lean strength athletes

[jeremys]

we all know the stereotype that powerlifters and strongmen are fatasses. but if you look at b-fold, mendelson, vogelpohl, pudzianowski, captain kirk, etc, you see that this just isnt true.

low-carb diets really won't work for strength athletes, as carbs are needed to fuel training and recovery.

so what do these guys/you guys do to be rather lean? im thinking just the basics..a little cardio/GPP, not mixing fat and carbs, and not eating sugary crap.

anything else?

 

[spatts]

Diet and the calories in/out factor.

Personally, I carb rotate. That way I always have enough fuel for my training, but not any left over that storing extra is a problem.

I also do alot of agility work, sprints, and other GPP...as you mentioned.

So yeah, I think you're ideas are pretty accurate.

 

[IronLion]

You can mix fat and carbs all you want, the menardi plan is a good one for bb because it allows for lean bulking but it is not the best strength wise.

One thing I have noticed is that once my lbm got up above 260 pounds it became hard to put on weight, especially when training. Take Bill Kazemeyer for example: he was 330 pounds at 8-10% bf in his prime. That means his lbm was around 300 pounds. That means that his basal metabolic rate was somewhere at 5-6000 calories BEFORE training. As you can see it would take an inhuman daily intake of food to create a calorie surplus.

 

[Zander1983]

Good thread jeremys.

We'll take proper weight training as a given, obviously...

There's no doubt that energy system training is incredibly important. Not slow-go hour-long bullshit cardio. Real stuff like sprinting, interval training, 400m runs... This type of training is not going to compromise strength or lean muscle gain. It can enhance both if used correctly.

How you use carbs is crucial, I think. Type and timing are especially important when you're concerned about being lean. I'm not really into worrying about whether I should be avoiding carbs at night time before bed, but I do think it is important to time the right type of carbs around your workout. Low GI before, high GI after, quite simply.

There's a lot more to it than that, however...

 

[jeremys]

There's a lot more to it than that, however...

please elaborate if and when possible. thanks

 

[Zander1983]

Well, the guys you mention are a choice bunch from the genetic pool. That's something you can't train or manipulate. Sure, at 175lbs and 17 years old you would've never said that about b fold, but you have to concede that not everybody can get to where he has got naturally in such a short time frame.

As for low carb diets not working for strength athletes, that isn't necessarily true either. Poliquin has his footballers such as Dave Boston on diets that are what the majority of athletes would consider extremely low-carb. Likewise John Davies. Their diets promote quality produce rather than excessive carb intake.

 

[jeremys]

Well, the guys you mention are a choice bunch from the genetic pool. That's something you can't train or manipulate. Sure, at 175lbs and 17 years old you would've never said that about b fold, but you have to concede that not everybody can get to where he has got naturally in such a short time frame.

As for low carb diets not working for strength athletes, that isn't necessarily true either. Poliquin has his footballers such as Dave Boston on diets that are what the majority of athletes would consider extremely low-carb. Likewise John Davies. Their diets promote quality produce rather than excessive carb intake.

i know that for me, the low-carb route is hell on my strength and energy levels. i've heard others say the same things happened to them. it's interesting that a few can make it work. i suppose 'low-carb' is relative also

 

[Zander1983]

For those people, low carb doesn't mean no carb. They still have their high GI carbs during and after training, and plenty of oatmeal and good quality vegetables, on top of the meat and the like. Relative to other athletes they are very low carb, but relative to a bodybuilder, it would be a moderate to low (not no) carb diet.

 

[jeremys]

For those people, low carb doesn't mean no carb. They still have their high GI carbs during and after training, and plenty of oatmeal and good quality vegetables, on top of the meat and the like. Relative to other athletes they are very low carb, but relative to a bodybuilder, it would be a moderate to low (not no) carb diet.

oh. gotcha.

 

[SeanHolmz]

genetics and the sauce helps too. no, im not referring to you, b-fold.

 

[casualbb]

menardi plan is a good one for bb because it allows for lean bulking but it is not the best strength wise.

Where can I find that one?

 

[Debaser]

Do you mean berardi?

 

[spatts]

We will never know what it really takes until people are honest about how they got where they went. Unfortunately, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble being honest. Until then, we have to assume that genetic freaks are few and far between.

 

[louden_swain]

low-carb diets really won't work for strength athletes, as carbs are needed to fuel training and recovery.

I couldn't agree more. . .without carbs I would lack mental and physical strength. . plus I couln't make any appreciable gains.

 

[b fold the truth]

Sure, at 175lbs and 17 years old you would've never said that about b fold, but you have to concede that not everybody can get to where he has got naturally in such a short time frame.

10 years is a short time frame???

I was 175 at 16. I was also 152 at 16.

I am decently lean because I am active...plain and simple. I have been a fat 306 and then decided to be a lot more healthy and in shape...and dropped down to about 269 I think. After two years of Strongman training...I am at 280-290...

I just don't see 10 years of HARD training a 'short time frame'.

B True

 

[Zander1983]

My mistake. I thought you started at 17 and were 24 now.

 

[Zander1983]

B, to clarify properly... I absolutely didn't mean to detract from the amount of work, heart and sacrifice that has got you where you are today

 

[collegiateLifter]

a Nice big Corset generally helps you lift big weights. There are exceptions of course, but never try to make rules with the exceptions. That's data snooping at its worst form.

Obviously some strenth athletes can survive on low carbs (and no boston wasn't one of them.... common misconception) as Dipasqualie and his Anabolic diet enjoyed some success.

But overall, superheavy powerlifters and weightlifters are fat.

 

[IronLion]

Where can I find that one?

sorry brainfart....i meant berardi's massive eating, basically rotating carb+protein, and protein+fat meals to keep from raising insulin with fat present. The thing is you will need insulin spikes if you want to get the most from the consumed protein so I don't consider it a great diet for an athlete that is not worried about bodyfat.

 

[slinky]

Berardi's Massive Eating "lean" protocol is like this: if you eat 6-meals in a day. Your first three meals would be P&C and the last three meals, P&F.

This was just a rough breakdown, btw.

As for "lean strength athletes", such strongman competitors like Pudzianowski perform alot of HIIT as part of their regular training regimen. Strongman demands not only just strength but conditioning. You need explosiveness/speed in alot of the events; so bare strength can only take you so far.

The HIIT that Pudzianowski and other European strongman do maintains their BF levels as well. BUT that's just a nice side benefit. It's the conditioning that's the true benefit.

 

[casualbb]

Would the eat-everything-in-sight diet be better if fat gain weren't a concern?

 

[b fold the truth]

Would the eat-everything-in-sight diet be better if fat gain weren't a concern?

I eat everything in sight...

Read IronLion's post again...

B True