Got Questions?
If you have any questions or subjects you would like me to write about, just drop a question in the comment section below. I will be active in conversation and be glad to answer your questions. If I don’t have an answer, I will definitely find one.
{ 88 comments… read them below or add one }
JC,
I remeber you saying at one point (on the mean forum I believe) that you were going to consume all (most) of your carbohydrates in the form of fruits. I think was on from a suggstion Blade made, or something, not sure to be exact.
Did you do this? How did it turn out? Why is it good/bad? Are there certain situation where this would be more appropriate than other. i.e. goal-specific situations?
Sorry,I just shot-gunned a bunch of questions at you. Take your time.
I did do this for about 2.5 months. Now my carbs weren’t coming solely from fruits, but mainly from whole, unprocessed foods. My carbs were primarily bananas, apples, oats, potatoes and dairy products.
There are a few advantages to consuming fruits and other whole foods for the bulk of your carb sources. I see those as being satiety, fiber content and micro nutrients etc.
I can see this approach(more specifically only eating fruit) being very advantageous on a diet due to the satiety factor.
other than that, as long as you are covering your bases with the bare essentials being protein, multivitamin supplements and fish oil, eat whatever the hell you want to.
That makes sense.
I might give that a try when I start my cutting phase in a few months.
Hi JC.
Are you familiar with the Bar Method by Burr Leonard (http://www.barmethod.com/bar-method-exercises.html)? I’m wondering if her workout is considered bodyweight training, and if it can replace the intervals on the elliptical, and also the weight training that I’ve been doing. I’ve lost 25 lbs last year and have been maintaining my current weight for the past 2 months. I hope to lose another 15 lbs in 6 weeks. I’m 5′5 and currently weigh 135 lbs.
Thanks!
I am not familiar with the Bar Method but from some quick reading, it just seems like some weird style of yoga/pilates I’ve never heard of.
I saw a lot of red flags when I read about it such as:
there is no such thing as spot reduction. so this is misleading.
I would like to know what their definition of interval training is because I am sure it means something completely different to us than it does to them. or maybe they don’t know what they mean?
I wouldn’t say this could or should replace your weight training. I don’t believe bodyweight exercises will ever be superior to training on the weights(just depends on goals/situation).
and about your hefty goal of dropping 15lbs in 6 weeks. Do you realize that losing 2.5lbs per week is very hard for anyone to do, let alone a small, 135lb woman? I’d say you would be doing great to get 1lb of fat loss per week at your size.
I’m not trying to discourage you but just want you to be more realistic and perhaps think about taking an approach that will allow a bit more time and flexibility. be patient.
Thanks, JC. You’ve confirmed some of my suspicions, especially the part about interval training.
Haha… You’re the first person to call me ’small’! Thank you! Even at this point, I still have a lot of body fat to lose, accumulated over the many years of no exercise. OK, I’ll be patient and stick to a more realistic goal.
I bet it’s really not that much in others eyes. It probably just seems like a lot to you as we are most critical of ourselves.
If you don’t have a certain reason to drop the weight that quickly, I’d rather see you take a more moderate approach as the chances of keeping it off are much greater.
JC- I was just wondering what your pre/during/post workout eating looks like when you’re trying to gain muscle. Do you drink a pre workout shake, or just post? And what does it consist of? ( how much/ what type of protein and carbs).
Alright, I usually train mid day after classes. So let’s say training starts at 11 a.m.
Pre Workout for me = breakfast. I must say I hate eating breakfast.
2 large bananas with a large scoop of peanut butter(~2tbsp).
50g protein shake.
During training I consume nothing. No reason to as my workouts last only 40 minutes to an hour total.
Post Workout = a lot of food.
Usually 1-2 bananas, ~50g protein shake, 2 cups of milk, 1 packet of sugary oats + 1-1.5 cups of rolled oats. Sometimes I will throw in some cereal, 3-4 slices of bread or whatever’s lying around. Sometimes I will put some rice or potatoes on to cook while I’m drinking milk and eating oats.
then I just eat whatever to hit my macro goals by the end of the day. Usually eat some cottage cheese + cereal or whatever before bed time.
JC:
Not that it’s the worst thing ever but I just feel it takes so much time! Let me know! Thank you
I find that your articles are very interesting and motivating and thank you for that! As well as your “Looking Great Naked” book. I had one question. As I was browsing through your articles for “Female” fitness, I noticed that you put for the average female to do cardio twice a week! I just was wondering if you could explain this to me in detail. I work out (strength train, lift, bench press, squats, biceps, tripceps, etc all in rotation) 6 days a week and do cardio or run 3.5 to 4 miles 6 days a week.. cardio is not something that I LOVE to do but I do it that much because I was told it was the best way to stay in shape as well as working out…. I have been building up plenty of muscle mass by working out avid and drinking lots of protien and taking my Omegas.. but if Cardio is not something to do 6 days a week… that’s almost like music to my ears…
RL
so you are training on the weights and running that much 6 days per week? How do your joints feel?
I think many women overdo the cardio for more reasons than one, but mainly because they think if they stop, they’ll just turn into a tub of butter. It’s not true and if you are working out that much per week, I’m sure you could use a break.
Now unless you’re incredibly tiny, I take it you are probably eating fairly liberally? at least on the weekends?
and are you doing a 6 day body part split?
holla
Yes I train 6 days a week.. Sundays are usually my day off.. and yes, my joints are sore after it but I just ice them and move on. No im not incredibly tiny.. my last weigh in was 140.0 and im about 5′8.5″ I try to intake 1600-1800 calories per week plus the protien and Omega obviously.. and yes I do a 6 day body split with needing time for my muscles to rebuild themselves… I just did 6 days of cardio along with the training because I figured thats what was good. Until I read a few of your articles saying 2 days a week, my inital response was WHAT! YES!
Figured they’d be sore.
You are waaaay overdoing it. If you’re not an athlete with specific goals/events you have to train for, there isn’t really any need to train this much. At most, if I were giving you the orders, I’d have you on the weights 3-4x per week and doing some boring steady state cardio in the morning or evening a few times per week depending on your goals etc.
do you notice a lot of water retention?
On a scale of 1-10, 1 being really crappy and 10 being that you could climb Mt. Everest/go out dancing every night/beat up Mike Tyson, what would you rate yourself?
My guess is that if you’re joints are hurting it’s time to STOP all the excessive cardio or drop the weights. Either/or.
I am not an athlete any more.. been out of highschool for about 6 years just trying to keep and look in great shape and be healthy. I should let you know the only joints that I guess really hurt are the inside of my knees and my ankles/shins. Otherwise everything else I don’t have a problem… I would have to say that I rate myself at about a 6 and a half or 7 right now. I would like to get up to a 10. I notice a change in the way my muscles are growing every week…it helps with the protien intake, I normally just do a shake after lifting and food w/ protien throughout the day.. it just takes time I suppose..
As far as water retention I guess I havent really noticed but now that you say something about it, I think that I might hold a bit of water retention.. It varies on the day..
Yesterday, I did take your advice and did not run. (or well i havent since tuesday) I lifted Biceps, triceps, back, and abs and that was it.. My plan today is doing some cardio and doing some leg workouts (press, calves, squats, inner/outer glut and hamstring, etc.. )
I think it’s a good idea to drop the running like you suggested you have. Ever thought of consolidating your workouts a bit? Perhaps doing some full body work or doing an upper/lower split? You’d be able to get more done with less actual time spent working out.
JC,
I asked this a while ago and t seems to be the only question you have never answered
Just over 2 years ago I was 230 lbs at 5′ 8″, and about a year ago I was basically at an all time low of 110 lbs, so was a pretty dangourous way I lost the weight especially as I had no real diet and was just eating as little as possible. No need to say what ever muscle I had has been used for energy. At the beginning of the year I stopped training completely just to get my weight back up. I gained to 122 and started training again. I am now 126 lbs and been training for about 8 months with no real gains. I now want to get serious and put on some proper mass, I consume around 1800 – 1900 cals a day and this seems to be maintenance for me. Obviously with my history I am terrified of eating to much. My question is what do you recommend my diet / training to be like to gain mass with as little as body fat as possible?
Also what are your views on carbs before bedtime?
how tall are you?
you lost more than 50% of your total body weight. 130lbs for any male, in my opinion, is underweight.
I understand your fear of regaining the fat. However, you have to realize there is no special diet/training program to promote 100% lean gains. Some of it will indeed be fat. Now it doesn’t have to be a lot of fat if you do things right.
I cannot recommend a program or diet as I don’t really know much about you. If you want, just send an email and we can go from there.
I eat them every night before bed. Better yet, read this.
Hello,
I got bored with the Starting Strength routine, and I was looking at MAX-OT as it’s more focussed on building muscle, i’m just on the starters week now and I was wondering if you tell me I need to stick to Starting Strength longer, or just do max-ot for 8 weeks, 1 week rest, and another 8 weeks and then got again for starting strength?
I’m mainly looking to make gains on my size(currently 200ish 20-22% BF) And cut down to 12% for the summer.
Thanks in advance
well, how long did you do Starting Strength? How long have you been training?
I see no reason to alternate programs. as long as you continually get stronger and make progress, that’s all that matters.
making gains in size and dropping fat are conflicting goals. many people often give up before they realize their goal because trying to do 2 things at once can take a really long time.
Hello JC
Thanks for your fast response. I know that unless I go on steriods or are a very gifted individual I can’t lose fat and build muscle at the same time.
I’ve done Starting Strength for about 8 months maybe more maybe less, but it were mainly strength gains. So you recommend I should just finnish this week of MAX-OT and then go back to Starting Strength? Maybe I need to eat more CALs, my plan was to add 2-4 kilo of muscle, and then just cut down for the summer, and do it all over again!
Thanks for your answer,
Bjorn
I think you can do whatever program you wish. The only thing is that you choose one and stick with it. Now Starting Strength is a strength-oriented routine and not really a bodybuilding routine. I don’t know if that(bodybuilding) is what you’re interested in but if your goal is to add some more muscle and you’ve already done well with strength gains on SS, then it might be time to move to a plan that is more hypertrophy specific.
Then again, if you plan on dieting, the most important factors to maintaining LBM are to eat enough protein and do a low volume training program to preserve strength. Therefore a bodybuilding routine would not be necessary.
Hello JC,
Thanks for the comments, maybe I should start a BLOG/site like this. Yes, I’ve been focussing on Strength for a while, although I made great progress I feel my body compesition is left to desire for. So I figured maybe focus sligtly less on Strength. Thanks for your advice, and it’s great to see some enormous valueble links to other site(especially Lyle Mcdonalds).
One last question, it seems like your known in the industry what do you think of John Berardi(I was quite surprised that I didn’t see a link here). I’m slowly intergrating his precision Nutrition, nutrition program.
I am not too familiar with JB. I’ve read some of his stuff and know about Precision Nutrition but I don’t really follow him.
I do have a friend who is a moderator on his forums… if that counts?
I’m about to start a clean bulk and I was wondering how many cals. above maintanence you think I should go for for minimal fat gain but also enough to build. 300 sounds like the minimum and maybe 500 is too much? Also, as far as training and non-training days, how do you think these calories should fluctuate? Thanks in advance
well, in general, I feel that 300 is going to be very hard to quantify simply because your expenditure can fluctuate quite a bit daily. If you are going to alternate days of overfeeding and maintenance, I would shoot for 20% or about 500-600 kcals over maintenance on training days and maintenance or just below maintenance on off days. I wouldn’t vary the intake much more than this, though.
500-600 kcals will ensure you get the kcals you need to grow, even on the days you find yourself unable to sit still. I know I can get mighty fidgety sometimes.
hope this helps
Hey JC,
Was wondering about your take on artificial sweeteners like aspartame. I find using aspartame in protein shakes makes them go down much easier, and I find diet soda a very effective appetite suppressant when dieting. Do you use artificial sweeteners? I love your no-BS approach, and I’d love your thoughts on this! Thanks!
heh, I too like to drink a lot of diet soda on a diet. My take: always be moderate about food/diet/whatever choices.
I know there are studies on rats proving this stuff to be toxic etc., but we are not rats and we are not mega-dosing the same amount of aspartame (or other sweetener) in relation to body weight those poor rats were given.
So, if you want to use it, use it but don’t go crazy with your intake. I personally like sucralose.
Hey JC,
Just one more request. Do you think you could give me a sample of a depletion workout you would use on a day where you were gonna eat a ton of food? Thanks
3×15-20 with light weights with 40% of your 1RM. don’t pick a weight that is challenging, just something you can get a bunch of reps with.
Focus on lifts that don’t pose a danger when you begin to fatigue. Machines are great for this. So, stick with leg curls, extensions, machine presses, rows, calve raises, bodyweight squats, pushups, lat pulldown, bicep curls/tri extensions, etc.
Oh, some follow-up questions by the way: I would just like your opinions on this:
1) Since I just work-out for an hour, I keep my rest periods between 30-90 secs, doing 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, lifting moderate weights to heavy. Is this okay for hypertrophy? or is it more for muscular endurance since I don’t rest much between sets?
2) What do you recommend to have a different approach for the usual periodization that I do? 2 weeks of the above training volume and the next 2 weeks would be for muscular strength, focusing only on 1-3 sets and 6-8 reps with 1-2mins rest? and go back to my original routine after 2weeks? I tried this several times, but for some reason, it’s so easy for my progress to plateau.
I read your ebook already and I find it very informative and inspiring. It’s true, I’m also one of those obessesed people and into numbers, but I’m not really into the “percent-body-fat-type-of-guy” and I just gauge my weight gain/loss based on how my shirts and pants fit. But I guess I also have to look into my psyche and have a different perspective. Thanks again for your help – Ricky
1) That’s fine for hypertrophy. I, too, like to keep my rest periods short. The main thing that influences hypertrophy is progressive overload and fatigue management. I will write an article about hypertrophy much later on once I gather some more data.
2)Personally, if you are going to do a periodized routine, I would rather see you split it up during the week like some for the popular strength training routines. For instance, in the Westside template there are 2 heavy workouts and 2 lighter workouts during the same week. That is one way to go about it.
Another way, and this is one I am mos partial to, is to set up your training in 6-8 week blocks in which you focus on either strength(low rep ranges) or hypertrophy(higher rep ranges) instead of alternating every 2 weeks or so.
Okay, that makes sense. I’ll just wait for your article on hypertrophy and I’ll just ask you questions regarding it just in case you didn’t cover my particular concern in that future article. With regard to the periodization guidelines that you said, “2 heavy workouts and 2 lighter workouts in a week”. Does this involve the same body part, hitting it twice a week? for example, 2 chest and bi’s heavy workouts, differing in the angle or type of exercise? And 2 lighter workouts for back and triceps, then alternating it for the next week? Sorry for the barrage of questions, I’m trying to reconstruct my program based on my typical lifestyle and because I’ll be incorporating 2 light-moderate intensity cardio in between days that I lift weights with 1 complete day-off in a week. Anyhow, thanks again for your advice on this, it’s definitely making sense especially when I already made some changes to my program. Thanks a ton!
alright, basically you will be hitting everything 2 times per week. In the westside template you have ME(max effort) days which are heavy and then you have DE(dynamic effort) days which are lighter weight and high reps.
No need to change the angles, no need to swap out movements. The dynamic days are focusing on speed and moving weight as fast as possible and the heavy days are all about busting your ass and hitting new PR’s.
so Mon/Tues = ME upper/lower and Thur/Fri = DE upper/lower
Hi JC, I just stumbled upon your site by accident and just like some of the other guys here who are self-taught, I have been quite overwhelmed by so much info out there, whether from seasoned trainers and fitness seminars/trainings that I have had. Although I have gained some insight of what works and what doesn’t, there are still a few issues that I feel should really be dealt with and I truly appreciate your no-nonsense and no-BS approach to these issues, most of them are humorous by the way. I have tried several training approaches like the usual supersets, drop-sets and the usual progressive overload and periodization techniques, but just like what you have said, investing on a coach who is more objective and experienced would be a wise move. My dilemma is that, coaches/trainers here cost an arm and a leg, which is very much the same with supplements. I have always been training the natural way, meaning I never used steroids although I have been tempted to due to so many failures I have had with my hypertrophy/strength goals. Still, I never really thought of throwing in the towel and still managed to push through with my training. Anyway, here are my concerns which I know would be dealt with accordingly: (THANKS IN ADVANCE JC!)
Thanks so much for writing – my answers are bolded.
If you cannot work with a coach, then I’d recommend picking something that’s tried and true that will allow you to monitor progression in a sensible fashion and then make sure you hit your kcal targets according to goals. I give some recommendations in my ebook. The hardest part is being objective and maintaining overall sanity if you’ve never done this stuff before.
yes, it’s true. If you are going for the maximal amount of gains possible, you have to accept fat gain. Is there a way to gain nothing but lean muscle mass? Sure, but it takes a hell of a long time and is very hard to perfect the process. People often get discouraged very quickly. I’m also sorry that you are allergic to alcohol!
now keeping cardio in your plan would not necessarily keep fat gains at bay but it can offer some other benefits like keeping fat burning pathways open and maintaining some kind of conditioning so when you go on a diet, you aren’t just gassed when you incorporate cardio again.
I don’t believe so, no. I believe as long as you are eating and resting well you will do just fine regardless of your sleeping patterns. Is it most optimal? Probably not but I don’t believe it to be a detriment.
it could’ve been that you’d pushed really hard for some time and once you finally took a braek from heavy weights, your arms and back finally had a chance to recover and grow. It’s hard to tell you exactly what happened as I know nothing about you or what your were doing.
it’s just a matter of your deficit. I mean, no supplement or what not (outside of drugs) is going to magically make these things happen. Another issue is people often underestimate really how much fat they’re carrying. They think they need to lose only 10lbs to reveal their 6 pack when in reality, they need to lose about 20.
Like what you have said with “goal-setting” I try to maintain an objective and realistic approach, but it just gets to a point that when I reach a plateau, I couldn’t shake it off even if I tried to periodize, then out of some inconsistent sleeping pattern, stressful work in the office or just the usual daily “I’m-going-to-break-your-routine” thing of life, I do get out of my plateau, but in a negative way! I lose muscle mass and gain more weight around my midsection. Now, I plan to go back the drawing boards, hit the gym again and find out what is missing or what mistakes I have committed that needs fine-tuning. Overall, I just feel frustrated. I even plan to buy supplements again, even if they cost so much. I’m not a believer of using steroids, even if it’s quite convincing of how it could produce rock-hard muscle in as little as 3-6mos compared to natural training, but the long-term risks of it still outweighs the benefits in my opinion. Anyhow, thanks for your time and I would truly appreciate your lo-down facts on this one. -Ricky of the Philippines
Thanks for the swift response and I’ll just try out some of your recommendations from your ebook and do it again, once I reach my target weight, I’ll start the dieting process whilst maintaining my bulk, hopefully. thanks again, JC
Rodrigo again here regarding fat loss. I’m not new on this subject but I want to change some aspects of it. A year and a half ago I lost 74lb without a nutritionist nor trainers, I did it all by myself investigating and reading; I did weight training (ss), cardio (hiit) and a clean diet.
Now I weight 170lb with 5ft.8in after gaining some pounds with my bulk ( used to weight 155lb a few months ago). Now like I said in my last question I want to shed some pounds of fat (want to reach 8-10% should be at 15-16% atm) and I want to do it in the most optimal way.
I should be eating 2100kcal for fat loss and that’s what I’ve been doing lately with the IF; now my question comes for weight training and hiit, I’m doing the Lyle McDonald’s Bulking Routine and my hiit routine is 12′ of 30″ running 30″ sprinting 1′ walking. I think that will work, but if there’s any comments or suggestions of some stuff I should change I would gladly welcome them. Specially with the lifting and hiit days, are there better options for fat loss?
Sorry for the wall of text
well, I am somewhat biased towards doing HIIT and strength training for fat loss. I personally would rather lift heavy, focus on strength maintenance and let the deficit via kcal restriciton and some low intensity walking/biking take care of the fat loss for me. HIIT does not provide better or faster fat loss. If anyone tells you that, they’re just confused.
The reason I recommend low intensity cardio over HIIT is because it’s easier to recover from, especially if you’re hitting the weights 3-4x per week.
Now I would also recommend dropping your training volume down to about half and would drop a day if you’re doing the 4 day split. I would just train with a few heavy sets per body part every other day. That’s enough to maintain your mass and it will help you maintain some sanity + energy on the lower kcals.
Great site, found lots of useful information. And I agree completely about eating 6 times a day is awful and makes you unhappy and miserable. So my question is about this IF; I got almost all the idea maybe it is a stupid question but I plan to get back to the gym after 1 month off, was doing some bulking and got some muscle mass but also some fat. And I plan to get rid of it while getting more mass at the same time. So the question is “Do I have to avoid breakfast at all?; I mean if I got it right that means that the fastin starts around 1 am and ends at 4 pm; and from there I can eat my calorie intake up to 12 am, am I right?. I’m asking because I really got used to this BS 6 meals per day and now I’m used to eat a big breakfast.
And again great site, I’ll keep checking all your articles.
Hey Rodrigo,
While it’s possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, it’s awfully slow and hard to measure progress. Many get frustrated before they see any considerable changes and often give up. I would suggest you pick one goal and focus on that as opposed to attempting a few things at once.
and fasting means no food. That means no breakfast if you fast from 1am to 4pm. You normally break your fast with a small protein/carb/fat meal of 500-600 kcals, train a few hours later and then eat a very large post workout meal very heavy in carbs and protein, then fill in the rest of your macros before bedtime.
Right, and that’s all it is… just a bunch of BS.
haha; yeah I thought so. Oh well, I’ll start this Monday.
I think I’ll focus on fat loss for a few months till I get the results I want. Then some bulking if needed after that. About losing fat and gaining muscle mass; I learned the hard way a year ago (no gains at all haha), I meant to say “keeping muscle mass” but mixed the ideas.
Thanks for the fast answer.
alright, guess it was just a misunderstanding then. glad to know you will be focusing your efforts on a solid goal as opposed to trying to do a million things at once.
IFing is great for dieting as the process is very different from traditional dieting. it’s nice to actually feel full on a diet instead of eating small snacks throughout the day and NEVER being satisfied. You will retain muscle mass as long as you lift heavy and eat your protein.
best of luck. keep us posted.
Actually JC,
I just had one more question about Eat Stop Eat. I do not want to really use it for weight loss, but more as a tool to allow myself to eat without restriction when going out to eat socially. Say my BMR is 2000 calories a day. If I am going to an allyoucaneat buffett on Friday night at 6pm, and I decide to fast the night before on THrusday from 6pm till the next day at 6pm. Does this mean that I am then allowed to eat 4000 cals in that 1 meal and not gain any fat at all the next day(2000 from fasting+2000 daily amount). I realize that there will be tons of food and water bloat, but I wont gain any fat if I ate using the described method above right? Thanks so much
no, it doesn’t really work like that. Your body stores and uses energy on a consistent basis. This is like asking if it’s alright to eat a 14,000 kcal meal if you don’t eat all week. You will gain
somea lot of fat.So I wouldn’t fast in hopes of being able to eat whatever you want. This is where fasting can get people into trouble.
If you are going to fast, fine. If you want to limit the damage, then do some depletion work before you go into the buffet and focus on high(er) carb foods.
Or you can just be moderate and sensible and not stuff yourself silly.
You also have the choice of just dealing with it, accepting some fat gain and moving on. Another way to approach it is to be really active that day. You can go hiking or riding on the trails that morning if you want to increase your expenditure.
As you can see, there are many ways to kill the cat.
JC, Great Stuff..
After being in denial about how much weight i’ve gained since starting a desk job and basically becoming sedentary (unless you count Call of Duty as anything.) I finally realized just how MUCH i’ve gained. I joined a local “biggest loser’ competition and had to weigh in and i was disgusted with myself. I’m 5′9 and have ballooned up to 309lbs in a matter of about 4 years. I would say i was about 190-200 when I started at my present job so i wasn’t exactly a bean pole but thinner none the less. At this weight and bodyfat is there anything special I need to do to start dropping some lbs or would cutting calories for now produce some solid results? I’m paralyzed by information because i looked on 40 different websites. Low carb, high carb, paleo (obsessed people), and everything in between.
I have been exercising since last week (about 45 minutes of light cardio every day but sunday) –my diet is still crap but i’ve been eating less of it. I’m not looking for validation or anything i’m genuinely looking for some good advice and a blog that says ” a no bs approach to looking great naked” sounds like a good place to go after all the information I’ve read so far.
Hey Tim,
I’m glad you found the site.
Gaining 100lbs in about 4 years is quite the feat.
you don’t need to do anything special at this point. Just cutting kcals by a good amount(-1000 kcals per day) would do you just fine. Lots of low intensity movement and weight training 2-3 times per week would be good.
haha. This is common. The main thing is that you found this site, which leads to those of Alan Aragon, Lyle McDonald, Roger Lawson, Martin Berhkan, just look at the folks on the left side under “friends” and that’s all the info you’ll ever need when it comes to body transformation stuff.
What I would recommend, personally, is the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook by Lyle McDonald. This particular protocol focuses on high protein and allows you to lose weight very quickly in a safe/healthy manner whilst retaining your lean body mass. I have used it a few times with much success as well as many others.
cheers
Alright THanks. Also, i know that you are familiar with intermittent fasting, but are you familiar with brad pilon’s eat stop eat, and would you recommendd it.
I am loosely familiar with it. A friend back home had a copy of the book and I gave it a quick read. For the most part it seemed to be more so for the general population and not the bodybuilder, physique competitor specifically. Personally, I would like to see a higher protein intake recommended than what I discovered in the book.
anyway if you are looking for more information on intermittent fasting, you can either email me by using the contact form or by visiting Leangains.
ok thanks, but how would i calculate bmr to include all these factors? And what is NEAT? Also, just out of curiosity, what is your bmr? Thanks
well, there are all kinds of calculators on the net. I used this to get my BMR which was like 1950 kcals since I am 5′8″, 23 yrs old and 185-190lbs.
but the only way to really know is to get a rough estimate and then go from there. Like if you weigh 180lbs, simply eat 14-16xbw in kcals and see what happens. Those are rough numbers but for the most part, they’re pretty good for determining ones maintenance intake.
Hey Jc,
Great site. I had a quick Question. Just out of curiosity how many calories do u consume to lose fat. I am trying to lose fat. I am 178 pounds, 6ft tall, and am 18 years old. However, alot of the BMR calculators online say that i should be eating around 1800-1900 calories. This seems like very little according to my age group and data i provided. This means to lose weight at a 500 calorie deficit, i would have to eat only 1300-1400 calories daily. How is this possible? Thanks
Hey Ken,
BMR calculations are basically what your body will burn at rest. They do not include activity, NEAT, occupation, etc.
What you really need to do is determine your true maintenance intake or get a rough estimate. Then you need to drop some kcals and just record what happens. If you are steadily losing fat, change nothing. If the weight is not dropping reasonably, lower your intake somewhat or just move more.
JC,
Can we see a photo of how great you look with your clothes off. After your site is about looking great naked.
Hi just over 2 years ago I was 230 lbs at 5′ 8″, and about a year ago I was basically at an all time low of 110 lbs, so was a pretty dangourous way I lost the weight especially as I had no real diet and was just eating as little as possible. No need to say what ever muscle I had has been used for energy. At the beginning of the year I stopped training completely just to get my weight back up. I gained to 122 and started training again. I am now 126 lbs and been training for about 8 months with no real gains. I now want to get serious and put on some propper mass, I consume around 1800 cals a day and this seems to be maintenance for me. Obviously with my history I am terrified of eating to much. My question is what do you recommend my diet / training to be like to gain mass with as little as body fat as possible?
JC,
What do you think about training without weights? Like the old Charles Atlas and much more current John Peterson routines. Is there merit to these workouts?
I am not a fan of body weight or isometric training. it’s mainly a personal preference but also due to the loading factor. There is just no way I can get the results I am after doing strictly body weight exercises.
Then again there are some gymnasts whose training consists mainly of body weight movements and they look great. This is specific to their training and is honestly something I haven’t looked a great deal into.
I will do some more research.
thanks for the question.
Hey JC, was just surfing the webs when I came over a nice article about a new fitness product. Maybe you’ve already heard of it – fitbit.
Just wanted to share the info and perhaps you might be interested to write an article about fitness products or something alike
The link: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/24/it-took-a-year-but-fitness-gadget-fitbit-finally-launches/
heh, thanks for this. Actually I have known about the FitBit for a long while now. I actually never thought it would be launched due to the random blog posts about it. I have contacted the company etc trying to get my hands on one to review but no luck. I am currently using the GoWear Fit and cannot really muster up the gumption to purchase another gadget. If I sell the GWF and make enough from it to cover the cost, I may consider purchasing one.
Hey JC, i have a few question for you. What is the deal with trap bar deadlifts? What is the difference to the straight bar deadlift or the squat? Would you recommend the trap bar deadlift for newbies?
I am not sure what the “deal” is but I do know they are just an alternative way to perform the lift. I find that some guys who are not built for the deadlift(like me) often do better with trap bar DL’s for some reason. I find I can focus more on the lift rather than worry about form when doing conventional.
As far as for newbies, it’s really just a matter preference. Either way they need guidance in some form or fashion.
JC,
Do you have a go to training split when working with a female “newbie”?
My girlfriend wants to start weight training for various reasons, but mostly too add muscle and gain strength. She has been doing body squats for the past few months as her only weigh training excerise due to a lack of gym in her currrent location. We will soon be living together and able to train together, which surprisingly she is really excited about. (The training part that is, not living with me).
I was thinking a beginner program like starting strength would be good for her. Any thoughts?
Andrew, thanks for the question!
I would highly recommend doing the modified split of Starting Strength found here. I always recommend the modified program due to the fact that most do not have a need to learn the power clean and/or they do not have a coach.
So if you can teach her the movement safely, go for it.
After about 6 months of Starting Strength I would put her on something like The New Rules of Lifting 4 Women.
Cheers and good luck! Will she be keeping a log anywhere?
Thanks!
Two questions/concerns though.
I don’t like the lack of vertical and horizontal pulling in the program. There is a horizontal push (bench) and vertical push (OHP) however, nothing to balance this out such as a row or pull-down. My girlfriend’s posture is not so good (too many hours at the computer in college) and was thinking to add some rows. Whats your opinion.
Also, if someone does not have the strength to barbell deadlifts with 135lbs, would you switch in RDL’s as the hamstring dominant movement in its place?
Rows/pull downs are fine to add. After someone has the basics down I will often add them into the mix. The main thing is to not screw with the program too much. I think adding rows and pull downs are fine. I had a previous client doing chins/cable rows using the novice setup.
I think you are right on the money regarding the RDL’s. My hunch(no pun intended) is that she probably lacks some mobility from sitting in a chair too much. Starting with RDL’s, increasing flexibility and working into conventional deads is probably a good idea.
Thanks JC!
I will definitely let you know how everything works out.
I saw your review on The New Rules of Lifting for Women a while back and bought the book. I had planned on starting next week. However, after reading quite some posts over in the JP Fitness forum for the book, stating that this is not for fat loss, I am confused and a little unsure if this is a good choice for me at this point. I am 5′9″ and currently at around 200lbs and figure I need to lose around 50lbs to be in good shape (I care more about the way I look than the actual weight). So my question is should I do the program now, even if I have to lose quite some more weight, and if yes, is it necessary for me to modify it in any way for fat loss (diet, cardio)?
Thanks,
Julia
well I would never tell someone they shouldn’t be weight training unless they had some kind of injury or were susceptible to one.
I think doing the program would be a good idea. You may have to scale the volume back or cut your workouts down to 2 per week depending on how much you plan on exercising and how aggressive you plan on dieting.
What’s your time frame on losing the weight? Do you have one or do you plan to take a moderate approach?
I suspect you could probably get 2lbs of fat loss per week for a while. heck you may even do Lyle’s Rapid Fat Loss diet to get things jump started.
What do you think about the use of caffeine or having a cup of joe before workouts. A lot of studies have shown health benefits for drinking coffee and also negative health benefits. Do you know if there are any longterm side effects for the use of caffeine before workouts? What’s your say on the matter.
Studies schmudies. I reckon the only long term side effect is stained teeth!
I see nothing wrong with it. I have been drinking coffee since I was 15-16, so about 7-8 years now. You are right, there tends to be studies on both sides of the fence.
As far as long term sides, I am unsure. However many people have been drinking caffeine their entire life with no adverse side effects but the occasional headache(withdrawal from an addiction sucks).
My hunch says you will be fine consuming the stuff within moderation(like everything else).
What do you think of the testosterone boosting supplement ZMA?
I think it’s good for a sleep aid(as this helps some people relax before bed). However I don’t really believe it does too much for boosting testosterone. Reason I say this is because I remember a discussion on Lyle McDonald’s forum about zinc and how it supposedly raised testosterone levels.
There was this small study done on men above 60 years(I believe that was the age group…) in which a few guys’ test levels doubled after beginning supplementation, however their levels were very low to start with.
Most “test boosting” supplements are not going to work as you wish unless that supplement you are taking is steroids. Now those are proven to jack up your test levels.
Boosting test levels in a healthy person is not likely unless it’s by artificial means. Nature is pretty much in control unless you have a disease or injury that causes you to go hypogonadal.
One thing that can lower testosterone significantly and I ahve seen this in clients and random forum member seeking help, is an eating disorder. Guy’s that find a way to get super skinny will have low test levels. Get their weight back up to normal levels, add some more food and they will raise back to normal.
Diet tends to be a factor but probably not as big as we thought.
Can you break down the importance of protein for weight loss and fitness. So many people talking about it. I’m thinking about supplementing, but I don’t want to do it in ignorance.
Thanks Man! You’re my hero.
The general rule if you are training regularly is 1g/lb of body weight. Some research, as Lyle points out in The Protein Book, suggests that 3g/kg(1.36g/lb) is optimal.
Protein requirements go up on a diet as preservation of LBM is usually the goal when trying to shed body fat. Therefore since you are in a caloric deficit, it’s important to ensure your body does not revert to your lean body mass for fuel, so you compensate by eating more protein and training sanely.
I see no reason to supplement if you are having a hard time getting enough protein through whole foods. However, if you are on a budget, protein powder can be very economical.
Wow. I’m not getting enough protein and I’m obviously still shedding fat. Which brand of supplement do you recommend?
I like the flavor of Optimum Nutrition but it’s been a really long time since I bought any. Lately all I have been using is the whey protein concentrate from True Protein. I have found they have the best prices. If you go with them, get their premium flavors. I have never had their free flavors but heard they are terrible. Dutch chocolate was always my favorite. Their cream flavors are good too.
THis is my response to Angie, since I am unable to hit reply once the thread gets too long. (I need to work on a fix for that)
anyway you asked:
I would say a good starting point would be about 14-15xBW in lbs. Now this is highly variable due to your activity levels. This is not set in stone, just a reference.
As far as macros you could go with 1g/lb protein, .4-.5g/lb of fat and then fill in the rest with carbs. It’s hard to give you an exact approach since I don’t know much about your diet history, how well you do with certain macros, training etc etc..
hope this helps.
I want to lose that last 15-18lbs and it seems like it’s going slower and slower. I’ve lost 28lbs in the last 4months. Currently I’m doing 40 min cardio fasted every morning besides saturdays and I lift 3days on 1 off…repeat. I train one body part at a time. Legs, Back, Chest, Arms, than shoulders. My diet is around 40p/30c/20f and I eat around 1300-1400 daily. I’m 5′4″ 153lbs.
Usually on saturday nights I go out and eat Mongolian and have a frozen yogurt treat.
I’m just feeling hungry all the time! and I’ve noticed that my motivation is slacking and my diet is getting harder and harder.
any advice?
Angie,
First of all, congrats on losing ~7lbs/month. That is pretty darn good.
Those kcals are really low and explains how you were able to lose so much so quickly. You are at about 9kcals/pound. what are you doing the rest of the day outside of training?
I would say that depending on how much you are eating on the weekend, you may be off setting your calorie deficit you create during the week but I am not going out and eating Mongolians with you
, so I cannot know exactly how much you’re eating.
I am not surprised you are hungry all the time. If you are lacking in motivation and feeling hungry a lot, you are probably long overdue for an extended diet break. These are my questions:
1. Have you taken a diet break yet? Any time off at all?
2. Are you refeeding?
3. Do you have any idea how much you may be eating on Saturday night?
4. How are your strength levels? Maintaining the weight on the bar?
Thanks for your quick response!
I have not taking a diet break at all, not sure how I would even do that without gaining.
I’ve never done a refeed.
My saturday totals are usually around 2000=2400 total for the day
mongolians really low in fat, and I just eat lots of lean chicken, crab and veggies, some noodles and then go out for a tcby(frozen yogurt treat.99%fat free)
Lately I’ve neen really really hungry for sweets. Last weekend I had a full out binge on sweets, I had’nt done that since thanksgiving. I just felt like I needed it. And now this week that’s all I can think about is having more sweets this weekend. I’m guessing last saturday’s total was 4000 calories, just crazy.
(Have my ladies time of month I’m sure has something to do with this as well.)
That was the first time in a long time that I’ve done that. Never on this diet. And ever since saturday night that’s all I crave is sweets now, even though I’ve stayed on track 100% this week so far, it’s been very very hard.
My motivation is almost gone, even though I want to lose that last 15lbs-18lbs.
My strength is still great in the gym. Some days are harder than others, but I’m still increasing weights and I find that I’m able to push myself harder and harder each week.
I’ve been pushing the cardio harder too, incline more and intervals more.
thanks again for your advice, it’s greatly appreciated.
Angie
judging by the fact you haven’t taken a serious break in 4 months, have not had a decent refeed(2-3 days), it’s no wonder you are going nuts over sweets and always feeling hungry.
Now if you do take a diet break, you will likely gain weight but it will be in the form of glycogen and water, not fat.
IMO you are just burned out, could use a break and need to cut back on the exercise a bit. For me, when motivation tanks I know it’s time to cut back on the training.
Would you consider taking a diet break and eating at maintenance for 2-3 weeks? I think it would help tremendously.
I’m seriously thinking about doing this for at least a week or two.
what would you suggest my maintenance calories/macros for me?
I’m about 153lbs 5′4″
thanks
angie
Hi,
How would you put together a training program specialized for pecs and arm development?
I recently wrote an article on body part specialization, actually. I just got word from the publisher that it will be live this month. Stay tuned, I will update when it’s posted.
JT, as promised:
Specialization For Lagging Body Parts
Was just wondering if workout frequency/volume/intensity should be lowered or increased when going on a diet (meaning hypocaloric).
Surely there is no correct rule but what is your general recommendation?
Thanks.
sure, this is pretty easy.
Generally you want to cut volume but maintain intensity. You can usually cut volume to about half and cut frequency somewhat. So if you were doing 5×5 for your compounds during a strength/bulking phase you could drop it down to 2-3×5.
If you were training every other day or 2 days in a row as per an upper/lower split you can usually drop a day of training and add more days in between. Generally if you are doing full body work you can get by with 2 workouts per week and if you are doing an upper/lower split you can train every 5th day or so.
The main point is to keep the intensity(weight on the bar) the same during a diet to prevent any unnecessary LBM loss.
I was reading an interview you did with someone, you mentioned meal frequency not being important as long as post workout and pre workout nutrition are correct and in play. For the most part, I entirely agree, I hate it when people think eating 8 times a day increases your metabolism.
However I cant find anything explaining your opinions on pre and post workout nutrition? I assume you have wrote such an article somewhere. Oh and this is in regards to fat loss with muscle retention, not gaining.
thanks
thanks for writing. I believe that interview was with Jamie Hale. The article is now in queue.