B) Give Yourself the Proper Nutrients
If protein is the bricks needed to build the house, carbs and fats are the workers' salary. If you don't pay them enough, they won't build the house, or at the very least the roof will leak and the plumbing will back up.
For the natural individual, protein should be around 1.25 to 1.5 grams per pound when trying to add size, and 1.75 grams per pound when trying to lose fat. There's more protein when dieting down because when you're trying to lose fat you'll be forced to cut carbs and/or fat. In that energy deficit, the body will look for other ways to produce the required energy.
Under the best circumstances, this energy would come from stored body fat. But in reality, some of it can come from protein. The liver will also transform some of the amino acids into glucose. Sadly, this is unavoidable. You want to minimize it, but some neoglucogenesis is bound to happen.
The increase in protein, while it can't prevent protein from being used to produce glucose, will at least protect your muscles from being broken down. The body will prefer to break down the readily available free-form amino acids than destroy muscle tissue.
After protein, you need to adjust your energetic nutrient intake (carbs and fat). The amount of each will vary depending on your goal of gaining mass or losing fat.
But simply put, the more training you perform, the more energetic nutrients you'll need. This energy can come from various ratios of fats and carbs, depending on how you react to each.
If you feel like you aren't recovering from your workouts and you're lacking energy, gradually increase your energetic nutrient intake.
C) Reduce the Inflammatory Response to Training
While the inflammatory response is a necessary step in stimulating growth, the body often overdoes it. As a result, you may start to suffer from nagging aches and pains that reduce the efficacy of your workouts.
A good fish oil supplement like Flameout is the perfect first line of defense in reducing excess inflammation.
I use Carlson's fish oil......
D) Go Alkaline
An acidic diet has several downsides: reductions in most metabolic processes, the anabolic response to training, and the ability to mobilize fat, and an increase in the inflammatory response to training.
Sadly, for us, protein sources are generally acidifying. And it's the same story for grains and refined carbs. Since, as bodybuilders and strength athletes, we ingest a lot of protein every day, we must counter the potential increase in acidity by ingesting alkaline foods.
Most fruits and veggies are alkaline, except:
Corn
Lentils
Olives
Winter squash
Blueberries
Canned or glazed fruits (because of the added sugar)
Cranberries
Currants
Glutamine can also have a positive impact on acidity by helping clear the acid components.
So, consume something alkaline (shoot for veggies as much as possible) every time you eat protein or grains. If you don't get enough in your regular everyday diet, consider using Superfood.
E) Quality Sleep
With our current lifestyle, it's hard to get those eight to nine hours of uninterrupted sleep because of elevated cortisol and catecholamine levels. When these are high, after a stressful day of work for example, it's hard to get that deep sleep you need for optimal growth and performance.
Furthermore, a lot of us train after work, around 6 or 7 pm. Training also elevates cortisol and catecholamine levels. Ironically, in that case, we don't get the full benefit of our training because of our training!
To get a good night's sleep:
• The room must be completely dark. No light source, regardless of how faint. If you have an alarm clock, turn it so that you won't see the time while in bed. If you can't get the room completely dark, wear an eye mask. Yeah, it looks stupid, but who cares? Nobody sees you.
• Don't leave your cell phone or computer in the room. The fewer "computerized" items you have in the room, the better.
• Set the room temperature a bit colder than the rest of the house.
• Learn and practice relaxation techniques.
• If you need some help relaxing and falling asleep, I suggest Z-12. Melatonin is also good, but it can leave you groggy.
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• The use of cortisol-lowering supplements in the evening will be of great help to those who live a stressful lifestyle and/or train late. Phosphatidylserine at 400 mg plus glycine at 0.1 grams per pound of bodyweight post-workout and around one hour before bed will help.
