I 100% agree with Dave it all starts with the diet, if you can't manage your diet you aren't doing yourself any good no matter how much you workout. Get your diet down right and then have a game plan from that point after you have mastered a solid diet.
Can you please explain the reasoning behind a diet like this? Specifically the high fat/ low carb part. Also, where are you getting your info?
Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding is a all-inclusive book that covers every aspect of weight training and dieting needs as well as historical information about the origins and progression of the sport. In my opinion it's $40 well spent (from Books a Million) and I have read it several times.
everything dsms said is spot on. but the lifts he listed if you really have no clue you shouldn't do until your taught how to do them properly. every day i watch people think they are doing a dead lift, do something completely goofy. ESP the standing military press. if your not aware of how to hold your core then your just asking for issues. let alone if your core isn't able to stabilize the load / etc. at the end of the day you can go to the gym twice a day. but it comes down to what you put in your pie hole. if it is too much or not enough both have bad effects.
AS far as diet is concerned, I only have one main rule I follow when I go to the grocery store: Stay on the outer perimeter. That's where the meat/produce sections are. But then again, so is the bakery, but that should be a no-brainer if you want to get in shape. But once you start wandering into teh center aisles with the pasta/processed foods/pop/etc. it's all over. I am far from a nutrition/workout expert. But I follow some simple rules that make me lead a more healthy lifestyle. I really like the Abs Diet book from Men's Health. It's been very easy for me to follow. But last weekend all that went out the window. It's amazing what some people can eat and still have nergy. I ate brats, ate junk food, drank beer/vodka/tequila, and was VERY drained all weekend.
I get most of my info from a select few guys who I really respect and cater to the no BS, no quick fix crowd of people who are serious. They are: Dave Tate Jim Wendler (author of 5/3/1 program for mass) Matt Kroczeleski (pound for pound one of the strongest men on the planet and about as hardcore as they get) and of course some Louie Simmons of westside barbell The diet... Building Mass and Strength: Part 1
in layman's terms. Muscle needs protein and calories to survive. If you do not feed your body / muscles then they will not live / grow. Keeping in mind what he said. No quick fix. meaning if your now after memorial day trying to get "buff" for summer (which is here). It might not be for you. Hell even P90x takes 90 days.. that would put you out around labor day.
Look up a ketogenic diet. Obviously, the high protein part is for building muscle. Protein is the building blocks to create the muscle. (Good) fats are necessary for the production of various hormones. They also keep you full longer and lower the GI of foods, keeping insulin spikes down. Carbs, contrary to popular belief are NOT necessary to survive! (In b4 flaming...) Nope. The only purpose they serve is to provide energy, BUT, when short on carbs, the body has 3 options. 1) burn dietary fat 2) convert protein to glucose via gluconeogenesis 3) burn stored fat. Some people try to claim that the brain can't function without carbs. This is also not true. In the absence of carbs your body will begin to break down stored fat for energy and the brain will use ketones for energy (again, look up a ketogenic diet). Converting to a ketogenic stage takes approximately two weeks of eating <30g carbs per day, and the first week is pure hell and most people give up, but after that it's pretty incredible. You feel great all the time. I highly recommend everyone at least give it a shot for 2 months. Also, carbs have many "negative" effects, I guess you could say. Low glycemic foods spike insulin, a fat storing hormone. Carbs, if not burned, get stored as fat. Also, the insulin spike drops shortly after leaving you feeling tired and hungry again, which leads people to eat more. I've done a ketogenic diet and it's great because you are never hungry. Seriously. Fat/protein sates the appetite and keeps you full longer, and they make up ~95% of your daily intake. EDIT: I forgot to mention that, in terms of carbs, you DO need fiber.
thanks for this dave. been looking for something like this. im pretty skinny, and havent been in the gym in over six months, after going 5-6 days a week for quite some time. trying to get myself back on track here, and am initially trying to revamp my diet first, but keep it simple. that article was a help.
I'm a NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist with a B.S. in exercise physiology and will be heading to grad school for my masters in exercise science in August. I'm not saying I know everything, but I do know what Im talking about. There is so much misinformation that circulates around the internet about nutrition, exercise, fitness, etc. I usually dont respond to stuff like this, but Ill throw my 2 cents in. I'd just like to point out a few things here... You dont need high levels of fat to reduce the GI of foods- eat whole grains instead. If you are training hard, you dont want your body to be using protein for energy. It should be used for muscle recovery. You may not necessarily need CHO to live because like you said your body has other sources of energy, but it takes longer for your body to convert those other sources (fat/ protein) into energy. As training intensity increases, CHO utilization increases. High GI foods cause a insulin response, not low GI foods. You should be consuming low GI foods anyway, and eating every ~3 hours. There are times when a high insulin response benefits you. Anything that is not used for energy is converted to fat, not just CHO. Again, no issues with insulin spikes when eating the correct types of CHO and at the correct time. I am not saying a ketogenic diet is bad or good, and you can find research which supports both sides. Most importantly, make life style changes guys, don't get started on all these random diets. If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me.
i swim 20 laps at the gym (not continuous LOL), and it works out the entire body. wasn't to seriously into it months back, but i have been fine tuning my swim technique (flips included at each end) and it definitely takes discipline to control your breathing as well...
Which type of training do you focus on, more towards powerlfting (compound lifts) or bodybuilding, or maybe a bit of both? Also how do you feel about Waxy Maize, used to add that to my post workout shake and havent used it in a while.
I work with athletes, not body builders or power lifters. So my training is more sports specific. I incorporate strength/ explosiveness, flexibility, balance, dynamic movements, agility, speed, and sports specific strength and movements. I will get my USAW certification when time/ money allows, that is Olympic lifting- cleans, jerks, etc. PM me with any other questions.
Just threw in some stuff to clarify there. I agree with you on all of your points, just wanted to point out what I meant by saying certain things. I was just trying to help justify the high fat/low carb diet because, to many people, it sounds ridiculous. People assume that a diet high in dietary fat makes you fat, and that a diet low in dietary fat helps you burn fat. I just want to help dispel that myth. Also wanted to spread the word on a ketogenic diet, since it is pretty unknown to the general public. But let me say that there is no one diet that will work for everyone! What worked for me, might not work for you. What worked for your super jacked buddy might not work for someone else. All I can say is try different diets/training plans/etc. until you find what works for you. I highly recommend that you give a ketogenic diet a shot, but I can't say it is for everyone. I had to stop just because it was impossible with my lifestyle to eat less than 30g carbs per day since I'm always on the run. Also, I'd definitely hit up D&D with questions since he seems like he knows his stuff.
Since everybody said some good info I'm just going to throw in my 2 cents. nutrition I wouldn't start off on any specific diet right away. To see changes you need to make changes but making drastic changes to your diet will only make you crave the "junk" you eat even more. Everything you do, do it in moderation. For example, if you're used to drinking a can of soda everyday don't just go cold turkey right away. Do your best to stay away from soda and anytime a craving comes its okay to have a sip or two to relieve that craving until eventually your body gets used to functioning without it. Going cold turkey will only make you chug it at a later date. Remember working out is not a temporary pump, to see tangible results that last it has to be a lifestyle change. So take pleasure in eating healthy, doing weights and being active. In the long run you WILL see results. Working out: as mentioned, there are certain exercises you can do that will help you get bigger faster. This is because they increase the testosterone levels. Squats is very good for that and makes you more explosive along with deadlifts and benchpress. Working with a trainer in the beginning will and can be very useful to get the fundamentals down and once that's good, start piling on the weights while maintaining proper form and go for 5 reps (struggling on that 5th one ofcourse) and 4-5 sets. I do a minimum of 3 difference exercies for each muscle group. So for chest. Flat Bench, 4 sets of 5-12reps (depending on the set) Incline bench, Decline bench **cables **chest press the ** represent any additional workouts I'll do if i'm not completely depleted. I've also found that by switching your workouts you can help not plateau. So for 3 weeks I'll use the bench and the next 3 weeks I'll use dumbells. Keep changing things up so that you don't get bored as well, Attitude: (Mental focus) Many guys will tell you tons of things about lifting and some information will be correct while other information won't. The best thing to do is go to the gym and become familiar, you will start seeing a lot of familiar faces and just ask some of the guys you see there. Everybody is friendly at the gym and it's great to see guys starting off somewhere. Even the biggest guy at the gym started somewhere so don't ever feel like you're being judged or are inadequate. Also keep in mind, what works well for somebody may not work as well with you since your body type and your muscles are different from them. Every human being is different and the way our muscles recover from exertion varies amongst each individual. Make it a habit and your first 8 weeks you will see some serious gain (provided you bust your balls everyday). At the end of the day have fun and know that you are making a difference....for the better. Pat yourself on the back already because you have already committed unlike the majority who always procrastinate! thats my 0.02. -Waseem
i agree 100% i spent months reading everything i could i then spent at least 2 years trying different "principles" and found what works best with my body / etc. there is never a magic routine or pill or etc. it is all hard work and dedication. try to find video's online (more than one) of exercises to learn the form / etc. watch more than one and see if you see people doing them "wrong" because as you know not every yahoo on youtube knows how to wax a car. or do a squat.
