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2003/03/26, 12:12 PM
sorry for posting it in a couple of forums. I just needed the answers and thought that different people would view it in different areas and I would get some different opinions. I have another question. Is the Atkins diet good to gain mass? if i keep my calories and protein the same 3400 cals. 300 pro. but minimize the carbs? and also you said more cardio. Doesnt that contradict my plan of gaining muscle? wont i drop fat and muscle? let me know
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2003/03/26, 05:14 PM
The idea of the cardio was for your "hardening" cycle. Not during your mass cycle. This is to keep things like the love handles in check. I advise against the Atkins diet. This is not a good long term approach I don't think...I know people have had weight loss success with it, but I do not believe it being a healthy one. Thyroid shutdown, carbohydrate intolerance, not to mention the long term implications of unregulated saturated fat intake. The basic idea has merit, but keep some carbs in your diet. Even on your "hardening phase", carb meals are in order. Will help keep the metabolism honest and not to mention glycogen storage so your workouts don't go totally to hell. On your gaining cycle, use good complex carbs, brown rice, whole grain breads, even some pasta won't hurt. Keep your protein high, as you gain, you need to adjust your caloric intake to accomadate this gain. But just keep an eye on the mirror. When you don't like what you see anymore, time to drop back and throw in that cardio. I find it much easier to stay leaner, it is so much easier to lose a couple percent bodyfat, and only diet for 6 weeks, as compared to 16 weeks. this is extremely tough. Good luck, long answer, but hope it makes sense.
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The one goal you will NEVER achieve is the one you never attempt.
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2003/03/26, 06:57 PM
Thanks again..I didnt start the Atkins diet, I just wanted to know. I heard it was good but i figured I would gain all the weight back as soon as I stop eating carbs. Now, when I get to the hardening up phase, how many weeks should I do that before switching back to gaining? Should I keep going from gaining to hardening forever? Do I do the same workout routine in hardening phase as Gaining stage just with a smaller diet? I really dont know. And I dont want to mess up. YOur help will be appreciated
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2003/03/26, 08:36 PM
Your "hardening" phase is really as long as you think you need it. 2-3 weeks is usually sufficient if you haven't overdone the fat gaining too badly in the gaining phase. This will be up to you and the mirror. As far as the workout, you can keep the same workout if you like during the hardening, do not drop your weights. Just add about 25% more cardio than you are doing, and drop some bad calories. For instance, I use heavy cream in my protein shakes for gaining. On a hardening phase, I ditch the heavy cream, the high calorie after workout meal, and add cardio. 2-3 weeks usually gets you back to "managable", and I will start a new workout. As far as doing this forever, I think that as long as you are going to bodybuild, this is the way to go. If you are ever thinking about taking it to the next level, competition, or if you just want to gain lean mass and look good with your shirt off, this is a very good way to go. Nothing gets so out of hand you can't take your shirt off anymore because you gained too much if you know what I mean. Sure, if you keep on a gaining phase you can gain more, but I predict most of it will be fat, and to just see the scale go up is bad. You will one day want to lose that fat, and it will be very hard, and when you are done, you will most likely find that you will end up the same size as had you stayed lean. Dieting is no fun! LOL...
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The one goal you will NEVER achieve is the one you never attempt.
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2003/03/27, 11:41 AM
I quite agree...dieting is no fun. And for some of us (over 30), it becomes a little harder losing the fat gained through the mass cycle. Genetics also play a huge role in how much you can actually gain in mass.
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**_Robert_**
Pain is temporary; glory is forever!
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