Last week, my girlfriend took me to a family owned coffee shop near her apartment. There is a trail behind it that winds through the woods that people routinely trek. It’s a perfect way to vent a caffeinated induced euphoria, so we went for a walk. My girlfriend is a far cry from being obese, [...]
Last week, my girlfriend took me to a family owned coffee shop near her apartment. There is a trail behind it that winds through the woods that people routinely trek. It’s a perfect way to vent a caffeinated induced euphoria, so we went for a walk.
My girlfriend is a far cry from being obese, overweight, or fat for that matter. But last winter she succumbed to Arby’s curly fries, and now that beach season is around the corner she’s a little more self conscious.
Very seductive, I mean, check out those curves.
I try to steer her in the right direction, which is why I taught her how to lift weights a few years back. She squats, deadlifts, and presses because I chastised her for succumbing to 2 lb pink dumbbell syndrome. I further vindicate my methods when I force her to read JC Deen, Nia Shanks, Neghar Fonooni, and the likes.
Anywho, on our trek in the forest, we talked about fat loss. My theory was upheld by the lack of “fit” people that were on the trail. The stimulus of walking, jogging, blading, or biking isn’t intense enough penetrate the instinct barrier, meaning your body isn’t telling itself, “my survival depends on not being filled with as much lard.” The more people we came across the smarter I appeared. A cool side effect was that it scared my girlfriend even further into doing hill sprints with me. It can get lonely on those uphill climbs, after all.
I know there is a host of science out there saying it’s all about calories in vs. calories out. I hate counting calories and the lifestyle that accompanies it. Here’s an example of my kind of weight loss diet:
- Lean meat, fish, and vegetables in infinite amounts.
- Medium amount of red meat and eggs
- Accent meals with fruit and a tolerable carbohydrate
By a tolerable carbohydrate, I mean one that doesn’t make you feel bloated and give you gas. And the exercise part? Well, that boils down to doing a bunch of things that require you to move your body through space with some intensity.
Complicated stuff, I know.
THE “CLEAN BULK”
What about gaining muscle while not getting fat? It’s a question I got recently on a forum I visit. The specific question was this:
“I remember Mr. P said that, during periods of bulking, he would continue HIIT for the very same reason you suggested in your blog post. If your theory were to be true, then how would it be best applied during bulking to try to stave off body fat? PLP and HIIT combos? I would imagine that you would have to be wary of doing too much body weight activities because lifting is most important while bulking.”
(For those of you that don’t know, PLP is a program by Chad Waterbury that focuses on bodyweight movements that escalate in volume daily.)
First, if you’re asking this question, ditch the bulk-cut model. You’re afraid of getting fat, and you can’t bulk with constant paranoia. Now, unlike others, I’m not going to criticize your desire to stay lean. Don’t let anyone tell you that it’s impossible. It’s very possible once you ditch the bulk-cut mindset.
Obsessing over you waistline isn't going to get you anywhere. Trust in the process by ditching the bulk-cut cycle.
Now I hate the term “clean bulk,” so I’m not going to use it. It signifies a certain period of time where your goal is putting on muscle. Realistically, that should always be your goal since it’s a normal part of the adaptation process. People fail at it because of impatience. Muscle creation is a gradual reflection of progressively overloading the contractile tissues, and at the same time providing the necessary nutrients to support the growth.
TRADITIONAL “BULK”
During a bulking period, people usually shoot to gain 1 lb of bodyweight gain per week in hopes that 50% of this weight will be muscle mass. An eight week stint may result in 4 lbs of muscle and 4 lbs of stomach pouch.
But losing the pouch means heading into a caloric deficit, which dangers the precious muscular gains you just achieved. And if you’re not on juice, you can expect some of that muscle to go bye bye. After the entire production, you’re going to net anywhere from 1-3 lbs of muscle after an eight week bulk followed by a two to four week cut. But you appreciate this muscle because of the changes your body has gone through. It appears more noticeable because there eight weeks in which you felt “softer.”
If you want the muscle without the pouch, you have to lower your expectations because finding the right caloric intake to supply nutrients without fat gain can be challenging – usually involving some sort of carbohydrate cycling. Even after you figure it out, you’re looking at a maximum of 1 lb of muscular development per month (I got this number from Martin Berkhan when he posted an article on Twitter). Assume that it won’t be perfect, so you’re looking at 0.5 – 1 lb of weight gain per month. It doesn’t sound like much, but gaining 8-10 lbs of muscle in a year time frame is respectable.
The problem is that, unlike during the bulk, you won’t respect it because your body isn’t going through as many changes. Adding 1 lb of muscle on your entire frame isn’t going to be noticeable. Hell, adding 5 lbs of muscle to your frame will be hard to identify. John Romaniello, in an article at T-Nation, said that 15 lbs on a taller frame is hard to notice.
When you compare the two methods, the amount of muscle gained won’t differ by that much –5 lbs in one year, if you’re doing things right – but it bulking will appear more effective because of the up and down changes in body composition.
IT’S THE LIFESTYLE
It may be daunting to realize that gaining 20 lbs of solid mass is going to take two years of effort, but it sits well in my stomach because I’m in it for the long haul. It’s not about eight weeks to achieve greatness. It’s about a lifetime of acquiring greatness. I don’t see myself stopping, and you shouldn’t either, so be patient.
Oh, and my prescription for what your diet should consist of to fuel this kind of lifestyle?
On your training days –
- Leaner cuts of meat, fish, eggs
- Ample fruits and tolerable carbohydrates
On your off days –
- Fattier cuts of meat, fish, and eggs
- Ample vegetables
You can supplement both days with fish oil, fiber, and the usual supplement suspects to sustain your psychological desires. When you wake up, if you’re feeling super lean, you know you need to eat more on your training days. Never eat less on a training day to get rid of a soft or bloating feeling. Experiment with less carbohydrates or eating a bit less on your off days instead.
Yes, carb cycling and calorie counting can be that “complicated.” If you want more information on how I developed this gross approach, I highly recommend diving into Martin Berkhan’s stuff. His clients constantly get jacked without turning into the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.
Not Martin's usual client.
And my theory about using your bodyweight to send your body the right signals?
- Do chins at least twice a week, and make sure you total 100 repetitions over the course of the week. If you can do 50 in less than 3 sets, bump it up to 200 repetitions in a week.
- Sprint at least twice a week in some capacity.
- Do at least 200 pushups per week. If you find this too easy, you might want to do a sensible thing and up it to 300. I have a nice theory when dealing with bodyweight exercises. It’s called, when in doubt add 50 reps/week. That’s what I like to call “complicated” programming.
- Do at least 200 reps of squatting every week. Don’t make them all weighted. Do the the bulk with bodyweight (can be lunges, or whatever kind of variation you want). Count your weighted reps in this total if you want.
You can combine this with even the most minimalist barbell protocol and see some tremendous gains.
CROSSFIT
This has been on my mind for some time, and I think it’s the right time to say it. I’m amazed at how jacked and “fit” some CrossFitters look. Don’t get confused by this though. I’m not advocating, agreeing, or promoting their philosophy. I’m going solely on aesthetics, and it just seems a lot of CrossFitters gain muscle without much fat. I could be wrong, and I could be duped by the pictures they highlight on their website.
But when you step back, it’s a bunch of exercises that utilize the body in space in combination with compound barbell movements. Since a lot of what they do is time based, it jacks the intensity through the roof. Now it may be a coincidence, but it may not be. Just a thought.
Certainly "better than average."
CONCLUSION
Although I just gave you some dietary and exercise guidelines, I want you to take a step back. Try to look past the meat of this post. Don’t look at the specifics.
No matter what path you choose, it’s going to take time. It’s not about eight weeks. It’s about consistency over one hundred weeks. Don’t fret bad workouts, and don’t kill yourself if you miss a PR. It’s not always about ball busting intensity. Sometimes just getting the work done is more than enough.
Complicated? Yeah. Or so it would seem. But remember, the most important part is showing up.