[quote]LoRez wrote:
My bad about asking that question. I suppose that’s kind of a slippery slope (e.g., Stu said I should… and it didn’t work…), as well as being just very very vague.[/quote]
That’s just it, when you introduce the constant issue of individuality, the slippery slope is people ignoring that very important premise and assuming “This” is how you do it. Then when it doesn’t pan out, so and so has no clue what he’s talking about -lol.
Trust me, I’ve seen competitors engage in some serious self torture in making certain weight classes, as a bodybuilder, and in watching my brother and several close friends who were wrestlers. My old training partner was helping a co-worker who had entered a weight loss contest. As this woman had no interest in looking ‘fit’, my buddy did everything he could to crash her down with the largest number value of weight loss you could imagine. As a bodybuilder though, you have to look at the big picture, and unless you’re on the cusp of two weight classes and/or have muscle to spare (who would ever admit to that?) intentional muscle loss is never acceptable.
[quote]
I just read through your first contest prep thread the other day, back in 2009, and I had a few questions. One of the things that stood out was that everything started coming together once you added in the morning walks.
Given the 5 years of experience you’ve had since then, how/when/where do you use HIIT, and at what point do you start and increase LISS? Do you make any diet changes around the cardio itself? (Peri-cardio nutrition, lol)[/quote]
I look back at that prep, and while it definitely worked, I think I learned a lot more as the years went on. There was certainly some science behind what I was doing, but admittedly there was also the push from being a gym rat so long, and always hearing from self-professed experts. The issue for me was in figuring out what the right call was, knowing that there wasn’t time for “do-overs”. In '09, there weren’t really too many competitors voicing their experiences on here to my recollection. There were plenty of folks all trying to help, but let’s just say that it’s a very different landscape in the bodybuilding forum in 2014 than it was in 2009.
When I added the bit of morning walking, I don’t think it was anything magical, merely that extra bit that tilted me into progress again. I do think LISS can have its place, and if you look back at the prep you’re speaking of, my carb intake was considerably lower than it would be in subsequent ones. It’s always a delicate balance between keeping enough to fuel your training and stave off muscle catabolism, with being low enough to allow your body to dig into fat at a dependable rate.
I’ve had clients who are more sensitive to carbs, that I tried the LISS approach with and as it wouldn’t be stressful in their usual lower carb daily intake approach. I’ve also had clients who were equally sensitive, but we could target carbs around their HIIT, while keeping intake very low the rest of the day, and gotten good results as well. When faced with a call of which approach to take that first guess with, I try to figure around their daily schedules, how much time they’re spending in the gym, and how receptive they have been to what we’ve done up to this point.
Personally, in my latter contest preps, you’ll notice the pattern I had of heavy carb feedings before HIT. I felt that I got a lot more out of being able to power through a session than being the guy half asleep doing a 1 mph walk on a treadmill for an hour or more every day. I’m currently prepping an NPC bikini girl who’s last “trainer” had her doing 2 hours of cardio a day, and barely eating (no carbs and no fats, brilliant understanding of nutrition this ‘trainer’ has). In the last month she’s got back definition she’s never had, a visible bicep, rear delts, things she never saw before, but, most importantly, she tells me she feel healthy and energetic! She’s eating more now than during any previous prep, BUT, she’s FEEDING HER TRAINING (including cardio), and so she’s getting more out of it.
[quote]
I guess as a second question, do you actually use any sort of carb refeed approach? Obviously it’s effective for some people, but I’m just wondering your experience with it. (I realize some of these questions could be answered if I read your other prep threads.)[/quote]
I’m definitely a big fan of a cyclical approach. Now if that means your basic low/med/high carb cycling, a cyclical keto, full keto with refeed… will depend on the person, and how their body is responding at that time in their prep. To consider is always what their average day looks like in terms of carb intake.
SOme people have a 200g daily carb intake, but for whatever reason feel the need to refeed every week at over 1000g. To me, that’s silly. Sure your body benefits after prolonged dieting from an influx of carbs, but I highly doubt that 1000g is necessary, and if 400g would do the same job, isn’t the extra 600g (600 x 4 = 2400 extra calories!) just counterproductive?
I’ve seen coaches who recommend this type of approach, who also have people doing hours of cardio a day. To me, that’s just a waste of time and energy. Refeed on less, do less cardio, and enjoy the process of not being on a piece of cardio equipment all the day!
S
