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When the boss is away.......(CONTEST)

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yeah, usually I find the dumbbells to require more effort overall
but I'm trying to incorporate the barbell again to hopefully develop more of the inner and upper pec, which seem to have not grown as quickly as the outer/mid areas from my dumbbell usage

with the barbell I find it easier to concentrate on squeezing the weight up with the chest, rather than pushing too much from the shoulders and arms.

hopefully I will learn that both dumbbell and barbell have their place in chest presses, otherwise I have no idea what I'm doing wrong for my chest growth, everything else is going swimmingly

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Go "In" For a Big Chest

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If you have very strong triceps, you'll have some problems maximally recruiting the chest when performing the bench press. The triceps are so strong that they take on the bulk of the work. By exerting force inward against the bar — trying to bring your hands closer together but not actually moving them — you'll take the triceps out of the movement to a large extent while switching more of the stress toward the pecs and delts.
 
If you have very strong triceps, you'll have some problems maximally recruiting the chest when performing the bench press. The triceps are so strong that they take on the bulk of the work. By exerting force inward against the bar — trying to bring your hands closer together but not actually moving them — you'll take the triceps out of the movement to a large extent while switching more of the stress toward the pecs and delts.

Only the first half of the flye motion is actually a decent pectoral exercise! See the illustration below.

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For an exercise to be effective at stimulating a muscle group, the direction of the effort must be opposite to the direction of the resistance: the closer it is from a direct opposition, the greater the activity of the targeted muscle group.

When using free-weights, the direction of the resistance is always downward (in-line with the gravity pull). So when working with free-weights, the greater muscle activation will be achieved when you're lifting straight up.

With the flye, you're moving the weights directly against the resistance during the first portion of the exercise (green zone in pic above). At that point you're thus placing a training stress equivalent to 100% of the weight of the dumbbells. As you reach the later part of the movement's range of motion, the amount of resistance decreases.

In the yellow zone you're placing around 60-75% of the weight of the dumbbells in training stress, down to 30-50% in the orange zone, and close to 0 in the red zone.

Actually, once you reach the orange and red zones, the pectoral muscles will actually lose tension. Some people will argue that when you purposefully squeeze them at that point you're still getting a maximum effort, but that isn't true as you're contracting against a very low resistance.

For bodybuilding purposes, it's more effective to maintain a maximum amount of muscle tension during the whole exercise. This is especially true of isolation movements such as flyes. So in that regard, the last half of the flye movement not only is of no use as far as building muscle goes, but it can actually reduce the general efficacy of the exercise!

For flyes to be an effective exercise, you should only perform around two-thirds of the range of motion, but really focus on getting the deepest stretch possible in the low position of the movement. Keep the pace of the exercise relatively slow while focusing on keeping the pecs tight and tensed the whole time.

Note that this reasoning doesn't apply to flyes performed on a cable station since the pulley adjusts the direction of the resistance to fit the direction of effort. So when performing flyes on a dual pulley station, you should perform a full range of motion.
 
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Using the double contraction technique in the low position.



1. Lower the bar down to the chest.

2. Press it halfway up.

3. Lower it back down to the chest.

4. Press it up completely.

This is one rep. So as you can see, the pecs will receive twice as many reps as the triceps. An important point is to execute the first half-rep under muscular control (squeeze the pecs). Many people bounce or spring the bar up during that first portion, which takes a lot of stress (and thus growth stimulation) off of the muscle structure of the chest.

B) Use the post-fatigue technique. This method refers to a superset (no rest between two movements) of two exercises for the same muscle group. The first exercise is the compound lift (bench press) and the second one is an isolation exercise for the target muscle group. In your case it could be cable flyes.

Perform your bench press set and immediately move on to the flyes. What this does is "finish off" the pectoral fibers that were left not fully stimulated from the bench pressing. As a result they'll receive a maximum growth stimulus.

C) Place the triceps in a mechanically disadvantaged position. If the triceps are placed in such a position as their contribution to the movement is harder, the body will have to rely on other muscle groups (the pecs) to do the work.

In the case of the bench press, it means using a wider grip and lowering the bar closer to the upper pec region instead of the middle portion. This will recruit the chest more. However, it also places more stress on the shoulder joint. If you have any shoulder problems, you should be careful.
 
After 3-4 weeks of stressful training, take a week off. This is the basis of my block training scheme. I like to divide training into short phases of 3-5 weeks that I call "blocks." A block of training simply refers to a certain period of time where you focus on one type of training.

There are three main types of blocks:

Type 1: Accumulation Block – Characterized by a relatively high volume of work and a lower average intensity (referring to the amount of weight lifted). Exercise selection is broader (more exercises per muscle group) and the number of reps per set is higher. The rest intervals between sets are reduced to increase training density and training techniques such as pre-fatigue, post-fatigue, drop sets, antagonist supersets, and 30-45 second yielding isometrics can be used.

Type 2: Intensification Block – Characterized by a higher training intensity (load) and a lower training volume. During such a block we want to stick mostly to the 1-3 and 4-6 rep ranges. Exercise selection is much narrower: fewer lifts (only the big basics) are used. Since we're performing fewer exercises, we increase the number of sets per exercise slightly while reducing the number of reps.

Rest intervals are increased to allow for maximum neural recovery and thus facilitate heavy lifting. Training techniques such as cluster sets, extended 5's, accentuated eccentrics, and max-intensity overcoming isometrics can be used.

Type 3: Explosion Block – Characterized by a focus on explosive lifting: variations of the Olympic lifts, dynamic effort lifts (45-55% of your max lifted explosively), ballistic lifts (jump squats, ballistic bench in Smith machine), and plyo drills are good examples. Like in the intensification block, it's best to perform more sets of a few exercises than fewer sets of a broader range of drills. Rest intervals are also relatively long to allow for optimal neural recovery.

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Note that an accumulation block doesn't exclude limit strength work or explosive lifting, just like heavy lifting can still be performed during an explosion block. However, the majority of the volume should be devoted to the style of training selected.

The most frequent block durations are 4 weeks for beginners and intermediate lifters and 3 weeks for advanced lifters. The block structure calls for progressively increasing the difficulty of the sessions from week to week and then drastically reducing training stress during the last week of the block.

To increase the difficulty of a session within a block, you can either increase the number of sets or the amount of weight lifted. Normally it's best to use the volume/set progression method. For example:

Accumulation Block

Week 1: 9 total sets per body part; 8-12 reps per set

Week 2: 12 total sets per body part; 8-12 reps per set

Week 3: 15 total sets per body part; 8-12 reps per set

Week 4: 7 total sets per body part; 6-8 reps per set

Intensification Block

Week 1: 6 total sets per body part; 4-6 reps per set

Week 2: 9 total sets per body part; 4-6 reps per set

Week 3: 12 total sets per body part; 4-6 reps per set

Week 4: 6 total sets per body part; 1-3 reps per set

As you can see, the number of sets is reduced by 50% during that last week while intensity is either maintained or increased. Basically we're unloading the volume to allow for metabolic supercompensation and muscular adaptive reconstruction to take place. It's possible to continue lifting the same amount of weight because of the lower fatigue accumulation during the session. The end of that week is even a good time to increase the loads used.

The unloading week is a very good way to prevent overtraining without having you stop training altogether. You can also unload by reducing the amount of weight lifted if you feel that your CNS is drained. If that's the case, keep the same number of reps per set but reduce the amount of weight used by around 10-20%.

For example, let's say that you progressed to 225 pounds for your work sets on the bench press:

Week 1: 5 x 5 reps @ 205

Week 2: 6 x 4 reps @ 215

Week 3: 7 x 3 reps @ 225

Week 4: 7 x 3 reps @ 205

If you feel physically drained as well, you can also reduce the number of sets, which would give you a last week of 4 x 3 @ 205.

This method of unloading is better kept for extreme cases where your CNS is really fatigued and on the verge of overtraining (this generally occurs if two successive intensification blocks were used).

An unloading week is never fun for athletes; we all want to progress and we often associate the amount of work performed with progress. We think that more work = more results. This isn't always the case. Sometimes it's best to take one step back to be able to take three steps forward.
 
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The trick is to exert strength against the bar either inward or outward. Your hands don't really move of course; it's a static action. In the first case (inward) you try to bring your hands closer together. In the latter (outward) you try to spread the bar.

"In" equals more pectoral and anterior deltoid activation. "Out" equals more triceps activation. "Spreading the bar" is used by competitive powerlifters to increase triceps activation (competitive benching is mostly a triceps exercise). However, it can also be very useful for bodybuilders wanting to emphasise the development of a certain muscle group.

For example, an athlete who has very strong triceps will have some problems maximally recruiting the chest when performing the bench press. The triceps are so strong that they take on the bulk of the work. By exerting force inward against the bar, our lifter will take the triceps out of the movement to a relatively large extent while switching more of the stress toward the pecs and delts.

Be warned that at first you'll have to lower your weights. This is because you're taking your strongest muscle group out of the movement. However, if you're training to build muscle, you should remember the following:

The objective is not to lift weights but to make the muscles perform loaded work.

In other words, the quality and intensity of the muscle contraction is more important than the weight used if training for aesthetic purposes. Now, that doesn't mean to use light weights! It means you should focus on obtaining the strongest muscle contraction and the greater intramuscular tension on each rep. Obviously, the more weight you can lift while properly contracting the muscle, the more growth you'll stimulate because muscle tension is proportional to force output.

The only thing I'm saying is that simply because you'll be using less weight at first doesn't mean that you'll be stimulating less muscle growth. It means that you're actually performing a different exercise (even though it looks the same from an onlooker's point of view), so you have to build strength in that new move.

This technique can be used with all types of barbell pressing exercises depending on the results you seek:

Decline bench press pushing "in" – mostly sternal portion of the pectorals

Decline bench press pushing "out" – mostly triceps

Flat bench press pushing "in" – both portions of the pecs and anterior deltoids

Flat bench press pushing "out" – mostly triceps and lateral head of the deltoids

Incline bench press pushing "in" – clavicular portion of the pecs and anterior deltoids

Incline bench press pushing "out" – triceps, lateral, and anterior heads of the deltoids
 
Thick & Meaty Pecs

Having thick and meaty (not to mention mighty) pecs is a goal of many trainees. In fact, along with getting big arms, I think that it's the most popular goal of all those who frequent the gym regularly. It's a fact that some people have trouble building a large chest. This can be due to several factors:

1. Strength imbalances: Overpowering anterior deltoids or triceps take stimulation away from the pectorals in most exercises.

2. Genetic predispositions: If an individual is more "slow-twitch dominant" in the chest, he might have a problem building it up. Furthermore, guys with narrow ribcages are also at a disadvantage since a large ribcage can promote the illusion of a big chest.

3. Improper exercise technique: Very few coaches explain the proper lifting technique to stimulate the targeted muscle group appropriately. Most trainers will be content if their client is lifting the weight in the same manner; they actually don't teach their trainee how to properly perform an exercise to develop the desired muscle. As we saw earlier with a super simple exercise like the lateral raise, even small technical adjustments can make a significant difference in muscle recruitment.

So what we want out of a good pectoral program is:

• Placing the chest agonists (deltoid and triceps) in a mechanically disadvantaged position so that the pecs can do most of the work.

• Adjusting lifting technique to place most of the stress on the pectoral muscles. Remember, when training to build muscle you shouldn't focus on "lifting weights," but rather on contracting the muscles against resistance. In that regard, a lifting technique that will allow you to lift the most weight isn't necessarily the one that'll build the muscles you want.

For example, a powerlifting squatting technique (very wide stance, hips back, torso at a 45 degree angle) will give you the best levers to make a big lift. However, as a quadriceps exercise (for a bodybuilder) this type of lift is basically worthless. A narrow-stance squat performed with the torso as upright as possible will place more stimulation on the quads despite using smaller weights.

This illustrates that heaving heavy weights for its own sake, without regard to correct targeted tension, won't necessarily help you build the muscle groups you want. Don't get me wrong, gaining strength will make you bigger and more muscular, but not necessarily in the area you want to develop.

• Use training techniques that will force the chest muscles to perform more work and be under high tension for a longer period of time.

• Use different types of rep ranges to hit all the different muscle fibers so that even if you're slow-twitch dominant you'll get some growth.

Here's a program that does just that:

A. Bench Press

Lower the bar to the upper part of the sternum (approximately 1" below your collarbone). Use a relatively wide grip (around 5-6" wider than shoulder width) and lower the bar with the elbows flared out (contrary to a powerlifting bench press where you keep your elbows close to your sides).

It's also very important that you elevate your ribcage; try to make it as high and as full as possible. This will place the pectorals in a position to take over the front deltoids. Finally, during the whole movement, push inward with your arms (as seen earlier in this article).

Use the double contraction technique in the low position. Lower the bar to the chest, lift it halfway up focusing on tensing your pecs and not on lifting the weight. Lower it back down under control and lift it completely (still focusing on your pecs). Do that on each repetition.

5 x 4-6 reps

B1. Incline Bench Press

Lower the bar to your collarbone using a wide grip (slightly wider than with the bench press, so around 6-8" wider than your shoulders). Also keep the elbows flared out.

Lower the bar all the way down to your chest slowly (eccentric in 3-4 seconds) and lift it short of lockout (only perform three-fourth reps). Again, focus on pectoral contraction and not lifting the weight. Finally, during the whole movement, push inward with your arms.

3 x 10-12 reps

B2. Half Dumbbell Flyes

Lying on a flat bench, elevate your ribcage as much as possible. Lower the dumbbells as low as you can. In the low position you should actively try to stretch the pectorals for 2-3 seconds. Then you slowly lift the 'bells until they're halfway up. As always, you must focus on pectoral contraction. Only use the first half of the movement, then go back down.

The three key points are: intense stretch on each rep, elevated rib cage, constant pectoral tension. Think about lifting the weights with your chest instead of with your arms.

3 x 12-15 reps

C. Combo Dumbbell and Cable Press/Flyes

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For this special exercise, attach the ankle belts to the dual low-pulley station and to your wrists. Grab a pair of light dumbbells (15-20 pounds should be enough). You'll perform dumbbells presses going from a pronation (normal) grip at the start to a neutral (hammer) grip at the finish.

Again, flair out the elbows on the way down and squeeze your pecs on the way up. When you reach failure, drop the dumbbells and perform cable flyes with the remaining resistance.

3 x 8-10 press + 3-5 flyes

D. Cable Crossover

Only perform one set of 100 reps with a very light weight. You can take some short pauses during the set, but the fewer the better. You don't have to lift slow on purpose but still focus on getting a good peak contraction at the finished position. You don't need to go all the way up either; bringing your elbows up to your shoulders is enough.

1 x 100 reps


Conclusion

I'll conclude this installment by repeating something I've said numerous times. It's that important!

To build muscle you should focus on contracting the muscles against a resistance, not on lifting weights.

Think about it.
 
Did you know anyone can write anything in Wiki if they have an account. know what I mean

It's still a good place to find general info and you can always refer to other works to verify facts. Besides, I think it would be pretty unlikely that someone is spreading misinformation about the contests in which some bodybuilder named Christian Thibaudeau competes, it's a pretty straightforward thing to find out.
 
so i've got a question for y'all. Lets say I made a trade deal for product with a company rep on another board, and sent him my part, but haven't received his part. He hasn't been visiting that board for a while now (10-12 days) so hasn't responded to PMs. How long should I wait before I get irritated? :) or suggestions as to what I should do ?
 
so i've got a question for y'all. Lets say I made a trade deal for product with a company rep on another board, and sent him my part, but haven't received his part. He hasn't been visiting that board for a while now (10-12 days) so hasn't responded to PMs. How long should I wait before I get irritated? :) or suggestions as to what I should do ?

Saturate his email by recruiting a bunch of people from random forums to spam him.

Seriously, though, on day 14, I think it's safe to switch to irritated mode. 2 weeks is a lot of time for something like this. I'm not exactly what you could do about it, though, except try to find another way to contact this person.
 
This guy a natural competitor?

I saw a natural competitor that looks like this

First and foremost he is a coach/trainer. The pictures are from a recent transformation.

The Beast Evolves
How one coach went from dud to stud in 14 weeks


Before: 230 pounds, 18% bodyfat
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After: 204 pounds, 5% bodyfat. The pics were taken 14 weeks apart. Oh yeah, and I got a little haircut along the way!
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From St. Bernard to Greyhound

A few years ago, another coach told me that because of my body type I could never develop a lean aesthetic physique. "Even if you put it on a diet, a St. Bernard remains a St. Bernard!" he said. At the time this didn't upset me because I felt he was right. All my life I've been what could be called "skinny-fat" — small but fat. I come from a family where adiposity is rampant both on my father's and mother's side. I'd never been lean and defined in my life and I pretty much accepted the fact I would never be.

I reasoned that if I couldn't get lean, I'd at least get big and strong. It took a while before I attained a reasonable amount of strength and put a lot of muscle on my frail body, but I got there eventually. Last summer I was in my "biggest" shape, going up to 240 pounds at 5'9". I had a lot of muscle, but zero definition.

Having accepted that I could never be lean, I pretty much allowed myself to eat anything I wanted. Only once in my competitive career did I go on a diet and that was to make weight for an Olympic-lifting competition. I used the Anabolic Diet and did lose a bunch of weight going from 225 down to 187 in two months. However, I didn't have much more definition at 187 than at 225! I lost muscle and obviously performed very badly at the competition. This only reinforced my belief that I had to eat everything in sight to get as strong as possible.

Then last November something happened that basically gave me a good kick in the nutsack. First, I started writing for T-mag, which gave me a lot of exposure (and thus more opportunities for criticism). Then, during a M.Sc. class in biomechanics, we took pictures of ourselves to analyze our posture. At the time I was 230 pounds and felt that I was in the best shape of my life. I truly believed that I was actually quite defined. Let's just say that the picture proved me wrong: I looked like the Michelin Man's fatter brother! This was a shock for me and I immediately asked one of my professors to measure my body-fat percentage. It was a whopping 18%! I'd believed that it was only around 10%! (Amazing how many fat guys believe that, isn't it? )

After my wake-up call, I said to myself, "Christian, you're now going to be in the public eye. How can you expect to convince people to train your way if you look like ****?" Athletes who worked with me respected me because they saw me lift big weights and the training I had them on was producing results. However, *-*** readers who couldn't actually see me lifting would be a hard sell. Face it, image is at least half the work in this business!

So I came to the following conclusion: I'm working for *-*** and my job is to not only know what I'm talking about, but to look like I know what I'm talking about! From then on I took a workman-like approach and embarked on a journey of body recomposition. I went through three different phases in my quest for a better body. I'll touch on them briefly and then I'll give you the precise diet and training programs I used.
 
Phase 1: From Fat Bastard to Not-So-Fat Bastard

The first phase of my body transformation had me on the Fat-Fast diet, which was outlined here in ***** a while back. Basically, I consumed almost nothing but low-carb protein shakes mixed with healthy fats like flaxseed oil. After fourteen days, I then switched to a regular ketogenic diet. I did it for something like four weeks.

I did lose a lot of fat, but I also lost some muscle in my lower body. This didn't bother me because my legs were always disproportionate compared to the rest of my body. This muscle loss might have been due to the diet or to the fact that I included less lower-body work than usual. (As an Olympic lifter I'd normally squat three to four times per week and work my legs basically every workout.) But I did seem to gain some upper-body size, probably because I hadn't done serious upper-body work for three years.

However, in week six I started to feel weak and small. I thought that this was as far as the ketogenic diet would take me. But I still lost quite a bit of fat. After six weeks I was down to 11-12% body fat at 215 pounds.

Phase 2: Finally, Abs!

After I realized I was now going downward with the ketogenic diet, I switched to John Berardi's Don't Diet plan. This was a welcome change because I could consume carbs again. (I'm a huge carboholic!) The first week was actually drug-like: I gained three pounds of muscle while losing some fat! This was probably due to the rebound anabolism of reintroducing carbs and proper post-workout nutrition in my regimen.

I followed JB's plan for four weeks, during which I was able to go down to 9% body fat and for the first time in my life I could actually see my abs! This was a great moment as I always thought this wouldn't be possible for me.

But once again, after four to five weeks, I stopped losing fat. This is understandable; 9% body fat at 212 pounds (which I was now at) is far above what the body is used to accepting, at least in my case.

Phase 3: Peaking

At 9% body fat I was pretty happy with myself. I felt that this was an acceptable physique for a training authority, but part of me just wasn't satisfied! I'd suffered for ten weeks, might as well go all the way!

So I hired a secret weapon: a bodybuilding pre-contest guru. I went to Chris Janusz, an up-and-coming contest-preparation star. Janusz has a good track record with bodybuilders and regular Joes, plus he's been a successful amateur bodybuilder himself. We made an appointment and he designed a "pre-contest" routine for me. The plan was for four weeks, but after two weeks I'd reached what I'd call an ideal physique. Nothing freaky, but enough to show that I know what I'm talking about. So after twelve weeks I really did make a fantastic change in my appearance. I continued on Janusz' program for two more weeks and things actually got better!

Now, Janusz is a professional and makes his living helping bodybuilders get ready for competitions, so I can't tell you exactly what kind of diet he designed for me. Basically, he just helped me with the macronutrient breakdown of each individual meal and taught me how that breakdown revolves around my activity patterns.

In the first two weeks I went from 212 pounds with 8-9% body fat to 210 with 7% body fat. After week four I was under 6% which I never dreamed of achieving (a year ago I would have been ecstatic with 10%).

Obviously, my situation was favorable to a complete body transformation:

• I had the motivation to go all the way. I saw it as part of my job.

• I had the time. Writing articles and working with athletes gives me a very flexible schedule.

• I had the resources. Training-wise I had access to myself (I know a thing or two about training) and was helped by two great guys as far as dieting goes. I also had access to all the Biotest supplements I wanted except MAG-10. (Damn Canadian customs!)

So, you could do exactly what I did without getting the same results. However, at each phase I did some things right (and some things wrong) and the breakdown of what I did might give you a few ideas. I'll also talk about what I would do differently if I were to do it again.


The Good

This is probably nothing groundbreaking, but it provides a solid foundation for optimal fat loss. Here's what I learned:

1) Consuming excess carbs makes it almost impossible to get very lean unless you're some kind of genetic freak. I found that whenever I went above 250 grams of carbs per day (even if they were in the form of low-glycemic/low-insulimic carbs), my progress stopped.

2) Consuming carbs and fats at the same meal (or less than two hours apart) is the fastest way to add a nice adipose layer to your body. In all three of my transformation phases I avoided fat/carb combos. (This is the gist of the "Don't Diet" approach.) In phase one I avoided carbs altogether and in the other two I consumed either protein/carbs (P + C) or protein/fat (P + F) meals.

3) For most people, energy system work is required to get extra lean. I did diet several times in my life but could never lose more than five to ten pounds of fat because I avoided energy system work like the plague. After experimenting, I realized that to get extremely lean most individuals will need to run or do other forms of conditioning work.

Personally, I relied on interval running and IBUR (Interval Build-Up Running) with an occasional slow-pace cardio session. I started with two energy system sessions per week and went up as high as five weekly sessions, three per week being the most frequent plan during those 14 weeks. (For more info, see my Running Man article.)

4) When I consume less carbs while still consuming enough to have sufficient fuel reserves (125 to 175 grams per day for me), I have more energy in training and feel less drowsy during the day. When I dropped too low (0 to 100 grams per day), I had some trouble focusing and lacked energy. When I went too high (200 grams plus per day), I was tired and lethargic. Your tolerance levels may be different, but this is what worked for me.

5) High-intensity strength exercises (in the 80-100% range) are better than low intensity strength exercises (in the 50-70% range) while dieting. The higher training load helps you preserve strength and muscle while on a hypocaloric diet much better than super-high volume/low intensity workouts.

We've been brainwashed by the various muscle magazines to believe that you should do high rep training for definition. This is absolutely ridiculous! Sure you use a little more energy, but think about it: the higher the training volume, the more energy you need to recover. The more glycogen you burn while strength training, the more carbs you'll need to recover and progress. When on a hypocaloric diet your body has a lowered anabolic drive, meaning that it can't synthesize as much protein into muscle. A super-high volume of work leads to a lot of microtrauma to the muscle structures; a lot of microtrauma requires a great protein synthesis increase.

So if you use high-volume/low-intensity training while dieting you'll breakdown more muscle and build up less. Not exactly good news! Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of high-rep training is an increase in blood and nutrient flow to the muscles, but if you have a reduced amount of nutrients available in your body, this benefit is pretty much wasted.

6) Low-carb Grow!, Crystal Light drink mix, and the George Foreman grill are a dieter's best friends!


The Bad

Now I'll discuss the things I'd do differently if I were to do it all over again. This may help you avoid the same mistakes I made. I do believe that I could've achieved my results even faster had I not made these mistakes.

1) You do need some carbs to grow and progress. While I did lose a lot of fat on a ketogenic (no carbs) diet, it probably slowed down my progress and greatly diminished the amount of muscle I could have gained. Now, I did gain some muscle while dieting, which is rare. However, understand that it was because I didn't train my upper body much for three years before starting this program, so my upper body was basically as responsive as a beginner's.

I also used my OVT program during the first four weeks. I believe that OVT is the absolute best program to gain size rapidly. I have no doubt that had I included some carbs in my diet I'd have gained even more muscle, and would probably not have lost any lower body size as I did.

Note: I posted the OVT program at the Lair of the Ice Dog forum. A finalized version of this program may also be published at T-mag in the future.

2) There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. I got great progress from two to three energy-system sessions per week, but when I pushed it to four or five I actually regressed physique-wise. An athlete on a normal diet would probably have been able to handle it without too many problems, but while dieting it was a bit too much for me. I lost strength and size and didn't lose more fat. That's why I believe that two to three hard energy-system sessions per week (and perhaps one slow-pace cardio session on top of that) is ideal for individuals dieting down. More is not always better, especially while dieting.

3) I regret walking away from the Olympic lifts while dieting. In the last two weeks of my plan I did get back to my Olympic training and had another fat loss spurt along with decent strength and size gains. This intrigued me and after doing some research I learned that the Olympic lifts and their variations are the strength exercises which lead to the greatest energy expenditure per minute of practice. If I were to start my transformation plan again I'd definitely keep using some form of Olympic lifting in my program.

4) I found that I had my best progress when I used a nutrition journal or food log. I tracked calories, proteins, carbs and fats. When I stopped using the journal I found that I was more prone to cheat and indulge myself in a cheat meal. I find that having to write down what you eat forces you to think about if you really want it. When I got back to my journal it was much easier to control myself. I believe that if I hadn't stopped using a journal, I'd probably have slashed two weeks from my transformation plan.
 
How I Did It: The Details

Here I'll present the nutritional, training, energy-system and supplement strategies that I used in my "evolution." This isn't really a "how to," just an outline of my plan to give you an idea of how to construct one for yourself.
Phase 1: Nutrition

During this phase I used the Fat Fast diet for two weeks, then a low carb Anabolic/Bodyopus-style diet for four weeks.

Body weight at start of phase: 230 pounds

Body fat percentage: 18%

Lean body mass: 189 pounds

Week Protein/day Carbs/day Fat/day Kcals/day

1 300g 0g 130g 2370

2 350g 0g 120g 2480

3 350g 0g 120g 2480

4 375g 0g 120g 2580

5 375g 0g / week 200g / weekend 120g / week 20g / weekend 2580 / week 2480 / weekend

6 400g 0g / week 200g / weekend 120g / week 20g / weekend 2680 / week 580 / weekend


 
so i've got a question for y'all. Lets say I made a trade deal for product with a company rep on another board, and sent him my part, but haven't received his part. He hasn't been visiting that board for a while now (10-12 days) so hasn't responded to PMs. How long should I wait before I get irritated? :) or suggestions as to what I should do ?


What do you think XJ?
 
I was thinking I'd give it a little longer, after all I won't be starting the cycle for at least 5 weeks from now anyhow
 
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