body shocking

[tigerboo]

I was on a cruise a couple weeks ago and I was talking to a bodybuilder who told me how he gained 35 lbs. of muscle in a year. He started of at 165 and when I met him was 205 lbs. He told me the way he did it was by alternating his diet from a bulk to a cut every two weeks. He said he'd eat 3500 calories a day for two weeks, then cut to 1800 calories for two weeks.

He told me this "shocks" the body, and when the body gets used to the bulk, then you start cutting. Then he said once your body starts adjusting to the cut and starts stripping off muscle instead of fat you start bulking. He said two weeks was the optimum time to do this.

Anyone have any suggestions or think I should try this?

 

[ponyboy]

Did he mention any "supplements" he was on as well?

 

[tigerboo]

he said he was on creatine, glutamine, multivitamins, magnesium and zinc

 

[Par Deus]

It is not so much that it shocks the body, as it is that such an approach keeps the metabolic state of the cell fairly optimized -- I've been recommending this, as a better approach to the typical longer bulk/cut cycles for a couple years, now.

 

[Shmoo]

This may be the diet he was on http://www.musclemedia.com/training/abcde/v58_abc1.asp

 

[tigerboo]

i think i may have to try this....thanks for the arcticle!!!

 

[naturalguy]

Originally posted by tigerboo
I was on a cruise a couple weeks ago and I was talking to a bodybuilder who told me how he gained 35 lbs. of muscle in a year. He started of at 165 and when I met him was 205 lbs. He told me the way he did it was by alternating his diet from a bulk to a cut every two weeks. He said he'd eat 3500 calories a day for two weeks, then cut to 1800 calories for two weeks.

He told me this "shocks" the body, and when the body gets used to the bulk, then you start cutting. Then he said once your body starts adjusting to the cut and starts stripping off muscle instead of fat you start bulking. He said two weeks was the optimum time to do this.

Anyone have any suggestions or think I should try this?

If you are looking to build maximum muscle then it would be not be a good idea to eat below mainenance calories as that would be counterproductive. You have to decide what your goal is and what is more important, to build muscle or lose fat?

 

[Jodi]

Re: Re: body shocking

Originally posted by naturalguy
If you are looking to build maximum muscle then it would be not be a good idea to eat below mainenance calories as that would be counterproductive. You have to decide what your goal is and what is more important, to build muscle or lose fat?

Tigerboo, I agree with naturalguy with this statement to a point. You can successfully put on muscle while in a caloric defecit. Its not optimal and its takes longer but alas it still can be done. This I know firsthand

 

[hardasnails1973]

i use this offseason and it worked very well
week 1-5
training days 20-22 time body weight
non training days about 17 time body weight

week 6-8
training days 15- 16 x bw protein stays at 2 times body weight
non trainng days 14x bw

then repeat
and increase caloires by 5-10% next phase to sustain new muscle created