As a physique athlete we often have to go through different periods through out the year to yield the results needed. We go through phases of caloric surplus “off season” to grow, caloric deficit “prep” to lean out, and if your smart enough you will also do a detox phase and give your body periods of breaks in both digestion and training.
One major issue most have and a big reason why they can never really get in great shape is that they get frustrated with the “pumps”, energy, and strength loss in the gym. They believe that this is a sure shot sign that they are “going catabolic bro” (losing precious muscle tissue).
One way I like to avoid this is through structuring food to support training. On low carb diets, those ever important carbs which are our bodies quickest used sources of energy are at a minimum. So that is why one feels lethargic and flat through out the day. Say you are only allotted 100g of carbs through out the day. For me, I want that energy when its needed the most. So I will have majority of my carbs if not all of them pre and post train. If I am only at 100g total for the day, I would do 60g carbs pre train then the other 40g post train. This gives me the energy needed to power through my training and also to aid in recovery on the back end.
To me the 3 most important times in order to have the most calories are :
1 – pre train
2 – post train
3 – meal 1
All other meals can be divided up evenly with the remaining macros you have. I am also not one of those people that think carbs before bed are bad. So if you are on the higher end and can have carbs in all meals, I personally have found no difference in eating carbs at night as opposed to none as long and insulin sensitivity is good.
Other things that really help during times of dieting are saving your stimulants for prep. When you are in the off season and in a caloric surplus energy should not be an issue unless sleep is not adequate then you need to figure something out to fix that. But taking breaks through out the year and saving stimulants like Stampede or Shredabull Untamed make their effects even better when needed and also helps support your adrenal health. A pump product like Nitr-Ox and plenty of sodium before training will also ensure you get the pumps you may miss on the lower caloric intake.
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