Anyways, I have been on a specific progressive overload program developed by JC Deen, but now that the training program is no longer being coached by JC. I had a strong urge to tweak certain aspects of the program to make it more useful for ME.
The easiest and biggest aspect of training is nutrition, so that is where I began the manipulation. Since I do IF (intermittent fasting 16hours/8hours) I have been training fasted ever since I began IF, which was about a year and a half ago. I thought it was suppose to be magical and all sort of godly things. It ended up not helping me gain weight (lean mass). So I figured I'd try eating before i train. This annoys me because I cant train at 7 am anymore, I now train about 2 hours after I eat, and it pushes it to about 12 noon.
So the inconvenience was not something I enjoyed. But the results are astonishing. I believe its a myth that some gurus say that timing = nothing. Well... sorry to burst their bubble, but with my calories staying the same, I have gained 3 lbs in the last 2.5 weeks... This has helped me get up to 183lbs.
Why does the "myth" work, vs fasted training? Well what sparked it for me is that people say Fasted training is a good method of using fat stores during training. However, I am BULKING which means I want muscle, and I don't care about the added fat. Your body cannot burn fat and put muscle on, especially on a more advanced trainee. So, the timing helps because your body is mainly focusing on getting rid of the fat and then after your workout, you eat the food and replenish the storage.
So, this method worked for ME, I think the bf%, age, and my body type played all the right cards for this experiment. I have little body fat, sub 10%. Burning fat during a workout is extremely hard for my body and most likely broke down some amino's in the process, resulting in a loss of lean + fat mass. Then the post workout nutrition restores both stores and has be neutralized. So the method I just explained is a very good method of maintaining your physique. However, not for gaining muscle or losing fat.
In the end of the day I eat the same amount of calories, I have been eating the same exact food, eating within the same 8 hour window and sleeping the same. All variables during my test remained the same; sure this is not a clinical test, but even clinical tests have many holes and too many variables.
I did the study because I have been researching for journals of testing the theory. People on bodybuilding.com are trying to pollute the net with crap saying that meal timing is irrelevant. I've gotten to the part of my life that I believe every one's chemistry is different, therefore the small differences, like meal timing, does have an effect. The effect can even be huge, just like the fed state I am talking about.
In conclusion, fed state training does have an effect on your body, and fasted training has an effect on your body, but both are different in results.
- Fasted training (with BCAA Supplements) is great for cutting fat mass and retaining lean mass
- Fed Training; A great method to use when trying to add mass to your structure
- Fasted Training is also good for keeping your exact physique while eating enormous amount of calories.
- Debunked the myth that meal timing does do something, it has an effect on many things. What is going on in my body? I don't know, i didn't do blood tests, or urine tests. I used a scale, bf calipers, and a mirror.
Until next time...
