Cyclical Ketogenic Diets Part 3

	Since it's the off season, more people than not are probably in
a mass-gaining phase, non-pre contest phase of training. I mean, hey,
it's winter and everything is covered up anyhow so it's a good time
to allow some fat gain and bulk up a bit.  The nice thing about
cyclical ketogenic diets is that, for a given calorie level (above
maintenance), you will gain much less bodyfat than if you were eating
a high or moderate carb diet.  Still, it's best for you not to go
much above 10-12% bodyfat for men and 15% bodyfat for women or it
will take too long to cut down to contest shape.  I mean, nobody
wants to diet for 16 weeks anyhow.  So, instead of just haphazardly
getting fat in the off season, keep it under control.

	A ketogenic mass gaining cyclical diet is essentially the same
type of thing as the pre-contest/fat loss phase: 5 days of low carbs
followed by a carb-up.  The biggest difference from a pre-contest
approach will be in:

1. Training structure
2. Calorie levels
3. Amount and type of cardiovascular training
4. Length and quality of the carb-up phase


Training structure:

	Training structure and training modes are a very personal
thing. There are so many different systems out there to say
unequivocally which one is the best.  I feel that everyone is
individual anyhow and to give everybody a generic program is a
mistake.  All you can hope to do is find a system that will work best
for you and for you alone.  If that means a very low volume HIT
approach, great.  Hardgainer, periodization, etc. all are good
philosophies that are time tested. But, I won't be so crass to give
training advice without knowing more about each individual.

	However, some general training comments are in order.  First
and foremost I think athletes in most sports are drastically
overtrained. While I have reservations about some of the extremely
low volume approaches being endorsed by some groups, I think three to
four days lifting per week is about the maximum even the most gifted
natural lifter can handle.  Sure, the pros may lift more but they are
using certain, umm, supplements that just aren't approved for
naturals.

	Additionally, many people spend far too LONG in the gym when
they do show up.  As Strength Guru Charles Poliquin has said "if
you're spending more than an hour in the gym, you're making friends,
not lifting."  I agree with him 100%.  More IS NOT better when it
comes to training for natural athletes.  I think most athletes will
find that, up to a point, less is better when it comes to both
training frequency and volume.  Supposedly, Eastern European studies
have found that anabolic hormones like GH and testosterone begin to
drop after 1 hour but I've yet to see the actual data.  But, if you
can't get your workout done in under an hour, you need to seriously
re-evaluate your program.

	In terms of exercise selection, I'm a firm believer in the
basics because they, well, basically work.  I see so many truly goofy
exercises in the gym from day to day, I have to wonder how we forgot
our roots in heavy squats, benches, deadlifts, rows, etc.  More
muscle has been built with squats than any number of sets of leg
extensions.  Not to say that some isolation exercises don't have
their merit at times but the off season (as well as most others) is
the time to concentrate on the basics.

	In terms of sets and reps, I can argue it many different ways. 
Growth hormone (GH) release is optimized with longish sets (50-60
seconds in length) and short rest periods (45-60 seconds).   But,
I've yet to see any really convincing data that GH is that anabolic
unless it's at supraphysiological (i.e. needle in butt) doses. 
Testosterone release is optimized when you use basic exercises
(squat, deadlift, bench), heavy sets (85% of maximum and above), and
long rest periods (3-5 minutes).  I think the core of an off-season
workout should be based on this type of training regardless of the
actual details of the training plan.  Perhaps a combination of low
rep, heavy sets to stimulate testosterone followed by higher rep sets
to stimulate GH, followed by very high rep sets to stimulate
capillary growth (i.e. holistic training) is a nice compromise.

	Additionally, you will be strongest on Monday following the
carb-up so this is a time to really hammer in the gym and work on any
weak points.  The Friday workout, coming before the big anabolic rush
of the carb-up is another good place to put some weak point work. 
Your mid-week workouts will be the hardest so put areas that you just
want to maintain on those days.
	
Calorie levels:

	As discussed last article, the dietary format is the same
whether cutting or massing.  Dietary fat should be kept at 1.5 grams
of fat per gram of protein OR carbs and total carbs per day should be
kept below 30 grams. The difference is just in how much you are
eating.

	As mentioned, a nice benefit of ketogenic diets is that excess
calories (esp. fat calories) tend to be excreted as ketones rather
than stored.  So, calorie levels can be very high during the week. In
fact, many ketogenic dieters find their hunger blunted so much that
they can't consume enough calories during the week.  Just make fatty
red meat (I love hamburger with cheese and mayo but toss the bun),
fish, etc. the core of your diet and eat as much as you can put down.

	For those who like numbers, 20% above maintenance calories or
around 25+ calories per pound of bodyweight is a good place to
start.  You can adjust calories based on how much fat and muscle
you're gaining each week.  Planned correctly, you can put on a good
bit of muscle with only a couple pounds of fat and be ok.

Amount and type of cardiovascular training:

	Aerobics should be minimized if not eliminated outright during
a mass building phase.  Numerous studies have found that aerobic
training can severely limit the strength gains seen from a lifting
program.  Many trainees try to add aerobics to avoid putting on too
much fat during their mass phase but this will only limit muscular
gains.  Just keep your diet in check and keep your body composition
under control and you'll be ready to contest diet.  Doing 5-10'
before and after workout to warm-up/cool down makes total sense and
is a good way to keep your aerobic level high enough.  As discussed,
cardio training should be kept to a bare minimum during an off-season
mass gaining phase.

Length and quality of the carb-up phase:

	As with pre-contest dieting, there are again two approaches to
the carb-up.  One is to just eat everything you can lay your hands on
and accept a relatively greater fat gain during the off-season.  This
is ok if you know your body responds to dieting well and you know
that you can drop the fat later.  For most of us, starting the carb
up with lots of high glycemic index (i.e. simple) carbs and then
progressing gradually to more complex carbs (starches) is probably
the way to go.  As always, experimentation and record keeping should
be your goal.  But, you should always stop your carb-up when you
start to feel yourself smoothing out as this indicates that further
caloric intake will lead to fat gain.  Which can be in as little as
24 hours if you eat donuts and Pop-tarts and 48 hours or more if you
eat pasta and bagels.  Me, I'll take the donuts and Pop-tarts.

	One other thing should be discussed relative to carbs and that
is the mid-week carb spike.  Basically, this is an option that I
suggest you try to promote anabolism.  You are allowed up to 1000
calories of carbs with some protein in the morning on Wednesday (you
should ideally have a training session later that morning or in the
evening so that ketosis can be reestablished) but then have to go
back to low carb eating.  With proper carb-choices (i.e. glucose
polymers), it's possible to spike yourself back into ketosis with
this meal alone.  Me, I'll keep my donuts handy.

Supplements:

	Certain supplements may be useful during a mass gaining phase. 
Probably the most important of these is creatine monohydrate.
Although taking creatine during the week is a bit of a waste, taking
twice the normal dosage (i.e. about 40 grams) on the weekends is a
good way to further promote cellular volumizing and anabolic
processes.  Insulin boosters like chromium (800 mcg/day) and vanadyl
sulfate (up to 120 mg/day) can be useful as well.  2 grams of
l-glutamine thirty minutes prior to training may be useful as it has
been shown to increase GH release and promote anabolic processes. 
And, of course, a basic soluble protein powder, carb repletion drink
and basic stuff like vitamins and minerals.

	So, go get big, don't get too fat, and try to come in to your
next contest bigger and better than you were before.  If, as a
natural, you accomplish that, you've won regardless of where you
place.