Natural Pursuit: Nutritional Consultant

[ChampBox@PR]

Thanks for the kind words! I will try my best to keep it helpful to everybody!




Well, if you are looking to loose weight while maintaining or even gaining strength, you must make sure your diet and training are suited 100% perfectly for your body type and lifestyle. In order for you to loose weight the MOST efficiently, you must calculate out how many calories you need per day in order to maintain your current weight, and then divide those calories into your 3 macronutrients, protein, carbohydrates, and fat. From there, as you need to keep you strength high while decreasing your weight, I believe the most efficient pattern to follow would to be to keep your protein intake moderate to reduce chance of muscle lose, keep carbohydrates high in order to fuel you through your workouts, and keep fat intake do about 25-30% of your daily caloric intake. As you have a high metabolism the first couple weeks of this diet will be trial and error, especially if you are not currently on a structured diet/training regimen. And as far as the red meats go, there is no need to cut them out all together. Red meats are, although high in fat (which is essential to our diet), are also high in protein and naturally occurring creatine, both extremely beneficial to someone with your current goals, so you can limit them, but I wouldn't take them out completely.

Thank you very much, Keep doing what your doing. You are doing us a great service!!

[Danny Gunz]

Hey sent you a PM man, check it out if u get a chance

[NaturalPursuit]

Let me start off with my height which is 5'6 1/2 and my natural weight is between 135-140. But due to excessive drinking and unhealthy foods I ballooned up to 170. So 3 months ago I decided to hit the gym again and stop drinking. So my goal at that time was pretty much to lose weight and maintain a healthy looking body nothing muscular nor didn't want to get massive muscles. Just toned and proper weight.

Regarding about the protein shake intake i did follow the nutrtion plan that I posted which i consumes 3 protein shake intake for a day. That only happened for the first month. Now I only take protein shake after I work out which is once a day intake. The protein shake I take is Lean Pro Matrix that I usually get at Nutrition Zone.

I see that you suggest that I take food first before working out to fuel my body. I do agree with you. When I was young, before I do anything regarding sports I would eat a good meal an hour and a half before doing the activity. But now due to my schedule I dont have time to eat early, wait for an hour then hit the gym. I hope it is ok. By the way I dont really count how much calories I consume and how many calories I burn. But I guess I consume more than what I burn.

Lastly, since I had lost weight and I think I'm around 142lbs now last time I checked. I think I reached my goal to lose weight but now I want to get ripped to get a beach body type. As you can see on my workout routine that I posted I barely lift weights. The only time I lift is thru dumbells for my arms and that's it. Oh I forgot I do lift weights but just the cable flys and that's about it. I don't want to get massive or too bulked just ripped and toned. Any suggestions?

Sybian,

First off congratulations on loosing that much weight! That’s a very BIG and REAL accomplishment! If you are serious about gaining lean muscle and getting that “beach body” you need to track your macros/cals, as diet is the biggest thing holding people back from reaching their full potential! If you are going for “the look” then you do not need to worry about getting too bulky or massive, as it doesn’t happen by accident. It order to get toned/ripped you must do the same things in order to get massive, and that is build muscle. I would suggest starting this journey by getting your diet down first and then build a weight-training program that suits your specific goals! I would love to help you with your diet and training and could have a personalized training and diet regimen for you to follow within a day or two of you ordering it as I’m sure you are eager to start! Please let me know, and I hope I can help you further! As I said before, it is kind of hard to design a full schedule without all of the details and without some “trial and error” on your part.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to do!

Thank you very much, Keep doing what your doing. You are doing us a great service!!

El,

Again, thank you for the kind words! As I enjoy helping people, it pays off to see others appreciate the time I put into these posts. Usually forums are a hit or miss, as I’m sure you all know, and this was definitely a hit! I hope I am giving you relevant information that you can use to your advantage!

Hey sent you a PM man, check it out if u get a chance.

Hey whats up I saw your thread and just wanted another person to help me with my bulking then cutting.

Im starting with a 2 month bulking phase hoping to gain 8-12 pounds.

Here are my nutritional requirement totals for non workout days:

Total
Calories – 3152
Fat – 142g
Protein – 260g
Carbs – 241g

Total for workout days (lift on MWF):

Calories – 3282
Fat – 142g
Protein – 284g
Carbs – 246g

Any criticisms on this? This is the first time I'm trying a bulking.

Thanks

Danny Gunz, I hope that you do not mind me posting this up in the thread as well as sending it to you by message but I feel others have similar questions and wanted to have the answers here for them to see as well! First of all, we need to be realistic, gaining 8-12 lbs of mass in 2 months will be most likely 2-4 pounds of muscle and the rest fat, and that is if everything in your schedule is in perfect order. Now, that being said, 3-4 lbs of lean muscle look like 5-10 lbs of mass so do not get your head down just yet! ☺ As you already have your calories and macros mapped out this makes it a lot easier on my end, and, as long as they’re accurate, will benefit you greatly! So, with your macronutrients, as I am also in an offseason “bulk” mode so to speak, I do not cycle my calories lower on off days as those are the days your body needs fuel in order to replenish your glycogen stores in your muscles and use other nutrients for repair, leading to growth. What I would suggest doing is simple, find your maintenance macros and then add 5 grams of carbs to that and see how your body responds and take every 3rd or 4th day and “carb up” so to say, basically in taking around 100g carbs EXTRA on top of your other macros for the day. This type of carb cycling will benefit you greatly in your quest to adding some mass. I use a similar strategy and it has been doing wonders!

So now that you have those basics down, you want to moniter your weight every 3-4 days as well and see how those macros/cals are working with your body. If you are loosing weight, add a little more in, if you are gaining too much, take some out. It will take a little guess work but once you find your balance, you will just need to continue your hard work to get to your goal!

Also, what is your workout plan looking like? Is this a plan for gaining muscle for boxing, weight training, or a different sport?

Thanks!

[NaturalPursuit]

#5 - More on Post Workout Recovery

I wanted to post more about post-workout recovery because too many times I hear people saying that all that "really" matters is what you have pre-workout because that is what you are about to burn. Nothing could be further from the truth!

"Along with breakfast, your post-workout supplement is one of the most important meals of the day. If you ignore nutritional support at this 'window of opportunity', you could be limiting your potential for muscle growth and recovery. During a workout, your body uses carbohydrates for energy. Glycogen, a form of carbohydrate stored in muscles cells, helps provide the power to lift heavy weights and perform bursts of speed. An intense, anaerobic workout will deplete your body's glycogen stores. When the training session is over, your body is in a unique metabolic state. It's craving carbs to replenish the glycogen you burned up. But that's not all. Your muscles need amino acids from protein to help rebuild bigger and stronger. This adaptation cannot take place without the 'amino acid' building blocks of lean mass. For the first 30-60 minutes after a workout, your system is primed to absorb protein and carbohydrates. A fast acting protein like whey can kick start the recovery process, and whey protein isolates are some of the purest available. Simple carbohydrates are also digested quickly, causing a rise in blood sugar which stimulates the release of insulin that acts as a transporter to shuttle carbs into various cells. To avoid a sugar crash and provide sustained energy for a longer period of time, it can be beneficial to combining fast 'sugar' carbs with slower digesting sources."

taken from and credit given to abbperformance.com/news/feed-both-parts-of-postworkout-recovery-n1357/

[Danny Gunz]

Sybian,

First off congratulations on loosing that much weight! That’s a very BIG and REAL accomplishment! If you are serious about gaining lean muscle and getting that “beach body” you need to track your macros/cals, as diet is the biggest thing holding people back from reaching their full potential! If you are going for “the look” then you do not need to worry about getting too bulky or massive, as it doesn’t happen by accident. It order to get toned/ripped you must do the same things in order to get massive, and that is build muscle. I would suggest starting this journey by getting your diet down first and then build a weight-training program that suits your specific goals! I would love to help you with your diet and training and could have a personalized training and diet regimen for you to follow within a day or two of you ordering it as I’m sure you are eager to start! Please let me know, and I hope I can help you further! As I said before, it is kind of hard to design a full schedule without all of the details and without some “trial and error” on your part.

Best of luck in whatever you decide to do!




El,

Again, thank you for the kind words! As I enjoy helping people, it pays off to see others appreciate the time I put into these posts. Usually forums are a hit or miss, as I’m sure you all know, and this was definitely a hit! I hope I am giving you relevant information that you can use to your advantage!



Danny Gunz, I hope that you do not mind me posting this up in the thread as well as sending it to you by message but I feel others have similar questions and wanted to have the answers here for them to see as well! First of all, we need to be realistic, gaining 8-12 lbs of mass in 2 months will be most likely 2-4 pounds of muscle and the rest fat, and that is if everything in your schedule is in perfect order. Now, that being said, 3-4 lbs of lean muscle look like 5-10 lbs of mass so do not get your head down just yet! ☺ As you already have your calories and macros mapped out this makes it a lot easier on my end, and, as long as they’re accurate, will benefit you greatly! So, with your macronutrients, as I am also in an offseason “bulk” mode so to speak, I do not cycle my calories lower on off days as those are the days your body needs fuel in order to replenish your glycogen stores in your muscles and use other nutrients for repair, leading to growth. What I would suggest doing is simple, find your maintenance macros and then add 5 grams of carbs to that and see how your body responds and take every 3rd or 4th day and “carb up” so to say, basically in taking around 100g carbs EXTRA on top of your other macros for the day. This type of carb cycling will benefit you greatly in your quest to adding some mass. I use a similar strategy and it has been doing wonders!

So now that you have those basics down, you want to moniter your weight every 3-4 days as well and see how those macros/cals are working with your body. If you are loosing weight, add a little more in, if you are gaining too much, take some out. It will take a little guess work but once you find your balance, you will just need to continue your hard work to get to your goal!

Also, what is your workout plan looking like? Is this a plan for gaining muscle for boxing, weight training, or a different sport?

Thanks!

Right now Im just gonna be weight lifting, eventually Im gonna be boxing again though. One more question, I have found out that trying to do a bulk like this is expensive, any tips you have for cheap foods that are good in mutrients?

Thanks alot man

[NaturalPursuit]

Right now Im just gonna be weight lifting, eventually Im gonna be boxing again though. One more question, I have found out that trying to do a bulk like this is expensive, any tips you have for cheap foods that are good in mutrients?

Thanks alot man

Danny Gunz,

Well, with any good meal plan you will be spending a lot of money on food. For me, as a bodybuilder, that's where most of my money is spent. But looking at it from a different perspective, how much money would you be spending on food otherwise? Probably not as much, but you'd be consuming less than "quality" products. As far as cheap foods that are "high quality" I would have to say for protein chicken, for carbs sweet potatoes, and for fat, nuts or oils. But do not limit yourself, go to a Sams Club or some super store and take a look at the prices, compare, then stock up! Best of luck!

[NaturalPursuit]

#6 - Maximize Hormonal Response to Lifting

"There are plenty of ways to lift stacks of steel. Most bodybuilders like to keep the weight heavy and the reps low. A study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness might change your thinking about that routine. Researchers lined up a group of recreational male lifters in their mid-20s and had them perform 3 sets of barbell bench press, leg press, front lat pull-downs, leg curls and shoulder abductions with resistance set of 80% of 6 rep max. A week later, they repeated this circuit with resistance changed to 80% of 12 rep max. In both cases, subjects were allowed to rest for 2 minutes between sets. Although more growth hormone was naturally produced during the 12 rep sets, levels of the catabolic hormone cortisol were also higher. Testosterone remained the same for both sets, but the ratio of cortisol to testosterone was highest during the 6 rep sets. So what should you do? Vary your reps high to low between different workout sessions to realize the benefits of both lifting protocols."

taken from and credit given to abbperformance.com/news/maximizing-hormonal-response-to-lifting-n1310/

[NaturalPursuit]

#7 - Blast your Boxing Conditioning

"The days of training a fighter - as a slow long distance runner are over and should be buried. Unfortunately, the time-honored tradition of long distance running and fear of weights is still practiced with many-a-times revered as the True Way to Train a Fighter.

When, I was brought into the sport in 1990 - it was a hard challenge to convince Boxing Greats such as Al "Ice" Cole and the athletes at the infamous Triple Threat Gym, of Newark New Jersey that their physical conditioning program needed a change.


Al "Ice" Cole
Al Cole is a boxer. Nicknamed "Ice", Cole was a force in the cruiserweight division prior to moving up to the heavyweight division and fading to a journeyman.

Today, times are starting to change and with that so are the thoughts on "How a Boxer Needs to Be Conditioned". Recently, I worked with Jameel "Big Time" Mccline for his March 8 bout versus John Ruiz. My responsibilities were limited to the physical conditioning and nutritional component of Jameel's training, which had to be integrated into his boxing drills and sparring.

Boxers require speed, agility, power, explosive bursts, and high levels of anaerobic endurance in order to compete at high level - which in this case was a 12-Round Fight. The program I designed for Jameel was a 9-Week periodization program that had to reflect all of these important elements.

Endurance Articles:

The Facts on Fatigue. - By David Knowles
The Best Workout To Improve. - By Workout Of The Week
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Other Endurance Articles...
The conditioning program described below is the exact program that Jameel used for his fight. The highlights of the program consisted of a 30-pound weight loss, 10% reduction in overall body fat, full-range and mobility (which, was lost after his Torn Petal Tendon Injury) and a most importantly his ability to efficiently use oxygen. Thus, which was realized with his improvement in recovery between rounds.

RELATED ARTICLE

[ Click here to learn more. ] Strength Training For Boxers! Recently athletes from all sports have begun to realize the importance of weight training. So, why have boxers been reluctant to realize the importance of resistance training?
Author:
Jamie Hale


The 9-Week Macro-Cycle was broken down into Three Mesocycles, each being three weeks in duration. I developed each three week period with a specific training goal, which ultimately created a building block for the subsequent next phase of training.

The following lists the training goals for each part of the cycle:

Weeks 1-3:
Improve overall conditioning: both anaerobic and aerobic
Decrease fat accumulation from layoff: weight loss and fat reduction
Increase lean muscle mass: lowering body fat percentage
Increase workout platform: 2 training sessions per day
Introduction: Unstable Training Surfaces (Sand, Plyometrics, Uni-Lateral Exercises)
Weeks 4-6:

Incorporated Sprint: Interval Training (3:1 Work to Rest Recovery)
Increase Explosive Training
Increase Sport Specific Drill Training
Shock Body Drills
Weeks 7-9:

Decrease Weight Room Activity Training
Increase Anaerobic Threshold
Decrease Training Sessions: 1 Training Session Per Day
Maintenance: Last Two Weeks - Discontinue all weight room activities
Peak: Week Leading to Fight
RELATED VIDEO

Beginner Interval Workout


Check out this video as Jim Britain shows you how to properly train with a beginner interval training workout!


Click The Play Button To Start The Video.
Or Download Here:
Windows Media (7 MB)

Jameel's Training Program:
Weeks 1-3 Mesocycle


Monday:
Morning: Treadmill (3:1 Runs) - Jameel Performed 8-10 3-Minute Sprints on the Tread (8-12 Speed, with a 10-15 Incline). Then, rested for 1 Minute
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday.
Tuesday & Thursday:
Legs:
Deadlifts: High Intensity
Squats: High Intensity (Each Set is followed by a series of quick feet drills)
Back:

Seated Rows: High Intensity
Lateral Pulldowns: High Intensity: We placed a towel on the bar to increase his wrist and forearm strength. (each set is followed by a game similar to tug a war)
Chest:

Uni-Lateral Incline Press: High Intensity (each set is followed by a series of push offs: we have the boxer stand in a half squat position holding the Olympic bar at chest level. Then, the boxer pushes and pulls the bar as fast as possible for 30 seconds)
Shoulders:

Seated Arnold Press: High Intensity: in-between each set, we have the boxer perform a series of manual resistance exercises
Arms:

Manual Resistance Tricep Pushdown: High Intensity (followed by a series of fast-high tension cord-standing bicep curls: These are performed for 30 seconds)
Neck Work:

All Manual Resistance: Followed by Neck Stretches and Isometric Holds
Core Training:

We carry the philosophy of a 2:1 work ratio-for, every 2 abdominal repetitions that we perform; we have the boxer perform 1 lower back repetition
Stretching/Dynamic Cool-Down/Ice Bath

We ran a 2-Day a week training program, which closely resembles a split routine. We generally weight trained on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings. Ultimately, this depended on Jameel's recuperative abilities and sparring sessions.

Jameel began each weight program with 5 to 7 Dynamic Track and Field Drills: (i.e., High Knees, Butt Kicks). Performing them each for 2 sets of 30 seconds.

After Each Weight Training Program: Jameel Soaked Down with a 15-Minute Ice Whirlpool-which helped improve the recovery process.

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Tuesday & Thursday.
RELATED ARTICLE

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Boxing has become a very popular sport for many, and not surprisingly because it provides the best workout and challenges to many of our senses and capacities.
Author:
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Wednesday:
Morning Sand Work: We have the boxer perform Light Skipping and plyometric drills
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday.
Friday:
Morning Track Work:
Dynamic Warm-up: 5 to 7 Drills (i.e., high knees and butt kickers)
5-50% Short Sprint: up to 25 Yards
4-6 600 Meter Sprints: with a 2:1 work Ratio. Directly after each sprint, we have the fighter perform either 30 Seconds of Jump Rope or 30 seconds of Agility Ladder Drills. Then, it's back to the next set.
1/4 Mile Cool-Down Jog
Dynamic Cool-Down: 5 Drills
Stretching
Ice-Bath: 15 Minutes
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Friday.
Saturday:
This morning we will start off with a light walk on the treadmill, which will be followed by a series of heavy stretching exercise.
Click Here For A Printable Log Of Saturday.
Sunday:
Rest
It is important to note that each day is subject to change, due to recovery and sparring times. We encourage that the athlete or individual interested in this program to understand that this was designed for a World Class Athlete-who incorporated proper nutrition, rest and recovery."

Credit given to Jay Cardiello bodybuilding.com/fun/boxing_periodization.htm

[NaturalPursuit]

#8 - Low Fat Protein Sources

TO ALL: Sorry I haven't posted, some oral surgery took longer than expsected to recover but everything it 1,000% now! Enjoy this read about low fat protein sources!

"It's common knowledge that protein is essential for building muscles. Most bodybuilders will eat 5-6 meals per day to feed their muscles with the necessary amounts of protein (along with carbs, fats and calories). Obtaining the right amount of nutrients helps keep the body anabolic and growing. Of course, all protein foods are not created equal. Some protein sources are very low in fat while others dish out a much higher fat content. Choose the right protein food to cater to your specific goals. Active adults looking to gain weight and get bigger would go with protein sources that provide considerably more fats while those interested in getting leaner would pick low-fat protein foods. Eggs, milk, cheese and meat are all complete sources of protein, meaning they contain the full range of Essential Amino Acids. However, all these foods contain significant amounts of fat. One whole egg contains 6 grams of fat and 6 ounces of a T-bone steak delivers over 12 grams of fat. Here's a list of good sources for low-fat protein for those who are working on retaining muscle while losing body fat:Egg Whites - The white part of the egg (minus the yolk) is pure protein. Although the yolk contains valuable vitamins and minerals, it's also packing most the calories and fat. The egg white has only traces of fat and carbohydrate. Many people looking to increase protein intake but keep the fats low will use only one or two whole eggs with several additional egg whites.Tuna Fish -- This is a staple food in the weight lifting community. Tuna's cheap and a can is loaded with a complete protein that's very low in fat and carbs. Five ounces of tuna fish contains approximately 20 grams of protein and only 2 grams of fat. Chicken Breast - Another very popular food with fitness enthusiasts because it's a complete protein with very low levels of carbohydrates and fats. A 4 ounce chicken breast contains 24 grams of protein with zero carbohydrates and about 2 grams of fats. Chicken is also convenient as it can be eaten long after cooking if kept refrigerated."

Credit to abbperformance.com/news/lowfat-sources-of-protein-n1494/

[Trigger unhappy]

I'm looking to buy a good Juicer for everyday use. Can you recommend me one?