Question for Tampa-Terry

Training Bodybuilding
1

Tampa Terry,

Could you please porvide your insight on this issue.

I have a friend who does supersets (each bodypart once per week) for 2 hours three times a week and does cardio for 1.5 hours first thing in the morning four times a week.

What’s amazing is he’s natural eats 3500 calories (1600 protein, 1600 carbs and 300 fat). He gets ripped to about 3% bodyfat and stays there all summer.

Is he a genetic freak for fat loss? I’ve tried similar stuff, but can never get below 8% on that many calories. I need to get down to 1700 calories (less 100 grams of carbs) to get below 6% (with 45 minutes cardio/day - each bodypart once per week).

2

You should never try to compare yourself to another person. Too many variables. Plus all the genetic factors.

This guy spends 12 hours a week exercising. That is a big factor.

Now you gave no indication as to what he eats, and what you eat. A calorie is not a calorie after all. Also no indication as to how big he is compared to you, what he does for a living, and what you do for a living, how much sleep you each get.

Then there is the thyroid, insulin sensitivity, when he eats what type of food, whether he has ever been fat, testosterone levels, skin surface area, supplements, and various chemicals.

You might have the same goal as him, but that does not mean you have to travel the same path to get there.

I would recommend reading Berardi?s article on the Don’t Diet here:

This diet would provide the highest number of calories while losing weight, although adjustments almost always have to be made. T-Dawg 2.0 is still the favorite though.

Now for TT’s better response.

3

We both eat all low glycemic carbs and utilize all the traditional nutritional partitioning techniques.

I seem to need to eat 1800 calories or less to get ripped. I lift each bodypart once per week and do cardio 1 hour in the morning (70-85% MHR). I stay between 6% to 8.5% all year, but I want to get lower.

Currently, I weigh 183 @ 8% bodyfat, but want to get to 4% or less. Do the excess calories (3300 versus 1800) increase his metabolism to allow him to get that low or is it all genetics? Thanks!

4

Here’s my caloric breakdown: 300 Grams Protein, 100 Grams Carbs, and 22 grams fats.

Should I up the fat and lower the carbs and protein or just lower my calories? Thanks?

5

I would definitely up the fat. You are giving your body so little fat to work off of that is going to hoard what it has and it will burn off muscle before its precious supply of fat.

Its like water. Many people think if they only drink marginal water throughout the day, they will decrease their “thick” skin but the truth is, your body goes into conservation mode and holds on to what its got. You give your body all the water it wants and more and it has no problem of letting go of what it has because it knows more is coming. Your body is built for survival, not to look pretty, so it always puts its maintenance first.

As for the caloric discrepancies, The Mage hits it. If you work in an office and he works outside moving himself or other objects all day, his caloric demands are going to be significantly higher. If he is taller than you, weighs more, or a myriad of other factors, he is going to go through more calories than you each day and when he works out, he’ll burn more calories than you.

You shouldn’t be as focused on him, you should focus on you. Up your fat intake some, play with the carbs, experiment. Getting ripped is as much fun as being ripped. Don’t waste the journey focusing on the ends.

6

Thanks for the insight Sexy-J.

I figured I was eating too much protein, which is probably keeping me in glucgenesis.

I’ll cut protein to 0.8 grams per LBM and try the T-Dawg diet. Hopefully, I won’t lose any muscle.

Also, will an hour of cardio (70% VO2 Max) accelerate fat loss or promote muscle loss, while on the T-Dawg Diet? Thanks!

7

4% eh, you really want to get ripped.

I prefer T-Dawg 2.0 myself. It has the protein at 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight. That would be better for maintaining LBM. Also the slight increase in carbs makes it easier to follow then the original T-Dawg.

Have you tried HIIT? Give it a try in place of the morning cardio three or four times a week. It gives a longer term metabolism boost, and I believe is better for maintaining muscle.

Also check out Meltdown training. It has been very good to me.

Getting extremely lean is more demanding then weight loss at higher bodyfat levels. It requires ever stricter dieting, and slower fat loss.

But if you have been good, the cheat meal once a week may actually help you lose fat, so i would actually recommend the single bad meal as opposed to the good carb up day in the T-dawg 2.0. But you really need to see how you react to it. Some seem to react better then others.

And do get those fat numbers up. Omega 3’s help with fat loss, and some saturates help keep testosterone levels up. I believe on the T-Dawg 2.0, you will be eating about 8 to 9 times as much fat as you are now.

8

The Mage,

Thanks for the insight. I’ll up the fat to 400 caloires a day, keep protein at 900 calories and carbs at 300 or less (1600 is low considering my LBM is about 167).

I’ve done the no carb thing before, but I’ve never reached ketosis. Probably because my protein/fat ratio was way too high. Anyway, ketosis isn’t vital as long as I create a caloric deficit.

Also, I’m upping the 16 minute HI cardio sessions (spinning bike) from 7 to 10 per week. This may ve overtraining, but hey fat loss is my main concern. Although, I can’t imagine how tired my legs will be all the time from all that spinning.

I’m using hot-rox, so I’m going to see if the low calorie diet enables me to maintain muscele, while on the intensive cardio regimen. I’m at about 8% right now heading towards 4%.

Please help keep me motivated.

9

I’m not sure you’re following. It seems to me that the advice here is to eat more, not less.

10

I tried Hot-Rox at 2400 calories for 5 weeks and stayed physicaaly identical.

I’ve made it to 6% before, it’s time to go back to what works at slightly less calories than I usually do (1900 for fat loss).

11

The Mage, I’m going to start refering to you as The Sage, the defnition of which is “a mentor in spiritual and philosophical and nutritional topics who is renowned for profound wisdom.”

Couldn’t out-do you if I tried! (grin)

Pats, I agree with all The Mage said, especially about setting yourself up for frustration and failure when you compare your metabolism (and talents) to another individual.

There’s another thing. We all have a point (a BF percentage point) at which the body rebels. You might get below that point for brief periods, but your health and sanity will suffer. Your body will be convinced that you’re starving and do everything possible to sabotage your taking your BF percentage even lower.

Sometimes to get your BF lower you have to do some counterintuitive things, like eat in a way that allows you to put on muscle, part of which I’ll tell you right now involves increasing carb intake and optimizing PWO nutrition.

Sexy J is dead on re the fat. You need at least .4g of fat x LBM, which works out to about 67g per day. That should be equal 22g of Omega 3, preferably fish oil, 22g from monounsaturated fat and 22g from saturated fat. That breakdown will support T levels.

I’ll cut protein to 0.8 grams per LBM and try the T-Dawg diet. Hopefully, I won’t lose any muscle.

Not good, Pats! You’re taking your protein too low. That combined with cardio and I can GUARANTEE you’ll lose muscle. Run the numbers and follow the diet the way it’s designed.

Re protein, you need between 1g and 1.5g x LBM. 170g per day is a BARE MINIMUM, too low, actually, in my books. At 1.5g of protein x LBM, you should be getting 252g of protein per day, which works out to about 40-42g of protein per meal if you’re taking in 6 meals.

Should I up the fat and lower the carbs and protein or just lower my calories?

Just follow T-Dawg the way it was intended to be followed. On your workout days your caloric intake is only 2,000. And it’s 120 calories less than that on non-workout days.

Pats, optimize your PWO nutrition. Take in Surge PWO. Take in your starchy carbs in the two meals following that. I’m talking oatmeal, sweet potatoes, yams, brown rice.

One other thing I would strongly recommend is that you find a workout that is good for YOU. Don’t do the type of workout your friend is doing. Two hours of resistence training in the gym is NOT ideal or optimal. In fact, it’s highly catabolic and works against your long-term goals of a lower BF percentage.

Please help keep me motivated.

Pats, motivation has to come from within. No one can sustain you through the difficult times.

Good luck to you. Quit trying to re-invent the wheel and play by the rules; i.e., use the numbers given in T-Dawg 2.0. Chew your protein as much as possible (versus drinking it), avoid dairy, and except for PWO, get ALL your carbs from green veggie sources. And just so you know, there’s nothing wrong with your taking in the whole day’s carbs PWO.

Finally, give yourself 3 weeks to settle into new eating patterns before making adjustments.

12

You CAN NOT maintain 3% BF. Where the hell do you people come up with these stupid numbers?!?!?!
If he was 3% he could be a pro body builder and win show after show week after week.
please people pull your head out of the clouds… or post a photo (cant see that happeneing)

13

also you may find it increasingly hard to drop BF if your muscle mass is too low

14
  1. He’s not 3%.
  2. I doubt you’re 8%
  3. I didn’t read any of the other responses, but I’m sure Terry and Mage gave you good advice without calling you an idiot
  4. That’s very hard for the rest of us to do
15

Thanks Everyone.

I’ve do all the post-workout nutrition stuff. I always keep protein at at least 250 grams. I was only thinking of decreasing it (I haven’t yet).

I’ll increase fats to 67 grams as Tampa-Terry suggests. Wouldn’t it be better to receive some fat from MCT’s, instead of saturated fats? Thanks!