Sounds impossible right?

Once you’ve become strong in the squat and dead lift you’d think that all the body weight squats in the world aren’t going to help.

(well at least, that’s what I thought)

However, I did find one body weight exercise that seems to have really helped my dead lift starting strength, and my squat depth (which has always been an issue for me).

Now, normally when I’m in the mood to try some crazy body weight exercises I turn to Adam Steer at BodyWeightCoach.com for ideas. However, this nasty little exercise comes from a much different source…

Meet the Shiko.

Sometimes referred to as the ’sumo stomp’.

Flexibility + Strength + Balance = better dead lift starting strength and a deeper squat.

Now, for MOST of us (or maybe it’s just me) the flexibility and balance issues will make this an exercise you’ll want to do in the privacy of your own home…

I’ve been doing them now for 3 weeks and have A) become much better (but not great) at them,  and B) have noticed that my squat and dead lift feel awesome.

So something for you to try.

(A video full of thongs, just for you!)

(This one’s a little dark, but a good one for the ‘rhythm’ of the movement)

BP

PS- If you are following the Anabolic Again Muscle Building Protocol you would do these as extra workouts, but ONLY during your lower body compound cluster cycles.

Do you NEED to eat big to build muscle size?

The obvious answer is YES.

After all, if you eat big you’ll put on weight. And, when you put on weight those first 5, 6, 7 pounds, well they don’t REALLY look
like fat….

But are they muscle?

AND, let’s be completely honest…if you’re a personal trainer, or an on-line expert…”Eat Big” is the SAFE bet.

After all, there’s really no reason to suspect that Eating Big will HINDER muscle growth…so other than getting fat for no reason, the risk is low.

But is it the RIGHT bet?

A couple questions to ponder:

1 – How many calories does it take to build a pound of muscle?

• Is it 100, 500, 1,000?

2 – How quickly can you actually build a pound of TRUE skeletal muscle mass?

• Can it be done in a day, a week, for sure a year?

3- Since both protein synthesis and protein catabolism are what drive our resting metabolic rates…aren’t we already building muscle?

• Sure it might not be a lot, but what if we turned ‘down’ the catabolism side of things? would we grow without needing extra calories?

4- If it does take a lot of calories to build muscle…wouldn’t we see that in an elevated metabolic rate (the rate at which your body consumes calories?)

• Especially if it took more than 100 or so calories per day, we should’nt we be able to measure this?

5- If it does take a lot of calories to build muscle…why can’t those calories come from our body fat? energy is energy..why would it be different?

• Running takes calories…this doesn’t mean you have to eat them…why is building muscle different (talking calories not protein remember)

6- If we aren’t growing…does that mean we simply need more Calories?

• Is it a simple dose-response relationship?

7- Are there examples of muscle growth with a Calorie Deficit?

• Is needing to eat big to get big 100% true 100% of the time?

8- Is ‘weight’ even a good measure of muscle growth?

• Doesn’t weight fluctuate a little too much day to day to be an accurate indicator of muscle growth?

The bottom line is this, it’s not as simple as every seems to think it is.

That’s why I wrote “How Many Calories to Build Muscle” as part of the Anabolic Again Muscle Building Package.

Because quite frankly, I’m sick of everyone spewing out the easy answer.

(Honestly, if I hear ‘eat 500 extra calories per day’ I may jab a pencil in my ear)

The truth is, there is no final answer when it comes to calories and building muscle.

But at least we can throw some common sense at the problem.

And, considering the ENTIRE Anabolic Again Protocol is on for a special Introductory price of 50%, it’s almost worth it just for the ‘How Many Calories to Build Muscle’ special report!

(ALMOST, but don’t worry, the rest of the package is pretty darn good too!)

BP

PS – Yes, I realize I’m not actually going to stick a pencil in my ear… I’m just saying it’s frustrating

If you like weights, and like following a strict plan while working out (and if you have the space)

Get a home gym.

So far, best investment I have made to date.

Just my two cents – nothing beats working out how I want, when I want….and with who I want.

You don’t need anything super complicated, a rack, a bar some weights. Then pick up extras as you need.

Plus, it’s a great commute.

BP

(I apologize for the toque, but really, you don’t want to see what’s under there)

(The mistress in the basement)

The relationship between fasting and strength seems to be an issue that has been coming up a lot in the comments on this blog.

So here’s something to think about:

I’ve been following Eat Stop Eat for over three years.

I am significantly stronger than a lot of on-line fitness personalities who do not fast.

And, there are on-line fitness personalities who don’t fast who are also significantly stronger than me.

So really, comparing me to other people (or vice-versa) is pretty pointless….

(Just like how comparing yourself to anyone on-line is pointless)

But here’s something very important to consider: I’m significantly stronger now than I was three years ago.

In other words, I’ve become stronger while fasting once or twice a week for the last three years.

Did fasting make me stronger? I highly doubt it. In fact, I’m pretty sure I owe any strength gains I’ve received in that last little while to a well planned workout protocol.

But I know one thing: fasting didn’t suck all of the strength out of my body…

Bottom line: if your strength is suffering don’t look to your diet, look to your workout.

BP

PS – If you are looking for a more ‘research heavy’ explanation of fasting and strength you can find it in  chapters 9 and 11 of Eat Stop Eat

It is a very important contribution, because outside of exercise it’s one of the only things you can control, but it is exaggerated.

Just like you can’t out exercise a bad diet, you can’t out muscle it either.

(The black is bone, the yellow is body fat, the red is muscle, the blue is the rest of your lean mass…organs etc)

In the graph on the left we see that your muscle mass is shown to make up about 40%ish of your  total body weight. ON the right we see that while it makes up 40% (ish) of your entire body weight, in only makes up about 20% percent of your resting metabolic rate.

(FYI – 20% is roughly same amount that your liver or brain contributes to your metabolism)

BP

*Heymsfield SB, et al. Body-size dependence of resting energy expenditure canbe attributed to non-energetic homogeneity of fat-free mass. American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism. 282:E132-E138; 2002

“Eat Stop Eat combined with Working Out”

“Eat Stop Eat and hitting the weights”

Admittedly, I am starting to sound like a broken record.

And while the benefits that weight training has on the effects of fasting are nothing short of remarkable, it is time for me to change it up.

In fact, I’m going to go in a whole new direction.

let’s talk about…

“Resistance training and Eat Stop Eat.”

(feel free to roll your eyes)

There are chapters in Eat Stop Eat on my theories on how resistance training benefits intermittent fasting, but we’ve never really talked about how Eat Stop Eat can benefit resistance training.

First and foremost..the obvious: All that work in the gym is almost pointless if the muscle you are building is covered by a inch-thick layer of fat.

Nobody buys a new Ferrari to keep hidden in a garage. You take that baby out and show it off.

(Just wrap it up and put it in my garage, I wouldn’t want anyone to see it)

Be proud of the muscle you built, don’t keep it locked away in a fat dungeon.

Secondly, (and this just a personal observation) I have great workouts while fasted.

Seriously.

I’m not a giant fan of volume..I love progression, I love heavy, but volume…bores me.

However, I can handle high volume workouts much better when fasted then when just fed.

I used to eat two snickers bars before every workout (don’t ask..I was a wannabe power-lifter for a while)

I can tell you now that a full stomach really interferes with high volume..especially squats and deads.

So, in my humble opinion…fasting helps.

Lastly, it will help get rid of the ‘calorie crutch’…

By admitting that almost all of your muscle building results come from the gym (and not gorging yourself in the kitchen) you’ll put your effort in the right place.

But mostly, it’s because building muscle only to have it hidden it under fat just doesn’t make sense.

BP

PS – thanks to  @jon404 here is an example of the fat dungeon… it’s literally a person trapped inside a layer of fat.

“Mark McGwire admits using steroids when he broke baseball’s home run record in 1998. Sent 3:13pm

Makes for an interesting prelude to the Olympic games.

BP

False Advertising or just perpetuating a myth?

Sounds good in theory…However something just dawned on me…

More precisely, something nearly crushed me.

I was just in my basement doing a workout consisting mostly of weighted pushups.

I had about 100 pounds of chain wrapped around me and I was struggling to get ten good solid reps.

Then it dawned on me – I weight 175 pounds, with the chain I weigh 275 pounds.

So this crushing feeling I have of BARELY making it to ten reps on my third set..this would be what simple BODY WEIGHT push-ups would feel like to a man or women who weighs 275 pounds.

SO WHY WOULD YOU EVER START AN OBESE PERSON ON BODY WEIGHT EXERCISES?

Just doesn’t make sense to me.

A good guideline but NOT a rule

I’m OK with average weight or slightly heavy people starting with body weight work, but use some common sense.

If you are more than 50 or so pounds over your ideal weight and just starting into wieght training…maybe start with dumbbells.

BP

BP

………

Hey Brad, I’m a big lover of Eat Stop Eat, and a massive proponent of many of your thoughts and theories, so don’t take any of this as confrontational or second guessing in nature, I just wondered which variables you would manipulate in order to gain LBM most effectively whilst following the ESE lifestyle?

Correct me if I’m wrong but I’m sure I’ve seen you comment that you don’t believe eating much above your BMR is necessary, neither is excessive protein intake or mega dosing your peri-workout nutrition. So I guess my real question is, if you HAD TO gain say 5-10lbs of skeletal muscle as quickly as possible, naturally, and assuming you’re already training using a program with built in progressive overload, which nutritional variables would you tweak? Would love to know exactly how you would go about it. Thanks for reading, and have a great New Year!

Great Question! If I had to gain 5-10 pounds of Skeletal muscle as quickly as possible, I’d be screwed. I’m 32 and have been training for over 15 years. Without drugs, I’m not putting on another ten pounds of skeletal muscle. Another ten pounds would put me well above the normal range for my height. Now, I can put on 10 pounds of lean mass…I could do that in an hour or two…add ten pounds to my bench/squat/deadlift/clean…I could do that too..maybe over the course of a year, but ten pounds of actual muscle, not happening.

B

OK, apologies. Allow me to rephrase the question if you will. What if you were 21, 180 lbs @ 5′9” and had all the time in the world to eat, sleep and train? How would you then optimally add actual muscle, whilst adhering (possibly the wrong word, I don’t even see ESE as something you need to adhere to, it’s so easy!) to Eat Stop Eat?

Ah…Ok that’s way more fun.

I’d do stuff you can do for high volume, that is taxing on the big muscles and that doesn’t break you down. I would workout in the gym 2-3 times a week working the muscles but not blowing myself apart. But that wouldn’t be the big stuff, the big stuff would be 2 times a week outside with a couple of buddies doing a combination of sled dragging and farmers walks. Each session would be two to three hours long. The goal wouldn’t be to burn out, or to be a sweaty mess, but just to do lots of work.

At 21 I wouldn’t rule out ‘eating big’ since their is probably still some juvenile muscle growth going on…but I would still ‘temper’ it with Eat Stop Eat.

I’m still not convinced that a 5?9? frame can add 10 more pounds of straight muscle (depending on how long you’ve been training for), but based on my experience this would be how I’d try to get there.

Thanks for the response. Great advice, much appreciated!

Considering some of the things happening in the news today, I thought this was timely. Biggest mistake we make with regards to building muscle is false expectations of what is actually possible.

Hi Brad!

I read almost every article u wrote, and your view is very impressive.
But I have 1 question (maybe off topic, sorry)
You say the amount of protein is not so important, the quality of the food is not so important (ok avoid crap), 2-3 workout per week is enough to keep or build muscle.
What is then the mistake what most of the average  gym rat make?
Ok we can see some real life example like you, but every competitive bodybuilder use (or they lie) the old method (6-8 meals, lot of protein above 300 grams, lot of training, cardio everyday) and not only for the end of the preparation, but from the beginning.

Hey Wood,

The average gym rat makes the mistake of thinking they can get ’steroid-like’ growth without taking steroids, plain and simple.

I don’t think bodybuilders lie when they say they eat 8 meals a day, protein above 300 grams, lots of training and Cardio. I think this is 100% true.

I’ll even admit that this might be the right way to do things when you are on 3 grams of test a week, combined with some GH and Insulin, plus maybe a little Clenbuterol.

And, I’ll also admit that there is a possibility that even the non-bodybuilder-guys who use a “small amount of drugs” like cover models (and I suspect even before and after models), might benefit from eating this way.

I’m no expert when it come to drugs and the way they alter nutrient needs.

But for normal, non-drug using adult human beings it is your genetics combined with your training that determines how much muscle you can add, your protein intake and food quality has very little to do with it. They still plays a role mind you, just not the role that advertisers would make you think.

Bottom line: You can NOT get drug like effects from powdered protein.

BP