I read an article the other day called the Ultimate Bulking Guide. What I hate about these guides, aside from their lack of scientific basis and poor grammar, is how they promise quality mass gains but only provide the normal rules of train more, eat more. The diet portion, obviously, requires more attention than they give, but they at least provide something, even if only half-assed. Seldom do we get a hard prescription for training, and most of the time, nothing. 

Maybe I’m guilty of doing the same, leaving, as some accuse, too much to chance by not prescribing a training routine to accompany Carb Back-Loading. But CBL works with such a wide array of methodologies that, from the stupid-simple point of view, I found it easier to describe what not to do and why, rather than trying to force everyone into a single plan.

I underestimated the zeal of CBL adherents and not only did several people read the restrictions on training, they read-into the restrictions on training, specifically: if purely eccentric training, à la Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty or Dorian Yates’ Blood And Guts is unacceptable, then maybe concentric-only loading turbocharges CBL results. It’s a fair hypothesis, but a short-sighted one.

Mike Menzer, champion of Heavy Duty training, also the only person to score perfect at the Mr. Universe.

Eccentric-only loading fails to stimulate glucose transporter translocation[1-7]. In layman’s terms, Heavy Duty won’t create the cellular magic necessary to make CBL work. That’s why it’s unacceptable. There’s no reason to assume the contrapositive, however, that concentric-only training performs better than standard rep performance.

There’s one problem here: eccentric loading causes muscle growth, not the contractive portion of the movement[8-26].

You may think I’m splitting hairs here because concentric training takes effort to set up in a standard gym. But this is DangerouslyHardcore.com and lots of readers don’t train in a standard gym and have access to things like a sled. In that case, it’s pretty easy to come up with an upper-body, concentric-only training routine, as in pulling the sled toward you with a rope.

If you’re using CBL, whether for Strength Accumulation or Density Bulking, the primary goal is to trigger hypertrophy. This is why Modulated Tissue Response (MTR) packs the power that it does and is what CBL leverages. Send the maximum growth signal to one tissue and the maximum shrinkage signal to the other. Build the muscle, burn the fat.

 Even when leaning out, if you give muscles every possible signal to grow, the body will not cannibalize them for energy, it’ll go to the next best source, fat. With CBL, to achieve maximum hypertrophy in skeletal muscle takes both the concentric movement to translocate GLUT, and the eccentric portion to trigger the genetic factors that spark growth.

The moral of the story: the repetition is like everything else in the world. For every yin, a yang exists; for every electron, a positron; and for every Twinkie, there’s a piece of tofu. The key: the world works best when in balance (okay, maybe we’d be better off without tofu).

 Now that I’ve dissuaded you from doing either a pure-Heavy-Duty routine or a pure-concentric routine, I’m now going to tell you that Heavy Duty training is, by far, one of the most powerful training methodologies I’ve ever used and eccentric overload may amplify the hypertropic response of training[27-29] and strength and power gains[30, 31].

Shockwave Protocol 1.4 Ebook

It doesn’t take much modification to create a routine that provides all the goodness of non-insulin mediated GLUT translocation (a key ingredient for CBL) combined with the growth acceleration of a true Heavy Duty program. I even went to the trouble to make a downloadable PDF of the training split. You can get it below.

The program uses some concepts from the Shockwave Protocols, specifically adding volume without over-taxing the nervous system. Even though massive training volume is unnecessary, it is an important factor for hypertrophy[32-34]. If you’re unfamiliar with PSR or ELECT (or even what those abbreviations mean), you better download a copy of the free Shockwave ebook here.

You’ll notice (after you download the workout) a “Perf” column, which is short for performance, as in, how to perform the exercise. The Shockwave Protocol describes what is meant by PSR and ELECT. The list below explains the other abbreviations that occur in the performance column.

• STD—No, it’s not a reference to sexually-transmitted diseases—it means, simply, standard, as in, lower the weight in controlled fashion and lift with adequate force. It’s probably how you already workout, so don’t stress about it.
• DROP—This refers to a drop set, i.e. each successive set gets lighter, you drop weight with each set. With this in mind, you’ll want to start the exercise with a pretty heavy load.
• NEG—Here we come to the quintessential eccentric part of the training. NEG stands for negative. You’ll notice that the repetition prescription for each of these goes something like 10+3. The 10 represents the number of reps to do in standard fashion before hitting positive failure—your 10-rep max for that exercise. 
  The +3 signifies the number of negative repetitions. After hitting positive failure, have your spotter—yes, you will absolutely need a spotter for this type of training—lift the weight for you (or from you) and once you’re set, have them let go. Start lowering the weight. The lowering phase should take between one and three seconds. Do this for the prescribed number of negative repetitions which is almost always 3.
• N/A—Seriously, you had to ask? It means, not applicable.

For everything else, the legend at the bottom of the PDF should cover it.

Warning: CBL users, eccentric loading interferes with glycogen resynthesis[1, 35], so don’t splurge quite so much. Cut out a turnover or two. 

Today, I found out I’m an asshole. This isn’t something you take lightly or try to sugarcoat with, “oh, I just have an edge to my writing,” because remember, my fat-kid nature still looms and I’ll swallow anything sugarcoated, especially if it lets me ignore the truth. Maybe, just maybe, online, I am, totally, an asshole.

People seem to hold a different impression after they meet me in person. Not many people complain after meeting me (there are the occasional few). In general, I’m a nice guy and leave a satisfying impression, if not a down-right chummy one. I think my online responses reflect poorly on my personality because of our cultural understanding of what it means when someone is dry and pithy: we automatically assume that the person is a dick.

I’m not representative of male genitalia, I promise. I’m a pure scientist. As such, I see myself as a tool—definitely no pun intended—that people can use for a continuous flow of quality, unbiased, tested material. That’s all I wanted, to be one of the few voices in this industry relying on facts, science and experiment to produce meaningful, useful programs. I didn’t plan to be anyone’s guru.

The scientist in me (who’s quite good friends with my inner fat kid), doesn’t think in terms of warm and fuzzy; I think in terms of thermal instability that will eventually come to equilibrium via phonon exchange and collections of negative-curvature projections with a non-differentiable discontinuity. Dry, logical interpretation of the world is cold and unyielding, as is my passion for truth in this industry and that steely texture is the voice that comes through sometimes as caustic, sometimes as vainglory.

But I’m not arrogant; I know I’m flawed and I know the possibility of being wrong or mistaken is tucked between every cushion of the couch. We learn new things every day that cast shadows over what, even yesterday, was a sparkling gem of truth.

Somewhere in that couch, a very big mistake is lurking...

It’s my job to temper the avalanche of facts, keeping a century worth of research, results and speculation in perspective as I brace myself for the burden of changing the nature of deluge from destructive to constructive. This doesn’t leave much time for social-butterflying, like surfing the forums, being everybody’s bro; which is only a problem when it comes to my own forums.

It’s like I’ve thrown a party and didn’t show up. Again, I seem like an aloof ass. That’s not entirely true, however. In graduate school, I threw parties all the time because I know the value of community and camaraderie, of knowing those with whom you share the front lines, and I know this despite my hermit-like behavior.

But even at my own parties, I was the guy in the corner, on a chair working equations in my head because there was that one detail that I missed, something I knew would tie it all together for me.  Social interactions always came second to intellectual puzzles.

As the years progressed and I had more answers and fewer questions, I joined the festivities a bit more each time, but ideas and problems always burdened my thoughts. I could never fully engage. I know that at this party—the DH forums—it’s critical that I participate, as I’m the one who’s organizing the games. I’m looking into a way to facilitate these interactions that will give me the time for meaningful, helpful responses to those who need, want and deserve it. Believe me, I may seem like an aloof ass, but I also feel like one because I never seem to find the time to join in.

That doesn’t mean I’m turning over a new leaf, making a I-promise-to-be-cuddly New Year’s resolution. I’m trying to become more involved, not trying to be nicer.

Seriously, what made you think it was a good idea to bust into MY house?

If you come at me guns blazing, I’m going to return fire. In this industry, it’s become commonplace to show up on sites, throw around some I’m-smarter-than-you comments and walk off beating your chest because most writers try diplomacy, respectfulness and carefully crafted response so as not to hurt feelings or sales. I understand this approach and I use it when there’s value, when I can tell that the statement probably reads worse than the commenter intended.

When someone kicks in my front door, however, and tells me I’m stupid, my work is crap or that I’m a horrible person who corrupts children because I typed the word fuck (crap, did it again: another angel probably just lost its wings), I’m not going to spare anyone the bite of a cold, honest response. Truth is venomous to those living a surreal existence of self-adulation and self-righteousness. If you have these problems, you probably shouldn’t hang out here.

It’s not easy being a hermit-scientist in this industry. One day I may snap, found weeks later catatonic, staring at the walls covered in equations containing strange variables that bear a striking resemblance to Hello Kitty. Conversely, maybe I’ll learn to embrace this new tribe, as it were, accept the position as chief or medicine man or what have you and storm the world once we are legion. Or maybe I can achieve the stable-equilibrium of a real scientist: the guy in the middle of the room who listens, interjects when necessary, encourages when possible and smiles when his help is no longer needed.

Since it’s the new year and many already see several weeks of effort thrown toward achieving their resolution, I thought I’d put together a stupid-simple, bulletproof set of rules to fail this year, just like so many millions did last year…and the year before that…and before that…

Rule Number 1: Eat a Healthy Breakfast

Listen to the celebrity trainers who’ve helped countless famed personalities stay fat and get fatter and start your day with a healthy breakfast of egg whites, oatmeal and a glass of OJ. Hell, while you’re at it, throw in a cup of blueberries too.

Not only will this combination potentially spark the creation of new fat cells[1-9], but it slows metabolism and prevents the body from burning fat for the rest of the day[10], as well as increasing hunger[11] for those days at the office where candy is constantly on hand to satisfy cravings.

(You can download an informative report about the evils of breakfast here.)

Rule Number 2: Eat Several Small Meals

Don’t even think about eating three squares, that’s stupid. It’s been shown that eating several small meals—6 or more—throughout the day does absolutely nothing to help your weight loss goals no matter how long you diet[12-40].

But don’t fret, even though most people fail simply because more than three meals per day is too hard to stick with, if you’re one of the tenacious few, the steely-hearted warrior, then after a few months, small-multi still won’t help with your weight loss, but instead, you’ll get an added bonus. Science shows that eating several small meals instead of three squares may possibly slow down your metabolism[41-45]. Which, at the end of the day, means you’ll have to eat even less to see any results.

(Read more here.)

Is this who you'd take fat-loss advice from?

Rule Number 3: Focus on Exercise instead of Diet

Don’t worry about diet so much because the only thing that matters, according to experts, is calories-in-calories-out. And if that’s true, then screw dieting: simply hit the treadmill for 2 hours per day. Over two dozen studies have proven that without dietary change, exercise causes…wait for it…ZERO pounds of weight loss over 12 weeks, and maybe a whopping 6 lbs after the first NINE months[46-69].

But, hey, guess what, if you do it long enough and fast enough, you’ll even shut down testosterone production if you’re a man[70-78], and turn the thyroid off if you’re a woman[79-89]. There’s no better way to stay fat or get fatter.

(Women, want to know how bad endurance training is for you? Read here.)

Rule Number 4: Don’t Eat After 7pm

Research has shown that if you eat all your calories in the first half of the day and don’t eat later, then you’ll lose mostly muscle mass[90-94]! The weight will go, but so will your metabolism as you lose precious muscle. You’ll be weak, flabby and your metabolism will be in the toilet.

Whatever you do, don’t eat right before bed, because that increases fat loss[95]—and we wouldn’t want that because Jillian Michaels would be out of a job helping people stay fat.

Rule Number 5: Hire an Overweight Big-Box Gym Trainer

Look, they’re fat for a reason and they can do the same for you. Are you an obese person trapped in a super-heroes body? They can help. Call now: 1-800-FATNESS.

Rule Number 6: Eat Plenty of Carbs

Carbs fuel the brain and body and supposedly you can’t live without them. So, avoid the fat and ingest the carbs because carbs have two magical properties: not only do they increase the body’s ability to store fat[96-97], but they can also be turned into fat[98-106]!

Forget about fat and protein: the body only needs these to survive, not to get fat.

The Ultimate New Years’ Resolution

Stick to these six simple rules of the experts and guarantee your absolute failure this year, just as you did last year and the year before that.

So why not try a new resolution this year? Don’t listen to the experts. Listen to the people who make it look easy. They’re the real experts.

References

1. Gregoire F, Genart C, Hauser N, Remacle C.  Glucocorticoids induce a drastic inhibition of proliferation and stimulate differentiation of adult rat fat cell precursors.  Exp Cell Res. 1991 Oct;196(2):270-8.
2. Xu XF, Bjorntorp P.  Effects of dexamethasone on multiplication and differentiation of rat adipose precursor cells.  Exp Cell Res. 1990 Aug;189(2):247-52.
3. Hentges EJ, Hausman GJ.  Primary cultures of stromal-vascular cells from pig adipose tissue: the influence of glucocorticoids and insulin as inducers of adipocyte differentiation.  Domest Anim Endocrinol. 1989 Jul;6(3):275-85.
4. Hauner H, Entenmann G, Wabitsch M, Gaillard D, Ailhaud G, Negrel R, Pfeiffer EF.  Promoting effect of glucocorticoids on the differentiation of human adipocyte precursor cells cultured in a chemically defined medium.  J Clin Invest. 1989 Nov;84(5):1663-70.
5. Hauner H, Schmid P, Pfeiffer EF.  Glucocorticoids and insulin promote the differentiation of human adipocyte precursor cells into fat cells.  J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1987 Apr;64(4):832-5.
6. Ramsay TG, White ME, Wolverton CK.  Glucocorticoids and the differentiation of porcine preadipocytes.  J Anim Sci. 1989 Sep;67(9):2222-9.
7. Bujalska IJ, Kumar S, Hewison M, Stewart PM.  Differentiation of adipose stromal cells: the roles of glucocorticoids and 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.  Endocrinology. 1999 Jul;140(7):3188-96.
8. Nougues J, Reyne Y, Barenton B, Chery T, Garandel V, Soriano J.  Differentiation of adipocyte precursors in a serum-free medium is influenced by glucocorticoids and endogenously produced insulin-like growth factor-I.  Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1993 Mar;17(3):159-67.
9. Suryawan A, Swanson LV, Hu CY.  Insulin and hydrocortisone, but not triiodothyronine, are required for the differentiation of pig preadipocytes in primary culture.  J Anim Sci. 1997 Jan;75(1):105-11.
10. Martin A, Normand S, Sothier M, Peyrat J, Louche-Pelissier C, Laville M.  Is advice for breakfast consumption justified? Results from a short-term dietary and metabolic experiment in young healthy men.  Br J Nutr. 2000 Sep;84(3):337-44.
11. Cummings DE, Purnell JQ, Frayo RS, Schmidova K, Wisse BE, Weigle DS.  A preprandial rise in plasma ghrelin levels suggests a role in meal initiation in humans.  Diabetes. 2001 Aug;50(8):1714-9.
12. Kinabo JL, Durnin JV.  Effect of meal frequency on the thermic effect of food in women.  Eur J Clin Nutr. 1990 May;44(5):389-95.
13. Taylor MA, Garrow JS.  Compared with nibbling, neither gorging nor a morning fast affect short-term energy balance in obese patients in a chamber calorimeter.  Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001 Apr;25(4):519-28.
14. Bellisle F, McDevitt R, Prentice AM.  Meal frequency and energy balance.  Br J Nutr. 1997 Apr;77 Suppl 1:S57-70. Review.
15. Holmback U, Lowden A, Akerfeldt T, Lennernas M, Hambraeus L, Forslund J, Akerstedt T, Stridsberg M, Forslund A.  The human body may buffer small differences in meal size and timing during a 24-h wake period provided energy balance is maintained.  J Nutr. 2003 Sep;133(9):2748-55.
16. Jones PJ, Namchuk GL, Pederson RA.  Meal frequency influences circulating hormone levels but not lipogenesis rates in humans.  Metabolism. 1995 Feb;44(2):218-23.
17. Arnold L, Ball M, Mann J.  Metabolic effects of alterations in meal frequency in hypercholesterolaemic individuals.  Atherosclerosis. 1994 Aug;108(2):167-74.
18. Murphy MC, Chapman C, Lovegrove JA, Isherwood SG, Morgan LM, Wright JW, Williams CM.  Meal frequency; does it determine postprandial lipaemia?  Eur J Clin Nutr. 1996 Aug;50(8):491-7.
19. Wolfram G, Kirchgessner M, Muller HL, Hollomey S.  Thermogenesis in humans after varying meal time frequency  Ann Nutr Metab. 1987;31(2):88-97.
20. Mann J.  Meal frequency and plasma lipids and lipoproteins.  Br J Nutr. 1997 Apr;77 Suppl 1:S83-90. Review.
21. Verboeket-van de Venne WP, Westerterp KR.  Frequency of feeding, weight reduction and energy metabolism.  Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1993 Jan;17(1):31-6.
22. Dallosso HM, Murgatroyd PR, James WP.  Feeding frequency and energy balance in adult males.  Hum Nutr Clin Nutr. 1982;36C(1):25-39.
23. Hill JO, Anderson JC, Lin D, Yakubu F.  Effects of meal frequency on energy utilization in rats.  Am J Physiol. 1988 Oct;255(4 Pt 2):R616-21.
24. Garrow JS, Durrant M, Blaza S, Wilkins D, Royston P, Sunkin S.  The effect of meal frequency and protein concentration on the composition of the weight lost by obese subjects.  Br J Nutr. 1981 Jan;45(1):5-15.
25. Arnold L, Mann JI, Ball MJ.  Metabolic effects of alterations in meal frequency in type 2 diabetes.  Diabetes Care. 1997 Nov;20(11):1651-4.
26. Rashidi MR, Mahboob S, Sattarivand R.  Effects of nibbling and gorging on lipid profiles, blood glucose and insulin levels in healthy subjects.  Saudi Med J. 2003 Sep;24(9):945-8.
27. Baker N, Palmquist DL, Learn DB.  Equally rapid activation of lipogenesis in nibbling and gorging mice.  J Lipid Res. 1976 Sep;17(5):527-35.
28. Baker N, Huebotter RJ.  Lipogenic activation after nibbling and gorging in mice.  J Lipid Res. 1973 Jan;14(1):87-94.
29. Sensi S, Capani F.  Chronobiological aspects of weight loss in obesity: effects of different meal timing regimens.  Chronobiol Int. 1987;4(2):251-61.
30. Verboeket-van de Venne WP, Westerterp KR.  Influence of the feeding frequency on nutrient utilization in man: consequences for energy metabolism.  Eur J Clin Nutr. 1991 Mar;45(3):161-9.
31. Holmback U, Lowden A, Akerfeldt T, Lennernas M, Hambraeus L, Forslund J, Akerstedt T, Stridsberg M, Forslund A.  The human body may buffer small differences in meal size and timing during a 24-h wake period provided energy balance is maintained.  J Nutr. 2003 Sep;133(9):2748-55.
32. [No authors listed]  Effects of meal frequency during weight reduction.  Nutr Rev. 1972 Jul;30(7):158-62. Review.
33. Young CM, Hutter LF, Scanlan SS, Rand CE, Lutwak L, Simko V.  Metabolic effects of meal frequency on normal young men.  J Am Diet Assoc. 1972 Oct;61(4):391-8.
34. Finkelstein B, Fryer BA.  Meal frequency and weight reduction of young women.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1971 Apr;24(4):465-8.
35. Young CM, Scanlan SS, Topping CM, Simko V, Lutwak L.  Frequency of feeding, weight reduction, and body composition.  J Am Diet Assoc. 1971 Nov;59(5):466-72.
36. Wadhwa PS, Young EA, Schmidt K, Elson CE, Pringle DJ.  Metabolic consequences of feeding frequency in man.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1973 Aug;26(8):823-30.
37. Romsos DR, Miller ER, Leveille GA.  Influence of feeding frequency on body weight and glucose tolerance in the pig.  Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1978 Apr;157(4):528-30.
38. Bortz W, Wroldsen A, Issekutz B, Rodahl K.  Weight loss and frequency of feeding.  N Engl J Med. 1966;274:376-379.
39. Swindells YE, Holmes SA, Robinson MF.  The metabolic response of young women to changes in the frequency of meals.  Br J Nutr. 1968;22(4):667-680.
40. Wu H, Wu DY.  Influence of feeding schedule on nitrogen utilization and excretion.  Proc Soc Exp Biol Med.  1950;74:78-82.
41. Westerterp-Plantenga MS, Goris AH, Meijer EP, Westerterp KR.  Habitual meal frequency in relation to resting and activity-induced energy expenditure in human subjects: the role of fat-free mass.  Br J Nutr. 2003 Sep;90(3):643-9.
42. Verboeket-van de Venne WP, Westerterp KR, Kester AD.  Effect of the pattern of food intake on human energy metabolism.  Br J Nutr. 1993 Jul;70(1):103-15.
43. Molnar D.  The effect of meal frequency on postprandial thermogenesis in obese children.  Padiatr Padol. 1992;27(6):177-81.
44. Tai MM, Castillo P, Pi-Sunyer FX.  Meal size and frequency: effect on the thermic effect of food.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1991 Nov;54(5):783-7.
45. Young JC.  Meal size and frequency: effect on potentiation of the thermal effect of food by prior exercise.  Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1995;70(5):437-41.
46. Evans EM, Saunders MJ, Spano MA, Arngrimsson SA, Lewis RD, Cureton KJ.  Effects of diet and exercise on the density and composition of the fat-free mass in obese women.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1999 Dec;31(12):1778-87.
47. Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, Clark KL, Gordon SE, Incledon T, Puhl SM, Triplett-McBride NT, McBride JM, Putukian M, Sebastianelli WJ.  Physiological adaptations to a weight-loss dietary regimen and exercise programs in women.  J Appl Physiol. 1997 Jul;83(1):270-9.
48. Geliebter A, Maher MM, Gerace L, Gutin B, Heymsfield SB, Hashim SA.  Effects of strength or aerobic training on body composition, resting metabolic rate, and peak oxygen consumption in obese dieting subjects.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1997 Sep;66(3):557-63.
49. Ballor DL, Poehlman ET.  Exercise-training enhances fat-free mass preservation during diet-induced weight loss: a meta-analytical finding.  Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1994 Jan;18(1):35-40.
50. Schwingshandl J, Sudi K, Eibl B, Wallner S, Borkenstein M.  Effect of an individualised training programme during weight reduction on body composition: a randomised trial.  Arch Dis Child. 1999 Nov;81(5):426-8.
51. Donnelly JE, Sharp T, Houmard J, Carlson MG, Hill JO, Whatley JE, Israel RG.  Muscle hypertrophy with large-scale weight loss and resistance training.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1993 Oct;58(4):561-5.
52. Utter AC, Nieman DC, Shannonhouse EM, Butterworth DE, Nieman CN.  Influence of diet and/or exercise on body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness in obese women.  Int J Sport Nutr. 1998 Sep;8(3):213-22.
53. Dengel DR, Hagberg JM, Coon PJ, Drinkwater DT, Goldberg AP.  Comparable effects of diet and exercise on body composition and lipoproteins in older men.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994 Nov;26(11):1307-15.
54. Gornall J, Villani RG.  Short-term changes in body composition and metabolism with severe dieting and resistance exercise.  Int J Sport Nutr. 1996 Sep;6(3):285-94.
55. Van Dale D, Saris WH, Schoffelen PF, Ten Hoor F.  Does exercise give an additional effect in weight reduction regimens?  Int J Obes. 1987;11(4):367-75.
56. Cox KL, Burke V, Morton AR, Beilin LJ, Puddey IB.  The independent and combined effects of 16 weeks of vigorous exercise and energy restriction on body mass and composition in free-living overweight men–a randomized controlled trial.  Metabolism. 2003 Jan;52(1):107-15.
57. Sweeney ME, Hill JO, Heller PA, Baney R, DiGirolamo M.  Severe vs moderate energy restriction with and without exercise in the treatment of obesity: efficiency of weight loss.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1993 Feb;57(2):127-34.
58. Donnelly JE, Pronk NP, Jacobsen DJ, Pronk SJ, Jakicic JM.  Effects of a very-low-calorie diet and physical-training regimens on body composition and resting metabolic rate in obese females.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1991 Jul;54(1):56-61.
59. Nieman DC, Brock DW, Butterworth D, Utter AC, Nieman CC.  Reducing diet and/or exercise training decreases the lipid and lipoprotein risk factors of moderately obese women.  J Am Coll Nutr. 2002 Aug;21(4):344-50.
60. Powell JJ, Tucker L, Fisher AG, Wilcox K.  The effects of different percentages of dietary fat intake, exercise, and calorie restriction on body composition and body weight in obese females.  Am J Health Promot. 1994 Jul-Aug;8(6):442-8.
61. Bryner RW, Ullrich IH, Sauers J, Donley D, Hornsby G, Kolar M, Yeater R.  Effects of resistance vs. aerobic training combined with an 800 calorie liquid diet on lean body mass and resting metabolic rate.  J Am Coll Nutr. 1999 Apr;18(2):115-21.
62. Evans EM, Saunders MJ, Spano MA, Arngrimsson SA, Lewis RD, Cureton KJ.  Body-composition changes with diet and exercise in obese women: a comparison of estimates from clinical methods and a 4-component model.  Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 Jul;70(1):5-12.
63. Janssen I, Fortier A, Hudson R, Ross R.  Effects of an energy-restrictive diet with or without exercise on abdominal fat, intermuscular fat, and metabolic risk factors in obese women.  Diabetes Care. 2002 Mar;25(3):431-8.
64. Poehlman ET, Dvorak RV, DeNino WF, Brochu M, Ades PA.  Effects of resistance training and endurance training on insulin sensitivity in nonobese, young women: a controlled randomized trial.  J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2000 Jul;85(7):2463-8.
65. Stensel DJ, Brooke-Wavell K, Hardman AE, Jones PR, Norgan NG.  The influence of a 1-year programme of brisk walking on endurance fitness and body composition in previously sedentary men aged 42-59 years.  Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1994;68(6):531-7.
66. Dengel DR, Hagberg JM, Coon PJ, Drinkwater DT, Goldberg AP.  Effects of weight loss by diet alone or combined with aerobic exercise on body composition in older obese men.  Metabolism. 1994 Jul;43(7):867-71.
67. Lemons AD, Kreitzman SN, Coxon A, Howard A.  Selection of appropriate exercise regimens for weight reduction during VLCD and maintenance.  Int J Obes. 1989;13 Suppl 2:119-23.
68. Lamarche B, Despres JP, Moorjani S, Nadeau A, Lupien PJ, Tremblay A, Theriault G, Bouchard C.  Evidence for a role of insulin in the regulation of abdominal adipose tissue lipoprotein lipase response to exercise training in obese women.  Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1993 May;17(5):255-61.
69. Kirk EP, Jacobsen DJ, Gibson C, Hill JO, Donnelly JE.  Time course for changes in aerobic capacity and body composition in overweight men and women in response to long-term exercise: the Midwest Exercise Trial (MET).  Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Aug;27(8):912-9.
70. Tyndall GL, Kobe RW, Houmard JA.  Cortisol, testosterone, and insulin action during intense swimming training in humans.  Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1996;73(1-2):61-5.
71. Vasankari TJ, Kujala UM, Heinonen OJ, Huhtaniemi IT.  Effects of endurance training on hormonal responses to prolonged physical exercise in males.  Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1993 Aug;129(2):109-13.
72. Hoogeveen AR, Zonderland ML.  Relationships between testosterone, cortisol and performance in professional cyclists.  Int J Sports Med. 1996 Aug;17(6):423-8.
73. Kuoppasalmi K, Naveri H, Harkonen M, Adlercreutz H.  Plasma cortisol, androstenedione, testosterone and luteinizing hormone in running exercise of different intensities.  Scand J Clin Lab Invest. 1980 Sep;40(5):403-9.
74. Guglielmini C, Paolini AR, Conconi F.  Variations of serum testosterone concentrations after physical exercises of different duration.  Int J Sports Med. 1984 Oct;5(5):246-9.
75. Schmid P, Pusch HH, Wolf W, Pilger E, Pessenhofer H, Schwaberger G, Pristautz H, Purstner P.  Serum FSH, LH, and testosterone in humans after physical exercise.  Int J Sports Med. 1982 May;3(2):84-9.
76. Kern W, Perras B, Wodick R, Fehm HL, Born J.  Hormonal secretion during nighttime sleep indicating stress of daytime exercise.  J Appl Physiol. 1995 Nov;79(5):1461-8.
77. Ronsen O, Haug E, Pedersen BK, Bahr R.  Increased neuroendocrine response to a repeated bout of endurance exercise.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2001 Apr;33(4):568-75.
78. Hoffman JR, Falk B, Radom-Isaac S, Weinstein Y, Magazanik A, Wang Y, Yarom Y.  The effect of environmental temperature on testosterone and cortisol responses to high intensity, intermittent exercise in humans.  Eur J Appl Physiol Occup Physiol. 1997;75(1):83-7.
79. Baylor LS, Hackney AC.  Resting thyroid and leptin hormone changes in women following intense, prolonged exercise training.  Eur J Appl Physiol. 2003 Jan;88(4-5):480-4.
80. Boyden TW, Pamenter RW, Rotkis TC, Stanforth P, Wilmore JH.  Thyroidal changes associated with endurance training in women.  Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1984 Jun;16(3):243-6.
81. Wesche MF, Wiersinga WM.  Relation between lean body mass and thyroid volume in competition rowers before and during intensive physical training.  Horm Metab Res. 2001 Jul;33(7):423-7.
82. Tremblay A, Poehlman ET, Despres JP, Theriault G, Danforth E, Bouchard C.  Endurance training with constant energy intake in identical twins: changes over time in energy expenditure and related hormones.  Metabolism. 1997 May;46(5):499-503.
83. Rone JK, Dons RF, Reed HL.  The effect of endurance training on serum triiodothyronine kinetics in man: physical conditioning marked by enhanced thyroid hormone metabolism.  Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1992 Oct;37(4):325-30.
84. Loucks AB, Callister R.  Induction and prevention of low-T3 syndrome in exercising women.  Am J Physiol. 1993 May;264(5 Pt 2):R924-30.
85. Loucks AB, Heath EM.  Induction of low-T3 syndrome in exercising women occurs at a threshold of energy availability.  Am J Physiol. 1994 Mar;266(3 Pt 2):R817-23.
86. Rosolowska-Huszcz D.  The effect of exercise training intensity on thyroid activity at rest.  J Physiol Pharmacol. 1998 Sep;49(3):457-66.
87. Wirth A, Holm G, Lindstedt G, Lundberg PA, Bjorntorp P.  Thyroid hormones and lipolysis in physically trained rats.  Metabolism. 1981 Mar;30(3):237-41.
88. Opstad PK, Falch D, Oktedalen O, Fonnum F, Wergeland R.  The thyroid function in young men during prolonged exercise and the effect of energy and sleep deprivation.  Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 1984 Jun;20(6):657-69.
89. Hohtari H, Pakarinen A, Kauppila A.  Serum concentrations of thyrotropin, thyroxine, triiodothyronine and thyroxine binding globulin in female endurance runners and joggers.  Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1987 Jan;114(1):41-6.
90. Keim NL, Van Loan MD, Horn WF, Barbieri TF, Mayclin PL.  Weight loss is greater with consumption of large morning meals and fat-free mass is preserved with large evening meals in women on a controlled weight reduction regimen.  J Nutr. 1997 Jan;127(1):75-82.
91. Hirsh E, Halberg F, Goetz FC, Cressey D,  Wendt H, Sothern R, Haus E, Stoney P, Minors D, Rosen G, Hill B, Hilleren M, Garet K.  Body weight change during 1 week on a single daily 2000-calorie meal consumed as breakfast (B) or dinner (D).  Chronobiologia 1975;2(suppl 1): 31-32.
92. Jacobs H, Thompson M, Halberg E, Halberg F, Fraeber C, Levine H, Haus E.  Relative body weight loss on limited free-choice meal consumed as breakfast rather than as dinner.  Chronobiologia 1975;2(suppl 1): 33.
93. Halberg F.  Some aspects of the chronobiology of nutrition: more work is needed on “when to eat”.  J Nutr. 1989 Mar;119(3):333-43. Review.
94. Sensi S, Capani F.  Chronobiological aspects of weight loss in obesity: effects of different meal timing regimens.  Chronobiol Int. 1987;4(2):251-61.
95. Sofer S, Eliraz A, Kaplan S, Voet H, Fink G, Kima T, Madar Z. Greater weight loss and hormonal changes after 6 months diet with carbohydrates eaten mostly at dinner. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Oct;19(10):2006-14.
96. Feinman RD, Fine EJ. Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and energy efficiency in weight loss diets. Theor Biol Med Model. 2007 Jul 30;4:27. Review.
97. Asmar M, Simonsen L, Madsbad S, Stallknecht B, Holst JJ, Bülow J. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide may enhance fatty acid re-esterification in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue in lean humans. Diabetes. 2010 Sep;59(9):2160-3.
98. Dich J, Grunnet N, Lammert O, Faber P, Bjornsbo KS, Larsen LO, Neese RA, Hellerstein MC, Quistorff B.  [Effects of excessive isocaloric intake of either carbohydrate or fat on body composition, fat mass, de novo lipogenesis and energy expenditure in normal young men]  Ugeskr Laeger. 2000 Sep 4;162(36):4794-9.
99. McDevitt RM, Bott SJ, Harding M, Coward WA, Bluck LJ, Prentice AM.  De novo lipogenesis during controlled overfeeding with sucrose or glucose in lean and obese women.  Am J Clin Nutr. 2001 Dec;74(6):737-46.
100. Minehira K, Bettschart V, Vidal H, Vega N, Di Vetta V, Rey V, Schneiter P, Tappy L.  Effect of carbohydrate overfeeding on whole body and adipose tissue metabolism in humans.  Obes Res. 2003 Sep;11(9):1096-103.
101. Acheson KJ, Schutz Y, Bessard T, Ravussin E, Jequier E, Flatt JP.  Nutritional influences on lipogenesis and thermogenesis after a carbohydrate meal.  Am J Physiol. 1984 Jan;246(1 Pt 1):E62-70.
102. Schneiter P, Di Vetta V, Jequier E, Tappy L.  Effect of physical exercise on glycogen turnover and net substrate utilization according to the nutritional state.  Am J Physiol. 1995 Dec;269(6 Pt 1):E1031-6.
103. Schrauwen P, Lichtenbelt WD, Saris WH, Westerterp KR.  Fat balance in obese subjects: role of glycogen stores.  Am J Physiol. 1998 Jun;274(6 Pt 1):E1027-33.
104. Fery F, Plat L, Balasse EO.  Level of glycogen stores and amount of ingested glucose regulate net carbohydrate storage by different mechanisms.  Metabolism. 2003 Jan;52(1):94-101.
105. Flatt JP.  The difference in the storage capacities for carbohydrate and for fat, and its implications in the regulation of body weight.  Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1987;499:104-23. Review.
106. Schrauwen P, van Marken Lichtenbelt WD, Saris WH, Westerterp KR.  Role of glycogen-lowering exercise in the change of fat oxidation in response to a high-fat diet.  Am J Physiol. 1997 Sep;273(3 Pt 1):E623-9.

(After all the supporting evidence, if you still choose to listen to the experts, then go, never come back and enjoy your self-chosen torture and eternal love-handles and flapping arms. If nothing else, you should at least have a few tough questions for your guru to answer.)

Play Audio

Vincent Dizenzo brings us an interview from the Just Big Radio archives, their first show with special guest Jim “5/3/1″ Wendler, creator of the famous 5-3-1 program for building strength. 

You can download the complete MP3 here (about 20MB).

Just Big Radio will be continuing to publish shows here as we make a transition to our upcoming (and as of now) newly-announced DangerouslyHardcore.fm website, which will bring you diet and fitness-related information from Just Big Radio and many other personalities and educators in several different channels.  Look for its release in mid-March of this year.

Interview Play-by-Play

• 1:10 Drew calls in to kiss our a$$ 
• 3:10 The birth of Rhodestown, a place to get big
• 5:30 Rhodestown rules
• 6:00 Sweating for no reason
• 8:05 Rhodes’ eating woes
• 11:30 Jim Wendler phones in to Just Big
• 13:40 Bloated Jim and why he got big
• 19:00 The journey to getting big and 5/3/1
• 20:30 The Beavis and Butthead effect
• 25:10 Monster and shots
• 25:45 Jim speaks on hill sprints
• 27:20 It takes no talent to be in shape
• 29:00 Talking music with Jim
• 34:00 Mr. Wendler’s favorite big time lifts
• 38:30 Short but awesome Louie Simmons story
• 40:00 Calling out the bull$hit
• 40:40 Jim Wendler is Buck Angel
• 41:45 Talking about books

Julia Ladewski: 9 Months (and still counting) on Carb Back-Loading

I thought my husband was crazy when he first described doing Carb Back-Loading to me. He claimed that many strength athletes were getting pretty good results with losing body fat and maintaining (or building) strength.

Pfft. I thought this was another “low-carb” plan, which I had tried before and wasn’t too fond of. And I was not about to partake in anything of the sort again.

My husband had been back-loading for about a week. I took the time to read up on it and learn a little more. Then, I finally gave in and said, “Fine… I’ll give it a shot.”

Three short weeks turned to 9 months in a flash, and I never looked back. Below are my findings.

Getting Started

The first few days of skipping breakfast were a little difficult. Had coffee with heavy cream, but that was it. The hunger pangs were a little annoying because I was used to shoving a bagel or a bowl of oatmeal, or eggs and toast in my face. After a few days, it was totally manageable. I got into a groove of what fits my schedule and life and it’s been more than easy to stick with it.

My typical day looks something like the following:

• 7am – Coffee w/ heavy cream and stevia
• Noon – Lunch (ONE of the following: Large salad w/ chicken breast, Eggs
  & bacon, Chicken breast w/ veggies, Grass-fed burger (no bun) w/
  roasted broccoli, Grass-fed steak w/ roasted brussel sprouts, etc.)
• 3pm – Snack (Protein Shake and Almonds)
• 5pm – Snack (Fruit, yogurt, or hummus)
• 7-8pm – Dinner (ANYTHING! Could be pasta, tacos, chili, pancakes, soup & sandwich, etc)
• 9-10pm – Snack (Depending on what dinner was, what I felt my caloric intake was and if I trained that day or not, I may or may not have a snack. If I do, it’s usually something sweet (like chocolate) and a protein shake. Oh, and ice cream once a week.)

Keeping It Going

I thought for sure I’d get sick of it. I mean, I had tried low-carb stuff before and ended up getting sick of it (more on that below).

But carb back-loading is so easy to maintain.

Think about it: you have coffee for breakfast, a good healthy lunch, a decent snack and then whatever you want for dinner.

Sounds like some scammy infomercial for a rapid weight loss diet, huh? But that is soooo not the case. And when you understand the WHY behind it all (not eating carbs in the morning and eating carbs at night), it makes so much more sense and makes it easier to make the right decisions based on how you want to feel and perform the next day.

Family Life

Prior to starting carb back-loading in March 2011, I had fallen into the popular “Mom” diet. You know, the one where you eat the same things that the kids eat (because it’s just easier) or you have their leftovers so you don’t waste any food.

Without even realizing it, I was eating tons of processed junk and hardly any vegetables. Sure, I may have gotten lazy in what I made the kids too — which I fully realized once I started eating this way. But sometimes I would make the kids veggies or fruit, but not want to eat it myself.

In switching myself to Carb Back-Loading, here is what the family diet became:

Kids take their carb front-loading pretty seriously.

• Breakfast – I don’t have my kids back-load and they do still eat breakfast. Mostly oats, eggs, toast, yogurt and fruit and occasionally cereal.
• Lunch – My kids either eat what I’m eating for lunch (a protein and veggie) or they eat a typical “kid” meal (sandwich, a veggie or fruit and pretzels/yogurt/almonds). As you can see, Mommy couldn’t eat the same lunch as them anymore. When I started back-loading, it forced me to make a ton of veggies for lunch. Of course I ate them… but so did the kids.
• Dinner – Eating this way (back-loading) allowed us to still have family dinner time without having to make any special accommodations for anyone on a special diet. We eat the same thing and we eat together.

Being Prepared

While I wouldn’t say there were too many bumps in the road, I do have to be prepared and have some snacks ready and available at work — which, to be honest, is a good thing. I think snacking is where a lot of people get caught up in eating what’s at the office or stopping by the vending machine thinking one donut or a candy bar is ok. But on a daily basis, that adds up! (Not to mention… it’s JUNK!)

Before back-loading, I might eat a bag of baked chips or crackers or pretzels for a snack. Now, I eat almonds, protein shakes, or hard-boiled eggs — healthy snacks I should be eating anyway.

Why? Because I. Feel. Better.

I love back-loading way more than any other nutritional protocol I’ve tried in the past. I don’t feel as restricted and can still have some of the things I enjoy. At the same time, I feel that I’m making better choices, even during my back-loading time frame when I could technically eat what I want.

• While I typically don’t like nutrition protocols that “force” you to eat certain foods, I don’t feel “forced” to eat anything. I mean, really, I should be eating veggies anyway. So eating this way takes care of that. Plus, I’ve found some new veggies/recipes that I love!!!
• I usually get a sweet tooth at night. And while I could eat an entire half gallon of ice cream, I make the choice to have a protein shake and/or a bowl of oatmeal before digging in. But again, I don’t feel restricted or locked down… I can still make the choices I want.



• Here’s the big one… a REALLY BIG TAKE AWAY… I. Feel. Better.

  I feel better about the choices I make. I feel better about the foods I’m eating (no more processed junk). I feel better energy-wise. I’m not hungry. I don’t crash at 2:00 in the afternoon because I’ve carbed up all morning. I’m strong(er) and my training rocks. I feel better about the foods I’m feeding my kids.

• I don’t let eating this way control my life. It guides me in the direction I want to go by eating the foods I should be eating and love. When I have a family function to go to, I adjust accordingly. Also, 99% of the functions I attend are in the afternoon or evening anyway.
• Learning how my body responds to carbohydrates has been a real eye-opener. I never associated the afternoon fatigue, hunger and bloat to the carbs I was eating in the morning. Also learning how to time my carbohydrates has played a huge role in keeping my strength and energy levels up for the intense training sessions.
• I train in the morning and it still works for me. I’ve just started experimenting with adding in a banana to my post-workout shake and while I haven’t noticed any differences either way, I do like the idea of getting in some carbs post training.



• I don’t eat this way to lose weight, but I have learned how to adjust if I wanted to lean out. Over the course of 9 months, my weight has held relatively steady (maybe lost 2 pounds), but I’ve put a tremendous amount of muscle mass back on.

  And while I do attribute a lot of it to my intense training, I know that eating this way has helped me pick the right food choices to gain the most amount of muscle and the least amount of fat. This picture, taken in September, shows me at one of my leanest times.

Carb Back-Loading: a Lifestyle (not a “diet”)

After eating this way for nearly 9 months, I can honestly say that I can eat this way continually. It’s not a “diet” to follow; therefore, it’s not a “diet” to sabotage either. There are so many variations and if you take a day and eat breakfast or don’t back-load your carbs, it doesn’t throw anything else off. You’re right back to it the next day. I can’t stress enough the importance of why I’ve chosen to eat this way. I’m not a bodybuilder so it wasn’t for getting ripped. (Ok, so I initially tried it to see if I could lean out a little.) But after doing it for a month, my body felt so much better. I was comfortable and happy with the way I was eating.

And after all, when mom is happy, everyone is happy.

Julia Ladewski is a certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and Program Director of a Parisi Speed School. She is a sponsored athlete and Q&A member of the world’s leading strength website EliteFTS.com.

Julia is also the co-creator of Girls Gone Strong.
Find all of her information at www.julialadewski.com
Twitter: @julialadewski — Facebook: Julia.Ladewski

Play Audio

Everybody loves a good “hometown fat kid makes good” story. In this interview of Kiefer with Vincent Dizenzo on Just Big Radio, the guys discuss Carb Back-Loading, which Vincent himself has seen great success in using, and Kiefer reveals how he went from fat kid to physicist to sought-after nutritionist badass.

This amusing 40-minute interview can be downloaded in its full length here (32MB mp3).

Look for more Just Big podcasts here on Dangerously Hardcore in the very near future!

Topics Covered

• Kiefer’s Creation Story (“were you a fat kid?”) – 00:45
• How Kiefer got a Master’s degree in Physics – 02:30
  

  “I ended up with four classes of advanced physics with one-on-one teaching. And I just fell in love with it…” –Kiefer

• What Vincent thinks of Carb Back-Loading – 05:15
• How Kiefer came up with Carb Back-Loading – 06:00
• The significance of using coconut oil as fuel in the morning – 08:00
• How many hours to go before eating the first meal of the day – 10:00
• What happens with hunger in the morning (and why skipping breakfast works) – 11:55
• How “Skinny Vinny” stayed big … while readjusting his attitude toward carbs – 15:00
• Why Kiefer wants most of all for people to learn about their own bodies – 16:15
• How MUCH coconut oil should you use in the morning, and for what purposes? – 17:00
• For CARB NITE (as well as the low-carb portions of Carb Back-Loading), learn why it’s so important to use FAT (not protein!) as your primary source of calories – 19:50
• What’s wrong with the “eat 6 meals a day” approach? – 22:30
• “The most important thing is the protein load for the day” – 24:00
• Kiefer’s Favorite Myth: doing cardio to burn fat. – 25:00
• The “inner fat kid” recommends the junky carbs, but you can back-load with clean food too. – 25:30
• Thoughts on getting body measurements (calipers, DEXA, etc) to measure progress – 27:45
• Vincent gets instinctive. – 29:15
  

  “I have a feeling if I’ll be lighter the next day… I’m pretty in tune with this mess I’ve created.” –Vincent

  “These people that try to give you the exact same diet plan for every day… it just doesn’t make any sense! Your body is not the same machine every day… Unless you start to understand your body, you’re never going to have it easy.” –Kiefer

• Do you get more in tune with your body using Carb Back-Loading? – 31:15
• A listener asks “what to eat on non-training days and type of carbs after training” – 33:15
• LOLdeadlines – 34:30

About Carb Back-Loading

Carb Back-Loading, a diet protocol developed by Kiefer from years turning scientific research into contest-winning reality for the world’s top powerlifters and figure competitors, stands as “the Holy Grail” of nutrition programs: a system for building lean mass while cutting fat.

With Carb Back-Loading, you can become as lean as you want to be — whether you’re getting slim and toned for a bikini or ripped, huge, and strong like the author himself. Why sacrifice aesthetics for performance when you don’t have to?

Attention: From NOW until December 26th, 2011, the Carb Back-Loading book is available in a limited Titanium Edition at a special temporarily lowered price.

Find out more about Carb Back-Loading and what it can do for your body transformation goals — as well as the special perqs of getting in early with the Titanium Edition.

ATTENTION: The Titanium Edition is now sold out! Long live the Carbon Edition!

Carb Back-Loading: “the Holy Grail of Nutrition”

Carb Back-Loading, created by Kiefer, is the most sophisticated, science-based diet protocol designed to maximize your gains from training while keeping you as lean as you want to be — even helping you lose fat and gain lean mass at the same time.

Wait a second, did I just say “lose fat and gain lean mass at the same time”? YES. That’s why Carb Back-Loading has been called “The Holy Grail of Nutrition” by Sean Hyson of Muscle & Fitness Magazine.

Using the Carb Back-Loading approach to your meal intake and training, you will effectively learn how to turn carbs into a potent force for packing on muscle AND blasting off fat — NO calorie counting required.

Carb Back-Loading is based on scores of scientific research AND years of experience, and gets awesome results with stupid-simple implementation.

Take Jay deMayo, the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Richmond, Virginia. DeMayo dropped 9% body fat and gained 7 lbs of muscle over 12 weeks while Carb Back-Loading. His diet couldn’t have been more basic: bacon and eggs during the first half of the day, Wendy’s spicy chicken filets, fries and a frosty for dinner.

Become As Lean As You Want to Be

Use carbs like a "drug" to feed muscle and melt away fat.

Carb Back-Loading utilizes a nutritional intake method based around maximizing the impact that insulin has on muscles — and minimizing its influence over fat cells.

When we say you can be “as lean as you want to be”, we mean exactly that: this book gives you a powerful and intuitive method for CONTROLLING the way carbs affect your body.

So YOU decide:

• Do you want to get stronger AND leaner at the same time? (Use “Strength Acccumulation™”)
• Do you want to maintain your cut physique while you pack on muscle mass? (Follow “Density Bulking™”)

The Carb Back-Loading book provides specific direction for YOUR specific goals.

THE Manual for Total Body Recomposition

This 300+ page tome is not just a description of a physicist’s potent nutritional theory (and who better to weigh in on the thermodynamics of the human body than a physicist?). It’s a full-blown MANUAL for total body recomposition.

Inside you’ll find…

doing it for the nomz

• Why Carbs are not the Enemy — Learn how make carbs your fat loss “drug”
• Precise pre- and post-workout nutritional recommendations
• “Done for you” lookup tables to provide macronutrient breakdowns for your whole day
• How to make Carb Back-Loading work for ANY training time (not just the “ideal” of 3-5pm)
• Sample menus and meal plans that Kiefer has used for his own professional fitness competitor and powerlifter clients — from Ms. Natural Fitness Olympia, Alex Navarro, to world-record-holding powerlifter, Brian Carroll.
• Specific advice for women (we just don’t have the same lean mass as guys — BUT I can personally promise you can still eat cheesecake IF you time it right.)
• All of the scientific evidence supporting WHY it works, but also…
• the ability to skip the science and go straight to the program.
• Best of all: Why it is absolutely IMPERATIVE that you eat high-sugar, high-starch, total SHIT while you’re on this program

And while the evidence may be complicated to explain — this book will take you knee-deep in advanced nutrition and exercise science research — the METHOD is SIMPLE.

This book does NOT prescribe a specific training program, although Carb Back-Loading works best for people who train HARD with heavy weights: powerlifters, bodybuilders, and even elite-level Crossfitters are rocking this diet.

However, even people who have been self-reportedly doing it “wrong” have lost significant body fat while maintaining or increasing lean mass, using Carb Back-Loading:

As with others, I first read about Carb Back-loading in Muscle & Fitness. I started doing it, albeit, wrong. My morning consisted of coffee, cottage cheese, veggies, ground chuck, and nuts. My evenings were 100% Whole Wheat Bagels (with low-fat cream cheese), lean meats stacked atop whole wheat breads, and maybe, just maybe, a small 0.5 cup serving of full fat ice cream. I gained some muscle. I lost some fat. Nothing particularly earth-shattering. I moved on to a different diet.

A month back, I rediscovered Carb Back-loading and decided to give it a go in all its sugary glory, more because of scientific curiosity than weight loss. My mornings still consist of coffee, cottage, cheese, veggies, ground chuck, and nuts; however, my evenings are filled with cream cheese iced cinnamon rolls, colby cheez-its, and various Hostess snack cakes. A month into it, I’ve dropped 12 lbs, but my shirts are noticeably tighter though the chest and arms. My muscles feel so full all the time, one would think I’m shooting SuperPump Max intravenously. My confidence is up, my wardrobe selection is down, and my stock of cherry cheese danishes is running dry. All thanks to Kiefer.

Now if I could find a way to grow a mustache, my life would be complete.”

–David B. from Chillicothe, Ohio (writing in the DH forums)

All the Hot Moms Are Doing It

"I don't eat this way to lose weight, but I have learned how to adjust if I wanted to lean out." --Julia Ladewski

Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as “eating clean” on Carb Back-Loading — and you’ll find out how to make clean eating work just as well as eating “total shit” when you read the book.

Just ask Julia Ladewski, EliteFTS Q&A writer and powerlifter, and mom of 2 (who, incidentally, does her training in the morning), who told us that she “feels better” and makes better food choices because of Carb Back-Loading:

“I love back-loading way more than any other nutritional protocol I’ve tried in the past. I don’t feel as restricted and can still have some of the things I enjoy. At the same time, I feel that I’m making better choices, even during my back-loading time frame when I could technically eat what I want.”

Look for an upcoming guest post from Ladewski — also the co-creator of Girls Gone Strong — about her experiences and lessons learned in the past 8 months of doing Carb Back-Loading.

Get Freaky Huge Without the Fat

author Kiefer walks away from a boring explosion

Traditional mass-building advice goes something like this: “Growing is easy! Just get the calories in, bro!”

And they’re right! You’ll put on plenty of muscle that way (assuming you’re training). The problem is that when you eat indiscriminantly, your body puts on mass indiscriminantly as well — meaning lots of muscle AND lots of fat.

The “pudgy powerlifter” is a stereotype for a reason!

But using Carb Back-Loading’s Density Bulking™ technique, you’ll have a tool most of them don’t: a tool that lets you keep putting on lean mass while maintaining or even improving that Cut-and-Jacked physique you worked so hard to achieve.

Kiefer’s his own best testimonial for this one: he maintains 230lbs at 8% bodyfat YEAR ROUND . . .

. . . And he eats like SHIT too!

Why sacrifice aesthetics for performance when you can have both?

Titanium is the New Black

As a bonus to everybody who purchases the book before December 26, 2011, we’ll put your names down as Titanium Members of the upcoming Carb Back-Loading membership-only website where we’ll be launching the Carb Back-Loading diet and training calculator, as well as providing a series of free updates, recipes, Q&A, and discounted supporting products to maximize your results. Titanium Members will get the unique ability to elect to pay only a fixed up-front cost to join the site and NO monthly fees.

Note: If you do take advantage of this opportunity, DON’T LOSE TRACK OF YOUR COPY. After this week, you will not be able to re-download this special edition of the book — and you will need it to become a Titanium Member of the site. We’ll talk more about what that means later, but for now just assume that it means you are better than everyone else.

Next Tuesday (December 20th, 2011) On December 26th, 2011, we have to bring the price back up to $89, so I hope you’ll take advantage of the price drop while it lasts.

Expect Progress

Ms. Natural Fitness Olympia, Alex Navarro, trains on Carb Back-Loading

This release of the Carb Back-Loading book is version 1.0, and while a physicist-level obsession with accuracy and comprehensiveness has been applied to this release, we know better than to think that the first version will be the last.

The forums and the membership site (when it’s up) will help us judge how the book could stand to be improved — so definitely keep the questions, comments, and swear words coming.

We’ll guarantee that upcoming versions of the book will be free for all Titanium Members, and you’ll be able to download supplements and addenda as soon as they are available.

What are you waiting for?

Buy the Carb Back-Loading Titanium Edition — only available before December 26th, 2011 — and you’re entitled to all of these privileges:

Order now and get the Titanium Edition -- available only until Dec 26th, 2011.

• Temporarily lowered price of $79 (our apologies for missing our deadline!)
• Entrance to the upcoming Carb Back-Loading membership website at a one-time-only (instead of monthly) fee
• Guaranteed lifetime book updates

And these benefits are only available to you early-adopters who get the Titanium book edition. (SOLD OUT!! — get Carb Back-Loading Carbon Edition HERE.)

This is our way of saying THANK YOU for waiting patiently as we blundered through this book release process, for asking great questions, for sharing your stories with us, and for helping make a book like this POSSIBLE.

Without your enthusiastic support, Kiefer would be lying in a ditch somewhere in Vienna still stuffing his face with delicious pastries.

Got Questions?

You’re welcome to peruse the DH Forums, where you’ll find hundreds of helpful participants (as well as Kiefer and myself), many of whom have already experienced a great deal of success on Carb Back-Loading already.

You may also be interested to read about Kiefer, the author of this book, and if you have any more comments, questions, or concerns, please use the Contact page to send us a note.

Alright. We know you’re waiting. We promised the Carb Back-Loading book release for this past Friday, and despite our best efforts, we blew it.

I just know it: many of you were counting on being able to read the book over the weekend so you could start or improve your Carb Back-Loading program this week.

Lame excuse time. We’re publishing through the same agency that Kiefer used for The Carb Nite Solution, so we counted on the same process being in place to publish the new book. Unfortunately — without going into details — that was a bad assumption to make. No one’s fault but our own: we decided to work up to the wire and didn’t give ourselves any buffer for error.

I feel terrible. Missing deadlines is lame. We’re going to have to figure out some way to make it up to you guys.

A months' worth of carb-restricted stress relief

Thanks again for sticking with this, asking questions in the forums, and just generally being all-around excellent people.

Speaking of the forums: I installed a module that allows our forum to be reformatted for use in an Android and iPhone app called Tapatalk. The Tapatalk app makes forum interaction faster and easier from a smartphone. So now you forum addicts can easily read and reply while on-the-go. (Hmm, that’s actually terrifying, maybe this was a bad idea. Guess we’ll see how it goes!)

If you try Tapatalk, you’ll find Dangerously Hardcore’s forum in the “Sports: Bodybuilding” subcategory.

Kiefer's been kicking his OWN ass pretty hard to get the book published.

Oh, you want to know when the book is coming out! Um, soon! We’re just working out the kinks in the book’s digital delivery system… stay tuned.

If you’re already on the Carb Back-Loading list via getting the CB free report, then you’ll be among the first to know when the book is out. No need to camp out and hit reload all day. Thanks for your amazing patience and enthusiasm!

In which we find Kiefer coming out of hiding for a day, only to go back into hiding all this weekend so we can finish this damn book. Also, a little more about the Carb Back-Loading diet software.

I met up with Kiefer Friday afternoon, and as some of you will know from reading the forums, he’s doing a bit better. We surveyed the work ahead of us, and after a week’s worth of recovering from kryptonite exposure, it looks like we’re exactly a week behind.

So. New release date: Friday, December 9th.

When is that “software” coming out? and what will it cost?

We’ve been talking about some “diet software” to accompany the Carb Back-Loading book. While the underlying mechanics have been done for quite while (Kiefer actually coded this stuff up to help come up with diet plans for his own clients), there’s work that needs to be done to integrate this “back end” stuff with an interface.

The plan is to release the software about a month after the Carb Back-Loading book has launched. The first iteration of this product will allow you to do the following:

• Create a Carb Back-Loading Diet Plan for a whole week.
• Get a diet sculpted to your specific training time, whether it’s morning, afternoon, or night.
• Have each meal dictated right down to individual foods — but you’ll have the option of “swapping out” foods you don’t like for foods you prefer.
• Get specific post-workout macronutrient recommendations for your individual needs.

More on the “food swapping” feature: if, for example, you get a meal such as “bacon, eggs, and spinach” and you decide you don’t like bacon, you’ll be able to click on the bacon and load up a food that’s roughly equivalent in macronutrients to that particular part of the meal — say, smoked salmon.

Over time we’ll be using those swaps to give people a more targeted range of recommendations for their meals, as we collect information about what people seem to like. The result will be better and tastier meal plans for everybody, the more people use the system.

You will be able to come up with your own plans using the Carb Back-Loading book, of course. The diet software will just make it dead simple and “done for you”.

The software will be part of a membership-only web application. Some parts of it may be available free, but the meat of it will be available only through a monthly premium membership. However, we’re going to need guinea pigs to spend some time using it before we really invite a lot of people, so people who buy the Carb Back-Loading book within the first month of its release (in the time leading up to the software release) will have access to a special “charter member” deal for discounted access. You’ll see more about that in future updates.

If you’re a trainer, or you have friends who aren’t gonna take the plunge to try Carb Back-Loading unless you seriously spell everything out for them, or if you just don’t have time to make meal plans for yourself, this software’s going to be one of your favorite tools in your arsenal.

About the Free Book Drawing

Some of you quite astutely pointed out that I never mentioned a drawing date.

The free Carb Back-Loading books will be chosen when we reach 100 unique posts (as in “unique authors”) in each forum, OR when the book is released.

Here are the forums where you can post for a chance to win one of 14 free books:

• Your experiences with Carb Back-Loading so far – if you’ve tried the system and had success (or not)
• What do you find confusing about Carb Back-Loading? – questions on your mind about how to make this system work.

As of this writing, there’s still room for more posts, so if you’ve been hanging back waiting to post, or you know someone who hasn’t been paying attention the blog lately, go make your post or poke that guy in the arm.

No Fancy Conclusions or References Here

We need to just keep our heads down and get the book out.

Hope you’re having a good weekend. Seems to be sunny in the Bay Area but I haven’t actually seen the daystar in a while…!

Hey everybody, Naomi here. We have a bunch of important announcements to make. I promise if you read all the way down to the bottom it’ll be worth it.

Even superheroes have weaknesses

Thanksgiving came and went, and I was grateful for Carb Back-Loading. It’s nice knowing that when you’ll be faced with Aunt Laura’s insanely sugary pecan pie, you can plan to train hard before Thanksgiving dinner to make pie a feature of your progress rather than the emblem of your defeat.

Kiefer's going to kill me for posting this.

Well, apparently for a certain “I don’t give a fuck” badass, Thanksgiving wasn’t enough. Sometime Saturday night, Kiefer came down with a nasty case of food poisoning. The details are unknown to me (I’m thinking it’s better this way, bleh) and I only heard from him by text message early Sunday evening while I was at the gym.

Reopening the Forums

We’ve quietly had this on the back-burner for a little while, because we didn’t want to make any extra promises before the Carb Back-Loading release. Now I’m pleased to announce that the Dangerously Hardcore forums are ready and waiting to accept your comments, questions, experiences, and nonsequiturs with open arms.

If you had a forum identity before the big site reboot last month, I regret to say that your old account couldn’t be imported. We’re using a different forum system from before, and we ended up with an insane amount of spam accounts due to the previous system not checking for spambots during site registration.

The new registration process should be quick and painless. I hope you’ll take a few seconds to join.

Really, have at it. Don’t make a big mess, I just swept up in there.

Can Haz Carb Back-Loading?

Man, you guys are awesome. So patient, so enthusiastic.

Here’s where things are at. We announced a November 30th full release date a few weeks ago, assuming we’d kick ass all through Thanksgiving weekend to get everything done.

Jebus, look at those typos. He's obviously on his deathbed.

Now, with Kiefer’s temporary setback, I think we’re going to be a few days late. Neither of us is happy about that, as we’ve been pretty keen on keeping the pressure on, keeping up with comments, and meeting our own deadlines.

We feel pretty bad about the delay. And since we have a few days to kill before Kiefer fully recovers (although I see he’s already back responding to questions today!), I want to make you guys an offer.

How to Get the Carb Back-Loading Book Free

We have the book coming out at $87 when it goes live (hopefully at the end of this week), but we don’t have the “sales machine” set up yet, and I’m anxious to get this into someone’s hands.

Here’s the deal. The first 100 people who get on the forums and post about their experiences (good or bad!) using Carb Back-Loading to date, just based on your knowledge from reading Kiefer’s articles around the web, will be entered in a random drawing to win the book for FREE. We’ll pick 7 people out of that 100.

And for those of you who haven’t tried it, I’ll pick 7 out of the first 100 people who write a post describing something you find confusing about Carb Back-Loading and why you haven’t tried it yet.

Again, sorry for the delay! I can kick his ass all I want but it’s not going to keep him from eating one too many whole chickens, apparently.