petefox’s Sick Purpose!

Everywhere I look, there’s a new training principle/technique/rep scheme that everyone’s growing on, even that guy on the HaloMethylHydroxyTestaInsulotropicCissusDrol that still weighs 170lbs.. Some styles been around for years, others maybe less but with an impressive record for results.. Some are high rep, high volume, low volume, moderate weight, low rep, high intensity, full-on failure inducing excuses to over-train.. I gotta hand it to the guys who make this up, you want a sure way to remain in some sort of limelight, come up with a training scheme that’ll make even the hardest gainer put on some meat, hopefully he decides to eat the way he should for it to work..

I for one am lazy, never motivated, never organized, laid-back, indifferent, and constantly tired of everything.. See, not everyone can have this attitude, and build a physique like I did.. Here’s the fun part: I DO NOT have a set routine to follow on a constant basis! Strange, eh? Not to me! Like I said, not being motivated enough has forced me to the conclusion that either:

• I get a training partner to kick my ass in gear, and we bang out a routine weekly until we can no longer grow
• Quit working out, besides Burger King is alot closer than my gym.
• Train alone, no distractions, and most importantly NO ROUTINE!

Guess which one I picked.. No, the last one! The last routine I followed was when I started lifting at the age of 14, it was a simple training split.. Bench, deadlift, squat, and the next week we’d alternate.. This went on for the first 9 months, then I added Military Press to the fun.. I didn’t work any smaller parts until I was 16yrs old.. My lack-of routine these days rotates every week, and I take off a week at the end of the month to recuperate and fill on lean protein.. I never do the same not-a-routine twice, since I never write things down I can pretty much remember what I did a week ago, exercises and reps even weight.. I do lots of different exercises, many of the bench-biceps crowd find it odd that I rarely do flat bench for chest, or barbell curls for biceps.. Then again, they’re still small..

Yes, high-reps and low volume, 5×5, GVT, DoggCrapp, Yates and Mentzer’s ideas all mashed into my need to be stubborn.. No, I never look in Ahnold’s book for advice since most of what he learned was from everyone else anyway.. I use rest-pause, blood volume, giant sets, drop sets, creatine, er, nevermind…

One day when my insomnia prevails, I may even map out my not-a-routine..

3. Calories in should be less than calories out.. In reverse, you should burn more calories than you eat.. I read on another board a guy was "cutting" at 1500 calories.. If I eat that little in a day, shoot me! Do you think muscle can survive without nourishment? Sacrificing muscle to see your (amino deficient) abs shouldn’t be the goal.. Saving as much muscle while allowing your metabolism to burn off as much fat as possible is the one thing we want..

Very simple and easy, yet it’s the main area we tend to screw up.. Yes, we as in myself included.. It’s fairly easy for me to look pretty full and dense one day, then flat and not-so-full the next.. I’m sure this has happened to many, and hopefully it doesn’t happen while getting in competitive mode.. Talk about a mental screw job!

Macronutrients: Protein, carbohydrates, and fats are the main nutrients the body uses for many processes.. Hormonal production, lots of metabolic fun takes place when you get the right amount of nutrients in.. Now the question, "What’s the right amounts of these nutrients?"

First off, you’ll have to figure out your resting metabolic rate (RMR).. This is the indicator for how much calories your body will burn at rest.. There are afew ways to measure your RMR, a simple (not really) mathematic formula:

The Harris-Benedict equations

The original equations from Harris and Benedict are:

* for men, 66.4730 + (13.7516 * w) + (5.0033 * s) ˆ’ (6.7550 * a)
* for women, 655.0955 + (9.5634 * w) + (1.8496 * s) ˆ’ (4.6756 * a) >

where w = weight in kilograms, s = stature in centimeters, and a = age in years.

Take the number you end up with and multiply by the number in your level:

* Sedentary: (little or no exercise): BMR x 1.2 * Light activity: (moderate exercise or sports 1 to 3 days per week): BMR x 1.375 * Moderate activity: (moderate exercise or sports 3 to 5 days per week): BMR x 1.55 * Very active: (hard exercise or sports 6 to 7 days per week): BMR x 1.725 * Extremely active: (very hard exercise or sports and a physical job, activity or training 2 times per day): BMR x 1.9

Now knowing what your body needs, you may be thinking you don’t get that much in.. No problem, eat more! Just be carefull on how many extra calories you get from sugars (read about glucose management) and keep fat and carbs seperate..
Of course the usual 6 meals every 2-3hrs is gospel.. Constant feeding keeps the body from storing too much as excess, and your metabolism stays up and running.. Just a matter of where you get the nutrients, and the set amounts of each in every meal.. Due to the practice of carb-cycling, I won’t get into the eating structure at this time.. It seems to be way too non-linear for another cookie-cutter
idea about staying lean, and trends change way too often!

Basic answer: whether you’re leaning out or bulking up, burn those extra cals with cardio, and step up the amino acid intake..

1. Like I said in my last statement, insulin can make or break your fat-burning.. Ever have "that last few inches" you try to get rid of, only for it to taunt your efforts? Glucose, my friend, manage glucose.. Even if you’re on a low-carb type of eating program, proper nutrient partitioning is key for the spikes in insulin that may occur even with the low glycemic foods..

Proper nutrient partitioning can excellerate your fatburning needs, and help with building lean mass at the same time.. Noticed how insulin was the rage real quick? It pumps everything into muscles fast, yet still causes fat gain.. Even if you keep fats away from carbs when you eat, it’s bound to happen..

Let’s get aquainted with two of our hormones that are a part of the nutrient partitioning mechanism..

1) INSULIN: Both anabolic and hyperlipidemic, insulin is the main mover and shaker of nutrients.. Muscles must be sensitive to insulin to allow the partitioning to work.. Amino acids are also shuttled into muscle and fat stores.. Once in muscle, glucose becomes glycogen and glycogen synthesis takes place.. Insulin prevents protein breakdown, blocks gluconeogenesis, and sadly stops lipolysis.. Lipolysis is the breakdown of fat cell lipids into fatty acids that enter the blood to be burned by other organs..

2) GLUCAGON: Kind of insulin’s helper.. Increased glucagon is due to low blood sugar, increased amino concentration in the blood, and elevated epinephrine/norepinephrine.. When insulin levels spike, glucagon levels drop.. Glucagon goes up of couse when insulin is absent, and the others I’ve listed previously.. Glucagon helps the body adjust before hypoglycemia sets in by forcing the liver to release glycogen..

And this all applies how? Easy! First off, glucagon is part of a fun little system of reactions after receptor activation that results in cAMP production.. Can’t be too bad, some fatburners these days add cyclic adenosine monophosphate.. cAMP causes glycogenolysis (glycogen becomes readily burned glucose), and helps with many other functions in the cell membrane.. Balancing insulin and glucagon can keep fat storage down, blood glucose stable, and energy production high..

How do you do it? Also simple! Complex Carbs are your best bet.. Steady stream of glucose in the blood keeps both hormones level.. On top of eating complex carbs, to optimize sensitivity there are many good supplements on the market to help out..

Alpha Lipoic Acid: Thiotic acid is considered the universal antioxidant, it has th eability to recycle other antioxidants.. It also mimicks insulin by forcing glucose into tissues, including fat.. Good to use when trying to achieve ketosis, or when you wanna fill out abit from low-carbing for awhile.

Fenugreek: These seeds contain 4OH-Isoleucine, a very potent amino hybrid that also mimicks insulin quite well.. It’s a shame no company has a good 4OH Isoleucine product anymore, EAS had InsuLoad which worked very well.. I’m not certain if it has fat-storing properties, I leaned out when using it so that should mean something..

Banaba Leaf: This herb contains corosolic acid, very good at lowering glucose, and too much can give you loose stools if you’re not used to it..

Cinnamon : Even eating cinnamon is good for overall well-being.. Cinnulin PF is the trademarked extract on the market.. There’s a couple companis that use the Supercritical extract, which has a higher concentration of actives without using alcohols that destroy a percent of them..

Truthfully, many herbal products on the market would be good to add to a weight-loss regimen.. Best thing to do is pick one or a combo of these, and try to figure out a good dose for your needs.. Some may need 300mg cinnamon with 250mg R-ala to get the same effect as someone who uses 500mg R-ala with 250mg fenugreek..

Sometimes I read forum after forum wondering,"Do any of these guys actually lift?" "Do they just take product xyz, and what happened to the 30lbs they gained on product abc last month?" I sometimes don’t do logs online simply because my training is my business.. I’m no the least bit shy, I’ve posted many a pic over the years, and have met some of the more popular forum members in person.. But, enough about me..

Why do diets fail? Because we’re conditioned to believe that a "diet" is suffering through salads and tuna.. Plenty of misconceptions about when/how to use a fatburner, calorie intake, use of multivitamins and/or antioxidants.. Alot of guys/girls still don’t realize insulin is the maker or breaker of your diet sucess..

The 3 main things to keep in mind while leaning out:

1. Like I said in my last statement, insulin can make or break your fat-burning.. Ever have "that last few inches" you try to get rid of, only for it to taunt your efforts? Glucose, my friend, manage glucose.. Even if you’re on a low-carb type of eating program, proper nutrient partitioning is key for the spikes in insulin that may occur even with the low glycemic foods..

2. If you don’t take any antioxidants, you really should start.. Besides just being damn good for you, they absorb free radicals in the bloodstream.. Not to mention (and this is the simple science) your body stores toxins and free radicals in the FAT! As a defense mechanism, fat will not be released to be burned UNLESS there are enough antioxidants to combat the toxins built up.. Some may seem to think otherwise, but anyone who’s had a deep tissue massage knows you feel like crap afterwards due to the toxins being forced out into the bloodstream..

3. Calories in should be less than calories out.. In reverse, you should burn more calories than you eat.. I read on another board a guy was "cutting" at 1500 calories.. If I eat that little in a day, shoot me! Do you think muscle can survive without nourishment? Sacrificing muscle to see your (amino deficient) abs shouldn’t be the goal.. Saving as much muscle while allowing your metabolism to burn off as much fat as possible is the one thing we want..

That’s a good start, very basic and easy to do.. Next time I have an insomnia-infused idea to type out, I’ll put all 3 together in a plan to give an idea how it’ll work..