Qualities to Imitate

I just read an interesting and important article entitled 4 Traits the Best Lifters Share.

In it, the author Jason Ferruggia lays out the four defining qualities of successful lifters.  I guarantee that nothing but success will follow if you take these principles (plus an additional principle I'll define at the end) to heart.

Principle 1 - The best lifters limit themselves to 6-8 exercises per workout.

Some even use less than 6, performing no more than 3-4 exercises per workout.  The point with limiting yourself is to prevent burnout.  Unless your a genetic freak, or on steroids, there's no justifiable reason for you to do 4+ variations of bicep curls per workout.  Going to such extremes will only hurt your results in the long term by over stressing your nervous system and over fatiguing your energy reserves.  Rather than include every variation of chest press devised by man in one weight training session, switch things up every 3-4 months.  You need to adapt to an exercise so as to ensure you can get everything you can out of it, but if you use an exercise for too long, overuse injuries can ensue.  You need to find a balance.

Principle 2 - The best lifters focus on heavy compound lifts.

Compound lifts like squats, chins, military press, etc. hit way more of your musculature than isolation movements like curls or crunches.  Always place the greatest emphasis of your workouts on a core set of compound lifts for which you progressively overload your muscles.  Doing so will significantly impact your physique.  I'm not saying exercises like curls and triceps extensions have no place in your routine.  Isolation movements can help to fix imbalances or weaknesses in your strength or musculature, but they never should take front seat to the big lifts.

Principle 3 - The best lifters actively work to prevent injuries.

You can't very well improve your bench if you injure your shoulder, nor can you hope to build up your legs if you throw out your back by using sloppy deadlifting form.  The people who have the greatest long term success in the weight room are the people who understand the value of working smarter, not just harder.  Always strive to use proper form with any lift you choose to do, and be honest with yourself when you start to notice chronic joint pain.  It's OK and expected that your muscles or joints will feel sore following a workout (especially if you perform a lift with which you had previously been unacquainted), but if acute soreness develops into chronic pain, something is wrong, and successful lifters know how to handle such a situation.

Principle 4 - The best lifters cycle the intensity of their training.

You can't workout with balls-to-the-walls intensity year round and expect to avoid an injury.  Using some sort of periodization in which you give all out efforts some weeks and you take it easy on others is an intelligent way to ensure you can keep lifting without missing a beat.  You're only human and you need a break every once in while.  Successful lifters are aware of this need for rest and they don't neglect it.

Principle 5 (My Addition) - The best lifters understand the value of nutrition.

Arguably, diet comprises 70-80% of the success you can achieve in any training scenario.  Whether you want to build muscle or lose fat, you have to get your nutrition in check if you want to see any results.  Caloric balance, the ratio of  protein, carbs, and fat you have in your diet, and your food choices are indelibly related to your results.  Don't neglect your diet!

The only thing better than brains or brawn, is brains and brawn.  Be smarter than 99% of all lifters and start applying these principles today!

Why?

"Why?"

This is such a powerful question, and it's one that many people completely disregard; often to their own detriment.

All too often, I've seen others, and have personally witnessed in myself, an unhealthy obsession with all things fitness related.  I can't possibly relate the stagnation and paralysis to which I've subjected myself since the beginning of my health and muscle building journey.  I have a very obsessive personality, and when a topic or an issue intrigues me, I have to dive in head first and allow myself to become completely immersed in the nuances and minutia of the subject.  Learning how to improve my body composition and my general health just so happens to be the issue I'm most concerned with at the moment; it has been for the past couple years, and it likely will continue to be for many more.

But, for all of my interest in understanding the ins and outs of "how", sometimes I neglect the ever so important "why."

"Why" is the concept that keeps one focused on what's truly important and worthy of one's attention so that the "how" actually means something in the long run.

It's one thing for me to give you information on "how" to lose body fat, to build "guns of steel," and to have an 18 pack, but it's another matter entirely to offer practical reasons for "why" you (or I) should even care.

I guarantee that if you follow my dieting advice and consistently use a no nonsense weight lifting routine, you can create for yourself an impressive physic.  However, if you don't have a relevant, worthwhile, and powerful "why" behind the "how," I can assure you that you won't get very far in your transformation.

The same is true for life in general.  It's one thing to know how to get a job, pay bills, meet deadlines, be a loving parent, or be a loyal friend; but you need a legitimate "why" to allow you to experience long term success and effectual results in these areas of life.

So ask yourself:  Why do you want a six pack?  Why do you want to be healthy?

Do you want to impress the opposite sex?  Do you want to live forever?  Do you want to feel better about yourself?  Do you want to be healthy enough to be an effective parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent?

Whether your motivation is superficial and vain or is more deeply rooted in inestimable desires, you have to own it.  Your desire has to be enough to take you through the mountains and valleys, trials and tempests of body and health transformations.

Getting a ripped physic and achieving lasting health requires the development of habits and a change in lifestyle.  Despite what some BS fitness marking ads often tout, transformations take time and dedication.  If you don't have something meaningful motivating you to press forward with your goals, you'll likely give up when things get tough.

So find your "why," and make it a good one.  "How" can only take you so far.

How to Work Around and/or Prevent Shoulder Injuries

There's a fine line between being sore and being injured.  In the former case, you have to push through the pain.  In the latter, you need to stop and address the pain before it gets worse and you end up having to take a month's hiatus from training; or worse, you're forced to have surgery.

In terms of shoulder injuries, it seems that most people either develop or further exacerbate shoulder problems by using the classic barbell bench press (1).

There are of course numerous ways one can injure their shoulder, but doing so through bench pressing is particularly common.  Therefore, for this article at least, I'll focus on some effective, more shoulder friendly alternatives to the traditional bench press; and, I'll further go into some important accessory exercises you might want to consider adding to your weight training program either for rehab or "prehab" (preventative rehab) purposes.

First up are floor press variations.  Yes, floor presses do reduce your range of motion to a certain extent, but using a full range of motion is not necessarily the "safest" option.

Rather than go into the details myself, here's a link to a fantastic article that'll get you started and well on your way towards implementing a variety of floor press variations in your routine:  7 Shoulder-Friendly Pressing Variations.

Another option you could consider are weighted dips.  There's actually quite a bit of debate regarding the safety of dips.  Many people often report experiencing shoulder and elbow pain when performing them (2); however, when done with the right technique, these joint issues can be avoided.  Personally, I think dips are an excellent mass gaining exercise.  They engage a good deal of your musculature, including your chest, triceps, anterior deltoids, lats, and traps (3).

In order to perform dips safely and effectively, you should be sure that you limit your range of motion to no less than a 90* angle at your elbow joint following the eccentric portion of the lift.  Additionally, your triceps shouldn't go below parallel with floor.  Also, be sure that you use a forward lean so as to ensure greater chest activation.

Now, on to prehab exercises.

As "they" say:  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  With that in mind, here are three prehab exercises for you to consider (4).  You don't have to do all three, but if you can include at least one of them as a staple, you'll go a long way in preventing shoulder injury.  (Follow the links to learn proper technique).

Face Pulls

Overhead Shrugs

Push-ups

That's it for today.  Give these lifts a try and see what you think.

The Cyclical Food Reward Diet: A Theory

Carb cycling is nothing new; in fact, I've actually suggested a form of carb cycling previously on my blog.

This method, however, is not the only way to reveal one's six pack.

I've been mulling over the idea of food reward lately, and I've been particularly intrigued with the concept of using food choice to lower a person's defended homeostatic level of body fat.

In short, I want to find a diet that will allow for a person to achieve a fully defined six pack without the hassles of calorie counting.  I want my diet, or rather my internal homeostatic system, to do all the work for me, and I mean all the work (of course I'll still do the work of lifting weights and whatnot).

There are of course numerous factors that influence our desire to eat (1), but is it possible that these factors could somehow be manipulated so as to create a "six pack inducing environment?"

I believe such a diet can be created, and I'm already on the trail of some important clues.

I've mentioned previously the concept of a satiety index (2), and through further research, I've yet arrived at more detailed conclusions.

I at first decided to take a closer look at the satiety index itself so as to ascertain exactly which foods were the most satiating of all those tested.

The Satiety Index
All are compared to white bread, ranked as "100" Each food is rated by how well it satisfied their hunger. Tip: If you want to lose weight, avoid the LOWER numbers!
Bakery Products		Carbohydrate Rich Foods
Croissant	47%	White bread	100%
Cake	65%	French fries	116%
Doughnuts	68%	White pasta	119%
Cookies	120%	Brown Rice	132%
Crackers	127%	White rice	138%
Snacks and Confectionary		Grain bread	154%
Mars candy bar	70%	Wholemeal bread	157%
Peanuts	84%	Brown pasta	188%
Yoghurt	88%	Potatoes	323%
Crisps	91%	Protein Rich Foods
Ice cream	96%	Lentils	133%
Jellybeans	118%	Cheese	146%
Popcorn	154%	Eggs	150%
Breakfast Cereals		Baked beans	168%
Muesli	100%	Beef	176%
Sustain	112%	Fish	225%
Special K	116%	Fruits
Cornflakes	118%	Bananas	118%
Honeysmacks	132%	Grapes	162%
All Bran	151%	Apples	197%
Porridge/Oatmeal	209%	Oranges	202%

* The higher the % the more satiating the food.

Unsurprisingly, cake, doughnuts, & croissants (they're just so flaky and delicious!) were the least satiating. Note however, that cookies turned out to be more satiating than bananas and "healthy cereals" like Special K.

Interestingly, dietary fat seemed to yield no additional satiety.  Rather, protein, fiber, and water content were most associated with higher levels of satiety.  Other evidence seems to corroborate this (3).

The top 5 most satiating foods were, 1) potatoes (they were boiled in the experiment); 2) fish; 3) oatmeal; 4) oranges; & 5) apples.

What I found most interesting, besides the fact that potatoes were so filling, was how much more satiating fish was in comparison to other protein sources.  If fact, numerous studies seem to confirm the higher satiety value of fish in comparison to other animal sources of protein (4, 5).

In contrast to fish, however, beef (particularly grass fed beef from free range cows), may perhaps be better suited, in comparison to other animal sources of protein, for building muscle (6).

With these theories regarding fish and beef in mind, I think it may prove effective to "cycle" the consumption of these two protein sources.  On rest days when one would typically eat fewer calories so as to focus on fat loss and the reduction of inflammation (7), fish would be the chief source of protein (ideally, you should stick with wild caught fatty fish so as to ensure a better ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids (8, 9)).  On the day's that weight training occurs, beef would serve as the primary source of protein.  Since beef seems to be less satiating than fish, and is purportedly more conducive to muscle growth (especially given the higher levels of naturally occurring creatine and conjugated linoleic acid found in beef; substances proven to be highly beneficial for muscle building and general health (10, 11)), it may prove prudent to eat it on the day's you weight train when you would want to consume more calories and nutrients in order to facilitate muscle growth.

In terms of starches, I think plain potatoes, or likely even plain sweet potatoes, would be the perfect source of carbs on rest days.  On workout days, white rice would be the best option in my opinion, not only because it's only about 40% as satiating as potatoes (meaning you'll have an easier time eating greater amounts of it), but, moreover, white rice offers fewer dietary issues than either wheat products or brown rice (12, 13, 14, 15, &c., I could list studies for days).

You of course should eat plenty of green and non-starchy vegetables throughout the day.  They're incredibly nutrient dense and sparse in calories; factors that seem to be associated with higher levels of satiety.

Fat, in my opinion, is best suited to being consumed throughout the day with protein and non-starchy vegetables.  The protein and fiber you derive from these meals will promote short term and long term satiety, and, while fat seems to have no effect on short term satiety, fats may prove beneficial for long term feelings of fullness* (16, 17).  Additionally, using fat rather than starches during the day for fuel will help promote better focus and fewer swings in blood sugar (18).  Fat, of course, is still incredibly easy to over-consume in the short term (I've found myself at the bottom of one too many peanut putter jars in my day to say otherwise), so I think it's best to eat your fat in controlled amounts in conjunction with protein.  Moreover, using fat sources such as butter, coconut oil, and olive oil (rather than roasted and salted nuts or nut butters) will go a long way in preventing any unfortunate binge episodes from occurring (at least in my experience).

That's it for today.  This is still a work in progress, but one day we will have a fully synthesized cyclical food reward diet (otherwise known as a CFRD**)

* Bountiful research on the long term satiety of fat is somewhat lacking.
** I'm not very creative.

Food Reward: How to Cause Your Brain to Defend a Lower Body Fat %

Dieting can be tough, but sometimes the reason why some people struggle to lose fat can in fact be that their own brains want to "defend" said people's unnaturally high level of adiposity (1).

This idea makes some sense.  The human body, like any biological system, is innately driven to maintain homeostasis.  This is why we have to lift progressively heavier weights in order to build muscle.  The body needs a legitimate environmental reason in order to maintain a higher level of lean body mass.  Muscle is metabolically "expensive" so to speak, thus, your body will only keep it around or add more to it if there's a legitimate survival need.

The same can be said for fat.  If a person finds themselves in an environment conducive to fat gain, they will likely gain fat.  Indeed, as obesity researcher Dr. Guyenet states "reward and hedonic systems, if stimulated in the right way by food or drugs, can increase food intake and body fatness" (2).  In those individuals who are most susceptible to it, an environment comprised of virtually unlimited hyper rewarding foods leads to an adaptation or survival response on the part of said individuals' "energy homeostasis system" (3).

Simply put, a dietary environment of hyper palatable foods (made readily available via the industrialization of food production), causes those people who live in this environment to respond with greater levels of food consumption and perceived hunger (4).

So what sort of diet leads to a reversal of this situation and a return to a lower level of defended body fat?

Some interesting research into the effects of food satiety offers some valuable clues (5 & 6).

In a study conducted by Holt et al., the researchers involved set out to establish a "satiety index" (SI) of foods that would offer information about what sorts of foods best promote feelings of "fullness."

Those foods that proved most satiating, and thus resulted in lower levels of overall energy consumption, were those with "lower energy density, and higher water, fiber and protein" content.  Foods with the lowest satiety, and consequently those correlated with higher levels of energy consumption, were higher in palatability and caloric density.

The authors of the study concluded that "simple, 'whole' foods such as the fruits, potatoes, steak and fish were the most satiating of all foods tested."  Dr. Guyenet adds to this conclusion as follows:

This study, along with many others, suggests that focusing on simple foods that have a lower energy density leads to greater fullness and less subsequent food intake, and conversely that highly palatable energy-dense foods promote excessive food intake.  Potatoes, sweet potatoes, meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, rice and beans are foods with a moderate level of palatability and energy density, and are consequently helpful for weight loss and maintenance.  Conversely, baked goods, candy, ice cream and fried foods have the lowest SI, reflecting their extreme palatability and energy density.  

While your food choices are ultimately left to your own discretion, it can nevertheless prove helpful to keep these ideas surrounding food reward theory in mind the next time you decide to go about losing fat.

It's much better to work with rather than against your body's internal homeostatic systems.  While this is just my own personal opinion, the research seems to validate it.

What do you think?

A Simple Guide to Building Muscle & Losing Fat: Part 5

I've covered a host of issues thus far:  dietary fat, carbohydrates, protein, & I've even given you a very simple beginner's weight lifting routine.  I have yet to put everything together into a comprehensive plan, however, and it is my goal to do so today.

While dieting strategies vary, and no one strategy is inherently better than any other (in a universal sense that is), I think the strategy that I entail below will prove helpful for most people looking to lose fat and build some muscle.

As a disclaimer, these are my own ideas, and, though I think they are based on solid research and a good amount of anecdotal verification, I'm no professional, nor am I qualified to diagnose any disease or prescribe any remedies.  If you choose to follow my advice, check with a medical practitioner first, and recognize that you are the one who is responsible for your health and the decisions you make about your health.

With that out of the way, let's get this party going!

For those with goals relating to fat loss, muscle gain, or a mix of both, I have a number of relevant solutions that you might consider trying.  The numbers that I use are not universally accurate.  Use them as starting points, and, if after two weeks you aren't seeing any progress, adjust your numbers accordingly based on your goal.

In order to ensure the best results, you need to calculate your body fat %.  A lot of useful and relatively accurate methods exist, and if your at all curious about the varying levels of accuracy you can achieve for each method, just use Google.  I personally recommend you try the method outlined on this site: http://www.weightrainer.net/circbf.html.  It's pretty accurate for its level of simplicity.

For reference - 1g of protein = 4 calories; 1g of carbohydrate = 4 calories; 1g of fat = 9 calories.

Recommendations for those with a body fat level below 10%:

Fat Loss Specific - On weight training days 65% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1.5g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  The other 35% of calories should come from dietary fat.  On rest days 60% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 125g of carbs).  Dietary fat should comprise the remaining 40% of calories.

"Recomposition" - On weight training days 80% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 2.5g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  Fat should make up the remaining 20% of calories.  On rest days 60% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 125g of carbs).  Dietary fat should comprise the remaining 40% of calories.

Muscle Gain Specific -  On weight training days 80% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 2.5g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  Fat should make up the remaining 20% of calories.  On rest days 65% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1.5g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  The other 35% of calories should come from dietary fat.           

Recommendations for those with a body fat level between 11-15%:

Fat Loss Specific - On weight training days 65% of total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1.25g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  Fat should comprise the remaining 35% of calories.  On rest days 60% of total calories should comprise protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 100g of carbs).  Fat should make up the remaining 40% of calories.

"Recomposition" - On weight training days protein and carbohydrates should comprise 75% of your total calories (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 2g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  The remaining 25% should be comprised of fat.  On rest days 60% of total calories should comprise protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 100g of carbs).  Fat should make up the remaining 40% of calories.

Muscle Gain Specific -  On weight training days protein and carbohydrates should comprise 75% of your total calories (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 2g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  The remaining 25% should be comprised of fat.  On rest days 65% of total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1.25g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  Fat should comprise the remaining 35% of calories.

Recommendations for those with a body fat level above 15%:

Fat Loss Specific - On weight training days protein and carbohydrates should comprise 40% of your total calories (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 1g of carbs/LB of goal body weight).  On rest days 50% of your total calories should be comprised of protein and carbohydrates (1g of protein/LB of goal body weight & 50g of carbs).  Fat should make up the remaining 50% of calories.

"Recomposition" - N/A

Muscle Gain Specific - N/A 

* While the timing of meals is ultimately up to your discretion, I recommend you eat the bulk of your allotted calories and carbs for a given day in the evening.
* Eat light throughout the day, and eat meals that are mostly comprised of no more than 15g of fat and 25g of protein.  You can also include a non-starchy green vegetable with these meals.
* Post workout you should consume approximately 30-40g of protein with 60-80g of carbs.  An easy way to do this is with a protein shake and spotted bananas.
* Eat breakfast if you want, but make it light, and be sure it's comprised of protein and fat.  Eating a lot of calories and carbs is associated with the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (this puts you in a rest and digest mode which is great in evening when you want to relax, but not so good in the morning when you need to get going).
* Be aware that breakfast is completely overrated, and it's by no means essential if you'd rather skip it and, thus, save more of your allotted calories for the evening.

Good luck!  If you have any questions, feel free to comment.

A Simple Guide to Building Muscle & Losing Fat: Part 4

So far I've addressed protein and carbs, and now it's time to turn to the oft misunderstood and complex word of fats.

If you want a detailed description of dietary fats and the important role they play in muscle building, fat loss, hormone regulation, and general health, I recommend you check out the following 3 part series of articles by Casey Butt (a funny name I know, but the guy knows his stuff): Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.  I'll be basing some of my recommendations for dietary fat on his research.

Many people today bear an irrational fear of fat (particularly animal sources of fat, and also animal sources of protein) for a number of reasons; in part because of a poorly executed and sorry excuse for legitimate scientific research known as the China Study (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6).

In short, dietary fat is not to be feared, but you should avoid overeating dietary fat (what I mean is, you should avoid overeating in general.  Remember?  People get fat and diseased by overeating.  Too much of anything can be a bad thing).

Casey Butt lays out what I feel to be a much better and rational understanding of the issue.

Without getting too detailed about the specifics, suffice it to say that consuming an adequate amount of dietary fat is crucial for maintaining a healthy hormonal balance; particularly in keeping testosterone levels elevated, improving one's mood, and maintaining all around proper brain function.

In respect to weight training, I want to emphasize the testosterone elevating effects of fat.  As a general guideline, it's advisable to get at least 30-35% of your average calorie consumption from dietary fats; consuming a greater amount than this does not seem to further elicit an increase in testosterone (that's not to say that consuming a greater % of dietary fat is not advisable).

Here's what Casey has to say about dietary fat and gaining muscle:

...my general advice for someone trying to get bigger and stronger is to get about 30% of daily calories from fat. Of this fat, half should be saturated fats from animal products and tropical oils, one-quarter should be the EFAs (with the ratio of LA to LNA being approximately 4:1), and the remaining quarter should be monounsaturates (egg yolks are a great source). Don't shy excessively away from meat, eggs, milk, cheese and coconut products. Organ meats, primarily liver (and desiccated liver products) should be consumed regularly. The proper balance of dietary fats and cholesterol will promote proper eicosanoid formation and optimum testosterone levels.

And here's what he has to say about dietary fat and weight loss:

If fat loss is the primary goal, 30% is still a wise percentage at which to set dietary fat calories. This is necessary to preserve testosterone levels, slow the digestion of meals and reduce the insulin response to ingested carbs and maintain high growth hormone levels. However, in this case the saturated long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) should be limited while omega-3 polyunsaturate consumption should be increased (i.e. fish oils and flax oil). Saturates, polyunsaturates and monounsaturates should be divided equally with each contributing about one-third of the total fat calories. A 1:1 ratio of LA to LNA should be consumed. If possible, most saturated fat intake should be in the form of SCFAs and MCFAs (i.e. coconut oil, palm oil and butter instead of margarine). Dietary cholesterol should not be unnecessarily restricted.

If these recommendations seem too cumbersome to adhere to, I feel your pain.  I generally don't worry about being as specific as Casey is.  I primarily focus on ensuring that I get dietary fat from a variety of saturated and essential fatty acid sources such as coconut oil, olive oil, fish oil, eggs, butter from grass-fed cows, and fats from fatty wild-caught fish like salmon, and fatty cuts of grass-fed beef (7, 8, 9, 10, & 11).

I also recommend that you strive to ensure you have a ratio of 1:1 for omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids in your diet.  Doing so is crucial for preventing undue levels of systemic inflammation, and eating healthy non-obese or diseased animals is a great way to do just that (12, 13, & 14).  The importance of this recommendation is further compounded by the fact that systemic inflammation has an inhibitory effect on you body's ability to properly respond to the acute inflammation induced by an intense weight training session (15).

I hope you've found this article illuminating.  In the next (and hopefully last) part of this series, I'll put all of the recommendations I've offered you thus far together into a comprehensive plan for fat loss and muscle building.

A Simple Guide to Building Muscle & Losing Fat: Part 3

In Part 2 of this series, I briefly covered some basic tenants of fat loss and some basic recommendations for protein consumption.  In this post, I'll be covering carbs.

They're the Devil to some and angelic heralds to others.

Some say they cause obesity, and others say they're essential for facilitating muscle growth.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that carbs are, in one way or another, associated with growth.  Furthermore, this association stems from the fact that carbs spike insulin, which is widely thought of as an anabolic hormone.

Now, anabolic merely refers to growth, be it fat gain, muscle gain, or both.

But here's the trick:  Carbs don't inherently lead to growth just by their very nature as carbs.  Eating to excess, regardless of macronutrient ratios, leads to fat gain.

Time and again, the epidemiological data reveals that it's your net caloric balance that determines your body composition, not the macro-composition per se.

However, a fellow named Jose Antonio, PhD, wrote a very interesting article that might just help us appreciate exactly how macro-composition effects dieting results.  I won't get into the nitty-gritty science that Dr. Antonio covers (you can read his article if are interested).  I will, however, offer you his conclusions:

1. In general, the best diet for promoting fat loss is a very low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet.
2. In general, the best diet for promoting gains in LBM while losing a modicum fat is one higher in carbs and protein.
3. In general, I'd suggest you try a balanced approach at first (for example, a 40:30:30 approach) and then tweak (not twerk) the diet from there.
4. Try a "diet" for 4-8 weeks at most, and then switch it out to another approach.
5. Treat diet the same way you treat training. You don't train the exact same way every week of the year, do you? Of course not.
6. You can't go wrong eating a boatload of protein daily. And you can't go wrong eating many meals throughout the day (3).

Now I've had a good deal of experience with low carb diets and cyclical diets, and they are certainly effective.  However, something important to consider is the fact that low carb diets and cyclical low carb diets are not inherently the best long term solution to fat loss.

Going low carb (especially ketogenic low carb) can lead to a host of issues:  low testosterone, a dysfunctional thyroid, muscle atrophy, poor sleep, just to name a few. 

However, given Dr. Antonio's advice above, it seems as though it would benefit us to, at the very least, limit carbs to a certain extent.  We need to find a balance.

Carbs are incredibly important for ensuring adequate exercise performance and recovery, and for keeping liver glycogen stores sufficiently full (live glycogen is crucial for maintaining blood sugar and energy levels).

Given all of this, I propose a more moderate form of cyclical dieting; one that will allow for efficient fat loss, a healthy hormonal balance, and adequate recovery from your weight training sessions.

So here's the meat of it:

1) On rest days, consume between 100-125g of carbohydrates.  This will be enough to keep liver glycogen restored, and your hormones in check.  If, however, you have a body fat % above 15, stick to a range of 50-100. 

2) For workout days, if you're below 10% body fat, consume 2-3g of carbs per pound of body weight.  If you're between 10-15% body fat, consume .8-1g of carbs per pound of body weight.  If you're above 15% body fat, don't worry about cycling; just stick with 50-100g of carbs everyday, and maybe include a carb reefed once per week.

We're putting things together here people. 

Next time, I'll cover dietary fats, and we'll finally be able to set up a viable dieting program that will allow you to achieve your goals.

A Simple Guide to Building Muscle and Losing Fat: Part 2

In Part 1 of this series I offered you a couple of very simple and generic muscle building routines.  These routines are by no means the end-all-be-all, nor are they "optimal;" they're merely suggested starting points that will likely prove very effective for a beginner or an intermediate lifter.  In that same spirit of a starting point, the following outline for fat loss is a far cry from the only or best way to lose fat; it's one potential option among many.

With that said, let's get on with it.

Losing fat and achieving optimal health are two concepts that seem, on the surface, entirely contingent.  However, for the time being, I'll suffice it to say that fat loss and optimal health are not necessarily equivalent (this is an issue for another article).  For now, I'll focus solely on fat loss; which in and of itself is quite a simple issue to tackle.

Have you ever asked, or heard someone ask, "what should I eat to lose weight?"

Can you pick out what's intrinsically rhetorical about this question?

Perhaps my answer to it will clarify:  "What should you eat?"  "Try eating less!"

All harshness aside, the underlying factors promoting obesity and poor health in this fair country of ours are indeed quite complex, but mathematically speaking, people put on fat because they eat more calories than they burn on average.  Now, a lot of factors drive this caloric imbalance, be it hormonal factors, emotional factors, lack of activity, stress, or the hyper-rewarding food comprising an industrially based diet; but, in the end, you can't defy the laws of physics.

People get fat because they eat too much.

It should seem fairly obvious where I'm headed with this:  I'm likely going to tell you to eat less food than you currently consume.

True, such is the gist of what I'm getting at here, but there are a number of things you should be aware of before you feel like I've just left you hanging so anticlimactically as I have.

Thing number A:  Don't buy into the myth that eating small, frequent, meals is somehow a necessary component of losing weight.  Meal frequency has virtually no discernible impact on metabolism.  Moreover, some evidence suggests that going up to 48 hours without food can actually cause a slight increase in metabolism (not that I recommend doing such a thing).

Eat at whatever frequency suits you and your psychology.  If you like eating smaller meals every few hours or so, then do it.  If you would rather eat larger meals at less frequent intervals, do it.  Fat loss requires an average deficit, not necessarily a well-timed one.

Thing letter 2:  Since you'll be weight training while you're in a caloric defiucit, you need to make sure that you're eating plenty of protein (and I mean high quality animal protein).  I recommend doing so for a number of reasons:

1)  Protein is essential for building muscle, and many people underestimate how much they should be consuming.

2)  Eating plenty of protein can improve your weight loss results.

3)  Protein is very satiating; meaning you won't be quite as hungry while eating less.

4)  A higher level of protein consumption is crucial for maintaining lean body mass while in a caloric deficit. 

Based on the available research, I recommend consuming 1g of protein per pound of target body weight. This number is actually on the high end of the recommended range for resistance trained athletes, but given the reasons listed above (especially 3), it won't hurt to aim high.

Also, even though you'll be eating at a caloric deficit, it's still possible for you to build muscle, especially if you have a lot of fat to lose and/or if you're a novice trainer.

And if you're worried about the supposed detrimental effects of high protein consumption on kidney health, you can rest easy.  Unless you have preexisting renal health issues, there is no substantial evidence to suggest that a high protein diet will negatively effect your kidney health (but you advisably should contact a medical professional to be certain you're not at risk for, or already have renal health issues, just to be safe).

In Part 3 of this series, I'll cover some of the basics of carbohydrates, and how you can effectively cycle their consumption to improve your fat loss success and your ability to build muscle.

A Simple Guide to Building Muscle and Losing Fat: Part 1

"I want guns of steel and a six pack!  Can you help me?"

 So runs the basic question so many guys ask.

I have two possible solutions for you -

1)  Go buy a bigger shotgun, and while you're at it, pick up a six pack from the nearest gas station.

Problem solved.  Read no further.

2)  If you meant you wanted to have bigger biceps and triceps and a defined core, then my answer is still quite simple, but not quite so easy to accomplish as the first solution.  You'll have to put forth some effort and hard work.

Muscle magazines are filled with all sorts of new and exciting arm routines.  "Want bigger arms?  Then follow this mind melting, hard core routine of 49x11 work supersets of biceps and triceps 2 times a day for just six weeks, and you'll add 20 inches to your arms in no time!"

Of course I'm exaggerating (a bit), but you have to admit that sometimes these routines can seem pretty ridiculous.  Unless you're taking a laundry list of pharmaceuticals (a.k.a. steroids), the sort of high volume, high frequency routine listed above just won't cut it.

As it turns out, many of the routines you'll read about on a typical broscience website or in a muscle magazine are designed by and for steroid using freaks of nature.  They're made to be over-the-top routines, so you'll buy some of the overpriced supplements they're marketing as "necessary" to better improve the results you'll get from following their crap routine.  These routines might work perfectly well for them, but not so well for the typical Joe or Jane with normal human recuperative abilities and a busy life filled with time consuming obligations, not to mention a budget that need not include some overpriced, and poorly researched supplements.

Have hope though.  There is a routine out there that can work for you.  To find it, however, we have to look for routines that normal, natural bodybuilders have used, and used to great effect on a consistent basis.

Before the era of widespread steroid use, people were still able to build for themselves impressive physics, and they did so using more moderate and intelligent techniques.  Moreover, they used techniques that worked best for them based on self-experimentation and self-knowledge.

Such being the case, it can nevertheless still be a difficult task to narrow down the most effective routines one can use, even when we sift out all the muscle magazine junk.  However, I can assure you that there are some proven methods that work incredibly well.

When we consider a weight training routine, there are several key variables to keep in mind:  exercise selection, volume, frequency (both relating to the frequency of occurrence for specific lifts and to the frequency of weight training sessions in general), the intensity of the weight being lifted, and the speed at which said weight is lifted.

Seems complicated, no?  But, it only seems complicated because some people miss the forest for the trees; they worry so much about all of these variables that they never actually get anything done.  Paralysis by analysis has them trapped.

In my experience, and the experience of many others, getting bigger muscles boils down to one simple variable:  getting stronger.  Now you can get stronger by manipulating any one or number of the above complex of variables.  So long as you're getting better is some respect, size gains will likely follow.

Say you start out bench pressing 135lbs for 5 reps.  Don't you think that if you can improve your bench to where you can lift 250lbs for 3 reps, or 135lbs for 20, that your chest and triceps will reflect that improvement.

We could debate all day whether improving in one variable or another is more effective, but it nevertheless remains that in both situations you will see an improvement in your physic.

So step number 1 to getting bigger arms, and bigger muscles in general is to get stronger.

Step 2 is to get stronger in relevant exercises.

Some people out there are hard core advocates of what are referred to as the "Big 3."  These are the deadlift, back squat, and bench press.  Throw in some weighted chin-ups, barbell rows, and military presses and you'll have created a perfect storm for muscle building.  But, a key caveat here is that a well balanced routine includes all or some variation of these lifts.  You'll find some people out there that say, "if you want bigger biceps, do barbell squats."  While, yes, you do have to use your arms to a certain extent to stabilize a heavy barbell on your back, and yes doing so will give you bigger arms to a certain extent, doing weighted chin-ups (with your palms facing you) will build an impressive set of biceps much more efficiently.  Just take a look at this guy:

This is a picture of Martin Berkhan.  He got his biceps from doing a mix of weighted chin-ups and close-grip chin-ups, and by maintaining an all-around dedication to hard work, and self-knowledge about what worked best for him.  His article entitled The Minimalist really sets forth some of his basic philosophy regarding weight training.  Check it out if you're curious.

With all of this having been said, you came here to look for practical advice, not head in the clouds philosophical rantings.  Here's a couple of routines that I feel would prove incredibly effective for most people looking to get "bigger arms" and bigger muscles in general, especially those just starting out:

Routine 1:

Workout A

Romanian Dealdift 3x6-8

Standing Barbell Military Press 3x6-8

Pull-ups (Weighted if Possible) 3x6-8

Chest Dips (Weighted if Possible) 3x6-8

Supinated-grip Barbell Rows 3x6-8

Calf Raises 3x8-10

Workout B

Back Squat 3x6-8

Bench Press 3x6-8

Chin-ups (Weighted if Possible) 3x6-8

Triceps Extension 3x8-10

Biceps Curl 3x8-10

Abs 3x8-10

*Do this routine 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days, alternating workouts at each session.

Routine 2:

Workout A

Bench Press 3x6-8

Supinated-Grip Row 3x6-8

Standing Barbell Military Press 3x6-8

Chin/Pull-ups (Alternate from workout to workout) 3x6-8

Chest Dips (Weighted if Possible) 3x6-8

Workout B

Back Squat 3x6-8

Romanian Deadlift 3x6-8

Calf Raise 3x8-10

Abs 3x8-10

Biceps Curl 3x8-10

Triceps Extension 3x8-10

*Do this routine, working out 3-4 times per week, doing each routine either 2 times per week or every 4-5 days.  You'll note that biceps and triceps work is done on the legs day.  I've set this routine up this way to allow for these muscles to get hit with a greater frequency (one of the variables I mentioned earlier).

As far as intensity goes, lift weight that feels like an 8 on a scale of 10 for perceived exertion.  Also, be sure to be adequately warmed-up (I'll go into more specifics on warm-ups in a later post).  

Each rep should be performed under control and with proper form (check out this link if you want further instruction on proper technique).

Take about 2-3 minutes active rest in between sets (i.e. move around and don't sit still between sets).  Some evidence suggests that active recovery is preferable to passively sitting around between sets.

In Part 2 of this series, I'll address fat loss and show you how to uncover the muscle (and the six pack) you'll have built up by following the above routines.  So stay tuned!

The Problem and the Solution

Know thyself.

This simple 2 word phrase seems so obvious on its surface that an explanation appears worthless.  Nevertheless, most people will never know themselves.  Most define their identity by what others say about them, despite the fact that these "others" may be completely wrong.

While the above can apply to a long list of things in life, the issues of training and health are near the top.

How is it viable for an emergent system (that being a person who is greater than the sum of his/her complex array of parts) to follow the routine and diet of another, and in so doing, achieve the same results?

How is it that I, prior to entering college, was able to intuitively eat my way to borderline obesity, while my stick of a roommate in college can eat whatever junk he pleases and not gain a pound?

The answer:  My system is different than his.  What has no impact on him has a detrimental impact on me.

What I define as good and bad dieting and training practices are relative to my experience.  I can't make a universal claim regarding what the good, the bad, the healthy, or the unhealthy is, because I lack the perspective to do so.  I can only make conjectures based on my own experience, the experience of others, and, to some degree, relevant scientific literature.

This is why it's incredibly important for you to understand yourself.  Be your own expert on what works and doesn't work for you.  Doing so will require a lot of attention to nuance and self-honesty, but if you can manage to do it (I'm still trying), I believe you can see massive amounts of improvement in any dieting or muscle building strategy you come across.

If there's one key thing I've learned through my obsessive research, it's this:  the people who know themselves best and know how they best respond to certain types of foods and training methods are the ones who often achieve the greatest amount of long-term success.  These people commit to a lifestyle that works for them.

When you understand the aforementioned, it can begin to make sense why there are so many contradictory ideas out there about building muscle and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  Someone finds something that works (almost perfectly) for themselves, and then they write about that something as if it's going to universally benefit everyone else.  Beware the lure of anyone who claims to have learned some previously unknown universal and foolproof method for fat loss or muscle building or health in general.  People waste money every day on some new shiny ab roller, juicer, pill, or DVD, that in the end doesn't work for them.

Keep this in mind the next time you're swimming through the confusing and turbulent sea of dietary and muscle building dogma.

P.S.
If you're interested in reading more about emergence and how it relates to diet and fitness, checkout this article by a guy named Anthony Mychal:  Down the Rabbit Hole

Who I Am & What This Site Is

Hey there!

My name is Miles, and I'm addicted to fitness, diet, health, metal, and a bunch of other stuff that's really not pertinent.  My goal with this blog is three fold:  1) to hash out relevant, science based, and practically proven methods for building muscle, losing fat, and looking great both inside and out;  2) to mature in my understanding of these topics so that I can continue to refine the ideas that I hash out;  3) to help others avoid the paralysis by analysis that has plagued my fitness journey and been the bane of my existence!

As anyone who has flipped through a muscle magazine or scoured through typical broscience blogs can well attest, a lot of people have a lot of contradictory and complicated ideas about how to build a ripped physic. Moreover, everyone and their aunt seems to be following some sort of new fangled diet or lifestyle approach to achieve health and wellness.  Add to that fact that many of these dieting approaches seem to blatantly contradict each other, despite the fact the people report having great success with each of them, and you've got a recipe for mental meltdown of the likes that Inception can't even touch!

Is there any one true answer, one true path that is somehow superior to the rest?  I don't know admittedly, but I do know that there are some important similarities between all the contradictory fitness and health ideologies swarming the inter-webz.  My plan is not to break down each and every dieting and muscle building strategy to nail down precise variables or gears in the machine that cause these systems to work. Fitness is Emergent.  That is, fitness is greater than the sum of its parts.  Diets, weight routines, and lifestyle factors all coincide in every person in unique and difficult to quantify ways.  However, we are all homo sapiens.  We're all people; meaning it is possible to reach some practical conclusions based on what's worked for some and not worked for others (provided we keep in mind the necessary nuances of context and emergence to get to the meat of what really maters).

Join me!  We've made strides as a species because we're innovative and curious.  Don't just rely on what I find.  Do your own research too!  I'm only one human, and what works or makes sense to me may not be applicable to you!  So do you accept my challenge, or do you want to stick with GNC magazine and gym lore?