Saturday, May 12, 2012

Recomp Plan and other shit

So one may ask where I've been going with all of this IF and carb backload type dieting and questions about my training.

Here's the whole fuckin show.

I've said for a while that I need to be a bigger "242".  The goal for a while has been to be as lean as possible at 242-245 or so for a while.  So instead of dieting down to 225 and eating back up, and repeating this 10 times, these recomp style diets look better to me.  In other words, it may take 8-16 months or whatever for it to happen, but I'm not dieting down, then up, then down, then up, etc to do it, while my strength goes up and down, up and down.

Training split - 

My training has evolved right out of the new big-15 split, with the strongman deadlifting program I also outlined in the book.

So basically, I do 2 big and 1-2 small workouts all week, and then do conditioning 3-4 times a week, maybe more, but sometimes less if I feel especially tired.

So generally it looks like this.......

Tuesday - 
Upperbody #1
Staple Press - with 50% set if my pec minor can handle it
Staple Pull - with 50% set or if it's a row, high volume
Secondary Press - either a top set to failure, more volume, or a top single.  All depends on how I feel and what I want to do.

Thursday - 
Small workout #1
usually Upright Rows, curls, and triceps

Saturday - 
Small workout #2
usually rear delts, curls, calves, abs

Sunday -
Lowerbody #1
Strongman Deadlift Cycle (runs 5 weeks at a time then repeats)

The next week I run upperbody #2 lowerbody #2, etc.  Sometimes I have three rotational days, so the third week could be upperbody #3 so forth and so on, but not usually.

Right now, I'm not worried about hitting max singles, and anyone that has followed my training posts here knows I generally don't do much of that unless I'm getting ready for a meet.  My personal opinion is that everyone should be training to get as big as fucking possible all year, except for when it's time to prep for a meet, and then switch gears.  I don't give a shit about hitting big singles at home or at the gym.  Save the big ones for a meet.  Otherwise, who cares?  Really?  I don't understand working to hit a PR in the gym in one of the three powerlifts.  Do a fucking meet so that it actually meant SOMETHING.

And when you're not meet training, be training with reps, constantly trying to push the envelope there.  I am using the strongman deadlift cycle I created because I still can't squat heavy.  And the strongman deadlift program is mainly made up of fronts and pause squats with various deadlifts.

I do not need to train in a pure mass building fashion like I have outlined in the new big-15, because I am not after a shit ton more of mass.  I am probably damn close to my genetic ceiling in terms of muscle mass.  I am after a bit more refinement and brutal fucking strumpf.  If I wanted to get bigger, and by bigger I mean like 260ish lean, I'd have to do things I'm not willing to do anymore.  Namely, eat bigger, train more often, and run cycles I'm not willing to run.  My mentality is that you should be strong all the time.  Not because you're on cycle.  Jesus fucking Christ, guys like that annoy me.  If you can't hit 93% of what you hit in the meet year round, you're fucking up.  Period.  Change your mentality and quit being a drug whore.

Eating schedule - 

I think I've outlined this about 100000 times in the comment, but sure enough the next post someone asks me "what does your diet look like?"

First off, let me state that my diet is for ME.  Most guys I know my size, have to eat a shit ton of food to maintain 245-250.  I can eat very little to maintain, and eat what every calculator says I should be eating for maintenance to GAIN weight.  You need to figure out your own macros and calories in order to do what is best for you.

But just for your edification here is what a day might look like.........

5-6 a.m. - wake, coffee with whipping cream.  Generally a whole pot.
9 a.m. - 1 scoop of protein powder in water (not always though)
11-:30 - 12:00 - McDonalds Bacon Ranch Grilled Chicken Salad w/ extra chicken breast or 1-2 Turkey burgers and veggies.
2:30 - 3:00 - 2 scoops isolate with 2 tbs peanut butter
4:30 - 5:00 - coffee with coconut oil and 1/2 scoop of isolate
5:00-6:00 - train
6:30 on - eat a shit ton of food.

On a non training day, just take out the "shit ton of food" and replace it with a meal similar to the 11:30 - 12:00 meal.  I also sometimes have some cottage cheese and peanut butter before bed, around 9:30 or so.  It just all depends on how hungry I am.


Who shouldn't do this -

This kind of eating, IMO, is for guys who are already very close to where they want to be in terms of mass or bodyfat, just not perfect on either side of the spectrum.  Or guys that want to pare down bodyfat in a very slow manner.

So I'm running about 12% at 245, where I'd like to be more like 8% at 240.

So that leaves smaller guys who are trying to gain as much mass as possible.  You should not eat like this.  There is no reason not to get up and try to shove as many calories down your throat as possible each day.  That's what I had to do when I was younger, and what every guy I know had to do in order to actually grow.

I think a guy higher in bodyfat could do ok with it as well, but he'd most likely be better off doing something like a normal bodybuilder low carbish diet, and not stuffing his face post training.  Just my opinion.

Guys that want to do it because they see me doing it, should not be doing it unless they are in a similar spot (as close to being as big and as lean as they want).  I did not get the mass and strength I have by eating this way.  I did it via more traditional methods.

You need to remember, that my training and eating is always geared for ME in that point in time.  The things I write about come from knowing what guys need to do to get to that next level.  So if you're an intermediate, I know what you need to do to get to advanced.  But advanced guys need to be smart enough to tweak their shit more uniquely.

To me, these kinds of diets aren't really meant for guys still finding their way.  Even Chris Duffin wrote that if you are training for pure mass, IF style diets aren't the best option.  It's not.  If you're trying to gain a shit ton of mass, eating as much and as often as possible is the best way.

Stop being lazy - 

This is a side rant actually.  Some of you guys need to quit being so lazy and learn how to use Google and my own search bar.

I've literally logged over 800 articles/posts here and I get asked the same questions week in and week out.  Seriously guys, use the search function before you ask a basic question.  More than likely, I've answer it 58 times already.  I've outlined the diet above at least 4-5 times this past week in comments.  And it keeps getting asked.  "What does your eating look like?"

Take 2 minutes out of your internet surfing time, and do a search on your question first, or some keywords.  If you don't find what you're looking for, hit me up.  But if the info is already there, use it.  Saves you and me time.

Now go fucking train!

17 comments:

  1. Hey man, unless I'm a complete Ftard and not doing it right, everytime I try and search something on your site my webpage doesn't load anything. It just stays on the same page where I am searching from. Could be something wrong on my end, I don't know...

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  2. ...wasn't sure if anyone else had told you they had the same issue.

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    Replies
    1. If that's case then people need to let me know. Or it could be a browser issue.

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  3. The search results pop up at the very top of the same page in a box with a list of results. Depending on the browser, it may not scroll up when it returns them, but they are there.

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  4. Hi Paul,

    I find when I search it only searches the main article and not the comments, and this where some of the best stuff is. Not sure is that can be fixed?

    Thanks
    Dan

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  5. Yeah but what are your thoughts about life, crap, training, and stuff?

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  6. When it comes to searching the blog, I'd advise people to try this: Use the google search bar, type in "site:lift-run-bang.com" a space and then whatever you're looking for. ex. "site:lift-run-bang.com paleo" or "site:lift-run-bang.com chaos". It works really well.

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  7. hey paul, i searched your site about coconut, but i couldnt find much. you just put in in your coffee? how much? do you think it helps a slow thyroid? i have been reading alot about thyroid problems. i have all the symptoms of hypothyroid but bloodtest and doc says no...
    i just started now taking one tblspoon at morning and one at night. hope it helps me.

    thnx sbo

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    Replies
    1. Coconut oil. If you have a slow thyroid your doctor is the only one that can fix you up.

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  8. Hey Paul, not a question, but a humorous anecdote.

    Do you ever have those days where you go into the gym, and your mind is somewhere else? I'm not talking about days when you'd rather be somewhere else, but where your mind just literally is out to lunch? This happened to me on Friday, which is deadlift day for me. So I go to the gym, and it's a slow night, because a lot of the guys who would have been there were going to the weigh-in for a meet being held the next day, including my coach. So he's not there to direct me. He tells me to do sets of five at around 80 to 85% of my max.

    So I go in and warm up. I'd forgotten how grinding sets of five in deadlifts can be, but I think to myself "eh, I'll get it." So I figure out what my working weight should be as 260 or so. I figure I'll start with that, and maybe go up if I feel strong.

    So I do a set of five at 260, and it's a total grind. My belt feels loose, my hands hurt like hell, it's all I can do to hold onto the bar, and by the end all I can think about is finishing the last rep so I can finish the set. So I sit there after my first set is done and think "what the hell is up with that? sure I haven't been eating as heavy lately, and I did a pretty hard set of hill sprints the day before, but would that really make it like this?"

    So I keep the weight the same. Like hell I'm going to back down from this. Again the belt just feels wrong; partly it was that I wasn't putting it on right, partly it was that my waist was slightly smaller than it had been the last time I pulled. I grind through another set of five at 260, but it still feels horrible. My form feels like it's turning into shit, and it's all I can do to get to the end of the set.

    At about this point, one of the other guys asked me if the coach told me to do sets across or ramped. I explain what he told me to do, and then he asked me what my max was. I told him I pulled 300 for what was most definitely a one rep max the week before, and he tells me that I set the weight too heavy, that it should have been 240 instead of 260.

    I can't figure this out for a while, and for about ten minutes (during which I lower the weight to 240 and bust out a set of five that is easier, but still pretty fucking hard) I try to figure out what I did wrong. After ten minutes I bust out into laughter, because I realized what I did. I figured out what ten percent of 300 was, and subtracted twice that from 300 to get my working weight. Problem was, somehow I got the idea into my head that 10% of 300 was 20 instead of 30, lol!

    I really can't blame anything for this, even the fact that I was going into the gym on a rather empty stomach. Even in a fasted state I shouldn't have done something that silly. Nevertheless, laughs were had by all. Best line of the evening: "Deadlifts are for those who can't count."

    Maru

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    1. One of those times where math class could have made your day easier.

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  9. I tried some 1-leg leg presses today after squats because I read one of your posts where you talk about the importance of doing some unilateral leg work, and I noticed a sizable difference between the strength of my left and right legs. I think I'll incorporate these into my workouts in the future.

    Of course, this has nothing to do with anything in your post, but I thought I'd mention it as feedback for helpful advice.

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    1. Did you make sure to move the knee out towards your arm pit as the lowered the weight? This is important.

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    2. Wtf, I learned something today...

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    3. @Paul: No, I basically had my leg centered on the leg press device and brought my knee towards my chest, as if I were doing a standard leg press but with one leg. I'll try shoving the knee out the next time I do them.

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    4. Think about your leg moving similarly as to how it does when you squat. Knee moves out so you can squat down between your legs. Same motion.

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  10. What's your diet like?

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