Muscle Insider
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Relentless Pursuit
By IFBB Pro Josh Wade
Presented by Allmax Nutrition
Building Muscle: Look at the Big Picture
It takes time to build muscle so just thinking you will keep increasing calories and you will keep growing isn’t how it works.
Q: I’ve been trying to gain weight and have slowly been increasing calories. Now it’s hard to get all the food down and it looks like I’m only gaining fat. How do you break plateaus while building muscle?
A: This is very common with people who are mainly concerned with the scale moving up and trying to rush the process. It takes time to build muscle so just thinking you will keep increasing calories and you will keep growing isn’t how it works. It won’t help you build muscle faster. You do have to be in a calorie surplus to build muscle, but an extra calorie surplus far beyond what is needed isn’t going to build muscle faster, it’ll only store fat faster. There always comes a time when your calories, mainly from carbs, start getting too high and you’ll start spilling over and looking softer even if those calories are mainly clean food. Your body can only store a certain amount of carbs before spilling over, making you look watery and adding fat, but everyone is different in the amount that can be stored. I stay lean year-round so I’m very insulin sensitive and handle high carbs very well. I can take in roughly 600 grams of carbs daily without looking soft as I train hard and eat clean, whereas a lot of men around 200 pounds might only be able to store 400-450 grams of carbs.
If you start getting soft, my recommendation to you at this point is to do a four- to six-week mini diet, where you do three to four days of fasted cardio per week for about 35-40 minutes at a steady-state pace, while also cutting carbs by about 40-50 percent daily. This taking one step back to take two steps forward approach works really well as you burn off a little body fat, increase appetite and metabolism again, plus increase insulin sensitivity. Then when you add the carbs back in, your body stores them and uses them more readily, while giving you a fuller, harder and rounder look! There’s always a point when this happens, and you must think about the bigger picture and don’t be scared that you’ll lose muscle tissue or size in that time. It will just change your body composition and you’ll be happy with the look plus your weight will end up higher with that better look. I do this process quite frequently with clients when they take an extended time trying to bulk. Hope this helps you!
For Bigger Arms, Feel the Burn
Q: I have long arms and I’ve really been having trouble getting them bigger. I feel they are strong but not getting the growth I feel they should. How did you get your arms to grow?
A: I think a lot of people struggle with arm development especially if they are longer armed. This is a topic I get asked about quite frequently so I feel repetitive with my answers, but it’s also needed to help people like myself that don’t have the fastest responding arms to get them to grow or catch up to other stronger body parts. I've been working on them diligently for years and I feel I found what’s made the biggest difference for me is training them twice a week with different exercises but most importantly I don’t worry about the weight I’m using anymore. Instead, I’m really focused on letting the arm fully stretch and contract. I’ve talked before about how I’ve put much more emphasis into controlling or fighting the negative portion of the rep and how I feel that’s made the biggest difference in my arms. When doing this I look for and welcome the most excruciating burn and pain I can endure. This causes a nasty pump and I know when I get to that feeling I’m getting everything I can out of my arms. That’s what’s made my arms respond personally. Like most people I usually only do three exercises for biceps and three exercises for triceps totaling around 12 working sets per muscle group, while usually supersetting my first two exercises of each muscle group together to really connect with that burn I’m talking about.
Remember to go slow on the negative, squeeze and hold hard for a split second, and control the negative again. Also be conscious when it does start burning as I said don’t start speeding up, fight the pain, challenge yourself and you’ll grow!
Mini-Rant: BMI Doesn’t Work for Bodybuilders
So, I recently went to the doctor after having bad right foot pain for over a year. I review my labs multiple times a year and have met with specialty doctors for health and heart and have always checked out great. Lipid panel always normal, blood pressure normal, kidneys and liver normal, all health markers check out great. Well, I went to the doctor to get a referral for imaging for right foot pain; that’s what I made the appointment for yet when I got my exit paperwork from the appointment, my right foot pain was the third thing the nurse practitioner assessed me for.
#1 Assessment - Exercise counseling (Z71.82)
#2 Assessment - Dietary counseling and surveillance (Z71.3)
#3 Assessment - Right foot pain (M79.671)
Plan Orders - Further diagnostic evaluations ordered today
#4 Assessment - Body mass index (BMI) 36.0-36.9, adult (Z68.36)
Plan Orders - Today’s instructions/counseling include(s) Dietary management education, guidance, and counseling. Prescribed activity/exercise education
I just had to share this as I was blown away that a chubby nurse practitioner who didn’t look like she touched a weight in her life was assessing me on diet and exercise, LOL! Why the hell does the medical industry still use BMI and when did they become more of an exercise expert than a professional bodybuilder?!
Strengthening the Immune System
With the COVID-19 situation, I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries as to which supplements can strengthen the immune system and help prevent infection. These are the supplements that I take every day year-round for immune system function and antioxidants, but they are even more beneficial at times of stress or sickness.
Allmax Immune-Boosting stack
Glutamine: 10g 3x day, upon rising, post-workout and before bed.
R+ALA: 2 caps (300mg) with first and last meal.
CytoGreens: 1 scoop upon rising.
Vitastack: 1 multipack with first meal.
Omega 3: 2g with first and last meal.
Please send questions for this column to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.teamwadefitness.com
Instagram:
@ifbbprojoshwade
@teamallmax
@allmaxtraining
For more information, visit allmaxnutrition.com
ALLMAX is now selling directly to the consumer. Go to store.allmaxnutrition.com and use code JOSHWADE15 for 15% off.
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