Subject: Bodyopus Week 12 Copyright Lyle McDonald 1996 Date: 1996/07/21
Well, since I can't think of anything else reallly brilliant to ponder or write about, I thought I'd adress some of the more frequent questions I'm getting in email about using Bodyopus as a fat loss diet. Note that many of these suggestions ARE in the book but it appears that either: 1. People are trying the diet without reading the book. or 2. They are reading the book but not paying enough attention to it. So, here are some of the common questions I'm having to field about the diet. It's strange, I write 10 weeks worth of diaries and all of a sudden I'm the Bodyopus guru. Ah, well, I guess it saves Dan from having to answer all this mail. 1. What's the best workout schedule you found for Bodyopus? After much experimentation with both my own training and that of my ex-girlfriend (who makes an easy control), I've decided on the following in terms of training, sets, reps, etc. I'll present the exact workouts I used with the ex-girlfriend as they consistently put her in ketosis by morning of day 3 without the use of any glucose disposal agents. *All work sets are presumed to failure. Time in parentheses is rest interval between work sets.* Mon: legs, back, biceps, abs Warmup 5-10' on bike. Squats: 2 warmups, 2 sets of 6-8 (2') Leg curl: 1 warmup, 1 set of 6-8 (2') Calf raise: 1 warmup, 1 set of 6-8 (2') Assisted chins: 2 warmups, 2 sets 6-8 (2') Seated wide grip row: 1 warmup, 2 sets 6-8 Barbell curl: 1 warmup, 2 sets 6-8 Abs: varies week to week Cool down 5' on bike. After all heavy work is finished, I then take her through a circuit of one set of each of the above exercises. She uses 50% of the weight used for the sets of 6-8 for a set of 20-25 with 1' rest between exercises. Tue: chest, delts, tris Warm-up 5-10' on bike. Assisted dips: 2 warmups, 2 sets 6-8 Incline DB bench: 1 warmup, 2 sets 6-8 Shoulder press: 1 warmup, 2 sets 6-8 Lateral raise: 1 warmup, 2 sets 6-8 Tricep pushdown: 1 warmup, 2 sets 6-8 Cool down 5-10' on bike although she'll likely start doing 20-30' of easy cardio afterwards to hasten fat loss. As with Monday, I have her do one set of each exercise for 20-25 reps in a circuit format after all the heavy work is done and before cardio. She's never failed to get into ketosis by Wednesday morning with this scheme. If she could train in the mornings, I bet she'd be in ketosis early Tuesday. The key is a relatively high volume of training on Mon and Tue (if you use a different split or split across three days, make sure to get the large muscles: legs, chest, and back on Mon and Tue) and I think the high rep backoff set really helps as far as burning lots of glycogen/glucose. Wed: 30'+ of cardio Thu: 30'+ of cardio Fri: the depletion workout. Done in a giant loop format. A typical workout is: Squat, incline bench, chins, leg curl, shoulder press, seated row, calf raise, tricep pushdown, bicep curl, abs. Pant, pant. 1' rest between each sets using the same weights as for the sets of 20-25 on Mon/Tue. Typically 4 or more total loops are done. Depends on when we get started (gym closes at 8pm and she works until 6:30 pm) and how quickly she gets bored. I had to bribe her with treating for pizza tonight to get a 4th loop out of her. No telling what I'd of had to offer to get a 5th. Actually, I've got a pretty good idea but this is supposed to be family entertainment. ;-) Sat: off Sun: off The next three questions relate to the glucose disposal agents vanadyl sulfate, chromium picolinate, and magnesium. I thought Dan adressed this adequately in the book but it is a recurring question so I'll answer it one more time here. 2. What doses of each should I use? Vanadyl: up to 120 mg per day in divided doses. At some point when I have the time, I'd like to really quantify what's the best dosing schedule for vanadyl as far as lowering blood glucose to ketone land. For now, I suggest 20mg six times per day or 30 mg 4 times per day. I was doing 50mg twice per day (morning and evening) but I'm not sure that was the best choice. Chromium: 800 mcg per day (most capsules are 200 mcg so 4). Again, divided doses taken with the vanadyl. Magnesium: 1000 mg/day (my capsules are 250 mg/cap so 4) Divided doses taken with vanadyl and chromium. 3. Should they be used on low carb days? Only until ketosis is established. Glucose disposal agents either act like (vanadyl) or help along (chromium) insulin to do it's job. Once you're in ketosis, there's almost no insulin present so taking these substances is a waste of money. 4. Should they be used during recarb? Of course, of course, of course. Use the same dosing schedule as outlined above. To summarize these three questions, here's a typical weeks dosing schedule for me: Mon: 120 mg vanadyl (20mgX6), 800 mcg chromium (200mcgX4), 1000 mg magnesium (250mgX4) Tue: same as Monday Wed: if ketosis established, discontinue use Thursday: none Friday: begin taking all three agents with carb meals. I typically take 20 mg vanadyl, 200 mcg chromium, and 250 mg magnesium with every other meal. Saturday: continue with same dosing schedule. Sunday: continue with same dosing schedule. Next week, more questions (should this be the Bodyopus FAQ?). Lyle McDonald, CSCS ------------------------ The body composition log: Taken with Slimguide calipers first thing Monday morning upon awakening. Day Date Wt Pec Abs SI Thigh Sum3 BF% FM FFM -------------------------------------------------------------- Mon 7/8 152 3 20 10 6 29 8.5 12.75 139.25 Mon 7/15 157 3 20 11.5 6 29 8.5 13.35 143.65 Notes: ok, gained about .5 lbs of fat but FFM is up 4 lbs (some of which is undoubtable water + glycogen) but that sounds about right. Percent bodyfat is the same and we'll see how things go in the gym today. Key: BF% = body fat percentage FM = fat mass in lbs FFM = fat free mass (total weight - FM) My week at a glance: ------------------- Sunday: As mentioned last week, I skated this morning pre-breakfast and carbed until 6pm. Back to low-carb hell. Actually, it's not that bad since I'm not restricting calories right now. The question is what will happen to body composition as of tomorrow morning. For those tuning in late, here's the workout I'm following with sets and reps indicated (2/6-8 means 2 sets of 6-8 to positive failure). Mon Wed Fri --------------------------------------------- Squat (2/6-8) DL (2/6-8) Squat (2/6-8) Leg ext. (1/12-15) Overhead press (2/6-8) Leg ext. (1/12-15) SLDL (2/6-8) Lateral raise (1/12-15) Leg curl (1/6-8, 1/12-15) Chins (2/6-8) Barbell curl (2/6-8) Seated row (2/6-8) Seated row (2/6-8) Inc.Hammer curl (1/12-15) Chins (2/6-8) Inc. DB bench (2/6-8) Tri. Pushdown (2/6-8) Machine bench (2/6-8) Machine bench (2/6-8) Kickback (1/12-15) Inc. DB bench (2/6-8) Pec deck (1/12-15) Abs (whatever) Pec deck (1/12-15) Monday: Damn! what a workout. Here's some highlights. Squats: Last mon: 225X10,8 Today: 245X10,10 Incline DB bench: Last mon: 40X12,10 Today: 45X12,10 Other lifts increased similarly. This is a big strength gain for one week. I wonder how much of it is just regaining anything I lost while dieting. Ate more or less ad-libitum today. Guessing about 2500 calories (which is a lot when you consider I was eating 600/day for a while there) since I had to miss dinner due to my schedule. Also got an awesome pump today. Not that I'm convinced at all that the pump is necessary for growth (maybe to stretch the fascia out to allow more potential for growth or something like that) but it sure feels good. Like Arnold said "Better than coming." At this point, I'll take what I can get. ;-) Also, stranger and stranger, I'm already in ketosis. Which has never happened before (no, really, baby.... whoops, already used that joke once). Individuals I've talked to tell me of getting into ketosis this quickly with fairly extensive workouts but this was the same workout I did last Monday and I didn't hit ketosis then. Or maybe, I did hit ketosis but didn't think to check. The only thing I did differently today was NOT taking but about 40 mg of vanadyl. Again, strange. Tuesday: Shit! Now I'm back out of ketosis. Maybe burning them off with activity but I didn't do much today except train clients. Did 20' of very light cardio (HR = 120) tonight with the ex after I trained the hell out of her. Showed some guys at the gym the plate pinch mentioned last week since they wanted a grip exercise. Next week I teach them the Farmer's Walk and really kick their asses. Stayed up far too late dicking around on Netscape, doing mail and typing this stupid thing and I've got a 9am appointment. It's 1am and I'm going the hell to sleep. Wednesday: Was in ketosis this morning which is good. Did the same carb-spike as last week (trying my damnedest to be methodical and not change 14 variables each week). 900 calories of pure refined sugar (candy corns a and jelly beans. Double yum) plus 1 scoop of Ultra fuel (100 calories carbs) and a scoop of Designer Whey protein for a total of 1000 calories of carbs. Also, took 30mg vanadyl, 400 mcg chromium, and 500 mg magnesium. The only change I made was moving it a bit closer to workout to see what (if any) difference it would make. Moved from 9am last week to 11 am this week. Not sure exactly what I'm trying to figure out here but it sounds good and scientific. Workout went well. The ex sat on the bike for an hour while I lifted. Deads, shoulders, arms, abs, and forearms same as last week. Not unsurprisingly, all lifts improved over last week. Also, decided to get some funny look agains by doing the Farmer's Walk instead of plate pinch for forearms. If you're not familiar, the Farmer's Walk is a strongman event where you take 100 lbs DB's (I used 50's cuz' I'm a big weenie) and simply walk around with them until you drop them on your toes. In addition to giving the forearms a killer workout, it makes the rest of your body work too. I was gasping for breath by the time I finished my set of 70 seconds. Will move up to 55 lbs next week or alternate plate pinch each week. Or come up with some other strange forearm exercise (these are taken from past articles in Hardgainer magazine) to amuse/bemuse the guys at World Gym. Get this shit: after giving me constant crap about my dietary approach the past 10 weeks (Bodyopus) and that it's not balanced, not healthy, etc, my mom has decided to jump on the low carb bandwagon. Know what convinced her? The fact that one of our fucking neighbors was on Atkins and was losing weight. That's right, mom, don't listen to your son: jock boy-exercise physiologist-personal trainer but DO listen to your neighbor. People around me do this shit all the time and it really, really chafes me ass. Hell, at least my mom is exercising along with it so I guess I should be happy about that. Of course, same thing happened with weight training. I've told her for 3 years that weights are the key to being healthy, losing fat, etc. She tells me "It's not natural." I tell her to go to the park and lift rocks or something. She talks to a friend who started lifting weights and, voila, she wants to start. My ass is so chafed... Well, don't want you guys to get the wrong idea. Look, just because my hair is long, both my ears are pierced, and my legs are shaved (in-line skating, yeah, that's it) and I don't have a girlfriend right now doesn't mean anything.... Wednesday evening: Hmm, not back in ketosis. This happened after last week's carb-spike as well. I may have simply burned them all up during exercise or they just aren't being generated in sufficient amounts to show on the Ketostix. Thursday: Ok, cool, back to showing ketones. Today is a just a mild cardio day with the ex (she gets bored easily) for about 20-30 minutes tonight. The carb-up is in sight. ("And there was great rejoicing. Yea!" 10 more no-points for first person to name the reference. First person to 100 gets an autographed picture of my butt. Huh, huh, huh, he said 'butt'.) Oh, another note: Read a good book this week. Called "Steroid Blues" by Richard La Plante. Basic murder mystery about the situations surrounding the murder of a homosexual doctor who writes drug prescriptions for bodybuilders who will pose for/have sex with him. My only dislike was that it perpetrated the idea that all bodybuilders are a bunch of depreved, no-testicle, drug-abusing psychos (no need to raise your hand if this describes you). There are some sick images in there (like one with the main murder suspect and a severed monkey's head but I won't give away this Secret of Advanced Bodybuilders to the newbies. Give you a hint: fresh hypothalamic fluid. Lots of hormones). The ending is a bit unbelievable and I saw it coming with a couple of chapters left to go but it's not the worst book I've ever read. Check it out if you get the chance. Lyle's Book rating: 2 plates on the bar. (5 plates is highest. no plates sucks.) Friday: Some good news I think. Target had a sale on Thermoscan automatic thermometers (the one's that take 1 second to measure your temperature through your ear canal) so I picked one up to do morning temp. Recall that, during the dieting phase of Bodyopus, my morning temp hovered around a rather low 97.0 (or worse some days). This is indicative of lowered thyroid levels which occurs with heavy dieting and long term use of thermogenics. Also, loss of muscle will lower thyroid. In any case, took morning temp today and it's recovered somewhat to 97.5. Still a bit lower than Dan's ideal 97.8-98.2 but a step in the right direction. Hopefully, between increased calories, no ECA and the gain of some muscle, I can achieve an optimized thyroid level by the time I start cutting in 5 weeks. Off to do the Friday workout. Wow! Another killer workout. Squats, which are probably my favorite and best movement improved from 245X10,10 on Monday to 245X15,12 today. I go 265 next Workout. All other lifts went up as well. I'm pretty much using the past Friday's workouts as a guide for how much (or how little) to raise weights and will post the entire 6 week workout report at some time in the future. Had a small carb + protein shake after workout and then put the girlfriend through an hour of high rep circuit training for the depletion workout. Then, we both started carbing as usual. Donuts, donuts and more donuts. Saturday: Ah, you gotta love them carbs. Just ate and ate and ate some more today. An interesting observation that I've made is that my food choices on carb days are improving. Instead of eating total junk like when I was dieting, I'm making better overall choices in terms of nutritious foods. I have a feeling this has something to do with the psychology of carbing for 2 instead of just 1 day. Knowing that I can eat what I want for 2 days keeps me from eating anything I want. Strange, huh? Sunday: Still carbing (you gotta love peanut butter with grape jelly on wheat bread). Went for an easy 45' skate this morning with some friends. Continued carbing until 6pm finishing with a small Ultra fuel and Designer protein shake to get an insulin spike and start getting blood glucose down. See ya next week. Lyle McDonald, CSCS Please note that I have a new email adress. Send any and all correspondence to: lylemcd@edge.edge.net