Bulking Diet Low Carb Day?

[fedorov91]

Does this make sense?

Cycle in a Low-Carb Day

A strategy to promote primary muscle gain over bulking is to cycle in a low-carb day into the mix. Low carb is for dieting right? At first the surplus in calories will promote growth, but after about the 10-14 day mark, your body tends to adapt and where at first it was mostly muscle gain, it will become more a 50/50 muscle/fat gain. Just like in dieting for fat-loss where you have a cheat day or re-feed to prevent leptin drops and a slow down in fat-loss. The opposite can be true, by having a constant high intake of calories and carbohydrates, your muscles can become insensitive to the constant surges in insulin and your fed-state from leptin will become less sensitive, making it harder to be hungry enough to keep eating to grow. So cycling in a low-carb day, where the bulk of your carbs will only be consumed post-workout, can be used. Even better, is scheduling this day on your rest day, and just eating carbohydrates for breakfast for energy for the day. What this does, is give your body a break from high insulin, start to deplete your glycogen stores and if any excess carbs are starting to be converted and stored as body fat, that process is halted. You?ll also be more primed to your hunger signals with Leptin manipulation. This doesn?t mean to cut your calories for the day. Though it will be a lower calorie day with your carbs going from 400g down to less then 200g for the typical lifter, they will be made up with healthy, calorie dense fats and protein can be boosted to 1.5-2.0g per lb of bodyweight for the day. This primes your muscles to soak up the next day of high calorie and carbs, and starting the anabolic environment again. The low-carb and lower calorie day, gives you a day to also do some light cardio and burn a little extra fat that you may have gained so far, since insulin is low for the whole day. How often should this happen??? Well it depends on how easy you tend to put on fat, so the slower metabolisms, this can be done about every 4 days, or 1-2 times a week, which usually will fall into the off/rest days of most mass building workouts. For the leaner hard-gainer, once a week or 1-2 low-carb days every 12 days to finish out an eating to grow 2 week period.

Has anyone tried this?

[Phill]

Well I will just twll you what seems to work for me. While not really a low carb day/days but for sure less carbs and total k/cals to a certain extent on varied days.

I eat according to my acticity during a diet and bulk. I will take in a much larger amount of carbs and higher total k/cals on days that I hit the gym. On days I dont, or simply do some cardio or GPP I will stick to veggies, fruit and maybe some oats in the morning as carb sources.

Pretty much saving all my higher GI carbs for PWO window really loading up in the first whole food meal with Carbs and protein in a big meal.

Then not limiting the amounts really, but the sources, on other days. Selecting Low GI variety and having regular spaced smaller meals. P+C in the am and P+f later in the day. Fruit oats and veggies early, good fats and more veggies late. leads to a much lower carb intake and a moderatly lower totla k./cal intake.

Works for cutting for me as well just adjust the total jk/cal intake lower.

Works for me. Control your intake around your activity. Pretty much what JB,LL, and the other T-contributors have advocated in Numerous articles. It’s all about controlling that insulin response, spiking it at times it is needed and keeping it low/steady at other times.

Hope this helps,
Phill