It is important to remember that your quest for muscles goes far beyond what you do in the gym. It involves what you eat, the activities you partake in, how much you sleep, your stress levels, and so on.
The lifestyle you live is ultimately responsible for the level of progress you make with your workouts. I read a story a while back that talked about an aerobics instructor who used to teach a daily fitness class at the local gym. One thing he noticed was that some of his students made fantastic progress and lost bodyfat, while several of the other students never lost any bodyfat. At first he couldn’t understand why because they all performed the exact same workout.
But he later found out that the reason why some of the students succeeded and others failed… It wasn’t because of the workouts they did in the gym, but rather it was from the lifestyle choices they made outside the gym!
The ones who consistently ate a clean nutritious diet, avoided alcohol, and lived an overall healthy lifestyle made the best progress. While the others who ate junk food, drank alcohol, etc. made very little progress. Bottom line, if you want to have an above average body, it’s going to take above average effort in all areas of your life. Not just for the hour you spend in the gym. You must treat your body right, which means eating a healthy diet, avoiding harmful drugs, and getting adequate sleep and rest. I’m going to dive in deeper and cover more info about some of these very critical lifestyle influences.
NUTRITION…
Exactly what you should eat, when to eat it, etc. has already been covered in our sample meal plans. So basically what I want to cover here is some extra tips to help keep you on track when life gets in the way so that you can still reap the results from the 21-Day Fast Mass Building Program.
Junk Food
Eating junk food drains your body of energy and loads it up with toxins. This goes beyond simply getting lean, but it affects your entire athletic performance. I mean if you had a high performance sports car would you fill it up with cheap grade fuel? Or if you had a $100,000 racehorse would you feed it cake and cookies?
I think you get the point…
The easiest way to prevent eating junk food is to not bring it in your home. If the junk food isn’t there, than you can’t eat it. Simple as that!
Ideally you would go through your kitchen cupboards and refrigerator and get all the junk food out of your home. I personally do not keep any junk food in my house. So if I get a craving and feel like snacking I’ll have some air popped popcorn, veggies and dip, or just eat a full meal.
Now this is the “ideal” situation. However, if you live with family members who are not on board with your healthy lifestyle this may cause some conflicts. I know when I was living at home with my parents there was no way my mom would give up her ice cream. And my dad always had to have a bag of potato chips on hand. So this did create temptations for me. But if it is at all possible I’d suggest you opt to live in a junk food free home. It will be much better for you and your physique in the long run.
Water
A little know fact about water is that the less you drink, the more likely you will become over-trained with your workouts. Muscle tissue is comprised of over 70% water. Sweating from hard workouts causes you to lose body water. Eating a high protein diet increases your body’s need for water. And water is needed as a transport mechanism for various nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. If your water intake is too low, your ability to transport nutrients to your muscles becomes compromised, you’ll lose muscle fullness, and toxins will build up in the body. To stay adequately hydrated you should drink 0.6 ounces of water per pound of bodyweight daily. To put this in perspective a 200 lb. man should drink 120 ounces of water over the course of the day. That’s about 15 glasses of water daily. While this may seem like a lot, it is not that hard to consume this much water. Simply having a glass or two with each meal would equal about 10 glasses. And then sipping water from a water bottle during the day and during your workouts can easily make up for the other 5 glasses. As I am writing this right now I have a water bottle on my desk that I’ve been sipping from all morning. When I’m at the gym I always keep a water bottle with me at all times so I can take sips in between sets to keep myself hydrated.
(Note: this is an average water intake, if you live in a particularly hot climate or have a physically
demanding job where you are working hard for long hours then you may need to drink even more water.)
Meal Preparation
The whole idea of eating 6 well-balanced meals per day is by no means a new concept. But for the majority of people the problem is they don’t have the time or the will power to eat properly.
However, when you plan things out right this is just not the case. Eating a “junk-
food” diet actually takes just as much (or more) time then it does to eat a
healthy muscle building diet. For example, at lunch time getting in your car and
heading on over to the fast food joint, waiting in line at the drive through, and then heading back to work takes a lot more time then if you had your food prepared in advance and ready to eat.
The key to successfully following a healthy bodybuilding nutrition program is planning ahead. When you cook your food always prepare for several meals. It doesn’t take much more time to cook larger quantities of food than it does to cook smaller amounts of food for just one meal. Purposely plan to have leftovers that you can re-heat in the microwave, this saves time and makes it easier to have quick nutritious meals on hand. I’ll often grill several steaks at a time, cook several chicken breasts at a time, bake several potatoes at a time, cook up a large pot of rice, etc.
Plan ahead for several meals at a time. It doesn’t take much more time to cook for several meals in advance then it does to cook for a single meal at a time!
A Well Stocked Kitchen
In order to prepare and eat healthy nutritious meals you need to have the
necessary kitchen supplies. Make sure to get yourself a good set of pots, non-stick frying pans, measuring cups and spoons, food scale, a good set of kitchen knives, blender, kitchen grill (such as the George Foreman grill), electric kettle, good quality spatulas and other cooking utensils like tongs, ladle spoons, etc. These are the basic tools that you’ll need to prepare your meals.
For packing and storing your food you will also need to get some plastic food storage containers. Get a half dozen smaller sized containers for packing individual meals. And also get a few bigger containers that you can use for storing leftovers in the refrigerator. Make sure to get good containers
with tight fitting lids so they will not pop open easily. You can get plastic containers with “snap on” lids that are great for packing food to go.
Get a couple shaker bottles for mixing up protein drinks and also get an insulated lunch bag or small hand held cooler for taking your food with you to work. You will be able to get all of these kitchen supplies at places like Wal-Mart for a fair price. Also check out the Dollar Stores as they often have decent quality kitchen utensils for very low cost.
First Aid Solutions For When You Screw Up!
With the low calorie “Primer Phase” the main thing you need to focus on is depleting your body and going into a caloric deficit. This is so you can set up the
Anabolic Amplifier Effect and make those rapid rebound gains during the high
calorie “Overload Phase”.
Now the biggest screw up that you can make during the “Primer Phase” is eating too darn much and going over your required calorie intake for the day. So if you do fall off the bandwagon and eat too much at a particular meal, a little rescue tip you can use is to simply have an Iso-Smooth protein shake mixed in water for your next meal.
This will still provide your body with some quality protein, but keep your calories low so you can make up for the excess calories that you ate earlier. Now I’m not saying that this is ok to do all the time, but for those occasional times that you do get off track you can replace some meals with protein shakes to help correct the calorie balance.
With the “Overload Phase” the opposite is true, the biggest screw up you can make is eating too little and not reaching your desired calorie intake for the day. So make sure to do whatever you can do get all your meals in for the day.
But if you do skip a meal then having a protein bar can help. You should keep some protein bars on hand at your work, in your locker, gym bag, brief case, etc. just in case you get caught without a meal. Snacking on nuts and trail mix is another way to bump up your calories as well. Again these are not the ideal scenarios, but it sure beats missing a meal and not consuming your required calorie intake.
As for cheating on your diet, this should be avoided all together during the low calorie “Primer Phase”, but if you do have a cheat meal during the high calorie
“Overload Phase” it’s not that big of a deal. Just pick things up for your very next
ALCOHOL…
The simple answer here is to avoid alcohol entirely and you’ll be better off. We don’t need alcohol to survive and it really has no place in a muscle-building program. However, social drinking is a part of most people’s lifestyle to some degree or another so it needs to be addressed.
Having a drink or two on occasion is a part of enjoying life for many people
(Lee & Vince included) and it’s important to find a lifestyle balance for the sake
of your long term happiness and success.
However, we do NOT recommend drinking every day or in excess such as binge drinking. Not only does that add up to a lot of empty calories, but alcohol also lowers testosterone levels and increases estrogen levels! This is the exact opposite of what you want, unless you like having a beer belly and man-boobs!
Alcohol negatively affects protein synthesis. Protein synthesis is the process
where amino acids are joined together to form complete proteins. Excessive alcohol consumption slows this process down drastically. And since your muscles are made up of protein, this will limit your recovery and muscle growth.
Alcohol causes dehydration. The kidneys must filter very large amounts of
water in order to break down the alcohol, and this can result in severe dehydration within the body. As I mentioned above water plays an absolutely crucial role in the muscle-building process, and being even slightly dehydrated is a recipe for disaster. The muscles alone are comprised of over 70% water.
Alcohol consumption causes vitamins A, C, the B’s, calcium, zinc and phosphorus to all be drained from your body at rapid rates. Vitamins and minerals keep every little process in your body functioning properly, and many of these processes involve muscle growth.
puts your fat metabolism on hold. That’s why I do NOT recommend any drinking when you are following the low calorie “Primer Phase” of the program. However, a drink or two on the weekend during the high calorie “Overload Phase” isn’t going to stop your gains entirely. Just keep it to a minimum.
How To Booze Your Way Buff…
This is a phase that we came up with while partying in Las Vegas… It’s a given that whenever two devilishly handsome stallions hit up the hottest nightclubs in Sin City there is going to be some drinking going on. The question though is how much???
Let’s just say there was no muscle building happening that night
Minimize The Damage…
Despite what the picture above depicts, we are NOT heavy drinkers. But we both have a good sense of humor and like to have fun when we go out clubbing. What you’ll find below is my personal “secret” strategy for minimizing the damage done by drinking.
First off, I don’t keep any alcohol in my house what so ever. If it’s not there then you can’t drink it. The only time there is ever any alcohol brought in is the occasional bottle of wine for a special dinner or something like that.
When I do go out to a club or party I will space out my drinks accordingly… 1 alcoholic drink (always a single drink, never doubles!)
1 diet soda 1 glass of water Repeat…
This way I always have a glass in my hand so it looks like I’m drinking and having a good time. There is no social pressure from friends to “drink” because they already think that I am. But only 1 out of every 3 drinks contains alcohol. So I can be out and have a half dozen “drinks” during the night, but only 2 are alcoholic drinks. This really helps minimize the damage done while still allowing me to enjoy myself and be social with friends.
Other alternatives that you can include as well are non-alcoholic beer, non- alcoholic wine, etc. In fact this past New Years Eve Lee and his girlfriend Trish literally celebrated with a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne and rang in 2011 sober!
Tobacco & Other Recreational Drugs…
These days it’s no longer “cool” to smoke, at least it’s not throughout North America. More and more public places these days are becoming “Smoke Free” which is fantastic in my opinion.
My advice when it comes to smoking and recreational drugs is simply avoiding them entirely. Tobacco is a very additive drug. It’s virtually impossible for
someone to be a “social smoker” and only smoke on special
occasions or infrequent enough to not do any serious damage. As you know, most people who smoke have to smoke several times a day because they are addicted to the habit.
Now I don’t need to list the dangers of smoking here. It’s
common knowledge. If you haven’t heard yet that smoking is bad for you, than you must have been living under a rock for the past 20 years.
As for recreational drugs the same advice applies - simply avoid them altogether. Not only are they illegal and can land you in jail, but they are very addicting and devastating to your overall health and fitness.
These things are not socially acceptable so there shouldn’t be any social pressure or reason to use them. And if your friends are pressuring you into using drugs, maybe you should re-consider the company you keep!
10
chapter
question: How do I determine whether or not to start with 1-week of cutting, 2-weeks of bulking or 2-weeks of bulking and 1-week of cutting?
Answer: First off, you are responsible for your results so we ultimately encourage
you to experiment with both methods and monitor your results. The mirror and personal feedback will give you the honest and accurate answer.
Here is our advice for your first 21-day cycle: If you’re over 15-20% body fat then begin with 1-week of cutting and 2-weeks of bulking. If you’re less than 15% body fat then begin with 2-weeks of bulking and 1-week of cutting.
In other words, if you’re starting with a “bigger and not so lean” physique, let’s cut some fat with the Primer Phase (1-week of cutting) and maximize clean gains in your Overload Phase (2-weeks of bulking). If you’re starting with a “skinny and small” physique, let’s pack on some quick size using a 2-week bulking phase then 1-week cutting phase.
Another way to answer this question: If your body needs more size and mass, start