Galahad's

     If you have followed the rest of this program, you have reached your weight loss goal and have maybe even worked to tone up a bit afterwards. I saved this part for the end for a reason. If you want to see quicker results on the scale, you do not want to bulk up while trying to lose the weight.

 

     Muscle has weight to it. If you are adding a bunch of muscle mass while dropping pounds, you are not going to see that scale go down. If you have a device to measure your body fat percentage, you’ll see that number drop, but your weight loss progress will show much more slowly. I recommend hitting your target weight before adding a lot of mass. It may seem like the longer way to go, but if you do things that way, you are much more likely to stay on track and be victorious.

 

     For me, I wanted to go from 253lbs and hit 180lbs, then 175lbs, then 165lbs. However, that was how much fat I wanted to lose. I want to walk around at a nice, toned and muscular 160lbs – 185-lbs. Nothing freakishly big. If I was working towards bulking and weight loss at the same time, it would have taken me a lot longer to reach my weight loss goal and I wouldn’t have seen the progression so well, down first and then back up. I would have missed all of those rewarding feelings that I got while I saw my successes more and more. They are amazing feelings and the best motivators.

 

     Imagine how great seeing your progress will make you feel as you hit different milestones. Yeah, that’s right, you just lost 20lbs... How would you feel? Using this method, you get that feeling time and time again, as you lose, tone and then gain.

 

     Now you are ready to put on some muscle...

 

     You are going to want to start eating closer to your BMR. We’re not looking to become Hercules, so I would still keep a shallow deficit of about 200 calories or so. If you are looking to become a beast, you’re going to want to work very hard and eat over your BMR by at least 500 calories to start. Going for gains, you’re going to want to add in that snack with some carbs and 10 grams of protein an hour before your workouts.

 

     I have read some on body building for extreme mass, but it was never my goal. Although I have read it, I have not experimented with it to see what works and what doesn’t. This guide is not really meant for transforming into the Hulk. However, using the same method and increasing your lift limits and calories, it would be a great start towards such an objective.

 

     When lifting for gains, you are going to want to decrease your reps per set, increase the weight per rep and also increase the rest period between sets.

 

     Before, you were lifting about 75% weight at 12-16 reps per set with a 30-90 second break between sets. To start adding more mass, you will want to lift 90%-100% weight at 6-8 reps per set with a 90-180 second break between sets. For your lower body, you’ll want to push 90-100% weight at 14-18 reps per set with a 90-180 second break between sets.

 

     This is really where you will want to break up your workout days to focusing on different areas of the body. For example, let’s say that you are working out three days a week.

 

Day 1, you work out your chest and back.

Day 2, you focus on your arms and shoulders.

Day 3 can be leg day.

 

     You can mix your abs into any of those days, but I would probably refrain from doing them on leg day.

 

     There are seven days in a week and you now have a plan on what to workout for three of those days. The body needs rest for muscle development as the growth of muscle is actually due to your body repairing them after being worked. You do not have to break up your routine as I am suggesting (I don’t follow this as a rule), but working 3 of 7 days is easily scheduled as workout, rest, workout, rest, workout, rest and rest. I would save the two day rest for after leg day if you go that way.

 

     You could even workout 4 of 7 and throw in a day specifically for your core and some extra cardio. I would be sure to make this a day or two before your dedicated time for legs.

 

     You may notice that I have put some emphasis on resting after leg day. Do not be afraid of leg day, but until you are better used to it, you will feel it the day after. Squats, calf crushers and lunges, to work your legs, are nothing like your every day walking and running. You really work those muscles deep and more.

 

     With working your muscles harder, looking for gains and eliminating pains, definitely consume a protein supplement as close to the end of your workout as you can and absolutely no longer than 30 minutes afterwards. The sooner you can get the protein into your system, the better. You can also double dose the protein here, or after any workout. Have one serving immediately following your workout. 

Then, have another serving about 30-60 minutes after your first.

 

     Be sure to always stay hydrated. I don’t mean just for your workouts. I mean always, period. A good habit to get into is keeping a water-bottle within reach at all times. Of course, there will be times when that isn’t really possible, but try for everywhere you can.

 

     Another topic that should be breached here is the use of pre-workout formulas and energy drinks.

 

     Everyone feels that they can use a boost from time to time, just as everyone always believes that they could have done more or better... but are energy drinks and pre-workout supplements the way to go?

 

     There is so much conflicting information out there about both of these kinds of beverage mixes. Do you need a pre-workout or an energy drink? No. Has there been enough clinical study on them? No. 

Do they work? Well....

 

     Most energy drinks contain tonnes of sugar, huge amounts of caffeine and doses B-Complex vitamins that are well over their RDI to give you that burst of energy. Yes, these drinks can give you a boost of energy for a short period of time. We already know that too much sugar is bad for us, but you can find versions out there that do not rely on sugar at all. There isn’t enough research out there to keep energy drinks as something you cannot have from time to time. As with everything except for water, moderation is key.

 

     I used to down Xyience energy drinks before my trips to the gym to rev me up. For me, they helped to get me started. I would be all sluggish and tired after a long day at work, then I'd down an energy drink and be revitalized and ready to hit the gym. After a while, I didn’t need that extra zip as just the act of going to the gym, on its own, became enough to fuel me.

 

     Pre-workout supplements are a lot more complicated. To be honest, they scared the crap out of me. So, I read a lot of materials on them and I asked a multitude of questions to those who provide these products and to people who use them.

 

     These things are jam packed with all sorts of stuff. There’s caffeine, taurine, citrulline, arginine, creatine, glycerol, beta-alanine, vinpocetine, different extracts, vitamins and so much other stuff we’ve never heard of. Seeing the ingredients and the stereotypical thoughts on their effects is extremely terrifying. Another thing that brings fear when trying to decipher the labels is that the actual amounts of most of these ingredients are not listed. Many of them are within special formulas that the branders give their own name to.

 

     If you are interested in trying a pre-workout or learn more about them, talk to people you know who use them and to your supplement store. They may be able to answer some of your very valid concerns and your questions regarding ingredients. I will not get into them here. Unfortunately, these people have access to the same information that you do, which has not been clinically observed thoroughly enough yet. By asking them though, you save the trouble of all that reading. There is a lot to read out there. Often times, supplement stores will provide samples for you to try before committing to buy a whole tub of the stuff, too.

 

     Whether you choose to read up on the stuff or to talk to people, you’re going to run across four words that are apparently the informational mantras for rating these products. They will talk about focus, energy, pumps and taste. You will hear them over and over again.

 

     At first, the repetition of those words bothered me. It didn’t feel like they were really answering my questions. As I came to realize, those are the four factors that consumers are typically looking at. 

Don’t get me wrong, as they can explain some of the ingredients and what they are alleged to do, both positive and negative, but most of what they know is based on rating those four words.

 

     Those four words may come to mean different things to different people, but I came up with a definition for each.

Focus is the clarity of the mind and ability to stay on task and mentally keep going. Pumps refers to an increase in how many times you can lift your current load and its effectiveness. Energy and taste are pretty self-explanatory.

 

     The thing with energy is what kind of energy are you getting and how much. Is it nervous energy? Will it be too much for you to handle? Can you still function properly? Do you get jittery and racy? Is there a bad crash afterwards?

 

     The taste of a lot of the pre-workouts, as much as they try to cover it up, is like horrible medicine. I’ve had one described to me as tasting like “nuclear waste.” I still tried it, and yep, it tasted like radioactive raspberries.

 

     After a lot of research and questions, I decided that I would give some a try. I got several samples from my supplement store that started from mild to extreme. To save a long story, I didn’t really like them. The mild one gave me focus but nothing else. The more extreme I went, the sicker I felt to my stomach. I was not impressed.

 

     I went to my supplement store and they told me that the nausea was due to too much caffeine. I am a coffee drinker, which you really shouldn’t do soon before taking a pre-workout supplement. There are lower caffeinated and even caffeine free alternatives. I wasn’t about to give up my coffee just to use a pre-workout powder.

 

     I tried some more and found one that hit me exactly how I wanted. The taste wasn’t the best, but the short-term effects during my workout were perfect for me. It was called Neurocore by MuscleTech. Unfortunately, it was a sample given to me after I had already invested in a tub of MusclePharm Assault. Once I am through with this tub of MPA, I will give my body a bit of a break before

possibly buying some Neurocore to help my workouts here and there. That may be quite some time though because I now find that I’m not using any pre-workouts at all anymore.

 

     So, yes, when I started towards bulking a bit, I did use a pre-workout powder. However, pre-workouts and energy drinks are not necessary and are all a matter of personal tolerance and preference. 

They are not right for everyone and different ones affect people differently. Be sure to try before you buy to be sure it is safe for you and does what you need it to. Using my fitness plan, you do not need pre-workout supplements nor energy drinks to get the results you are after. Now, I prefer not to use pre-workouts, but I do still drink Xyience from time to time.

 

     To recap the important points of this part of the plan...

 

     Up your calories closer to your BMR or above it. Change your workout to be 90%-100% weight at 6-8 reps per set with a 90-180 second break between sets. Always stay hydrated. Designate specific days within your workout week for specific body groups. Get your rest days in. Follow these instructions and you will be able to feel and watch your muscles grow.