I think my body hates carbs, during carb up day and the 2 days after i slowly get moody and hate people, i get tired and sleepy during midday and less energy to lift, i also sweat A LOT more, and i had a problem with gagging when i eat/before heavy sets dry heaving or w/e and that never occurs when im in ketosis, am i allergic to something, or does my body just not function properly on carbs?

What kind of carbs are you eating during carb up?

Secondly, have you always been like this, or just when on keto and carbing up for it?

It's hard to say an exact timeline because local weightlifting meets are usually posted 2-3 months before competition, so that makes planning for those more frequent yet less important weightlifting meet a bit of a challenge, with the exception of larger events such as Nationals, University, or American Open, which are usually set in stone early in the year.

With that said, I'm sitting at 69kgs with approximately 16-18% body fat. I would like to definitely lean out and become a stronger, lower bf%, 69kg lifter and eventually make my way to 77 in the next two to three years.

I really like your strategy of getting a solid cut and then carefully bulking up. There are a lot of variables, but my questions are :

1. as a weightlifter should I attempt to hit a caloric deficit by lifting and doing some cardio at the cost of some potential training mal-adaptation (strength/power gainz versus aerobic adaptations)? Or could I get a solid caloric deficit with just weightlifting and eating less?

2. If I were to only perform weightlifting in a caloric deficit during a low intensity/high volume block, would I potentially become too catabolic in terms of muscle break down during training? could this be prevented by drinking simple sugars + protein before, during, and after training (nutrient timing with gatorade powder (dextrose) and Whey(EAA))

3. is there evidence to show that a 24 hour fast would be detrimental to strength and power performance? Would the body begin to break down muscle/liver glycogen and potentially muscle to provide energy? (assuming the 24 hours isn't a training day)

This post was edited by TheMagicFlightBox on Sep 21 2014 08:18am

sweating/low energy/gagging is normal/from the past, but the mood things are only from carb ups.


for kind of carbs, my carb day usually looks like this
banana
handful blueberries
bcaas
protein 2 scoops maltodextron p/wo
bowl of oats with cinnamon blueberries banana brown sugar
spinach mccain pizza
cup of brown rice with salt n shit
a small pasta
another cup of brown rice
2 slices of whole grain toast
casein shake

1. Stick to weight training and caloric deficits only. Cardio shouldn't be utilized for your purposes.

2. The best way to prevent catabolism is BCAA's pre/intra/post workout, along with a good amount of protein and approx 30g simple sugars PWO. Make sure to get sufficient sleep as well, 8-10 hours anight.

3. This really depends on a lot. First of all, if you are already on a deficit with depleted glycogen stores, yes, it will greatly impact you in terms of breaking down muscle. If you have maxed out glycogen stores, it won't really affect you assuming you are sedentary during this time.

So even before you ever went on a keto diet, you had these side effects with carbs??? Have you tried eliminating wheat gluten from you diet and seeing if you have the same reaction??

I've had those sides before, i could give that a go, my mom's allergic to gluten is it hereditary?

I'm looking to cut. I'm very bulky right now and want to get slimmer.

Was wondering is 5x5 mainly used for bulking and strength? Can it be used to get cut/slimmer?

Can you recommend me a workout routine specifically for cutting down and getting slimmer? (I already did the workout you recommended long time ago with 20,40,60,80% workout, looking to get a different one).

It very well can be.

I would advise you try an absolutely 100% gluten free diet and see if you still experience side effects

Technically speaking, you can do ANY workout, as long as you are exerting energy, coupled with a deficit diet, and you will see fat losses.

That being said, the 5x5 CAN be done on a cut, although the possibility of injuries with heavy weight during a cut is increased.

Some people see excellent results from 3x5 or 5x5 during a cut. Others have reported strength losses and injuries. It depends on your body, as well as the diet and amount of sleep you get.



Here is ANOTHER sample cutting diet, more towards a higher tempo and lower weight:

All exercises will be 3 sets of failure reps, gradually INCREASING weight with each set. 20-30 seconds rest between sets unless specified otherwise.

Mon - Legs - BB Squats (5 sets, first 3 pyramid up in weight, second 2 will be breakdown failure rep format), DB lunges (keep weight the same here), Leg Press (1 minute rest here), leg extensions, laying leg curls
Tues - Chest - DB Bench Press (5 sets, first 3 pyramid up in weight, second 2 will be breakdown failure rep format), Incline DB Bench Press, Incline DB Flies, Cable Crossovers (7 reps high, 7 reps mid, 7 reps low - 21 reps at maximum possible weight with good form - 3 sets), pec deck (GOOD FORM), DB pullovers (focus on chest here), and if you don't feel fatigued enough...burn out with a failure set of incline pushups.
Weds - OFF
Thurs - Back/cardio/abs - Straight Leg Deadlift (5 sets, all 5 will pyramid up in weight, 1 minute rest between sets, try to maintain the 8-12 rep max weight range the whole time like 12-11-10-9-8), Bent over BB rows, Lat Pulldowns (close grip), Lawnmower Rows (GOOD FORM HERE!), Reverse Pec Deck, T-Bar Rows or seated cable rows to finish (close grip). Cardio = HIIT 20-30 mins, and abs = 20 mins ab instinct training (basically 20 mins of as many ab exercises at maximum capacity that you can do with as little rest as possible).
Fri - Shoulders - Seated Military Press (5 sets, first 3 pyramid up in weight, second 2 will breakdown failure rep format), DB Shoulder presses, DB front raises, DB lat raises, BB shrugs (5 sets, all pyramid up in weight, 30 seconds rest between sets, maintain 6-12 rep range w/ max weight possible for those reps), DB shrugs (good form!!).
Sat - Arms - Olympic bar preacher curl (3 sets pyramiding up with 30 seconds rest between sets, try to get into the 4-8 rep range with very slow decline and explosive incline), close-grip e-z bar curl, seated incline bench alternating db curls (good form!), straight-seated hammer curls (good form and slow decline), high cable curls (make sure you fail hard on the last set!!), Close grip weighted dips (5 sets of 8-12 reps maximum weight pyramiding up in weight with each set - 30-60 seconds rest between sets), tricep cable pulldowns (rope preferred or v-bar), laying skullcrushers, bent over DB tricep kickbacks, close grip smith bench press (make sure your hands are only about 4-7 inches apart and perform 3 sets of maximum weight for around 8-10 reps FAILING with each set!!!)
sun - REST