Supplements

Ah, supplements.  Let’s clear the air about this stuff.  First, there are no “magic pills” or “witchcraft potions” from powders that will magically transform your physique into perfection.  There is the needle, but “gear” is not a topic of importance on this blog. Supplements are just supplemental.  Nothing can replace the benefits of wholesome, healthy, natural food sources.  The great benefit of supplements, like protein powders, for example, is that it is a cheaper alternative to increase your protein intake.  In addition, if your appetite isn’t trained to handle large amounts of food, a protein shake is easier to consume than a 6 oz. portion of oven roasted chicken. 

There are so many options to choose from within every supplement category, from multivitamins to protein powders, pre-workout boosters to post-workout recovery, creatine to BCAAs… I swear you can spend more money on this stuff than your car payment.  I believe you can waste a lot of money by taking nonessential supplements.  What are the essentials?  Do they even work?

I think all you need is a good multivitamin and omega-3 fish oil supplement for overall health and wellness.  The brand does not really matter.  I currently use a Kirkland branded multivitamin and NOW Omega-3.  You can get real au naturale with it and just have a cup of black coffee for your pre-workout booster if you need a little pick-me-up before training.  Honestly, this is all you need in a bare bones approach in supplementation.  Every few weeks or months, I cycle off all the other supplements and I only take a multi, omega-3s, and a cup of joe for my pre-workout.

I usually wake up at 5:00am every day to begin training by 6:00am.  As much as I have become more of a morning person, it’s never easy trying to perform your best so early in the day.  This is why I take a pre-workout booster that has more than just caffeine.  I also take creatine as there is strong scientific evidence that it promotes strength, endurance, and recovery.  If you eat a large amount of beef in your diet, creatine may be unnecessary to supplement, but you have to eat a LOT of beef.  You can get about 5g of creatine for every 2 lbs. of beef consumed or so.  This can get expensive, and I’d get pretty sick of beef at such a large quantity.  Supplementing with creatine is cheaper and easier on my gut.  I also take glucosamine for my joints as a preventative measure.  Then during workouts, I like to supplement with branch chained amino acids.  There has been strong scientific evidence that proves that providing nutrients to fuel your body during your workout will decrease fatigue and increase recovery times between sets

Here is a list of supplements I currently take:

-Multivitamin (any brand)
-NOW Omega-3 Fish Oils
-Glucosamine (any brand)
-Optimum Nutrition Creatine Monohydrate
-MTS Nutrition Machine Whey Protein
-Driven Sports CRAZE Pre-Workout
-USPLabs Jack3d Micro Pre-Workout (I switch off between this and Craze)
-Scivation XTend BCAAs Intra-Workout
-USPLabs Versa-1 Mind-To-Muscle Connection

January 28th, 2013

Every Damn Day

I will be increasing calories again this week by adding more fats into my diet.  I believe I am already maxed out with carbs at the moment.  I believe the high level of carbohydrates is negatively affecting my skin condition so I believe it’s time to pump the brakes on increasing them again.  I have psoriasis and small lesions have appeared faintly but are not getting any worse.  It is getting increasingly difficult to meet my daily caloric goals from clean food sources on most days of the week because it is such a large amount of food that I must consume.  It is only on the weekends that I splurge on cheat meals which make it easier to meet my caloric and macro goals. 

Yesterday's Cheat Meal - Chipotle x2... Yes, I had two of these.

My new daily caloric goal is ~3200 calories.  I will aim for the following macros: 360g C / 240g P / 90g F.  I will achieve this by incorporating more fats in to my diet from organic peanut butters, almond butters, variety of unsalted nuts, extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil, and coconut oil.  Depending on the market price of cuts of beef or fattier types of fish, I may add these into my diet as a fattier protein source in which I will count the amount of protein and fats.  With a gram of carbohydrate weighing in at 4 calories and a gram of fat at 9 calories, it’s a good thing that fats are such a calorically dense energy source because I don’t think I can eat more carbs at this point!

For more than a week, I have not experienced any weight gains.  My strength is slowly increasing which is a good sign that I may be building more muscle and muscle definition appear to remain visibly unchanged as well.  My pants are getting tighter in the thigh area from increased focus and frequency in training my legs.  I train legs twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  My chest and biceps are my weak areas in which I will focus on training with more intensity.  Perhaps I will play with the idea to increase training frequency by including a few heavy exercises for chest and biceps on Sundays.  Sundays can be my “abs & weak point training” days, since I will no longer be doing much cardio anymore to retain the calories for mass gain.  Perhaps I will limit cardio to just 10-15 minute low intensity sessions at 3-4 times a week just because I like doing it and it makes me feel good. 

New Personal Record! 405 lb. RDLs for 6 Reps!

For years, I have never paid much attention to my legs.  It was only up until a year ago that I really started focusing on them.  This morning, I was training a buddy of mine and it was a hamstring-focused leg day.  I was particularly proud of this moment because I have never deadlifted over 3 plates for reps before.  My increase in strength is greatly attributed to this high carb bulking diet that I am on.  I have been achieving new personal records on my lifts on a weekly basis!  So here it is!  My first attempt at performing Romanian Deadlifts for 4 plates.  I achieved 6 reps.  My new goal will be 5 plates for a 5-6 rep max, a total of 495 lbs.

This week, I have not experienced any weight gains, however my strength is increasing!  My caloric level and macros remained the same since my last post.  A strength increase is an indication of muscle growth.  Perhaps my body composition is changing for the better?  More muscle and less fat?  Still, it is too early to tell.

Another observation I must point out is non-bodybuilding-related.  I have psoriasis.  I have noticed while I was on my pre-contest cut diet (practically carb-less), my skin has cleared up.  It is not scientifically proven, but gluten has been a prime suspect in causing psoriasis to flare up.  Now that I am on a high carb diet, it appears psoriasis lesions are slowly appearing again.

So are all carbohydrates created equal?  Is a carb just a carb?  Does the glycemic index matter?  Should I go gluten-free?  At the grand scheme of things, all carbs end up as glucose in the body.  Perhaps it doesn't effect bodybuilding, but maybe it effects other things, like psoriasis?

This observation gives me reason to consider cutting the high carb bulking diet experiment short, and substitute the carbohydrate energy source for equal parts fat instead.  I may need to bump up my daily caloric intake again, or cut out cardio completely.  Just a thought for now, but I will let it brew in my medula and we'll just see what happens next week!  This is the beauty of bodybuilding.  I am always analyzing and tinkering, making impromptu modifications to my short term plans to achieve my ultimate goal - to be the best that I can be.

Current Weight: 166.8 lbs.
Current Daily Caloric Intake: ~2900 calories
Current Macros: 360g C, 240g P, 50g F

Building Muscle - The Basics

Building muscle isn’t difficult.  It is just about consuming more calories than your body expends.  You work out, stress the muscle, and essentially break down the muscle fibers.  The calories you’ve eaten provide fuel for your workout and nutrients to supply your muscles to recover.  The muscle fibers heal and get thicker and bigger, or new muscle fibers are built.  That’s the process of building muscle in a nutshell.  Conversely, burning more calories than you consume; at best, you can only retain the muscle mass you currently contain.  Don’t expect any strength or muscle gains at a caloric deficit.  Building muscle only occurs at a caloric surplus.  It sounds simple, and the process is easy to understand. 

But why the heck does it take so long?  Building muscle takes longer than burning fat.  I have been lifting weights for about 10 years.  And only the past year, I’ve been doing it right.  I used to eat haphazardly, train insane, and recover when I needed it.  Gains were incredibly slow and minimal from year to year.  Now, most importantly, I focus on the nutrition.  Training and recovery are dependent on nutrition.  You cannot train with absolute intensity and recover efficiently without proper fuel.  You cannot just simply stack on 30 lbs. of mass in a month and pray that it’s all muscle (unless you’re on the needle, but I can only speak for natural bodybuilding).  Your body just doesn’t work that way.  More than likely, that’s mostly fat.  Building muscle is a slow process.  If you can gain 1-2 lbs. of lean muscle mass per month, that’s really something to be proud of.

Let’s talk about training.  Am I training intensely enough?  Could I have completed another rep?  Another partial rep even?  Did I maintain proper form?  These are some of the questions that run through my head during my workouts.  I like to train with a mixed variety of adopted strategies from different lifting styles.  I like the intensity from Dorian Yates’ H.I.T. program because it’s about lifting as heavy as you can with progressive overload.  An increase in strength is an indicator of muscle growth.  I like drop sets, super sets, giant sets and partial sets because it brings me to absolute muscle failure.  It keeps my endurance up with the extra volume and increased tempo of my workout.  High volume workouts have been notarized by many bodybuilders, such as Arnold Schwarzeneggar.  High frequency training is another training strategy that I’ve grown to love.  Strength and performance are indicators of muscle growth.  So long as you can lift heavier at the same amount of reps or perform more reps with the same amount of weight compared to last time, your muscles are growing. 

Honestly, I believe every training style works.  Like nutrition and diet strategies, I believe they all work—intermittent fasting, IIYFM, or the good ol’ small-and-frequent-meals-in-a-day.  But what works best is based solely on the individual and that individual’s likeness, belief, and enjoyment of that training style or strategy.  You give someone a job that they love, then they excel and have fun while doing it.  You give someone a job they despise, then they half-ass it and might not complete the job to its entirety.  At the end of the day, all that matters is whether you have trained intensely enough.  Are you attempting to lift heavier than last time for the same amount of reps?  Are you attempting to perform more reps with the same amount of weights as last time?

Challenge your body and it will adapt.  Your body is far more capable than what you think it can handle.   

Video - Strict Lawnmower Rows with 150 lb. Dumbells!

I thought I'd share this new personal record that I achieved last week with the Lawnmower Row.  This is one of my favorite exercises and I must say this version of it has really contributed to my upper and mid back development.  I like to perform this exercise while leaning on the incline bench to really take the rest of my body out of the equation so I do not cheat.  I hold on to the bench as tight as possible with my free arm and keep the anterior of my body pressed against the bench, hugging it as to only allow mobility in my lifting arm.  As I pick up the weight in a row movement, I concentrate the lift in my lats and mid back in attempt to squeeze at the top of each rep.  The heaviest dumbells my gym has are the 120s, so I had to get creative and "Macguyver" it if I wanted to break this plateau.  A 30 lb. dumbell was nested into the 120 lb. in this video.  Next week, I'd like to shoot for 160 or 170 lbs.   

Quick Update!

Current body weight: 166.8 lbs.
Current caloric level: ~2900 kcal.
Current macros: 360g C / 240g P / 50g F

My diet is on point.  My strength is increasing as well as my body weight at a rate of a little over 1 lb./week.  I am going to stick to this caloric level for now.  Thanks for reading!   

January 17th, 2013

Due to weight increase stalls, I need to make modifications to my caloric intake once again.  My weight increase goals are 1-2 lbs./week.  Since last week from today, I have only experienced an increase of +0.6 lbs.  I've identified the best day of the week to measure my weight at my leanest—Thursdays. 

On Thursday mornings, I am as glycogen-depleted as can be because Wednesdays are heavy leg days and 20 min. of cardio on the step mill.  I estimate I burn the most calories on Wednesdays.  The less glycogen I have stored in my body means less water retention.  Thursdays are also 4 days after my last cheat meal from the weekend, allowing more than enough time for extra water retention from increased sodium intake (from cheat meals) to subside. 

According to my estimated total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), my maintenance calories is roughly 2800 calories.  I believe I've finally brought my metabolism back to normal levels since I destroyed it from coming off of the contest prep diet weeks ago.  My body is starting to react positively to high calories, and surprisingly well with high carb, high protein, and low fat intake. 

This is the first time in years since I've included carbs in my diet, which was the reason why I started this blog.  I've always been fearful of it.  Why?  Well, you know why.  “Carbs make you fat.”  Yes, there is a time and place to utilize carbs, but it definitely does not make you fat, if used correctly.  As with any other macronutrient, too much protein and/or too much fat can make you fat.  At the end of the day, it’s all about calories. 

Caloric increases from maintenance level to bulk should be in small increments to assure that fat gains are minimized while gaining lean muscle mass.  Caloric decreases from maintenance level to cut should be in small increments to assure that muscle loss is minimized.  The body is smart and will adapt with patience and under detailed observation.  Gradual changes can force the body to adapt.  Abrupt changes in large caloric increases can lead to increased fat gains and large caloric decreases can throw your body into survival mode and literally destroy your metabolic rate. 

Carbs are protein-sparing, so on a lean bulk, especially, you don’t need incredibly large amounts of protein to increase LBM.  I take in 1.0-1.5g of protein per lb./bodyweight, add 50-60g of fat for essential health benefits and bodily functions, and fill the rest of my calories in with carbs.  If that’s the case, and I weigh ~160 lbs., my protein intake would be 240g P (960 calories) and my fat intake would be 50g F (450 calories); a total of 1410 calories from protein and fat only.   

My current caloric intake is 2610 calories.  When I add calories, I like to add small increments to minimize fat gain.  Most online resources state 500 calorie increments.  I like 250 calorie increments.  This would put me up to about 2900 calories.  I subtract my calories from protein and fat of 1410 from 3000 calories, leaves me about 1600 calories to fill in with carbs.  1g of carbohydrate = 4 calories, so 1600 calories / 4 calories = ~370g of carbs. 

I use the diabetic exchange nutrient counting system based on serving sizes of protein foods, carbohydrate foods, and fat foods (more on this later).  I like to add carbs in with increments of 60g because its about 250 calories (actually 240 calories), and based on the diabetic exchange nutrient counting system, each serving of a carbohydrate food source is 15g of C, which is 4 servings.  I will utilize honey because I simply cannot stuff more dense carb-food into my stomach than what I am already doing.  I will add 4 servings of honey with each serving measured at ¾ tbsp.    

Alas, my new meal plan starting tomorrow of ~2900 calories (actual: 2850 calories), with 360g C, 240g P, 50g F.  I should experience a rise in weight gain by next Thursday of over 1 lb.  I am skipping cardio on Sunday and actually rest on my rest day.  I goaled myself to meet 180 lbs. by March but it seems all too rushed.  Primary goal is to gain lean body mass, not fat, so I must be patient with this slow process.  If I can meet 170-175 and maintain my current body fat % of about 10-12%, then I would be pleased.  In the past few years, I have always hovered around 160. 

Meal 1 (Post Workout)

-4 whole wheat rice cakes (60 g C)

-4 servings of ¾ tbsp honey (60 g C)

-1.5 scoops of whey protein (40g P)

Meal 2

-4 slices Ezekiel bread (60g C)

-6 oz. chicken breast (40g P)

-1 tbsp PB (10g F)

Meal 3

-1 cup oats (60g C)

-1.5 scoop whey protein (40g P)

-1 tbsp PB (10g F)

Meal 4

-8 oz. sweet potato fries (60g C)

-6 oz. chicken breast (40g P)

-1 tbsp PB (10g F)

Meal 5

-4 slices Ezekiel bread (60g C)

-6 oz. chicken breast (40g P)

-1 tbsp PB (10g F)

Meal 6

-230g Trader Joe’s branded non-fat cottage cheese b/c it tastes the best (25g P)

-0.5 scoop whey protein (15g P)

-1 tbsp PB (10g F)

*I eat a lot of broccoli / spinach / green beans / asparagus / salad greens, in which I do not count the calories from.  Based on the diabetic exchange nutrient counting system, these vegetables are basically a “free” food.  Any food or drink that requires more energy to digest than what it is calorically worth is a “free” food.  With all the food I am already eating, I can barely eat a serving of vegetables with every meal.  I aim for at least 3 servings of veggies a day, for obvious health benefits.

Let’s see what happens…

A Luxury of Bulking - The Cheat Meal

I love this bulking experiment!  On a bulk, it is inevitable to gain fat while gaining lean muscle.  The trick is to minimize the amount of fat gain, which is the reason why I still perform a bit of cardio.  Similarly to a cut diet, when you eat clean for too long, your body’s metabolism adapts to the constant caloric and macro levels.  But once or twice a week, I throw a little curve ball to my body and psych it out with a Cheat Meal to keep metabolism levels maximized.  This is optional, of course, but I think it is beneficial as a “few steps forward, one step back” approach.  For one, I love food and it helps with satiety and sanity from eating clean all the time.  When I’m back to my normal eating regimen on Monday, I am ready and can commit 100% until the next cheat meal.

The sodium content in cheat meals at restaurants are usually abnormally high compared to the normal meals I prepare myself.  For this reason, I know water retention will occur and the scale will read 2-5+ lbs. heavier than normal.  It usually takes about 72 hours for the body to regain water balance and remove the excess water, given water intake is at least a gallon every day.  Thus, I know I will not get an accurate read on the scale until about Wednesday because my cheat meals usually land on a Sunday.  But no fear if I break the scale on Monday. 

What do I constitute as a “Cheat Meal”?  It is a meal where I do not count calories or macros and enjoy foods that normal people eat!  Instead of having Meal 4, for example, I would have a cheat meal—pizza, sushi, Korean BBQ, burritos, pasta, lasagna, pancakes, burgers & fries…  Then I would try to continue with my scheduled meals, 5 and 6.  I eat pretty clean on a bulk and cook all my meals Mondays thru Fridays, and most meals on the weekends.    

Last weekend, I was craving something fried, crispy, and carb-heavy, so I had this:

Chicken Ten-Don, Hannosuke

 The tempura bowl was delicious but lacked epic portion size, so I thought I can afford another cheat meal.  I had a little over a half of a large-sized pan crust Pizza Hut pizza.  I'm sure the caloric and carb spikes during the weekend contributed to my performance at the gym today for Back Day.