I will be starting the Carb Cycle program shortly using ABBH phase I for the first time.
I am currently bulking using Berardi’s diet recommendations and OVT with androgen assistancet herefore I am consuming a high carb/high protein diet currently.
My goal with carb cycling on ABBH is to keep all the LBM I am putting on right now and in fact increase it slightly but of course drop a few pounds of fat at the same time.
Currently, I am working on a meal plan for the next three weeks and will have it done shortly.
Here’s my question:
Given all that information, when on the Carb Cycle/ABBH program would you recommend I incorporate HIIT (assuming itwould be better for fat loss and LBM preservation than longer FS modeate cardio sessions)?
Would it be best to do it after weight training ABBH or on an off day owith low carbs versus no carbs? Or do you recommend no HIIT during this type of a phase (CC + ABBH)?
thanks for the pm terry. i’ll give you a little info. in case it is needed. i’m about 6’1", 197 lbs at 7.22% bodyfat. i’m looking to get to 210-220 lbs. at 5% bodyfat. i’m looking more for bulking currently. i was guessing that if i followed the cc diet, i should do 3 hc days and 2 lc and vnc days. i don’t gain weight very easily but at the same time each pound is not a struggle. any help is appreciated! thanks
Hey, there, Raider Fan. I’m assuming you saw my post above to Big Red Dawg about eating patterns for ABBH, but since you’re wanting to bulk, I’d recommend the following:
Mon - High
Tue. - No Wed - High
Thu. - Low Fri - High
Sat. - No Sun - Low
Mon. - Low Tue - High
Wed. - No Thu - High
Fri. - No Sat - High
Sun. - Low
Cardio isn’t as necessary when you’re bulking. In fact, there are any number of people who actively advise against it when bulking. You’ve got a couple of low-carb days there on non-lifting days. Two days one week, one day the other week. You could go ahead and do it on those days if you wanted to, but once again, it’s not necessary. I know you’re hoping to prevent fat gain, but the nature of a CC diet is that you shouldn’t gain fat, even without cardio.
The hard part for you and Big Red Dawg is going to be selecting a day to weigh yourself. Remember that you’re supposed to weigh yourself on the same type of day. I would recommend that you weigh yourself and record your weight on the first Monday and then on the Monday that follows TWO WEEKS LATER. The same goes for Big Red Dawg.
We’ll make adjustments if needed at the end of week two. If you can, get a starting BF%.
I just saw the last line of your message. Those are fabulous, SPECTACULAR results. I am truly impressed.
Oh, boy, Climbon. I’m looking at your goals, and I have to say that I’m a bit concerned about the low BF% you’re wanting to achieve. The pro BBs are competing at about 4% (maybe a percent lower). They hit that number just for competition and then jump back up a bit to something that isn’t so health threatening.
I can understand a goal/hope/dream of bulking with minimal and hopefully no fat gain, maybe even some fat loss, and I support that, even in your case, but I really hope you’ll rethink that particular goal.
In fact, everyone has an ideal BF% where energy levels are good and below which energy levels start to suffer. How a person’s BF% affects their energy levels is probably more apparent in performance athletes; martial artists, boxers, etc. The bottom line is, “Too low and no go.” (grin)
Anyway, let me know what days of the week you’re working out, and I’ll make recommendations on eating patterns.
rasmns, I have to admit that I’m a little reluctant to make recommendations in your case. A while back you asked me to stop by and comment on your diet. I did, and you pretty much dismissed all of my recommendations, even those that were based in pretty solid, irrefutable science.
It’s not that I believe you should follow my (or anyone else’s) suggestions blindly. It’s your body, after all. But I have noticed from your posts since that you are not happy with how things are going body comp-wise.
Honestly, the time I put into supporting people and answering their questions is a stretch at for me at times, and I just like to feel that the advice I give is taken seriously.
If you really are serious, drop me a PM and let’s see if we can work things out.
i understand your concerns about the low bodyfat percentage. however, i don’t think it will be detrimental to my health because i’m naturally pretty lean. i have aleays been around 7% bodyfat with following any strict diets or manipulating cardio. but, i do agree with you that if it affects my energy levels and health, it is not worth it.
anyway, current workout days are as follows:
sun: shoulders, arms
mon: off
tues: interval build-up runnings, abs
wed: chest, back
thur: off
fri: thighs, calves
sat: IBUR
i may also do some walking for active recovery on days after IBUR.
Why can’t you cycle carbs on the MT, ThF schedule?
The reason I’m asking is my fat loss has hit a plateau. I’m training with a powerlifter now and we train 4 times a week, a Mon Tues, and Thur Fri split.
I’m wanting to lose more fat. Do you think that it wouldn’t work?
Or could I go VNC on the 3 non training days and do 120 carbs around my workout on training days?
TT, Thank you for sharing your collective thoughts on this diet. I am going to give it a try. It seems to make good sense to me, and I think it would fit nicely with my personal eating habits.
My basic stats are: 200lbs; 15% BF; Lift M/W/F
I determined my macronutrient breakdown would be as follows (with rounding and additional kcal for fruit and veggies):
VNC - 255gP/70gF = 1800 kcal
LC - VNC + 200gC = 2700 kcal
HC - VNC + 400-800gC = 3600-4400 kcal
So there is about 900 kcal jump fom VNC to LC to HC. With my sluggish metabolism, my maintenance calories are around 2500 kcal. This will be substantially more calories than I am used to eating.
Based on previous posts, my week will be as follows:
Sun - LC
Mon - HC
Tue - VNC
Wed - LC
Thu - VNC
Fri - HC
Sat - LC
I like to perform low to moderate cardio for health reasons on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Is this a problem?
Please critique my outline if you see any flaws or areas of improvement.
Thank you. I look forward to relaying my experience with this.
I thought i would give this a bump because it created quite alot of interest and i suspect quite a few people (myself included) have decided to give this version of carb cycling a go. I have only been doing it for a week so far so obviously it is early days yet. I am having 2 HC days, 2 VNC days and 3 LC days per week. My goal is to just gradually drop some bodyfat while maintaining what little muscle i have. If anyone else is following the carb cyclijng guidelines as outlined by TT in this thread then it would be interesting to hear what you think so far. Thanks very much Tampa-Terry for all your help.
I messaged you a few days ago and you asked me to post on the forum, so here it is. I am doing Renegade and so far have had fantastic results in terms of gains in speed, strength and overall athleticism. My coaches have requested that I gain weight, but I lost lots of weight and dont want to return to the fat ass I once was. I run M-F and lift M,T,TH,F. What should my off and on days be during a carb-cycle? Does the fact that I do intense running 5 days a week change my carb needs at all? I know you said this without cardio, but that really isn’t an option for me. Thanks!
Walleye, I must be misunderstanding you. You can definitely cycle carbs on a M/T, R/F workout schedule. I’d recommend
Mon - High
Tue - Low
Wed - VNC
Thu - High
Fri - Low
Sat - VNC
Sun - Low
That’s the schedule I would recommend, but the rest of the diet involves carb quantities based on TBW. High = 2g CHO x TBW, Low = 1g CHO x TBW, VNC = ~30g. Carb choices, too, especially on higher carb days are going to require starchy carb choices.
c13riberdy, thanks for jumping in. Excellent answer! You took the words right out of my mouth. (grin) Somehow I missed Walleye’s post.
Mon - High
Tue - Low
Wed - High
Thu - Low
Fri - High
Sat - Low
Sun - No
Since you’re bulking and trying to do cardio, too (which actually works against your body comp goals a bit), there are more higher carb days, relatively speaking.
Remember to weigh on the same day every week. I’d recommend Monday morning for you since your weeks are the same.
Get your BF tested. I’ve made recommendations on calipers above. As long as weight goes up and BF doesn’t (or goes down), you can consider your plan/progress an unqualified success.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this thread, however, I need your assistance/feedback. There are days where I train twice a day. Some of those days are ‘low days’. How do you suggest that I split ‘1g CHO x TBW’ into two training sessions? I am assuming that I will burn more calories than I am taking in. I am currently in off-season (putting on size).
Thank you so much for your feedback. I hope to have provided enough information for feedback…