Here is the basis of fat gain during a bulk.

In order for the body to create as much muscle as possible, you have to be in a state of anabolism. This means you generally have to have a surplus of calories, with a sufficient glycogen supply and also plenty of protein which are broken down into essential amino acids.

In order to lose fat, your have to have a deficit of calories and generally a lower storage of glycogen. This puts your body into a state of catabolism. As a result, it is very hard to blend muscle gain and fat loss.

However, there IS a way to gain slowly and lose fat slowly. On days that you do strength training, you will have a 500 calorie surplus (for every 1 hour of strength training beyond the first hour, add 500 more calories). On days when you don't strength train, subtract 500 calories from your base diet. On those days that you are not strength training, do some cardio for increased fat burning.

This will cause your body to be anabolic on training days, and catabolic on non-training days. Your overall outcome will be very slow muscle gain and very slow fat loss. I do not recommend doing this, as I prefer bulking and cutting cycled on and off throughout the year as necessary.

Is there anything wrong with replacing much of my daily water intake with decaf green tea? I can't think of any reason why not

This post was edited by Aimed_Shot on Apr 19 2012 12:37pm

Hey

Do you know any good variations to a regular 'plank' exercise for the abs? (Does the position of your legs matter?(close together - wide apart?) What exactly is the effect of raising one leg?)

Thank you

This post was edited by SeaBas on Apr 19 2012 03:47pm

1)Are you basically saying absolutely no cardio during bulk phases? (for maximum efficiency)?

2)Also, this strength training is doing my body wonders, just hit a PR today on squats. I was doing 4 plates for 5 reps from 2 plates not too long ago, just wanted to share my progress with you as well as anyone else that's reading.

3)On a side note, I have been doing the same 4 exercises per muscle group for your strength program for 2 months. Should I continue doing these same exercises or should I switch it up? If so I especially need new shoulder exercises. I've been doing standing military press, shoulder press, lateral raises, and upright rows. Should I switch military press for sitting military press with the smith machine as it allows me to do higher weights?

This post was edited by TempoONE on Apr 19 2012 05:11pm

I'm looking to increase flexibility & maybe promote recovery via yoga, I'm doing basic poses, the question is should I do yoga on cutting days or on lifting days? I'm currently lifting 3 days and have excess calories on those days with a higher protein intake but I would rather do yoga on the cutting days but which would be more beneficial in your opinion?

what diet and workout can help me lose fat only not looking to lose alot of weight but just fat from like my stomach and stuff + what can i do to help get more energy thnx

Can you make me an example meal plan of 6 meals using these macros?

220 protein
156 carbs
73 fats

Yes. You should still have a good amount of plain water in your diet. The reason for this is because the body has to process everything that goes into it. Even green tea, believe it or not, has a degree of diuretic to it which you don't want as your only source of hydration. Make sure to drink at least 1 gal of actual water per day.

The plank is good for static resistance muscle building in the abs. It helps increase core endurance as well. The best way to do a plank is legs close together and resting on your forearms. This maximizes the stress in the abs and reduces the stress everywhere else.

The idea of raising the leg or moving the legs apart is that it works a different angle of the abs. I personally do not like to do any of that with planks. Just maintain a good straight core position as I explained and you should do well with them.

1. For maximum strength gains, avoid cardio and eat like a king. Worry about fat loss later.

2. Good progress, keep up the good work.

3. Continue doing them as you are doing them until you start seeing diminished gains. Then it would be good to switch to hypertrophy and eventually a cut. Remember you want to cut when you get to NO MORE than the 15-18% BF point if you are training for maximum size/strength.