Adelfo Cerame: Carbophobia a Thing of the Past - How a Love-and-Hate Affair Turned into a Productive Friendship

The very latest progress pictures from "Your's Truly"; Adelfo Cerame Jr. posted only a couple of hours ago on Facebook - I guess there is no doubt about the success he has with his old fiend and new friend - in "moderation" as he says ;-)

It's Thursday and about time for another update of "Your's Truly" Adelfo Cerame Jr. from the photo Adelfo posted on facebook earlier today (see image on the right), you can see already that he actually not approaching, but more or less already in contest shape, but before I hand the virtual microphone (actually I should type keyboard ;-) over to Adelfo, here is the brief primer on today's SuppVersity Science Round-Up on Super Human Radio.

As you should really know by now, you have three options (not listenting to it is not among them ;-)

1. listen live at 1PM EST,
2. download the show ~2h later either from the "Physical Culture for Your Ears" menu in the sidebar of the SuppVersity, or
3. download the podcast load it right over right over at www.superhumanradio.com

And just to make sure that you know that it will be well worth it, here's the sneak peak on the topics Carl Lanore and I have lined up for you, today:

• the real-world benefits of caloric restriction - what's that all about?
• intermittent fasting works - regardless of whether you do it w/ liquid or solid foods
• alpha lipoic acid (ALA) - still a potent supplement - but who benefits?
• the usual suspects - omega-3, omega-6 & vitamin D
• acidity, diabesity, muscularity and ... ahm, there is no "-ity" for chronic fatigue, I guess

As you should know by now, additional topics and things I mentioned that ended up not making it into the show due to time constraints will be part of tomorrow's SuppVersity Science Round-Up Seconds... that's it. Let's go Adelfo!

Fully and completely getting over my phobia of carbohydrates

It's plain to see and hard to deny: Me + Carbs a.k.a. Mrs. Jones = Got a Thang Goin’ On…

In light of some of the comments I’ve been getting on FB about my carbohydrate intake being very high, I thought it would be prudent to address the issue in my weekly blogpost. Firstly, this saves me hours of precious time, since I don't have to answer the same questions dozens of times, and secondly - my gut tells me I would have benefited, if someone had written a post like this in the past: an article that would have had me rethink my own nutritional regimen, which and this is something I want to point out before I even get into any details clearly isn't "high carb"! With 150-200g of carbohydrates and thus <800kcal of my daily energy intake from carbs this may be high for a "carbophob", as I've been one myself before, but it would still be considered "low carb" both, in the mainstream, as well as in the context of classic bodybuilding diets. Be that as it may, I personally feel a huge relief now that I have finally liberated myself from my personal fears of carbohydrates and have learned to embrace "carbs" in all its forms - my diet has become more flexible, I have a greater variety and - what's most important - I see nothing but benefits from it.

I’ll be the first to tell you that Mrs. Jones (I’ll refer to her as that because this is how I felt about carbs for a while) and I were not on the best terms. It was a 3-year love hate relationship. Just like cash, I thought she was the root of all evil. The first time I ever downloaded and read Dr. Mauro DiPasquale’s Anabolic Solution, I for sure thought I found the Holy Grail to dieting and bodybuilding (true story!), and that’s where my phobia and our tragic love-hate relationship actually began. I thought that I would be shredded year round if only I lived the low carb lifestyle. It worked for a while but then eventually the magic I thought I was experiencing, when I started out, didn’t work any longer. 

Even during my bulk I thought I would still manage to look ripped because I was on low carbs, but again I was wrong! Lol. But I still insisted that carbs were evil just because… honestly, I don't even know why!? Probably because for 2 years I had avoided my Mrs Jones like the plague and only devoured her on my refeeds, cheat days and special social events, which eventually turned into binge fests and late nights in my bed being in a fetal position because I would eat myself silly.

No, carbs just had to be bad,... otherwise I would have had to admit that I'd a mistake, yet not only once, but 365 days a year!

Suggested read: Adel's old post "Carbohydrate Shortage in Paleoland" The article explains pretty well why 150g CHO is something any not 100% sedentary diabetic can easily handle.

If you have a closer look at Not until last year did my opinion start to change towards carbohydrates. My relationship with Mr. Jones gradually improved ever since I started using Intermittent Fasting a la Leangains last year to prepare for my 2013 bodybuilding shows. But even then I still shied away from breads, oats, grains and even rice and just stuck to your typical sweet potatoes and yams. I guess you could say that she and I were at a truce, but not necessarily friends, like secret lovers we knew our boundaries and kept our distance… I stayed away for the majority of the week with the exception of 1-2 days of debauchery out of the week (refeeds).

During the last year, however, a revelation started to dawn on me. Finally, I began to understand the importance of carbohydrates, when it came to performance and the importance of performance, when it comes to making progress - regardless of whether we are talking, cutting, bulking or becoming stronger! More and more foods I had avoided or restricted, because I deemed them "bad" or "extremely detrimental" for my physique found their way back in my diet and not one of my fears about what would happen, when I consumed them more than maximally once per week materialized.

Me + Carbs = Best Friends

Though carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient like fats and amino acids; I’ve realized when it comes to performance and bringing in your best physique… carbs are necessary.

I really kept an open mind when approaching my 2013-2013 contest preparations. Just as I had an open mind with giving intermittent fasting a go last year for my prep, I’ve also had an open mind with giving IIFYM a try this year and combining the two, and needless to say I am very happy that I did. I thought that I enjoyed the perks of Intermittent fasting last year?... Well I’m really enjoying the perks of applying both IF & IIFYM this year! A

Admittedly, it certainly helped to have a coach I can trust. It gave me a lot of reassurance in keeping an open mind – especially when you’re still trying to grasp the fact that all foods are OK to eat in moderation - and yes this includes ice cream, beer and bacon (before some of you new readers out there go nuts and tell me how unhealthy my new protocol is, please refer to my last article and the follow up discussion, so you’ll understand what I’m taking about).

My Take Away: As I always say, balance, moderation & consistency are the keys to a long-term successful diet. Though carbohydrates and I are pals now, I still show the same amount of love to protein and fats as I did before; the only difference is that carbohydrates is treated as an equal now ;-)

Adelfo Cerame: Contest Prep Update on Turkey Day! Plus: Losing Fat W/ Intermittent Fasting & 200g Carbs/Day Works

When you look at these images yo will have to concede that Adelfo brings a better conditioning to the Thanksgiving table than many a competitor to the stage ;-)

In a way it's funny how the Internet has brought us all so close together and yet we still have so little in common, when we are not "on the line". I believe it was two weeks ago, when I almost missed my own radio show on Thursday, because I assumed there wouldn't be a SuppVersity Science Round-Up on a holiday. Literally in the last minute I thought, maybe you better check whether the US guys have a holiday, as well - and what should I say? You didn't! Today, I am just back from the office and do now have an 'evening off', 'cause today it's you (or at least ~65% of you, which is the relative amount of US visitors in the last week), who have a holiday that' leaving me somewhat clueless why you are giving thanks and I am not ;-)

In the end, it does not matter for me what the deeper meaning of Thanksgiving is, as long as I know that you spend the day with your loved ones, it's a day to celebrate and that's all that counts - so HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Enjoy Adelfo's short progress update and get your share of the holiday roast - even if it will have it's share in the 0.5kg the average college student in a 2006 study by Hull et al. gained during the Thanksgiving holiday (. I will make sure there is "Get Lean and Stay Lean Quickie" either on Sunday or Monday, just in case ;-)

Happy Turkey Day SuppVersity readers! 

I’m going to make this short and sweet since I know most of you will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with loved ones and eating good food, because I know I will. I’ve been getting some comments and request from a few people for an update on my progress, and I know I have not done one in a while, so this will be just a quick update on my diet, training and progress pictures… I promise that’s all!

Figure 1: Adelfo's current total caloric intake and macronutrient ratio (left); Adelfo's latest progress pics (right) comparing photos from week 2 and week 7 of this contest prep (img. Adelfo Cerame Jr. 2013).

Trainingwise, I am still following the Hybrid of P.H.A.T. training using an RPE scale with 3 to 4 workouts per week depending on what day workouts land (click here to learn more about Adelfo's routine). In addition I am doing cardio twice a week: 9 laps around a trace. Everything is pretty much the same since I started in October - the aforementioned cardio is in fact he only addition I have made to my regimen at the beginning of this month.

One thing I do notice is that my carb intake is a lot higher this year and has not yet to change. By this time last year I was probably already at 125-150g of carbs. I never realized that I was able to maintain 200g of carbohydrates (which is big for me) for a long period of time while still dropping body fat. 

When I come to think about it, it's probably less that I could not do it, but rather that I never even gave the 200g of carbs per day a chance. Ever since working with coach Alberto, I’ve learned that dieting and listening to your body is like a game of wits, and sometimes, the best move is no move, at all.

Image 1: Progress picture (backshots) comparing week 2 and week 7 of this competition (Adelfo Cerame. 2013)

With regards to my training split, it’s still kicking my ass day in day out. I’m exhausted most days every time I stroll out the gym after a training session. I feel sore more than usual nowadays, and my muscles feel tight like I’m somewhat pumped all day long. After mentioning this to Alberto and maybe second guessing myself that it was just in my head; he assures me that it’s not in my head…

“Just pushing you a bit on the frequency tip which is important for an athlete of your level. We will go back and fourth with it, and you are NOT imagining what you feel dude. Your muscle are under constant turnover now, and because of this I think you will keep a much fuller look.”

Here is another conversation between coach Alberto and I, when I mentioned still feeling sore and tight but was feeling and noticing more density in my frame especially in my chest area because I feel that the chest area is my weakest body part…

“Yep! It was about time you rode the frequency train. It’s going to pay off! This week we are going to not change a thing, since we added more cardio. I want to cruise a bit this month December push a bit, but right now it’s coming off easy. We will have some good detail in your back by the end of the month.

So far so good, and given the new frequency you are working with I think you are going to really see you keep more even though you got leaner”

But yes… I am very pleased with my training and how everything is coming along. I am confident that I will be able to outdo my old self this coming March of 2013.

Image 2: Progress picture (front double biceps) week 2 vs. week 7 of this competition (Adelfo Cerame. 2013)

That’s all I have for this Thursday edition but since it is the holidays, just in case you didn’t get to read it last year. I wrote an article on “5 simple rules to survive the feast without too much damage” So for those of you who just started following my blogs; here is the link to the respective article.

Have A blessed Holiday SuppVersity readers!


References:

• Hull HR, Hester CN, Fields DA. The effect of the holiday season on body weight and composition in college students. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2006 Dec 28;3:44.

Natural Resistant Starch Reduces Body Fat & Weight Gain in Obesity Prone & Lean Rodents. 8% RS2 Necessary for Weight Loss Effect, Only 4% for Increases in GLP-1 and PYY

Potatoes! I don't suggest you eat them raw, but if you did they would make a good source of resistant starch. You don't eat potatoes at all? Read the Potato Manifesto and learn why regular potatoes are not as black as they are portrait!

I guess, you will remember my post on WM-HDP from back in the day. As usual you, as a SuppVersity reader were in the know, way before the ThermiCarbs and its identical clones hit the supplement market. It has however gotten relatively quiet around these purported super starches, which bypass enzymatic breakdown in the small intestine and get converted to short-chain fatty acids (SFCA) in the colon. Why? Well, my best bet is that people expected some sweet junk of which they could eat as much as they wanted with the only side effect being increased muscularity and decreased body fat levels. I am well aware that you knew better than that, but you know how people are: Always on the look-out for the magc pill... or in this case, the magic starch ;-)

Cutting fat by eating more: The old adage of the "fat burning foods"

Be that as it may, a soon to be published study by researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization in Australia confirms: If you exchange a high enough amount of regular carbohydrates with resistant starches (even regular ones, lower resistance to enzymatic breakdown that WM-HPD), this can be a viable tool to shed some body fat.

Unfortunately, though, the results of the very this study do also suggest that the effectiveness of this regimen will largely depend on (a) your phenotype and (b) your willingness to follow your hopefully not totally messed up satiety response and decrease your caloric intake voluntarily, just as the male Sprague-Dawley, the 'subjects in this study by Belobrajdic, King, Christophersen and Bird.

Figure 1: Energy intake and final body weight (left) and relative changes in fat mass and total liver weight after 6 weeks on diets with different resistant starch content (based on data from Belobrajdic. 2013)

Both (a) and (b) could however be major caveats when it comes to the practical realization of similar results in human beings, to whom I would not suggest that they follow a standardized diet with ~15% fat, 19% protein and ~66% carbohydrate, either - regardless of whether they exchange 0%, 4%, 8%, 12% and 16% of the mostly high GI carbs in their diets by resistant starch or not (the values are relative to the weight of the chow).

Just as raw potatoes, green bananas contain RS-2, the natural form of fermentable resistant starch. When you cook them, the RS2 content is continuously reduced.

Note: The "2" in "RS2", indicates that RS2 is, contrary to WM-HDP, which belongs to the "RS4" variety of resistant starches, a naturally occurring molecule. And though this is the case for WM-HDP vs. high amylase maize starch, the latter does not necessarily mean that one is more resistant to enzymatic breakdown than the other. You could for example think of special applications, where you want to have a starch that of which roughly 75% will be broken down into glucose in the small intestine, while the other 25% are fermented further down in the large intestine. This would be a synthetic molecule and therefore categorized as RS4, but still relatively easily "digested".

What I consider especially problematic, though is the fact that people who like to eat, let alone those, who use food as a, if not the only way to experience pleasure in their lives (eating for reward), are going to have a very hard time to satisfy their cravings with this blatant "food". I mean, we all know that "satiety" is not really an issue for most people with weight problems, so it remains questionable to which degree those who actually need a crouch like this will eventually benefit from a resistant starch which exerts its fat loss effect in rodent experiments at least partly via dose-dependent decreases in food intake -- 3%, 6%, 9% and 11% in the 4%, 8%, 12% and 16% resistant starch groups, respectively.

Ok, I have to admit there is more to it than just eating less

Figure 2: For the lean rodents, body weight gain and feed efficacy (weight gain per gram of chow) favor different "optimal" RS2 levels.

Allegedly, the reduction in food intake alone cannot explain the decrease in weight gain in either the obese or lean rodents, but if you take a closer look at the data I plotted in figure 2, it does still become obvious that  the ameliorative effects weight gain in the obesity resistant (i.e. naturally lean) rodents don't obey the "more is more" rule, as the scientists would have it in their abstract:

"Obesity prone rats (OB) gained less weight with 4, 12 and 16% RS compared to 0% RS, but the effect in obesity resistant [lean] animals was significant only at 16% RS. Irrespective of phenotype, diets  containing ≥8% RS reduced adiposity compared to 0% RS. Energy intake decreased by 9.8 kJ/d for every 4% increase in RS. [...] Insulin sensitivity was not affected by RS." (Belobrajdic. 2013)

In the naturally lean animals, the "optimal", i.e. the lowest feed efficacy would be achieved with 8% of RS2 in the chow and not as the "≥8% RS" implies with 16% of resistant starch in the diet.

Ok, I have to admit there is more to it than "minimal feed efficiency"

In the scientists defense, it must however be mentioned that the plasma lipid and gut / satiety regulating hormone levels they measured did in fact show an almost linear increase with the amount of fermentable resistant starch in the diets (see figure 3). Since Belobrajdic et al. do not provide individual data from the two groups, but settle for a table that will tell you that there were no treatment x group interactions  (this means that the outcome was not different for obesity resistant and prone animals) and a phenotype interaction with the overall outcome was only present for leptin, there is no way to tell for sure.

Figure 3: Inter-group comparison (not differentiated for lean vs. obese, because there were no significant interactions, except for leptin) of plasma lipid and gut derived hormone levels (data adapted from Belobrajdic. 2013)

So, with all these "admission" (as in "I have to admit..."), I have to admit *lol* that using high-amyolse starch as a part of your contest prep, maybe to bake pancakes or use it in another food, where the "taste" does not matter that much is could in fact be a viable dietary tool. It won't get you stage ready on its own, though and has one major caveat I have not even mentioned yet: You better make sure you always know where the next clean toilette is. Assuming that those 16% RS2 have the same effect on the volume of your feces as they had on that of the rodents in the study at hand, you may be spending 5-times more time on the loo thhan usually ;-)

If you can't remember what WM-HDP was, click on the image to go back to the article. Regardless of whether you pick up a natural or an artificial starch, this stuff is not "zero calories"! The high amylose maize starch in the study at hand has 10.45kJ (WM-HDP should be similar), i.e. 2.5kcal/g you will have to make up for by cutting out real foods.

Bottom line: Assuming that the results from the study at hand translate to human beings the incorporation of resistant starches in your diet seems - at least to a degree at which your bowel can handle it - to entail a lot of health benefits. The problem I see, is that you will have to force down these empty calories instead of eating healthy foods if you want to benefit.

If you simply add resistant starches (natural or artificial) to your diet, without cutting back on calories, elsewhere, you will become fatter, not leaner.

You will also have to take into account that adding resistant starch to the high sucrose diet of the rodents in this study will necessarily entail greater benefits than exchanging some tubers, rice, fruit and other non-sugary carbohydrate sources from a healthy diet with resistant starch powder - not to speak of all the beneficial micro-nutrients you will be missing!

References:

• Belobrajdic DP, King RA, Christophersen CT, Bird AR. Dietary resistant starch dose-dependently reduces adiposity in obesity-prone and obesity-resistant male rats. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2013 Oct 25;9(1):93.

Adelfo Cerame - The New Routine: Complete 4-Day Workout Program. Plus: RPE Training Prescriptions Explained!

 Adelfo is willing and in fact eager to learn and improve his "game" every day... and I guess that's also what makes him succeed in excelling his self every year!

I guess, you will already feel like being dried out with a whole week without news from "your's truly", Adelfo Cerame Jr, right? Don't worry no lengthy introductions on possible topics on the SuppVersity Science Roundup with "my brother from another mother" Carl Lanore - did you know it happens that his birthday is exactly one day before mine? Wel, one day and a couple of years... which segues actually quite nicely into the explanation for why there is not SuppVersity Science Roundup at 1PM (EST), today!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Alisa Profumo!

Carl's significant other, the "lovely and talented" (I am not just citing Carl's words here, Alisa!) co-host of the Casual Friday Show at Super Human Radio is celebrating her birthday today. And though I am not quite sure about which one it is, judged by her looks she can hardly be more than one year older than me! Apropos me: That's all from my (Adel aka Dr. Andro's) side, today... go ahead Adelfo!

---

Week 2 Of My Contest Prep – The Journey back to the WC Nationals

Well, I was going to do an update on our friend Mr. C but he’s been avoiding me like the plague for these past 2 weeks. Lol. No check-ins, no updates, no return texts, so I figured maybe he’s just taking 2 weeks off to recover from his vacay, so I let it be. And soon enough I get a call… so we talked, and just as I figured, he just needed to recover from the vacation, and is motivated to pick up where he left off. He’ll actually be coming in to the facility, where I work and get a training session in with me, today, so I’ll actually get to see him in the flesh and evaluate the damage and see what we need to do to pick up where we left off.  But until then … Give me a couple more weeks to whip Mr. C back into shape until another update.

Design your own workout routine with the SuppVersity EMG Series - Click on the body part to see the "best" exercises Chest Biceps Back Abs & Core Triceps Shoulders Legs

My contest preparation is in full effect, and I’m ready to document my experiences for another go-around, but this time I will not be a lone ranger when it comes to preparing for my upcoming shows. As some of you may know, I’ve acquired another mentor. Other than my good friend Adel who is one of my other mentors; Alberto Nunez will be the other helping me along through this journey as well.

Last year I was just crunching numbers on a weekly basis from calories to macros for my nutrition, and set to rep schemes for my training, which wasn’t a big deal; I actually enjoy it. But it does start to get stressful and mentally wear you down towards the tail end of the diet, when contest is approaching and your mind is just everywhere, and you feel like you need some external support system that's more than just someone to talk to and have you make all the important decisions on your own.

And honestly, so far it feels refreshing to take a step back, relax, kick my feet up and just observe, learn, and follow the advice of a seasoned and experienced bodybuilder like Alberto.

I consider myself a student of the game, and if I see an opportunity where I can benefit by improving my physique, and acquire some knowledge at the same time, I’m going to take advantage.

My new workout! Let's see... RPE? WTF!?... Reps per exercise….???

Oh…. Rate of perceived exertion… (Thanks google!) – Yes I felt like such a dummy, when I clicked and opened the training program Alberto had devised for me. I was expecting your typical “exercise A:  for (x)sets x (x)reps”, so I had to double back and really look over the plan again, because it pretty much looked foreign to me... full of acronyms, I actually knew, but rarely use: RPE scale numbers and percentages!? Ok, I could read those, but had no idea what the workout would feel like in practice... so, just to make sure I would not make a fool of myself I checked back in a couple of articles on the matter and emailed Alberto about the few things that were still up in the air.

Basically the RPE scale is based on how hard you feel you are working during an exercise. It’s a scale system to help with progressive overload. If you want to get stronger you have to always push yourself, whether it be more weight, more reps or increased intensity – always trying to better yourself with every rep, with every set, with every exercise, and with every training session.

Ok how exactly does this work now?

The RPE scale is based on numbers that relate to your perceived exertion when you are lifting a given weight for a given rep. for example an…

Alberto Nunez, Adelfo's new contest prep coach, when he won his first show in 2008 (image 3dmusclejourney)

• RPE of 10 = absolute true max – after completing a given set, you do not have any more left in the tank to push for 1 more rep
• RPE of 9.5= not max but could not do another rep
• RPE of 9 = one rep left in the tank – after completing a given set, you have just enough energy left or 1 more in the tank for one more rep.
• RPE of 8.5 = two reps left in the tank
• RPE of 8 = three reps left in the tank – after completing a given set, you have just enough energy left for 3 more reps or three more in the tank.

So basically the weight you choose is determined by the RPE and the rep range.

Once you start out this will obviously mean that there will be a lot of trial and error and playing around or experimenting with different weights involved before you get an idea of what load it will take you to achieve the desired RPE within the given rep range. And you really have to be honest with yourself because you can easily under or overshoot your RPE.

My new workout: All the details and some explanations on how it works

It took me just a couple of hours, roughly half a day, to be honest, from the moment I received my program on Friday night until I was at the gym next morning trying to figure out weights and rep ranges. Thus I wanted to make sure I would be able to really kickstart my routine ...

You can see the exact exercises as well as the weights I used by clicking on "view" for the individual days.
• Monday: Push day dominant volume (view)
• Wednesday: Pull day dominant volume (view)
• Friday: Cruise day (view)
• Sunday: Strength day (view)

...on Monday, already. In order to give you an idea of how this going to look in practice let me briefly walk you throgh the BB flat press on my push-dominant volume day on Monday, as an example:

Adelfo Cerame during his last contest; that's the physique he will have to beat this time around.

• So as you can see my rep range is 12. 
• For my 1st set I pick a weight that I can lift for 12 reps but still have just one more rep in the tank to push for another – so I stop at 12 but know I could have pushed for 1 more. 
• After my first set I deduct whatever back off percentage is given to me, which was 10%  - so I deduct 10% from 225 lb. 
• Now that I’ve figured out my back off % weight (205 lb.), I will do as many sets as I can for 12 reps until I can no longer complete a whole set for 12 reps, so it may be 3, 4, or even 5 sets but you keep banging out sets of 12 until you cannot follow through with a complete set any more. 
• Exercise done! On to the next, and so on…

As you can see it is actually pretty straight forward and once you got the notation down, just as easy to read as every other program.

My thoughts on my new training program… 

Monday and Tuesdays workouts really gave me a good kick in the balls! I was pretty spent strolling out of the gym on those days, and It’s going to take my body some getting use to with these higher volume days because I’m not use to flirting with the 12-15 rep ranges (high volume to me is 6-8 reps. Lol), on a weekly basis. But It’s something new and refreshing.

The training will challenge and push me because it’s out of my comfort zone and it allows me to be honest with myself – since there are no given sets after your initial RPE set it will allow or even force me and try to set new PR’s, in trying to push for more sets. I also love the fact that it still incorporates a hypertrophy and strength split, which I have really grown to enjoy in my other training programs that I have done…. And I can’t wait to see what I can do, and eventually achieve during my strength days on this program

Well That’s all I have for today... see you in two weeks for my contest prep nutrition and supplement updates.

Adelfo Cerame - Ten Days to Mission Possible: Battle Plan for the 2013 Wheelchair Bodybuilding Season. Fasting, Eating, Training, Coaching, Counting, Sleeping & Prevailing

Adelfo's new contest prep coach Alberto Nunez (left part), Adelfo in the "on season" 2013 (right part)

I am deeply ashamed, but have to admit that I did not mention that yesterday's post on the "anabolic" effects of betaine was a last minute replacement for Adelfo Cerame Jr.'s weekly SuppVersity guestpost (click here to read the past installments). Adelfo has been quite busy lately and therefore postponed his weekly progress update by 24h. I guess you won't mind though, 'cause he made good use of the hours he had left and compiled an extra-long, extra-detailed and extra-informative blogpost for today. 

A brief reminder before I hand over to Adelfo: The weekly SuppVersity Science Roundup with my friend Carl Lanore is now available as a podcast on the SHR website!

"T" as in "ten days left", until the fat has to start falling off my frame ;-)

Yes, SuppVersity readers, you will have to go through another (hopefully not dreadful…for you guys’, at least) long season of blogs of me documenting my contest prep for the 2013 season. I know a lot of you guys’, especially Adel aka "Dr. Andro" were very hopeful and confident that I was going to get my pro card this year, but things didn’t go the way I had planned, and I felt really bad that I wasn’t able to meet everyone’s expectations. I was determined to bring back the title, for you guys, as well as for myself... but that's a thing of the past and in a couple of weeks I will get another chance to try and bring home that W for us this year!

As most of you readers know, I like to give myself a lot of time to get ready when dieting, to allow myself for a slow and gradual process when melting the fat and peeling the skin back, that is why I am starting in October. This will give me about 20+ weeks to prepare and get ready. And it raises one very important question:

What will I do differently this time?

If you’re talking about making improvements?... Then yes there are going to be some changes but as for routine and protocol… No. I’m a creature of habit, and I like to stick with what works for me.

Video 1 (click to play): Adelfo Cerame Jr, at the Wheelchair Championships 2013; posedown for the overall

I’ve actually thought of trying out more of a “eat when I want” type approach just as long as I’m hitting my macronutrient numbers and incorporating meal timing with my training regimen; but in the end, the logical consequence of doing just like that will once more be an intermittent fasting protocol - not just out of habit, but because it comes totally naturally to me.

For over the past year I have enjoyed, and have basically adapted the IF type regimen into my social and life schedules, and to be honest, an IF protocol fits perfectly into my lifestyle. 

Also if isn’t broke then don’t fix it? Maybe build and improve on it, but not change the whole structure. I did really well prepping for my shows this past year using this approach, and it meets the criteria for me of a what a diet should be – stress free, fun, doable, practical, and economical. And all that without having negative effects on my strength and training intensity in the gym.  In fact,  this past year was one of my best experiences with prepping and dieting for a show. I barely felt the affects of what a diet usually does to you: low energy, always hungry, irritable, mood swings, decrease in strength… So let me ask you: Why would you skip something you love and do something you dread, instead?

Coaching: Yes… I’m giving in and asking for some help! .

As much success as I have found for the past 4 years preparing for shows by myself, I’ve come to a point where I feel that I want to learn more and take my physique to the next level… And what better way to do so, than to go to someone or people that have more experience and knowledge than you do. The guys’ from 3DMJ will be overseeing my prep.

This will be the guy that will be mentoring me and overlooking my contest prep for the 2013 season. Lifetime Natural Bodybuilder Alberto Nunez!

From what I know so far and from talking with him already via skype, Alberto Nunez will be the main guy overseeing my prep. I’ve been in contact and exchanging emails with these guys since May, and after falling short again in New Orleans, I definitely wanted them to jump on board to help me make the improvements I need, to win! From speaking to Alberto a couple weeks ago, he seems like the right fit for me. He gets it, and understands that I’m looking for far more than someone to just hand me a piece of paper, that tells me to eat tilapia, asparagus, and brown rice all throughout the day. He understands that I’ve found success using an IF protocol, and prefers to keep it that way, as long as I’m happy with it and it’s doable for me. So he won't be changing much when it comes to the structure of my routine but just be more observant, when it comes to my overall calories, macronutrients, and meal timing. Plus I know the guys over at 3DMJ are very knowledgeable, when it comes to the scientific approach to training and nutrition, which is also what keeps me coming back here to the SuppVersity day in and day out. To really understand what you are doing and why you are doing it is - at least in my humble opinion - what makes the difference between a pro and amateur, between someone who's just constantly following advice and someone who's really building his body and mind.

Training, Nutrition and the grande scheme of things

Apropos "knowing what you are doing", I have compiled a brief overview of what I am planning to do or still pondering... I guess, Adel would call it "Intermittent Thoughts on...", but this is his thing, so I will just stick to a couple of notes, on ideas related to nutrition- and exercise-related topics.

• Nutrition - When it comes to my nutrition, I will definitely be sticking to my whole foods, and Myotropics Physique 2.0 shakes for the majority of my meals. At the same time, I’m going to have fun and incorporate foods the majority of the nutritional institution would frown upon - in a way it's to demonstrate how flexible and delicious your diet can actually without compromising your physique, let alone your health.
  Does this mean that I am going to eat whatever I want? No, it does not! Don’t get it twisted... Lol. It’s about balance, moderation and consistency. This is my philosophy when it comes to maintaining, and enjoying a successful diet! A diet shouldn’t be extreme on either ends of the spectrum, but must have a natural balance, and allow for moderation, so you can stay consistent.
  Please remember! Though I’m going to start having to take even the small quantity of calories you get from veggies into account, you don't I have seen to many people who just want to look good naked fail not despite, but due to meticulous calorie-counting to suggest doing this to anyone, aside from a seasoned competitive bodybuilder or physique athlete.

  As far as my fast/feed protocol goes, I will still be sticking to the 16-hour fast/ 8 hour feeding window (which I will time around my training), but at the same time, I wont get bent out of shape if I may need to extend the feeding hours a tad longer due to whatever reasons. Like I mentioned earlier. In a way this goes along the lines of what I mentioned earlier, i.e. “eat when you want”, but at the same time it will still allow me to take advantage of the benefits from fasting.
  I will also be controlling more of my intake and not be so loose as I was last year, and when I say loose, I mean I didn’t really count my vegetables… and my re-feeds were pretty out of control. And as shredded or almost shredded as I got with being so loose, I think these are one of the minute differences that will bring my physique up as far as conditioning goes.  And yup! I’m going to start counting my vegetables, as much as I’ve been a fan of “not counting vegetables”, when it comes to circumstances like really trying to come in your best condition and stepping your game up.
• Training - I definitely enjoy the strength/ hypertrophy split that I do during the week (suggested read: my previous post on my shoulder routine during the RTWC). I think implementing that will allow me to maintain my strength while dieting throughout my prep. I have also been getting really good results doing Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 strength training protocol. I’m on my second cycle of the training phase and so far my 1-rep max for bench has gone up 30 pounds, from 295 lb. to 325 lb. So, along with EDT’s, 5x5’s, reverse pyramids, and hypertrophy training, I would like to find a way I can incorporate a 5/3/1 phase into my training phases, but in the end, it all depends what my new coach will say and recommend.
  There will be cardio… As much as I loved bragging to people about not having to do cardio and still be able to get into the condition I’m in… I think that cardio is going to be one of those minute differences that will really bring up my conditioning. I did notice that in towards the end of my last prep, and so yes, there will be cardio. I wont be running myself to the ground or "cardioing" myself to death, but there will be some kind of cardio action going on this year.

Well that’s all for today SuppVersity students! I am very excited to share yet again another year of contest prepping with you folks and hope that you won't get bored with my experiences on what is going to be a wonderful and hopefully successful journey... which would by the way imply that this is going to be the last year of me documenting my prep as an amateur ;-)

Adelfo Cerame - After the Wheelchair Nationals (+Video!): Another Lesson Learned, Thousands Yet to Come!

Video 1 (click to play): Adelfo Cerame Jr, at the Wheelchair Championships 2013; posedown for the overall

I guess most of you will have heard it already. Adelfo won the title at the Wheelchair Nationals (I had expected nothing else), but came off second best - at least in the eyes of the judging panel - in the posedown for the Overall (see video 1). Allegedly, this was not the best Adelfo we have seen. And as he is going to point out in today's SuppVersity post, 4-days before, he looked so much better that I am pretty sure that he would have taken that pro-card home, if... well, I will let him tell you the story, but before I do so, let me say this: I am proud of you Adelfo! Even more now (after reading this post), than before. You have everything it takes to be a pro, don't care about that sheet of paper you will pick it up somewhere along your way!

Learning From my mistakes and moving on & forward

As much as I was disappointed in losing the overalls, I was more disappointed in myself, because I knew that I f#cked it up! After evaluating pictures from this past weekend, I realized that I looked much better 4 days out, than I did the day of the show… Then it hit me… I realized that I did the one thing that I thought I would never, ever make the mistake of doing; and that’s making drastic changes during the final days of my peak week.
 :
Though it may have not seemed as drastic at the moment; using a water pill in between those 4 days to try and flush out the last bit of water, may have hindered my physique leading up to Saturday – To be honest I really didn’t need to take the water pill, I would have been fine just pounding gallons of water all the way till Saturday morning, but stupid me… always wanting to do more decided to take it anyway.

Image 1:  4 days out from Saturday (left) vs. Saturday morning (right) - Something definitely went wrong in between those 4 days, and I suspect I fell victim to my own urge to do more than 100%

As you can see from the images above, I was a lot sharper 4 days out than I was the day of the show. I didn’t look as full and hard as I did 4 days out. I don’t know whether it was the plane ride or the water pills that I took, or a combination of both, but all I know is that something I did went out of whack in between those 4 days.

So what's the take home message here? Stick to what got you to the dance! If you looked good 4 days out before a show, then you’ll look good the day of show, so no need to change anything. Unfortunately, I did not listen to my own advice and I played for it!

Moving Forward and into the "Off Season"

My sponsor, Myotropics Physique Nutrition, has just released Thermicarb the WM-HDP based dual-action carbohydrate source from Physique 2.0 as a standalone. This is a 100% non-insulinogenic nutritionally engineered resistant starch and could be of interest to all of you who are reconsidering their peri- or intra-workout carbohadrate supplementation after reading Adel's SuppVersity post on high GI intra-workout cabs, yesterday.

You live and you learn – All I can do is learn from my mistakes, and make the necessary adjustments so I do not repeat that same mistake. To leave this show behind, will allow me to move forward, improve, get better and expect great things for the future.

As far as the near future is concerned, this means going into the "off season" - not a particularly long one, since I will have to start prepping again around October for the Florida show in March, but a couple of months to try and put on some descent size before October. Even though I’m going to miss the dieting down and prepping, to be honest, it’s kind of a relief getting a couple months off. I can focus more on school and trying to finish my degree much earlier than expected (hopefully graduate in October), since I have the time now, and I can also try and look for another gig, so I can earn some more extra income to support my bodybuilding habit! *lol*

Learn and grow - personally, professionally and physically!

There’s only 2 goals I have in mind at the moment, and that’s to learn and grow! You can never stop learning. I don’t claim to know everything, and I never will claim to know everything, there is a lot of learning that needs to be done in this game of fitness and nutrition and I intend on learning as much as I can. In order for me to gradually improve my training and nutrition, I must keep learning – whether it is my late night “pick Dr. Andro’s brain” conversations with Adel, or if it’s just finding interesting topics that I can do some research on… which usually provides me with new stuff to discuss on yet another of those late night sessions; it's a constant struggle or, as a matter of fact, it's more of a constant pleasure to expand your knowledge and gather new insights on a daily basis.

The idea of learner, by the way, segues nicely into another decision I've made, which is to work with a seasoned prep coach for my next show. I am not really sure what to expect, but I feel that it may help me to take it to the next level - and if it doesn't the help from someone who has more experience and more knowledge about peaking right on time, than I do will certainly broaden my horizon and help me to avoid stupid decisions, which I, had I been my own coach, probably advised against.

Let me briefly make something clear: This is by no means a knock on Adel. He knows how much I value his opinion and he has helped me tremendously with reaching my goals (and will continue to help me), but I understand that he is a busy man and can’t always respond to my frantic e-mails, bombardments of questions, and always asking him to evaluate my physique (especially in the final weeks of my prep when I get really anxious and it will sooth my guilty conscious to know that I am paying for those emails to be answered!) In the end I owe it to him that I've had such a wide-open forum to share my story and experiences with fitness and nutrition (thanks for listening, or I should say, "reading", by the way :-) It was also him, who has hooked me up with my sponsor, Myotropics Physique Nutrition, and his constant support was and still is one of the main reasons I am getting so much public exposure. So, by no means, do I mean to be disrespectful! It is in fact the exact opposite: I am trying to take some load off his shoulders, so that he doesn’t have to worry about me all the time! And you know what? This leaves more time for you, as well ;-)

My choice fell on the guys at 3DMuscle Journey, who will be helping me with my prep for next years 2013 Wheelchair Nationals in March. These guys are experienced natural bodybuilders with years of experience under their belt, which makes me believe that I can learn one or two - probably rather three *lol* - things from them that will not just help me excel at the next competition, but also to expand my own knowledge as a trainee and coach.  

I need to be bigger, stronger, and... well, not necessarily faster, though ;-)

But now on the physical growth – Obviously I need to get bigger! Every time I ask judges for an evaluation on what I need to improve… they always tell me  “You need to get bigger” Lol. And every single person that has beaten me has always been... guess what? Yeah! Bigger than me – I get it!

Image 2: Right before the pre-judging; at least on the picture on the right its pretty obvious that the water pill did me no good; well, unless that was a "water pill" meant to increase water ;-/

So the focus for the next couple months is to get bigger – well obviously right!? Lol (that’s what the off-season is for) but I still really want to focus and put an emphasis on my back – I feel that I’ve made some big improvements on it this season and would like to continue to keep improving on it; especially my lower back – if ever figure out a way to stimulate my lower trunk and really get that Christmas tree to come in, I think my back can be my strongest body part

I’d also like to bring up my chest, I’m thinking that it may be one of my weak points, or at least lagging body part now, but overall and most importantly, I want to put on some size with an emphasis on my back and chest. And last but not least, my strength could use another bump as well - that's it from your's truly today I am off into the off season... and don't forget to check back for further details on my training, nutrition and supplementation regimen in he weeks to come :-)

Adelfo Cerame - Finally a PRO: How I Won My IFBB Pro Card. Plus: SHR Audio Interview & All the Details About Adelfo's Nutrition & Training Regimen Before the Show

Adelfo at the NPC Sunshine Classic/Wheelchair Nationals '13

In case you missed the live show yesterday, you should by now have had the chance to listen to the podcast of yesterday's SuppVersity Science Round-Up Special in honor of Adelfo Cerame Jr.

If you did, you may have noticed that we talked a lot about the prep, about dieting and training in general, but did not really get to the contest itself... but hey, this is what the Science Round-Up "Seconds" are for and therefore I am now going to copy and paste the content of the latest blogpost Adelfo just shot me.

Before I do that, I do yet want to remind you of the SuppVersity Facebook Wall which holds, among other things news on

• the effects of grass and sand on your sprinting ability on different surfaces (read more), 
• the infection risk that comes with high glucose levels even in non-diabetic women (read more),
• Silvestrol, a natural anti-leukemia agent (read more),
• how low vitamin D levels could be a sign excessively high insulin levels (read more)

and much more... but for now, that's enough of abstract science. Let's get back to the real world and hear, or rather read how the last 4 days before the show went for your's truly Adelfo Cerame Jr.!

My last hours as an amateur and how I finally won the pro card

This is how the biggest winners look like, when they celebrate ;-)

I didn’t officially start my peak week until Wednesday, so prior to (Monday, Tuesday) everything pretty much stayed the same with regards to training and nutrition.

I felt pretty good going into my peak week. My food was high and energy levels were high as well. I was not dragging ass, hungry, or feeling miserable like some people do coming into the final week – I attribute this to starting my prep early and giving myself enough time to diet down (about 24 weeks). I did most of my intense digs with my diet early in my prep and was prepared or at least lean enough to the point where I was able to start slowly bringing food back up and recover metabolically almost 7-6 weeks out.

All I did from there was made tweaks and minor adjustments and improve, which I have summarized in the column on the right hand side of the following paragraphs.

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My numbers heading into peak week

• Energy: 2210kcal
• Fats: 50g
• Carbohydrates: 240g
• Protein: 200g

Wed: Start of Peak

• Energy: 3130kcal
• Fats: 70g
• Carbohydrates: 400g
• Protein: 225g

Wed: Training

• 2x horiz. row ex.
  4x6-8/8-10 @ 9 RPE
• 2x vert. row ex.
  4x10-12 @ 9 RPE
• Biceps curl ex.
  4x12-15 @ 9 RPE

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Thu: Nutrition

• Kcal: 2480
• Fats: 40g
• Carbohydrates: 350g
• Protein: 180g

Thu: Training

• 2 flat press ex.
  4x6-8/ 8-10 @ 9 RPE
• 2 vertical press ex.
  4x10-12 @ 9 RPE
• Biceps curl ex.
  4x12-15 @ 9 RPE

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Fri: Nutrition

• Kcal: 2370
• Fats: 50g
• Carbohydrates: 250g
• Protein: 180g

Fri: Training

• Horizontal row of choice 2x12-15 @ 9 RPE
• Flat press of choice
  2x12-15 @ 9 RPE
• Overhead press of choice 
  2x12-15 @ 9 RPE
• Biceps curls
  2x12-15 @ 9 RPE
• Lateral raise
  2x10-12 @ 9 RPE

---

Sat: Nutrition

• Kcal: 3190
• Fats: 70g
• Carbohydrates: 460g
• Protein: 180g

Sat: Show Day - Fluids

• 20 oz water upon waking
• 16 oz. of water with / between meal

Sat: Show Day - Toolbox

• Morton’s lite salt
• Bagels
• Muffins
• Detour bars
• Rice cakes
• Goober PB&J
• Peanut butter cups
• Tuna pouches
• Beef jerky

Florida, I am on my way! I took the red eye flight (Thursday- midnight), so I basically slept during the flight since it was my habitual bedtime and touched down in Florida around 7 AM.  It was a direct flight that took about 4 ½ hours so it didn’t really affect me with regards to jet lag. Since I like keep things simple and as efficient as possible, I had packed a light bag with the bear necessities and decided that I would just do all the groceries, when I arrived at my destination.

Believe it or not, not one chicken breast was eaten during my travels ;-)

As for my protein sources, I stuck to whey protein sample packets, Quest bars, beef jerky, tuna packets and Greek yogurt, solely. While the carbs came from rice cakes, potatoes, bagels, fat free Pringles, cereal, apples and bananas. All that was topped off with some Goobers peanut butter & jelly, as well as coconut oil for the fats..

I arrived on Thursday, at 7 AM. What followed was the usual itinerary of checking in at the hotel, training, sending the latest photo updates to coach Alberto, shopping at at Walmart (I find it much easier to buy most of my foods when I arrive at my destination rather than packing everything all at once), practicing my poses and, not to forget, rest... what? Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Rest and EAT!

So from Wednesday through Friday I kept everything pretty much the same, the only difference was that my food was a lot higher and coach Alberto just made the adjustments with my food on the fly depending on how I looked with update pictures that I sent him throughout the day (again, you find the exact macros in the column on the right).

As you will see, the training volume was a lot higher, but the overall duration of the workouts was still short and the intensity was under tightly controlled via the RPE scale (if you want to learn more about the RPE scale, listen to yesterday's interview on the Science Round-Up Special).

My fluid and sodium intake was habitual – I probably drank a little bit more though than I did in the past Friday nights before the show (around 60-70 ounces more than I was use to)

Saturday, the big day has come

As the overview on the right is telling your my overall energy intake on the day of the show was pretty high. It was therefore all the more critical to time the meals appropriately.

• Pre-Judging AM 

• 6-7 hours out = 2 bananas, 2.6 oz. tuna, 2 tbsp. Goobers PB&J
• 4-5 hours out = detour protein bar + 5 oz. apple
• 60-90 minutes out = blueberry bagel, pumpkin pie pop-tart, 1 oz. beef jerky, and 1 tbsp. goobers PB&J
• 15-10 minutes out = 3g sodium + 1 peanut butter cup + big gulp of water

• Night show PM

• 6-7 hours out = 2 bananas, 2.6 oz. tuna, 2 tbsp. Goobers PB&J
• 4-5 hours out = detour protein bar + 5 oz. apple
• 60-90 minutes out = slice of pizza
• 15-10 minutes out = 3g sodium + big gulp of water

On show day I weighed in at 141 lb., so I came in 5 pounds heavier this year compared to last, which was something that really surprised me since I’m usually hovering around at 132-135lbs come show day but I’m not complaining ;-)

5lbs heavier, but still a lightweight compared to the mass monsters

When sizing up the competition, I had an idea of who the 2 main guys that I would probably face in the overalls, they both were in higher weight divisions and both were mass monsters, but I was very confident in my conditioning and overall package that I brought this year to be able to compete.

When I finally won the dang thing, it felt like more of a relief than anything and being able to finally get that monkey off my back!   

Lol. It was a surreal moment and it took a while to soak in but when it finally did; it felt great to know that I’m now considered a professional at what I love to do!

How I celebrated this victory? To be honest I really wasn’t craving much or felt the need to binge and stuff my face. I snacked on some of my rice cakes and beef jerky, then went out to the town and had two tall glasses of Guinness, and three slices of pizza and called it a night.

---

Don't be worried, folks. We will find a good excuse to keep Adelfo "aboard" the SuppVersity! So this is certainly not the last post of Adelfo Cerame Jr, it may be the last of the "Amateur" Adelfo Cerame, but at the same time it's also the first or many posts of the IFBB Pro Adelfo Cerame ;-)

So what will the future bring? I jumped right back to my diet once I arrived back home on Monday evening. My appetite was pretty much under control and I attribute a lot of it to not depriving myself of anything during my whole contest prep, and I also had the advantage to be ready early or lean enough to where I was able to slowly start bringing my food back and recover metabolically.

As of now I plan on taking the whole year off for a long off-season in order for me to make the improvements I need to make in order to compete on the next level with the big boys! So, 2014 would probably be my pro debut.

Before I sign off; I would just like to thank all the SuppVersity readers for all the love and support you all have shown me throughout this journey, and I’m glad I was able to share it with you all.

Your's truly, Adelfo

Adelfo Cerame - 11 Days Out & Looking Back: 2013 vs. 2013, Things I Made Different & Things That Made a Difference

2013 ain't 2013: Different diet, different training, different macros, different physique... different placing!?

I am not sure if all of you read yesterday's SuppVersity Exercise Science Quickie, but those who did have probably already told their boss that they don't need an extended lunch-break today to listen to the "Thursdaily" 1PM EST installment of the SuppVersity Science Round Up on Super Human Radio. My voice did recover somewhat within the last 24h, but after a hefty dose of NAC I am now sniffin' and snortin' 24/7 - probably not exactly what you want to hear, I guess.

What you want (at least I'd suspect so) to read, however, is Adelfo's last blogpost before he is making his third and imho by far best-conditioned and thus promising attempt on winning his pro-card at the NPC Wheelchair Nationals on March 16, 2013... ah, I guess, I'd better let him tell the story... enjoy!

Roughly 11 days out & looking back

I am approximately 11 days out from CJ’s NPC Sunshine Classic & Wheelchair Nationals in Palm Beach, Florida, where I will try to make another attempt at trying to win the overall and possibly earn my IFBB pro card for the wheelchair division. So far I feel great! My food intake is high, my energy is up and I’m very confident that I have made all the right moves, adjustments and improvements this year to put myself in the best possible position to take it all down this year ;-) I joined a great team in 3DMJ, and am being mentored by a great coach in Alberto Nunez, who is a seasoned and experienced bodybuilder.

So, let's recap a couple of key features of this to previous ones....

As I reflect on this years contest prep/ bodybuilding season, I thought it would be interesting to compare notes from last years season to this year.  

Nutritional Regimen - Which "diet" have I been following?

• 2013 = IF (Leangains)

• 2013 = IF (Leangains) + IIFYM (flexible dieting)

From a physiological perspective,  125g of carbs per day shouldn't be a problem for any non-diabetic - even if he/she does not work out (learn more)

In 2013 I followed an intermittent fasting meal protocol using a 16h to 8h fasting vs. feeding window. This year I used the same IF meal protocol (since I found success with it last year and it’s a protocol that works with my daily life schedules) but combined it with a flexible style of dieting that is also known as the acronym IIFYM "If It Fits Your Macros".

As I mentioned in previous posts, I don't abuse the IIFYM paradigm to stuff myself with all sorts of junkfood, my diet is still mostly clean, but the leeway it gives you is refreshing and takes away a lot of stress related to picking, preparing, packaging etc. foods (see next point, i.e. Food Choices, as well).

Food Choices - What type of foods have I been eating?

• 2013 = Stuck to your so called “clean foods”  

• 2013 = I am not depriving myself of any type of foods; I’m eating what I want but use a 80/20 to 90/10 ratio of whole “nutrient dense” foods to processed foods, or what you would call “junk” food but I don’t like the word junk so I call it “fun” foods ;-)

Last year; even though I started to veer away from the whole “eating chicken breast and broccoli and brown rice” mentality and began to broaden my horizons in eating more variety of whole foods, I still basically stuck to your so called "clean foods" and I was just in the beginning phases of getting over my phobia of carbohydrates since I consider myself coming from a high fat/ low carb camp for almost 2 years on a dietary regimen that was more or less identical to the "anabolic solution diet".

So yes, even though I was eating a greater variety of lean meats, fruits, veggies, fats and whole food carb starches like tubers, I still deprived myself of foods like bread, oatmeal, grains, cereal because I still believed that they were evil, when it came to a body composition standpoint or even just when it came to general health.

Believe it or not, but the quote on the left, is actually from Adefo's very first post, here at the SuppVersity.

However, as you all know if you’ve ever read my very first Blog here on Suppversity and I’ll quote from it:

"My diet and training methods have evolved and will continue to keep evolving, because of my willingness to keep an open mind and apply and experiment with new strategies, methods and philosophies to my diet and training" - me

(Yes! I just quoted myself! Hahaha!)  And that’s exactly what I did, I kept an open mind and gave IIFYM a shot just like I gave “IF” a chance last year, and guess what?

It all worked out for the greater good because the combination of an IF meal protocol combined with a flexible method of dieting has really taken me a step closer to that goal of finding a perfect diet that I can convert into a lifestyle and do long-term. Like I mentioned before… A diet should be able to synergistically co-exist with your daily life and social schedules, and is something that you can convert into a lifestyle and do long-term  - that's fundamentally different from a "dietary intervention", under which you can easily subsume all the fad, single-sided and unflexible dietary regimen that work in the short run, but have you plateau before you even see your abs.

Training - Which type, how much and how intense was my training regimen?

• 2013 = Low volume/ high intensity – cardio was non-existent

• 2013 = hypertrophy/ strength split using an RPE scale – cardio was all throughout prep

Last year the majority of my training was very low volume/ heavy weight. My training consisted of 5x5 and EDT’s and reverse pyramids. The highest rep range I ever flirted with was 6-8. This year, I’m doing a split between hypertrophy and strength training using an RPE scale, and I would say the majority of my workouts would fall into the high volume category by common standards.

Does rest matter? Study finds 7-9% greater increase in muscle size w/ decreasing rest periods (learn more).

The main difference this year was the frequency of hitting the muscles and using just a handful of exercises as my staple and improving on them.

Last year I barely did any cardio except for probably the last 4 weeks of my prep to try to expend a little bit more energy but that was it. This year I incorporated a cardio regimen all throughout my prep... but to be honest: it was very easy – I started the first 2 to 3 weeks with none, then Alberto eventually prescribed 2x cardio session per week for 9 laps each session around a track. I completed those at a self-chosen until a couple o weeks ago, when he reduced the volume by 50%

As you may imagine this type of cardio regimen really wasn't a big issue... nothing compared o my previous HIIT sessions, for sure. I still feel that the additional laps on the track allowed me to keep my food high via carbohydrates -- and if I've learned one thing from this prep, then it is that the higher you can keep your carbs up while dieting the more beneficial it is for your physique.

Calories/ Macros - How much did I eat at the beginning of the prep?

Caloric zigzagging? (Re-)Read Adelfo's guest post "How I Break My Fast, Plan & Time My Macros and Use Caloric Zigzagging & Re-Feeds on a LeanGains Inspired IF Regimen" and learn more!

• 2013 = eeehhhh…??? around 1700/ 2000 kcal. (non-training/ training); 55-7g5 fat/ 150-200g carbs/ 150-200g protein (non-training-training) – skiploading style re-feed (basically eat as much high GI carbs as you can while keeping fat intake as low as possible.

• 2013 = 1960 kcal w/ a re-feed day 1x/ week;  40g fat/ 200g carbs/ 200g protein – 300g carb re-feed

Last year I experimented with caloric zigzagging, so my calories were higher on training days with a higher carb/ low fat intake and my calories were lower on non-training days with a higher fat/ low carb intake. And I didn’t start incorporating refeeds till later towards my prep or until I got lean enough to feel comfortable doing refeeds. This year I stayed consistent with my numbers and just had one re-feed day – so I had low days and one high day

Calories/ Macros - How much did I eat towards the end?

Adelfo has already written about the beneficial effects of a higher carb intake on your physique in a previous post onThursday, January 31, 2013: "Intermittent Carbohydrate Modulation as a Stepping Stone Towards an Anatomy Chart Physique"(read up on the article)

• 2013 = 1300/ 1600 kcal (non-training/ training days)
  50-60g fat/ 50-100g carbs/ 150-190 protein (non-training-training day) – skiploading style re-feed

• 2013 = 2305 kcal w/ a re-feed day 1x/week
  50g fat/ 240g carbs/ 200g protein – 325g carb re-feed

Last year I floated around sub 100g of carbohydrates for about the last 11 weeks of my prep and this year I started to gradually increase my food intakes 5-6 weeks out. I used weekly 25g increments (I’ll explain the process of how I started to bring my food later before I wrap up my blog)

With regards to my re-feeds; it was a bit more controlled this year compared to last years Sunday carb feasts I use to have. My fats this year were also on the lower end but still 20% of my total calories and I feel that this was another of the decisive factors that contributed to the clear improvements in my physique - with the low(ish) fat intake, I simply had way more room for carbs in my diet.

Comparison of Adelfo's pre-contest physique 2013 vs. 2013 (photos (c) Adelfo Cerame. 2013-13)

Well that’s all I got for today! I hope you enjoyed the notes PrimalKid ;-) but before I sign off, as I said I would; here’s a brief overview of how I started to gradually bring my food up to where it’s at now.

At about 6-5 weeks out is when coach Alberto started to gradually bring food back up via carbs but prior to that I was on about a  2 ½  week intensive dig of 100g/ day, then we increased 25g (125g) for about a week and a half, then increased another 25 the next (150g), then increased by 50g (200), then increased by just 25g last week (225g)  and now increased by 15g this week (240g)… Oh and fat got increased by 10 somewhere during that week. lol.

But yeah… Coach Alberto felt that my body was lean enough for carbohydrates to start having a positive stimulating effect on my physique, and that my body was more capable of partitioning carbohydrates much more efficiently now that I am leaner.