Definitely get what you’re saying. I think if you shrewdly navigate that 48-hour window and are aware of muscle-protein-synthesis timing, you can probably make it work, especially if your T levels are enhanced (or at least above normal range).
Not that I plan to do a double split for the long run – that sounds like a recipe for problems down the road as your body adapts to the workload – but it could be something fun to try out for a little while. I always love varying my training approach to incorporate new concepts and challenging my body to adapt to new stimuli. Gotta keep things fresh!
Yeah man, my motivation is off the charts right now. I definitely felt an increase with the cream, but it’s been next-level of late on the injections. I can’t wait to work out each day, as I’m dying to get in the gym, and then I just have another gear in my workouts.
For example, tonight I did a hypertrophy-oriented bis/tris workout. Whereas my brain was screaming to stop at 15 or 16 reps, I’d do 20. I could just power through those mental barriers. Normally, I’d stop at 15 or 16. I have another gear (no pun intended) right now.
I only went up to 2500 for today, because I want to be wary of fat accumulation, particularly with less than 3 weeks left in this challenge. It’s a transformation challenge, though – not a fat-loss challenge, per se – so putting on muscle could definitely be advantageous. Though it’s way easier to see it when someone loses fat in a short window (i.e., 8 weeks), so I’m being really wary of not getting fat, lol.
Exactly my thought and exactly what I did! Why not capitalize on this insane drive right now and smash some workouts while I have it? As long as I’m smart about recovery and which muscle groups I work, I don’t really see a downside. I have a home gym so I just walk a few feet out to the garage. I can even get in a workout while I’m on the clock if I manage my time well. Tonight I got after arms while I was cooking up dinner for the family on the grill between sets.
Has Defy impacted her use of (if she was using) birth control? We recently made the decision to take my wife off of hers, given what we’ve read about it and potential side effects, though we don’t want kids.
My wife stopped birth control years ago after I got a vasectomy.
I look back now and wonder how big of a role (if any) birth control played in her recent issues with hormone imbalance. She took them for a long time after the birth of our two sons. I also wonder what part the vasectomy played in my natural Low T. Not saying that either had any part for certain, but it makes you wonder.
Definitely. I think it will take years for research to catch up with this idea and really provide “empirical support,” but I think about this type of thing all the time.
Ate more yesterday (2600 cals, completed a two-a-day) than I had in a long time but woke feeling pretty lean! Though I increased consumption from 1800-2200 cals/day one week ago, I don’t think my abs have gotten any blurrier yet.
I’m going on a 7-hour road trip to a bachelor party this weekend! Very excited for it but don’t want to stop my momentum. Would love to hear thoughts on:
What to eat while on my drive? What could I pack besides protein bars/shakes, and what are good restaurants to stop at during long drives? I plan to get in a long walk and good workout before the drive to compensate for the lack of movement during the day and will probably stop for one full ‘meal’ (unless I pack this).
How to approach the drinking Saturday night? I’m providing the drinks, so I know what we’ll have: vodka, rum, whiskey, red wine, and beer. I also picked up a ton of zero-cal mixers like Diet Pepsi, Diet Mountain Dew, and Diet Snapple. My thought was that I’d have 3-4 mixed drinks – rum and Diet Pepsi as well as vodka and Diet Snapple – and drink water/Powerade Zero throughout to stay hydrated. Looks to me like each drink would be about 100 cals each. I never drink but don’t want to be the buzzkill at a party filled with guys who will be going HAM; it’s not about me, it’s about the groom, and I know he’d have more fun if I’m drinking. I also think I should have a healthy snack on hand (maybe a protein bar – suggestions?) to pound at the end of the night when I inevitably get hungry and the other guys are going in on shit like pizza. I’ve already looked into the restaurants we’re hitting up and found (relatively) healthy options (steak, chicken, etc) to hit my macros.
This sounds good in theory, but from the majority of what I’ve read this is not how it works. Lifting weights is an anaerobic activity. Your body’s preferred fuel source for this is NOT fat. Fat is optimum fuel source for lower intensity exercise, but not heavy lifting. When lifting in a fasted state you will have elevated cortisol, this cortisol will break down muscle and fat to fuel it’s work demand, probably more muscle. Just my .02 from A LOT of reading from people much smarter than myself.
Even when I’m in a daily calorie deficit trying to lose fat I consume all my day’s carbs right before during and after the workout. Then spend the rest of the day with fats and protein.
Your body tries to hold onto muscle as much as it can, it is not the preferred energy source. The order of breakdown for energy is carbs, muscle glycogen, fat and last resort muscle.
The body is going to go for the easiest energy source first
You missed the point of the conversation. We were talking about the best methods for burning fat.
Sure carbs are always the body’s preferred choice, because they are practically already glucose. The point is that to burn FAT during a workout, you have to be fasted. No way around it brother.
Exactly! To make sure you are burning fat during a workout, you have to deprive the body of readily available carbs, workout hard enough to depleted the muscle glycogen stores, and long enough to require more energy that those stores can provide.
Intermittent fasting works great for me on vacation days. Don’t eat anything that morning, that allows you to go bigger later in the day without totally blowing your calories.
And try to enjoy yourself man. One weekend of going off your diet is not going to totally undo all your progress. You didn’t get lean in a weekend, you aren’t going to get fat in just one weekend either. Got to enjoy life and just let it go sometimes…I have to preach this to myself often
But if you are fasted and have been in a caloric deficit for any amount of time you aren’t going to have any carbs or much muscle glycogen, so hello, whats next in your list? Fat and muscle, and fat is not going to go first during anaerobic activity, your cortisol is going to break them both down indiscriminately.
Your diet should be the main tool to burn fat, NOT your weightlifting workout. Lifting weights during the diet is the stimulus your body needs to signal it to hold onto that hard earned muscle.
"If fasted state cardio could potentially increase fat mobilization, it’s also potentially more catabolic to muscle tissue. This is due to an increase in cortisol production during fasted exercise. Since cortisol levels are already high in the morning, this could lead to more muscle wasting than during non-fasted cardio.
In fact, cortisol levels could increase muscle breakdown and the use of amino acids as an energy source. This is especially true if high-intensity energy systems work is performed. If an individual uses lower intensity (around 60-65% of maximum heart rate), the need for glucose and cortisol release are both reduced and thus the situation becomes less catabolic." Christian Thibideau
We can agree to disagree. Plenty of articles on this very website with studies that say fasted exercise is NOT necessary to burn fat and not even more effective for that matter. Your diet (overall calorie deficit) is your best tool to burn fat. The weightlifting is the stimulus to hold onto the muscle. Additional steady state low intensity cardio can be used to further the deficit and you can burn more fat that way,
Again, you’re missing the point. Burning fat DURING exercise. That’s the discussion.
Yes you burn fat over the course of a day or a week by burning more total calories than you consume. The conversation specifically was about burning during working out.
I get what you’re saying, burning fat DURING…just adding my thoughts that if overall fat loss is the goal, and the goal is a lean body that looks good naked, that this method is not the most effective. Fat loss should be achieved through diet, muscle sparing and muscle gain is achieved through the most effective weight lifting session possible. And the most effective weight lifting is acheived in a non-fasted state.
I’m not trying to be combative or argumentative, just trying to contribute to the conversation. I’ve enjoyed reading your contributions