+ 36 Carbs needed for big gains
Carbs are essential if you are trying to pack on quality mass. Eat your carbs and you will grow. Carbs are your primary fuel source when you are pumping the weights and give you the energy you need to train hard. If you don’t have the fuel in you to train to maximum intensity, you can’t expect to have optimum growth in your muscles. Also, if you are not eating enough carbs, you will be using your precious protein to be used as fuel instead of building muscle. Since this protein is now being used as fuel, you are leaving your muscles with less protein for repair and growth. Not a good situation when you are trying to gain muscle.
Keep in mind that carbs are also similar to protein in the sense that the more muscle mass you gain, the more carbs you are going to require. And it goes without saying; the more active you are the more carbs you are going to need for energy. If you are doing twice a day training, you definitely are going to need more fuel in the form of carbs.
Consuming carbs (high glycemic carbs are the best for this) also causes insulin to be released in the body, which is one of the most anabolic substances there is. Get those carbs and protein in right after your workout to put that insulin spike to work. That insulin is going to drive any excess carbs you have floating around in your bloodstream into your muscles where it is stored as glycogen, which is what you need to fuel your muscles and workouts. That insulin is also going to drive all those amino acids from all the protein you are eating into your muscles so that more muscle can be made. All of this is being done naturally by the way. Pretty amazing what just eating carbs at the right time can do.
To avoid unnecessary fat gain, be careful when you eat any high glycemic carbs. The best time to consume high glycemic as mentioned above, is to get them in right after your workout. The rest of the day consume lower glycemic index carbs to help keep insulin levels stable.
The bottom line is that carbs are an absolute must for maximum growth. They give you the energy you need to train hard, they help you to maximize the anabolic response of insulin when consumed immediately after training and they spare your protein so that it can be used to build the muscle that we are all striving for.
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Raffy Ramosdepending on factors such as body composition, activity level, and fitness goals.
AirborneGruntMakwa..Always a wealth of knowledge. Pay attention to this man
Thank you for the great information. I guess I should have read this before jumping on "intermittent fasting wagon". Is there a formula to figure out how many grams of high glycemic carbs to consume before and after workouts?
He who manages carbs best, wins
You really want to focus carbs to help maximize your workout and muscle gain and minimize fat gain. Eat a good protein and carb meal, with very little fat 2-3 hours before your workout.
To calculate carbs for peri-workout take your lean body mass and multiply that by 0.33. (carbs = LBM*0.33). These need to be quick digesting carbs so either vitargo or cyclic dextrin. I like to fill my shaker up and sip this about mid-way through my workout and just chug the rest if there is any at the end. If I have to many carbs immediately pre-wo I feel bloated and lethargic so found it best just to sip throughout workout as carbs are being depleted.
At the end of workout have a protein shake ready to go that contains the amount of carbs you just drank intra/post workout and drink that on the way home. Then when you get home eat your post workout meal. That meal should also have at least the same amount of of carbs and protein you consumed during peri-wo.
Amen
Sorry, I forgot to ask if I input the LBM (Lean Body Mass) in kilograms or inpounds (lbs) for the pre-workout carb formula?
pounds. Drink intra-wo I have found to be the best instead of immediately pre-wo.
Thank you so much, you have been very helpful.
I will research more on Vitargo and cyclic dextrin, but are they the same thing? I know the main active ingredient of Vitargo is fractionated amylopectin starch, and "Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin is formed through the breakdown of amylopectin using enzymatic treatments into clusters, which are then formed in to larger chains using additional branching enzymes." Also, I understand that I should consume high glycemic carbs before and after a workout. And I know that Vitargo and cyclic dextrin have very high GI ( glycemic index) But the meal that I eat at home right after the workout, is that also to contain high GI carbs as well? And if so can you give me a reliable source for finding the GI index for foods. I did a search on google and different websites have different numbers for the same food. For example one website has the glycemic index of white rice as 38 , while another has it at 64 , and another at 92. I have always thought that white rice as a high glycemic carb, but of course I could be wrong. I am sorry if I am asking so many questions. I just want to make sure that I don't make mistakes by assuming, and also assume that information always stays the same. Because I know that there are constantly new studies emerging that prove what we thought as true in past to be incorrect.
Vitargo and cyclic dextrin aren't the same thing, close but not quite. I actually prefer the cyclic dextrin since it is easier to mix. You have to use a blender with the vitargo or just stays as one big clump. Either or is fine.
Post workout meal I would go with more complex carbs since you just downed a bunch of High glycemic carbs during workout but I wouldn't sweat high vs complex carbs since your metabolism is still revved up.
Thank you, you the insight. Cyclic dextrin seems more economical than Vitragro.
It is cheaper. I think you are paying more for the proprietary Vitargo name moreso than quality of product. It is great quality though. Worth a shot to try both.
Excellent write up. I'm just about to start a 16 week bulk and this post was exactly what I needed to read!
Well written, just to mention, GOOD carbs are needed for big gains, bad carbs like processed foods and stuff don't really convert to energy and muscle and become more of fat.
Romano735It is right but when you had some calories to eat, clean food is difficult to add in your diet. I speak when you had more 6000 cal … what do you think about it?
Thanks for sharing!
Johnny84Excellent tread , l see pro bodybuilders are are taking in
At least 300grams of protein and 1000grams of carbs to build huge mass .
Romano735Yes, à lot of food is needed for gains and carbs are so important
Yukon_JackThanks for the help bro! Love to listen when u share
Sorry to post on an old thread but I’d love to hear your position on carb/bcaa Intra workout drink? Especially on cycle I feel like the added energy for further muscle breakdown would be very beneficial but I value your opinion after reading many of your posts recently. Also do you see a mixture like this hindering fat lose from the workout and post workout cardio?
BCAA's intra, most definitely. I am not a big fan of carbs intra however. They are not necessary in my opinion since what generally fuels your workout is what you ate an hour or two before your workout. That is what replenishes you glycogen reserves which your body then utilizes during your workouts. So if you are eating normal meals you should have plenty of glycogen available to fuel your workouts. Your body can only have so much free glycogen in the bloodstream so you can't really supersaturate it by consuming carbs during your workout. As your body needs it, it just pulls it from the reserves since there is plenty there. Now if you are doing marathon workouts like 1.5 hrs or more or if you train first thing in the morning then intra carbs warrant some attention. If you train later in the day after you have already had a few meals in you and you keep your workouts to about an hour or so, then you will be fine without the intra carbs but be sure to take the BCAA's. Basically for timing carbs around your workout, pre and post are the times I would be more concerned about and not intra.
my workouts are after breakfast. i shoot for approx 75ish carbs in that meal. i lift no more then 1.5 hours after this meal. my lifts themselves are no more then 1 hour but my cardio puts me at the 1.5 mark. i dont fuck around in the gym. i treat it as work and i work my ass off. no breaks or talking or phone time. i dont find myself losing energy but near the end of my lift i notice im flatter and my pump fades fast. id like to find a fine balance of staying full and keeping good nutrient pumps while still using some body fat as energy. i was going to try a small amount (25g of carbs) on my bigger body part days to help with pumps and keep from going catabolic. thoughts? do you think bcaa will keep my fueled and out of a catabolic state on big heavy body part days? current goal is to lose just a few pounds of fat while holding on to muscle before my next blast in november.
post workout meal is a 25g carb shake with 50g of protein with a meal 1 hour after consisting of 8oz protein 1 cup broccoli and 1 sweet potato for example
Thanks for posting this back up. I think there a lot of older informative posts that should be resurrected. Fat accumulates fast at the age of 40, so nutrition is something I been reading alot of. From my own experience with bulking and dealing with fat loss, the carb/bcaa intra drink only helps me, what i have to watch is my macros. Especially the carbs, I need them to bulk but too much and I start getting pudgy. Lol.. Anyway, good luck, and thanks again.
i find the nutrition part of this sport more interesting the older i get. its fascinating how the body works
Been thinking about this also, my daily carb/protein ration has been around 352/291, I can't seem to get my carbs up.
Your the man Makwa! Great post!
Great post brother info ive been looking for. Thanks for taking the time to put up much appreciated. +1 for your time and willingness to educate others.
Ako994hmm
Any tips for a guy starting first bulk with a steroid ever? I'v successfully cut naturally and using test e/prop.
Should I be careful with carb intake initially since I'm so used to low carb/high protein/ moderate ketones .
Or shook I just go balls deep:
400-500 carb (low gi except post workout and breakfast ) + high protein + moderate fat .
Any advice on this matter for people with type 2 diabetes I want to grow but I need to be real careful with carbs..
Sorry, I'm not really familiar with the special diet requirements of diabetes. I would hate to give you some bad advice so hopefully somebody else could chime in on the matter.
Understood appreciate the honesty. If you come across or can think of someone that might be able to help please let me know..
hey bro, carry around a bag of almonds with you everywhere you go and snack on them all day, add gravy to your meals and mix in boiled eggs to everything, also add cheese on top of your vegetables, and eat a few apples throughout the day (healthy carb), these are a few ideas to make you calories higher. example- broccoli, zuchinni, cauliflour, brussell sprouts, spinach, place into a baking tray, chop up tomatoes and smother over vegetables, the apply a liberal amount of grated cheese over the top and put in oven, its really tasty and a lot of calories, also with the gravy put it on top of everything you eat, that is a lot of calories too.
I completely agree with this statement from TheFlash.
While I am no diabetes expert but this strategy for bulking is tremendous.
I utilize a very similar protocol. My diet , in essence , is very similar in many respects while both cutting and bulking. By that I mean, I personally truly enjoy eating clean. That being said while bulking my carbs will stay high and my meat consumption will consist of less lean cuts. I also will incorporate cheeses, sauces, gravys, and condiments. Right there will be an abundance of calories that is fantastic while bulking and can be very easily removed when cutting down.
So in essence my diet would stay very similar. First I would choose leaner cuts of meats while incorporating healthy fats , while slowly reducing my carbohydrates. This is also the time to remove the afor mentioned cheeses, sauces, gravys, and condiments.
With simple tricks and tweeks like this you can really manipulate your diet without changing a whole heck of a lot. The good ole keep it simple stupid strategy strikes again. Of course, no bodybuilder can wrong to incorporate more almonds and eggs in their diet as well. I just wanted to piggyback on your comment because it truly is a very sound and effective diet strategy.
Hey flash thanks for the tips I appreciate it. Are you well versed with diabetes or more to just diet gonna send a FR..
my mates brother has diabetes, im not an expert on it, I know food, diet and nutrition, but also know about what raises blood sugar levels and what doesn't.
Good stuff. I believe this is very important.
Awesome read...Thanks!
I've always subscribed to what you have posted here. I did read an article in the months flex about how carbs are not essential however whenever I cut the carbs too low the energy just isn't there to push the weight.
You always put up some very knowledgable and informative info. +1
thanks. I got a couple more in the works.