M527 (D435) How much intensity is enough?

There are some who believe that keeping carbs low causes cravings.  It is said that after a period of time on a low carb diet your craving for sweets and other unhealthy things goes up.  I wonder if this is really because of low carbs or because people just have a hard time staying compliant period.  I actually believe that low carb dieters do tend to have lower compliance in the long run, but not for the obvious reasons.

I believe that people who focus on very low carb diets tend to be way too strict about their diet overall.  They tend to be the type of people who are aiming for 100% compliance to their low carb decision.  It is precisely this need of their’s to have 100% compliance that causes their compliance level to drop.  Nobody can realistically expect to be 100% compliant for long periods of time.  This is actually where the concept of reward meals comes from.  However, even a scheduled reward meal every two weeks is a rather strict way to go about things.  Does this mean that low carb diets shouldn’t be followed because they cause your compliance to drop?

The answer is that people who want or need (due to carb sensitivity) to keep their carbs lower should have a better plan for how they are going to handle their meals.  This type of issue is what initially attracted me to the Anabolic Diet and it is why I’ve been compliant to my nutritional plan for such an extended period of time.  I just don’t mess up on my diet any longer.  When looking at my plan, my week basically starts on Monday.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday see me keeping my carbs extremely low.  I typically consume between 85 and 100 grams of carbs on these days and that is it.  I make up for the energy loss through an increase in fat grams.  However, it should also be noted that on the Anabolic Diet, vegetables are not counted towards the day’s carbohydrate portions. Additionally, I do not count my post-workout meal towards my carbohydrate count for the day either (because your body needs carbs immediately after a workout, especially a high intensity one). My typical daily menu (Monday through Thursday only) looks like this:

I eat very large portions of protein and I snack on almonds, peanuts and sunflower seeds throughout the day to get my calories up.  By getting my calories up I feel satiated and thus, I can stay on task with my nutritional plan. 

However, there is more to it than just being satiated, it is about having choices at some point.  Yes, my carbs are ridiculously low Monday through Thursday, but I know that after those 4 days I am free to eat what I want.  If I feel like eating pizza during the weekend it is allowed as long as I am keeping my calories where they belong.  The fact is that weekends are very relaxing now because I don’t worry so much about what I eat.  I keep my carbs under control at a normal level and just eat and eat alot.  It also gives me the flexibility to eat things during the week that I might not be able to otherwise.  If I happen to eat a little more carbs Monday through Thursday than I am supposed to, my body is ready for it because it has gotten efficient at using fat for energy.  This process has lead to some insane increases in lean body mass in a short period of time.  It has also lead to long term compliance to my nutritional plan.

The answer to this question lies in my training philosophy:

You can never work hard enough because you can always  go harder than you just did.

Yes, I believe that intensity is something that grows with each subsequent workout.  You can’t ever think you’ve gotten intense enough.  Intensity in the moment is giving every single ounce of energy you have to the workout.  I have been told by numerous people that most people are not capable of doing this on their own.  I say that most people just never want to do this at all.  They want to do just enough to get by and nothing more.  This is unacceptable and is really not intensity.

You owe it to yourself to go to the max.  Up that intensity to the highest possible level.  When you walk out of the gym be satisfied with nothing less than the knowledge that you could not have done even one more rep on any of the exercises you just completed.  Be totally sold out to your workout.  Don’t accept anything less. 

Matty’s Workout Log:

Is it best to lose fat or gain muscle when trying to transform your body?  I guess that depends on your ultimate goal. If you are trying to win a 12 week physique transformation contest then I would recommend cutting fat as hard as you can.  If you cut and do great lifting workouts during the 12 week contest you will find that you get some amazing results.  By losing fat you enable the muscle underneath to show.  But is everyone trying to win a physique transformation contest?

I believe that if you are looking for long term success, you should focus on gaining muscle.  Everything you do with your plan should be with the intent of gaining more and more muscle.  When you do this you turn your body into a fat burning machine.  Muscle burns fat by increasing your resting metabolic rate.  The more muscle you have the better your body becomes at burning fat.  It is just a given.

With muscle gain as the focus, other aspects of your plan need to fall into their proper place.  Your nutritional plan will involve alot of protein along with a rotating amount of carbohydrates.  While many people see carbs as a very evil thing, it is true that they are a necessary part of building mass.  On my low carb days I tend to pile in all my carbs towards the early part of the day.  I do this because I workout in the morning, so my body has the necessary fuel to complete that workout.  It makes it easier to lift heavy when you have enough fuel in your body.

Predictions for 2009 – Fitness Industry

    Everyone will discover that they aren’t gaining anything from the 4 minute workouts that are all the rage right now and they will go back to volume training
    Full body workouts will become popular as people try to crack the muscle building barrier
    Steady state cardio will steadily decline in popularity until hardly anyone does it
    Fitness guru programs will fall from popularity as people realize they can do it themselves cheaper
    Social Networking will have a major influence over the fitness industry as people use Facebook and Twitter to connect in ways never before imagined
    Fitness boot camps will become even more popular
    Membership sites will increase the cost to be a member
    Wii Fit will become even more popular as overweight people everywhere will avoid the gym and workout in the privacy of their own home
    Technology will play an even bigger role in people’s quest to get fit
    Tom Venuto’s new book, The Body Fat Solution, will be a huge success

Predictions for 2009 – The Muscle Building Fat Burning Machine

    There will be a major movement towards High Intensity Training as people begin to realize that results come faster when using this technique
    The blog will see over 1,000 distinct visitors daily (twice what it currently receives)
    The book Get Back To Lifting will be released and the content will surprise everyone
    I will achieve less than 10% body fat 
    I will win a body building competition in my age group
    The Cardio Coach, Sean O’Malley, will get me into the best shape of my life
    The Muscle Building Fat Burning Machine will cause ripples to occur in the fitness industry as many fake gurus are exposed for what they truly are
    The emphasis will be placed more and more on teaching and mentoring others and less on what I am up to
    Carb cycling will be taken to a new level as the Anabolic Diet is refined even further using the Experiment of One
    The principles of the Experiment of One will once again be vindicated through the results achieved by using it

There you have it.  10 predictions for the fitness industry and 10 predictions for the Muscle Building Fat Burning Machine.  Now let’s see what happens in 2009.  Have a Happy New Year!

Matty’s Workout Log:

 

Carlos is a truly amazing man.  He is undefeated in 36 tested bodybuilding competitions.  That is a truly amazing record that I guarantee will never be broken.  As a result, Carlos is the real deal.  The principles he teaches are the very principles that allowed him to win the 1985 Professional Mr. World title.  Yes, Carlos is a World Champion.  I find him to be quite a humble man.  As I speak to him on the phone, there are times he has a point to make and I get entranced just listening to his wisdom.  I try to repeat back to him what he’s just said to confirm that I’ve picked it up correctly.

Carlos has taught me a multitude of principles, but none has worked better for me than the principle of the Experiment of One.  As a result of learning this principle, I’ve experimented with both nutritional and training ideas and have found the things that work well for my body.  This is such a valuable lesson!  I am now able to create my own workouts and can modify my nutritional plan at will because I completely understand how my body is going to respond to the changes I make.  It is no longer guess work, it is more of a science now.

As I write my eBook (and yes, I’ve changed up the approach on the eBook just like I have on my blog), I’ve realized just how much influence Carlos has had on my life.  He has helped me more than he knows and for that I am extremely thankful.  I am ready to take on the world as a result of his mentoring.