| Q – “I am currently about six weeks into an eight week program - to build up my strength (I recently did about 225 lbs in the deadlift for about 5 reps and about 250lbs for one rep?).
My goal primarily is to lose about a foot off my gut as well - but I really do not want to lose any of my hard earned strength and muscles. My waistline is hovering right around 40 inches and needs to definitely be around 30 - 31. The interesting part is that I may look like an endomorph but my body type is ectomorphic - I put on muscles slowly (if I shove down meal after meal) but lose size very quickly - if for example I get ill (say a cold/cough or intestinal bacteria etc) I tend to lose my size. Its weird but its true - of course I put it back within a week or so.
I am currently starting to add cardio - about four to five days a week (30 odd minutes in the morning) - and am limiting my carb intake to oatmeal in the morning, some additional complex carbs during lunch and then sticking to veggies in the evening. I'm also trying to keep up the protein intake.
Here is my meal routine:
1. Breakfast (morning at around 9:00 - 10:00am) - about 8 egg whites scrambled (with some onions and capsicum) + 2 whole wheat toasts (a little butter and honey) + tea (or a cup of oatmeal with some honey and skim milk)
2. Lunch at around noon - fish/chicken and a cup of rice and veggies
3. Mid afternoon meal (salmon/chicken - 7oz + salad)
4. 5:00 - 6:00pm - Muscle Milk Light - Shake + 1% skim milk - 20 oz
5. 7:00 - 9:00pm (or sometimes 8:00 - 10:00pm) - workout during which I have Scivations Xtend (about 30 - 40 grams of BCAAS and 10 grams of Glutamine in 1.5 litres of water) + Substance WPI (Whey Protein - 44gms)
6. About 45 minutes after my workout I have dinner - usually another chicken/salmon salad or steak/veggies (like tonight)
Now I do tend to screw up my eating from time to time where I only get in 5 meals, which are a challenge to scoff down anyway.
Supplements - Universal Animal Pak, Universal Mstack, Universal Stack2, sometimes CLA and sometimes Omega 3 (three times a day with meals)
My training is as follows:
Monday - Legs (Squats, Sissy Squats, Leg Extensions, Romanian Deadlifts, Leg Curls, Calf Raise, Seated Calf Raise - all are 3 - 4 working sets after initial warm up)
Tuesday - Chest (Flat Bench Press, Incline D Press, Decline D Press, Incline/Flat Flyes - all are 3 to 4 working sets after initial warm up)
Wednesday - Back - Deadlifts, Pulldowns (I'm trying to do chins but am just not strong enough yet), Bent Over Rows, Hyperextensions
Thursday - Shoulders - Barbell/Dumbbell Press, Wide Grip Upright Rows and Laterals (Supersets as I need to improve my medial deltoid), Incline Bench Laterals, Shrugs
Friday - Arms and Abs - Close Grip Bench Press, Dips, overhead extensions, Barbell Curls, Incline Bench Dumbbell Curls, Preacher Curls/Concentration Curls ( I sometimes superset triceps/biceps)
It seems I have to work out every muscle group on separate days in order to prioritize every part of my physique. While I am progressing in my strength my muscles are harder to build up - but it is happening, however at a very slow pace.
The program basically consists of an 8-week program where the three primary lifts start out at 10 reps and end with a 1RM at the end of week 8 (done for three working sets). All other exercises hover around 8 - 10 reps.
Any insights or guidance you could provide would be greatly appreciated. My strength levels have improved significantly:
Starting 1RM (several cycles ago)
Bench Press 155lbs
Deadlift - 135lbs
Squat - 140lbs
Recent lifts as of this week
Bench Press - 225lbs (3RM)
Deadlifts - 225lbs (5RM)
Squats - 290lbs (4RM)
So strength levels are definitely improving. Its one those psychological things where I don't want to get on a cutting cycle for fear of losing size and strength, who knows, maybe I need to see a shrink for it. Actually its primarily because I was so embarrassingly weak when I started last year and my strength has improved so much in one year that I fear getting on a cutting cycle is going to wash out all my strength, some of this is just unfounded but something I need to get into my head and deal with.
Anyway, any advice on my training program - what do you think I should do after the cycle is over. I was thinking of following a 5 x 5 program and continuing my cardio about 5 days per week, for 30-45 minutes in the morning. I was planning on eating the same or upping some of my carbs a bit, and changing some of my supplements and hoping that this new program will continue with the strength and size building but adding in cardio will start to work on my gut.
A. – You are trying to do two things at the same time – add muscle and strength while simultaneously losing fat. This is possible if you were eating poorly and not training very hard and now you start eating better along with training harder.
I had a client last year who was training consistently but he had let himself go and gained a lot of bodyfat. He started training harder and eating better when he started training with me and he made incredible progress. He began with a 42” waist at 194 pounds bodyweight in December, 2006. By October of 2007, he competed in a bodybuilding contest weighing 155 pounds with only a 28” waist. He lost an amazing 14 inches off his waist while increasing his muscle mass and strength.
The diet you are eating now sounds very good for building muscle and losing fat. It is high in protein and very moderate in carbohydrates. You are smart to eat most of your carbs in the morning and afternoon as the fat stores in your body are not as insulin sensitive in the morning as they are later at night.
If the diet is working to lose fat, I think you should continue eating as you are. I would make a couple of suggestions, however. First of all, I would take out the whole wheat bread with honey and butter and replace it with oatmeal. The oatmeal is lower glycemic and will probably contain more fiber than the bread.
You might also want to eliminate the milk from your oatmeal and your protein drink. Milk contains lactose, which is a sugar. When I am dieting to lose fat, I always eliminate as many simple sugars from my diet as possible.
Another suggestion would be to include a post-workout recovery drink immediately after your training. Studies have shown that consuming simple carbohydrates along with an easy to digest form of protein (whey protein isolate) greatly enhances muscle recuperation and growth by shuttling these important carbs and amino acids directly into the muscle cells after a hard workout.
Optimum Nutrition has a product called Recover 2:1:1 which contains 35 grams of protein and 70 grams of carbs or Muscle Link’s Recover-X contains 40 grams of protein and 60 grams of carbs. Both of these products are excellent choices and either one would make a big difference in your diet.
You could have this drink immediately after your workout and still include your dinner about 30-45 minutes after your recovery drink. Also, make sure that you space your meals about 2 ½ to 3 hours apart so your blood sugar level stays stable. Taking too long between meals will allow your blood sugar level to drop and, when you eat your next meal, the blood sugar level will raise more than normal. When losing fat, you don’t want this yo-yo effect on the blood sugar level, you want to eat consistently so your blood sugar is always stable.
If this diet doesn’t work to lower your bodyfat, you should begin writing down everything you eat and count the amount of calories as well as grams of protein, carbohydrates and fats. When you can look at your diet in black and white, you can often see any mistakes you might be making or you can see what is working and what isn’t.
As for your training program, it is obviously working to increase your strength, which is important. I think you could cut back your training days from five consecutive days to only four days a week with one rest day after two days of training. I don’t agree with training that many days in a row if you are trying to increase muscle mass. Your body needs a full day of rest after 2 or 3 days of heavy, hard training.
You could include training a smaller bodypart with a larger bodypart a couple days a week, which would allow you an extra day of rest. For example, train your triceps on your chest day and train your biceps on your back days. The arms are a small muscle group and they shouldn’t need a lot of sets to train effectively. Make sure you are not using more than 25 total sets for any workout.
With your cardio, I don’t think there is any need to do cardio five times a week. That’s too much cardio if you are eating a good, fat-loss diet. I would cut the cardio back to 2-3 days a week and give the diet a chance to do it’s job. If you are trying to increase your muscle mass and strength, doing cardio almost every day will affect your recuperation and slow down your gains.
Q. - My first question is whether or not there's a specific routine that you recommend for someone who is losing fat for an extended period of time. My current training routine is fairly simple; I use a split routine composed almost entirely of basic, compound lifts that I perform as heavy as possible, keeping my total sets for the day at 35 or under, four days per week. I vary my rep ranges for each set, usually beginning at 12 or 10 with lighter weight, finishing at 6 or 4 with considerably heavier weight.
My second question is concerning post-workout nutrition. For the past month or so, I've changed from my normal high-GI carbohydrate and whey protein mix to whey protein with whole oats as my carbohydrate source. I did this for a couple of reasons. One is that I've heard (though I'm not certain how accurate it is) that the type of carbohydrate consumed after weight training has no affect on the rate of protein synthesis, the only variable being the speed of glycogen storage, which would take a little longer to refill but should make no appreciable difference before the next weight training session the next day. The other reason is that, if the type of carbohydrate consumed post workout has no affect on protein synthesis, and glycogen replacement will have completed before the next training session regardless, using lower GI carbohydrates will not cause a drastic insulin spike, meaning that fat burning continues to take place and is not delayed for several hours as it would be with high GI carbohydrates. What exactly is your opinion on the topic?
Sorry for the long post; looking forward to reading your response.
A. - I think your training routine is right on target. Even if you are trying to lose fat, you still want to continue to train the muscles heavy with the basic exercises and make sure you take enough days off during the week to recuperate. So many people still make the mistake of going lighter and doing more reps but that doesn't do anything except make the muscles smaller while you cutting back on calories. Keep training heavy and build as much muscle as possible while you are trying to lose fat.
As for you eating oatmeal instead of a high GI carb after your workout, I think you should go back to eating a high glycemic carb after your training. You are discussing the rate of protein synthesis but you also want the carbs to be stored in the muscles very quickly after a workout also.
If you eat a carb such as oatmeal, it will be digested much slower because of the high fiber. You have to remember that a simple sugar will raise your insulin level, which will shuttle BOTH the carbs and protein into the muscles cells much faster than eating a slower digesting carbohydrate.
I used to only have a carb drink after my workout and Chris Aceto recommended that I add whey protein to my carb drink because he said, in addition to the simple carbs restoring the glycogen, I would also be restoring the amino acids to my muscle cells by combining the simple carbs with the easy to digest protein (whey protein).
I always prefer to have a recovery DRINK as opposed to a whole food meal after my workout because it is digested much faster. I will have this drink (currently I am using Optimum Nutrition's excellent new drink, 2.1.1 Recovery) immediately after my workout. I literally drink it in my car as I'm leaving the parking lot.
When I get home, I will prepare my next meal, which will be lunch since I train in the early afternoon. This meal usually consists of lean ground turkey, sweet potato and broccoli. This whole food meal provides the protein and COMPLEX carbs I need after my workout, which works in conjunction with the recovery drink I had after my workout.
You are worried about slowing down the fat burning process by raising your insulin level. This is true but it does not apply after a workout. Your body is in a unique metabolic state after a heavy training session and it needs those carbs and protein immediately so you actually do want to raise your insulin level at this time to get those nutrients into your muscles right away.
John Hansen has won the title of Mr. Natural Olympia and is a 2x Natural Mr. Universe winner. Check out his website at www.NaturalOlympia.com or email any questions or comments to him at John@NaturalOlympia.com. Look for John's new DVD “Natural Bodybuilding Seminar and Competitions” along with his book, "Natural Bodybuilding", and his Natural Bodybuilding Training DVD, "Real Muscle", at his website, www.naturalolympia.com or at the HomeGym Warehouse. You can send written correspondence to John at the following address: John Hansen, PO Box 3003, Darien, IL 60561.
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