So, on my last cycle I was experimenting a little bit with a dirty bulking method. When I say "dirty bulking" I mean that I was consuming a lot of dirty calories. Fast and easy, I was eating everything; no holds barred. I was on such an exponential calorie surplus that I was hitting my macros with ease and I gained a lot of mass, but I also gained a lot of fat needless to say! My strength was through the roof and this method was perhaps decent for a power-lifting plateau, but not much else. I wouldn't do it again and I would probably recommend against it. I'm normally a cardio machine and my cardio was absolute dog shit and my overall sense of health felt sub par.

Now, I have an upcoming bulking cycle and I most certainly will be having much cleaner calories this time around. I ended my last cycle at 245 lbs at my highest point (water included) and ended up maintaining between 230-235 lbs. The fat shredding method I'd like to share with you is a method I have used before with great success. I started this current fat shredding crusade in preparation for my next bulking cycle with the goal of reaching a much more respectable body fat percentage. I started this method October 1'st at 230 lbs on the money.

This method consists of four main components:

1. Ketogenic Diet

2. Cardio and HIIT

3. Intermittent Fasting

4. Human Growth Hormone

1. Ketogenic Diet

The ketogenic diet is surely one that many of us are familiar with so I will try to keep this relatively brief. The goal of the ketogenic diet is to enter a state of ketosis. This is a fairly simple concept when you look at the overall strategy and idea of this diet which I will do my best to explain for those who are unfamiliar.

Everybody's body runs off either one of two things for energy and fuel. Either glucose or ketones. A person who is not on some form of ketogenic diet is running off of glucose as their primary energy source. When we eat things like carbohydrates these are turned into glucose and our insulin levels raise in order to transport this glucose into the cells of our bodies so that we can use it for energy. Excess glucose that is not used as energy is turned into glycogen that is primarily stored in the liver but also within the muscles and even the brain. This glycogen is essentially an "energy reserve". When we are running off of glucose our bodies have no reason to tap into their fat reserves for energy. Our bodies have a natural instinct to survive and in turn our bodies view these fat deposits as an "emergency reserve". In other words, our body will not burn our fat reserves unless it has to.

So, what if we stop providing our bodies with the glucose that it has become so accustomed to? How do we do this?

If we deprive our body of glucose it is forced to find an alternative source of energy in order to survive. If deprived of glucose our body will subsequently turn to ketones as it's primary energy source. Ketones are byproducts of the body breaking down fat for energy. Once your body is running off of ketones it is in a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a highly metabolic state that will allow you to easily target and burn even the most stubborn fat that your body is holding onto. There is certainly an adjustment period before one enters a true and consistent state of ketosis. One may experience symptoms such as weakness, fatigue or even confusion. I have done a full ketogenic diet successfully three times and from my experience these negative symptoms subside and you'll end up feeling perfectly normal once your body adjusts. It can take as little as two days to enter to ketosis, but the adjustment period of being in ketosis can take longer depending on the individual. I find this diet very easy to follow, but some may struggle with it.

What will my macros look like? What about muscle wasting or strength loss?

A ketogenic diet is high in fats, moderate in proteins and low in carbs. If you eat too much protein your body can turn the excess amino acids into glucose which will knock you out of ketosis. The amount of protein you will want to have can be determined by your activity level and lean body mass. Somebody that exercises regularly and is on a ketogenic diet is going to have a higher protein intake than somebody who does not. Increasing your protein will help prevent or stop strength and muscle loss. You will likely lose some strength temporarily, but the weight you will be losing will almost entirely be fat. For all intensive purposes you will be aiming for about one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass. As far as the carbs are concerned you will only be consuming carbs in the form of vegetables. And when determining your daily carb consumption do not forget to subtract the dietary fiber. Fiber is a type of carb that our bodies cannot digest so it doesn't affect our blood sugar levels. So when one consumes 10 grams of total carbs, but there are 4 grams of dietary fiber you are only consuming a net of 6 grams of carbs. So remember: total carbs minus dietary fiber. A lot of the vegetables you will be consuming are rich in dietary fiber. And you can easily find a list of which vegetables are acceptable on the web. In general your macros will look like this:

75% fat / 20% protein / 5% carbs

Please note that on many ketogenic diet websites you will see things such as various nuts and berries to be acceptable for consumption. I would argue that they are indeed acceptable in moderation if you are planning on a long term ketogenic lifestyle. However, if you plan on using this as a temporary fat burning diet the same as I then I would recommend against eating those foods for the time being. It's easy to overeat nuts which can knock you out of ketosis. And berries contain sugar which can also easily knock you out of ketosis. My diet whilst running this protocol consists of animal protein (yes, this includes fish), cruciferous vegetables, some peppers and most importantly: fats. Tip: Some easy ways to reach your proper fat intake are to go heavy on the olive oil, butter, coconut oil and avacados just to name a few. There are even tons of recipes you can find online called "fat bomb" recipes

Some people choose a ketogenic diet as a lifelong diet. Overall, it's a great diet especially for someone who is looking to burn fat. . Obviously as lifters, body builders or someone looking to put on mass; this is not a sustainable diet but it can definitely be used one to three months at a time as an excellent fat burning tool

2. Cardio and HIIT

Although you can easily lose weight by only following a ketogenic diet .... what is a diet without exercise? Exercise paired with a strong diet will exponentially improve our ability to shred the unwanted fat we are aiming to lose. With any program, whether it's losing weight or gaining weight; excersise and diet are king and queen!

So, along with the ketogenic diet I have found great success in following my normal exercise routines; but also implementing more high intensity interval training while also ramping up the duration and/or intensity of my cardio.

High intensity interval training is a brief 45-90 second period (depending on the individual) of extremely intense, 100% percent effort exercise followed by a short (sometimes equal to and sometimes more) period of rest. Sometimes one may even remain slightly active during the rest periods. An example of this would be an all out period of sprinting followed by a resting period where one will go from a sprint to a walk and then repeat the process for a duration of time. This results in a extremely high heart rate that is sustained to some degree even during the resting period and will subsequently help burn fat.

As far as the cardio is concerned, I'm sure we all know what cardio is and I feel it's honestly just a matter of preference. I personally like jump rope because I am good at it and know all kinds of cool tricks ;). Not to mention I feel jump rope is an excellent total body form of cardio that will challenge your endurance, coordination and dexterity. However, I try to alternate between different types of cardio on somewhat of a rotation. Running, stair master, rowing, Jacobs Ladder etc etc.

3. Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is a creating a scheduled period or rotation without consuming food. This is not a complete fast and one does not need to limit or reduce their overall daily caloric intake. The time of fasting will vary greatly on the individual and how it coincides with their everyday life in order to minimize any possible disruption.

An example of what I do when following this protocol: I eat all my food between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm or sometimes 7:00 pm depending on the flow of the day. This is only a practice I use when cutting fat and I still consume a good amount of calories that follow the ketogenic guidelines.

Why would I want to fast at all?

When on a ketogenic diet one may be concerned with muscle wasting. It is well known and documented that HGH will radically aid in muscle preservation. When one is in a fasted state natural HGH levels have been shown to exponentially increase. Not only will this aid in muscle preservation but can even promote muscle gain.

When in a fasted state, our insulin levels will drop dramatically due to increased insulin sensitivity. Lower insulin levels will allow greater accessibility to our bodies fat reserves.

When fasted (like when we are asleep for example) our bodies initiate a cellular repair process. This is not only relevant when one is asleep, but also when one is in a fasted state.

There have also been studies that link periods of intermittent fasting to longevity and lowering risks of disease.

Remember, intermittent fasting is not starving yourself. I understand this practice can be difficult for some and others may deem it contrarian to the lifestyle of an AAS user. I am only telling you what has worked wonders for me in my own personal life and what I have found throughout countless hours of research and study. There are always going to be mixed opinions.

4. Human Growth Hormone

Honestly, one can go without the addition of exogenous HGH and still have fantastic results using this protocol. I personally have followed this protocol without the use of exogenous HGH and still had great results. Now, with that being said I have found that purchasing and adding HGH into this protocol will greatly increase one's positive results.

Again, most of us are aware of the benefits and properties of HGH so I won't go into great detail but will briefly name a few. If you'd like to learn more about HGH there are plenty of websites and also a ton of information within the forums here at eroids.

Increased muscle strength
Better healing and recovery
Enhanced weight loss
Reduces ED
Better mood and cognitive function
Better sleep

HGH is much better accepted and more effective on an empty stomach; so it's addition works niceley within the parameters of an intermittent fasting protocol. If taken during food times, one should at least wait an hour without food prior to injection and an hour without food post injection. So allow a two hour window minimum.

My dosing protocol for HGH while using this fat burning method is between 6-9 i.u. per day. I will dose 3 i.u. in the morning and 3 i.u. before bed. Sometimes I will have 3 i.u. post work out. Pharmaceutical grade or bust in my humble opinion.

In Conclusion...

I understand that some of this may be controversial and there will be some that disagree with some or all of this entire method. I can only speak from my own personal experience and research. This time around I started this protocol on October 1'st, 2017 at 230 lbs and I am already down to 216 lbs. A whopping 14 lbs of fat in only three weeks! I feel amazing, I feel strong and I feel extremely happy with my current progress. My cardio is near the level it was when I was 165-180 pounds (okay that may be a slight exaggeration, but it's definitely good!). I will reiterate that this is obviously a protocol to be used when cutting fat and trying to preserve as much muscle mass as possible. There will be some slight losses in strength, but nothing that can't be easily gained back. Good luck and I hope this helps!