$200K 12-Week Challenge Q&A w/The MuscleProf - Dr. Jacob Wilson

[DrJacobWilson]

For those who don't know me, my name is Dr. Jacob Wilson, Ph.D., CSCS*D. I am a professor and director of the skeletal muscle and sports nutrition laboratory in the department of health sciences and human performance at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. I've published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, and published abstracts on muscle, sports nutrition, supplementation, and resistance training for bodybuilders and strength athletes. My research has covered both the cellular and molecular responses to supplementation and nutrition, as well as the whole body changes in muscle size, strength, and power.

For the next 12 week's many of you will be changing your nutritional, training, and overall health habits! I will be here along the way answering any questions in regards to your journey! Please feel free to submit these questions and concerns in this forum and I will do my best to address your questions on a weekly basis!

Good luck, and happy transformation! #200KTransform

Dr. Jacob Wilson AKA "TheMuscleProf"

[Reyes3434]

Doc! How's the weather in Tampa?

[SmithA72]

i had a body composition test done after losing 30 pounds I lost 1 pound of skeletal muscle mass even though I was lifting and keeping my strength consistent. Is there anyway to increase skeletal muscle mass while leaning out.

[DrJacobWilson]

Doc! How's the weather in Tampa?

Ha ha its pretty awesome, although we had a cold front and it got in the 50s today :-P

[akmatteson]

I tend to lose weight very quickly until I hit a plateau weight at 150 and can never seem to break it. Then I lose motivation and focus and quit because I don't see many body changes happening or the scale moving. What are some ways to combat this?

[angelmillan23]

hello, I have lost nearly 70 lbs in the last two years, however I did it so rapidly as I didn't know how to lift or diet properly which left me with lose skin around my stomach. My question is, what is the best way to attack this? What can I do to reduce the lose skin around my stomach area? Thank you for your time

[DrJacobWilson]

i had a body composition test done after losing 30 pounds I lost 1 pound of skeletal muscle mass even though I was lifting and keeping my strength consistent. Is there anyway to increase skeletal muscle mass while leaning out.

Honestly, to only lose 1 lb of lean mass when you lost 30 lbs total is phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. The major tips I have are

1. Make sure protein quality is high
2. Don't lose more than 1-2 lbs a week
3. Take an anti catabolic like HMB or HICA at about 3 grams per day minimum
4. Id recommend branched chain amino acids between meals to help keep you in a positive state of protein balance
5. Finally on your training make sure you periodize and keep volume moderate but frequency high. If you try and get all your volume in in one workout it'll be harder to put on muscle when dieting. You have to spread it out. Its better to do 8 sets of legs 3 times a week then 24 sets in one workout

[mwstoltze]

Hey Doc,

Thanks for using your valubale time to help us in our goals =]

With that said I had one question that bugs me and with independent research I usually find conflicted opinions and non scientific method based quoted research. Basically I smoke cigarettes [nasty I know] and while they are my next goal to tackle this spring I was wondering how exactly they influence my body's ability to sustain LBM during my cut, and when I bulk what they do to inhibit [if anything] my bodies ability to put on muscle...basically I know that they are a detriment to my body's natural healing system, but to how much and what degree.

Any linked studies you could provide would be sweet as I'm one of those boring stats guys that likes to read PubMed studies and what not. Thanks again for your time

[CAHollmertime2]

Honestly, to only lose 1 lb of lean mass when you lost 30 lbs total is phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal. The major tips I have are

1. Make sure protein quality is high
2. Don't lose more than 1-2 lbs a week
3. Take an anti catabolic like HMB or HICA at about 3 grams per day minimum
4. Id recommend branched chain amino acids between meals to help keep you in a positive state of protein balance
5. Finally on your training make sure you periodize and keep volume moderate but frequency high. If you try and get all your volume in in one workout it'll be harder to put on muscle when dieting. You have to spread it out. Its better to do 8 sets of legs 3 times a week then 24 sets in one workout

I am currently dieting and take 3 grams of HMB a day as well as 1.5 grams of HICA, and I absolutely love it!

[daabelli]

Yesterday I had my refeed meal. After 10 days of strict diet, I was getting stronger each day, and didn't experience any loss in strength or endurance, while I did lose a few pounds, however I considered that after 10 days of strict diet it was time for a refeed meal to avoid a decrease in my metabolism.

Today I went back to my diet, but for some reason I was feeling very hungry (something I hadnt experienced so far) and I felt weaker in the gym. Shouldn't it be the other way around after having my refeed meal yesterday?

Any ideas?

[DrJacobWilson]

I tend to lose weight very quickly until I hit a plateau weight at 150 and can never seem to break it. Then I lose motivation and focus and quit because I don't see many body changes happening or the scale moving. What are some ways to combat this?

Its difficult to pinpoint without knowing fully your program. But two things you are dealing with is 1 our body does seem to have set points, and two we need to overcome those set points with novel training and diet techniques. What I would say is this. If you have lost a substantial amount of weight, for example went from 170 to 150 that is a victory. At that point in time however you may want to maintain that weight for a little and let your body recovery while focusing on muscle for a few weeks, then focus on fat loss again. Tips to breaking plateaus include

1. High intensity interval training http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-...%20prof%20card our lab has found this raises your metabolism while low intensity lowers it

2. Your diet is going to be critical. Often times people who have an easy time gaining fat, may have a difficult time when they use carbs as their main source of fuel. One alternative is to use ketogenic dieting, which adapts your body to use fat as its primary fuel source. This entails having fat at 75 % of your calories, protein at 20 and carbs at 5 percent and may be a viable way to bust through that plateau

3. Focus on building muscle no matter what your weight is at. You can change your body composition without changing your weight. To do this and keep your body guessing periodize your workouts meaning constantly change them up

4. be mentally prepared to lose 0.5 to 1 lb a week once you hit 150. Weight will come off slower, but since you are lean at that weight thats a good thing.

By the looks of your pics you are already lean, so 0.5 to 1 a week is phenomenal

[chelseahill1127]

What types of supplements do you recommend for women trying to lose body fat and build lean muscle? I've never really used supplements but would love to if it would help with results!

[rafetx]

I'm 5'10" 330lbs with a bf of 31%. Classic endomorph. During this transformation I'm doing Starting Strength and adding in hiit cardio on lifting days and liss cardio on nonlifting days. I'm using 24g of whey every 2 hours and amino x on the inbetween hours. I'm eaiting one whole food meal a day for a total of around 2000 calories and 225 grams of protein. The only other supplements I'm using are prework out, optimen, zma, melatonin, and 10-15 grams of creative a day. Am I making any mistakes? Are the heavy working sets of Starting Strength enough to lean me out or do I need to be doing 10 reps per set and additional sets? My goal is to lean down to 250lbs and 5%bf eventually.

[DrJacobWilson]

Yesterday I had my refeed meal. After 10 days of strict diet, I was getting stronger each day, and didn't experience any loss in strength or endurance, while I did lose a few pounds, however I considered that after 10 days of strict diet it was time for a refeed meal to avoid a decrease in my metabolism.

Today I went back to my diet, but for some reason I was feeling very hungry (something I hadnt experienced so far) and I felt weaker in the gym. Shouldn't it be the other way around after having my refeed meal yesterday?

Any ideas?

It all depends on the reefed meal. Often times people will have a high carb high fat meal, like pizza or dinning at the cheese cake factory. What happens then is that they become temporarily insulin resistant and that makes them tired. Its too much of a perturbation to your system. Instead you might employ more slight calorie cycling strategies, where you have 2 low days, one moderate and one high, but nothing ever drastic. So low may be calorie deficit, moderate slight deficit and high, slightly above maintenance and repeat. The hunger is a sign of slight insulin resistance as well. Or its difficult to go to less palatable foods after highly palatable foods. One piece of advice for tomorrow is to wake up with a lower carb, high fat breakfast that is high in coconut oil that will program your metabolism and lower your hunger significantly.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-...20prof%20break

[DrJacobWilson]

I'm 5'10" 330lbs with a bf of 31%. During this transformation I'm doing Starting Strength and adding in hiit cardio on lifting days and liss cardio on nonlifting days. I'm using 24g of whey every 2 hours and amino x on the inbetween hours. I'm waiting one whole food meal a day for a total of around 2000 calories and 225 grams of protein. The only other supplements I'm using are prework out, optimen, zma, melatonin, and 10-15 grams of creative a day. Am I making any mistakes? Are the heavy working sets of Starting Strength enough to lean me out or do I need to be doing 10 reps per set and additional sets? My goal is to lean down to 250lbs and 5%bf eventually.

Congratulations for starting this awesome journal pal! My biggest advice is to not use all your tools at once. 2000 calories is very low for your current mass. Id start more conservative and increase your starting calories. You can also consider using more variety in your diet and having whole meals with a variety of protein sources. Finally remember selecting low calorie density foods like green vegetables is phenomenal. Half your plate should be greens, 1 3rd high fiber carb and 1 3rd protein. For your workouts include strength and hypertrophy type training. You might watch these videos here for guides

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mass...le-growth.html

[NaturalPursuit]

Just wanted to stop in and say its awesome to have you on the boards posting more Dr. Wilson!

[DrJacobWilson]

Just wanted to stop in and say its awesome to have you on the boards posting more Dr. Wilson!

Thanks a lot NaturalPursuit! Its great to be here buddy!

[DrJacobWilson]

What types of supplements do you recommend for women trying to lose body fat and build lean muscle? I've never really used supplements but would love to if it would help with results!

If you have never taken supplements before I would suggest starting with a high quality Whey Protein, mutlivitamin (including iron), Branch Chain Amino Acids, and HMB for its anticabolic properties.

Also check out my article on supplement fundamentals!
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jake...20fundamentals

[Then3935]

What would you recommend for seine who is doing this challenge that had gastric bypass? All the trainers I have talked to can not give feed back as they don't understand it.

[4misssbrewer]

Dr. Wilson,

Question, to get the best results in this 12 week challenge -

1. What can you recommend pertaining to work outs and how much cardio do you recommend a week? Any tips that you can give us would be greatly appreciated!


2. Also, To get toned Is it les weight more reps or more weight less reps?


3. How do you shred?


Thank you for taking up our questions and concerns that's very thoughtful. Have a great day..

[rafetx]

My typical whole food meal is 1lb of chicken breast, 5 cups of brocolli, and 1/2 cup of uncooked rice, all prepared with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. I'll occasional have a few teaspoons of pb during the day and before bed with a casein shake. Last night my post workout meal was 8oz of organic spaghetti, with 12oz organic sauce and 3/4lb of extra lean ground beef.

[daabelli]

It all depends on the reefed meal. Often times people will have a high carb high fat meal, like pizza or dinning at the cheese cake factory. What happens then is that they become temporarily insulin resistant and that makes them tired. Its too much of a perturbation to your system. Instead you might employ more slight calorie cycling strategies, where you have 2 low days, one moderate and one high, but nothing ever drastic. So low may be calorie deficit, moderate slight deficit and high, slightly above maintenance and repeat. The hunger is a sign of slight insulin resistance as well. Or its difficult to go to less palatable foods after highly palatable foods. One piece of advice for tomorrow is to wake up with a lower carb, high fat breakfast that is high in coconut oil that will program your metabolism and lower your hunger significantly.

I'm 173lbs currently ... having 180-200grs protein a day .. 160gr of carbs (40 grs simple carbs postworkout, the other 120grs complex carbs split before workout, and 1 hour after postworkout shake), 35grs of healthy fats ... 13gr of creatine a day and 13grs bcaa .... refeed meal was 1 double whopper with fries after 10 days of dieting ... ideas for a better refeed meal to avoid the crash ? And yes, will try the coconut oil idea.

[rafetx]

How damaging to our progress is having a few glasses of red wine on the weekends to relax? Alcohol stops the fat burning process until it is metabolized but the wine also helps to lower cortisol levels which hold onto fat.

[DrJacobWilson]

What would you recommend for seine who is doing this challenge that had gastric bypass? All the trainers I have talked to can not give feed back as they don't understand it.

Hi. The major issue is with lower ability to absorb vital nutrients and smaller stomach size its about prioritizing. For changing your physique protein is number one. So your meals should be first protein based and then vegetable based. You will need to consume a liquid multivitamin (oak cherries are solid here) cause of nutrient deficiencies, b vitamins, very small meals cause your stomach can't handle it, low fat foods because of malabsorbtion of fats, separate your fluids a little bit from your meals so you maximize absorption of food or else digestion will be too fast. Sip on fluids throughout the day but don't guzzle large amounts.
Aside from that your primary focus should be to maximize muscle health, so prioritize protein 1st and foremost in all your meals. Whey is king here, as are egg whites. So try 6 small meals that have at least 20 grams of protein throughout the day. Supplements that help include HMB and branched chain amino acids pre workout

[DrJacobWilson]

How damaging to our progress is having a few glasses of red wine on the weekends to relax? Alcohol stops the fat burning process until it is metabolized but the wine also helps to lower cortisol levels which hold onto fat.

It depends. 1-2 glasses of wine will likely have more beneficial effects than negative outcomes. The resveratrol in them may actually increase mitochondria in your muscles which is great for insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism

[cawingert]

Hey doc,
I'm currently a freshman in college and since the start of my first semester I've been working out a lot. I lost 10 pounds from my initial weight of 160 to leave me at 150. Then by the end of the first semester, I gained all of that weight back plus 6 more pounds. I now weigh about 170 with roughly 10% bf. I just started your program, Project Mass. It's phenominal!I'm currently on week 2. My goal is to continue building muscle but at the same time stay lean enough to make my abs more defined so I can surprise my girlfriend when I come home. I was wondering if you've got any tips. Thanks!

[davyy]

I'd like to ask about "mind-muscle connection"/squeezing hard at the top of the lift. It's obvious that one should always control the weight, slow down on the negative, have strict form not to include other muscles, momentum and to avoid injury.

Saying that, if a person does workout in the manner mentioned above, is it beneficial for example to be squeezing hard at the top or "feeling" the muscle very well versus increasing the weight? Assuming the person is achieving progressive overload with both methods.

[DrJacobWilson]

Dr. Wilson,

Question, to get the best results in this 12 week challenge -

1. What can you recommend pertaining to work outs and how much cardio do you recommend a week? Any tips that you can give us would be greatly appreciated!


2. Also, To get toned Is it les weight more reps or more weight less reps?


3. How do you shred?


Thank you for taking up our questions and concerns that's very thoughtful. Have a great day..

Hi congrats on entering the challenge! Briefly Id say

1. For cardio do high intensity 2-3 times a week as prescribed here http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-...=prof%20cardio

2. Use a variety of reps. Some days should be heavier (sets of 6-8), some days moderate (12-15) and some days more metabolic like supersets where
you perform more than one exercise back to back so total reps are more like 24. Heres a video http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/jake...-training.html

3. As far as shredding . Diet is key. Keep protein at 20-30 grams minimum every meal, select out low calorie density foods like spinach and lettuce, drink plenty of fluids, and try and select carbs that are high in fiber to keep your full!

[discodancer]

Dr. Wilson

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I hear a lot about Carb-Cycling, how does it work and are there benefits to carb-cycling in a 12 transformation challenge?

[DrJacobWilson]

I'm 173lbs currently ... having 180-200grs protein a day .. 160gr of carbs (40 grs simple carbs postworkout, the other 120grs complex carbs split before workout, and 1 hour after postworkout shake), 35grs of healthy fats ... 13gr of creatine a day and 13grs bcaa .... refeed meal was 1 double whopper with fries after 10 days of dieting ... ideas for a better refeed meal to avoid the crash ? And yes, will try the coconut oil idea.

Honestly that reefed meal is not bad. But your fats are so low on normal days that your body likely has a hard time adjusting to the high fat meal. The high fat breakfast I recommended should adapt you to be able to use more fat on your reefed meals. So on normal days perhaps up your fats a bit (like 50-60) with most coming with breakfast.

Other than that you may feel tired and hungry because you are training so hard and it could also be sleep related. Try and get 8 hours of sleep to keep your insulin sensitivity high and periodize your training to keep your energy up.