Food = Energy
Calorie = Measure of amount of energy
So food is broken down into energy and a calorie is a measure of how much energy a food can provide us.
Weight gain and loss is then a result of consuming more or less energy than your body requires to function.
So we have now established what calories actually are and how they determine our weight. What we will now touch on is how you can control this to obtain your goals.
The next element we will analyse is what the different food types (macro nutrients) are, again the groups will probably appear familiar but not always the understanding.
Food is simply broken down into three main groups: protein, carbohydrates and fat.
These different groups link into calories in different ways.
1 gram of either protein or carbohydrate source = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
Therefore you can see the calorie density of fat, but this does not mean it should be feared or avoided on a weight loss programme and even less so on a bulking.
Protein = Protein provides the amino acids which are used to build muscle and repair damage caused during exercise.This is why athletes and weight training individuals place a high emphasis on higher than normal protein intake in their diet. You can train as hard as you like but without providing your body this essential resource to recover you will be wasting a lot of time.
Carbohydrates = This is the body’s preferred and primary choice of energy/fuel. Consumed carbohydrates are processed and converted to glucose, the fuel we use for everything we do.
Carbohydrates probably require the most understanding of the three food groups and we will expand with a simple overview of this. For simplicity sake we will say that carbs fall into slow release (complex carb) and fast acting (simple carb) categories. Your choices of which foods/type of carbohydrate, therefore how fast it impacts on the body’s insulin levels, should be considered tactically.
Simple and fast acting carb sources are best saved for immediate post workout use as this is the best time to create an insulin spike (rise in blood sugar levels) as it replenishes glycogen levels depleted during intense training. Good food choices during this time are sweet fruits or supplements such as dextrose, maltodextrin or waxy maize starch.
Pre Workout a slower (complex) carbohydrate source is better used. Oats are a favourite, wholegrain bread, rice etc. are alternatives.
Elsewhere in the day carbohydrate sources which are rich in fibre are a good choice.
A great resource for educating yourself further on foods and where they sit in terms of complex or simple carb is: http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/gi_diet/glycaemic_index_tables.htm
Fats = Fats form an essential part of a diet, they serve as a backup energy source, contain essential nutrients and play a vital role in regulating core temperature. Fat intake is required for optimal health. Dietary fat provides the essential fatty acids (EFA) that cannot be synthesized in the body.
Your fats should be from natural food choices and an emphasis on unsaturated fats. Great options for this would be:
Lean red meat, Oily Fish, Natural Peanut Butter, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Flaxseeds, Raw Nuts, Eggs, Avocados.
AVOID Trans Fats which are man-made and cannot be processed by the body.
The very simple rule to live by (sorry any Vegetarian or Vegan readers) is only eat food that has not been processed in any way what so ever and is in natural form and if it has not walked, swam or been grown then leave it alone.
Our next article will elaborate and help give some guidelines on how to structure your diet in respect to how much of each food group you might want for achieving your goals.
]]>As with most performance or physique enhancing products some suit better for some goals than others.
So this is a very brief guide/identification process to help assist you in your research, and only based on opinion and feedback as opposed to any actual scientific studies.
Ostarine / MK-2866
This was along with Andarine the first SARM to become publicly known and of interest to bodybuilding.
Osta is probably best used during cutting phases as its strongest characteristic is the preservation of muscle tissue so an attribute particularly suited to a calorie deficit scenario.
For this reason it can be a great choice to stack with a more directly cutting orientated option such as S4 Andarine or GW-510516.
S4 Andarine
This along with GW is probably the most popular cutting choice. Like with Ostarine it was developed as a treatment to prevent muscle waste.If being compared to a traditional anabolic it might resemble Winstrol.
LGD-4033
LGD has shown the most ability of any SARM to put on size that could be considered a bulk. This will, of course, be dependent upon the diet used.
LGD-4033 is expected to produce the therapeutic benefits of testosterone with improved safety, tolerability.
MK-677 / Ibutamoren
Ibutamoren is a non-peptidic, potent, long-acting, orally-active, and selective agonist of the ghrelin receptor and a growth hormone secretagogue, mimicking the growth hormone-stimulating action of the endogenous hormone ghrelin.
This in turn makes it very flexible and able to serve purposes for both gaining and losing goals and always a good stacking option.
GW-510516 / Cardarine
This is commonly regarded as the fat burning SARM and therefore needless to say it is most popular on cutting cycles though there is a possibility it can sit nicely on a bulking cycle too in an effort to restrict fat gain and keep gains leaner.
SR-9009 / Stenabolic
This SARM is very good at boosting metabolic activity making it suitable for cutting, but also as it is reported to offer endurance benefits too can be considered versatile in use depending on ones goals and diet plan.
RAD-140
This SARM is potentially a medical alternative to testosterone therapy in males as it reacts on hormone receptors much in the same way as testosterone and without the documented side effects associated with large dosing of testosterone.Therefore, it would generally be considered as a better fit for bulking cycles and stack well with the likes of LGD-4033.
YK-11
This SARM is known to attach to the androgen receptor and is perhaps best considered as the myostatin inhibiting SARM and makes more follistatin.
It is arguably the most androgenic like SARM and most popular in bulking cycles.
Hopefully this helps in the selection process of where to carry out your research.
For those who think a Post Cycle Therapy for SARMs, ”won’t really be required.”
You’re mistaken.
Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) can be suppressive. Even the milder compounds such as MK-2866 at low dosages can be.
When a compound is suppressive, it will impact your body’s natural testosterone levels and production. Your hormone levels will start to drop significantly.
Symptoms of low hormone levels include reduced libido, fatigue, insomnia, decreased muscle mass, and emotional changes.
As you can imagine, those side effects will lead to poor performance in the gym and the fact that maintaining mass will become more complicated.
To prevent your hormone levels from ending up in the gutter, you will need a post cycle therapy supplement.
By starting a proper Post Cycle Therapy for SARMs, you will be able to sustain the size and strength gains you’ve made.
]]>“What should I run to gain some size and lose a little bit of fat?”
For almost all people wanting fast results or miracles this cannot be achieved simultaneously. The very simplistic reality is that to gain weight you require surplus of calories to your daily requirement to maintain current bodyweight and to lose you need a deficit on this requirement, therefore to expect both to be achievable is somewhat of a contradiction regardless of what supplementation you might attempt.
Some, and very few can get such results based on their makeup and being very in tune with their diet knowing accurately their calorie needs and food sources and what sort of macros are suited to their body but for most there is only disappointment.
The majority of people setting out on some form of supplement cycle and with such visions of sculpting the perfect larger but leaner body end up selling their selves short from maximising results on either goal. They will through fear of further fat gain not eat enough to maximise the muscle gain angle or eat too much or wrongly and further fat gain is inevitable.
Therefore often people that gain some size finish their supplement course and then are desperate to address the unwanted weight gain element and begin cutting calories and sacrificing the new muscle they have developed and basically go round and round like this in full circle never achieving the desired physique.
This scenario is often the one which results in people blaming products for not transforming them or assisting in making progress with their goals.
This is why focussing on one goal is optimal for results – bulk or cut and eat and train to achieve that one single goal.
The unwanted to be heard truth is that as a general rule if you feel you have some body fat you do not wish to have that this is what needs to be addressed before considering bulking. Sorry!
The higher the bodyfat you possess the more your body is accustomed to storing fat and the less visually apparent muscle gained will appear.
The consolation offered if accepting this harsh reality is that you will probably in several weeks’ time have a visual improvement on your starting physique and a far better platform from which to consider bulking/gaining size going forward.
There are some simple recommendations in terms of diet to help with food choice sources and also calorie aims which we will cover in forthcoming articles.
For now, look in the mirror, be honest about what you see and need to do and strive for what you need to do to get to where you want to be as opposed fantasising over where you want to end up and how quickly you can get there,
]]>So having established the roles protein, carbohydrates and fats have in our diet and their functions we will now look to try and determine how much of each you should be aiming for to achieve your physique goals as it is arguably the most important factor.
You will not gain size of note without a calorie surplus and losing weight is 95% diet, exercise is good for cardio health but has very little to do with fat loss, even HIT interval cardio.
Bulking
When looking to increase size you will be presumably training hard and trying to break down muscle tissue and putting an overall strain on your body for repair.
Sufficient protein is required to ensure you can build this muscle, carbohydrates in the right amount to provide the energy necessary and spare the protein from being used in any other way and fat for optimal health.
Assuming you want quality gains then you want to keep the added weight as lean as possible. With this in mind it is advisable to start out on maintenance calories and begin adding from there by 200-300 calories a week, simply by bumping tiny portion increases to 2-3 meals in the day, it will barely be noticeable in terms of visual food.
A rather crude but simple starting point to determine your base calorie needs can be calculated here: https://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/basal-metabolic-rate
Now a good macro nutrient split to provide all the desired intake you need would be to have your calories each day comprise of 30% protein, 40% carbohydrates and 30% fat. We will not got back over good sources and choices again here.
]]>Obviously the cynics will be out for a review of the retailer of a product but those who have had personal contact with us via forums, emails or telephone, will know that we are not the pushy sales type and more enthusiasts trying to make a living from sharing our passion with yours.
Therefore, hopefully most of you will read this open minded J
I have been a terrible sleeper from about the age of 16, either getting to sleep or indeed staying asleep which has been my main bug bear for some 20 years. I tend to never enter a deep sleep and disturb easily and then struggle to get back to sleep again and instead find myself answering emails to you all at silly o’clock.
This occurs even with the strongest of prescription sedatives.
I have been one week now using MAXXZzz and although I cannot ignore that I have short ‘good’ spells of sleep and so have to allow that things could turn for the worse further down the line, I have enjoyed a new level of deep restoration since taking this product.
The first night I took 2 capsules assuming someone like myself would have little benefit from 1 but struggle to arise to get up in the morning so stepped back to just the single cap serving the next series of nights and despite still waking a couple of times – this I attribute to possessing the bladder of an 80yr old man, and have had every prostate and bladder test going, I have gone back to sleep with minimal fuss and woken around my normal rising time.
Whether 1 capsule will continue to be sufficient I do not know but currently it appears so and so on a product which contains 60 capsules in the current supplement market where you assume 20-30 days as the normal expectancy for a single pot/tub this potentially represents amazing value.
I intend to cycle at least 1 or 2 days off every 7 to attempt to prevent any increased tolerance or dependency and am 6 nights in as of tonight so will not use again till Sunday but have great hope for this for myself and urge anyone else that may be suffering reduced quality of life through sleep deprivation not alone sub maximal gains in the gym due to poor rest, to consider giving this product a try.
Hope it continues working for me and can work for you too.
JW
]]>Once you get half way into the cycle I would recommend avoiding the temptation to add any weight to the bar regardless of whether you feel you can. Instead if and where strength occurs on cycle from this point instead perform additional reps or even an extra set if the reps become too high.
Then when you start PCT you should drop the volume and increase the weight performing more like a strength range of reps/sets 5x5, 8x3, even 3x5. The reason for this is that when you come off cycle you no longer have a steroid pumping around the system giving you artificial muscle building benefits. Also you have zero natural testosterone from having shut down due to use of the steroid and worse still you have elevated oestrogen levels. This all gears towards fat storage and muscle loss and the reality in the weights room is you will struggle to maintain any of the lifts you finished on and with the previously mentioned hormonal issues coupled with lifting less your body will ditch a lot of that new muscle you gained. Our bodies are finely tuned machines that are built for survival and are primarily focussed on keeping us warm and attempting to use as little energy as possible. Therefore muscle is a luxury item and a ‘new’ load of muscle fibre developed in a very short space of time from the cycle require you to give the body a reason to keep them, now if you cannot lift as much or for as long etc. it has no reason to do so.
However, by having not bumped the weight at the end you should be able to slap extra plates on come PCT from what you had been using and in doing this you are challenging that new muscle as it is having to lift a weight it has never done so before, and this gives the signals to the body that it needs this muscle to survive should it come across a huge load again.
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