I feel really bad for you man. You came here looking for help, with a legitimate post, and all you get is a bunch of douche bags who spend more time putting you and other people down instead of using all the time into actually helping you and others reach their goals. Which is essentially what we are all here for. It’s a reminder of why I stay away from forums. If you don’t like the post, or topic, if you think it’s stupid, or belongs some where else, let a moderator take care of it and just scroll over. Wasting your time to rack up your post count or to put down others, or to just simply say use the search, is kind of pathetic.
Anyways, I was visiting the site, saw the topic and it’s something I could relate to cuz I been there. Waterbury is very convincing and I like his ideas and concept. I think the reality is, is he has tapped into a market and collected a fan base and is just capitalizing on it. It’s no different than someone selling low fat or low calorie diets. Stupid shit that people will pay money to read about.
Now don’t get me wrong Waterbury’s programs are good, but a custom program is always going to be better. It would take too much time for me to give you the plethora of knowledge I have learned, but let me help you where I can. I’ll give you some base with examples I have experienced, and you can take it for what it’s worth. I’ve turned into a somewhat poliquin fanboy, but his methods have really worked for me. And well, his career and reputation speak for themselves.
Diet is obviously the most important. Look up the 20 pounds in 20 weeks. I keep a big ass pot of the chili recipe in my fridge at all times. I eat it for breakfast as all i have to do is microwave it and I get a big solid meal. I eat the egg one pre bed as it takes the most cooking and prep work. Also add sour cream and cheese to chili and other meals as much as u want to get extra cals in. In between each meal I make a liquid shake of a shot of olive oil, protein powder, mixed nuts, and lactose free milk. usually around 700 cals, 3 a day = 2100 cals alone. For the chicken I poach about 10-20 pounds of chicken breasts at one time, I shred it up. I freeze the stock and put it in my chili, the rest of the chicken I make a large batch of berardis creamy chicken and freeze the rest. I took out the broth as it made it too watery for me, took out the squash too cuz it did the same, and added lots of cheese as it helped make it taste better and made it more creamy. I also hate the taste of yogurt but don’t notice with the cheese in the dish. For vegetables i use mushrooms, spinach and brocolli instead. These 3 veges are probably the most helpful in building muscle out of all the vegetables. So why not put the 3 together. This topic is obviously a matter of an opinion, but from my research the 3 veges add a huge punch.
I buy cheese in 1.5 pound blocks at sams, the CABOT brand is really good. I shred all my cheese at once and then freeze it. I buy bags of non roasted mix nuts at sams too, you get mac, pecans, almonds, walnuts, maybe one or two others im forgetting for 10$. A pretty good deal. In the chili I take out the v8 and just use a big ass can on canned tomatoes. 108oz can costs 1.50$ I buy bulk chili powder from the thespicehouse.com it’s off the chain and all their spices makes a huge difference if you’re big on eating tasty food.
I take 1 NOW HCL tab with every meal. This has helped a TON with increasing my appetite and weight gain. This one of Poliquin’s top sups and I def love it. I also like GABA pre bed I take about 2 tbsp, it’s helped quite a bit. T-Nation sups have always been too expensive for me so for protein I make my own mix. I’ve found post work out a scoop of maltodextrin, a scoop of waixymaize, 2 scoops of whey, a glass of juice, I rotate from a berry blend, apple, and cranberry. I finish this all off with 3 grams of taurine. I then eat as much brown rice and chicken I can stomach shortly after. This is the only carbs in my diet, besides the occasional cheat meal. I found once I got under 10% body fat, I can cheat pretty often though without it affecting my mood or body fat. Obviously fish oil and multi-vitamin are important. I constantly try other sups but haven’t really liked anything that much other than what I have mentioned. I take that back, ZMA is nice.
Don’t count cals, calories is a concept that has never really been proven. Only thing that really matters is sugar and food allergens, those are the two things that mostly make you add fat. Taking high carbs post workout is the only time its safe, and encouraged if you’re trying to make progress and gain muscle mass. Keeping a constant supply of aminos and fats for your body to use is the best way to add muscle mass. There is actually a study I’m looking into and thinking about trying where eating only once every 4-6 hours is better for gaining mass. The concept is after a short fast the body is hypersensitive to amino acids so rotating this with constant feedings so you keep body fat low could be an even better way to add extra mass. I’m getting way too off track into geeky science stuff… But, also it’s often smart to take out certain protein sources for 6 weeks and then reintroduce them. Variety is key, but eating the same foods over and over, you can build up food in tolerances that will make you store fat.
For the most part though, just focus on eating as much as you can as cleanly as you can until you get your body fat to single digits, then focus on staying there. If you desire to get leaner, adjust the little things like rotating protein sources out and making sure to use as large a variety of sources as possible. I try and avoid gluten, and lactose as much as I can. Once you get down to single digits though, you’re optimizing your hormone levels as best you can naturally. You can gain muscle and lose body fat at the same time by following the diet plan above.
For workout, I have found that 2-3 months of a 5 day schedule isolation followed with a one month full body plan has worked best for me. I start with doing high rep work for 6 workouts and then follow it up with 6 weeks of low rep work. High reps make your muscle bigger, so it allows you to hold a larger load when doing low rep work. Low rep increases your strength, which then allows you to do larger loads on your high rep work which makes your muscles bigger. A full body plan every now and again helps throw variety at your body and ensures you keep making progress.
Read the five elements by poliquin. When I first was getting into body building, that article is what made me determine poliquin was a nut job. I then got frustrated cuz like you, i been doing Waterbury type shit for almost a year and barely made any progress. I then determined I was a wood type, starting lowering my volume by 20% every workout, and BAM i was making progress.
More take home points. coax don’t force your muscles into adaption. I have 2 pairs of 5/8, 5/4 & 8/4 plate mates. I also have 1/4lb collars. I make sure I only increase my load 1-2% and it has ensured that I constantly make progress in the gym. And if you aren’t making progress, you are wasting your time. I have found slow tempo has helped improve my form, increased strength, and muscle size. I don’t care how much science Waterbury gives me. I’m a chem major, so I really get into all the geeky science stuff, but the results speak.
As i learned more, I understand why though. Poliquin’s structural balance is another great article. I didn’t bench for nearly 18 months because of constant shoulder pain. When I first really got into lifting, I used my arms instead of my back for pulling exercises, and centered everything around the bench. 9 months later I couldn’t bench anymore and really discouraged me from lifting. for 18 months i lifted on and off constantly getting discouraged, when my shoulder would start hurting i would stop lifting. My back is super strong and has always been my strongest point, add in no bench for 18 months, my strong point only became stronger. I could do external rotations with 30lb dumbbells for 5 reps but couldn’t bench 135 for more than week pain free. I tested out my strength ratios and discovered my military presses were extremely weak. I substituted all bench and chest work for shoulder work, caught them up, and magically all my shoulder pain went away. I check my maxes every one - two months, and if something starts to fall behind, I center my workouts around that.
Anyways, i know this is a lot of info. Probably a lot of rambling, I tried to just give you the main points, and what I have picked up. If you are curious about anything do your own research. For example, look into white button mushrooms. Poliquins 5 day plan i awesome. You get 6 workouts for each body part in just a month. Add in 2 a day training to this… with an awesome diet, the results are unreal. My squat went up 20 pounds a month for 5 months when i switched from Waterbury to poliquin. It’s still my weak point, and I’m still honing in on it, but it has definately helped sculp my body.
