M3:D20 Resting before the Storm



What's on my mind today?



Today was a rest day for me.  It was also my first day of Phase 2 for M3 — the Bulking Phase!  Yes, today I spent the day eating and eating.  I am ready to hit the gym hard tomorrow.

I will be doing the first workout of my bulk phase tomorrow and I plan to add the Quad Blaster to the routine.  I can't wait to give it a whirl.

I must say that Carlos Dejesus is an awesome man.  He and I have chatted on the phone several times now and the last time we talked was the day the Quad Blaster arrived.  At that time, Carlos asked when I'd be using the Quad Blaster for my first official workout.  He forgot that it was tomorrow and so today he sent me an email asking how the workout went.  When I informed him that the first official workout is tomorrow he asked me to email him with how it goes.  I think his follow up is awesome.

I learned a few things about carb cycling during a bulk today through some reading I was directed to do.  I will not be carb cycling at the start of the bulk phase, but at some point I will need to and at that point I will use the techniques that I picked up today.  Alot of what I learned I already knew, but there were some extra tips thrown in.

For instance, it is suggested that the best way to carb cycle is to have 3 types of days in a week:  high carb, moderate carb and low carb.  The technique I learned starts by figuring how many calories you need.  This is the moderate carb day's number.  It then figures how much protein and carbs you need.  From that number you know how much fat to take in.  You are then supposed to make the carbs match the protein for the moderate day.  You are left with a number for fat.  This number remains constant.  Finally, you add 25% for high carb days to the carbs and subract 25% for the low carb days.  It is really pretty straight forward.

Taking a person who weighs 220 pounds, that person would need 1.5 g. of protein so that would be 330 g. of protein.

You would then have the following table:

  High   Mod  Low
 Carb  425  330 248 
 Prot  330  330 330 
 Fat  100  100 100 
Cals 3872 3539 3212

The simple idea is that fat and protein stays the same throughout the entire week.   If you are working out 3 days a week (lifting that is) you would pick 2 of those days for high carbs and 1 of those days for moderate carbs. You would then pick one other moderate carb day.  The other 3 days remaining would be low carb.

You will notice that since all you do is cycle your carbs up and down, your calories will also cycle up and down.  This is excellent for the metabolism as it keeps your body guessing.  This will help you minimize fat gain while maximizing muscle gain.  Finally, when you have done this for about 8 weeks, you simply drop about 20 grams of carbs each day for a week to adjust your cycle and then repeat it all over again.  It apparently works very well.  I have filed it away for future review, but wanted to share it with everyone.

I took some photos that will remain classified.  They will be my progress meter for this bulk phase.  I also did some stats today.  As mentioned yesterday, I will not be sharing any of that with you until the end of this phase at the earliest, but quite possibly not until the end of M3.


Week Begins 6/1/2008
  Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat
Cycle spot HC LC LC LC HC LC LC
M1 * 5:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 5:30 a.m.
M2 * 8:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m.
M3 * 11:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m.
M4 * 2:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m.
M5 * 5:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m.
M6 * 7:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.
Weights * N/A Lift N/A Lift N/A Lift N/A
Cardio * N/A N/A AM N/A AM N/A AM
Abs * N/A FYA FYA N/A FYA N/A FYA
Water * 264 oz            
Post-workout nutrition * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pre-sleep nutrition * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Vitamins/Supplements * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Accountability * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Cals within 5% (+/-) * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Target Cals 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800
Cals 2910            
Ratios (C/P/F) 40/30/20            
Target Ratios (C/P/F) 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30
Total Completed 14            
Total Possible 15            
Mission 3 Total Complete 224            
Mission 3 Total Possible 225            
* = Counts towards total
Success!
Failed
Not Counted!

I marked myself off for the 2:30 p.m. meal because I was at a friend's house and ate some things that were not on my plan and were not really good for me.  Suffice to say that it didn't concern me too much because I'm on a bulk, but I should have made better choices, so I've marked myself as a fail for that meal.
 
Find out what I'm doing to my body!


Rest day today.
 
Exercise the brain with the Thought of the Day!


Think of yourself as a machine that needs to receive special care and then do your best to keep yourself running in tip top shape.
 
Get a discussion started by answering the question!


What is your #1 long term goal?  Comment this post to answer the question.
 
 
 

Mission 1, Day 20: What is normal?

Until tomorrow...GET BACK TO LIFTING!

Posted by Michael Mahony at 6/1/2008 8:56 PM
Categories: Nutrition, Old Missions
 
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  • 6/1/2008 10:18 PM Mike Groom wrote:
    Great post Mike and a great way to cycle carbs.

    QOD: My #1 goal would be to be happy, healthy and strong into my "latter" years
    Reply to this
  • 6/2/2008 3:01 PM Stefan wrote:
    Hi Mike!

    That question requires more thought than I expected.

    I guess you have to break it down into what is short term, medium term and long term? I'm thinking short term when fitness is concerned needs to be 6 months as it can take this length of time to see a result, so medium term I'll put at 18 months and long term at 3 years.

    Now that this is clarified for myself, I guess I'd like to see myself at 185 lb. with 5% body fat 3 years from now. I'm not sure if it's achievable as this means building 40 lb. of pure muscle (and losing 35 lb. of fat) at 38 years of age. I'm hoping that something known as muscle memory might kick in but after 17 years of doing nothing, not being 21 anymore, the road ahead is unknown, which I actually find exciting.

    I've read a few of your colleagues blogs and I'm noticing that some are finding motivation a little difficult. From my experience, single minded objectives can be a very lonely journey.

    There are many achievable, small milestones we can all achieve which are a spin off from our training. Body weight, body measurements etc. are required to review performances and progress but this is a long slog and the gains decelerate after a while.

    So simple things such as PB bench press then adding X lb. to that as an achievable number is a great side goal and I think everyone should list about 10 like this, as by doing so, consistent achievement will be attained. It can be anything from PB lifting or competing in a marathon, even if it is walked all the way.

    Accountability is so important and I think Adam Waters has nailed it brilliantly. This being said, small rewards/achivements keep us going!

    Anyway, I am about to pick up my new computer so I'm ready to get myself accountable like everyone else. If it's OK I'd like to add your site URL to mine?

    Cheers
    Stefan
    Reply to this
    1. 6/2/2008 8:16 PM Michael Mahony wrote:
      Stefan, yet another great answer!  I agree with you that staying motivated can be an issue, but I think the obssessive personality traits I have help me in that area because I just don't like to fail!  Yes, feel free to add a link and I will do the same.
      Reply to this
  • 6/2/2008 6:35 PM diane wrote:
    Wow legs looks great...guess you're revealing a little at a time huhAlways a delight reading your posts.
    Reply to this
    1. 6/2/2008 8:17 PM Michael Mahony wrote:
      Hi Diane, thanks for the compliment.  Hope you are doing well!
      Reply to this
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