A must read for anyone with muscle building/fat loss goals

[Carrnage]

Part 1

Want to get huge and lose bodyfat at the same time?

So heres the secret routine!

Actually its more of "understanding" things rather than just following a "program".

You know what.....FUCK PROGRAMS! FUCK ROUTINES! You can't blindly follow a routine and make yourself do it just because thats what it says on paper, be instinctive of what you do.

Here understand these steps and you GROWWWWWWWW!

1)listnen to your current settings, (sleep,nutrition,stress,motivation)

2)if something in your current settings is wrong, fix it! find out why your nutrition sucks and fix it, find out why your sleep sucks and fix it!, not motivated? theres so many ways to get you motivated but taking stimulant/drugs is not the way my friend!

3)A muscle has various fibers, some get big,some get stronger, some are for endurance,

4)A muscle doesnt know weight but it knows tension. Having a muscle under constant tension for around 6-10 reps usually is the sweet spot for most people as far as stimulating the muscle fibers that are responsible for growing bigger.

5)Don't worry about weight if your looking to get bigger, for example if your doing bench presses and after your last set your chest isnt "fully pumped" up then you obviously didnt train your chest to its potential, instead you let your secondary muscles do most of the work, thats great for "getting your lifts up" aka powerlifting aka ego training but not for bodybuilding.

6)Your lifts will go up over time, just dont worry about that, once you keep worrying about why or how come you cant lift a certain number you will end up not using your targeted muscle and end up using horrible form using too many secondary muscles!

7)After every workout, tell ask yourself, "How can i put greater tension on the muscle" or "Did i really train the targeted muscle to itsn potential?"

8)Week after week, month after month, years after years you will learn and master various exercises. Yeah majority of us dont master the basic compound movements, leaning how to target just the chest and not using your secondary muscles a whole lot will take great maturity on your part.

[Carrnage]

9)Im sure you have heard the term "making lightweight feel heavy" right? You know why that light weight feels heavy whenever you try that concept? Because you mentally make your body use the targeted muscle instead of your secondary assistance muscles from taking over. Thats bodybuilding for ya, yeah it sucks not impressing people at the gym, if your really using your targeted muscle you WILL NOT be lifting a impressive amount of weight.

10)You know what doesnt suck? Feeling monsterous pumps and seeing your body progress from week to week. Now thats pretty cool once you see that happening!

11)Nutrition! AKA FUEL!!!!!! Don't live on crappy fuel, live on the best quality fuel! The best quality fuel will help your body perform to its potential.

12)For example, make sure you supplement through out the day with......
vitamin c
vitamin b's
vitamin e
vitamin d
zinc/magnesium
antioxidants like CoQ10, Green Tea, vitamin a/c/e, Alpha Lipoic Acid just to name a few....
And these supplements below are huge for making faster gains while staying lean! These help insulin sensitivity, basically more muscle/less fat! (pm if you want to learn more about insulin-insulin sensitivity)
Cinnamon Extract
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Fish Oil (BEST GAWD DAMN SUPPLEMENT YOU WILL EVER INVEST IN!) (BETTER MOOD/PUMPS/SLEEP/ENERGY/SEX DRIVE YEAH BUDDY!!!!!!!!)
Theres alot more but thats a good basic start!

13)Antioxidants have anti-inflammatory effects, which will benefit a bodybuilder greatly, you will have a less chance of being sick, better digestion/overall health will benefited, when your overall health is "healthy" and where it needs to be to perform at its potential, muscular gains / fat loss goals will come alot faster aswell. Protein synthesis/insulin sensitivity will be greatly enhanced! Which is key for muscle growth / fat loss!

14)Eat green veggies once or twice a day! (twice if your a real man!) A body has acid-alkaline levels, you want your body to be more on the alkaline levels, alot of "offseason bodybuilders" tend to throw a bunch of food down their throat because they have a meathead mindset of "more is better". Typically when people have that mindset they are eating a bunch of crappy foods and their bodies are inflammed, their insulin sensitivty sucks thats why they get fat easily, and their protein synthesis isnt triggered as high as it should be because of all the junk in their system making their body really "acidic". (acid levels higher)

15)Eat every 2-3 hours, everytime you eat a well balanced portion meal, your metabolism slightly raises and slightly decreases cortisol levels.

16)No processed foods, stick with whole eggs (egg whites are for pussies), red meat, various types of fish and so on for your protein. For your carb sources, its a bit tricky, everyone's body is different, some have difficulty digesting oatmeal/sweet potatoes/brown rice. You have to experiment. Personally ill do oatmeal for my first meal, then white rice post workout, then white rice for meal 3, sweet potato meal 4, and then oatmeal for meal 5. Some days I notice my body is really anabolic and im getting leaner / muscles are insanely full (full meaning a slight pump), its my insulin sensitivity, and its being friendly to me, so I instinctively take advantage of it, and literally eat around 1000 grams of carbs all from white rice on those days, since my insulin sensivity is being friendly it literally uses up glucose(carbs) for muscle fuel and aids in fat loss (like I said pm me for more about insulin) I dont recommend that, as years and years of listening to your body is required.

17)Healthy fats! omega 3's/6's/9's! For healthy testosterone production, anti-inflammatory, vasolidation, mood, digestive system will be enhanced

[Carrnage]

18)No high doses of caffeine /stimulants pre workout, not only is most stimulants a vaso-constrictor, but it will have your sleep schedule out of wack not to mention your adrenal glands will constantly get hammered. Life in general hammers your adrenal glands, extra stimulants like that is really just screwing yourself up in the long run. Some non vaso constricting stimulants are yohimbine, ginseng.

19)Drink a simple sugar (regular sugar or vitargo or karbolyn just to name some) during your workout, to spike insulin levels, and if your insulin sensivitiy is being friendly to you, alot of your stored glucose/amino's will go towards your muscle growing goals. Want a sample of a rapid growth protocol during training? Below!
25g Karbolyn (spikes insulin levels longer than any other carb source, and digest very rapidly without any stomach discomfort)
5g BCAA (triggers protein synthesis) (which is how your body uses its aminos for muscle growth, no protein synthesis equals no growth!)
5g Arginine (if taking it without carbs can increase GH levels) (protein synthesis, cell volumizing effect) (you can take citrulline or lysine as a replacement(similar)
5g Glutamine (same as above)
10g EAA's (allows your body to maintain a positive nitrogen balance and triggers protein synthesis)
Depending if your a typical 190-210 gym rat, that dose above is pretty standard, but if your a hulking 220-300 pound bodybuilder then you will need to increase the dose! Don't go by your bodyweight, go by your lean bodymass, basically your estimated weight when you are completely shredded down. If you are 220 pounds, and your bodyfat is high, you aint a real 220 pounds, something to think about for all you fat boys out there!

20) Water soulable vitamins like c, b should be spreaded out through the day, as they get in your body, your body then uses some of it, then pisses out the rest. Something like this below should be pretty standard
Breakfast: vitamin c, b's
Post Workout: vitamin c, b's
Evening meal: vitamin c's b's
As far as your other supplements go, the timing is varried, typically vitamins are better used/absorbed during the day and minerals at night. (such as zinc/maganesiem before bed) Spread out your antioxidents/insulin senstivity supplements 2-3 times a day.

As far as training goes, learn how to execute every movement to its potential, it really doesnt matter what split you follow. When you feel you need a rest day, take it! When you feel like superman go ahead and add in forced reps/extreme failure techniques or super high volume training. Listen to your body take a step back when your gut instinct tells you to. Typically having the mature mindset of taking steps back instead of 3 steps foward results in rapid muscle growth!

Bottom line, it will take YEARS to figure out what works for your body. Have the mindset of every workout is a practice session but at the same time a war!

[Carrnage]

Please PM for any questions/concerns. If anyone has concerns or negative feedback please take it to private messages.

Its 5 dollars a question and 10 if its a stupid question!

Haha just messin! No question is stupid in my book!

Here to help!

[Lifting_Is_Life]

A lot of great info here Carnage. I really enjoyed the insulin and nutrient/supplementation talk - some stuff I haven't stumbled upon on my search for knowledge on how to grow. Thanks for sharing

[Carrnage]

A lot of great info here Carnage. I really enjoyed the insulin and nutrient/supplementation talk - some stuff I haven't stumbled upon on my search for knowledge on how to grow. Thanks for sharing

Glad you liked it! Thanks a bunch for the kind words!

[Wycked]

Fuck man! That is probably the best guideline to nutrition, training and supplementation I've read on this forum. Well done bro. This thing should be reposted everywhere so people with no clue can get one. Loved it

[PORTERHOUSE]

Good stuff my man, I agree with it all.

I'm not going to lie though, I'm completely hooked on pre-workouts now. I always thought it was interesting that companies market products with caffeine and vasodilators. That's like marketing whiskey with sober pills. Someday I'd like to get off of them again, but I'm still making gains for now, so shit...

[Carrnage]

Fuck man! That is probably the best guideline to nutrition, training and supplementation I've read on this forum. Well done bro. This thing should be reposted everywhere so people with no clue can get one. Loved it

Man thanks for the kind words! That means a ton especially coming from an IFBB Pro! Whens your next show?

[Carrnage]

Good stuff my man, I agree with it all.

I'm not going to lie though, I'm completely hooked on pre-workouts now. I always thought it was interesting that companies market products with caffeine and vasodilators. That's like marketing whiskey with sober pills. Someday I'd like to get off of them again, but I'm still making gains for now, so shit...

Thanks Porterhouse! Glad you liked it, and I feel ya, I use to be hooked on pre workout drinks aswell! But hey if your making gains without feeling an negative side effects from stims, that most likely means your life is going great, you have hardly any extra stress, your sleep must be super deep, and your not overtraining your cns into near or complete exhaustion. If you want to keep using heavy stims pre workout there are ways to counter the long term side effects, heres some just to name a few

1) rhodiola rosea - helps your body fight off adrenal fatigue
2)only take pre workout stims 3 times a week, 4 maximum
3)do what ever you have to do to ensure you get great sleep every single night (a product like Animal PM has pretty much everything your body needs pre-bed and intra-sleep!) (gaba-zma based product)

[Carrnage]

Sorry if the article was somewhat "ghetto" the way it was written up, I try to make it as easy as possible to read for everyone. The thing is, when someone starts learning more and more they start thinking they are smarter than everyone else and starts typing/writing like hes writing a government letter with huge words/cliche's average people wouldn't understand. I won't do that, because I KEEP IT REAL!


Thanks for the kind words! Look out for my "How to maximize insulin" article in the near future!

[R-Man]

1) someone sticky this!
2)im 26, 5'11 & 220, bf % dont know, dont care
3) before I go full swing into what I acall gorilla season (eat big, lift big & get big) & go ape shit in the vitamin aisle at walmart, I never saw supplementation broken down like this before, I have a couple questions.

- im an amino acid junkie, I have uniliver & beef aminos after every meal, so when taking extra vitamins throughout the day, should I take them after every meal also?

- I have 1 fish oil tab after every meal also & at my size should I bump it up to 2?

- any other advice would be good to.

Awesome thread son.

[Carrnage]

1) someone sticky this!
2)im 26, 5'11 & 220, bf % dont know, dont care
3) before I go full swing into what I acall gorilla season (eat big, lift big & get big) & go ape shit in the vitamin aisle at walmart, I never saw supplementation broken down like this before, I have a couple questions.

- im an amino acid junkie, I have uniliver & beef aminos after every meal, so when taking extra vitamins throughout the day, should I take them after every meal also?

- I have 1 fish oil tab after every meal also & at my size should I bump it up to 2?

- any other advice would be good to.

Awesome thread son.

1) Yep take your vitamins with a meal! Typically they are vegetarian formula's so those tablets digest/assimilate better when taking it with a meal

2)May I ask what fish oil brand are you using? I ask this because you mentioned shopping at Walmart, all the poor quality/poor absorption rate supplements get marketed at grocery/market stores. Check out either bodybuilding.com, supplement direct.com, prosource.net for lowest prices on the highest quality supplements. Universal makes high quality products, great absorption rate. And you are 220 pounds, is that 220 pounds of real muscle or fake muscle? 220 pounds of Fake muscle is basically awhole lot of water and fat. Real muscle is basically staying in the low single digits, are your obliques/abs showing with decent vascularity? Then thats real muscle and a high five to you for being discipline with your diet/training/cardio! Try to estimate your weight when shredded all the way down to find out your real weight.

3)For the dose on fish oil, it will varies on the person, everyone has different inflammation levels so its hard to tell. But 1 cap 3-4 times a day should be enough. If someone was really overweight with high inflammation then a higher dose would be recommended!

4)Extra- Instead of beef/liver amino tabs, go for something like BCAA stack or EAA stack from universal, basically more bang for your buck!

[R-Man]

1) Yep take your vitamins with a meal! Typically they are vegetarian formula's so those tablets digest/assimilate better when taking it with a meal

2)May I ask what fish oil brand are you using? I ask this because you mentioned shopping at Walmart, all the poor quality/poor absorption rate supplements get marketed at grocery/market stores. Check out either bodybuilding.com, supplement direct.com, prosource.net for lowest prices on the highest quality supplements. Universal makes high quality products, great absorption rate. And you are 220 pounds, is that 220 pounds of real muscle or fake muscle? 220 pounds of Fake muscle is basically awhole lot of water and fat. Real muscle is basically staying in the low single digits, are your obliques/abs showing with decent vascularity? Then thats real muscle and a high five to you for being discipline with your diet/training/cardio! Try to estimate your weight when shredded all the way down to find out your real weight.

3)For the dose on fish oil, it will varies on the person, everyone has different inflammation levels so its hard to tell. But 1 cap 3-4 times a day should be enough. If someone was really overweight with high inflammation then a higher dose would be recommended!

4)Extra- Instead of beef/liver amino tabs, go for something like BCAA stack or EAA stack from universal, basically more bang for your buck!


For fish oil & b12 i use nature made or spring valley. I get it usually from stop n shop. Im not sliced & diced at 220. Im in pretty good shape for 220 though. I can be shredded at 200-205. My arms are def vascular & little bit in my chest, shoulders & upper abs. What is inspiring me to do this is the build muscle/lose fat aspect of it. Ive tried different things but never something like this before. I know the supps help but its all training, eat & sleep.

Diet is clean. I put on weight easy though. It sucks. I put on weight it goes right to the love handles, ass & thighs like I was a 40 year old woman. So I was hoping with this kind of supplementation, alot of clean food, & hitting the weights hard with some cardio I can do alot better this time around with putting on muscle, overcome my shit genetics & increase my metabolism.

What you think?

[Back To Basics]

This is good, very logical.

For the asking about fish oil I take 6000mg a day, when I upped my intake I felt much better - just make sure to balance it out with Primrose Oil - omega 6. Otherwise you don't want to kill off all inflammation.

4000mg Fish oil - 3000mg primrose. Your set, go- now- run !

[Carrnage]

For fish oil & b12 i use nature made or spring valley. I get it usually from stop n shop. Im not sliced & diced at 220. Im in pretty good shape for 220 though. I can be shredded at 200-205. My arms are def vascular & little bit in my chest, shoulders & upper abs. What is inspiring me to do this is the build muscle/lose fat aspect of it. Ive tried different things but never something like this before. I know the supps help but its all training, eat & sleep.

Diet is clean. I put on weight easy though. It sucks. I put on weight it goes right to the love handles, ass & thighs like I was a 40 year old woman. So I was hoping with this kind of supplementation, alot of clean food, & hitting the weights hard with some cardio I can do alot better this time around with putting on muscle, overcome my shit genetics & increase my metabolism.

What you think?

First off NO ONE HAS SHIT GENETICS!!!

You put on fat easily because your insulin sensitivity/resistance isn't where it should be.

1)Take various supplements to help insulin sensitivity like Alpha Lipoic Acid, Lycopene, CoQ10, Cinnamon Extract, Fish Oil / omega fats, Fenugreek, Bitter Melon, Vanadium, Chromium just to name a few.

2)HIIT cardio 2-3 times a week. This style of cardio has been shown to elevate metabolism from 20+ to 40+ hours after exercise, depending on how long your session was an how intense it was. Also you release Growth Hormone during these sessions and makes your body produce GH more fluently during deep sleep.

3)Im making a "Insulin" article, so look out for that soon, basically with your diet, your going to want to use more of a carb cycle approach and be very instinctive on knowing when to cut carbs out of meals and some days even going as low as no carbs, and then having carb up days which take a great amount of maturity and experience to find out when to do it and how much. If you blindly follow a standard bodybuilding diet eating mostly the same foods every single day, you are giving your body some things it doesnt need on that particular hour or day! Your insulin sensitivity literally changes from hour to hour, just like how your body changes from minute to minute! (slight changes) I can't really write out a diet because it will vary from person to person. Best thing I can tell you, is be instinctive and mature, not a meathead.

4)Continue to have super intense sessions in the gym with your basic compound movements only, don't worry about advanced exercises such as cable exercises or other machine movements. (hacks, leg presses, calf machines are ok!) Unless your a 230-300 pound bodybuilder looking to compete then cable exercises wouldnt really benefit you that much, it will most likely just overwork the targeted muscle and not produce much of a anabolic effect, muscle growth isnt complicated, keep the tension around 6-10 reps, sets/failure techniques should be instinctive and applied with your "Current Settings". Nothing fancy builds muscle, just the raw heavy basics. Master the compound movements, once your able to fully stretch and contract the targeted muscle on every single rep thats when you start growing like weeds. It takes a great amount of maturity to do this, most guys don't want to be seen under a bar bench pressing 185 pounds, but hey if thats the weight your chest actually gets stimulated, then you win. (keep in mind, mastering the basic compound lifts will take years, not 1 session, more like 5-10+ years, just when you think you mastered a movement just because you lift a impressive amount of weight, reality hits aka injury, so be smart!)

[Carrnage]

This is good, very logical.

For the asking about fish oil I take 6000mg a day, when I upped my intake I felt much better - just make sure to balance it out with Primrose Oil - omega 6. Otherwise you don't want to kill off all inflammation.

4000mg Fish oil - 3000mg primrose. Your set, go- now- run !

Hmm 4000 seems a bit high! But looks like its working for ya! I personally do about 2000mg.

[Back To Basics]

Hmm 4000 seems a bit high! But looks like its working for ya! I personally do about 2000mg.

I used to hit 3000mg and I tried 6000mg - Much better for me man, all my acne went away and my skin was more moist, more relaxed - It reduces inflammation but when you balance it with omega 6's which Promote inflammation but have excellent properties in them the inflammation isn't enough to mess up your gains. Plus if your not taking Evening Primrose Oil look into it, don't let the "Helps PMS" stuff for women scare you off.

[Back To Basics]

HIIT cardio 2-3 times a week. This style of cardio has been shown to elevate metabolism from 20+ to 40+ hours after exercise, depending on how long your session was an how intense it was. Also you release Growth Hormone during these sessions and makes your body produce GH more fluently during deep sleep.



THIS, guys - Do NOT shy away from HIIT cardio, it is very useful. I used to think "Nah I don't need that, I just need to keep BF down don't need to get fitter" But honestly it is really good when done right at 100% intensity, Carrnage is on point with keeping your metabolism elevated for up to 36-40hours post exercise. The lactic acid stimulates GH and the Adrenaline that is released because of the intensity also stimulates GH release.

I wouldn't do it everyday when cutting - never but once-twice a week for 15 minutes. Than do the rest of your cardio continuous, reap benefits of both.

[G Diesel]

This is one hell of a thread... Awesome contribution, Carrnage.

A lot of knowledge in here. Thanks for sharing your theories and experiences bro.

Peace, G

[Aggression]

5)Don't worry about weight if your looking to get bigger, for example if your doing bench presses and after your last set your chest isnt "fully pumped" up then you obviously didnt train your chest to its potential, instead you let your secondary muscles do most of the work, thats great for "getting your lifts up" aka powerlifting aka ego training but not for bodybuilding.

This is my favorite one. One someone understands this part, their physique will take off.

[Lightnin']

Killer post Carrnage. Very valuable. Can I have your 2 cents on my vitamin/mineral supplementation?

Morning with breakfast: Omega 3/multi vitamin/glucosamine condrotine

Post workout: Animal Pak/6 tabs uniliver

Oh yea, I'm 6 foot 205lbs

Does this look good? More? Less? Thanks in advance buddy.

[Carrnage]

Killer post Carrnage. Very valuable. Can I have your 2 cents on my vitamin/mineral supplementation?

Morning with breakfast: Omega 3/multi vitamin/glucosamine condrotine

Post workout: Animal Pak/6 tabs uniliver

Oh yea, I'm 6 foot 205lbs

Does this look good? More? Less? Thanks in advance buddy.

If you can afford to buy your vitamins and minerals separate that would be awesome, but its not a must. I say this because your body uses up its water soluble vitamins through out the day and uses minerals more efficiently during the night, especially zinc, magnesium.

Try split up your Animal Pak multivitamin 3-4x a day, so itl look something like this

Breakfast- Animal Pak
Post Workout- Animal Pak
Evening meal - Animal Pak

And for your omega 3 fats, take those in with every meal except for your post workout meal. Not only will that keep the calories up, but your energy, fat loss, mood, strength, pumps, joint health, not to mention insulin sensitivity will all be enhanced.

And glucosamine has been shown to have a negative effect on insulin, basically your glucose intake has more of a chance to be stored as fat, id stay away from that.

For your uni-liver, if you want to get something out of that product, id go for 4-6 tabs each meal, unless your protein intake is already ridiculously high like 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight then 2-4 tabs would be optimal!

Oh and if your wondering how to split up your animal pak / multivitamins into multiple meals, just bite the tablet in half or into thirds! Ghetto style! haha!

[Gorilla.]

hey i remember seeing this somewhere, oh yah my message box! haha great stuff here man thanks for helpin me out and now giving it out for everyone else to see

lookin forward to that insulin article!


BY THE WAY: i started lifting this past monday (i lift mon,tues,thurs,sat) and did the 6-10 reps and yah it feels great to have that pump, just feels like i worked harder and did something more and for some reason i can almost feel myself getting stronger when i know my muscles were worked the right way (even though i shouldnt worry about strength) haha

been on fishoil and some realgains protein (anything you have to say about protein?) trying to get my weight up yet too

thanks again man peace

[Solid Dreams]

So you wouldnt take flex?

This is pretty awesome, what do you think about Leucine? I keep reading that it helps protein synthesis and prevents muscle breakdown when you're in a calorie deficient diet.

[Carrnage]

So you wouldnt take flex?

This is pretty awesome, what do you think about Leucine? I keep reading that it helps protein synthesis and prevents muscle breakdown when you're in a calorie deficient diet.

About the glucosamine with negative insulin effects, its very minimal, so its not much to worry about if you do take it, Flex is a great product!

And Leucine triggers protein synthesis higher than any other amino acid, Leucine is in your food just like other amino acids are, and protein in general prevents muscle breakdown when your in a calorie deficient diet, supplementing with Leucine/BCAA's wouldnt be a bad idea offseason or pre contest if ya ask me!

[Carrnage]

hey i remember seeing this somewhere, oh yah my message box! haha great stuff here man thanks for helpin me out and now giving it out for everyone else to see

lookin forward to that insulin article!


BY THE WAY: i started lifting this past monday (i lift mon,tues,thurs,sat) and did the 6-10 reps and yah it feels great to have that pump, just feels like i worked harder and did something more and for some reason i can almost feel myself getting stronger when i know my muscles were worked the right way (even though i shouldnt worry about strength) haha

been on fishoil and some realgains protein (anything you have to say about protein?) trying to get my weight up yet too

thanks again man peace

Man the feedback im getting from this "sample article" is amazing! Thank you guys so much, this little article was actually just a "response messedge" to my fellow "soon to be monster" friend Gorilla!

I want to make this insulin article a quality one, give me time Jabroni's!

And anything I have to say about protein? Well....

If your like me and you do HIIT cardio on top of very high volume training 1.2-1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass, so your amino acid pool will have plenty of amino's ready for usage! Supplementing with Leucine, training super intense insures that your protein synthesis will be ramped up, I say that because majority of people literally force feed them selves 1.5-2.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass, THAT IS ALOT! Natural or not! Finding ways to increase protein synthesis throughout the day is something every athlete should strive for! If your protein synthesis isnt triggered optimally, your just wasting majority of that protein not to mention your hard earned cash!

[Gorilla.]

Man the feedback im getting from this "sample article" is amazing! Thank you guys so much, this little article was actually just a "response messedge" to my fellow "soon to be monster" friend Gorilla!

I want to make this insulin article a quality one, give me time Jabroni's!

And anything I have to say about protein? Well....

If your like me and you do HIIT cardio on top of very high volume training 1.2-1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass, so your amino acid pool will have plenty of amino's ready for usage! Supplementing with Leucine, training super intense insures that your protein synthesis will be ramped up, I say that because majority of people literally force feed them selves 1.5-2.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass, THAT IS ALOT! Natural or not! Finding ways to increase protein synthesis throughout the day is something every athlete should strive for! If your protein synthesis isnt triggered optimally, your just wasting majority of that protein not to mention your hard earned cash!

what kind of products have leucine? or is it its own

[Carrnage]

what kind of products have leucine? or is it its own

BCAA's my friend.

You can buy Leucine separate aswell, and dont forget Leucine is in your food aswell, just not much of it. (beef,chicken,fish,whey protein,dairy products have a good amount of leucine but good luck digesting dairy!)

BCAA stack by Universal is a monster product!

[solomon_caine]

are there any products I can find lycopene in...I had a feeling it's against the LAW to put ketchup in your eggs...

[JasonG]

Great read Carnage.

[Kowboy]

Great article man, this is a lot of good information. I am really struggling with the diet and eating shit food here and there. i do great at work and when I get home its a whole different ballgame. I am working to fix it and I am a lot better then I use to be. I have some questions, I am doing a kick ass 531 lifting program that is getting me some really good numbers lifting. I am 6'5" about 280 right now (probably 23 - 25% bf). I want to lose the gut and drop the fat. What kind of HIIT rotations are the best? Full out sprint for 30s, distance or what?

Also, this is my supplement stack I just started. I am not losing much weight at all and it is frustrating that a year later I am the same weight. I do have a some more mass but not enough to be the same weight. I would just like some diet/supplement advice.

Morning: 2 fish oil pills, 1 uniliver, 1 animal pak
each meal 2 fish oil, 1 uniliver (I am working up to 3 unilivers per meal)
The fish oil is from walmart and it is the fish/flax/borage oil mix
Pre Workout: nothing, considering Rage
Intra: EAA drink mix from Universal
Post: Torrent Green Apple (based on a recent injury and it having creatine I will have to quit this one)

I do try to do a protein shake w/ oatmeal each workout morning as my first meal. I am doing a chicken breast and veggies for the 2nd and 3rd meal and the 4th is usually a meat and veggies.

Again, this was an incredible article and I hope that I can only gain 20% as much knowledge as you have and I think I will be better off.

[Solid Dreams]

Most HIIT is 30 seconds full out sprint, then a minute to recover. You want to do 15 minutes of that, no more than 20.

Since I know you have shin issues, you can do it on the bike or the elliptical if that helps.

[Lightnin']

If you can afford to buy your vitamins and minerals separate that would be awesome, but its not a must. I say this because your body uses up its water soluble vitamins through out the day and uses minerals more efficiently during the night, especially zinc, magnesium.

Try split up your Animal Pak multivitamin 3-4x a day, so itl look something like this

Breakfast- Animal Pak
Post Workout- Animal Pak
Evening meal - Animal Pak

And for your omega 3 fats, take those in with every meal except for your post workout meal. Not only will that keep the calories up, but your energy, fat loss, mood, strength, pumps, joint health, not to mention insulin sensitivity will all be enhanced.

And glucosamine has been shown to have a negative effect on insulin, basically your glucose intake has more of a chance to be stored as fat, id stay away from that.

For your uni-liver, if you want to get something out of that product, id go for 4-6 tabs each meal, unless your protein intake is already ridiculously high like 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight then 2-4 tabs would be optimal!

Oh and if your wondering how to split up your animal pak / multivitamins into multiple meals, just bite the tablet in half or into thirds! Ghetto style! haha!

Thanks! So to sum it up bsically take your vitamin/mineral/Omega/Uni-liver with every meal or at least 3 meals a day. If not you are missing your window!

[Kowboy]

Most HIIT is 30 seconds full out sprint, then a minute to recover. You want to do 15 minutes of that, no more than 20.

Since I know you have shin issues, you can do it on the bike or the elliptical if that helps.

Probably the bike, my long legs and sprinting on an elliptical are just ugly lol. I wont have the shin issues forever so I cannot wait to get back at the hill sprints.

[Carrnage]

are there any products I can find lycopene in...I had a feeling it's against the LAW to put ketchup in your eggs...

Bam!

http://supplementdirect.com/search.aspx?find=lycopene

[Carrnage]

Thanks! So to sum it up bsically take your vitamin/mineral/Omega/Uni-liver with every meal or at least 3 meals a day. If not you are missing your window!

Pretty much, your vitamins come and go, supplementing them through out the day ensures your body functions properly towards your goals.

[Lightnin']

Pretty much, your vitamins come and go, supplementing them through out the day ensures your body functions properly towards your goals.

Any danger of taking too much?

Here's my plan.

Morning-Multi/Omega 3/Uniliver
Post workout-Animal Pak/Animal Omega/Uniliver
Evening-Multi/Omega 3/Uniliver

[Carrnage]

Great article man, this is a lot of good information. I am really struggling with the diet and eating shit food here and there. i do great at work and when I get home its a whole different ballgame. I am working to fix it and I am a lot better then I use to be. I have some questions, I am doing a kick ass 531 lifting program that is getting me some really good numbers lifting. I am 6'5" about 280 right now (probably 23 - 25% bf). I want to lose the gut and drop the fat. What kind of HIIT rotations are the best? Full out sprint for 30s, distance or what?

Also, this is my supplement stack I just started. I am not losing much weight at all and it is frustrating that a year later I am the same weight. I do have a some more mass but not enough to be the same weight. I would just like some diet/supplement advice.

Morning: 2 fish oil pills, 1 uniliver, 1 animal pak
each meal 2 fish oil, 1 uniliver (I am working up to 3 unilivers per meal)
The fish oil is from walmart and it is the fish/flax/borage oil mix
Pre Workout: nothing, considering Rage
Intra: EAA drink mix from Universal
Post: Torrent Green Apple (based on a recent injury and it having creatine I will have to quit this one)

I do try to do a protein shake w/ oatmeal each workout morning as my first meal. I am doing a chicken breast and veggies for the 2nd and 3rd meal and the 4th is usually a meat and veggies.

Again, this was an incredible article and I hope that I can only gain 20% as much knowledge as you have and I think I will be better off.

Drop the processed / gluten foods! That will make a huge difference. Have atleast 2-3 meals with green leafy veggies to help alkaline your body. Having your body more on the alkaline side will help your body be more metabolically active, fat burning will be so much easier! For fat loss, HIIT cardio I feel works best, there is really no best rotations, it depends on your cardiovascular shape, if your really really out of shape, 8-10 mins may be enough for you until your cardiovascular shape builds up, then up the duration. Personally 12-15 mins is enough for me, maybe 30-45 sec sprints, 45-70 sec rest periods, it all depends on your cardiovascular shape. Before every session remember to warm up properly, and get your heart rate up. For me, a few mins of yoga stretches and a couple mins of sprints warms me up and gets my heart rate up. Very important!

Alright for fat loss / steady muscle growth--

Breakfast- Vitamins (a/c/b's/d/e/k) Green Tea Extract, Cinnamon Extract, Alpha Lipoic Acid
Post Workout- Vitamins ^^^^^^^^ , Karbolyn or Vitargo or Waxy Maize, BCAA Stack, EAA stack
Evening meal- Vitamins ^^^^^^^^, minerals, especially calcium, and zinc/magnesium before bed on a empty stomach
With every meal except those meals ^^^, take in 1-3 caps your fish oil complex , 3+ uni-livers , Green Tea Extract, Chromium, Cinnamon Extract
Pre-Workout- If your going to use a heavy stimulant like rage, make sure you buy/use a adrenal support supplement, we live in the era of stimulants, if your adrenal glands are fatigued you won't be building muscle or losing fat at a efficient rate.
Intra Workout- Bcaa's, Eaa's, Karbolyn or Vitargo or Waxy Maize, yes even when trying to drop fat, spiking your insulin during "INTENSE TRAINING" will benefit you. If your not training that intense with very low amounts of volume, forget about spking your insulin then, it will just have more of a chance of getting stored as fat. Your doing 5/3/1? Yes technically, if your pushing heavy weight and grunting that can be considered "intense", but in reality, its NOT! Training with high amounts of volume, lots of sets, reps, short rest periods will deplete your fuel tank very quickly, so if your doing something like 5/3/1 / low volume training forget the insulin spike!

[Carrnage]

Any danger of taking too much?

Here's my plan.

Morning-Multi/Omega 3/Uniliver
Post workout-Animal Pak/Animal Omega/Uniliver
Evening-Multi/Omega 3/Uniliver

Your multi in your morning/evening meal is Animal Pak aswell right?

The amounts in Animal Pak isnt nearly enough vitamin c,e,d,b's your body actually needs to optimal output, so no worries.

[Solid Dreams]

What's the best source for budget people for something like karbolyn etc?

Also, kre-alkyln or whatever it is. Does it actually prevent the bloat like it claims or is it full of it?

[Lightnin']

Your multi in your morning/evening meal is Animal Pak aswell right?

The amounts in Animal Pak isnt nearly enough vitamin c,e,d,b's your body actually needs to optimal output, so no worries.

No, the multi in the morning/eveninig is just an over the counter from the grocery. Probably close to a centrum.

[Kowboy]

Drop the processed / gluten foods! That will make a huge difference. Have atleast 2-3 meals with green leafy veggies to help alkaline your body. Having your body more on the alkaline side will help your body be more metabolically active, fat burning will be so much easier! For fat loss, HIIT cardio I feel works best, there is really no best rotations, it depends on your cardiovascular shape, if your really really out of shape, 8-10 mins may be enough for you until your cardiovascular shape builds up, then up the duration. Personally 12-15 mins is enough for me, maybe 30-45 sec sprints, 45-70 sec rest periods, it all depends on your cardiovascular shape. Before every session remember to warm up properly, and get your heart rate up. For me, a few mins of yoga stretches and a couple mins of sprints warms me up and gets my heart rate up. Very important!

Alright for fat loss / steady muscle growth--

Breakfast- Vitamins (a/c/b's/d/e/k) Green Tea Extract, Cinnamon Extract, Alpha Lipoic Acid
Post Workout- Vitamins ^^^^^^^^ , Karbolyn or Vitargo or Waxy Maize, BCAA Stack, EAA stack
Evening meal- Vitamins ^^^^^^^^, minerals, especially calcium, and zinc/magnesium before bed on a empty stomach
With every meal except those meals ^^^, take in 1-3 caps your fish oil complex , 3+ uni-livers , Green Tea Extract, Chromium, Cinnamon Extract
Pre-Workout- If your going to use a heavy stimulant like rage, make sure you buy/use a adrenal support supplement, we live in the era of stimulants, if your adrenal glands are fatigued you won't be building muscle or losing fat at a efficient rate.
Intra Workout- Bcaa's, Eaa's, Karbolyn or Vitargo or Waxy Maize, yes even when trying to drop fat, spiking your insulin during "INTENSE TRAINING" will benefit you. If your not training that intense with very low amounts of volume, forget about spking your insulin then, it will just have more of a chance of getting stored as fat. Your doing 5/3/1? Yes technically, if your pushing heavy weight and grunting that can be considered "intense", but in reality, its NOT! Training with high amounts of volume, lots of sets, reps, short rest periods will deplete your fuel tank very quickly, so if your doing something like 5/3/1 / low volume training forget the insulin spike!

When you say processed/gluten foods what do you mean? Should I just stick w/ chicken/fish and then fresh vegetables? Do the frozen vegetables work? I have to work w/ a very tight budget lol.
What do you recommended to get in the vitamins? From what you are saying I need to take this vitamin stack as prescribed and on every meal but breakfast and dinner I need to take in my fish oil, uniliver etc?
I don’t have an issue of not taking a pre-workout stimulant. How can you tell if your adrenal glands are fatigued ? I have never taking anything like rage or what not pre-workout.
With the 5/3/1 I am going to add in the boring but big exercises as well which will give me 5 sets of 10 after the initial 5/3/1 set. I just feel like I am not getting enough volume w/ the current plan. What kind of workouts would you suggest?

[Carrnage]

No, the multi in the morning/eveninig is just an over the counter from the grocery. Probably close to a centrum.

DON'T TAKE THAT CRAP! Your just putting a bunch of shit into your body, don't go for the cheap grocery store supplements, theres a reason why its there and why its cheap! lol Go for quality brands, like Universal, NOW Foods, Gaspari, etc...

[Carrnage]

When you say processed/gluten foods what do you mean? Should I just stick w/ chicken/fish and then fresh vegetables? Do the frozen vegetables work? I have to work w/ a very tight budget lol.
What do you recommended to get in the vitamins? From what you are saying I need to take this vitamin stack as prescribed and on every meal but breakfast and dinner I need to take in my fish oil, uniliver etc?
I don’t have an issue of not taking a pre-workout stimulant. How can you tell if your adrenal glands are fatigued ? I have never taking anything like rage or what not pre-workout.
With the 5/3/1 I am going to add in the boring but big exercises as well which will give me 5 sets of 10 after the initial 5/3/1 set. I just feel like I am not getting enough volume w/ the current plan. What kind of workouts would you suggest?

Procseed foods, is basically anything boxed! Anything with ingredients that you have 2 words in it, ingredient that you have no wonder what they are!

Chicken/fish/fresh veggies are the way to go!

For vitamins, it doesnt really matter too much what time you take them, just keep in mind your water soluable vitamins will quickly get used up, so re-filling yourself with nutrients is a must for any athelete. The guideline I made to take your vitamins is just a example, fix it according to your schedule.

For adrenal health, go to this website and read everything. -- http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/

If you add more volume to the 5/3/1 then you arnt doing 5/3/1 anymore.

[Carrnage]

Found this by Elliot Hulse, he has a youtube series, if you ever watch one of his videos its instant motivation. Things you would not here from the average thinker. He sent me this earlier today.....

"The brain at rest uses 60% of the body's energy. Thus, anything
less than tranquility is disastrous to the bodybuilder.

Overnight muscle loss takes place when a mental problem is
encountered which upsets ones normal outlook.

Excess concern regarding your workouts, diet, and conditions in
your life can also place a drain on your tranquility.

Such thoughts, given too much of your energy, are sure to result in
less or no physical gains. Stop worrying. Choose a course of action
and follow through.

Champions turn it off when they leave the gym. They are also not
worriers and have a positive outlook."

Basically Gironda is telling us that in order to become a "Champion" of
muscle building, we had better chill out!

There are dozens of fancy physiological reasons why you should
take a Stress Free approach to your life and training.... but its also
just as simple as Vince Girdona describes above.

Too much worry will put a stop to physical gains!

With the fast pace that we live with today it almost seems impossible
to slow down and allow your muscle the time and energy to grow.

[Kowboy]

Procseed foods, is basically anything boxed! Anything with ingredients that you have 2 words in it, ingredient that you have no wonder what they are!

Chicken/fish/fresh veggies are the way to go!

For vitamins, it doesnt really matter too much what time you take them, just keep in mind your water soluable vitamins will quickly get used up, so re-filling yourself with nutrients is a must for any athelete. The guideline I made to take your vitamins is just a example, fix it according to your schedule.

For adrenal health, go to this website and read everything. -- http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/

If you add more volume to the 5/3/1 then you arnt doing 5/3/1 anymore.

The boring but big suggestion is to do the 5 x 10 of the main exercise at about 60% I think. What kind of plan should I look at after this that may be of a higher intensity? Also, is 1 animal pak a day good? I doubt I could afford much more. The basic vitamins do they sell as a grouped supplement or would I have to get them individually? I am brand new to this.

[Carrnage]

The boring but big suggestion is to do the 5 x 10 of the main exercise at about 60% I think. What kind of plan should I look at after this that may be of a higher intensity? Also, is 1 animal pak a day good? I doubt I could afford much more. The basic vitamins do they sell as a grouped supplement or would I have to get them individually? I am brand new to this.

Wait 5/3/1 has a 5x10 in it? I thought it was just very low reps? Havent looked at that plan in years

2 animal paks, especially for someone like you that doesnt eat organic fruits and veggies, if you cant afford that look for ADAM mens multi by NOW, go on supplement direct.com, the price aint too bad either, and just as good!

You can buy a multi or split up the vitamins, splitting everything up will cost you more, id just stick with the multi for now.

[Kowboy]

Yeah, I dont have the file on me but I believe there are 3 different assistance plans you can use. I am getting some good gains from the program but in my chest I am not getting that sore anymore and this is after getting 11 or 12 reps on the final set so I need to amp up the volume.

[Solid Dreams]

Yeah, I dont have the file on me but I believe there are 3 different assistance plans you can use. I am getting some good gains from the program but in my chest I am not getting that sore anymore and this is after getting 11 or 12 reps on the final set so I need to amp up the volume.

Its not necessarily the amount of reps that you do that makes you sore, but MMC/resistance/technique. Try slowing down the reps and really focusing on what your chest is doing and you'll get that soreness.

[Kowboy]

Ok, I will make sure to do that come this week. This week I am using the 235 again, last time I got 13 so hopefully I am on par w/ that. Should I be shooting for above the nipples to get the most size gains?

[Back To Basics]

Ok, I will make sure to do that come this week. This week I am using the 235 again, last time I got 13 so hopefully I am on par w/ that. Should I be shooting for above the nipples to get the most size gains?

You'll get the most size gains when you stop asking other people how to grow YOUR body.

See for yourself, there's no secret magical techniques. If you feel it in your chest pressing to your damn belly button than do it, just listen to your body. I sound like a dick but I'm just trying to get the point across that no one else knows you better than you.

[Carrnage]

Its not necessarily the amount of reps that you do that makes you sore, but MMC/resistance/technique. Try slowing down the reps and really focusing on what your chest is doing and you'll get that soreness.

Yeah buddy to that!!!

And dont forget to keep shoulders down! Like your depressed. And dont worry about how much weight you lift, thats the number one way to get distracted not to mention injured! Yikes!!

[Carrnage]

Ok, I will make sure to do that come this week. This week I am using the 235 again, last time I got 13 so hopefully I am on par w/ that. Should I be shooting for above the nipples to get the most size gains?

Wait your worrying about size and worrying about a number at the same time?!!? Lower that weight down to 185 and keep your shoulders down (depressed), slightly arched back, squeeze shoulder blades and lats on the negative (the way down), keep the negative controlled, it doesnt have to be super slow, but controlled, how do you know if your actually controlling the weight with your mind and muscle? Your pec should be stretching, similar feel as if you were doing a fly exercise, and as you go up squeeze your pecs, if your doing barbells on the negative and positive try to bring your hands together, the thing is your hands cant come togethere, instead your pecs will be activated!

And shooting for above your nipples to get the most size gains? Look, the point of bench pressing is to feel it in your pecs, dont worry how your form looks in the mirror or how far your going down or up, mentally/neurologically feel your pecs working, this will take months/years to master for the average person. Dont worry about how much your lifting, I gurantee, your chest can barely handle 155 pounds for 8-10 reps using 100 percent pectoral involvement. One of my friends thought he was a hot shot bench pressing 275 for 6-8 with form that looked "good" in the mirror, as he went all the way up and down, most would call it perfect form, but in reality his chest wasnt getting stimulated, his secondary muscles were pushing up the weight, so over time I taught him how to press with his chest for optimal growth, and once he started learning how to press with his chest he could barely use 185 for 7 reps! Yeah it sucks going balls out intensity without pretty weight, but the results are amazing and worth it!

[solomon_caine]

Bam!

http://supplementdirect.com/search.aspx?find=lycopene



now i know where to look. thanks, man!

[Kowboy]

You'll get the most size gains when you stop asking other people how to grow YOUR body.

See for yourself, there's no secret magical techniques. If you feel it in your chest pressing to your damn belly button than do it, just listen to your body. I sound like a dick but I'm just trying to get the point across that no one else knows you better than you.

I know what you are saying but how does one learn if they dont ask questions? I know everyone is different but I prefer to be armed with the right tools and knowledge prior to wasting years in the gym. I think I am doing something wrong as I am still pudgy (I know its the diet) and I have some slight differences in my arms, shoulders but none in my chest. I am 6'5" and have long muscles and I think that plays in to it. I just want to pick the brains of those that know more than me.

[Lifting_Is_Life]

I know what you are saying but how does one learn if they dont ask questions? I know everyone is different but I prefer to be armed with the right tools and knowledge prior to wasting years in the gym. I think I am doing something wrong as I am still pudgy (I know its the diet) and I have some slight differences in my arms, shoulders but none in my chest. I am 6'5" and have long muscles and I think that plays in to it. I just want to pick the brains of those that know more than me.

This is a sport of experience. Obviously there is some scientific background we all look into, especially the dietary portions of our lifestyle. But bodybuilding is known as a lifestyle because just to get to a certain physique of decency, takes years and years. That's the time it takes to learn your body, master techniques, know what foods work for you best etc etc. Hell, you may NEVER learn how to master certain techniques, or how to activate that proper muscle group on an exercise, trial and error is your friend in bodybuilding...as long as you are doing so with some kind of decent form so you don't fuck up your ligaments/joints/tendons.

[Solid Dreams]

This is a sport of experience. Obviously there is some scientific background we all look into, especially the dietary portions of our lifestyle. But bodybuilding is known as a lifestyle because just to get to a certain physique of decency, takes years and years. That's the time it takes to learn your body, master techniques, know what foods work for you best etc etc. Hell, you may NEVER learn how to master certain techniques, or how to activate that proper muscle group on an exercise, trial and error is your friend in bodybuilding...as long as you are doing so with some kind of decent form so you don't fuck up your ligaments/joints/tendons.

This right here is the hardest lesson to learn, as well. I want it now dammit, not 10 years down the road. But if you blow yourself out now, you'll never reach that coveted status of "holy shit, look at that monster!"

[Carrnage]

bump!

[Tiger]

Found this by Elliot Hulse, he has a youtube series, if you ever watch one of his videos its instant motivation. Things you would not here from the average thinker. He sent me this earlier today.....

"The brain at rest uses 60% of the body's energy. Thus, anything
less than tranquility is disastrous to the bodybuilder.

Overnight muscle loss takes place when a mental problem is
encountered which upsets ones normal outlook.

Excess concern regarding your workouts, diet, and conditions in
your life can also place a drain on your tranquility.

Such thoughts, given too much of your energy, are sure to result in
less or no physical gains. Stop worrying. Choose a course of action
and follow through.

Champions turn it off when they leave the gym. They are also not
worriers and have a positive outlook."

Basically Gironda is telling us that in order to become a "Champion" of
muscle building, we had better chill out!

There are dozens of fancy physiological reasons why you should
take a Stress Free approach to your life and training.... but its also
just as simple as Vince Girdona describes above.

Too much worry will put a stop to physical gains!

With the fast pace that we live with today it almost seems impossible
to slow down and allow your muscle the time and energy to grow.


Vince Gironda knew his shit!

[Carrnage]

Vince Gironda knew his shit!

Sorta