Gents
Strength to Weight maximization is one of the hardest processes to optimize for each individual. The main reasons for this are diet/exercise misinformation, subconscious rebellion against the rationing of food, and cultural pressure to overindulge at the table of fellowship. All of these are difficult obstacles, but I have learned to avoid them without sacrificing tasty food or table fellowship. It took 40 years of research by my brother the chemist and me (engineer), and trial and error experimentation, but better late than never. I’m trying to save you some time.
I was always a fat kid and adult. But now at 52, I’m 5’9″, 220 lbs, can press 225 lbs for 20 reps, with body fat of 18%, and can run (slow) 1-2 hrs a day with no problems. My body fat was 35% at 240 lbs just one year ago, but now am on my way to 12% or less, and not caring where my weight ends up as long as body fat is low. This is the best combination of strength to weight I’ve even been at.
How? I came to understand a few principles that most already know will “work” individually to some extent, but most don’t know MUST BE DONE TOGETHER to get results:
#1. Eat some of ALL food groups at all meals and snacks. And try to eat more protein calories (I shoot for 50% of all calories) than any other group. Using this method, you need no longer need to count calories other than to roughly know if youre eating more protein than the other groups. The reason to eat ALL groups is that your stomach chemistry allows you to feel full for a couple hours only when all groups are interacting/digesting. Source for this is Michael Graziano article in Aeon “the Hunger Mood”. Graziano explains how if you ration food to yourself, your brain will literally delete memories of you eating to make you think you haven’t eaten yet.
Footnotes to #1: Eat higher quality fats and carbs. I eat mostly almonds and meat fat for my fats, and high fiber grain for my carbs. Keep food and drink portable and nearby at work or travel so you dont miss drinks and meals.
#2. Drink almost a gallon of water or sport drink a day. Specifically, drink 40-50% of your pound weight in ounces of water or sport drink per day, PLUS the number of ounces of water lost in exercise that day. So for a 200 lb body weight and if you lose 2 lbs during a run, you need to drink 80-100 oz, PLUS since a pound of water weighs 16 oz, you need to drink 32 more ounces for a total of 112-132 oz for the day. Sounds like alot? It’s not if you spread it out and drink 8-12 oz every hour. Will you pee more? Yes, but small price to pay for results like this. I think the water consumption helps regulate food intake. Caffeine/alcohol is counter productive to hydration, so you need to drink an extra x oz of water for every x oz of caffeine/alcohol you drink in order to stay hydrated. Note on sodium: you need 2300 mg a day without exercise, and another 1000 mg for every hour of exercise. You can get this mostly from food, but I also supplement it with sports drinks (esp after a jog when your salt might be depleted and make you dizzy with dehydration).
#3. Jog or hike/climb at a moderate pace (Heartrate 110 to 130) for at least a full hour a day. Walking is insufficient unless it’s a full body speedwalking kind of gait. Studies show there are correlations (but not fully understood causes) of jogging/climbing to metabolic advantages that burn fat at higher rates. speculation is that it might be full body muscle engagement compared to walking, but also that “good” gut bacteria stays at an optimal ratio to “bad” bacteria after jogging/hiking/running, and those good bacteria aid in better metabolic processes such as fat burning. Jogging every day is possible only if you do not strike the ground hard…you have to buy the best running shoes you can afford and jog slowly (3-6 mph, or whatever keeps you HR around 120) so as not to strain muscles and prevent going the next day. Remember, the goal is not speed, it’s metabolic maintenance. Our tribal hunter gatherer bodies were designed for daily exercise. My sub-theory is that if we dont exercise our brain “thinks” the body is sick, and retains fat.
#4. Lift major muscle groups (optional)
I say it’s optional because just hiking/jogging can build your legs up if youre eating 50% protein in your diet. But if you want more mass, then lift bench presses and squats every other day, but dont make a big deal of it. Just lift whatever you can for 20 reps. Otherwise you risk pulling muscles and that will kill your cardio program if it’s in your leg.
#5. No matter the social pressure, limit poor foods/drinks to “special occasion” or “dessert” status. Treat bad food/drink as a treat, not a staple. If you want to drink a lot of alcohol with buddies, do so knowing that the next day you will not only have put on the fat from the drink calories (and more fat stays on because youre dehydrated), but also you’ll keep on fat that you would have lost the next day by your daily exercise if you can’t do it due to hangover. I limit my drinks with friends now by nursing them slowly, and also substituting non-alcoholic beers…mostly because I hate to miss a workout day now that I’ve found a process that works.
So think about this and realize your body is an animal machine made to move and find water first, drink more than eat, and our bodies evolved for high endurance long distance hunting/gathering, and our brains evolved bigger to more cleverly hunt meat. After successful hunts, eating protein rewarded the Darwinian survivors with more muscle and endurance. This “Beefcake” Process will work if you do all 5 parts in unison. Good luck and BEEF UP! Coach B.
Anonymous 2 years, 8 months ago.
