serve as the basis of each circuit, with at least two of these exercises appearing in each circuit. The remaining exercises are further multi-joint exercises, occasional isolation exercises and usually at least one front or rear core exercise.
Here is an example of a training day in one of my fat loss programs.
Note: Using the workout plan above, this would represent "workout with weights #1". There would then be two more workouts during the given week.
Circuit A
Set Up: Perform A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5 in succession, keeping to the pauses indicated. Pause for 30 seconds between two circuits. Perform the circuit twice. Pause for 60 seconds after the second circuit and continue with circuit B.
| Exercise | Repetitions/Time | Pause (sec.) | |
| A1 | Push Press | 12 | 25 or less |
| A2 | Alternating forward lunges | 15 / side | 15 or less |
| A3 | Pull-ups with close grip | 10-12 | 25 or less |
| A4 | Side Plank | 25 sec/side | 5 or less |
| A5 | Swiss Ball Rollouts | 15 | N/A |
Circuit B
Set Up: Perform B1, B2, B3 and B4 one after the other and keep to the indicated pauses. Perform this circuit once. Rest for 90 seconds after the circuit and continue with circuit C.
| Exercise | Repetitions/Time | Pause (sec.) | |
| B1 | Barbell row bent forward | 8-10 | 25 or less |
| B2 | Deadlift with straight legs | 6-10 | 15 or less |
| B3 | Jumping lunges | 15 / side | 5 or less |
| B4 | Bulgarian split squats | 10-12 / side | N/A |
Circuit C
Set Up: Perform C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5 in succession, keeping to the pauses indicated. Rest for 45 seconds between two circuits. Perform the circuit three times.
| Exercise | Repetition/Time | Pause (sec.) | |
| C1 | Step-up onto a bench | 12 / side | 15 or less |
| C2 | Dips on a bench | 6-10 | 10 or less |
| C3 | Jumping jacks | 15 | 5 or less |
| C4 | Side raise bent over | 10-12 / side | 10 or less |
| C5 | Superman hold | 20-30 sec. | N/A |
As you have seen, each circuit is intense and performed at a fast pace. The key is to perform the circuit as fast as possible while maintaining good form and using a weight that you find challenging in terms of strength and endurance.
5 - Multiple training variables need to be manipulated during a single week of training
This is the change that makes my radical fat loss programs a little more fun than any other program I've tried. And to be honest, I think it makes them more effective too. The reason for the difference is a long look at training from the perspective of someone who has tried pretty much every way of training.
Most fat loss gurus will say that the goal of the training program is not to increase strength or endurance. Those are less important things and I agree.
The primary goal is to lose fat fast. However, it is important to me that the exerciser finishes the program in a better condition than when they started. Getting lean is the primary goal and I insist that all thoughts of strength and hypertrophy are put aside.
However, I also make sure that no one finishes the fat loss program weaker than when they started or with less muscle than when they started.
The rotating change of training styles - provided that you keep the basic idea of the overall program in mind - serves two purposes.
Firstly, this rotation allows you to lose fat faster as your body is constantly experiencing different stimuli and it is difficult for it to adapt. This lack of adaptation is what increases the rate of fat loss compared to other programs.
I hate to use training clichés and colloquial bodybuilding phrases like "keep the body guessing", but staying ahead of the adaptation curve is better for progress. For this reason, I usually add a secondary training protocol to the training program. In the example above, it's bodyweight training. By doing this, I keep the workout varied and the client motivated while accelerating their progress.
Secondly, I like rotating training styles throughout the week because these give me the opportunity to keep an eye on factors that will be important to the progress of the program. Conventional fat loss programs are usually somewhat in line with what I've listed above - at least in theory. The problem, however, is that these programs fail to address strength. More specifically, the fast-paced training regimen used in most fat loss programs necessitates the use of light weights.
Do you know what training only with light weights while in a calorie deficit will do within six weeks? It will make you really good at moving light weights, but very bad at moving heavy weights. And for me, that's unacceptable.
So at least one day a week should be dedicated to using heavy weights (85 to 95% of 5 RM weight). This training session will still be high tempo and intense, but it will also keep you strong. And any strength athlete worthy of the name knows that heavy training is vastly superior when it comes to maintaining existing muscle mass while dieting.
I've had discussions about this with some other trainers who specialize in fat loss and one argument I hear a lot is that taking time off from heavy training during a fat loss program is actually a good thing. They will tell you that this will decondition you so that you will experience stronger growth when you start training heavy again and they disguise this with terms like supercompensation.
I call bullshit. For me, there is no advantage in getting weaker.
To stay strong during a fat loss program, you should train heavy one day a week. Acceptable programs include an abbreviated 5x5 workout or something with low reps and heavy weights using the perfect repetition method.
Final thoughts
Forgive me if I'm repeating myself, but I need to say it again:
All facets of the program must be aimed at fat loss.
I start each day with the hope that this message has gotten through to the world.
If you want to start a fat loss program, make sure you actually start a fat loss program.
This means that for the next six weeks you should not worry about building muscle. You will stop worrying about the amount of weight you are moving.
Instead, you will focus on fat loss - but with the most comprehensive attention to your ultimate goal.
Will you build muscle? Probably not. Will you get stronger? It's possible, but unlikely. You will, however, get extremely lean extremely fast. In addition to this, you will gain exceptional stamina, exceptional strength endurance and increased work capacity. When you start training for mass and strength again, these improvements will be invaluable in taking your body development to the next level.
If you follow my guidance, I promise you will get lean without losing muscle and without becoming a weak shadow of your former self.
By John Romaniello
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/five-principles-of-radical-fat-loss
You've heard the scary truth. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of the typical Western world is so heavily skewed towards omega-6 fatty acids (10:1 or even 20:1) that many of us are little more than walking corpses.
Too much omega-6 compared to omega-3 leads to catastrophic levels of systemic inflammation that will set your joints on fire and make you fat, while ensuring you get an early visit from the Grim Reaper in the form of heart disease.
This is an old-fashioned, scary bedtime story. But that's all it is - a story.
The most famous national bedtime story
Just as Robert Southey wrote the story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" as a tool for parents to teach their children to respect the privacy and property of others, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio has been used to make people afraid of cake, cookies and other highly processed, fattening products. While I agree that many people should step back from the dessert buffet, there are many valid reasons for this that really have an impact on human physiology.
Omega-6 fatty acids and inflammation
In a previous article, I discussed the biochemical basis of how omega-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid are converted into pro-inflammatory compounds. As mentioned in that article, the consumption of omega-6 fatty acids can actually have anti-inflammatory effects - especially when we are talking about gamma linoleic acid (GLA). This is the number one problem for the omega-6:omega-3 ratio naysayers - omega-6 fatty acids are not automatically pro-inflammatory.
Biochemistry textbooks vs. your body
The next area we need to look at when it comes to the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is the difference between textbooks and your body. Biochemistry textbooks give the impression that the conversion of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is very simple and straightforward. Well, I'm here to tell you that this is not the case. Biochemistry in real life is chaotic, regulated, controlled, inhibited and compartmentalized. In other words, this means that when you eat a handful of walnuts, the linoleic acid they contain is not automatically transported to the body's "inflammation factory" where it is converted into highly pro-inflammatory, figure-destroying prostaglandins - that's not how it works. In order for linoleic acid to be used for pro-inflammatory purposes, it must be converted into arachidonic acid. What will surprise many, however, is the fact that linoleic acid - even when consumed in the amounts corresponding to the Western diet - is not converted into arachidonic acid. In reality, most of the linoleic acid (the primary omega-6 fatty acid in our diet) that you eat does not end up in your body's pro-inflammatory pathways.
A lengthy review published in Nutrition & Metabolism titled "Increasing dietary linoleic acid does not increase tissue arachidonic acid content in adults consuming Western-type diets: a systematic review", concluded that there is no evidence that changes in dietary linoleic acid content will alter tissue arachidonic acid content in adults consuming Western-type diets. A Western diet is a good model in this situation because it is rich in linoleic acid.
Dietary recommendations that are relevant to you
As a reader of this site, most mainstream dietary advice will simply not be relevant to you. You won't be eating 3 "decent meals" a day that are bursting with grains and lacking in protein. You'll avoid mayonnaise and foods overloaded with corn oil, safflower oil and soybean oil. Data about a diet rich in linoleic acid doesn't impress you because you don't eat that stuff anyway. You follow a carbohydrate-controlled diet rich in eggs, vegetables and a variety of different tasty animals. In your case, the pseudo-negative effects of linoleic acid are not a problem. However, arachidonic acid can be a potential problem. With arachidonic acid, no conversion to another fatty acid is necessary - it just needs to be incorporated into your cell membrane and can be used immediately for this purpose.
The good news is that your body will probably protect you. A study from the University of Connecticut, published in 2010 in the paper Lipids, showed that a low-carbohydrate diet that resulted in higher levels of arachidonic acid led to increased membrane arachidonic acid levels, but this enrichment of the membrane with arachidonic acid did not lead to an increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid metabolites.
Based on the results of this and other studies, the authors concluded that low-carbohydrate diets can maintain membrane arachidonic acid levels.
Go on the fatty acid offensive
So adjusting your omega-6 fatty acids in your diet to reduce inflammation (unless we're talking about GLA) is a waste of time, but what can you do instead?
Number one is to go on the offensive with fish oil. Increases in dietary EPA and DHA lead to increased EPA and DHA levels in your membranes. Dr. Harris refers to the percentage of fatty acids that are EPA and DHA as the Omega-3 Index. This index is a reliable health marker that shows the direct changes caused by increased EPA and DHA intake in biochemical areas relevant to inflammation.
You can imagine it like this: Your cell membranes are full of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. When it comes to forming eicosanoids (anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory molecules), a fatty acid is removed from the cell membrane and converted.
So the more omega-3 fatty acids you can pack into your cell membrane, the more likely it is that an omega-3 fatty acid will be selected and removed from the membrane, leading to the formation of anti-inflammatory (or at worst, anti-inflammatory neutral) compounds. This is the reason that the absolute amount of omega-3 fatty acids in your cell membranes is what really matters. That's right. The all-important omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of your diet doesn't translate to your cellular membranes - the place where your anti-inflammatory weapons are forged. And following a diet rich in linoleic acid doesn't lead to changes in arachidonic acid levels - at least not the kind of changes that lead to increased inflammation.
What really matters is the amount of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) in your diet. Focus on this for a good 15 seconds a day when taking your fish oil supplement and you have done all that is necessary.
The bottom line
Stop wasting your time trying to tabulate the ratio of two subclasses of fatty acids that don't matter in the grand scheme of things. You're not a typical Western European or North American, you're a power athlete, and aside from walnuts and the occasional teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds in your skillet, you wouldn't give a second glance to any of the top 25 sources of omega-6 fatty acids in the typical diet or the foods they're found in. And even if you ate tons of walnuts and consumed a daily shot of sesame oil, dietary linoleic acid wouldn't immediately find its way to the biochemical pathways that help convert it into pro-inflammatory compounds.
So take your 4 to 8 fish oil capsules a day and lift some heavy weights.
By Mike Roussell, PhD | 01/25/13
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/omega-6-vs-omega-3-who-cares
Here is a brief summary:
- Progressive overload is also applicable to nutrition. Just like training with weights, gradually increasing your calorie intake will help you gain control over your gains without building excessive amounts of fat.
- If you have just finished a diet, you should not start a traditional bulking phase. Bombarding your body with excess calories after it has been in a calorie deficit will lead to gains in body fat.
- The body wants to maintain a balance, so rapid increases or decreases in calorie intake will lead to problems.
- Use reverse dieting to build muscle. Whether you are starting from your maintenance calorie intake or a diet, you can use this to increase your food intake to build muscle rather than fat.
A mass-building phase doesn't have to mean that you have to say goodbye to your abs. In fact, I would go as far as to say that if you increase your body fat percentage by more than 5% during a bulking phase, you are doing something wrong.
Yes, you should eat more calories if you want to build muscle. But it's a problem if you go from 0 to 100 too quickly - and most people do just that. They add hundreds of calories to their diet practically overnight because they think they can build more muscle. But that's not really the case. They just get fat.
A slower increase in calorie intake can make a huge difference. You will continue to build muscle if you train properly, but you will also stay lean at the same time. Here's how it works:
The progressive overload of eating
The principle of progressive overload is a fundamental principle of training with weights. Progressive overload means that you increase your training weights or training volume consistently and gradually. Any training program that is even remotely sensibly designed uses some form of progressive overload. This overload is responsible for you making progress. However, when it comes to nutrition, no one talks about progressive overload. Progressive overload works when you increase the weight on the bar and it also works when you want to build muscle without building excessive amounts of body fat.
How dieting can go wrong
Let's say your maintenance calorie intake is 2500 kcal and you decide to reduce your calorie intake. It goes well, you lose fat, you can maintain your muscles and you get defined. Excellent. Then it's time to go back to your maintenance calorie intake and follow your original 2500 kcal diet, right? However, since you have lost weight, your metabolic rate has also dropped. And if you immediately go back to eating 2500 kcal per day, this can cause you to build up fat.
This downregulation of the metabolic rate is the reason why you see so many people putting on kilos of fat after finishing a super strict diet. They soon return to their starting weight or even get fatter. If even a quick transition to maintenance calories can cause this, imagine what will happen if you go into an extreme bulking phase straight after a diet...
Homeostasis and metabolic rate
Your body is constantly working to maintain a balance - also known as homeostasis. This is a natural process. And this process is also the culprit when it comes to downregulating your metabolic rate during a diet. How? By this process lowering your metabolic rate in an attempt to close the gap caused by your calorie deficit.
One of the key players in this process is the hormone leptin. Leptin regulates your metabolism. When leptin levels are high, your metabolic rate will also be high. However, if leptin levels drop, as is the case when you are in a calorie deficit, then your metabolic rate will also drop. Even if you try to strategically manipulate your leptin levels with refeeds and cheat meals, your leptin levels will drop during a diet. Have you ever noticed that your diet becomes less effective after the first month? This is because your body is working to restore a state of homeostasis by downregulating leptin levels and thereby lowering its metabolic rate.
Even if you feel ready for a ton more food after a strict diet, your body is not ready for it. And if you go from a state of calorie deficit to a rampant bulking phase, bombarding your slow metabolism with an abundance of calories, it can only go wrong - unless you do it right.
Reverse dieting for fat-free mass gains
Reverse dieting means using a consistent and incremental increase in calorie intake to achieve superior muscle-building results. You gradually eat more without building fat. I've worked with people who have built lean body mass in the double-digit pound range without increasing their body fat percentage by even 1%. Some have even finished their reverse diet leaner than when they started.
The key point of reverse dieting is progressive calorie overload. Instead of overloading your body with too many calories at once, you simply eat a bit more consistently. It doesn't have to be a ton of food to be enough. Assuming that your workout stimulates hypertrophy, a few extra calories each week can do wonders.
It takes time for your body, leptin and metabolism to catch up (keyword homeostasis) when you start eating more. It's just like when you diet to lose fat - your body doesn't restore its balance overnight. A properly planned reverse diet uses this fact to its advantage.
If you chronically eat more than your metabolism uses, then you will build up fat - it's as simple as that. But if you strategically increase your calorie intake each week, you are conditioning your body to slowly increase its metabolic rate. As you eat more and more, your metabolic rate will increase and you will build lean mass without an excessive build-up of body fat.
Doing this in practice is much harder than it sounds. Your eyes will be hungrier than your reverse diet. You need to stick to your numbers during the program to get the most out of it. It takes self-control to eat more without overeating.
Planning a reverse diet
The planning is simple. Start at the baseline - your current amount of macronutrients and calories - and increase your intake from there. This approach works whether you've just finished a diet or not. However, if you have not been dieting, you should skip week 1.
Only use week 1 if you have eaten below your maintenance calorie level. Why? If you're not coming out of a calorie deficit, you don't need that extra 10% increase from baseline. Instead, you will start by gradually increasing calories by 2 to 5% at a time from baseline, which will help prevent you from increasing calories too quickly.
You will also need to know your maintenance calorie amount in order to follow this program. If you are already monitoring your calorie intake, then you have everything you need. If not, document your food intake for one to two weeks to calculate your daily macronutrient intake and your average calorie intake for your maintenance calorie amount. When it comes to maintenance calories, everyone is a little different, so you should monitor your food intake and calculate your averages rather than simply using a formula or calculator on some website.
Week 1
This is the starting point for someone who has been in a calorie deficit.
- Protein: Maintain the same amount of protein. A general rule of thumb is about 2 grams per kilogram of body weight.
- Fats: Increase fat intake by 10% compared to baseline.
- Carbohydrates: Increase the amount of carbohydrates by 10% compared to the initial value.
- Maintain the previous amount of protein. Towards the end of the reverse diet, you can consider increasing your protein intake slightly. This can help you maintain your macronutrient ratios, but is not absolutely necessary.
- Increase your fat intake by 2 to 5% each week compared to the previous week. This range gives you the opportunity to customize your plan based on your body type and how aggressive you want to be. If you are what would traditionally be called an endomorph, then your body will likely respond well to a high-fat diet. So increasing your fat intake by 5% would be a good choice in this case.
- Increase your carbohydrate intake by 2 to 5% each week compared to the previous week. This range also gives you the opportunity to personalize your plan. For example, if you are an ectomorph who finds it difficult to build muscle, you should eat more carbohydrates. In this case, increasing your carbohydrate intake by 5% would be a good choice.
Every following week
Follow the reverse diet until you start to build up too much body fat ("too much body fat" means something different for everyone). When you reach this point, you have two options:
- Adjust your program to be a little less aggressive and reevaluate your status.
- End the program and maintain your calorie intake.
Aggressive and conservative examples
Let's say Bob has just finished a diet and is eating 175 grams of protein, 125 grams of carbohydrates, 85 grams of fat and 1965 total calories. Bob now wants to build muscle without putting on fat. Below are two examples of the calculations for a reverse diet for Bob.
Example 1 is a more aggressive program with an increase in fat and carbohydrate intake of 5% per week. Example 2 is a more conservative program with an increase in fat and carbohydrate intake of 2% per week.
This is only 8 weeks. A true reverse diet would usually last longer. Also, keep in mind that these are just simple examples. Build your program using the guidelines above in the way that suits you best.
Example 1 - Aggressive
|
|
Protein |
Carbohydrates |
fat |
Total calories |
|
Start |
175 |
125 |
85 |
1965 |
|
Week 1 |
175 |
138 |
94 |
2092 |
|
Week 2 |
175 |
144 |
98 |
2161 |
|
Week 3 |
175 |
152 |
103 |
2234 |
|
Week 4 |
175 |
159 |
108 |
2311 |
|
Week 5 |
175 |
167 |
114 |
2391 |
|
Week 6 |
175 |
175 |
119 |
2476 |
|
Week 7 |
175 |
184 |
125 |
2565 |
|
Week 8 |
175 |
193 |
132 |
2658 |
Example 2 - Cautious
|
|
Protein |
Carbohydrates |
fat |
Total calories |
|
Start |
175 |
125 |
85 |
1965 |
|
Week 1 |
175 |
138 |
94 |
2092 |
|
Week 2 |
175 |
140 |
95 |
2119 |
|
Week 3 |
175 |
143 |
97 |
2148 |
|
Week 4 |
175 |
146 |
99 |
2177 |
|
Week 5 |
175 |
149 |
101 |
2206 |
|
Week 6 |
175 |
152 |
103 |
2236 |
|
Week 7 |
175 |
155 |
105 |
2267 |
|
Week 8 |
175 |
158 |
107 |
2298 |
Reverse diet vs. traditional mass building
Start today to build the body you want tomorrow. If you want to build kilos of muscle, try reverse dieting instead of haphazardly eating more than your body can use. You'll end up muscular and strong, but you'll stay lean at the same time.
Let the games begin.
By Benjamin Johnson
Source https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/how-to-bulk-and-keep-your-abs
