Blonde will make you STRONG

[iRaise]

Shiiit, lot to talk about here. Lets break it down (I will to be concise):

How can calories possibly be king for physique goals?

Calories determine body fat (at least a major factor). So if you are over you put on fat/under lose. Physique is all about muscle to fat ratio and proportion. So If you are an 80kg guy lifting three times a week, you can have the cleanest healthiest diet ever, filled with chicken and protein, but you will be fat on 5500 a day. As you will be probably double the KCALs you need. In terms of shape too, training is obviously a huge factor.

'I know 100% that if I got my protein from different sources my physique would have been very different' The sis true as protein quality is really important i.e. the leucine levels as they signify MPS (muscle protein synthesis)

'I never used to count calories. All I was concerned with was getting that 1.5g of protein per lb of bodyweight.' As long as you aware of food, then this works. But it worked by accident, if you just ate what you want it wouldn't have right? You were just 'lucky' that your KCALs and your activity matched. Some people just eat and have to measure it all out.

'The one I regularly use has 70g of protein per 370kcals and I know there are many that are even leaner', thats true there are leaner ones, but thats the same macros and chicken, and with chicken (or most other lean meats) you get the bits and minerals? I honestly struggle to see why 90% of people would use supplements. I see why they are needed at times, but to get around 1g per lbs (which is probably gonna be enough for nearly everyone, not to say you shouldn't go over, rather be over than under) food should get you there.

'Perhaps I was one of those guys that are 'really on it' so shouldn't be comparing my past self to myself now' this so much. I get the feeling, and I am sure I have said it in the past, you were/must have been so so so committed and dedicated to it. Something most people just can't be. I can't wait to talk this through face to face, but your work rate must have been in the top 5% of gym goers. For an amateur so to speak (as in it wasn't your living/day job) you have incredible dedication.

'Maybe you could try it? I'll give you my old diet plan and you can see what it does for you' Your old meal plan definitely wouldn't work for me, 5500 I would definitely be gaining fat and muscle mass. I am only 14st 4lbs. The last time I went over 5000 I got to 16 stone .

'Dependent on what else I've eaten that day I'll select the one that's most appropriate. If I feel I'm a bit low on carbs I'll have the flapjack for example. I've learnt this through doing it for years so I just kind of know where I'm at each day.' Definitely a huge point, you have X years of trial and error, which means you will be there or thereabouts most days. For beginners/intermediates it is much tougher.

'I can't believe that someone who's so against Ant's vegan, nuts and plants diet would give a moments thought to something which is enough of a fad to be able to be described as 'on the rise again at the minute'...... Perhaps I'm being levelled?' I see your point, I still get all of my macros in during the day though, I just suffer less from hunger. My point against being a vegan is it is a cult and they think its the best way. It clearly isn't, as there are few 'best' ways.

'I'm pretty sure that intermittent fasting isn't on the rise with any bodybuilder or strongman anywhere on the planet. Are those not your goals anymore?' 100%, no pro BB or Strongman would do it. I don't think anyway, but they are pro's so they have far more discipline with hunger etc. Well strongmen can just eat. But a BB dieting down for a comp, will have far more will power than I would to not eat. From a natural athlete perspective too, it doesn't make too much difference. If you are a lean 130kg, you probably need to get more MPS signals. For the average human, you only get 4 a day, unless you are a genetic freak, so more than 4 protein feedings a day, the protein tends to go to total body synthesis ( I think its called) so like nerves/skin/hair/organs etc. MPS can only be signalled 4 times a day. So I still get those in during the day.

[EvilPie]

Come on mate of course I'm not suggesting that everybody should be eating 5500kcals a day just because it worked for me at one stage. What I'm saying is that if you focus on protein as your primary source of food then your food will naturally tend towards fewer calories. If you train pretty hard and go for 1.5g of protein per lb of bodyweight from lean food sources your overall kcals will pretty much take care of themselves and you won't need to count them.

The meal plan I followed was based on a Dorian Yates one I found in a magazine. Believe it or not I adjusted it so that I didn't eat as much as Dorian and obviously you should do the same. It was loosely based on 1.5g of protein per lb bodyweight. You're 14st 4lb so that would be about 250g of protein. The meal plan had 2 egg based meals (breakfast and supper), 1 chicken based meal, 1 red meat or fish based meal and then supplements in between to top up the protein to 1.5g. You seem to think I'm advocating 'drinking' my food but I'm not, there's a lot of food in there it's just that it's not shit food so there's plenty of room to add more protein without having excessive kcals and becoming a fat fuck.

I think your whole way of thinking around nutrition is way off the mark. You're obsessed with kcals and that's really not the way when you're trying to build muscle or get stronger. Sure if your primary goal is to lose/gain weight then kcals are all that matters but you're not, you're trying to get strong and build muscle. It seems like when you go on a bulking phase all you want is to throw as many calories down your neck as possible then to trim down you reduce them. You have this idea that to make gains you need to be over your kcal maintenance level and that if you eat a tub of ice cream a day you'll somehow get stronger. I understand that strongmen eat loads of calories but it's the protein they're after not the calories. They might target 8000kcals but that's because they know that the food sources they choose will give them sufficient protein to build muscle and of course carbs to fuel them at that kcal mark. They aren't bothered about getting a bit fat so they make sure they're getting more than enough. 

When you were on 5000 per day what were you eating? From what I remember you saying it was pretty much everything you could lay your hands on as long as it helped you hit that 5000 mark. What if you'd gone for more protein based sources or substituted a protein shake or two for one of your tubs of ice cream? You'd have gotten more protein right? Doesn't protein build muscle? Maybe you could've got the same amount of protein but with only 4000kcals? Would you have got so fat then? Would you have gained the same amount of lean muscle? Would you have been any less strong?

When I spoke about getting my protein from different sources I wasn't taking about the quality of the protein I was talking about the quantity of protein. I meant that if I got it from pies instead of chicken fillets I wouldn't have had the same physique. 50g of protein from chicken compared to 50g of protein from pie will lead to very different physiques. They should in theory develop the same amount of lean muscle but with the pie diet you won't be able to see it.

It wasn't complete luck that my kcals didn't go over the quantity that would make me fat. I started off with my diet being based mainly on protein with my macros at maybe 55/40/5. At this stage I was looking to lose weight as I was over 18st. I'd monitor my waist line to make sure I was trimming fat and then adjust my diet to suit my training as things developed but always having the same amount of protein to keep building the muscle. As you get more muscle you can naturally burn more calories anyway so you can add calories. As you train more you can again add calories so when I started playing squash for example I could have more. All the time I just monitored my waist and as long as it was reducing I was happy. Once it got to about 33"/34" I just kept an eye on it to make sure it didn't get bigger. As my training developed I'd sometimes be hungry so I knew I needed more carbs. What happened is my protein stayed at 1.5g per lb but I could maintain my trim physique with vastly different macros probably more in the 35/55/10 region. It was at this point I was on 5500kcals per day as I was training like a mad man. Whilst I was trimming (and at the same time gaining lean mass) I was probably closer to 3000kcals because I was heavily swayed towards protein.

I think that'll do for now..... Will definitely be a fun conversation

[iRaise]

I do agree that if you focus on protein, as it is more satiating, you have a better chance of consuming less. But I would say its far from a given. It is still easy to over eat other things. It is so person dependant on whether you need to count though, you could just say yeah happy with how I look stay the same. Or could say need to lose, lets take out X. My rationale for counting them is you cannot go wrong, you have a very black and white, guaranteed formula for success if you stick to it. You can have foods in there you want, and work on quantities that work for you. Having more KCALs to play with (i.e. being a heavy, frequently training male obviously gives you more to play with).

When I have been trying to get over 4000KCAL protein was never my problem. I think I was having about 300 at one point with 1 PWO shake, now speaking to more people, i do agree with maybe I am in the minority that can eat that much meat etc. So I see why shakes can be useful in that scenario. I would just argue its not necessary, Dorian was an assisted athlete, there just isn't much benefit from going above 2.5g/kg 1.25g/lb for protein. It is likely to just be wasted. But if you need to get 150-200 and you can't get it in, 100% you need a shake. But for most people, I just struggle to see how food won't suffice for 1.5-2.5g/kg. Maybe I under estimate its difficulty?

You are right with muscle building, nutrition does come second. Training is the most important factor. You can eat perfect but you have to lift the weight, you can eat awfully but still gain if you lift the weight. Nutrition is there for optimal recovery and optimal gains as it were. The reason I ate so much when I first started was to maximise my beginner gains. Get as much as I could when it was 'easy', in reality it probably wasn't necessary. Strongman still only eat around 300-400g of protein so thats only 900-1200 KCALs and they are eating 7/8/9000+ calories. Calories are key for strongmen, and probably carbs as their training is pretty brutal. Protein will be up there in priority, but since they have no need to stay lean they don't have to be too crafty. As you say, would rather be over than under. The point about having to be over maintenance is actually really interesting. We had this debate a few weeks ago, I will try and summarise it real quick. How much over do you need? Nobody knows. So in theory it may be possible to gain muscle post beginner stage without being in a surplus, but you would need to progressively overload in training, which is really hard not being in a surplus. So in general, I would say most people have to be in a surplus to gain muscle. If you reduce activity (that could just be steps throughout the day subconsciously) you will get in a surplus by eating the same though. That is a good debate though, one which I am interested in.

As I said, protein has never been my problem. My problem was then, getting the KCALs in. I was pretty fussy then too, so only so much potato a man can eat. Now I eat a much more varied diet, I could do it more easily. Great questions on the maybe's. I honestly dont know. The psychological bonus I got from knowing I was so fuelled really helped. Could I have done it on 4,000 probably, if I knew what i knew now. But back then, I think I would have mental bottled it. Protein does build muscle to a point though, you still need to lift more, you can't build muscle without lifting more, so calories and carbs come in there to make sure you have recovered and fuelled to progressively overload. And at a point, protein becomes redundant and you just turn it into carbs or urinate it out.

Depends on the pie, protein quality for muscle building is key. If you take almonds for example, they have a very low leucine content. So you need more of them. If it is a chicken pie, it is similar speshly when you add in the rest of your meal. If you are having chicken rice and peas, that could be the same KCAL and macro content of a pie depending on the pie, does that make sense? So like people go batshit crazy about shepards pie, but its ok to have chicken potato and peas, is it not exactly the same but deconstructed?

I do think the average person probably does have to sway towards protein psychologically, because they may just not hit it, as they dont know what it 'takes' so to speak to get an adequate amount in, I would be interested to see how you would do (I am guessing you do it now and pass it pretty well) but even when I dont think about food, the habit is there now to go protein first whenever I make a meal. Others may go, well I want pasta and just have a bowl of pasta etc.

I do find this really interesting and constructive. There isn't many right or wrongs with nutrition in terms of ways to get there. They are all governed by the rule of thermodynamics but of course there are so many routes to get there. It really is person dependant, I think everyone just has to be aware and take the least amount of risk/chance needed, whilst having the most amount of freedom and flexibility. But with those two criteria, comes more and more work to plan it out/prep it/think about tit. The longer you do it, as you are testament to, the easier it gets right? Your food right now hasn't taken too much thought but is pretty bang on if I recall?

[iRaise]

Little training update,

Went for a more volume approach yesterday, and will do today.

Bench 12/10/8/15

Will probably add a set of 6 in next week or maybe 5 to really push it, although the 8 was tough.

Will try and do the same today with squats.

[EvilPie]

You talk about protein being wasted and also protein being converted in to carbs which are kind of contradictory. At one stage I was really avoiding carbs other the shakes I had, some veg in the evening and also a cup of oats in my pre workout. I never felt tired at the time and my training was going well so I'm sure a lot of the protein I had was being used as fuel rather than for repair. It wasn't being wasted, I was using what I needed for muscle repair and any remaining was being converted in to fuel. The fact that I lost getting on for 3st in 3 months suggests that I wasn't converting more than I needed for fuel. You've said that you can't 'bulk' without gaining an amount of fat. Didn't I bulk in that 3 month spell? I gained a lot of lean muscle and was stronger than ever before whilst losing 3st and 5" off my waist. Got to be honest I detest the term 'bulking'. It just gives people an excuse to get fat. You can 100% gain lean muscle without gaining fat. It's a difficult balance hence the reason people take the easy route and 'bulk' but it's in no way impossible.

Protein is always first when I make a meal. It's 200g of chicken or lean red meat and then whatever else falls in place around it. If I have a cheat meal such as a sandwich pack when I'm out I'll always look at the protein content and aim for the highest even if that's the most with the most calories (within reason).

It doesn't depend on the pie at all. There isn't a pie on the planet that is remotely similar in macronutrients to a chicken fillet unless of course you add a load of shit to the fillet. My lunch would be 200g of chicken fillet and that was it. I'd have a very small amount of sauce on it to make it bearable but it still wasn't comparable to a pie of any type, size or shape. That 200g chicken fillet meal gave me about 220kcals from 50g of protein and nothing else. When you don't combine your chicken with other items that's when you start to see huge changes in your physique. Don't get me wrong if you're not careful they could be bad changes and also unhealthy changes. This was just one meal and there would be another to follow two hours later which would be something different, I didn't just survive on chicken.

Because my lunch was only 220kcals I've got chunks spare to consume more protein without worrying about the kcal count. If you go on 'myfitnesspal' their generic chicken pie has 500kcals for 15g of protein. To get the same protein from that pie I'm having 7x as many calories.

I know exactly what you mean about deconstructing a meal. I know that a chicken pie is just chicken with some other stuff to make it nice. It's that other stuff be it pie covering/filling, a plate full of rice, potatoes bread etc. that I'd avoid and that's the whole point. Focus on the protein not the shit that comes with it and you won't go wrong.

Eat chicken and you'll do well. Eat KFC and you won't.

[iRaise]

I imagine in theory it is possible to bulk and not gain fat, so I am sure someone has, but I flat out refuse to believe someone has gained whatever lbs in muscle and 0lbs in fat. It is just the degree of fat they gain. I do agree, you can be sloppy with a bulk and just get fat, but you gain strength and size much quicker. Lean gains take tiiiiime. When you even it out, it may not be that dissimilar. But one you see more drastic changes lets say.

 I understand your point about the pie. I guess I am thinking about me making it as opposed to buying it. Yeah if you buy most meals out the protein content will probably be much lower.

I don't think we disagree too much, I think you just take a more hardline approach because you can. When I give most advice it is aimed more at general population. I would probably agree with most of your points for top level BB/athletes/strongmen etc.

[vegaslover]

I imagine in theory it is possible to bulk and not gain fat, so I am sure someone has, but I flat out refuse to believe someone has gained whatever lbs in muscle and 0lbs in fat. It is just the degree of fat they gain. I do agree, you can be sloppy with a bulk and just get fat, but you gain strength and size much quicker. Lean gains take tiiiiime. When you even it out, it may not be that dissimilar. But one you see more drastic changes lets say.

 I understand your point about the pie. I guess I am thinking about me making it as opposed to buying it. Yeah if you buy most meals out the protein content will probably be much lower.

I don't think we disagree too much, I think you just take a more hardline approach because you can. When I give most advice it is aimed more at general population. I would probably agree with most of your points for top level BB/athletes/strongmen etc.

When pie was mentioned. I thought more along the lines of your standard,pastry based pie, which obviously has loads of fat in, homemade or not. Shepherds/cottage pie obv a lot healthier and a lot more balanced macros wise.

[iRaise]

I imagine in theory it is possible to bulk and not gain fat, so I am sure someone has, but I flat out refuse to believe someone has gained whatever lbs in muscle and 0lbs in fat. It is just the degree of fat they gain. I do agree, you can be sloppy with a bulk and just get fat, but you gain strength and size much quicker. Lean gains take tiiiiime. When you even it out, it may not be that dissimilar. But one you see more drastic changes lets say.

 I understand your point about the pie. I guess I am thinking about me making it as opposed to buying it. Yeah if you buy most meals out the protein content will probably be much lower.

I don't think we disagree too much, I think you just take a more hardline approach because you can. When I give most advice it is aimed more at general population. I would probably agree with most of your points for top level BB/athletes/strongmen etc.

When pie was mentioned. I thought more along the lines of your standard,pastry based pie, which obviously has loads of fat in, homemade or not. Shepherds/cottage pie obv a lot healthier and a lot more balanced macros wise.

Yeah I was definitely thinking more shepherds/cottage. Honestly have no idea what would be in like a steak and kidney or something. No clue what macros would make up a pastry.

[EvilPie]

I imagine in theory it is possible to bulk and not gain fat, so I am sure someone has, but I flat out refuse to believe someone has gained whatever lbs in muscle and 0lbs in fat. It is just the degree of fat they gain. I do agree, you can be sloppy with a bulk and just get fat, but you gain strength and size much quicker. Lean gains take tiiiiime. When you even it out, it may not be that dissimilar. But one you see more drastic changes lets say.

 I understand your point about the pie. I guess I am thinking about me making it as opposed to buying it. Yeah if you buy most meals out the protein content will probably be much lower.

I don't think we disagree too much, I think you just take a more hardline approach because you can. When I give most advice it is aimed more at general population. I would probably agree with most of your points for top level BB/athletes/strongmen etc.

So you can 'bulk' without gaining fat but you can't gain lean muscle without gaining fat? What exactly does this bulk consist of if it's neither fat or muscle?

Surely whether you can gain muscle without fat is entirely dependant on how your body is made up before you start?

If you take a super lean athlete who's at 10% body fat then I agree that for them to gain more muscle without a bit of fat would be incredibly difficult if not impossible.

Imagine though that we take a 6' 4"guy who's 18st 4lb with 30% body fat and hasn't set foot in a gym for years. He consumes around 3000kcals of general shit to maintain his fat frame based on the inactive lifestyle he current leads. One day that guy suddenly changes everything and switches to 3000kcals of lean, protein based meals whilst simultaneously hitting the gym really hard 5 days a week. After 3 months that guy weighs 15st 7lbs with a 5" narrower waist and 3" bigger chest. Is it possible that he's lost body fat whilst at the same time gaining lean muscle or do you flat out refuse to believe it could happen?

[EvilPie]

I imagine in theory it is possible to bulk and not gain fat, so I am sure someone has, but I flat out refuse to believe someone has gained whatever lbs in muscle and 0lbs in fat. It is just the degree of fat they gain. I do agree, you can be sloppy with a bulk and just get fat, but you gain strength and size much quicker. Lean gains take tiiiiime. When you even it out, it may not be that dissimilar. But one you see more drastic changes lets say.

 I understand your point about the pie. I guess I am thinking about me making it as opposed to buying it. Yeah if you buy most meals out the protein content will probably be much lower.

I don't think we disagree too much, I think you just take a more hardline approach because you can. When I give most advice it is aimed more at general population. I would probably agree with most of your points for top level BB/athletes/strongmen etc.

When pie was mentioned. I thought more along the lines of your standard,pastry based pie, which obviously has loads of fat in, homemade or not. Shepherds/cottage pie obv a lot healthier and a lot more balanced macros wise.

Obviously this. If you're going to have a pie then make it a pukka pie

[iRaise]

I imagine in theory it is possible to bulk and not gain fat, so I am sure someone has, but I flat out refuse to believe someone has gained whatever lbs in muscle and 0lbs in fat. It is just the degree of fat they gain. I do agree, you can be sloppy with a bulk and just get fat, but you gain strength and size much quicker. Lean gains take tiiiiime. When you even it out, it may not be that dissimilar. But one you see more drastic changes lets say.

 I understand your point about the pie. I guess I am thinking about me making it as opposed to buying it. Yeah if you buy most meals out the protein content will probably be much lower.

I don't think we disagree too much, I think you just take a more hardline approach because you can. When I give most advice it is aimed more at general population. I would probably agree with most of your points for top level BB/athletes/strongmen etc.

So you can 'bulk' without gaining fat but you can't gain lean muscle without gaining fat? What exactly does this bulk consist of if it's neither fat or muscle?

Surely whether you can gain muscle without fat is entirely dependant on how your body is made up before you start?

If you take a super lean athlete who's at 10% body fat then I agree that for them to gain more muscle without a bit of fat would be incredibly difficult if not impossible.

Imagine though that we take a 6' 4"guy who's 18st 4lb with 30% body fat and hasn't set foot in a gym for years. He consumes around 3000kcals of general shit to maintain his fat frame based on the inactive lifestyle he current leads. One day that guy suddenly changes everything and switches to 3000kcals of lean, protein based meals whilst simultaneously hitting the gym really hard 5 days a week. After 3 months that guy weighs 15st 7lbs with a 5" narrower waist and 3" bigger chest. Is it possible that he's lost body fat whilst at the same time gaining lean muscle or do you flat out refuse to believe it could happen?

I mean you can't add just pure lean muscle. When you bulk, however you do it, there is going to be an element of fat gain. Mass gain can't be pure muscle is what I am saying, unless you are assisted, then it is a different game.

Again that is a caveat, a beginner does have probably around 6 months of magic where you can gain muscle and lose fat if you have the right approach for sure. That is absolutely true, again thats my bad for assuming we were talking about gym goers as it were. 100% agree with you in your situation there. Just plugged the numbers in and a 117kg guy who doesnt train and is sedentary has a resting BMR of 2300KCAL. If you took him to training 5 a week, then you are at 3300KCAL. It is the training that will gain the muscle, and the deficit that will lose the fat. When you are a beginner your nutrition can be really bad and you will gain muscle just because.

If however you were a 117 gym goer for a few years, it is a different story. When your beginner gains run out, you have to then be more sensible and specific. But as a beginner, you really do live the dream.

[EvilPie]

Harvey, I really think you need to take your training to the next level at some point and that means sorting your nutrition.

You often complain on here that you can't squat as much as 'x' or you can't deadlift as much as 'x' but what have you changed to try to make it happen? Your training looks like it's spot on. You definitely don't seem shy about putting in the gym hours but all this shit about skittles really is lol if you want to take it seriously.

You need to forget the obsession with kcals and focus on protein. I'm telling you it works, it worked for me so it will work for you. I've just spent 3 hours watching youtube videos and every opinion is covered. There's videos that say you can't gain lean mass without gaining fat and there are also ones that say you can. The video below is the closest to describing how I used to train and eat. 40 minute sessions in the gym, plenty of sleep and a shit load of protein from quality sources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz3AG-oCXTE

You might well come back with 'the guy's just trying to push his products'. That's fair enough but I did exactly what he's saying without buying anything from him.
I can't quite fathom how this doesn't make sense to you. You've become fixated on the quest for a certain quantity of calories and to hell with the source.

Can you spare 10 weeks to go with my suggestion? If I'm wrong then sure go back to ice cream and skittles and looking shit 6 months of the year. If I'm right I think you're at the age and size with the right attitude to training to make some serious improvements. You're basing your nutrition on various studies but why not try something different for yourself just on the off chance it might work?

You're incredibly stubborn but fortunately so am I and I'm not going to bow down to any study when I know for a fact that what I did goes against it. Nobody can tell me that I can't gain muscle whilst losing fat because I did. At the moment I'm in half decent shape and I'm confident that even now I could gain muscle whilst losing fat.

Perhaps we could have a bit of a challenge to see what happens. Something for us to try in the new year for 10 weeks. There will already be a surplus of fat because of Christmas gluttony so let's have a 10 week strict nutrition plan and see if it's possible to lose a chunk of that fat whilst at the same time getting a bit stronger and gaining some muscle mass.

You might think it's impossible but I'm saying it's not. Prove me wrong if you can but just give me 10 weeks to try to prove myself right.....

You up for it?

[iRaise]

Harvey, I really think you need to take your training to the next level at some point and that means sorting your nutrition.

You often complain on here that you can't squat as much as 'x' or you can't deadlift as much as 'x' but what have you changed to try to make it happen? Your training looks like it's spot on. You definitely don't seem shy about putting in the gym hours but all this shit about skittles really is lol if you want to take it seriously.

You need to forget the obsession with kcals and focus on protein. I'm telling you it works, it worked for me so it will work for you. I've just spent 3 hours watching youtube videos and every opinion is covered. There's videos that say you can't gain lean mass without gaining fat and there are also ones that say you can. The video below is the closest to describing how I used to train and eat. 40 minute sessions in the gym, plenty of sleep and a shit load of protein from quality sources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz3AG-oCXTE

You might well come back with 'the guy's just trying to push his products'. That's fair enough but I did exactly what he's saying without buying anything from him.
I can't quite fathom how this doesn't make sense to you. You've become fixated on the quest for a certain quantity of calories and to hell with the source.

Can you spare 10 weeks to go with my suggestion? If I'm wrong then sure go back to ice cream and skittles and looking shit 6 months of the year. If I'm right I think you're at the age and size with the right attitude to training to make some serious improvements. You're basing your nutrition on various studies but why not try something different for yourself just on the off chance it might work?

You're incredibly stubborn but fortunately so am I and I'm not going to bow down to any study when I know for a fact that what I did goes against it. Nobody can tell me that I can't gain muscle whilst losing fat because I did. At the moment I'm in half decent shape and I'm confident that even now I could gain muscle whilst losing fat.

Perhaps we could have a bit of a challenge to see what happens. Something for us to try in the new year for 10 weeks. There will already be a surplus of fat because of Christmas gluttony so let's have a 10 week strict nutrition plan and see if it's possible to lose a chunk of that fat whilst at the same time getting a bit stronger and gaining some muscle mass.

You might think it's impossible but I'm saying it's not. Prove me wrong if you can but just give me 10 weeks to try to prove myself right.....

You up for it?

I will watch that video at some point, but when someone wants to talk sensible, having their top off isn't going to convince me they have brains. He could legit be the smartest guy on the planet, but as soon as I saw him topless I'm already sceptical. I struggle to learn from youtube too as its so unregulated. Anyone can post. I try and only listen to the names I mentioned a few pages back, as they put out enough, and I have a lot of trust in those guys.

Is 'x' someone else, or is 'x' a number? I don't know if I am coming across on my training on this post, but my rep PR's have increased all year. Granted my absolute PRs have been up and down, but making strength gains 365 is a tough ask. For what its worth, and this N=1 I only eat skittles when I diet, which co insides with me looking my best and leanest, and absolute and relative strongest. By DL PB of 200 was at 81kg, my bench 110 was at 83kg and by 130 for 4 Squat was at 85. Numbers at 91 I just cannot hit, and unfortunately skittle less. The main reason I can't/don't try are niggles I have picked up during the diet. Lower back and shoulder is DL and bench and training shoeless is squat. I know the reasons why, I just don't want to put it to the test yet. I said to Sean maybe, or someone that although I'm not bored of strength work, my head isn't in it enough to make progression.

I am honestly not that stubborn, my views and beliefs have completely changed over the last few years. I did used to think how you thought. I used to think it was all protein, then the more I learn and understand the more I changed. I do understand many people's points of studies mean shit cos they are just a small sample size. If you want to be bigger/stronger you have to just lift the weight, but they help shape effective and safe practice. I have no doubts I will reach where I want to, it just takes time. Don't forget I have only been training 4 years, and the first 2 I was a 'bro' and just windmilled around. The quality of my movement now is far higher. The numbers I hit years ago are so irrelevant anyway as they were awful reps. I think judging specifics, i.e. just me and you is really tough too, as it is so person dependant. Doing more principles and theories seems better as it takes out the N=1 side (I know we can say oh he/she did this, but again I can't compare myself to DY, as he is just a different species).

My protein level for the last 4-5 weeks is:

40g bacon, egg
30g pancakes
50g mince
50g chicken
50g chicken
20g seeded bread

Thats 240g. That is 40g to 'high'. but I like all I eat.

I have no intention of dieting just yet though. I am more than happy eating the food I am. Nailing 4-6 months on maintenance is probably my proudest achievement so far. I have been between 89-91kg every time I have weighed in from around late June early July.

[iRaise]

High volume front squats weren't exactly fun today.

10/8/6/12.

Found an app called IronPath where it tracks the bar path of the movement. My now new favourite thing. So been using that a lot. Few really useful findings with some of my movements. Not sure if its rustiness (second time I have done them for ages) but my DL although consistent is more of a semi circle bar path. So looking to straighten that out. But rack pulls, BOR and dead stop rows were all pretty pleasing. Tried to get the front squat but the angle didn't pick it up well, so will try squat next week. Definitely the one that needs checking. OHP could do with a little look too. I want to do the bench just for a peak, but need to work on my arch so enough things to worry about there.

Definitely enjoying the more volume side lately, mentally just need a mini break from the heavier stuff. Having just the one set is definitely helping the enjoyment.

[EvilPie]

You know what we need to do. We need to get that training session in.

What you doing tomorrow? Let's just get this shit done! I'm nowhere near a 100% but clearly you're not either so it doesn't matter at all.

Check your PMs.