Intermittent fasting/Lean gains

[S]alvatore

[S]alvatore

Bluelighter
Joined
May 1, 2004
Messages
1,351
Wow, long ass time since I last posted on BL.

Anyway, has anyone else come across or tried intermittent fasting?

http://www.leangains.com/

I am looking to try this fairly soon due to the testimonials on the site. What do you bigger guys think?
 
Can you post a description?

If this truly is fasting and your goal is to bodybuild, I wouldn't reccommend it. Talk about burning through some muscle fast. The fundamentals of such theories are reasonable though. For example, after I show I can easily pack on about 20lbs after my BF is in the under 2% range as my body is technically in a fasting state. Thus, a caloric influx makes me very anabolic. However, this result is achieved through CALORIC RESTRICTION with the intention to preserve muscle mass - not actual fasting.
 
Martin Berkhan designed Lean Gains, an Intermittent Fasting protocal, and has been able to remain around 5.5% since 2007 and has helped many acheive the same. His diet is about being able to gain lean muscle mass while simultaneously dropping bodyfat or gaining LBM without gaining bodyfat. The method is via intermittent fast in which the person does not eat for 165 hours out of the day and then gets in the required calories for acheiving their goal within an 8 hour feeding window. This allow a lotmore freedom in what you can eat because nutrient dense foods are a must to get in your caloric needs within that window. This dietary stategy aslo addresses insulin sensitivity and leptin issues that can drastically accellerate how quickly you can lose body fat.

To find out more about the basic set up read this article copied from this link.


The Leangains Guide | Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health
"It's about time I compiled a comprehensive guide to my system, so here it is.

Intermittent fasting and Leangains

How does Leangains differentiate itself from some other intermittent fasting based diets? Here's a brief primer.


The basics

In-depth coverage of my approach, and the benefits of intermittent fasting, can be read about here.

A much shorter summary can be found here.


Fasting and feeding

My general position on the fasted phase is that it should last through the night and during the morning hours. Ideally the fast should then be broken at noon or shortly thereafter if you arise at 6-7 AM like most people. Afternoons and evenings are usually spent in the fed state.

However, the fast could also also be broken later in the day depending on your personal preferences and daily routine. I personally tend to break the fast as late as 4-6 PM since I work well into the night and rise later than most people with normal jobs.

The recommendation for fasting through the earlier part of the day, as opposed to the latter part of the day, is for behavioral and social reasons. Most people simply find it easier to fast after awakening and prefer going to bed satiated. Afternoons and evenings are times to unwind and eat. For adherence reasons during dieting, I've also found that placing the feeding phase later in the day is ideal for most people
Click to expand...

The protocols

I work with four different protocols depending on when my clients train. Depending on setup, one, two, or three meals are eaten in the post-workout period.


Fasted training

Training is initiated on an empty stomach and after ingestion of 10 g BCAA or similar amino acid mixture. This "pre-workout" meal is not counted towards the feeding phase. Technically, training is not completely fasted - that would be detrimental. The pre-workout protein intake, with its stimulatory effect on protein synthesis and metabolism, is a crucial compromise to optimize results. The 8-hour feeding phase starts with the post-workout meal.

Sample setup

11.30-12 AM or 5-15 minutes pre-workout: 10 g BCAA
12-1 PM: Training
1 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal of the day).
4 PM: Second meal.
9 PM: Last meal before the fast.

Calories and carbs are tapered down throughout the day in the example above.


Early morning fasted training

Here's a sample setup for a client that trains early in the morning and prefers the feeding phase at noon or later. Read this for details regarding this protocol.

6 AM: 5-15 minutes pre-workout: 10 g BCAA.
6-7 AM: Training.
8 AM: 10 g BCAA.
10 AM: 10 g BCAA
12-1 PM: The "real" post-workout meal (largest meal of the day). Start of the 8 hour feeding-window.
8-9 PM: Last meal before the fast.

For the sake of conveniency, I recommend getting BCAA in the form of powder and not tabs. Simply mix 30 g of BCAA powder in a shake and drink one third of it every other hour starting 5-15 minutes pre-workout. Tabs are cheaper, but much more of a hassle (you're going to have to pop a lot of tabs). Check my supplements guide for specific brand recommendations.


One pre-workout meal

This is the most common setup for my younger clients that are still in college or have flexible working hours.

Sample setup

12-1 PM or around lunch/noon: Pre-workout meal. Approximately 20-25% of daily total calorie intake.
3-4 PM: Training should happen a few hours after the pre-workout meal.
4-5 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal).
8-9 PM: Last meal before the fast.


Two pre-workout meals

This is the usual protocol for people with normal working hours.

Sample setup

12-1 PM or around lunch/noon: Meal one. Approximately 20-25% of daily total calorie intake.
4-5 PM: Pre-workout meal. Roughly equal to the first meal.
8-9 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal).
Click to expand...

I will add more when I get the time, there is more to it than those meal plans.
 
Last edited:
I have made great results with Leangains and RPT training.. I was able to get leaner while maintaining muscle and now im doing a slow bulk while staying under 10% bf.. LOVE LG
 
Notice in the lean gains protocol the use of BCAA's....trying the lean gains protocol with and without BCAA's was like night and day-----w/o BCAA i lost strength and felt like I was starving(meaning muscle was being catabolized)----with BCAA made it easier to adhere to the program.
 
I'm very interested in this. I can't figure out how to properly split it since I work 3-11pm and am unable to eat. Perhaps work out at 6 am and eat through 2 then fast???
 
we did something similar to this approach in the late 80's.look up leo Costas book "Bulgarian Burst Training."it was an insane routine and diet.a minimum of 7-10,000cals a day,believe me or not,lol.on the 6th day you would totally protein deplete.only complex carbs for a full 24hrs.the 7th day would be the opposite,protein only,no carbs.then the next week it's switched.i was eating literally an entire london broil in 2 days,plus a whole turkey every 2 days,3 pounds of potatoes,chicken out the ass.i lasted only about 4-5wks before i gave up.put so much mass on my ass that everyone swore i was gearin up,lol.now at 44 i don't think my body can take these fads anymore like the Keto diet or Palumbos diet.just gimmie food and i'll worry about cuttin up 7 wks out,lol.
 
samm2 said:
Notice in the lean gains protocol the use of BCAA's....trying the lean gains protocol with and without BCAA's was like night and day-----w/o BCAA i lost strength and felt like I was starving(meaning muscle was being catabolized)----with BCAA made it easier to adhere to the program.
Click to expand...
i always use bcaa's now.i take 3-4 scoops of bcaa powder into a gallon of water,shake it up and sip on that thru my workout.the difference in recoop between sets after the 1st week is utterly amazing.what used to take me 2 full minutes takes me 60 seconds and the enduance is much higher.good point on bringing this up.many of us,self included,always assumed we get enuff bcaa's thru our whey powders if they're good quality.not always so.take a construction worker for example.works all day,eats right then trains.by the time he gets to the gym his muscles are screaming for those bcaa's...
 
I like this method a lot and I've been getting a lot of my friends into it lately
 
bigjoey said:
i always use bcaa's now.i take 3-4 scoops of bcaa powder into a gallon of water,shake it up and sip on that thru my workout.the difference in recoop between sets after the 1st week is utterly amazing.what used to take me 2 full minutes takes me 60 seconds and the enduance is much higher.good point on bringing this up.many of us,self included,always assumed we get enuff bcaa's thru our whey powders if they're good quality.not always so.take a construction worker for example.works all day,eats right then trains.by the time he gets to the gym his muscles are screaming for those bcaa's...
Click to expand...

Sometimes it seems hard to get them to dissolve in water, for me anyway....

Protein powders definitely better than nothing but I feel the BCAA's are superior at helping preserve muscles on low calorie/carb regime.....hopefully preventing the body from canabalizing muscle proteins and instead using fat stores....
 
samm2 said:
Sometimes it seems hard to get them to dissolve in water, for me anyway....

Protein powders definitely better than nothing but I feel the BCAA's are superior at helping preserve muscles on low calorie/carb regime.....hopefully preventing the body from canabalizing muscle proteins and instead using fat stores....
Click to expand...
the best one i've found so far that mixes in water easily is Scivation bcaa.a small container has about 120 servings in it.really small scoop too.i toss in 4 scoops to a little less than a gallon of water and shake it up.dissolves instantly.best flavor is the watermelon.tastes like crystal lite.it's the only thing i drink while working out.plain water just doesn't do it for me anymore...
 
[S]alvatore said:
Do you have one of those "whisking" tools with your shaker cup?

http://professionalwhey.com.au/uploaded/thumbnails/db_file_img_96_263x314.jpg

I only discovered these about a year ago, and now I have no issues whatsoever with BCAA's or whey not mixing up properly.
Click to expand...

good idea thanks......

On another note.....with this protocol I still get hungry and I see no way around that(with or without BCAA's) and it seems you never get used to that feeling of "starving to death"----though losing fat definitly feels good(makes me feel lighter and more energetic) and for me at least losing fat is harder than gaining muscle.....food is comforting and now that comfort is gone...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top