Do You Need a Calorie Surplus to Gain Muscle

 If you are new to lifting, let's say less than 18 months, you can gain significant muscle mass while being in a calorie deficit. The training stimulus outweighs the body's reactions to being in a calorie deficit state.  This is especially true if you are overweight to begin with. Many of my clients, and many studies show, and I have demonstrated,  that this is very possible, if not common.

 Once you have accumulated some training years, you probably will need to be in a slight calorie deficit to gain any appreciable mass.  The key thing is to increase your calories judiciously. You don't want to accumulate fat as you go.  Further, the amount of protein that you consume is key. Not only will high protein consumption reduce muscle loss while in a calorie deficit, it is the key to muscle protein synthesis as you go into surplus.   1.6 to 2  grams of protein per kilogram of body weight on a daily basis should be sufficient for most athletes.

Also of note is that the branched chain amino acid leucine seems to act as an on off switch for muscle protein synthesis. Recent research has shown that a minimum dosage of about 2.5 g of Leucine is needed to start the muscle building process, maybe  slightly higher for adults over 40.  You should get about this amount in a standard scoop of whey protein. Other protein sources will not be so high in this key amino acid.

 Optimally, you should be getting your protein in at least 3 to 4 separate feedings per day. 

Should I do Cario and Weight Training on the Same Day?

The bottom line is that it really depends upon your goals and where you are now in reaching your long-term objectives.

Very recent studies have shown that for the average person it really doesn't matter, after a "break in period of a couple of months. Both strength and cardio health indicators improved to a statistically similar degree, whether you did one or the other first or whether you did them on different days.

Most successful "natural" bodybuilders will do their cardio either on an empty stomach, before breakfast, or after completing their weight lifting. The theory being that once the muscles are depleted of glycogen, you're more likely to burn fat during your cardio session.

I personally do 15-30 minutes of cardio after each of my four weekly weight room workouts, in order to manage my body composition, as well as several short walking and stair climbing sessions, during my weekdays at the office.

At the same time, because I am a multi-sport athlete, I also tend to do sport specific cardio, either steady state or HIIT on the other three days of the week. I don't find this to be onerous because for the most part, I'm doing activities that I love, either on the bike, one the road, on the slopes, or in the water.

Do what works for you. Both cardio and strength training are important for overall health and sports success. And unless you're working at an Olympic or pro sports level, it really doesn't matter.

Use Process Goals for Great Outcomes

I want to lose 15 pounds.  I want to bench 400 pounds and have 19 inch biceps.  I want to get down to 6% body fat.  Do those goals or similar ones sound familiar.  They should.  This is how most folks express their fitness goals.   These are outcome goals.  They describe an end state that you'd like to achieve.  And in fact, these are pretty good outcome goals in that they are measurable.  Much better than something like I'd like to get bigger and lose some body fat, also an outcome goal but vague and unmeasurable.

The Rules of Recovery

The Rules of Recovery

I can't tell you how often I hear folks at the gym say that they have cut back on either the intensity or frequency of their workouts because they just don't recover as well as they did when they were younger. This mantra is also in incessantly repeated by pundits  in the bodybuilding magazines and forums, as well.  Some of the folks saying this are as young as their early 30s.  Really, you're not recovering as well as you did when you were younger, and you're what, 32?

Effort is the Secret

I recently read two Internet postings that got me thinking about the significance of activating high threshold motor units, not just to increase strength and muscle hypertrophy, which is usually the focus of such discussions, but to burn fat and increase cardiovascular fitness as well. Is this the real secret?

Intermittent Fasting

I recently commented on a thread, within the bodybuilding.com forums. that dealt with the topic of intermittent fasting (IF). Subsequently, I was contacted by the originator of that thread and asked to further elaborate on some of the points I was making and further delineate some of the articles/studies I was referencing. This post is the result of that request.

Does a Low Carb Diet Really Burn More Calories

 I wanted to post a short reaction to a recent NIH sponsored study that appears in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association. The study is being reported in a number of news sources. It compares the ability of three diets, 1. Low Fat, 2. Low Carb, 3. Low Glycemic but balanced, to facilitate maintenance of weight loss.

Why You Should Eat 6 Times per Day

Why You Should eat 6 Times per Day:

For both myself and my clients, any and all diets begin with calculating daily calorie and macronutrient needs. The exact numbers vary significantly based on context and is a subject unto itself. Once this is done, we build an actual meal plan.

We almost always recommend eating every 2.5 to 3.5 hours. Depending on how long your day is, this equates to 6 or 7 meals. Calories and macro nutrients should be divided equally over these feedings. For most folks this comes out to about 300-500 calories and 25-40 grams of protein per meal. It is okay to eat slightly more for breakfast, as you are coming out of a fast and your body is craving nutrients, and post workout where, again, your body is primed to assimilate, and is craving, nutrients.

We prescribe multiple, fairly equal feedings for a number of reasons.

First, is provides even blood sugar and energy levels throughout the day. There is no energy surge then crash typically found with large carb heavy meals. You are essentially keeping the tank topped off.

Second, it tends to keep leptin levels (a hormone that provides feelings of satiation) high, meaning you totally avoid hunger pangs and the resultant temptation to eat either more than you should or the wrong food.

Third, because each meal is built around a lean protein source, your body is in an anabolic/growth state at all times. Building and maintaining muscle mass is the key to both athletic performance and a healthy metabolism.

Fourth, because you're never eating a huge amount of calories at any given time, there is far less chance that anything consumed will be stored as excess body fat. This type of feeding keeps insulin levels low.

Fifth, every time you eat your digestive system "cranks up" and you burn extra calories just to process and assimilate your food. When you do this 6 or 7 times per day, instead of 2 or 3, you get a nice little extra metabolic boost, burning extra calories to help you stay lean.

Sixth, once we have established your baseline needs, losing weight becomes very easy and painless. By reducing each meal by a mere 50 calories, something you won't even notice, and upping your daily exercise by 200 calories, again an increase that's barely noticeable, we will create a 500 calorie per day deficit that equates to a pound per week weight loss, a loss that will be almost exclusively fat. That amount of deficit, coupled with exercise, will ensure that no lean muscle is lost while your paring away the fat. My BLOG entry on the optimal speed of weight loss has a little more to say on the subject. Use the following link to get to the correct post:

http://www.perfectfitnesssolutions.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-fast-should-i-lose-weight.html

Note: Although it is important to get lean protein, good carbs, and good fats at each meal, and we strive to get the proportions roughly equal at each feeding, don't worry that one meal is slightly higher in fat, while another is slightly higher in carbs. It's too easy to become obsessive about proportions. As long as you are getting the proportions roughly right while hitting your daily caloric targets spot on, you'll be okay.

If you're not used to eating this way, this can be one of the hardest parts of our dietary framework to adapt, even harder that consuming only health foods. Some like to think of it as 3 meals plus 3 snacks. This makes it somewhat easier psychologically. Some chose to gradually reduce their calorie consumption at meal time while building up to larger and larger snacks. Some chose to add a meal at a time as they adapt to the idea and habit of eating more frequently. However you chose to do it, pursue it in a way that works for you.

How Fast Should I Lose Weight

Over the past couple of months, I have been increasingly active on the "Forums" at bodybuilding.com. The forums cover every fitness and sports related topic imaginable, but as you can surmise, with an overall bodybuilding focus, the subject often comes back to the topic of leanness, and losing weight. Conditioning, after all, is usually the difference maker in bodybuilding competitions.

Working Out While Sick Part 2

Part 2

In part 1 of this post,  I focused on my overriding theory of preventing illness and heading off the onset of sickness with intense exercise. Now, let's see how it played out for me over the past week as I dealt with my first real head cold in the past 6 years.

Working Out While Sick Part 1

Part 1

This week I struggled with a question that I'm sure plagues any of us who are dedicated athletes. Do I work out when I'm sick? And, if I do, how hard do I go? If I don't, how do I I know when I'm well enough to start again?

The No White Diet

I'm currently providing dietary advice for a client who is preparing for a figure competition. She's in good shape already, has striking features, and possesses an effervescent personality that is sure to translate into great stage presence. In other words, I know she's going to do well if we can whittle away those last few stubborn pounds.

The Best Way to Work Your Abs is to Shut Your Mouth

It happened again today. Someone approached me in the gym and asked to see my abs. As is usual, after I obliged by pulling up my shirt and flexing a little, they asked me what I do to keep my 6 pack so sharp, "what ab exercises do you do?"

Consistency is the Trump Card

I was recently asked what one piece of advice I would give to a new aspiring bodybuilder. My immediate response was that consistency trumps all other factors.

You can talk about optimal set and rep schemes, debate body part splits, and discuss ad nauseum the importance of nutrient timing, but if you aren't getting to the gym day after day, week after week, and year after year, none of those other things make a bit of difference.

The Font of all Blessings

Recently, a friend of mine was discussing his love of bodybuilding on FaceBook. He had just participated in his first contest, finishing second in his class, and was flying high on the feeling of attaining a long cherished goal. Unfortunately, he was not getting a lot of love from those commenting.

Where There's a Will There's a Way

For a while now, Billy, one of my good friends at the gym, has been working out with his wife, Katherine. Their enthusiasm and ability to encourage each other through a hard workout is inspirational for many of us.

The Best Workout Routine

Yesterday, two of my gym buddies were arguing about the merits of high volume vs. high intensity training. As the argument evolved, it got fairly technical, branching into questions of rep speed, time under tension, and year-long periodization.

If It Works It Works

If you’re like me and you spend a fair amount of time in the gym, I’m sure you frequently hear folks arguing about the merits of this or that exercise, body part split, or diet.  Many of the people arguing often even refer to clinical trials, or cite a study written up in a magazine article to back their claim. And, while these trials and studies are certainly valid, when well constructed, and offer guidance to the population as a whole, they sometimes don’t apply to that most important trial of all, that test of one, which is you.

A Fitness BLOG is Born

As someone who is passionate about health and fitness and sees dozens of articles on the subject every day, it doesn't surprise me how confusing all of this data is to most people. It makes it difficult to feel confident about, let alone act upon, even the most basic knowledge of the subject.  This confusion sometimes extends even to the "gym rats" I rub shoulders with constantly.