UNIVERSITY Offseason Push Phase Planning and Decision Making Lesson Overview • • • • • • • • • • What is the Push Phase Initial Nutrition Set Up Initial Cardio Set Up Initial PED Set Up Decision Making for Stalls How much to adjust calories by When to adjust protein, carbohydrates, and fats Adjusting PEDs mid push Sample Push phase monitoring and adjustments When and how to end the Push Phase The Push Phase The Push Phase: progressively increasing muscle mass up • Food will Progressively Increase into a Surplus • Cardio will be set at baseline for health • Training Stimulus will Progressively increase (more reps, load, sets) • If Enhanced, PED usage will Progressively increase for new growth Tools to Track: Weekly Pictures Waist Circumference largest caliper sites Body weight Fasting Blood Glucose Weekly Blood Pressure Daily Step Count Gym Performance Biofeedback Lets look at each variable set up… Nutrition Push Phase Set Up Nutrition Recommendations Carbohydrate Weekly weight change novice/interme diate Weekly weight change advanced Energy Protein Fat Gaining 10-20% above maintenance kcal 1.0-1.5 g/lb/day 0.30.7g/lb /day 1.0-3.0+ g/lb/day 0.25-0.5% per week 0.25% per week to every other week Cutting 20-30% below maintenance 1.0-1.5 g/lb/day 0.30.7g/lb /day 1.0-3.0+ g/lb/day 0.5-1.0% per week 0.5-1.0% per week *During cutting phase limit reducing fat and carb below minimum recommendations Initial transition into a push food volume increase may create an initial larger increase in body weight gain, this should not be adjusted for Cardio/NEAT Push Set Up Offseason cardio should be in place for health benefits at minimum of 3-4 days x 20 moderate intensity cardio If a client has a very active job and reaches above 10,000 steps per day this can be a time to remove cardio as food volumes can become excessively high to keep up with calorie expenditure A very sedentary person you might need to give them a minimum step goal and cardio Another client might have a metabolic baseline that is low and food volume is low in turn This is a client we would want to drive up step count on or increase cardio I like to limit offseason cardio to 5-6 days x 35 if the offseason when able Remember gym performance comes first in the offseason We don’t want so much cardio it impedes muscle gain For cardio modality low intensity walking will be best to drive up energy expenditure with minimal impact on performance For direct cardio, moderate intensity treadmill walking or the elliptical is a good option for low impact Lighter bodyweight athletes and females especially will be able to handle higher cardio volumes and modalities with increased impact (stairmaster) PEDs Push Set Up Set up will be based on previous cycles and rate of progress Implement the baseline start of the blast cycle The initial introduction of PEDs I prefer to introduce a variable and hold the rest constant to see a response So, start cycle hold diet constant and lets the PEDs drive up body weight We might see more roundness and hardness, or roundness and softness from some water retention Hunger can be noted to increase as well After this initial response we can then make diet adjustments Sample Set Up Push week Athlete Stats: Bber 220l bs 10% body fa t, Glute 9mm, L back 10mm, subscap 8mm, waist 34”, Arm 18”, Qua d 28” BP: 110/70 mmHg; Fa sting BG: 82 mg/dL Ra te of gain: 0.25-0.5% per week Nutrition 3030 kca l 300g ca rbs , 300g protein, 70g fat 15% ca l orie surplus Cardio s ession x 20mi nutes treadmill 10% i ncline 3.0mph Step goal: 5000 per day Training: Pus h Pul l Arms Legs Off repeat PEDS 16 week push Tes t cypi onate 300mg/wk Pri mobolan enanthate 300mg/wk Na ndrolone phenyl proprionate 200mg/wk Growth Hormone 2IU hour pre training 2IU prebedtime Metformi n 500mg with last meal Tel misartan 20mg with meal La b work: 10 weeks i nto cycl e Push Phase Decision Tree Ma s sing Stall Adherence high >7-14 days No change to plan, address adherence NO YES Sca l e weight increase within goal rate? EX: 0.25-0.5% per week? YES NO NO La rge weight i ncrease No cha nge or a decrease Vi s ually l ook softer a nd ca l iper sites increasing? YES Wa s energy expenditure higher? NO Consider lower energy surplus YES NO Increase Calorie Surplus No change to plan No change to plan if back to normal week, increase calories if not Vi s ually l ook softer a nd caliper sites increasing? YES NO Tra i ning Performance i ncreasing? No change to plan Other fa ctors involved? Di gestion Intact PED i ncrease Mens trual cycl e Food Volume i ncrease Poor Sl eep Stress Wa ter retention from tra i ning NO Vi s ually l ook s ofter and ca l iper sites i ncreasing? YES NO NO YES YES Is recovery a n i s sue? YES No change to plan, monitor fat gain rate closely Consider lower energy surplus NO Review criteria for need of deload and adjust volume 1st Consider increase in training volume 2nd Consider increase in PEDs if health markers in check No change to plan Adjusting Calories and Macros General Rules: Make one change at a time Add food around training first Add food to meals when hunger is highest second Increasing Calories No change or decrease in weight add 20% calories Weight change is at bottom end of range add 10% calories Weight change is at middle or top end of range, no change Weight change is above range decrease 5-10% calories Assess next week and adjust accordingly Which macros to adjust? Adjusting Protein When should we increase protein? Weight change is correct but gaining too much body fat, lower carbs and increase protein Hunger is really high, but rate of gain is on track (post show) When should we decrease protein? Hunger is very low GI bloating and flatulence Protein should be within target of 1-1.5g/lb of Body weight, so usually last macro to adjust Adjusting Carbohydrates Primary macronutrient to adjust in surplus caveat protein and fat are already set-in optimal ranges Don’t lower below 1g/lb of body weight as gym performance may be sacrificed Advantage high CHO: Insulin anabolism and anti catabolic Carbs less readily stored as fat Fuel anaerobic training Pumps Faster digestion and hunger increase CHO too high: Large food volumes Higher appetite and hunger Less palatable Strict meal planning Adjusting Fats If fats are set within optimal ranges, adjust carbs up first Don’t lower fats below 0.3g/lb of body weight in offseason Advantage high fat: Ease of Calorie Surplus (Carbs too high is unpalatable) Slowed Digestion and Hunger (Hunger is still high despite protein increase) Low food volumes (trough of rice is nauseating) Fats too High: Low insulin levels Lowered gym performance Can over suppress appetite for hard gainer Easy fat storage Lower glycogen levels (AMPK) Adjusting PEDs Mid Push Phase This is a last resort option and unlikely needed More prevalent during long duration offseason Pushes This adjustment might be noted and accounted for during next push phase Make sure: Nutrition Progression is happening Realization of body fat increase and no further gym performance All recovery variables are in check Training has been progressive and no deload is needed Health parameters are in check At this point It may take more PEDs to continue to make progressions Use a small incremental increase to see out more progress 100mg increase per week is likely all that is needed Compound choice will be dependent on managing side effects and advancement of level Example: 100mg Primobolan increase is a lot different than 100mg testosterone increase effect wise Hypothetical Male Bber Push Phase Progression Wk weight caliper arm quad waist BP BG rate of gain Calories Macros Cardio NEAT Training PEDS Wk 220 9,10,8 Wk 224 9,10,8 18 28 34 Wk 225.2 9,11,9 18.25 28.25 34 wk 225.4 9,11,9 18.25 28.25 34.1 wk 225.4 9,10,9 18.25 28.25 34.1 wk 226.2 10,11,9 18.3 28.3 34.2 227 10,10,9 18.3 28.4 34.2 18.4 28.5 34.2 110/70 112/72 111/73 114/72 115/70 114/72 115/72 82 84 83 84 83 87 83 0.4 1.8 0.5 0.08 0.35 0.35 3030 3030 3030 3030 3430 3430 3430 300/300/70 300/300/70 300/300/70 300/300/70 400/300/70 400/300/70 400/300/70 3x20 3x20 3x20 3x20 3x20 3x20 3x20 5000 4900 5300 5400 8000 5200 5200 PPALO PPALO PPALO PPALO PPALO PPALO PPALO tes t 300; tes t 300; tes t 300; tes t 300; Pri mo tes t 300; Pri mo tes t 300; Pri mo tes t 300; Pri mo Pri mo 300; Pri mo 300; Pri mo 300; 300; NPP 200; GH 300; NPP 200; 300; NPP 200; 300; NPP 200; NPP 200; GH NPP 200; GH NPP 200; GH 4IU; Metformin GH 4IU; GH 4IU; GH 4IU; 4IU; 4IU; 4IU; 500; tel mi 20 Metformi n 500; Metformi n 500; Metformi n 500; Metformi n Metformi n Metformi n tel mi 20 tel mi 20 tel mi 20 500; tel mi 20 500; tel mi 20 500; tel mi 20 pics ful l er ful l er s a me rder s l ight watery ful l er look Diet/hunger hunger hunger same hunger high i ncrease pos tworkout s a me l ower i ncrease Stregth i ncrease i ncrease i ncrease i ncrease ma i ntain del oad PRS Changes 10 NONE NONE 8.5 6.5 Add 50g ca rbs to pre a nd post Steps high, hold Del oad, hold workout meal di et same di et same NONE 10 Renee Jewett’s Post Show Log Excerpt Ending the Push Phase Time to end the Push? Digestion Issues? Training Stalling? Joint/connective tissue issues? BP and BG elevating? Mental Fatigue? Holding phase needed prior to prep? Training: Last week of push phase run a deload Recovery will still be high PEDs will still be high to aid nutrient partitioning Nutrition Hold diet the same based on body comp for last week of push phase to aid recovery Cardio Can be held constant at this time PEDS 16 week push Last week of PED blast to transition into lower dosages Lab work Drawn post deload Summary Push phase is the progression up in muscle mass requiring progressive food, training and PEDs The decision process to handle stalls should be made based on subjective and objective data to make accurate adjustments Carbohydrates will be our primary macro for adjustment given that protein and fats are optimal Notes should be made of progress made for PED progression if following blasts or within current blast Next lets move to setting up and progressing in a Hold Phase  ... carbohydrates, and fats Adjusting PEDs mid push Sample Push phase monitoring and adjustments When and how to end the Push Phase The Push Phase The Push Phase: progressively increasing muscle mass... PEDs Mid Push Phase This is a last resort option and unlikely needed More prevalent during long duration offseason Pushes This adjustment might be noted and accounted for during next push phase. .. Log Excerpt Ending the Push Phase Time to end the Push? Digestion Issues? Training Stalling? Joint/connective tissue issues? BP and BG elevating? Mental Fatigue? Holding phase needed prior to