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 I had of time to think today and it gave me a few new ideas that I am not ready to share with you yet. At the same time, it also brought up some old topics for me that I still feel very strong about. Over the past year I've learned alot of things about how to get results from training. Much of what I learned is not earth shattering, but it isn't known by the majority of people attempting the things I've been attempting. Before meeting Carlos DeJesus I was already convinced of this thing called The Experiment of One. Speaking with Carlos merely confirmed the power of the Experiment of One for me. During the course of the past year I've experimented with my nutrition to find what works for my body. I read alot of information about what is supposed to work, but my intellect never let me believe that these things would just work for everyone. It just made no sense to me. How could everyone who weighs 220 lbs. need 3300 calories? What about the guy who is 220 lbs. and 30% body fat? He is going to need less calories than the guy who is 220 lbs. and 10% body fat because he doesn't have the muscle to increase his resting metabolic rate. This lead me to experiment with various forms of carb cycling. I found that I could take the things I'd read and modify them by combining ideas and I would get dramatically different results. At one point I did 3 straight weeks where I existed mostly on protein shakes with some small amounts of carbs here and there. I had fantastic results and have even maintained those results since that point in time. When I started to plan my bulking phase, everything I read said you couldn't lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. My own experiments have proven this to be false. I managed to do both–gain muscle and lose fat. It was just a matter of eating the right things in a large enough quantity that I would gain muscle, but working hard enough that my body used fat for fuel. I will not sit here and tell you that you can do everything I did and get the same results. However, I will tell you that you should experiment. Don't be afraid to mix and match ideas. Any course of action you take can be modified at any time, so why be afraid? Pay careful attention to the results you get from the various things you try. Use those results and measurements to come up with your next experiment. When you find something that hits the sweet spot, work it for as long as you can. When the results slow down or stop completely, change things up. Take things to the next level. Don't be complacent. Work on your exercise plan the same way you work on your nutrition plan. Try things. See what works for you. When you find a good method, stick with it. For me this has been High Intensity Training. My body likes the recovery time and I personally enjoy the excitement of the workouts. Again, I would never say that what is right for me must be right for you. However, when it comes to High Intensity Training, there are so many ways to accomplish it that I strongly believe a variant of it will work for each and every person. H.I.T. is just a method that takes your body to the limits and then forces it to grow and change. |
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Eating was incredibly easy this week. I kept the carbs very low for the weekdays of Monday through Thursday and upped them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I've had great energy all week. I've used nuts and seeds to up the fat in my diet (and peanut butter as well). That has resulted in extra energy without blowing the calories out of the water. It is a great strategy to use for anyone trying to keep their calories to a set number, but their carbs to a low number. |
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 Today was a 1 hour steady state cardio session on the treadmill. |
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 "Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel." Author Unknown |
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 What are your blessings and how are you thankful for them? Comment this post to answer the question. |
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Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING! |
