New John Meadows video, must watch video -this is so much easier to understand than anything else I have read or seen previously (I hope link is allowed, if not, do yourself a favor & google it)
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So take home points for naturals are:
High intensity
Low volume
Intraworkout nutrition
Increased training frequency
As a natural myself I do hear this most of these on the internet but I currently donāt do these.
Is intra workout nutrition something to look in to?
I currently do a bro split, I canāt seem to get an upper/ lower or PPL to get the right frequency, intensity, timeframe in the gym and volume. I just canāt seem to do that.
Whatās everyoneās thoughts?
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Funny, if we take into account his advice, the āidealā program would beā¦ The Best Damn Plan for Natural Lifters. Who just reached 3 millions views.
@Christian_Thibaudeau proves again right!
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Iād this was the best method then all the naturals would agree on this site but they donāt seem to. Iām not trying to argue or say you are wrong (or right), just that I find it bizarre that there is so little known about proven ābest methodsā for natural lifters.
Thatās because there is no ābestā way to train. There are MANY paths to success, and best is going to depend on a variety of factors dependent on the individual.
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Itās the best according to scienceā¦ right now. And weight training is peculiar in that science doesnāt always apply.
I would say the best training method is consistency and busting your balls ahah.
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What would you guys consider practical and complete intra nutrition?
Something that can be easily grabbed from the pantry/fridge on the way to the workout?
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I think this is pretty high bang-for-buck
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Fruit snacks or sour gummy worms!
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Can someone explain the point of this to me? Outside of maybe low blood sugar or feeling nausea, I canāt think of why youād need to eat something in the middle of training. Nor can I fathom actually keeping anything down while lifting.
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Iām just waking up ahah so I donāt have the sources right here but there are several studies that tested this and muscle gain was greater with an intra, and less cortisol released.
Around 20-30 prots, 30-40 carbs, 10 fat
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For intra? Not pre?
So, Iāve done lots of fasted training and I can make it through a long training session with nothing in my stomach. Donāt need it. But thereās a lot of new evidence that pre and intra workout nutrition might be more effective than post workout nutrition, since it keeps insulin levels high during training, among other reasons. John Meadows is a big proponent of intra workout nutrition, as are a few prominent authors on here.
That being said, I personally think intra workout nutrition is one of those āoptimizationā things, that there may be evidence supporting it, but it will have a negligible effect overall. I have no studies to back this up, only knowing lots of people who have gotten big and strong without ever eating something during a workout.
Most days, if I was to workout balls to the wall and try to drink carbs or protein during the workout, Iād blow chunks all over the gym.
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Compared to what? The issue with these studies is that while the person who achieves more muscle gains takes the intra vs the guy who doesnāt, thereās another person out there that gained more than both because they trained harder. Then thereās another one who gained even more muscle because he slept more and trained as much as the 3rd guy. It just never ends.
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Iām leaning this way in regards to strength training. Most of the time Iām doing my best to not throw up after the most intense set of the day.
However on a volume/building cycle, I think this would make more sense. Plus, at least for me, when focused on volume my workouts take longer.
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What I donāt understand (and Iām really sorry if this is stupid) is when you train chest on Monday (for example) you create protein synthesis.
Now this lasts for a small window (around 48hours I think I remember reading) and the same for the other body parts, equates to maximum muscle gain per week of letās say 2.5lbs (for a new trainer for example).
But if you train chest Monday and Thursday, you create more protein synthesis, but you still have a maximum of 2.5lbs per week.
Iām sure there is more to it than this, but since Iāve been training for well over 10 years, I wonāt have massive gains each period. So would it actually help to have more frequency when you have a maximum gainage per week anyhow???
Hope that makes sense.
On the intra workout nutrition, is it worth having some gummy bears or something if you train in the morning with only a shake before hand?
For me, I train first thing in the morning. I donāt want anything beforehand, because Iām already chugging coffee. This is where the intra gives me a noticeable benefit.
Iām kind of curious about muscle protein synthesis myself: is it local or systemic?
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Short answer is yet. Itās common place to see newbies (if theyāre smart) hitting full body every damn day, (benching every day if theyre not so smartā¦ looking at myself back in the day) and recovering fine. I dont remember being that sore my whole first year of lifting in high school, even with significant poundage added to the bar.
However now, if I train any movement more than twice a week my body pretty much collapses. Iāve noticed i get more general recovery training with a Heavy Squat/Light Deadlift followed by a Heavy Deadlift/Light Squat cycle spaced apart during the week.
With being more advanced, youāre going to tear apart more muscle just by the nature of moving heavier weight. So it will require more food/recovery. And through my experience it definitely seems to be systemic. (However a lighter day of training localized to a sore area tends to reduce my pain and recover much better)
Soā¦ more advanced lifter need more recovery, and while synthises isnt localized, light training to promote blood flow and recovery and replenish the synthesizing period is idealā¦
These are actually questionsā¦ just stated as observations from my own training.
Fuck yes sorry I really shouldnāt post when I wake up from a nap. This is pre. Intra is around 30-40 carbs + optionaly BCAA
Yeah sure thatās why studies are not super reliable. And also the population is quite low.
Thouuuugh if youāre doing quite long session with high volume and you get hungry, I think they are beneficial. Also I think they would really be when in a deficit as to lower cortisol which is already elevated
I must admit Iāve never used some lol Iām gonna try this time and see how it goes
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I currently canāt lift (injuries), but I also used to have issues hitting everything 2x a week without running into recovery issues or making the sessions too long.
To be honest, Iām still unsure how much frequency matters versus progression. Example:
Twin A vs. Twin B. Twin A does a 4-way bro split. Twin B hits everything 2x a week. Both have the same overall volume and intensity levels.
After 10 years, both twins have the same strength levels (Bench/Row 405 x 10, Squat 500 x 20, etc.). Wouldnāt they look the same even though their frequencies were different (since their ultimate progression was the same)?