Carb Cycling Contest Prep

[xXBoStErXx]

Curious to what your guy's schedule is for your macronutrients on high/low/medium carb days when your prepping for contest.

I want to follow just to get leaner, and add some mass.

Thanks alot reps for the help :)

Or if you guys dissaprove of carb cycling I'll accept suggestions for daily macro's to follow

[Blahzay128]

Curious to what your guy's schedule is for your macronutrients on high/low/medium carb days when your prepping for contest.

I want to follow just to get leaner, and add some mass.

Thanks alot reps for the help :)

Or if you guys dissaprove of carb cycling I'll accept suggestions for daily macro's to follow


I actually posted a thread yesterday about carb cycling...you can check it out as it is still on the first page. There are some good examples and a link to an article written by Dr. Clay that is extremely helpful.

Also.....it would be very difficult to get leaner and add mass at the same time...just looking at your stats...your 6 ft and 158lbs....your on the right track by looking in the nutrition direction.....I would concentrate on adding mass (not sloppy mass).....lift hard and make sure your eating throughout the day. I believe that carb cycling also works really well when trying to add some size...it's all about the right foods w/ the right strategy.

[bdiesel]

get your diet right and add some solid muscle before trying to use advanced stuff. if you can't get it right now carb cyling will only **** you up because you prob won't get that right either. not being a dick, just saying. if you want to add mass and keep yourself lean do 3-4 30-45 minute cardio sessions at a moderate rate.

on another note most people who do the carb theory thing for pre contest purposes are using insulin or some type of insulin-like compound. this will alter how an average person would cycle carbs. you surely would not want to follow my protocol because i'm using 10+ iu of insulin daily.

[xXBoStErXx]

Well, I just got done cutting I use to weight 200 lbs now im gonna add some mass, but I don't want to add fat lol. So I'm curious to what macronutrient ratios to follow if im going to carb cycle.

[wada]

get your diet right and add some solid muscle before trying to use advanced stuff. if you can't get it right now carb cyling will only **** you up because you prob won't get that right either. not being a dick, just saying. if you want to add mass and keep yourself lean do 3-4 30-45 minute cardio sessions at a moderate rate.

on another note most people who do the carb theory thing for pre contest purposes are using insulin or some type of insulin-like compound. this will alter how an average person would cycle carbs. you surely would not want to follow my protocol because i'm using 10+ iu of insulin daily.

Eh....speak for yourslef...the hell would someone use insulin for besides Diabetics??!?
Why would u use insulin precontest??? insulin is the reason 60% of the US is overweight /obese....acutally...BBers do the exact opposite to keep insulin levels at an alltime low during precontest in order to shed fat...
please elaborate???

With regards to dieting for precontest..i suggest..something like Scivations Gameday protocol.
This is it in a gist..
2400 cals/day --> dropping by 100/wk
7 meals/day: 2 in the form of whey + veggies
Each meals is proportioned to: ~40g protein/ 25g fibrous carbs/ 15g unsaturated fats
Refeed is IN effect every 3rd day..consisting of 10oz fibrous veggie, 3/4 cup oatmeal, 10 almonds, 1 sweet potato, 2 tsp peanut butter..in that order.

Typical day:
8AM: 40g shake or 6 egg whites & veg, 12 almonds
11AM: chicken/beef/salmon & veg (brocolli, spinach, or asparagus), 18 almonds
1PM: chicken/talapia/salmon & veg (brocolli, spinach, or asparagus), 18 almonds
4PM: pre-workout 30g protein shake / protein bar, 18 almonds
7PM: post-workout 40g protein shake & veg, 18 almonds
9PM: Steak/chicken w/ veg (brocolli, spinach, or greens), 18 almonds
10PM: 20g Casein protein shake + veg, 12 almonds

GOod luck! SO far...it's worked for me..im on week 11 of 16...
Before & after pics....
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com//img/user_images/growable/2008/03/31/12687862/progresspic/1030282orig.jpg http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com//img/user_images/growable/2008/05/26/12687862/progresspic/1313082orig.jpg

[JoeLyons]

I'm a huge fan of carb cycling and DON'T use Insulin. It can kill you!

When adding mass it's more of a manipulation of adding high carb days to your diet, but the macros usually don't change much once you set them.

High Carb Day 50g carbs, 35g protein, 0 ADDED FAT each meal
Medium Carb Day 40g of carbs breakfast, pre and post workout, greens otherwise with 45g protein 25g of added fat in none carb meals
Low Carb day 25g carbs each first two meals, 50g protein each meal, 50g of added fat

That's my recommendation. I've been carb cycling for the past 2 years and I prefer it over other dieting methods in the off-season

[adam247]

for my contest I have been carb cycling for 20 weeks ........2 weeks high carbs (anabolic and carb load and rebound phase) 2 weeks low carb (catabolic , carb depletion phase) I found this allows my to put on muscle and lose fat.........understand my body and its muscle glycogen storing abilities......keep the motabolism high .........and I am able to get into contest shape with no cv!
By the way I big part of the is insulin control and when you have a great understand of your body .....insulin is the most useful hormone to use.......as it can speed the process up.......you can use insulin to carb up faster and also even though more complicated carb deplete faster!
isulin is the most mis understood hormones from my experence and research if used correct not only is it one of the most powerful hormones in bodybuilding but can be alot safer the other compounds.....its not toxic and has no negative feedback loop! am 7 weeks out now if you wanna see how this has worked( remember no cv)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSasxlEiZWM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K0DezrGmbo&feature=related

[wada]

for my contest I have been carb cycling for 20 weeks ........2 weeks high carbs (anabolic and carb load and rebound phase) 2 weeks low carb (catabolic , carb depletion phase) I found this allows my to put on muscle and lose fat.........understand my body and its muscle glycogen storing abilities......keep the motabolism high .........and I am able to get into contest shape with no cv!
By the way I big part of the is insulin control and when you have a great understand of your body .....insulin is the most useful hormone to use.......as it can speed the process up.......you can use insulin to carb up faster and also even though more complicated carb deplete faster!
isulin is the most mis understood hormones from my experence and research if used correct not only is it one of the most powerful hormones in bodybuilding but can be alot safer the other compounds.....its not toxic and has no negative feedback loop! am 7 weeks out now if you wanna see how this has worked( remember no cv)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSasxlEiZWM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K0DezrGmbo&feature=related

Eh...Insulin is a very powerful anabolic hormone no doubt...but it comes w/ a 2 edged sword b/c it is well known as a very good fat storing hormone too.
Eh..the negative feedback is the hypoglycemia that results from insulin release/usage...There are counterhormones as well, Glucagon, Cortisol, GH, epi/norepi...

[adam247]

wait a min all these things are under the individuals control! How can you store bodyfat if you are not over eating ? the body will only store cals as fat once the muscle are full and you have eaten more cals than you have utilised.
Hypoglycaemia will only occour if you under eat or dont eat the correct foods or mis time according to the amount of insulin used!
I can get down to 3 % using insulin and dont go above 10% bf bulking with insulin......and have never gone hypo!

[xXBoStErXx]

doesn't the use of insulin mean your going to have to use it the rest of your life?

I thought the body developed a dependency and than eventually stops producing its own naturally??

If so I don't really think it's worth it to use insulin.

[njmuscle66]

wait a min all these things are under the individuals control! How can you store bodyfat if you are not over eating ? the body will only store cals as fat once the muscle are full and you have eaten more cals than you have utilised.
Hypoglycaemia will only occour if you under eat or dont eat the correct foods or mis time according to the amount of insulin used!
I can get down to 3 % using insulin and dont go above 10% bf bulking with insulin......and have never gone hypo!

Although you are correct that the risks can be controlled with certain protocols, the use of insulin is (or at least should be) used by competitive bodybuilders with sufficent knolwedge and experience. My fear is that the individuals on these board, who are not competitive bodybuilders with a solid understanding of the risks, will see posts like yours and run out to their local pharmacy to pick up a bottle of Humilin. Which, as well have already established, can potentially put someone into a diabetic coma. That is why I feel this board should not be a forum to discussion insulin usage.

As they say on TV
Kid's DO NOT try this at home.


BTW Alpha Lipoic Acid acts as an insulin mimiker and I have used it with success during precontest carb up without the risks

[adam247]

this is very true and i noticed in bodybuilding this is propaganda that surfaces itself, should we supress info to protect the ignorant, i shouldnt feel responsible for another mans ignorance if i state a scientifical fact. i noticed this with insulin and dnp. if u are not well read do not use either. In the wrong hands you can die using these compounds but in the right hands can be the safest drugs with the least negative impact on the body. you do not get dependency on insulin at all. You would struggle to find an athelete who through insulin use has gained a dependency. It is hard to kill yourself on test or its derrivatives but long term use does increase risk of cv diseases, but because it is impossible to over dose or kill yourself in the short term its use is advocated on this site. I belive in endocrine synergy, i would never use just one hormone, only use hormones synergistically as they all effects each other, out of all the hormones I use (correct ratio and dose) test has the greatest negative effected on my body!

[xXBoStErXx]

Ok now that I've learned about insulin I was wondering what macro's you might suggest for me : ) Today is my high carb day so I'm eating 50/30/20

Or a suggestion for amount of protein/carb/fat.

I make sure to get 160 g of protein in everyday, and I never go over 200 carbs.

I eat around 2k calories a day with intense training.

[adam247]

I'd advise that you took a lot longer to study insulin, and I would also advise you to study the whole endochrine system and how these hormones interact and affect each other. You would also have to study how nutrients interact with the hormones and how training, nutrients and hormones all affect this process. As for your question I can not answer it as there are too many variables to give you an accurate answer but my advice is to study more.