guardianactual
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
BP: So when I'm on the bulking phase of your program, my muscles are being pumped full of nutrients and fluid, so when I work out, I'll get pumped up like I'm on 'roids. And, to maximize growth during this phase, I should stretch a lot during my exercises and between them, while I'm pumped. During the second week of the bulking phase, days 7-14, I should really stretch hard and do very intense eccentric reps [negatives]. And, during this time, I might benefit from taking a gram of Vitamin C before I work out and taking a total of three grams a day.
</br>
</br> TA: Yes. Very good, Bill.
</br>
</br> BP: Do I need to stretch and do negatives or take Vitamin C during the cutting phase?
</br>
</br> TA: No. During the low-calorie phase, we are not trying to remodel connective tissue. The emphasis is on fat burning. Of course--for other reasons--one gram of Vitamin C daily or moderate stretching could be useful during the "non-remodeling" phase. Intense negatives, on the other hand, must be avoided.
</br>
</br> BP: Let's talk more about some of the specific details of your program. It seems that alternating between low- and high-calorie diet phases is basically the cornerstone of this system. How many calories are we talking about during each phase?
</br>
</br> TA: In my upcoming book, I will go into great detail about this. But as a guideline, a place to start, for the high-calorie phase, someone like you, who has relatively low bodyfat and weighs around 200 lbs, will probably need to eat around 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day. You eat like this for 14 days in a row. Each person will need some adjustments to this number. Since I understand you sit at a desk 12 hours a day, you may need only 4,000. During the dieting/fat-loss phase, you would eat about half this much.
</br>
</br> This is just a rough place to start--a person's activity level [whether someone has a desk job or is a construction worker could make a big difference] and a person's muscle mass and metabolism also come into play. If a bodybuilder is following this recommendation and not gaining weight during the bulking phase, I would recommend increasing calorie intake by 500 calories a day, for a week, and if a substantial weight gain is not realized, I would take it up another 500 calories the next week. If you're working out hard, you should be gaining three pounds a week on the bulking phase.
</br>
</br> Likewise, if someone is not losing bodyweight on the low-calorie phase, I would recommend decreasing calorie intake by 300 calories a day, per week.
</br>
</br> Remember that each time you start an anabolic phase, you may need to increase your calorie intake, as long as you're gaining lean body mass. For example, if you go from 190 to 195 lbs during your first anabolic and fat-burning cycle, you should add about 100 more calories to your diet per day for the next cycle.
</br>
</br> BP: Now I understand that supplements like creatine, chromium, and HMB are some of the other supplements you've experimented with. What types of supplements should someone use, and how should they use them, when following your Anabolic Burst Cycling program?
</br>
</br>
</br>
</br> TA: Because this area has not been extensively studied, there's really no concrete data available that tells us exactly how various supplements such as creatine monohydrate, chromium, vanadyl sulfate, etc. work while a person is on a high- or low-calorie diet. The literature offers very little to the scientist who is interested in what type of additive effects and/or synergy might be created by using supplements in a "stacking" manner. Of course, the science of supplements which enhance performance, muscle metabolism, and fat oxidation is in its infancy. I want to make sure I preface any discussion about supplements with this information because we are largely speculating. Dan Duchaine, Dr. Mauro DiPasquale, and you, Bill, are all familiar with the various supplements bodybuilders might benefit from, but you all have different theories on how those compounds should be taken. Some of these ideas come from your own personal experiences, some come from empirical [word of mouth] data, and some come from extrapolations of scientific literature. Suffice it to say, at this point we have no "proof" there is a completely right or wrong way to use supplements. What I will touch on here and discuss in more detail in future MM2K articles is an outline of my own theories of how the use of various supplements may enhance the effects of the Anabolic Burst Cycling system.
</br>
</br> As you might have already guessed, my theory on supplement use is somewhat parallel to my theory on nutrition--variety is paramount. However, "random shotgunning" or taking supplements with no rhyme or reason is not the best plan either. I believe a person can maximize the effects of supplements as well as save money by cycling supplements. In Sweden, a bottle of 120 capsules of HMB costs $65! You Americans should feel lucky! I have to "ration" my supplement use as I am not made of money.
</br>
</br> Nutritional supplements may act in a manner similar to drugs in that the body might adapt and eventually "override" their effects, just as it would to certain drugs. The body adapts to virtually everything, which is why, if you don't want to stay the same--if you want to grow--you have to constantly change things. An analogy between supplements and drugs can be made. For example, taking an antibiotic for two weeks to treat an infection is often effective. However, you cannot prevent infections by taking an antibiotic every single day for months and months. The compound would become ineffective. The same can be said of many drugs, and this may be true of supplements, too.
</br>
</br> Now, as far as supplements go, I would say creatine monohydrate is the most important supplement during my Anabolic Burst Cycling program. It is virtually impossible to consume the optimal amounts of creatine through whole foods; thus, a supplement is required. My experiments lead me to theorize that creatine can be cycled. I use 20 to 30 grams per day during the first 6 days of a bulking phase, and then I repeat this at a lower dose of 10 grams a day for the first week of the dieting phase. By taking creatine, you fill up the myocyte, which is also known as a muscle fiber or a muscle cell, with creatine phosphate and potentiate cell volumizing. At the same time, new studies show creatine might improve insulin sensitivity and blood lipid profiles.6
</br>
</br> As I mentioned, insulin sensitivity is a crucial factor for bodybuilders--both for improving body composition and maintaining proper health. Several supplements may be effective for increasing insulin sensitivity and glycogen storage. These include chromium, vanadyl sulfate, and certain fatty acids. Studies with diabetic patients involving vanadyl sulfate show that the compound continues to exert a positive effect for at least two weeks after its use has been discontinued.4 Having this in mind, I recommend using vanadyl sulfate and chromium in a cycling pattern.
</br>
</br> One supplement that you don't hear much about, but which I think could be valuable to bodybuilders, is sodium phosphate--the mineral form is called phosphorus. It is inexpensive but sometimes difficult to find. I suggest giving it a try, in a loading manner, for four days, consuming three or four grams a day. Several studies have shown that phosphate used this way increases both anaerobic and aerobic performance.2,12,14 How-ever, I recommend phosphate in my program because if you are deficient in intracellular phosphate during the heavy eccentric-training portion and extreme stretching--which should be conducted during the second week of the bulking phase--you may have inefficient recovery.
</br>
</br> Furthermore, intracellular phosphate is used to create creatine phosphate and for the formation of phospholipids to meet the need for substrates of the plasma membrane of expanding muscle fibers. Another important property of phosphate is that it is the most important intracellular buffer; i.e., it will reduce the metabolic acidosis caused by intense exercise. Acidosis enhances protein breakdown and suppresses the effectiveness of growth hormone and IGF-1. In contrast, reducing the acidosis in the blood--some experts propose with bicarbonate--is probably not a good idea since there are indications that a low pH extracellularly interferes with the anabolic signal for rebuilding the damaged myocyte.
</br>
</br> Conjugated linoleic acid [CLA], a supplement which I have experimented with, may be incorporated into a cell membrane, thereby increasing the inflow of nutrients. I'll discuss this interesting area in our next article. There is also evidence that HMB has a similar ability. Both CLA and HMB may increase the amount of intracellular triglycerides, which is good so long as you can keep insulin sensitivity high. Glutamine may also play an important role in my program. Alpha-lipoic acid may have some interesting bodybuilding applications, too. HCA could also elicit a nice response in some individuals. The reason behind this is that the hypercaloric diet will eventually increase the activity of fat-storing enzymes making the conversion of carbohydrates to fat very effective. This could partly be blocked by using HCA during the last days of the anabolic phase. If you're over 35, you may also need to supplement with selenium since it's been shown that the age- related decrease in thyroid function is attenuated by selenium. I'll talk more about these topics in Part 5 of this feature. Wow! This really is fascinating stuff--I've been following bodybuilding for 16 years, and to be honest, I've never found bodybuilding nutrition to be that exciting of a topic; that is, until now. Torbjorn Akerfeldt's revolutionary theories in this area have convinced me there is more to optimal nutrition than meets the eye--more to it than simply eating a high-protein diet and consuming more calories for a period of months if you want to bulk up and dieting for weeks and weeks if you want to get cut. This is exciting news for all bodybuilders--especially those of us who are training drug free and are looking for any advantage we can get--especially one that's safe and legal!
</br>
</br> If you give this program a try, keep track of exactly how it works for you--chart your bodyweight, bodyfat percentage, strength, etc., and write to me and let me know how much muscle you gain. I'll pass your feedback, and mine, along in Part 3 of this feature, which will appear in the next issue of Muscle Media 2000! In this upcoming article, we'll talk more about nutrition, supplements, exercise, and Torbjorn's theory on "protein cycling," which I guarantee you'll find fascinating!
</br>
</br> The Bulking Phase
</br>
</br> Calories: I'm going to start this system by consuming 1,500 more calories per day than my maintenance energy requirements. My body burns only around 2,400-2,800 calories a day because I'm not very active. I basically sit behind a desk all day and then work out for an hour. I probably burn fewer calories each day than those of you who take part in a lot of recreational sports, have physically demanding jobs, etc. Anyway, for me, 2,400-2,800 calories a day is my maintenance intake. So, I'm going to consume around 4,000-4,200 calories per day to start with. If I don't put on at least three pounds the first week, I'll go up to about 4,700 calories a day the second week. My plan is to consume 6 meals every day, each with about 500 to 800 calories.
</br>
</br> Protein, Carbs, and Fat:
</br>
</br> Torbjorn believes that on the bulking phase, a 20% protein, 50% carb, and 30% fat macronutrient profile will work well. I think I'll go with a bit more protein, but Torbjorn emphasizes that a relatively high level of carbs consumed while bulking will maximize insulin output and help promote anabolism. An example of what I'm planning for an average day on my bulking diet is indicated in the chart below.
</br>
</br> * Protein Grams Carb Grams Fat Grams Cal 7:30 a.m. One bowl of oatmeal 16 oz skim milk Omelet with 2 whole eggs plus 8 egg whites One whole grapefruit One gram of Vitamin C 6 16 55 1 -- 25 24 10 19 -- 2 1 20 0 -- 144 169 440 80 -- 10:00 a.m. Myoplex Plus Deluxe mixed with 16 oz skim milk One serving of Phosphagen HP 58 -- 49 35 3 -- 469 140 Noon Cheeseburger with 6 oz of lean ground beef, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. 16 oz of water 58 -- 20 -- 54 -- 798 -- 3:30 p.m. Myoplex Plus Deluxe with 16 oz skim milk 58 49 3 469 5:00 p.m. PR Bar One gram of Vitamin C 14 -- 19 -- 6 -- 190 -- 6:00 p.m. Workout -- -- -- -- 7:00 p.m. Two servings of Phosphagen HP -- 70 -- 280 8:30 p.m. Four chicken enchiladas with rice 16 oz of water 35 -- 128 -- 18 -- 808 -- 10:30 p.m. Two bowls of frosted Cheerios, 12 oz of skim milk One gram of Vitamin C 4 12 -- 50 18 -- 2 1 -- 240 128 -- * TOTALS 317 516 110 4355
</br>
</br> Training: As far as workouts go, I plan to do only weightlifting during the bulking phase--no aerobics. I'm going to train four times a week, lifting as much weight as possible for relatively low reps. For example, for chest, after a few warm-up sets on the flat barbell bench, I'm going to do 5 sets of between 3 and 8 repetitions with 275 to 325 lbs. Then I'm going to do dumbbell flyes--four sets of five to eight reps, using as much weight as I possibly can yet incorporating a deep stretch into the movement. And I'm going to hit the eccentric (negative) hard, especially during the second week of each bulking phase. I'll finish my chest work with 2 sets of pullovers, using moderate weight for 10 to 12 reps. I plan to rest a full three minutes between sets, so I'll recover my strength and can lift heavy.
</br>
</br> As Torbjorn explained in this article, it is important to stretch the connective tissue around muscle cells as much as possible while bulking up. I'll do this by stretching between exercises and actually doing as much stretching as I can during exercises. For example, on the lat pulldown and the low-pulley row, I'll really stretch out the lats. On exercises like the dumbbell triceps extension, I'll lower the weight as far as I can behind my head and really extend those muscles, and on exercises like the dumbbell preacher curl, I'll extend the biceps muscles and stretch them out, all the way.
</br>
</br> The Cutting Phase After two weeks of overfeeding, I'm going to "shift gears" and go on a low-calorie diet. Because I'll be trying to lose fat at a very rapid pace during this two-week cutting period, I'll need to create a significant energy deficit. I think I'll have to go down to around 1,600-1,800 calories a day for 14 days in order to accomplish my objective. Basically, I'm going to starve my ass off. I plan to eat small meals often throughout the day.
</br>
</br> Protein, Carbs, and Fat: During the cutting phase, I'm going to reduce my carbohydrate intake substantially. I'll be consuming a diet that will be around 40-45% protein, 40-45% carbs, and 10-20% fat.
</br>
</br> Protein Grams Carb Grams Fat Grams Cal 7:00 a.m. 200 mg caffeine, 25 mg ephedrine, 300 mg aspirin (on aerobic training days only) -- -- -- -- 7:30 a.m. 30 minutes aerobics on stationary bike -- -- -- -- 9:00 a.m. Myoplex Plus with 16 oz of water mixed with one serving of BetaGen 42 -- 24 2 2 -- 280 10 11:00 a.m. Fat-free yogurt Apple 16 oz of water 7 -- -- 13 21 -- -- -- -- 82 84 -- 12:00 p.m. One grilled, skinless chicken breast One medium-sized baked potato with 2 Tbsp ketchup 16 oz of water 53 5 1 -- -- 51 7 -- 6 -- -- -- 266 224 32 -- 3:00 p.m. Myoplex Plus with 16 oz of water mixed with one serving of BetaGen 42 -- 24 2 2 -- 280 10 6:30 p.m. Weight-training workout -- -- -- -- 7:30 p.m. One serving of BetaGen mixed with one serving of CytoVol -- -- 2 4 -- -- 10 45 8:00 p.m. 4 oz grilled salmon Salad with fat-free dressing Steamed vegetables 16 oz of water 29 5 3 -- -- 3 6 -- 7 -- -- -- 179 32 36 -- 10:30 p.m. Fat-free yogurt One serving of BetaGen mixed with one serving of CytoVol 7 -- -- 13 2 4 -- -- -- 82 10 45 * TOTALS 194 178 17 1707
</br>
</br> Training: Four days a week I'm going to try to do a minimum of 20 minutes (but hopefully as much as 30 or 40 minutes) of aerobic exercise, on an empty stomach in the morning, to accelerate fat loss. After I work out, I'll wait about an hour before I eat (my body will continue to burn fat for fuel at an accelerated rate after exercise). By then, I'll probably have to eat--I'll be starving.
</br>
</br> During this phase, I'm going to train with weights only three days a week, doing moderate weight, relatively high reps, and relatively low intensity. My goal during this two-week period is to get rid of bodyfat while maintaining muscle mass. This phase is not about stretching the connective tissue or gaining muscle, so I'm not going to exaggerate the stretching components on my exercises, nor am I going to work very hard on the eccentric reps. This is not the time for beating up my muscles--protein synthesis will probably be down during this phase, and recovery will be difficult. I plan to work out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for about 45 minutes with weights and do completely different exercises than I did during the bulking phase. And, like I said, I don't plan to really push it that hard.
</br>
</br> TA: Yes. Very good, Bill.
</br>
</br> BP: Do I need to stretch and do negatives or take Vitamin C during the cutting phase?
</br>
</br> TA: No. During the low-calorie phase, we are not trying to remodel connective tissue. The emphasis is on fat burning. Of course--for other reasons--one gram of Vitamin C daily or moderate stretching could be useful during the "non-remodeling" phase. Intense negatives, on the other hand, must be avoided.
</br>
</br> BP: Let's talk more about some of the specific details of your program. It seems that alternating between low- and high-calorie diet phases is basically the cornerstone of this system. How many calories are we talking about during each phase?
</br>
</br> TA: In my upcoming book, I will go into great detail about this. But as a guideline, a place to start, for the high-calorie phase, someone like you, who has relatively low bodyfat and weighs around 200 lbs, will probably need to eat around 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day. You eat like this for 14 days in a row. Each person will need some adjustments to this number. Since I understand you sit at a desk 12 hours a day, you may need only 4,000. During the dieting/fat-loss phase, you would eat about half this much.
</br>
</br> This is just a rough place to start--a person's activity level [whether someone has a desk job or is a construction worker could make a big difference] and a person's muscle mass and metabolism also come into play. If a bodybuilder is following this recommendation and not gaining weight during the bulking phase, I would recommend increasing calorie intake by 500 calories a day, for a week, and if a substantial weight gain is not realized, I would take it up another 500 calories the next week. If you're working out hard, you should be gaining three pounds a week on the bulking phase.
</br>
</br> Likewise, if someone is not losing bodyweight on the low-calorie phase, I would recommend decreasing calorie intake by 300 calories a day, per week.
</br>
</br> Remember that each time you start an anabolic phase, you may need to increase your calorie intake, as long as you're gaining lean body mass. For example, if you go from 190 to 195 lbs during your first anabolic and fat-burning cycle, you should add about 100 more calories to your diet per day for the next cycle.
</br>
</br> BP: Now I understand that supplements like creatine, chromium, and HMB are some of the other supplements you've experimented with. What types of supplements should someone use, and how should they use them, when following your Anabolic Burst Cycling program?
</br>
</br>
</br>
</br> TA: Because this area has not been extensively studied, there's really no concrete data available that tells us exactly how various supplements such as creatine monohydrate, chromium, vanadyl sulfate, etc. work while a person is on a high- or low-calorie diet. The literature offers very little to the scientist who is interested in what type of additive effects and/or synergy might be created by using supplements in a "stacking" manner. Of course, the science of supplements which enhance performance, muscle metabolism, and fat oxidation is in its infancy. I want to make sure I preface any discussion about supplements with this information because we are largely speculating. Dan Duchaine, Dr. Mauro DiPasquale, and you, Bill, are all familiar with the various supplements bodybuilders might benefit from, but you all have different theories on how those compounds should be taken. Some of these ideas come from your own personal experiences, some come from empirical [word of mouth] data, and some come from extrapolations of scientific literature. Suffice it to say, at this point we have no "proof" there is a completely right or wrong way to use supplements. What I will touch on here and discuss in more detail in future MM2K articles is an outline of my own theories of how the use of various supplements may enhance the effects of the Anabolic Burst Cycling system.
</br>
</br> As you might have already guessed, my theory on supplement use is somewhat parallel to my theory on nutrition--variety is paramount. However, "random shotgunning" or taking supplements with no rhyme or reason is not the best plan either. I believe a person can maximize the effects of supplements as well as save money by cycling supplements. In Sweden, a bottle of 120 capsules of HMB costs $65! You Americans should feel lucky! I have to "ration" my supplement use as I am not made of money.
</br>
</br> Nutritional supplements may act in a manner similar to drugs in that the body might adapt and eventually "override" their effects, just as it would to certain drugs. The body adapts to virtually everything, which is why, if you don't want to stay the same--if you want to grow--you have to constantly change things. An analogy between supplements and drugs can be made. For example, taking an antibiotic for two weeks to treat an infection is often effective. However, you cannot prevent infections by taking an antibiotic every single day for months and months. The compound would become ineffective. The same can be said of many drugs, and this may be true of supplements, too.
</br>
</br> Now, as far as supplements go, I would say creatine monohydrate is the most important supplement during my Anabolic Burst Cycling program. It is virtually impossible to consume the optimal amounts of creatine through whole foods; thus, a supplement is required. My experiments lead me to theorize that creatine can be cycled. I use 20 to 30 grams per day during the first 6 days of a bulking phase, and then I repeat this at a lower dose of 10 grams a day for the first week of the dieting phase. By taking creatine, you fill up the myocyte, which is also known as a muscle fiber or a muscle cell, with creatine phosphate and potentiate cell volumizing. At the same time, new studies show creatine might improve insulin sensitivity and blood lipid profiles.6
</br>
</br> As I mentioned, insulin sensitivity is a crucial factor for bodybuilders--both for improving body composition and maintaining proper health. Several supplements may be effective for increasing insulin sensitivity and glycogen storage. These include chromium, vanadyl sulfate, and certain fatty acids. Studies with diabetic patients involving vanadyl sulfate show that the compound continues to exert a positive effect for at least two weeks after its use has been discontinued.4 Having this in mind, I recommend using vanadyl sulfate and chromium in a cycling pattern.
</br>
</br> One supplement that you don't hear much about, but which I think could be valuable to bodybuilders, is sodium phosphate--the mineral form is called phosphorus. It is inexpensive but sometimes difficult to find. I suggest giving it a try, in a loading manner, for four days, consuming three or four grams a day. Several studies have shown that phosphate used this way increases both anaerobic and aerobic performance.2,12,14 How-ever, I recommend phosphate in my program because if you are deficient in intracellular phosphate during the heavy eccentric-training portion and extreme stretching--which should be conducted during the second week of the bulking phase--you may have inefficient recovery.
</br>
</br> Furthermore, intracellular phosphate is used to create creatine phosphate and for the formation of phospholipids to meet the need for substrates of the plasma membrane of expanding muscle fibers. Another important property of phosphate is that it is the most important intracellular buffer; i.e., it will reduce the metabolic acidosis caused by intense exercise. Acidosis enhances protein breakdown and suppresses the effectiveness of growth hormone and IGF-1. In contrast, reducing the acidosis in the blood--some experts propose with bicarbonate--is probably not a good idea since there are indications that a low pH extracellularly interferes with the anabolic signal for rebuilding the damaged myocyte.
</br>
</br> Conjugated linoleic acid [CLA], a supplement which I have experimented with, may be incorporated into a cell membrane, thereby increasing the inflow of nutrients. I'll discuss this interesting area in our next article. There is also evidence that HMB has a similar ability. Both CLA and HMB may increase the amount of intracellular triglycerides, which is good so long as you can keep insulin sensitivity high. Glutamine may also play an important role in my program. Alpha-lipoic acid may have some interesting bodybuilding applications, too. HCA could also elicit a nice response in some individuals. The reason behind this is that the hypercaloric diet will eventually increase the activity of fat-storing enzymes making the conversion of carbohydrates to fat very effective. This could partly be blocked by using HCA during the last days of the anabolic phase. If you're over 35, you may also need to supplement with selenium since it's been shown that the age- related decrease in thyroid function is attenuated by selenium. I'll talk more about these topics in Part 5 of this feature. Wow! This really is fascinating stuff--I've been following bodybuilding for 16 years, and to be honest, I've never found bodybuilding nutrition to be that exciting of a topic; that is, until now. Torbjorn Akerfeldt's revolutionary theories in this area have convinced me there is more to optimal nutrition than meets the eye--more to it than simply eating a high-protein diet and consuming more calories for a period of months if you want to bulk up and dieting for weeks and weeks if you want to get cut. This is exciting news for all bodybuilders--especially those of us who are training drug free and are looking for any advantage we can get--especially one that's safe and legal!
</br>
</br> If you give this program a try, keep track of exactly how it works for you--chart your bodyweight, bodyfat percentage, strength, etc., and write to me and let me know how much muscle you gain. I'll pass your feedback, and mine, along in Part 3 of this feature, which will appear in the next issue of Muscle Media 2000! In this upcoming article, we'll talk more about nutrition, supplements, exercise, and Torbjorn's theory on "protein cycling," which I guarantee you'll find fascinating!
</br>
</br> The Bulking Phase
</br>
</br> Calories: I'm going to start this system by consuming 1,500 more calories per day than my maintenance energy requirements. My body burns only around 2,400-2,800 calories a day because I'm not very active. I basically sit behind a desk all day and then work out for an hour. I probably burn fewer calories each day than those of you who take part in a lot of recreational sports, have physically demanding jobs, etc. Anyway, for me, 2,400-2,800 calories a day is my maintenance intake. So, I'm going to consume around 4,000-4,200 calories per day to start with. If I don't put on at least three pounds the first week, I'll go up to about 4,700 calories a day the second week. My plan is to consume 6 meals every day, each with about 500 to 800 calories.
</br>
</br> Protein, Carbs, and Fat:
</br>
</br> Torbjorn believes that on the bulking phase, a 20% protein, 50% carb, and 30% fat macronutrient profile will work well. I think I'll go with a bit more protein, but Torbjorn emphasizes that a relatively high level of carbs consumed while bulking will maximize insulin output and help promote anabolism. An example of what I'm planning for an average day on my bulking diet is indicated in the chart below.
</br>
</br> * Protein Grams Carb Grams Fat Grams Cal 7:30 a.m. One bowl of oatmeal 16 oz skim milk Omelet with 2 whole eggs plus 8 egg whites One whole grapefruit One gram of Vitamin C 6 16 55 1 -- 25 24 10 19 -- 2 1 20 0 -- 144 169 440 80 -- 10:00 a.m. Myoplex Plus Deluxe mixed with 16 oz skim milk One serving of Phosphagen HP 58 -- 49 35 3 -- 469 140 Noon Cheeseburger with 6 oz of lean ground beef, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. 16 oz of water 58 -- 20 -- 54 -- 798 -- 3:30 p.m. Myoplex Plus Deluxe with 16 oz skim milk 58 49 3 469 5:00 p.m. PR Bar One gram of Vitamin C 14 -- 19 -- 6 -- 190 -- 6:00 p.m. Workout -- -- -- -- 7:00 p.m. Two servings of Phosphagen HP -- 70 -- 280 8:30 p.m. Four chicken enchiladas with rice 16 oz of water 35 -- 128 -- 18 -- 808 -- 10:30 p.m. Two bowls of frosted Cheerios, 12 oz of skim milk One gram of Vitamin C 4 12 -- 50 18 -- 2 1 -- 240 128 -- * TOTALS 317 516 110 4355
</br>
</br> Training: As far as workouts go, I plan to do only weightlifting during the bulking phase--no aerobics. I'm going to train four times a week, lifting as much weight as possible for relatively low reps. For example, for chest, after a few warm-up sets on the flat barbell bench, I'm going to do 5 sets of between 3 and 8 repetitions with 275 to 325 lbs. Then I'm going to do dumbbell flyes--four sets of five to eight reps, using as much weight as I possibly can yet incorporating a deep stretch into the movement. And I'm going to hit the eccentric (negative) hard, especially during the second week of each bulking phase. I'll finish my chest work with 2 sets of pullovers, using moderate weight for 10 to 12 reps. I plan to rest a full three minutes between sets, so I'll recover my strength and can lift heavy.
</br>
</br> As Torbjorn explained in this article, it is important to stretch the connective tissue around muscle cells as much as possible while bulking up. I'll do this by stretching between exercises and actually doing as much stretching as I can during exercises. For example, on the lat pulldown and the low-pulley row, I'll really stretch out the lats. On exercises like the dumbbell triceps extension, I'll lower the weight as far as I can behind my head and really extend those muscles, and on exercises like the dumbbell preacher curl, I'll extend the biceps muscles and stretch them out, all the way.
</br>
</br> The Cutting Phase After two weeks of overfeeding, I'm going to "shift gears" and go on a low-calorie diet. Because I'll be trying to lose fat at a very rapid pace during this two-week cutting period, I'll need to create a significant energy deficit. I think I'll have to go down to around 1,600-1,800 calories a day for 14 days in order to accomplish my objective. Basically, I'm going to starve my ass off. I plan to eat small meals often throughout the day.
</br>
</br> Protein, Carbs, and Fat: During the cutting phase, I'm going to reduce my carbohydrate intake substantially. I'll be consuming a diet that will be around 40-45% protein, 40-45% carbs, and 10-20% fat.
</br>
</br> Protein Grams Carb Grams Fat Grams Cal 7:00 a.m. 200 mg caffeine, 25 mg ephedrine, 300 mg aspirin (on aerobic training days only) -- -- -- -- 7:30 a.m. 30 minutes aerobics on stationary bike -- -- -- -- 9:00 a.m. Myoplex Plus with 16 oz of water mixed with one serving of BetaGen 42 -- 24 2 2 -- 280 10 11:00 a.m. Fat-free yogurt Apple 16 oz of water 7 -- -- 13 21 -- -- -- -- 82 84 -- 12:00 p.m. One grilled, skinless chicken breast One medium-sized baked potato with 2 Tbsp ketchup 16 oz of water 53 5 1 -- -- 51 7 -- 6 -- -- -- 266 224 32 -- 3:00 p.m. Myoplex Plus with 16 oz of water mixed with one serving of BetaGen 42 -- 24 2 2 -- 280 10 6:30 p.m. Weight-training workout -- -- -- -- 7:30 p.m. One serving of BetaGen mixed with one serving of CytoVol -- -- 2 4 -- -- 10 45 8:00 p.m. 4 oz grilled salmon Salad with fat-free dressing Steamed vegetables 16 oz of water 29 5 3 -- -- 3 6 -- 7 -- -- -- 179 32 36 -- 10:30 p.m. Fat-free yogurt One serving of BetaGen mixed with one serving of CytoVol 7 -- -- 13 2 4 -- -- -- 82 10 45 * TOTALS 194 178 17 1707
</br>
</br> Training: Four days a week I'm going to try to do a minimum of 20 minutes (but hopefully as much as 30 or 40 minutes) of aerobic exercise, on an empty stomach in the morning, to accelerate fat loss. After I work out, I'll wait about an hour before I eat (my body will continue to burn fat for fuel at an accelerated rate after exercise). By then, I'll probably have to eat--I'll be starving.
</br>
</br> During this phase, I'm going to train with weights only three days a week, doing moderate weight, relatively high reps, and relatively low intensity. My goal during this two-week period is to get rid of bodyfat while maintaining muscle mass. This phase is not about stretching the connective tissue or gaining muscle, so I'm not going to exaggerate the stretching components on my exercises, nor am I going to work very hard on the eccentric reps. This is not the time for beating up my muscles--protein synthesis will probably be down during this phase, and recovery will be difficult. I plan to work out Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for about 45 minutes with weights and do completely different exercises than I did during the bulking phase. And, like I said, I don't plan to really push it that hard.
