The Off Season?
by Mazz
The off season. What a ****in' misrepresentation… I call it the growth season. This is the opportunity to pack on the freaky ****in' size and mass. I love the feeling of blowing up and having the size and energy to throw around crazy weight that makes people stop and stare when I'm starting my heavy sets.
But this isn't the time of year for me to get sloppy and undisciplined with the diet. Yeah, I want the size, but I don't want to blow up to 260 lb. of blubber… Not me baby. I'm after the mass that will pay off in the long run and be noticed when and where it counts--on stage. So I don't go into the growth season with a half-ass plan, gorging myself with **** calories and getting enormous. I pay attention to detail when eating to gain mass, keeping consistency and variation as the two principles that rule my dieting life.
Consistency. No matter what is happening in my life, I'm getting my ****ing 6 meals in today. I take this attitude into everyday in the growth season. Sometimes it takes planning and time management but I'm ****ing dedicated to my passion of bodybuilding so it has just become my normal way of life. I don't even think about missing meals. If someone is inconvenienced by my eating, **** 'em. I just get it done.
Variation. Just like a pre-contest diet, I have a well-developed and thought out plan. I incorporate high, medium, and low carb intake days when my goal is to gain quality mass. The logic behind this diet is to vary the number of calories of protein, carbs, and fats to drive my body into a heightened state of anabolism. I've developed a 2-week cycle to help make gains while minimizing the garbage fat.
Days 1-5
For the first 5 days, I eat a base of 2 grams of carbs and 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass (not my total weight). I don't worry about fat intake right now. The fats will come from the protein sources of beef, chicken, and whole eggs. I prepare these foods simply.
Days 6-10
I bump up the cals by consuming 3 grams of carbs per pound of lean weight and continue taking in 1 gram of protein. The high level of calories from carbs will saturate the muscles with glycogen. This will help fuel my training and allow for maximal energy and output in the gym and spare the protein cals from being used as fuel for my workouts.
Days 11-12
After loading up on carbs, I might continue to make gains while dropping my carb intake. My glycogen levels will fall and this might seem like a bad idea, but it will pay off in the long run. I take my protein intake up to 2 grams per pound of lean mass and drop the carb intake to 1 gram. This will provide the body with enough calories so that I won't drop weight and, at the same time, I'll be providing the body with the aminos it needs to prevent catabolism. This ratio of protein to carbs improves insulin sensitivity in muscles and primes the body to soak up the greater amounts of carbs coming on days 13 and 14.
This is also the time to take in a few more fat cals. I switch my protein sources to include fattier cuts of meat and a few more whole eggs. I might add in a few tablespoons of flax or safflower oil throughout the day. The adjustment in fats will improve muscle-building hormone levels. Hardcore training can cause an increase in cortisol and the higher fat uptake has been proven to defeat this by boosting the anabolic hormones in the body such as testosterone.
Days 13-14
Time to belly up to the table. I've set my body up to store more carbs. So here they ****in' come. Temporarily overeating causes thyroid, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor levels to rise. These are vital hormones that are required for growth and this approach uses the hormones and calories consumed on these 2 days to my advantage. I take the carbs back up to 3-4 grams and protein to 1.5 grams per pound of lean mass.
This phase following the days 11 and 12 will saturate the glycogen stores again and encourage the muscle to fill up more than before. I take advantage of this and fill up the muscles and keep growing. At the end of the cycle, I start over. The variations in calories will help ensure that my gains are quality mass with minimal fat.
You have a plan on how you're gonna attack your workouts, so be smart and map out what you're gonna eat. While you're throwing around sick **** in the gym, do your body a favor and feed it the right amount of fats, proteins, and carbs to maximize recovery and growth. As far as I'm concerned, anyone can get into the ****ing gym 5 days a week. Only the hardcore sonofabitch who lives the life 24/7 has the right to call himself an Animal.
This is from Animalpak.com
Im thinkin of givin this a shot, but im not to sure if I agree with the one gram of protein per pound of lean mass. I might just twick it a little. What do you guys think about this article? | 
