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Question for you guys that try to bulk lean using calorie cycling
- Thread starter OneRepMax
- Start date
Those numbers look good to me. Along with calorie manipulation, I would also manipulate your carbs and fats. That will keep muscle insulin sensitivity high and prevent fat gain.
Let's say your maintenance is 3000 calories per day. On your workout days, I would add in 100g carbs (roughly 400 carbs) to put you at around 3400. On rest days, I would subtract 100g carbs to put you at around 2600.
By carb cycling, you get the best of everything. The low carb days are fat loss focused and re-sythnesis muscle insulin sensitivity and the high carb days are very anabolic and replenish depleted glycogen levels.
I explain how to set up a carb cycling diet and have a full sample meal plan in this article here -> http://www.evolutionary.org/forums/supplements/carb-cycling-exposed-trevor-44776.html
Let's say your maintenance is 3000 calories per day. On your workout days, I would add in 100g carbs (roughly 400 carbs) to put you at around 3400. On rest days, I would subtract 100g carbs to put you at around 2600.
By carb cycling, you get the best of everything. The low carb days are fat loss focused and re-sythnesis muscle insulin sensitivity and the high carb days are very anabolic and replenish depleted glycogen levels.
I explain how to set up a carb cycling diet and have a full sample meal plan in this article here -> http://www.evolutionary.org/forums/supplements/carb-cycling-exposed-trevor-44776.html
Ok so you are suggesting basically a +400/-400 approach. So doing the math (Yup I know the difference between theory and practice 
but I like to model the theory on paper and make adjustments as I prove it wrong in practice 
):
Assume 5/2 workout /rest plan
Thats +2000/-800 weekly scheme
Again, Assuming 3500 cal / lb bodyweight difference, and no efficiencies due to insulin sensitivity:
Thats roughly .6lb gain and .2lb loss.
In a perfect world that will all be lean and fat weight so again after all is said and done and the water weight comes off at the end of the 10 week cycle and I go back to my TRT dose my bodyweight will have gone from 190lb @ %14 to somewhere around 194lb @ 13% for a net gain of about 6lbs lean.
That would make me happy, but honestly would hope to do better. If only because I had an injury which pretty much stopped me dead for this whole year and I've lost about 10 lbs lean. It should be easy to get that back. But still, 6lbs of muscle a bit leaner would be transformational.
BUT - while it may not be popular, I have decided on a slightly different approach. I actually lost sleep over this the last few days because I have to feel that what I am doing is right, maintainable, and fits into my overall lifestyle goals. Its hard for me to switch gears which is why its taken me so long to actually get around to focus on putting on more weight. I just hate the cut/bulk philosophy, even if it does work. The context switch is hard on me.
This is already long winded enough so I'll spare the laundry list of advantages IF IT WORKS - but since I am a huge proponent of intermittent fasting for maintenance, long slow recomp, and cutting - I am going to give it a shot for a cycle and see how it works out.
I'm going to do 4x workouts a week late in the day directly after breaking the fast with a light meal, and then consume the rest of my calories PWO
I'm going to do 3x cardio only workouts every other day fasted and break the fast directly after.
So far I'm leaning to +650 cals weight training days and -250 cardio.
Its going to be a fun experiment. I'm actually expecting it will be successful.
but I like to model the theory on paper and make adjustments as I prove it wrong in practice ):Assume 5/2 workout /rest plan
Thats +2000/-800 weekly scheme
Again, Assuming 3500 cal / lb bodyweight difference, and no efficiencies due to insulin sensitivity:
Thats roughly .6lb gain and .2lb loss.
In a perfect world that will all be lean and fat weight so again after all is said and done and the water weight comes off at the end of the 10 week cycle and I go back to my TRT dose my bodyweight will have gone from 190lb @ %14 to somewhere around 194lb @ 13% for a net gain of about 6lbs lean.
That would make me happy, but honestly would hope to do better. If only because I had an injury which pretty much stopped me dead for this whole year and I've lost about 10 lbs lean. It should be easy to get that back. But still, 6lbs of muscle a bit leaner would be transformational.
BUT - while it may not be popular, I have decided on a slightly different approach. I actually lost sleep over this the last few days because I have to feel that what I am doing is right, maintainable, and fits into my overall lifestyle goals. Its hard for me to switch gears which is why its taken me so long to actually get around to focus on putting on more weight. I just hate the cut/bulk philosophy, even if it does work. The context switch is hard on me.
This is already long winded enough so I'll spare the laundry list of advantages IF IT WORKS - but since I am a huge proponent of intermittent fasting for maintenance, long slow recomp, and cutting - I am going to give it a shot for a cycle and see how it works out.
I'm going to do 4x workouts a week late in the day directly after breaking the fast with a light meal, and then consume the rest of my calories PWO
I'm going to do 3x cardio only workouts every other day fasted and break the fast directly after.
So far I'm leaning to +650 cals weight training days and -250 cardio.
Its going to be a fun experiment. I'm actually expecting it will be successful.
you need to experiment with this bro. nobody is going to be able to give you exact #'s here
also we don't know what type of life you lead. do you work in construction all day? do you work as an accountant on your ass? that is a 1200 calorie difference between extremes in jobs
athletes carb/calorie cycle and they don't even realize it.. but they just know they need more on hard days and not as much on non workout days
also we don't know what type of life you lead. do you work in construction all day? do you work as an accountant on your ass? that is a 1200 calorie difference between extremes in jobs
athletes carb/calorie cycle and they don't even realize it.. but they just know they need more on hard days and not as much on non workout days
Naa I was just looking for #'s that work for them, and their or my particular TDEE shouldn't matter.
Its ok though, I have to admit I'm waffling and a bit over doing this and putting some fat back on but I'm just being a pussy. After another fucking sleepless night I've changed my mind yet again and not going to do the IF thing. I'm a master dieter so if I put on a few lbs of fat I'll strip it off quickly. The goal is to put on some meat. Cant' do it by starving myself 1/3 of the time especially when on gear 100% of the time. Just gonna suck it up, eat and lift. Life will be good!
Its ok though, I have to admit I'm waffling and a bit over doing this and putting some fat back on but I'm just being a pussy. After another fucking sleepless night I've changed my mind yet again and not going to do the IF thing. I'm a master dieter so if I put on a few lbs of fat I'll strip it off quickly. The goal is to put on some meat. Cant' do it by starving myself 1/3 of the time especially when on gear 100% of the time. Just gonna suck it up, eat and lift. Life will be good!
We can drive ourselves nuts over planning these diets! In the end it sounds like you are primed to make some good progress. Keep us updated on your results.
Jay Scott
Retired VIP
Personally I would never do the fasting approach, especially if you are planning to gain muscle. Just seems counter-productive in the sense to keep you anabolic with all the nutrients in your body.
Also, for carb cycling. In my opinion it works wonderful when you do it in cutting phase, there is no doubt about it. Both theory and practise (personal) proved me right about it. But when it comes to gaining mass, I would never do it.
Also, for carb cycling. In my opinion it works wonderful when you do it in cutting phase, there is no doubt about it. Both theory and practise (personal) proved me right about it. But when it comes to gaining mass, I would never do it.
I am starting to completely agree. Animals that are given drugs increase their lean mass without training. I think we would be limiting our potential on cycle by restricting calories at all - training days or not.
So far I'm leaning toward minimizing fat gain by running fast compounds on a short cycle aiming for your personal sweet spot of calories to grow, adjusting with weight gain. Doing this, how much fat can you really gain on an 8 week cycle? If you are 500 cal over TDEE every day and don't gain anything but fat, then you are only 8 weeks of a moderate (-500 cal) diet to diet it all away. WHICH SHOUDN'T HAPPEN - even if you don't work out
So far I'm leaning toward minimizing fat gain by running fast compounds on a short cycle aiming for your personal sweet spot of calories to grow, adjusting with weight gain. Doing this, how much fat can you really gain on an 8 week cycle? If you are 500 cal over TDEE every day and don't gain anything but fat, then you are only 8 weeks of a moderate (-500 cal) diet to diet it all away. WHICH SHOUDN'T HAPPEN - even if you don't work out
