I should note that the above advice is really only for those who have really walked the walk for YEARS and YEARS, and KNOW their maintenance level of food and how to adjust effortlessly for their goal.
Its really a “I’m probably near my genetic limit and dont want to get fat trying to continue making gains and then having to cut every single year.”
The “staying lean while building” is really not for noobs, who should focus on building a solid base and just eating a good amount of good food.
Staying lean year round is relatively easy in my experience. I sit between 8-7% year round with no effect on my strength. I bulked for two years up to 220lbs and cut down to 179lbs which is where I am at currently. I squat 510lbs for a single, I deadlift around 560 lbs ( haven’t maxed in awhile), and bench 295 lbs with a shoulder impingement. I’m still getting stronger everyday in the gym and bigger. Here’s the kicker… I count my calories! If you are meticulous and count your calories and truly know you maintenance then it’s pretty easy. I also follow the IIFYM approach and do zero cardio and stay lean and strong year round. It boils down to how meticulous and dedicated you are to your diet and strength training.
DD, what about getting down to desired level of leanness and then reverse dieting to a maintance of cals that you feel comfortable with, then just sloooooooooowwwwlllllyyyy increase week over week ? Layne Norton talks about this a bit, describes it as increasing your metabolic effeciency.
[quote]Waittz wrote:
DD, what about getting down to desired level of leanness and then reverse dieting to a maintance of cals that you feel comfortable with, then just sloooooooooowwwwlllllyyyy increase week over week ? Layne Norton talks about this a bit, describes it as increasing your metabolic effeciency. [/quote]
In my experience this is where most people end up. They bulk/cut/bulk/cut/bulk/cut a few times… They get tired of doing that for many reasons and eventually decide to stay lean and then “diet up.”
Its easy to do, but its only easy to do AFTER you have the maturity gained through the previous process. You have to “prove” to yourself a few times that eating those extra calories isnt accelerating your growth, its just making you fat. At least thats what I and many others had to do.
I find that “reverse dieting” is usually as simple as cutting back on cardio at the end of your cut. I wouldn’t even necessarily increase calories in the beginning.
heres what helped me. a year after I started working out (2009ish) I created an excel spreadsheet in which I use to pre-plan my meals which covers everything from protein, fat (sat, mono, poly), carbs (reg, fiber), upper limit of carbs per meal (as per Berardi), the upper limit of fat per meal (40g’s), the omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, etc. Then ill stick the lay out on the fridge and follow it meticulously without ever falling off. Ill differentiate between workout, rest day, weekend rest day, and weekend work out day.
all with their own caloric demands. After enough time you will know what your actual maintenance caloric intake is (just watch the scale on a weekly basis) and I will use harris benedict as a reference point. As per Lonnie Lowery I use 1800-2300 calories above my maintenance to add muscle. Now I would add this - when starting off you should not worry about putting on fat when you put on muscle. I believe most peoples fear of putting on fat while “bulking” or adding more meat to their frame comes from the worry that they may not be able to get rid of the fat when it is time to do so.
but if you have the experience and a proven plan to burn the fat then it just becomes something you have to do at least for the first couple of times. Later on once you pass a certain bodyweight while lean (mine was 200) then you sort of add muscle while staying somewhat lean (you may not see abs when you stand right in front of the mirror - but if you step back some they are still there). Oh and I do weigh most of my food - the only food I dont weigh is for instance if I eat 5 figs, I’ll just count 5 figs.
It might seem like a hassle at first but when you do it enough times it just becomes natural plus you can rest assured your always spot on and youll save money in the process since you only ever eat whats necessary. Yeah some times you will fall off and eat whatever the hell you want - but after a week or so of doing so youll be begging/itching/dying to get back on track.