BIGGER, LEANER, STRONGER (Michael Matthews)
by Michael Matthews
BOOK NOTES:
(my simplified notes in bold, actual text from the book follows)
First, some definitions:
Calorie. A calorie is the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. This is also called a kilocalorie or large calorie, and is used to represent the energy value of food.
Saturated fats: Saturated with Hydrogen. Contain only single bonds between carbon molecules and are usually solid at room temperature. Saturated fats are often found in meats and dairy products, like butter, cheese, and coconut oil. Saturated fats can lead to heart disease and other health problems. Most saturated fats come from animal sources, while most unsaturated fats come from plant sources.
Unsaturated fats: Contain at least one double bond between carbon molecules and are usually liquid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats are often found in vegetable oils, nuts, and fish. Unsaturated fats are considered beneficial because they can improve blood cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation, and support brain development.
Trans Fatty Acid: A trans fatty acid is a type of unsaturated fatty acid that’s uncommon in nature and usually created artificially. “Trans fats” are often found in highly processed foods like cereals, baked goods, fast food, ice cream, and frozen dinners. Anything that contains “partially hydrogenated oil” contains trans fatty acids.
Fructose: Found in many fruits and honey, as well as sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, both of which are about 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose. Fructose is converted into glucose by the liver and then released into the blood for use.
Galactose: Galactose is a type of sugar found in dairy products that is metabolized similarly to fructose.
Lactose: Lactose is a type of sugar present in milk that contains glucose and galactose.
Mineral: A mineral is a carbonless substance that forms naturally in the earth. Humans need various minerals, such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and zinc, for many different physiological functions, including building bones, making hormones, and regulating the heartbeat
Insulin: is a hormone that causes muscles, organs, and fat tissue to absorb and use or store nutrients like glucose and amino acids.
You can lose fat and gain muscle while eating copious amounts of junk food (though not recommended). Just ask Kansas State University Professor Mark Haub, who lost 27 pounds in 10 weeks eating Hostess cupcakes, Doritos, Oreos, and whey protein shakes. Or a science teacher, John Cisna, who lost 56 pounds in six months eating nothing but McDonald’s. Or Kai Sedgwick, a fitness enthusiast who got into the best shape of his life following a rigorous workout routine and eating McDonald’s every day for a month. I don’t recommend you follow in their footsteps (the nutritional value of your diet does matter).
The energy from food is stored in its molecular bonds and then converted. When we eat food, its stored energy is transformed by our muscles into mechanical energy (movement), by our digestive systems into chemical energy (body fat), and by our organs into thermal energy (heat). This alone explains why every single controlled weight loss study conducted in the last 100 years has concluded that meaningful weight loss requires energy expenditure to exceed energy intake.4
Well-executed studies have found no difference in weight loss whatsoever between low-and high-carb and low-and high-sugar diets. For instance: Scientists at Arizona State University found no difference in weight or fat loss between people consuming 5 and 40 percent of their calories from carbohydrate for 10 weeks. Scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin found no difference in weight or fat loss between people consuming 4 and 30 percent of their calories from carbohydrate for six weeks. Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health found no difference in weight loss between people consuming 65, 45, and 35 percent of their calories from carbohydrate for two years. Scientists at Stanford School of Medicine found no difference in weight or fat loss between people who consumed 50 and 25 percent of their calories from carbohydrate for one year.9 Scientists at Duke University found no difference in weight or fat loss between people consuming 4 and 43 percent of their calories from sugar for six weeks.10
No individual food can make you fatter. Only overeating can. If you consistently consume more calories than you burn, you’ll gain weight, even if those calories come from the “healthiest” food on earth. Look around for easy proof of this one. How many people do you know who are overweight despite their obsession with “clean eating”? Well, now you know why. If you consistently consume fewer calories than you burn, you’ll lose weight, regardless of how much carbohydrate or sugar you eat.
Studies show that most people are really bad at estimating the actual number of calories they eat. They underestimate portion sizes, assume foods contain fewer calories than they do, measure intake inaccurately, and, in some cases, simply lie to themselves about how much they’re actually eating
Severe calorie restriction does not affect the metabolism over the long-term as much as you might think. Even with extreme food restriction, the metabolisms in these studies only dropped about 20 percent lower than scientists predicted based on their new, lower body weights. In other words, their metabolisms were “underperforming” by just 20 percent on average after enduring six months of the most extreme weight loss regimen you could ever devise. Then, in the next phase of the study, the same people were put on a “recovery diet” to allow them to regain most of the weight they lost. After 12 weeks of this recovery diet, their metabolisms were assessed again. This time, average metabolic performance was only about 10 percent lower than it should have been, and for some individuals, everything was already back to normal, as if their severe weight loss had never happened. Moreover, according to a recent study conducted by my friend and researcher Menno Henselmans, when you analyze the data beyond the first 12 weeks of recovery, you find that everything eventually returned to normal in every volunteer.26 Some just took longer to recover than others. This groundbreaking experiment also provided another nail to drive into the coffin of the starvation mode myth: every volunteer continued to lose weight until the very end. The rate of weight loss slowed, of course, but it never came to a complete standstill.
The worst type of cheat meal is high in both calories and dietary fat, which is chemically similar to body fat and thus requires very little energy for conversion into body fat (between 0 and 2 percent of the energy it contains).
Research shows that high-fat meals cause more immediate fat gain than high-protein or high-carbohydrate meals.
One person can be up to 25 percent stronger than another with the same exact body composition. These effects on strength can be staggering. Studies show that, thanks to anatomical differences, strength can vary by as much as 25 percent among people with identical amounts of lean mass. Similarly, some people’s muscles and bones are arranged in a way that allows them to lift far more than you’d expect based on their musculature.
People who have wider wrists and ankles, height being equal, tend to be naturally more muscular and have a higher potential for muscle growth than those with narrower ones.
You only need to gain about 20 to 25 pounds of muscle to have an impressive physique, and literally anybody can do that, no matter how skinny and weak they are when they touch a barbell for the first time.
Most people can’t gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. In a deficit, Testosterone levels decline, and cortisol levels increase. Muscle proteins aren’t easily created.
Workouts significantly raise testosterone and growth hormone levels. The magnitude of post-workout elevations in anabolic hormones is influenced by the total amount of muscle involved in the workout. This is why research shows that compound exercises produce larger increases in both testosterone and growth hormone than isolation exercises.
It’s not about a burn sensation when lifting. It’s about mechanical tension. That said, as enjoyable as pumps are, they’re not a strong muscle-building stimulus—not nearly as strong as mechanical tension, for instance—which is why prioritizing pumps in your training is an easy way to hinder muscle and strength gain.25
(Read Michael Moss’s Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us if you want to learn the truth about the “dark side” of food science.)
Your body switches between Carbs and Fat as your fuel source, each day. Once your body has finished digesting, absorbing, and storing the food eaten, it enters the postabsorptive state (“after absorption”). This is also called the “fasted” state. When in this state, the body must rely mostly on its fat stores for energy. Some people call this the body’s “fat-burning mode.” Your body flips between these fed and fasted states every day, storing small amounts of fat after meals, and then burning small amounts after food energy runs out.
Insulin does trigger fat storage, but none of that makes you fatter. Only overeating does. Higher insulin response from food does not translate to fat gain. This is why a number of overfeeding studies have confirmed that the only way to cause meaningful weight gain is to eat a large surplus of calories, whether from protein, carbohydrate, or dietary fat. Without that energy surplus, no amount of insulin or insulin-producing foods can significantly increase body fat levels. Another gaping hole in the great insulin conspiracy is the fact that high-protein, low-carb meals can result in higher insulin levels than high-carb meals. Research shows that whey protein raises insulin levels more than white bread, and that beef stimulates just as much insulin release as brown rice.
In an aggressive deficit, your body tends to retain more water because of cortisol increase, which can obfuscate your fat loss numbers for weeks. The reason for this is that calorie restriction increases production of the “stress hormone” cortisol, which in turn increases fluid retention. Depending on your physiology, this effect can be negligible and unnoticeable, or it can be so strong that it completely obscures several weeks of fat loss. In this way, people can lose fat for several weeks without losing weight and conclude that calorie counting “doesn’t work.”
Every single controlled weight loss study conducted in the last century has concluded that meaningful weight loss requires “calories in” to be lower than “calories out.” It works the same in the lean and obese, and even in the healthy and diseased. Keep it simple: If you’re trying to lose weight but aren’t, you probably need to eat less or move more. (And if you’re trying to gain weight but aren’t, you probably just need to eat more.)
The overall health of a food is not necessarily determined by how fast it is converted to glucose. The candy bar turns into glucose rather quickly because it contains a large number of quickly digested monosaccharides, whereas the broccoli takes longer because it contains slower-burning oligosaccharides. Some people say that makes all the difference—that the speed with which carbs are converted into glucose determines whether they’re “healthy.” These people are mostly wrong. For instance, baked potato is rather high on the glycemic index (85) but packed with vital nutrients. Watermelon is up there on the index as well (72), and even oatmeal (58) is higher than a Snickers Bar (55).
There’s no controversy over monounsaturated fat, it good for you. Research shows that it can reduce the risk of heart disease, and it’s also believed to be responsible for some of the health benefits associated with the Mediterranean diet, which involves eating a lot of olive oil.23
You’re probably not getting enough omega-3s (and EPA and DHA in particular).
High levels of LDL (bad) in your blood can lead to an accumulation in your arteries, and increase the risk of heart disease. This is why foods that can raise LDL levels, such as fried and processed foods and foods high in saturated fat, are generally considered bad for your heart. HDL is often thought of as the “good” cholesterol because it carries cholesterol to your liver, where it’s processed for various uses.
Stick with heavy, lower-rep work, because it produces more mechanical tension than lighter, higher-rep work. You can find plenty of evidence of this in the scientific literature. Scientists suggested two main reasons for why the heavier training beat out the lighter in not only strength gain (not surprising) but muscle gain as well: 1) Higher amounts of mechanical tension in the muscles. The lighter training, on the other hand, caused higher amounts of cellular fatigue. 2) Greater activation of muscle fibers. As you learned in chapter 8, this results in greater muscle growth across a larger percentage of the muscle tissue. Similar findings have been demonstrated in other studies as well. This brings us back to your primary goal as a weightlifter: to get stronger, and especially on key whole-body exercises like the squat, deadlift, and bench press. The more weight you can push, pull, and squat, the more muscle definition you’re going to have.
Keep your protein synthesis rates at or above your breakdown rates. The more sustained time your body spends in this anabolic state, the faster you gain muscle.
Do not discount Carbohydrates and how they help muscle-building efforts. Carbs convert to glycogen, which is stored in the muscles and liver and is the primary source of fuel during intense exercise. When you restrict your carb intake, your body’s glycogen stores drop, and studies show that this inhibits genetic signaling related to post-workout muscle repair and growth. When you’re exercising regularly, restricting your carbs also raises your cortisol and lowers your testosterone levels, which further hampers your body’s ability to recover from your workouts.
The discipline of desire is the background of character. —JOHN LOCKE In his timeless bestseller The Inner Game of Tennis, Tim Gallwey wrote the following: Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game. The outer game is played against an external opponent to overcome external obstacles, and to reach an external goal. Mastering this game is the subject of many books offering instructions on how to swing a racket, club or bat, and how to position arms, legs or torso to achieve the best results. But for some reason most of us find these instructions easier to remember than to execute.
Check out The Little Black Book of Workout Motivation (www.workoutmotivationbook.com). In that book, I share my personal, practical blueprint for radical transformation, inside and outside the gym.
Regarding those with high willpower: Research conducted by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Maryland shows that they do better in school, earn more money, make better leaders, and are generally happier, healthier, and less stressed. They also have better social and romantic relationships
Become the master of your won’ts, wills, and wants, and you become the master of your destiny. Procrastination can be licked. Your worst habits can be dismantled and replaced. Whiffs of temptation lose their sway over you
Our brain is wired to look for promises of pleasure and then raise hell until we give in, even if pursuing those promises will entail risky, chaotic behavior likely to cause more problems than it’s worth. Ironically, the rewards can elude us every time, but even the slimmest possibility of payoff and the anxiety of giving up the quest can keep us hooked, sometimes to the point of obsession.
Research shows that the dopamine release triggered by a promise of one type of reward can make us more likely to pursue others. For example, if you look at pictures of naked women, you’re more likely to make risky financial decisions. If you dream about striking it rich, food can suddenly become very appetizing. This reward-seeking behavior is especially problematic in today’s modern world, which in many ways is literally engineered to keep us always wanting more.
The average person is an overweight procrastinator hooked on junk food, entertainment, and social media. It also means that it takes a rather dramatic shift away from “normal” behavior to escape from these traps. If we’re going to succeed in this brave new world (sorry, had to), we must learn to distinguish between the many toxic rewards dangled in front of us every day, and the genuine rewards that give us true fulfillment and meaning in our lives. How do most people try to cope with stress, though? What do they routinely turn to for consolation? Food, alcohol, video games, television, shopping, and surfing the internet are the usual suspects.
Massages: one rather interesting study conducted by scientists at the University of Oxford and ORYGEN Research Centre found that giving a massage has similar effects.11 That’s right: make a deal with your significant other to trade massages before bed, and a whole lot of relaxation is probably going to occur. The benefits of massage don’t stop there, either. Studies show it also reduces pain, anxiety, and depression, and increases immunity as well. It doesn’t take a lot to get the job done, either. Just 10 to 15 minutes of massage is enough to reap its many benefits.
Stress-reducing effects of sex are largely due to improving the quality of people’s relationships rather than just the purely physical release. This helps explain why sex’s many benefits seem to be greatest for couples who have been together the longest or are married, and smallest for people in unhappy relationships.
Our devices do make us worser off: Researchers aren’t clear as to the causes just yet, but the relationship is unmistakable. The more time we spend with our devices, the worse our mental state will likely be.
Regarding Classical Music: Next time you’re stressed, put on some slow, quiet classical music, and before long, you’ll be nestled in its soothing embrace. (Some of my personal favorites are Max Richter, Ludovico Einaudi, Beethoven, and Bach.) Mozart can do more than just chill you out, too. Several studies show that classical music can sharpen your mind, engage your emotions, lower blood pressure, lessen physical pain and depression, and help you sleep better.
Green Tea for Anti-Stress: Good evidence of this is a study conducted by scientists at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine that found that regular green tea consumption is associated with lower levels of psychological distress. Researchers believe the primary way green tea accomplishes this is the high doses of the amino acid L-theanine and ascorbic acid, which have known anti-stress properties.
Walking is one of the best things you can do for your health: For example, Beethoven spent his afternoons walking in the Vienna Woods and found his best inspiration always came while walking. Tchaikovsky was equally adamant about his twice-a-day walks, which he felt were essential for his health and creativity. Thomas Jefferson advised his nephew that “there is no habit you will value so much as that of walking far without fatigue,” and took regular walks around his Monticello estate well into old age. Science shows they were onto something. In a study conducted by scientists at Heriot-Watt University, just 25 minutes of walking in an urban park was enough to noticeably reduce frustration and improve mood.
Reduce your exposure to pessimism and worry. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, really, but research shows that exposing yourself to a constant barrage of bad news, scare tactics, and morbid reminders of your mortality increases the likelihood of overeating, overspending, and other willpower failures. If the world appears to be ripping apart at the seams, why should we care about keeping our own affairs in order? By reducing our exposure to the daily dose of pessimism and fear-mongering, we can also reduce our stress levels.
Have a nighttime routine with your significant other. Here’s Mike’s personal routine: A nightly hot bath with my wife. We usually add essential oils and put on light classical music as well. Sex at least two to three times per week.I could pretend we’re still going at it like crazed teenagers, but hey, this works for us. In fact, research shows that sex just once per week is a sweet spot of sorts for happiness.38 For most people, more frequent sex doesn’t increase happiness, and less frequent sex results in less fulfillment. In bed seven and a half to eight hours before my alarm. My general sleep needs seem to be around six and a half hours per night, but since having kids, I don’t sleep as well as I used to, so I have to give myself a buffer for one to three wakings. Little to no “blue light” screens for at least one hour before bed. This means minimal computer, tablet, TV, or smartphone use.
Commit. Another tool that has helped many thousands of people pre-commit successfully to all kinds of goals is the website www.stickk.com. Stickk allows you to set a goal and time frame, wager money, and decide what happens with it if you fail. (It could go to a charity, for example, or even an organization you don’t like, which can be a stronger incentive.) You can also designate a “referee” who will monitor your progress and confirm the truthfulness of your reports, and you can invite supporters to cheer you on. Let’s
What others do with their lives does affect us. Even if you’re not inclined to think this way, don’t assume you’re immune to the underlying psychology. It’s comforting to think that we’re not like that, that we singularly chart our own courses in our lives, uninfluenced by how others think and act. This simply isn’t true. Extensive research shows that what others do—and even what we think they do—has a marked effect on our thoughts and behaviors whether we realize it or not, especially when the people we’re observing are close to us.17 When we’re not sure how to think or act, we tend to look at how other people think and act and follow along, even if subconsciously. We’re all instinctively drawn to the idea that there’s safety in numbers.
The average of the 5: We’ve all heard that we’re the average of the five people we spend the most time with, and an abundance of scientific evidence says this is true to one degree or another for every single one of us. Even if we don’t directly adopt the negative attitudes, ideas, and behaviors of those we’re around most, their mere presence will act on us in insidious ways, making it harder for us to do the things we want to do and become the people we want to be.
You didn’t blow it with one bad day. For example, many people worry that they’ve “blown” their diets after a single instance of overeating, not realizing that the absolute amount of fat that they can gain from a single meal or day—no matter how much they’ve eaten—ranges from negligible in the case of a single “cheat meal” (a few ounces) to mildly irritating in the case of a day of feasting (0.5 to 1 pound).
It's not the money, it’s you. This has certainly increased the stress quotient in my life, but the payoff has been well worth it, and I don’t just mean that in a financial sense. In fact, the nonfinancial rewards, which can be summed up in one word—self-actualization—mean a lot more to me than the money.
Remember. Remember the work you’ve done here whenever you need a pick-me-up, and it’ll help you find the power to persevere. Recall it when you’re feeling too tired to train, when you’re out with friends watching them stuff and drink themselves silly, when sugary treats are cooing your name, and when you roll out of bed in the morning like a log off a truck. Regularly look at the pictures you’ve saved, read the affirmations you’ve written, and review the whys you’ve formulated, and you’ll always feel a wind in your sails, propelling you ever closer to your best body ever. And then, once you’ve achieved everything you’ve created here, repeat the process anew, charting another more exciting course for the next phase of your fitness and life.
80 Percent: Hence, this third flexible dieting rule of thumb: You should get at least 80 percent of your daily calories from nutritious, relatively unprocessed foods. In other words, most of what you eat should consist of whole foods that you clean, cut, and cook yourself, like lean protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and oils. Then, if you feel so inclined, you can fill your remaining calories with your favorite treats. A major reason why eating like this is so healthy is it provides your body with enough fiber, which is an indigestible type of carbohydrate found in many types of plant foods.
When cutting: I recommend that you eat about 75 percent of your average TDEE. For most men, this comes out to 10 to 12 calories per pound of body weight per day.
For a quick daily macro calculation: 1.1 grams of protein and carbohydrate per pound of body weight per day, and 0.25 grams of dietary fat per pound of body weight per day. In fact, if you want to skip most of the math, you can just use those macro guidelines when starting a cutting phase and move on to the next step in the process (meal planning). If you’re very overweight, however, I don’t recommend this “macro shortcut” because it’ll have you eating far more protein than is necessary. In this case, use the 40/40/20 method instead.
As body fat levels rise, insulin sensitivity drops. The better your body responds to insulin’s signals, the better it can do many things, including build muscle and resist fat gain. As the body’s sensitivity to insulin falls, fat burning drops, the likelihood of weight gain rises, and protein synthesis rates decline.
When Lean Bulking and figuring Macros: Twenty-five (25%) percent of your calories should come from protein. Fifty percent (55%) of your calories should come from carbohydrate. Twenty percent (25%) of your calories should come from dietary fat.
Here’s how much to eat depending on that day’s activity, if you don’t like counting calories:
BMR x 1.15 = Sedentary Day On days where you’re not exercising or otherwise physically active, eat 115 percent of your BMR. This should be around 12 calories per pound of body weight.
BMR x 1.2 to 1.35 = Lightly Active Day On days where you do 30 to 45 minutes of vigorous exercise or other physical activity (or about 60 to 90 minutes of light activity), eat 120 to 135 percent of your BMR. This should be around 13 calories per pound of body weight.
BMR x 1.4 to 1.55 = Moderately Active Day On days where you do 45 to 60 minutes of vigorous exercise. This should be around 15 calories per pound of body weight.
BMR x 1.6 to 1.75 = Very Active Day On days where you do 60 to 90 minutes of vigorous exercise (or about 120 to 180 minutes of light activity), eat 160 to 175 percent of your BMR. This should be around 17 calories per pound of body weight.
BMR x 1.8 to 1.95 = Extra Active Day On days where you do 90-plus minutes of vigorous exercise (or 180-plus minutes of light activity), eat 180 to 195 percent of your BMR. This should start around 19 calories per pound of body weight and go as high as 24-plus depending on how active you are.
Eat protein before you train (if you haven’t eaten in 3-4 hours) b/c it may even prime the body to receive a larger anabolic boost from the training. If you have eaten protein an hour or two before a workout, however, amino acids will still be in your bloodstream, insulin levels will still be elevated, and muscle protein synthesis rates will still be humming. Thus, no need.
Eat good carbs 15 to 60 minutes before working out. It will help you push harder in your training and may also aid in pos-tworkout recovery and muscle growth. Eating carbs before training provides your body with an abundance of glucose to burn for immediate energy.
Pre-workout carbs ideas: nutritious whole foods like oatmeal, bananas, dates, figs, melons, white potatoes, white rice, raisins, and sweet potatoes
Eat 30 to 40 grams of protein within 1-2 hrs of finishing a workout. This is true especially if you haven’t eaten 3-4 hrs before your workout. You’re not missing a special opportunity to gain muscle faster, but your body can’t start building muscle until you eat. After working out, muscle protein breakdown rates surpass synthesis rates. Muscle gain can’t occur until this reverses (synthesis rates outstrip breakdown rates). If you have eaten within 3-4 hrs, your body will still be processing the food you ate, so post-workout meal is less important. Eating protein causes that by providing the amino acid leucine, which directly stimulates muscle protein synthesis AND stimulating the production of insulin, which suppresses muscle protein breakdown rates. Studies also show that protein eaten after a workout causes more muscle protein synthesis than when eaten at other times, holding all things equal.
Some sources for recipes: The Shredded Chef (www.shreddedchefbook.com), as well as on my websites Muscle for Life (www.muscleforlife.com/category/recipes) and Legion Athletics (www.legionathletics.com/category/recipes).
Carbs are rarely converted into body fat in healthy individuals following a normal diet. Glucose is very different body fat (lipids). It is heavily processed in the body before it can be stored as fat. This process of carb-to-fat conversion is known as de novo lipogenesis (DNL). DNL rarely occurs under normal dietary conditions and carb intake has to be absolutely sky high (700 to 900 grams per day for several days) for DNL to result in significant fat gain. Exceptions: very large infusions of pure glucose and people with hyperinsulinemia (a condition where the amount of insulin in the blood is higher than normal),
BUT this doesn’t mean that eating carbs can’t contribute to fat gain. We know it can, of course. Here’s how this works: when you eat carbs, fat oxidation decreases, which means that most of the dietary fat you eat with the carbs will be stored as body fat. Now, what about dietary fat? How is it metabolized compared to carbohydrate? We recall that dietary fat is metabolized very differently and stored very easily as body fat, which explains why research shows that a high-fat meal causes more immediate fat gain than a high-carb meal.10 All this also helps explain why research conducted by scientists
For cheat days/meals: eat more or less nothing but protein leading up to meals (and after) it. This tip is great for people like me who like to eat one large cheat meal. For example, my cheat meals are almost always dinners, so throughout the day, I’ll eat a serving of protein every few hours but skip the carbs and fats that I would normally eat. This way, when I get to dinner, I have a large buffer of carbs and fat (and thus calories) before I even come close to my average TDEE for the day. When I cheat at breakfast, the strategy is the same: I eat most of my carbs and fat for the day in that one meal and then have mostly protein from there on out.
Favorite cheat meals in no particular order: Margarita pizza from a local restaurant that imports ingredients from Italy Homemade pancakes covered in syrup (I love Kodiak Cakes’ Whole Wheat Oat & Honey mix) Jeni’s Brambleberry Crisp ice cream Fleming’s steak and chocolate lava cake Delicious bread rolls and pastries from a local baker Plain ol’ Five Guys cheeseburger with fries.
When you restrict calories, Leptin drops. Refeed now and then to counter this. In simple terms, leptin tells your brain that there’s plenty of energy available, and that your body can expend energy freely, eat normal amounts of food, and engage in normal amounts of physical activity. When you restrict your calories to lose fat, however, the drop in leptin tells your body that it’s in an energy-deficient state and must expend less energy and consume more. It accomplishes this through several mechanisms, including lowering the basal metabolic rate, reducing general activity levels, and stimulating the appetite. Raising leptin levels reverses these effects, which is one of the reasons you feel better when you stop restricting your calories and return to normal eating. To fully reverse the dip in leptin that comes with cutting, you have to come out of a calorie deficit.
To boost leptin production: increase your calorie intake for a day or two, giving your metabolism a shot in the arm. Research shows that eating a large amount of carbohydrate (2 or more per pound of body weight per day) is particularly effective for this. This is known as “refeeding,” and it’s a win-win. It lets you load up on your favorite carbs and enjoy a physical and psychological boost.
When you exercise, do Hard Sets at 80 to 85 percent of your one-rep max. A “hard set” is a heavy, muscle- and strength-building set that’s taken close to technical failure (the point where you can no longer continue with proper form). Bigger Leaner Stronger is going to have you work in the rep range of four to six reps, meaning that most of your hard sets are going to entail doing at least four reps but not more than six.
Rest 2-3 mins between Hard Sets. Short or no rest periods is fine if you’re looking to merely burn calories, but if you’re there to build muscle and get stronger, it’s a mistake. Strength training involves pushing your muscles to their limits, and resting enough in between sets is a vital part of this process because it prepares your muscles to exert maximum effort in each set. This has been clearly demonstrated in a number of studies.
Use Double Progression when Lifting: In double progression, you work with a given weight in a given rep range, and once you hit the top of that rep range for a certain number of hard sets (one, two, or three, usually), you increase the weight. Then, if you can at least come to within a rep or two of the bottom of your rep range in your first hard set with the new, heavier weight, you work with that weight until you can hit the top of your rep range again. If you can’t get to within at least a rep or two of the bottom of your rep range with that new weight, however, you have a couple of options that we’ll discuss later in this book. With this model of progression, you work to increase your reps, and then “cash in” that progress to increase your weights. Hence, “double progression.”
Slower is not necessarily better. The primary reason for this is that the slower you perform an exercise with a given weight, the fewer reps you can do with it. Depending on how slow your tempo is, you might get half the reps or even fewer than you would at a faster tempo. This is important because, as we’ve noted earlier in this book, the total reps performed with a given muscle group over time is a major factor in muscle gain. Some people would say that super-slow training compensates for the reduction in reps by increasing the difficulty of the reps you do perform. While slow reps do feel more difficult than normal ones, research shows that they result in less work done, which reduces the muscle- and strength-building potential of the exercise.
Slow-rep training has also been directly put to the test in a number of studies, which show that it produces inferior results compared to normal tempo training. For instance: A study conducted by scientists at the University of Sydney found that people following traditional “fast” training on the bench press gained more strength than with slow training. A study conducted by scientists at the University of Wisconsin found that even in untrained people, a traditional training tempo resulted in greater strength gains in the squat. A study conducted by scientists at the University of Oklahoma found that four weeks of traditional resistance training was more effective for increasing strength than slow-training. Therefore, I recommend that you follow the traditional “1–1–1” second rep tempo for all weightlifting exercises.
Regarding warming up muscles: we don’t know if warming up our muscle tissue before loading it actually makes it more resistant to injury. Some studies indicate that it does, while others suggest otherwise. When viewed as a whole, there seems to be a slight trend toward the former findings, but it’s insignificant in the bigger picture.
But it is still USEFUL for two reasons: It helps you improve your technique. If you’ve ever done any heavy compound weightlifting, you know how hard it can be to maintain proper form as you approach technical failure
Studies also show warm-ups can significantly boost performance levels, which can translate into more muscle and strength gain over time. Your muscle cells are powered by tiny chemical reactions that are affected by temperature, and a little warmer than normal appears to be better for contracting effectively. Warming up also increases blood flow to your muscles, which enables your body to deliver them more oxygen and nutrients that are needed for generating energy.
An easy warm up: Do 10 reps with about 50 percent of your hard set weight, and rest for a minute. Do 10 reps with the same weight at a slightly faster pace, and rest for a minute. Done!
Plan a de-load week every 8 to 10 weeks of heavy, intense training. If you’re in a calorie deficit, make this once every 6 to 8 weeks. Recognize the need for a de-load: the most common signs being that your progress is stalling, your body is extra achy, your sleep quality has declined, you have less motivation to train, and your workouts feel much harder than they should.
Look at gains each week. If you’re new and add 10 pounds to your big lifts every week or two for the first several months, you’re doing great. If you’re an experienced weightlifter on a lean bulk, gaining just one rep per week on these exercises (and thus adding weight every few weeks) is good progress too.
Don’t underestimate HIIT training. A 17-to-27-minute session of high-intensity cardio, which mostly consists of low-intensity cooldown periods, burns more fat than 60 minutes of traditional bodybuilding cardio. Research also shows that this style of cardio is particularly good for getting rid of abdominal fat, including visceral fat—fat covering your organs, which can be particularly dangerous to your health.
For HIIT, you must get to ~90% of your all-out effort. This is the level of intensity where breathing becomes labored and you feel like you can’t bring in as much air as your body wants. You should be panting like a dog. Repeatedly achieving and sustaining this level of exertion is the whole point of HIIT. If you don’t do this—if you can chat away on the phone or to others during your “high-intensity” periods—you’re not doing HIIT. All that matters is mins spent at your VT (vent threshold).
Plenty of options for HIIT workouts: Bike, row, swimming, jump roping, elliptical, and bodyweight circuits are popular choices. I don’t recommend sprinting, though, as it causes too much muscle and joint soreness, which will get in the way of progress in your lower-body workouts. Start with one-minute high-intensity periods
For rest during HIIT: Your rest periods should consist of active recovery, which means you should keep moving, not come to a standstill. Studies show that this helps you reach your ventilatory threshold easier during your high-intensity intervals, which makes your HIIT workouts more effective.
For interval duration during HIIT: start out with a 1:2 ratio between high- and low-intensity intervals. For example, one minute at high-intensity and two minutes at low. As your conditioning improves, you can work toward a 1:1 ratio.
For overall duration of the workouts: The great thing about HIIT is how much you can get out of relatively small amounts of it. It can be quite stressful on the body, though, which means you don’t want to do too much (especially when you’re lifting weights as well, and especially if you’re also cutting). So, start your HIIT workouts with 2 to 3 minutes of low-intensity warm-up, and then do 20 to 25 minutes of intervals, followed by 2 to 3 minutes of warm-down, and you’re done.
When cutting, Mike does 4-5 hours of weightlifting and 1.5-2 hours of HIIT per week. This allows me to get as lean as I want without risking overtraining or burnout.
Walking vs. jogging isn’t wildly different as far as calories burned. For instance, a study conducted by scientists at California State University found that people who ran a 10-minute mile burned about 190 calories. People who walked a 19-minute mile burned fewer calories, of course, but not as few as you might think—about 111. This isn’t going to impact your fat loss like HIIT will, but if you go for several walks per week, it can make a significant difference over time.
Combine all three for the trifecta:
I’ve worked with many people who’ve used a combination of weightlifting, high-intensity interval training, and walking to lose fat rapidly. The most successful approach looks like this:
•Three to five one-hour weightlifting sessions per week
•One to three 25-to-30 minute HIIT sessions per week
•Two to three 30-to-45-minute walks per week
Doing deadlifts is just awesome for the body. It works just about every muscle group you want to develop, from your upper-back muscles down to your calves, and it forces you to get strong the right way, with the bar in your hands balanced on your feet. If you want to look strong, you have to get strong. And strong you’ll get from the deadlift.
Basic supplements can help: creatine, beta-alanine, and citrulline absolutely can help you gain muscle and strength faster, synephrine and yohimbine can help you burn more fat, and vitamin D and fish oil can improve your health and well-being in many ways.
Whey isolate is the best, too:
Whey isolate: is a form of whey protein processed to remove the fat and lactose. It’s at least 90 percent protein by weight.
Whey hydrolysate: a whey protein (concentrate or isolate, but usually isolate) specially processed to be more easily digested and absorbed.
Whey isolate and hydrolysate are often marketed as superior to whey concentrate in all respects, but this isn’t true. Isolate and hydrolysate do have advantages—more protein by weight, no lactose, better mixability and digestibility, and some would say better taste.
Therefore, if a protein powder bills itself as a whey isolate but has whey concentrate as the first ingredient, it contains more whey concentrate than anything else and may in fact be mostly concentrate and contain very little isolate. Worse are “whey” protein powders that list milk protein (a very cheap alternative) before any form of whey.
Know what’s in the product beyond the grams of protein… for instance, if a serving weighs 40 grams but contains just 22 grams of protein, don’t buy the product unless you know that the other 18 grams consist of stuff you want.
A high-quality whey protein is easy to spot: Whey concentrate, isolate, or hydrolysate is the very first ingredient. If you see anything other than one of those three ingredients in the number one spot, find another product. The serving size is relatively close to the amount of protein per serving. It’ll never match because even the “cleanest” protein powders have sweeteners, flavoring, and other minor but requisite ingredients in addition to the protein powder itself.
You can speed up muscle recovery w/ Casein protein. Try by having 30 to 40 grams of a slow-burning protein like casein (or low-fat cottage cheese or Greek or Icelandic yogurt) before bed.
Did you know that you can buy egg protein powder? Many people don’t, but you can, and it’s perfectly viable for two reasons: It has a high biological value, or BV. This is a measurement of how efficiently the protein is absorbed and utilized by your body. As you can imagine, high-BV proteins are best for building muscle, and animal research suggests that egg protein is as effective as whey protein for this purpose. Human research also shows that egg is highly effective at stimulating protein synthesis. It has very little fat and carbohydrate. Egg protein powder is made from egg white, so it’s naturally more or less carb- and fat-free. That means more macros for your food!
Regarding Collagen protein: while it’s abundant in the amino acids glycine, proline, hydroxyproline, and alanine, it’s low in the essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which are most related to muscle building. It’s also low in sulphur, which is involved in a number of bodily functions such as blood flow, energy production, and protecting cells from oxidative damage.
We are all short on EPA and DHA (from Omega-3). Unfortunately, studies show that the average person’s diet provides just one-tenth of the EPA and DHA needed to preserve health and prevent disease. This is a serious concern because studies show that inadequate EPA and DHA intake can increase the risk of a number of health conditions, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. Thus, when EPA and DHA intake is too low, increasing it can benefit you in many ways, including the following from research: Improved mood (lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress), better cognitive performance (memory, attention, and reaction time), reduced muscle and joint soreness, improved fat loss, prevention of fat gain, faster muscle gain. To prevent the nasty fish oil burps so many people complain about, you can store the pills in the freezer and take them with food
Avoid ethyl ester fish oils, look for “Tri-glyceride”oil in the marketing. Check the label. If it doesn’t specifically state the form of the oil, assume it’s ethyl ester. Companies that pay more for the superior, more expensive triglyceride forms call it out in their marketing to increase salability. And that leaves re-esterified triglyceride oil, which is becoming the “gold standard” of fish oil supplements for several reasons: High bioavailability. High concentrations of EPA and DHA. Low levels of toxins and pollutants. Resistance to oxidation. None of the alcohol-related side effects associated.
Vitamin D is critical. It also regulates genes that control immune function, metabolism, and even cell growth and development. This is why insufficient vitamin D levels is associated with an increased risk of many types of disease, including osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, some cancers, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, and even the flu. Our bodies can’t produce enough vitamin D to maintain adequate levels, either, so we have to obtain it from diet, sun exposure, or supplementation. There are small amounts of vitamin D in various foods like beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks, which have anywhere from 10 to 60 IU (international units) per oz.
You can get it from the sun, but supplementation is way easier and cheap. For instance, research shows that with 25 percent of our skin exposed, our bodies can produce upwards of 400 IU of vitamin D in just three to six minutes of exposure to the 12 p.m. Florida summer sun. Depending on your diet and latitude, that means you’d need to spend anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes sunbathing per day to maintain sufficient levels. And you might be simply out of luck in the winter.
1,500 to 2,000 IU per day is adequate for ages 19 and up. So, assuming you’re 18 or older, I recommend you start at 2,000 IU per day, and then, if you’re experiencing any symptoms of low vitamin D levels, increase.
A CSU study in 2005 suggests the average person is deficient in vitamin B-6, vitamin A, magnesium, calcium, and zinc, and 33 percent of the population didn’t meet the RDA for folate. A more recent study conducted by scientists at Tufts University and published in 2017 found that more than 30 percent of the US population was deficient in calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, D, and E. Research also shows that average vitamin K intake levels may be suboptimal as well.
K2 is rare and useful as a vitamin. And if a multivitamin does include vitamin K, it’s almost always a small dose of a form that’s present in large amounts in whole foods, known as vitamin K1. The form that should be included is vitamin K2, which offers unique health benefits and is much harder to obtain from diet alone.
Be careful with vitamin E. Using vitamin E above 400 IU per day is now suspected to increase the risk of all-cause mortality (death from all causes).
Yohimbine can be useful but can have bad side effects (see Reddit). It is a compound obtained from the bark of the Pausinystalia yohimbe tree, and several studies show that it can speed up fat loss. Like caffeine, it does this by stimulating the production of catecholamines, but unlike caffeine, it can also help you burn more “stubborn fat.”
Consider synephrine. It stimulates the nervous system and increases BMR, and increases the thermic effect of food (the energy cost of digesting and processing what you eat). There’s also evidence that, like yohimbine, synephrine blocks the alpha-receptors on fat cells, which means that it too can speed up stubborn fat loss.
Creatine is an energy reserve: a molecule produced in the body and found in foods like meat, eggs, and fish. It’s composed of the amino acids L-arginine, glycine, and L-methionine and is present in almost all cells, where it acts as an “energy reserve.”
Creatine manufacturing has improved and it no longer causes issues with bloating or water retention or hair loss. Forms: creatine monohydrate, creatine ethyl ester, buffered creatine, and others. We could discuss them one by one, but here’s all you really need to know: go with powdered creatine monohydrate. It’s the most researched form by which all others are judged, and it’s the best bang for your buck.
Optional: Carnosine. It does a number of things in the body, including helping regulate acidity levels in our muscles. When a muscle contracts repeatedly, it becomes more and more acidic. This, in turn, impairs its ability to continue contracting, until eventually it can no longer contract at all. This is one of the ways muscles become fatigued. Carnosine counteracts this by reducing muscle acidity, thereby increasing the amount of work the muscles can do before becoming fatigued.
Optional: L-citrulline. An amino acid that plays a key role in the urea cycle, the process whereby the body eliminates toxic byproducts of digesting protein and generating cellular energy. It’s called the urea cycle because these waste products are converted into a substance called urea, which is expelled from the body through urine and sweat.
For example, in one study conducted by scientists at the University of Córdoba, people who supplemented with 8 grams of L-citrulline before their chest workouts increased the number of reps they could do by 52 percent and experienced significantly less post-workout muscle soreness.
Consider citrulline malate over L-citrulline for two reasons: It’s the form used in most studies that found performance benefits. There’s a fair chance malic acid confers additional health and performance benefits. In other words, there’s no downside to citrulline malate, and it may be superior to L-citrulline.
The Bulk/Lean Cycle is where it’s at: When you’ve cut to around 10 percent body fat, you’re ready to lean bulk, and when you’ve lean bulked to no more than 17 percent body fat, you’re ready to cut. Rinse, repeat, and reap the amazing and transformative benefits. When you get settled into this rhythm of moving between cut and lean bulk phases, you’ll probably find that your cuts last 10 to 14 weeks and your lean bulks 12 to 16 weeks. This is how you get the physique you really want. You simply repeat the process of lean bulking to add muscle and cutting.
Water intake per day: start with a baseline water intake of about 0.75 to 1 gallon per day, and add 1 to 1.5 liters per hour of exercise, plus a bit more for additional sweating, and you’ll be good. The easiest way to do this is to keep a bottle with you during the day and never allow yourself to go thirsty for too long.
The Five-Day BLS workout: 1 Push 2 Pull and Calves 3 Upper Body and Core 4 Legs 5 Upper Body and Core
•2 to 3 major muscle groups trained •Warm-up sets as needed •4 to 6 reps per hard set (on most exercises) •9 to 15 hard sets per workout •2 to 4 minutes of rest in between hard sets
The Five-Day Routine
Workout 1: Push Barbell Bench Press: Warm-up and 3 hard sets Incline Barbell Bench Press: 3 hard sets Dumbbell Bench Press: 3 hard sets Triceps Pushdown: 3 hard sets
Workout 2: Pull and Calves Barbell Deadlift: Warm-up and 3 hard sets One-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3 hard sets Lat Pulldown (Wide-Grip): 3 hard sets Leg Press Calf Raise*: 3 hard sets
Workout 3: Upper Body and Core Seated Dumbbell Press: Warm-up and 3 hard sets Dumbbell Side Lateral Raise: 3 hard sets Dumbbell Rear Lateral Raise (Seated): 3 hard sets Cable Crunch: 3 hard sets
Workout 4 Legs Barbell Squat: Warm-up and 3 hard sets Leg Press: 3 hard sets Lying Leg Curl: 3 hard sets Seated Calf Raise: 3 hard sets
Workout 5: Upper Body and Core Close-Grip Bench Press: Warm-up and 3 hard sets Barbell Curl: Warm-up and 3 hard sets Seated Triceps Press: 3 hard sets Dumbbell Hammer Curl: 3 hard sets
Progressive overload basics: When you get 6 reps for one hard set of most exercises, you immediately move up in weight by adding 10 pounds to the bar or moving up to dumbbells that are 5 pounds heavier (per dumbbell). Remember the example of how this works? Let’s say you’re squatting in the 4-to-6-rep range, and on your first (or second) hard set in the workout, you get 6 reps of 225 pounds. You then immediately add 10 pounds to the bar (not in your next workout), rest a few minutes, and get 4 or 5 reps on your next hard set. Great! The progression has succeeded, and you now work with 235 pounds in your current and future workouts until the next overload.
What if you only get 2 or 3 reps with the new, heavier weight before your form starts breaking down? What if the progression doesn’t succeed? In this case, you should drop the weight back to the original, lighter load (225 pounds in our example) and work there until you can get 6 reps for two hard sets (in the same workout). Then, you should immediately move up to the heavier weight again on your next hard set (even if that’s in your next workout) and try again. If you do that and still can’t get at least 4 reps, go back to the lighter weight and work with it until you can do three hard sets of 6 reps (in the same workout). At this point, your progression should succeed. Also, if you get 6 reps in your first set after moving up in weight, then you get to move up again! And what should you do if you get 6 reps on your third and final hard set for an exercise in your workout? You should increase the weight on your first hard set of your next performance of that exercise. You’ve probably also noticed that I’ve said I want you to work in the 4-to-6 rep range on most exercises, but not all. The reason for this is some isolation exercises are hard to properly perform in lower-rep ranges. This is why I recommend you use the 8-to-10-rep range (70 to 75 percent of one-rep max) for all exercises in this chapter as well as chapter 23 that are marked with an asterisk.
How to overload abdominals like the Plank: Once you can do at least one two-minute hard set of the basic plank, you can increase the difficulty by making two small adjustments:1 Instead of positioning your elbows directly under your shoulders, extend them three to six inches in front of your shoulders. Instead of relaxing your glutes, flex them. Once you can do one two-minute hard set of the modified plank, start doing a more difficult exercise instead, like the cable crunch, abdominal rollout, or weighted sit-up.
Tolerance varies from person to person, but for me, any more than 70 to 80 grams of whey or casein in a day will upset my stomach. Therefore, if you’re getting too many of your daily calories from protein powder (30 percent or more) and not ensuring your remaining calories are extremely nutrient-dense, you’re likely to develop nutritional gaps in your diet that can cause health problems over time. Eating too much protein powder—especially in one sitting—can also cause gas, bloating, and cramping. We can only have so much protein powder in a day before something just doesn’t feel right, especially when it comes to milk-derived powders like whey and casein. Don’t have more than 40 to 50 grams of protein from powder in one sitting.
Use my app, Stacked: There are literally hundreds of apps for tracking your workouts. I never quite liked any of the ones I’ve used in the past, so I made my own and use it to plan and track all my training. It’s called Stacked, it’s 100 percent free, and whether you’re a beginner or an experienced weightlifter, it’ll help you better plan and do your workouts, accurately measure and monitor your body composition, and see and analyze your training progress. Go to www.getstackedapp.com now to check it out.
Find the sweet spot for fat loss protocol: I’ve worked and spoken with many thousands of people, and here’s what I’ve learned: 4 to 5 hours of weightlifting and 1.5 to 2 hours of high-intensity cardio per week will maximize fat loss while minimizing unwanted side effects. And that’s exactly what I recommend you work up to as your exercise “ceiling” when you’re cutting. What happens when you exceed those numbers and exercise even more? Some people’s bodies are particularly resilient and do fine with more exercise, but in my experience, many don’t. If you take it much further than I recommend, it’s more likely that hunger and cravings will kick into overdrive, sleep quality will decline, energy levels will plummet, and your mood will sour.
Water retention can vary wildly when you’re cutting. Sometimes you can go for two or even three weeks without losing weight and suddenly, overnight, drop several pounds through frequent urination (the “whoosh effect” bodybuilders often talk about). This overnight “flush” often occurs after a cheat meal or diet break because increasing calories (and carbs in particular) can significantly decrease cortisol levels, which in turn reduces water retention. Stool retention can also play tricks on you, obscuring both weight and fat loss by increasing body weight and bloating. All this is why it’s smart to wait two or three weeks before reducing your calories when you’ve hit your exercise ceiling and your weight or fat loss has stalled
To gradually cut calories every two weeks: cut your daily food intake by about 100 calories every 14 days by reducing your carbohydrate intake (don’t reduce your protein or fat). How low you can ultimately go will depend on your body, but a good rule of thumb is to stop cutting calories when you’ve reached about 90 percent of your BMR. And then, don’t remain there for more than a couple of weeks before calling it quits on the cut.
What should you do if you’ve been slightly below your BMR for a couple of weeks but still haven’t reached your desired body fat percentage? Your best bet in this case is to bring your calories back to your TDEE for 4-6 weeks to allow your body to normalize itself, and then start cutting anew