[Leigh P.]

Originally Posted by Bob Jamison

Hi all,

I've lurked for a while and finally have a question that I hope is worthy of your time.

I'm former endurance junkie (bike racing and up to an Iron-distance tri) that switched to something that looked like Crossfit plus extra cardio. A few months ago I realized that while Crossfit was making me "fitter," I wasn't getting any stronger in the compound or Oly lifts. Gains on my 5 rep maxes stalled long ago not long after starting Crossfit, and I wasn't putting on any muscle.

Not to debate the shortcomings of Crossfit here, but a lot of CFers are (slowly) starting to realized that you need to build strength before working on strength endurance. At least that's my case, so a few months ago I started doing Starting Strength and have made gains both in my 5 rep maxes and in adding muscle. (For those that don't know, Starting Strength is a beginner's 3x5 program emphasising squats, deadlifts, overhead press and bench.) I originally cut out all of the cardio in the first weeks of SS, but now I've added some long slow distance work only because I feel like a lazy slob if I don't get out and suffer some.

When I stop making progress on SS, I plan to transition to back to a black box Crossfit that has me lifting heavy at least once a week. Actually, mtnathlete.com's workouts look very intriguing. But I still reserve the right to do long endurance efforts.


I'm 35 yo, 5'11", 180 pounds. I have a hint of a six pack if I flex and the lighting is favorable . If I dropped 10 pounds I suppose I'd be as ripped as I need to be, though right now the priority is to continue to add lean mass. It would be a bonus if I could do it while dropping some body fat percentage. I was 150 pounds when I was heavily into racing bikes years ago, and that 30 pound was hard won. Some might say that makes me a hard gainer, though I'm not so sure. I never squatted or lifted heavy until Starting Strength, and I'm sure I would have gotten bigger faster if I had discovered it years ago.

That's my background. Now on to the part I need advice on.

Nutrition is the one area that I've never committed to fully, and I'd like to change that. The problem is that the more I read, the less clear things become.

First, it seems like the low-carb diets may not be right for me, partly because I read that the research isn't there but mostly because I want to do long aerobic efforts of the kind that can't be fuel without carbs.
This would see to rule out some of the currently popular diets (Zone, TNT), however, the CFers swear by the Zone and Paleo diets. However, I've found the die-hards on the CF board aren't free-thinkers, which leads me to question some of their advice (If the Coach says it, they believe it and don't like others to question it, but I digress). I don't think I could follow a very low carb diet anyway. Calorie restriction I can do. Very low carbs, no.

Secondly, among the big names in nutrition, I can't cut through the marketing and boosterism. It seems like the strength coaches with active internet presence are all writing blurbs for Berardi, Hale, Aragon, Roussell etc, or they are interviewing all of them for their respective blogs and podcasts, and generally talking all of them up. I'm not questioning anyone's integrity, but only pointing out that there's no clear leader in nutrition, at least as far as I can tell.

Thirdly, whatever nutrition system/guide/plan/book that you point me to ideally would include recipes rather than just a guideline. I'm not a good cook, so I need lots of structure in the kitchen. Left to my own devices I'll screw it up.

I'd like to hear people's suggestions. I've read favorable things about Aragon's Girth Control, but I think it might lean more toward the science behind nutrition rather than giving recipes that I need. Although I'm not sure I'm a hardgainer (at age 35 I know the gains won't be easy anyway), Berardi's Scrawny to Brawny might be the way to go. I don't think I need the weight training advice and I'm not sure if it has recipes but since I can get it for around $12, the offset in price might be worth trying it out. Roussell's Naked Nutrition has good reviews from industry professionals, but try as I might I can't find any testimonials by an average joe. (Google "naked nutrition" and "review" and the first three pages that come mostly blogs/podcasts that belong to Roussell. Now that I think about it, the hyper marketing is such a turn off that I really want to rule it out now.)

Any suggestions? What am I overlooking? And if the generalizations I made above are wrong, please correct me.

Sorry for the long post. Thanks for reading.

Bob I think you have made a great post here. Please allow me to address some of your concerns and I feel confident that for you and others that read this thread there will be a little eye opening.

Your training background shouts of someone who has put a heavy focus in the majority of your life in aerobics over strength. So hardgainer is not as likely as light eater, which is usually the case.

Dialing in on your nutrition is going to be key.

When it comes to achieving abs those with heavy cardio backgrounds have a tendency to neglect the adding of the mass to aspect getting that look. Meaning there has to be abs underneath to see it from the "cut".

That is just a bit of food for thought in the hardgainer area.

As for "who to go with" for nutrition...that is exactly the problem.

Food isn't a fad, it is a need.

All the people you listed share some base similar opinions on what kind of food it is you need, but what you don't need is to attach yourself to the best "guru". What you need is to just educate yourself. There is a difference between eating strategies and dietary manipulation and basic principles of nutrition. What you want to do before you dive into anything is under that first. (Which you grasp it seems, just stating that for others)

What are those principles of nutrition?

What are calories? What are carbs, protein, and fats ? What do they do? How much does my body need and how do I figure that out?

Truthfully, thats it. The rest is "optimizing" strategies or "technique and manipulation" of those principles.

Understanding that is one of the best things you can do because then you can get all the material in the world and you can distinguish between...

1) What is crap
2) What is good
3) What is good that you want to give a shot as a technique

When you start to understand that most training program and manuals are no more than a new hot cd, then you stop being so pressuring and just see if it is an "album" you are feeling.

For the record of those suggested and based on what you are looking for I would look at Alan's Book. It helps you understand the basics and you can move from there. And hey if you want to look at carb manipulation, recipes, or "optimizing strategies" then hey just more books for the shelf and more of a method for you to play with.

Hope that helps.