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Originally Posted by PowerManDL
Do you want me to be nice, or be honest? :p
Ok seriously:
1) I'm not getting the rationale for throwing in exclusively high-rep work at the beginning, with no heavy muscle-maintaining work. Given that you've got a 10-day cycle going, there's easily room to throw in even something HIT-like (ie full body, low volume, 6-10 reps) without impacting recovery too much.
2) RE: the protein cycling. That's something I've never gotten. Fix your protein at a given level and fluctuate the carb/fat as needed. I know you explained your rationale, but I'm thinking of this from a purely utilitarian and simplification standpoint....anything extra you throw in is going to be a deterrent to adherence.
3) It's good that you did include the points about managing recovery along w/ the training and diet factors. That's something that does get overlooked plenty. IMO and IME, preventing a stress response while dieting is one of the most important things you can do, which means manipulating training as a function of diet instead of the other way around.
My basic template for such things, assuming fat loss is the primary goal, is to move calories as low as you can get away with, incorporate refeeding strategies as needed, and otherwise limit/restrict activity to the bare minimum needed. This might mean you could handle 1-3 "moderate" strength sessions, 1-3 intensive anaerobic sessions (the "metabolic disturbance" stuff), and pretty much however much LI-aerobic stuff you'd care to throw in since it really won't impact recovery. Basically you just have to watch the frequency and volume of your taxing modalities, and adjust them according to the feedback from the individual. It's really easy to get beat up, and the urge to do too much is just as powerful in dieters.
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*Rubs Hands Together*
Good questions Matt, pretty much the ones I knew would be thrown most at me.
High reps-I wanted this program to be useful as a break in program for "newbies" as well as present a different challenge to perhaps more advanced trainees. The thought isn't too different than Cosgroves approach in NROL which was something I always enjoyed about that program. The first 30 days of this program is really vicious on your muscular endurance but also really primes you for the rough lifting that is coming ahead, the main goal to prevent injury. You take a newbie in training and put them on a lower rep/higher set scheme and it just leads to problems more than not, even if in between a higher rep layout. So the minimum LBM loss you COULD occur on that higher rep pattern for 30 days is far outweighed by what I consider the "priming" phase.
Obviously this is a generic program and generic programs can't fit everyone but I certainly think it comes close to everyone being able to gain something from it and a large something at that. In general the fat loss approach is diet down, lift harder, diet down more, lift harder, train harder. Its a pattern that does work and this program does follow but with the intentions of setting you up for as much protection as possible from yourself.
Protein Cycle-I new this would be the chief "WTF?" about this program. Being that I work on a caloric and nutrient cycle I felt the need to keep the protein really high on lower days, this is larger due to the women that will be using this program with a lower body weight. A woman at 125 on a low day will get 1125 calories. That's vicious. You take the protein level really high and you are creating a body feeding frenzy on amino acids, raising body temperature levels (assuming quality of protein use of course), helping with fullness, the list goes on. That amount of protein is just not needed on a lifting day when she will be getting 1750 calories to use. Her gram amount of protein on that day will be high enough for repair but she will also have room for a nice carb load.
Some have looked at it an gone "well I mean really its carb cycling isn't it?" Yeah it's all of it. You cycle fat, carbs and protein, nothing stays exactly the same, as it shouldn't in my mind because each day brings a different need and response of the body. I also didn't want to put too much of a focus of carbs yet again being a reason I can't achieve my body comp.
Why take out certain carbs?
Taking away these carbs allows for a almost guarantee that the trainee will get in the really need nutrients in this program (fruit and greens) and the best of veggie starch sources.
Quote:
'My basic template for such things, assuming fat loss is the primary goal, is to move calories as low as you can get away with,
incorporate re-feeding strategies as needed, and otherwise limit/restrict activity to the bare minimum needed"
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That's pretty much the template here as well, its just moving the deficit lower with activity rather then calories. The way this program is laid out the caloric intake needed to achieve maintenance is pretty high.
Overall what is this? Is this some earth shattering everything is about to change program?
Of course not. It is though more than just a program but an ideal and/or style of training that values eating more and training hard more so over eating less and training to get by. I have found the latter when done wrong leads to more damage and more of a headache especially for those who are involved in the never ending dieting down process. The average person I get contact from doesn't eat near enough for their training. So I take the problem and reverse it, make you train enough for what you eat. That reversal can bring about a great metabolic advantage...when done right. Can it be done wrong? Very much so. There are always pros and cons. But this program can do a good amount for any trainee in fat loss.
As a trainer I keep seeing over and over again two things.
-Those not achieving results because they are overstressing their body with exercise and lack of nutrition intake.
-Those not achieving results because they keep being taken out of the game due to injury. Usually this is not of a "freak" nature accident, but due to overuse patterns,training styles, too much cardio and isolation work.
To me this program solves most problems in one shot and I believe in works well in both its scientific approach and ease of application.