Image Credit:  d_vdm

Last week I tweeted a question on what my fellow tweeple would like me to write about for the next article. I got a private message that read:

I’d like to read how to gain 5-10 lbs bodyweight in 4 weeks. perhaps a post about gaining weight in general? Cheers, Marc

This is a great topic that has been discussed ad nauseum on many fitness and bodybuilding forums. However there seems to be some confusion about the process, especially the right and wrong way to gain weight(ideally muscle mass). When you look at the process of gaining weight, purely from a physiological standpoint, a surplus of kcals rules out indefinitely.

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Since those of you reading this are most likely interested in looking great naked, I think it’s safe to say you would like to gain the most lean muscle mass possible with the least amount of fat. Yea, I know, this would be ideal and if we lived in a perfect world, we would not even have to work out to look great in the nude.

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In this article I will discuss a few methods for gaining lean body mass as well as what I feel is the best approach for newbies and experienced lifters alike.

The Approaches

In general there are a few ways we can go about this. We have the GFH approach, the moderate approach and the non-linear intake approach that is more commonly known in the fitness circle as a recomposition.

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GFH – Stands for Get F*cking Huge. This is a method made popular by bodybuilders and powerlifters alike. If you take this route to packing on some mass you are literally eating everything in sight and probably gaining more than 1lb of bodyweight per week.

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Moderate Approach – This method is exactly what it’s called: moderate. The people on this plan are generally monitoring their intake and ensuring they hit a certain amount of kcals daily. They usually aim to gain about .5-1lb per week.

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Recomposition – The recomp is sort of a blurry subject when it comes to the actual approach/method. There are a few ways to go about this: a staggered intake, culking* and every other day refeeds.

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Due to the complexity of the recomp, I will likely write an article completely devoted to recomposition.

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*Culking is a phrase coined by Alan Aragon. Either I or a colleague of mine will discuss this approach in a future article. By the way, Alan’s Research Review is one of the most awesome resources on training and diet I have ever found. He puts so much into each review and I am kicking myself for not subscribing months ago. Check it out.

So Which Approach Is Best?

This, my friends is a loaded question. The answer is “it just depends.”

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According to Lyle’s model in his article What’s My Genetic Muscular Potential?, during your first year of proper training and eating one can gain anywhere from 20-25lbs of muscle per year. The second year can yield 10-12lbs, the third 5-6lbs and the fourth year about 2-3lbs. As you can see, just within a few years of doing the right things, one can advance fairly quickly.

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The level of trainee will determine the approach.

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Newbies

If you are a pure newbie(less than 6 months of proper training and general lack of strength/muscle mass), the GFH approach will likely work well for you. This approach works especially well for those skinny guys who are longing to get big. These are the guys who are 6 foot tall and weigh 140lbs soaking wet. If I just so happen to be advising them, the suggestions usually goes as follows: Lift heavy things 3x per week and eat yourself out of house and home. This surplus is needed to support the 1-2lbs of muscle gain per week.

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If you are a fatter newbie(like I was) a more moderate surplus will be a better option. However most newbies will experience the wonderful phenomenon of losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, so I am not too worried about drastically monitoring the surplus as long as it’s not thousands of kcals over maintenance.

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Intermediates

Once you get about 1 year of solid training under your belt and have gained a decent amount of muscle mass, you start to enter the wonderful world of being an intermediate. Yay! You are now experiencing some strength and progression plateaus. It takes longer to recover and you are not growing like a weed as you did the previous year. I know it may be depressing but hey, you probably look better than you did a year ago.

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The surplus of calories at this stage in the game needs to be reduced a bit. This is where you will need to cut back on the food somewhat to prevent unnecessary fat gain. So if you were eating a 1000 kcal surplus before and gaining 2lbs of muscle per week but now are only able to gain 1lb of muscle per week, what happens to the excess energy? It will likely be stored as fat because you can only synthesize so much muscle at a time.

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The approach you may use here is the moderate surplus of 300-500 kcals over maintenance daily or my personal favorite of the non-linear intake of 500 over maintenance on training days only and maintenance or slightly under maintenance (-100 kcal deficit) on off days.

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Advanced Trainees

Oh boy, the dreaded level of experience every person aspiring to max out their genetic potential fears to approach. I do not mean dreaded in the sense of accomplishment but dreaded in the sense that your days of making steady progress are likely over.

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Once you reach the advanced status and can only gain 3-4lbs of muscle per year, it’s time to do away with the large energy surpluses and get used to maintenance eating. The only way to add that last bit of muscle during this stage of the game is to keep a light surplus of kcals present on your training days. Perhaps 200-300 would be best here as much more will likely be store as adipose tissue.

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Of course all of these rules change once ergogenic aids enter the mix but since we are talking about the genetic potential of naturals, we will leave it at that.

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I should also note that the suggestions for calorie totals should be cut in half for females as their genetic muscular potential is about half of their counterparts.

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So how about you? Where are you at currently in your training level/experience? What approach do you find works best for you? For me personally, my days of stuffing myself silly are over. I have learned this the hard way but I have faced the facts: a non-linear approach is the best for me at my current level of development.

Post from JC at JCD Fitness

Bulking Up To Look Great Naked

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Image Credit: riot jane

I am talking to you! You are being lied to every single day whether you know it or not. Everytime you walk by the newsstand, open a new fitness magazine or begin chatting with the local shoddy trainer you have a really good chance of hearing a fib or two. Well maybe that was a bit harsh. For the sake of karma, I will say that its mostly misguided, outdated or misunderstood information. However, every once in a while it’s blatant, obvious, nasty, freakin’ lies.

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I decided to write this article in lieu of a recent forum discussion I stumbled across about some new, innovative, cutting edge supplements that are about to be released. Keep in mind these supplements are legal and will likely do jack all to change your body composition but will surely burn a hole in your pocket.

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So why is the supplement industry booming if the goods are trash?

How This Works

Magazines and online publications, in most cases, exist for one reason: to educate or to voice the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer/contributors. Then we have certain publications that exist only to sell something. The magazines and outlets I am writing about today are middle of the road regarding these objectives.

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I am sure many of you have read a fitness or bodybuilding magazine during this lifetime or your last. If this rings true, you definitely know all about what I am about to spew forth. You open the front cover and you get a big fat ad staring right at you, usually with a big breasted blond in a bikini top that she borrowed from her kid sister. She usually has some kind of candy bar in her hand or a tub of powder strategically placed in a suggestive area(to grab the attention of the very visual male population).

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You turn a few more pages of ads to locate the table of contents. This usually takes me two or three tries to find it. Finally I can read some articles! Now as you are perusing the(usual) sub par content you have to sift through some more ads in order to get to the bulk of the reading material. Be careful, some of the ads actually look like content but are one huge ad for the newest, and most researched(lie) product to boost your muscle gains by 357.87695%

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Next thing you know the new stuff is released and all the 16-17 year old newbs run to the local supplement shop and drop 100 big ones on useless junk. Sales literally pour in and people make tons of money selling snake oil.

About The Lies

Without hating on the supplement companies too much I think we can all generally agree that most are made to sell. Ever take a second to think of why the same product is not on the shelf for a substantial period of time? It’s simple; they don’t work, therefore people stop buying. The companies have to return to the lab, move some ingredients around, create some really biased studies and/or cherry pick bits and pieces from current studies on a product to prove it “works” and start all over again.

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Then they have to create an entire BS campaign about how it helped Johnny Longnose burn 40lbs of fat and add 40lbs of muscle in 13 days. I guess they aren’t really lying when they place the small font at the very bottom of the page that reads: results not typical, we are full of sh*t.

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The only supplements that have weathered the test of time is creatine, protein, EFA’s ephedrine and other stimulants like caffeine and yohimbe. Heck, protein powder and EFA’s don’t really count since they’re just food, anyway.

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Another reason the supplements sell so well is because the products are being pimped by the grotesque mass monsters who claim they only use NO2(cubed) or whatever supplement is in their hands for the ad. Wouldn’t you really like to know what they are supplementing with!

Message For The Beginners

I know you are seeking that holy grail to get on the fast track from skinny to buff. I understand your needs and wants, believe me. You must first realize that you don’t need a special product or magic potion to reach your goals. You first need knowledge and then some common sense.

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Knowledge – this can be acquired through the study of books(not fancy fitness/bodybuilding magazines) as well as some online resources as well. I suggest you start with Alan Aragon, Lyle McDonald, Tom Venuto, Martin Berkhan and stay away from the typical bodybuilding type crap. It’s not to say that some of the information out there isn’t credible but most of the legit bodybuilding information out there is not going to be suited for beginners anyhow.

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A few more guys I highly admire: Skyler Tanner and Ryan Zielonka. Both of them are great writers and are daily reads of mine. Check their out blogs; they both offer a plethora of information that is both genuine and practical.

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Common Sense – Good sense regarding training and dieting usually comes with a little experience. Having good sense is knowing when to make the right decision when presented with an opportunity to spend your 50 bucks on this bottle of fat loss pills or spend it on quality food. Another example is being able to decide if you should workout or stay in when you are sick. Using your common sense is basically just making sure you remain objective at all costs. No funny business.

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There you have it. Remember you are being lied to everyday, however you have the right to choose who you listen to. What do you think?

Post from JC at JCD Fitness

You Are Being Lied To

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Image Credit:  d_vdm. Edited by me

If you made it past the title, congratulations. When I see articles titled as such I usually mark them read in my feed reader or click off the page onto another article. I almost feel silly for writing such a headline, however everyone else is doing it so I figured it was my turn.

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I suppose this article will go under the fitness myths category; perhaps I should create a new category called facetious or snarky, heh.

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Okay folks, here I will reveal the Top 3 Exercises for Ultimate Fat Loss, sort of.

Squats

The squat in its many variations is such a wonderful movement. Being a compound lift, it hits almost every muscle in the body. It stimulates your quads, hams, glutes, lower back and abs like a wrecking ball to the nearest retail outlet going out of business. The movement is the primary reason for Lee Priests quad development and squats are what make the newbies on Starting Strength grow like weeds(the daily gallon of whole milk helps too).

However, squats alone will not make you lose body fat.

Deadlifts

Ah yes, the wonderful deadlift. Whether you do RDL’s or sport a 600lb deadlift, this movement can do wonders for your physique. It’s not uncommon for women with no rear end to have one suddenly appear within a few months of incorporating this movement into their routine. The deadlift is also responsible for the beefy backs of powerlifters all over the world.

However, deadlifts alone will not make you lose body fat.

Bench Press

Note to self: never bank on using the bench press on Monday evening as this is national chest day for all the bro’s. I really like the bench press for building mass in the chest. It’s a fairly easy movement to learn and teach and is always a good choice for building upper body mass. This seems to be the most popular movement of all time as no one cares about how much you squat or deadlift, it’s all about how much you bench! It’s evident that Arnold built his oak chest with the bench press as well as other pressing movements so there’s no doubt that it’s a great exercise to keep in your routine.

However, bench presses alone will not make you lose body fat.

Cutting Through The BS

No matter what anyone says, squats, bench presses, pink dumbbell curls or deadlifts are not going to make you drop body fat. There are actually no exercises that can make you lose fat, period. You can do all the movements known to man, stuff yourself silly and still never drop an ounce of body fat. If these movements were responsible for fat loss, every powerlifter on the planet would be ripped.

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Then again, I have to pinch myself and remember that most people are looking for a quick fix, not necessarily a realistic approach. It would be easy to go to the gym, do a few sets of squats and presses if we were promised our efforts would render us shredded like Tyler Durden. However it’s rarely that easy.

The Truth

The only way to lose fat is by means of a caloric deficit. You create a deficit by monitoring your intake and eating less than you burn. Sure, extra exercise can help create that deficit if you are sedentary most of the day. People who sit at a desk for work can benefit from some extra movement to increase their expenditure. This will allow them to eat a little more food and drop fat faster than without any exercise at all.

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I should also mention that squats, presses, deadlifts and any other form of resistance will allow you to retain lean body mass which is so crucial to dieting successfully. So while these wonderful movements play a role in the development of your ideal physique, they alone are not responsible for fat loss. So why do people keep writing about The Top 10 Exercises That Will Eliminate Your Love Handles? It seems they forget to mention you actually have to eat less. No way!

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I suppose it’s because they are either ignorant, misinformed or just like to lie to people. What do you think?

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Oh, I also just did an interview with Skyler Tanner.  Click Here to check it out.

Post from JC at JCD Fitness

3 Exercises For Ultimate Fat Loss

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Image Credit: laurenatclemson

Over the last few weeks I have received multiple emails regarding maintenance intake. These particular folks were dieting for a period of time and had some questions about how to set up their maintenance intake and what to expect with the added calories etc. Upon receipt I figured this would be a good time to touch on a subject many folks have a very hard time with. After all, it’s relatively easy to create a deficit and lose body fat and surely we can all agree how easy it is to gain body weight.

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But what about when we reach our goals? How do we maintain what we have worked so hard for?

What Is Maintenance?

First off, let us define the word. According to the dictionary, to maintain is to remain in an existing state. With regards to fitness and aesthetics, maintenance is the act of keeping the body as is, not gaining or losing weight(muscle or body fat).

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On paper, the concept of maintenance works itself out as the perfect balance of energy intake(stuffing your pie hole) and energy expenditure(walking, typing, talking, get creative with this one). The idea is to strike a happy medium between the amount of food to devour and a manageable amount of exercise required to maintain your physique.

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However the human body is far too complex to suggest that it needs an exact amount of kcals per day to function and maintain itself.

Where It Gets Complicated

Everyone seems to be on the search for the precise number of calories they need for the day. Many begin their search on the web looking for special calculators or equations to provide the ideal amount of energy to consume on a daily basis.

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I wish it were this simple but it’s not. We rarely burn the same amount of kcals day in and day out due to varying schedules, spontaneous activity, illness and other various daily activities. Some people even respond to certain macronutrients a bit differently depending on their genetic predisposition to certain foods and nutrient intolerances.

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Before someone assumes, I am not stating there is some magical metabolic advantage to restricting a certain macro or adopting a paleolithic diet. I am merely suggesting that someone who is insulin resistant(IR) is going to act much differently after a high carb meal than someone who is insulin senstive(IS). The IR person is likely to go take a nap while the IS person will be bouncing off the wall from all the extra energy.

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This is usually why someone people say that excess carbs make them fat. No, it’s not the excess carbs, it’s the fact that the carb bomb makes them sleepy, therefore they sit around and play on the computer instead of moving around spontaneously like their IS counterpart. People with IR usually find their energy levels are better on a diet higher in fat and moderate in carbs.(in the end, the IR person just doesn’t burn as many kcals)

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Not to mention the fact that all of our calorie labels are rough estimates anyhow. So when you think about it, this might as well be one big guessing game.

The Journey To Maintenance

Some people rarely ever consume their true maintenance intake. If you are a competitive bodybuilder, most of your career is either spent stuffing your face in search of lean body mass gains or dieting to get ready for a show. There really isn’t much time for anything else.

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If you are a competitive athlete, you also alternate periods of hypo and hypercaloric consumption, however the rate of gain and loss is usually much slower than a competitive bodybuilder. Most athletes attempt to maintain throughout their season but due to such large expenditures, many end up somewhat lighter by the seasons end. Heck I know I was always a few pounds lighter and leaner at the end of every football season; at the same time I was inhaling Taco Bell and Pizza Hut every single weekend. It was a struggle to keep up with my expenditure.

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Fact is, if you are into fitness, bodybuilding, strength training or whatever you are most likely alternating between a kcal surplus and deficit. Chances are you rarely ever eat your maintenance kcals and if you do it’s usually out of necessity(vacation, training break etc) rather than deliberation.

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If you ever think about the future, you know that your gains will come to an end someday or you will finally be satisfied with your 6 pack and all you want to do is enjoy being sexy year-round. This is where knowing your maintenance intake is crucial. It should never take as much work to maintain something you have already built. Therefore, in my humble opinion, this maintenance thing should be simple and effective. It can be, you just gotta figure it out.

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So now I am sure many of you are probably asking yourself “um, how do I figure this out?”

Finding Your Maintenance Intake

If you want numbers, here they are. 15 kcals multiplied by your body weight in pounds is usually a good starting point. Some will require more and some will require less. It all falls on the activity level of the individual. If you are sitting at a desk 14 hours a day, you aren’t going to need 16-17 X body weight in kcals. If you are working construction, chances are you need more than this. Again it’s all a matter of energy expenditure.

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So now that I got that out of the way, let me give you the best way to find your maintenance intake. You need to track calories. If you put something in your mouth that has a caloric value, write it down. Write everything down for 2-3 weeks and take note of what is happening with regards to your body weight and composition. In general, if your weight is stable within a few pounds, it’s safe to say you found your maintenance kcal intake. If you are gaining or losing, adjust accordingly. Females should probably take 4-5 weeks to track and assess due to water fluctuations during the menstrual cycle.

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It’s a good idea to set your protein to at least 1 g/lb of body weight and then fill in the rest of your kcals with moderate amount of carbs and fat.

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I would avoid any food you aren’t normally consuming during this trial period. A night out to eat sushi smothered in soy sauce will do wonders for making you scream blasphemies at the scale(water weight gain).

What Have I Learned?

While I do not struggle with maintenance now, I have in the past. During the times I have been really lean in my life, I made mistakes and learned a few very valuable lessons. The first time I learned that you can maintain through insane amounts of exercise and stuffing your face everyday. This only works if you are a college kid with no job, lots of time and free meal pass to the cafeteria.

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The second time I got really lean, I learned that it doesn’t take long to get back to where you started out dieting 12 weeks ago. Spend 2-3 weeks completely stuffing your face due to feeling so deprived on a disastrous diet and you quickly eat yourself back to your previous body fat pretty darn quick. I did this on a vacation(oops)!

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The third time I dieted down, I did it on sprints and strength training only. I maintained a moderate deficit and kept myself sane with weekly free meals. I ended up maintaining 8-9% body fat for a decent amount of time before I lost interest and wanted to put on some more size. This time I maintained on a moderate amount of training and a well rounded diet as opposed to training 5+ days per week. I had much more time to devote to other interests which did wonders for my adherence.

The Emotional Part Of Maintenance

Ah yes, the hardest part of maintenance – getting so wrapped up in a result and/or process that it makes you absolutely crazy. Many folks find themselves becoming more anal and obsessive when it comes time to stop dieting and maintain what they have sculpted.

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I understand their state of chaos. I have been there. It all comes down to moderation. Establish your maintenance intake, trust it and apply it. If things need to be adjusted, adjust them. I have seen many who were obsessive about bulking and dieting become even more neurotic when it comes to maintenance.

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My point is that no one has to be so uptight about all of this. Once you figure out your maintenance intake, it’s not going to vary much unless you become a competitive athlete or go from doing landscaping to a cubicle. Trust the numbers you have establish for yourself and enjoy reveling in the physique you’ve built.

Post from JC at JCD Fitness

In Search of Maintenance

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Muscle growth, it’s what most of us who wish to look great naked are desperately yearning for. I think it’s safe to say most of us probably train too often and too intense at times. I also believe we easily forget to maintain an objective approach during this journey as well. If I told you it’s absolutely necessary to take a break every now and then you might assume I ate a few paint chips as a kid.

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I admit, I am guilty of not always taking a break when I should. I confess that as I’ve failed forward and experienced injury, I now realize how important scheduled breaks really are. This is why I now program a “deload” or training break every 4-6 weeks.

The Infamous Deload

A deload, when referring to strength training or bodybuilding, is when you reduce volume and intensity for a week or so before returning to previous personal records. The reasoning behind the idea is to give your joints a break from the heavy loads you impose so frequently on yourself and to prevent possible injury from pushing near maximal weights too often.

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A deload can do wonders for your training if you actually do them. The problem is that no one ever takes a week or two to actually ease up at all. Most continue grinding it out for weeks on end only to burn out, plateau or even worse, injure themselves. No wonder my coaches always scheduled a “light” week every 30 days or so during my athletic years.

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Now I have first hand experience on both sides of this fence. I used to be the guy who went months without a break. I always wondered why I felt so trashed and beat up. I worried about why I couldn’t progress anymore and even thought about picking up a new hobby like hopscotch or badminton. Now I take advantage of scheduled deloads to stay fresh and ready for all training sessions.

Complete Break From Training

Sometimes a complete break from training is essential. When I was going months on end without any form of relief, something would eventually come up and I’d have no choice but to put my training on hold. This usually meant I was leaving town or had to work for a few days in another city.

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Every so often I would get sick and have no choice but to lay in bed for two or three days. Luckily I had enough sense to take some time off when I was ill.

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I always noticed when I returned to the gym after a week of zero training, I felt more motivated than before and my strength, energy and drive was through the roof. The break seemed to be the fuel I so desperately needed.

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This now brings me to the question you are probably asking.

When And How Often?

For deloads, when I am really pushing the weights in search of lean body mass and personal records I like to take a back off week every 5-6 weeks. Some like to deload at week 4 and some at week 8. It all depends on the intensity and frequency of your training regimen. Heck, some even deload after they stall on a certain lift for more than 2 workouts

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If you are into crunching numbers, some advocate taking 4 full training breaks per year. This means you are resting 1 month annually if you choose to break every 12 weeks. I am a big advocate of this philosophy.

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Another way to gauge if it’s time for a break is by simply assessing how you feel. Do you feel like a sack of crap that desperately screams to be set ablaze atop someone’s doorstep? If so, then it’s probably a good time to get your butt out of the gym for a week or 10 days. Go sit by the pool and drink some beer.

What Does A Deload Look Like?

There are 2 ways you can perform this so called deload. You can either reduce intensity/frequency or just do something completely different for a week.

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If you opt to keep your routine exactly the way it is, drop the intensity to about 80% of your current working weights and cut volume by about 1/3. Ramp the weights up over the next few weeks and break through previous plateaus.

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If you don’t want to be a boring Billy, then you will enjoy the more interesting method of doing something completely random for a week. Perhaps you can visit the park and do body weight training in the nude or try out some bikram yoga. The whole point of this type of deload is to get your mind off of the same ol’ same ol’ and enjoy doing something different for a change. I think you’ll be surprised at how ready you’ll be to get under the bar again and I’m sure you will be pleased with the progress you make in the weeks thereafter.

What To Do During A Break From Training

This is pretty easy. You can go on vacation, go to the library, get married, pick wildflowers, sing melodies, make babies or (insert your favorite past time here). The whole point of a full blown training break is to get the heck out of the gym and enjoy something else for a change. Hey, this may be a time to actually, umm, socialize outside the gym.

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Anyway, just treat yourself to some time away from the iron. Oh, eat some ice cream too.

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So tell me, are you like I used to be? Are you stubborn about your training, never taking a break and eventually burning out or have you seen the light? Tell me about it.

Post from JC at JCD Fitness

Deloads and Training Breaks

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