Construction Project

Cement mixing for winners

Having finished his first physique show last month, a Team Segugio Athlete undergoes a diet and training overhaul for a productive offseason. This should provide some idea of how a proper regimen is created.

Training History: ~6 Months
Training Status: Novice
Height: 5'8
Weight: 180
Target Weight: 195
Calculated BMR: ~2400
Total Daily Energy Expenditure: ~3400 (training), ~3000 (active rest)
Target Calories: ~4000 (+/- 2.5%)

Training Overview 

Because of his novice status, he still has much to gain from a basic linear progression program which focuses on compound lifts of moderate (70-85%) intensity, moderate volume, standard tempo (2-0-1-0), and loosely enforced rest intervals. I won't go into the specifics of what I assigned him; that is confidential information. Personal Training and Nutrition Counseling sessions are available for purchase.

Because he is active duty Army, he does forty minutes of moderate intensity aerobic work on weekdays. Weight training is conducted on a weekly 5/2 split. If you guessed Monday-Friday, you are correct. The predicted combined expenditure for weekday training is +800. Non-exercise physical activity accounts for the remaining +200.

Weekends consist of active rest, the definition of which varies wildly among individuals. Segugio Brand active rest is programmed to reflect fitness level and stated goals. For this client, that entails 20-25 minutes of moderate intensity cardio, 40-50 minutes of low intensity cardio, or an hour of informal sport or labor. The target expenditure is +400, though this will vary depending on the choice of activity. Intake remains consistent to facilitate recovery.

Expected Gains

Despite what the uninformed would have you believe, the +5000 calorie differential is not equivalent to its calculated mass; that is, it does not imply the gain of 1.6 pounds. We can control intake with precision, but expenditure will always remain variable.

Considerations:

1. Thermic effect of food
2. Digestive efficiency
3. Fluctuating hormone levels (from stress, lack of sleep, etc)
4. Non-exercise physical activity
5. Daily variances in quality of training
6. BMR increases with lean mass
7. Work increases with mass  

We can assume about 80% efficiency in terms of calories available for construction, but those processes require their own calories to operate, and the scope and speed of any adaptation is largely individual. Add to all of these uncertainties electrolyte balance and water retention, and you have a good case for not using a scale.

We're looking for consistent increases in strength and muscle size. The training journal and mirror have far more functionality in this matter. Weight will be taken once every 2-3 weeks to re-calibrate diet in accordance with goals. For most athletes, I would allow very wide parameters for acceptable rate of gain, but because muscularity is secondary to conditioning in physique, we are keeping a very low ceiling. It would do no good to put more work on him when he starts his next cut, especially since his favorite activity is missing Saturday morning cardio.

Diet:

Meal 1: 5 egg whites, 3 slices whole milk cheese, 1/2 cup oatmeal

Meal 2: 50g whey (Isoflex), 12oz unsweetened coconut milk, 1/4 cup steel cut oats

Meal 3: 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, 1 cup long grain brown rice, 1/2 Hass avocado, 2 TBSP sour cream, raw tomato

OR

1lb 95% ground beef, 1 cup long grain brown rice, leafy green vegetable of choice

Meal 4: Same as Meal 2

Meal 5: 20oz lean fish (Tilapia, Flounder, Swai, etc), 1/2 lb. pasta, 1 TBSP butter

OR

14oz lean fish, 6oz fatty fish (Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, etc), 1/2 lb. pasta

Notes:

Approximately 3,975 calories, rough 40:40:20 macronutrient distribution.

Excellent protein diversity (3-4 sources)

Good incorporation of saturated fats, Medium Chain Triglycerides, and Omega-3s into diet.

No supplements other than Isoflex.


And that's all you need to do. Every day. For the rest of your life.






  

Appetite for Instruction

Appetite for Instruction - A Guide to Preparation of Foodstuffs for Persons Involved in Sport 

Because proper diets are utilitarian, rather than gustatory, they very seldom contain foods which people would eat by choice. Though we’re limited to painfully unappetizing foods, some kitchen skills can make most things palatable. I often see bodybuilders resign themselves to containers of chicken and rice with no trace of seasoning, or perhaps with some “Mrs. Dash” or equally repulsive garbage.

Below are some personal recipes for success. I strongly suggest learning and appreciating your herbs and spices, as they will prove invaluable.

Mother Hubert’s Chicken 

In a gallon size Ziploc bag:

4 Chicken Breasts, trimmed, rinsed, and patted dry
1 TBSP Ground White Pepper
1 TBSP Ground Red (Thai) Pepper
2 TBSP Dry Basil
4 TBSP Dry Parsley
2 TBSP Minced Garlic
1 TBSP Greek Oregano
1 TBSP Thyme
½ TBSP Rosemary
2-3 Ounces Worcestershire Sauce

Remove air from bags, seal, distribute contents evenly.
Refrigerate 24 Hours.
Pre-heat Propane Grill to highest setting.
Grill 4-5 minutes on each side.
Turn off burners and tank.
Keep grill lid closed for 10-15 minutes.
Cover, let sit at room temperature for at least 90 minutes.

Segugio’s Lazy Man’s Chicken

In a giant mixing bowl:

12 Chicken Breasts, trimmed, rinsed, and patted dry
Berbere Spice, some

Cover chicken evenly.
Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Pre-heat Propane Grill to highest setting.
Grill 4-5 minutes on each side.
Turn off burners and tank.
Keep grill lid closed for 10-15 minutes.
Cover, let sit at room temperature for at least 90 minutes.

Protein Flipcakes, Breakfast Flavored

In a giant mixing bowl:

2 Cups Egg Whites
1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 Cup Water
1/2 tsp Aluminium Free Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Coarse Ground Kosher Salt
4 TBSP Cultured Buttermilk Powder
1 tsp Ceylon Cinnamon
4 Scoops Dymatize Elite Casein - Cinnabun
1 Scoop Unflavored Micellar Casein (or not. Using all flavored protein is too sweet for me.)
1 Scoop Unflavored Whey Isolate (Too much whey will create an unpleasant consistency)
1/2 Cup Flour of Choice*

Preheat nonstick pan to high heat (Segugio prefers Circulon)
Whisk contents of bowl.
Pour a selected quantity of mixture into pan.
Flip when appropriate.

*Out of the twelve or so different flours I've tried, Black Gram is by far the best, both in taste and texture. Buckwheat, Oat, Acorn, Rice, and Sorghum are good. Red Millet is distinct, but I find it neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Peanut (12%) and Teff are dry, but manageable. Potato requires an extra cup of water, and cooks poorly.

Protein Flipcakes, Dinner Flavored

In a giant mixing bowl:  

2 Cups Egg Whites
1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1 Cup Water
1/2 tsp Aluminium Free Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Coarse Ground Kosher Salt
5 Scoops Unflavored Micellar Casein
1 Scoop Unflacored Whey Isolate
1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 Cup Brown Rice Flour
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
2 TBSP Chervil (use Parsley if you have to)



In a separate bowl:

Diced pre-browned allium of choice (Scallions, Leeks, and Chives are all good)
Diced pre-cooked shrimp/chicken/beef/any other animal

Preheat nonstick pan to high heat (Segugio prefers Circulon)
Whisk contents of bowl.
Pour a selected quantity of mixture into pan.
Add toppings as desired.
Flip when appropriate.

Protein Mess

This is a good recipe for college students and/or the woeful lot that doesn't own any cookware. My friend created this concoction while we were students at BOLC. Becuase our days sometimes ran in excess of 18 hours, cooking was not really feasible. Class ran most of the day (and night), then there was a bit of gym time, then it was back to homework until class started. You will need a Wal-Mart to find this stuff, and since I haven't gone to one in years, I don't know if it's still available. If it's not, just experiment with substitutions.

In an inappropriate and cheaply made plastic bowl:

1 Family Size Chunk Light Tuna (pouch)
1 Marketside Black Beans and Corn
1 Marketside Diced Tomato Product
Balsamic Vinegar to taste

Old London Melba Toast for use as spoon

Muscle Sandwich

They are filled with absolutely terrible ingredients, but I sometimes ate them in BOLC because I needed some faint reminder of pleasure in my life. I would make it a point to use it as a pick-up line later in the day (pending the existence of 15 minutes of free time). "What's up girl? I had a muscle sandwich today."

The moral of the story is that if you really want to succeed, you will let nothing stop you. Most people quit at the slightest inconvenience, then they pick back up again to gain and lose the same parcel of progress year in and year out. If you search for excuses, you will find them. If you search for solutions, you will find them. If you happen upon solutions, but still can't manage, you will at least have learned something about yourself.  

Mass Spectrometry

Mass Spectrometry - A guide for sufficiently "in charge" people who lack a corresponding degree of large. 

Goal Setting and Controlled Termination

Before undertaking a weight gain protocol, it would be wise to critically assess your current routine. If you have trouble acknowledging reality (most people do), find an [educated] external source of criticism, preferably a perfectionist type who practices honesty with the utmost disregard for sentiment. “Friends” are generally very apprehensive about using factual statements, and this is doubly true for members of the fairer sex, who are better practiced in the craft of distorting reality. Your reassuring friend is your worst enemy, because they will facilitate your complacency, and support your eventual failure.

If you suffer no deficiencies, have a fair amount of experience, and have specific objectives that would not be achieved on your regular protocol, a bulk may be a good idea. In bodybuilding and powerlifting, cyclic diets are necessary for success.  In boxing, wrestling, and other weighted events, one would be at a marked disadvantage without a cyclic diet. For non-weighted sports, it’s less important, and generally used as a means to increase off-season size and/or strength. For casual lifters, it’s entirely optional; no one cares if it took you 2 months or 2 years to gain 30 pounds, and you’re not on anyone’s timeline except your own.
Goals should be clearly defined and progress should be meticulously tracked.

Remember:

A bulk is defined as a temporary increase in energy balance and a corresponding alteration of training designed to elicit size and/or strength gains in a condensed period of time.

Aside from bodybuilding and powerlifting, where it is modus operandi, bulking is a product of time constraints and competition. A boxer or wrestler who remained at contest weight year round would not experience the strength gains of one who is willing to put on and take off massive amounts of weight each year. Boxing announcers often place a great deal of emphasis on how much weight a fighter cut for any given bout. It’s reasonable to wager that the 200 pound man who cuts to 170 can generate more torque than the 170 pound man who remains at that weight year round. There are other variables which may determine ring success, such as genetics, skill, and training, but the odds of greater force production are skewed towards the heavier fighter.

The established goal should reflect progression towards a greater goal. It could be 10 years or 10 months, but it should have non-negotiable parameters.

Examples of Proper Goal Setting:

Gain 20 pounds of mass over 4-6 months. Slowly cut fat over next 4-6 months. Compete in physique event next year.

Increase bench press by 35 pounds. Allow enough time to cut back down to 198 weight class. Compete in PL meet.

Examples of Improper Goal Setting:

(Vague) I wanna get big, but not too big, then I wanna cut all the fat off and be totally ripped.

(Unrealistic) I wanna put 200 pounds on my bench.

Controlled Termination

Because gains are neither linear nor predictable, it is wise to set a trigger for termination of a bulk if it is over or underproductive and unresponsive to minor adjustments. The variables I suggest to monitor are weight limit, total gain, and rate of gain.

Scenario 1 – Weight Limit:

Powerlifter 20 weeks from competition, plans to add 50 pounds to total in 16 weeks, then use final 4 weeks to get back into the proper weight class. To ensure a successful weigh-in, athlete is limited to 15 pounds of weight gain. Athlete exceeds limit at week 13, after adding only 35 pounds to total. Bulk should be adjusted to prevent further weight gain. If adjustments result in diminished returns, bulk should be halted. It would be better to go into the target weight class at +35 than a higher weight class at +50.

Scenario 2 – Total Gain:

Football lineman plans to add 20 pounds of quality mass during the offseason without sacrificing acceleration, speed, or agility. Target weight is achieved six weeks before training camp. Goal can be adjusted to +25 pounds, given that performance surpassed expectations. If a certain methodology proves functional, there is no reason to abandon it upon achievement of the original goal.

Scenario 3 – Rate of Gain:

Bodybuilder plans to add as much mass as possible during the offseason while remaining below 18% bodyfat. Anticipated rate of gain is 1:2.5 (lean:fat), anticipated duration is 12 weeks. Actual rate of gain is 1:2, duration can be extended until 18% is surpassed (Limit), or until rate of gain falls below anticipated 1:2.5. Unless there is a career defining show coming up, the bodybuilder is better off continuing the bulk as long as rate of gain can be maintained. It is much more difficult to add a pound of lean mass than it is to lose two pounds of fat.

Methodology

The construction of a diet should reflect the goals of training. It sounds like common sense, but that very statement is one of the most routinely ignored. People believe that their arbitrary tastes and poor eating habits need somehow be respected. They are wrong. It is not uncommon to hear asinine statements such as “I don’t like _______”, “I can’t eat in the morning”, “I have no appetite”, “my wife won’t want to eat that”.  I already know you don’t want to eat correctly. If you did, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. There is little resistance when someone is instructed to do a difficult or painful exercise, but all the resistance in the world when that same person is instructed to eat 300g of protein. Even when people are given options, they take issue just for the sake of noncompliance.

Offer of Choice: “If you don’t like oats, you can use wheat, or barley, or quinoa, or teff, or any other low glycemic whole grain you like.”

Response: “No, I don’t like any of those. Can I use pizza?”

Parameters

There are, of course, degrees of restriction dependent on the sport of the athlete. The structure of the diet should ideally correspond to the demands of the sport, but any arrangement which facilitates progression is technically acceptable. Before you start selectively interpreting my writing, be aware that there is no validity to “as long as it fits my macros”, and I strongly discourage a “dirty bulk”. 5,000 clean calories is more effective, regardless of goal, than 8,000 junk calories. Some powerlifters notoriously eat “whatever they want” and break world records.

The ability to eat “whatever you want” is contingent on how closely that resembles “what you should”. Personally, I don’t particularly like most non-grain foods. If I ate by taste, I would have a 90% carbohydrate diet. For any athletic endeavor, there is obviously not much overlap with “want” and “should”. If, however, you enjoy prime rib and baked potato, that can be worked into a manageable meal plan.

The issue of concern is not excess adiposity, but incapacity to support training. Fat is easily gained and lost, but training and nutrition need to be calibrated to support lean mass gains. If you get fewer functional nutrients from a bulk than you would your normal diet, you are only doing yourself a disservice. Once you get over the idea that bulking is “easy”, you will be in a better state of mind to take it seriously.

Food Planning

The most difficult part of any diet is consistency. Skipping meals is unacceptable; it’s as thoughtless as accidentally adding a meal during a cut. Whereas a cut can be supported with a few simple foods, a proper bulk requires a creative approach, as the will to eat erodes rather quickly when all of your meals consist of skinless chicken and plain rice. The creative approach, however, can make bulking remarkably easy. People who claim that they can’t gain weight “no matter what” actually mean “I did not plan my meals and therefore have no idea what I’ve eaten, which means my testimony is worth exactly dick”. Diet templates and examples are available at the end of the article. If you still fail the test after I’ve given you the answer key, perhaps you should re-evaluate your interest in athletics.

Principles of Training

Training should always be tied to well defined goals. For strength and physique athletes, I suggest the focus be on increasing power (work/time) and total workload. Given adequate sleep and nutrition, more is better. Your goal is to create conditions for adaptation. Ample intake of carbohydrates will allow you to conduct all your training at full glycogen load, and ample intake of protein will easily repair whatever damage you think you can do to your muscles. The body is far more resilient than most people are willing to believe. Push yourself to new limits every week. In the last offseason, my workouts sometimes went past the 3 hour mark. Bring a cooler, or a few protein bars, and drive on.

Sabotage

Success is adherence, and adherence is contingent on the removal of doubt. This is the sole situation in life in which I recommend using faith, that is, belief in something without evidence. Unless you have access to a hydrostatic weighing machine, you must rely on incomplete data, most of which serves only to distort reality.

Scales: Avoid them entirely if possible. If you compete in a weight-dependent sport, use the scale at regular intervals (I suggest 10 days), and never at any other time. Most people use the scale with the intent to reduce anxiety, but the odds that it will do the opposite are overwhelming. Any unexpected fluctuation of weight or irregularity in rate of gain/loss is going to be perceived negatively. The only way to derive psychological satisfaction from the scale is if your progress is perfectly linear. This will never happen. This will NEVER happen. Don’t sabotage yourself.

Mirrors: The information derived from them is somewhat more useful than the arbitrary values on the scale. It's a bit more difficult to avoid mirrors, but it's important to resist the urge to react to every perceived change. The ever present thoughts of "I'm getting too fat" and, during a cut "I'm losing too much muscle" need to be controlled. Progress is not linear. Progress is NOT linear.

Friends: Lay people will always ask whether you've gained or lost weight. Which they choose is more a product of their faulty memory than any legitimate observation. People are far less observant than we like to believe. Unless someone is involved in your sport, they will generally be oblivious to your cyclic weight gain/loss. At 270 @ 15%, I'm considered "jacked". At 235 @ 9%, I'm also considered "jacked". Expecting someone to notice the difference is setting yourself up for failure. It's about as likely as unfashionable people identifying different species of cotton by touch. To them you're just "built" or "ripped" or "lean" or whatever vague classification suits you. Do not alter your diet or training for non-professional observations.

Food Fatigue

The mistake I've made in years past is to overestimate my willingness to eat. This led me to be somewhat careless with my diet planning, as I figured I would just eat whatever I put in front of myself. For a few weeks, I'll be able to get my protein by eating thirty-some slices of pizza, or several sandwiches consisting of two pounds of roast beef and one loaf of bread. After a few weeks of fun, a sickening perpetual encumberance lingers for as long as one maintains this unnatural diet. No energy, no hunger, just shortness of breath and desire to sleep. I'm sure I've fallen asleep a few times due to hypoxia. If you don't wish to conduct three hour training sessions while feeling like an obese man with sleep apnea, it would be wise to meticulously plan your bulking diet.

Guidelines

Keep your normal mealtimes. If you eat fewer than five meals a day, a schedule adjustment may be in order, otherwise, retaining the same meal timing allows easy transition in and out of a diet.

Don't overeat. Just like skipping a meal on a cut will cause rebound hunger, going to the buffet for breakfast and lunch will probably leave you not so eager to return for dinner.

Increase water intake. It's the building block of life, you know. I have a terrible thirst mechanism which has me drink about 3 gallons a day, regardless of what I'm eating or how I'm training. Most people are not quite as sensitive, which is one reason dehydration, cramps, and heat fatigue are so common. If in doubt, measure your intake.

Monitor sodium intake. Being heavier and working harder than normal, your blood pressure is already significantly higher in the offseason. Again, I get a nosebleed at the slightest prompt, so it's very easy to adjust, but plenty of people go from hypertension to stroke without the slightest indication from their bodies.

Don't needlessly spike insulin! Eating a meal that isn't protein-based is a bad idea at any time of year, but it's especially harmful when you're in caloric surplus. Any fat gained should be the inevitable consequence of training demands, not the easily avoidable consequence of poor planning.

Don't needlessly spike insulin! Eating in between meals is not okay. I don't care if it fits your macros. Insulin control is crucial for any and all changes in body composition.

Avoid fructose. Though it should be avoided at all times, it's especially toxic when you're in caloric surplus. It desensitizes you to insulin, and causes blood triglycerides (plentiful during a bulk) to be stored in the liver.

Dextrose is okay for the naturally lean. 1:1 ratio with whey for post-workout shake or breakfast.

Protein. You're not eating enough of it. 2.5-3.5 grams per pound of bodyweight for males, ~2 grams per pound of bodyweight for females.

Calories. You're not eating enough of them. Multiply your desired end weight by 25, that's your starting point. Adjust as necessary.

Fats. You eat too much of them. They're required for many anabolic processes in the body, but excess consumption is deposited into your own fat stores at +95% efficiency. I understand, I also want to eat the jar of peanut butter, but don't fall into the trap of "healthy fats". Nuts in any appreciable quantity are too energy dense for anyone except the hardest of gainers.

Examples   

My current diet (cutting) is a good bulking template for a smaller athlete:

Meal 1: 75g whey, 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 16oz almond milk
Meal 2: 1lb chicken breast, 1/2 cup rice
Meal 3: Same as Meal 1
Meal 4: Same as Meal 1
Meal 5: 1lb shrimp, 3oz fat free cheddar, 1/2 cup Chobani 0% yogurt, 2 servings Ezekiel bread
475g of protein, ~3400 calories

Adjusted for medium sized athlete:

Meal 1: 75g whey, 25g casein 1/2 cup steel cut oats, 16oz almond milk
Meal 2: 1lb chicken breast, 3 extra large eggs, 1/2 cup rice
Meal 3: Same as Meal 1
Meal 4: Same as Meal 1
Meal 5: 1lb 95% ground beef, 3oz fat free cheddar, 1/2 cup yogurt, 4 servings Ezekiel bread
600g protein, ~4700 calories

Speculation on my next bulk:

Meal 1: 75g whey, 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 16oz almond milk, 2 cups egg whites, 6oz fat free cheddar, 4 servings Ezekiel bread
Meal 2: 1lb shrimp, 8oz peas, 3 servings whole wheat pasta
Meal 3: 75g whey, 1/4 cup steel cut oats, 2 protein pancakes
Meal 4: Same as Meal 3
Meal 5: 1.5lb 95% ground beef, 3 oz fat free cheddar, 1/2 cup yogurt, 4 servings Ezekiel bread
700g protein, ~6000 calories

It's not difficult; just a matter of prioritizing protein. Getting 700g protein with a proper meal plan is easily accomplished by any 200 pound athlete. Trying to get 700g with chicken wings and fast food might sound like fun, but it's actually far more difficult, and far worse for your health.

Disclaimer: I've written this piecemeal over the course of several days, so there may be redundancies or missing information. For the sake of publishing this in reasonable time, I am posting it as-is. Feel free to ask questions if you feel I've missed something. If there are any major issues which I failed to cover, I will address them comprehensively in my next work.

Basic Human Competency

Basic Human Competency - A Guide for Prospective Trainers

New trainees are generally very eager to begin the organized pursuit of their goals; they are more than willing to purchase new equipment, supplements, journals, clothing, accessories, and so forth. Invariably, they want to do much more on their first day than would be beneficial; there is a sort of restlessness which consumes them until they are introduced to fatigue, hunger, soreness, and the other sobering realities of training.
The vast majority of casual trainees are impatiently obsessed with instant results, despite the fact that they’ve happily spent years in complacency. I pass no judgment on this group, because even 30 year veterans are receptive to the idea of instant results; they’re just experienced enough to know better. The fixation with “now” invariably leads to failure, not necessarily because of disappointment, but because of the unfounded assumption of competence.

People are more than willing to see themselves as weak, fat, slow, disgusting, etc. and will not hesitate to tell you. Very few, however, are willing to accept that they are novices. The scariest idea to a typical trainee is that he/she will have to begin their journey… at the beginning! Sure they weigh 500 pounds, and require a wheelchair and oxygen tank to get out of bed, but they are not beginners. No way. Maybe some other guy, but not them. Crossfit has capitalized unscrupulously on this demand for instant gratification. Fuck “know it all” trainers like me, with my progression tables and detailed plans, that guy just did 14 burpees. 14! And you said he wasn’t ready for the Olympics.

Even more damaging than a poorly conceived program, is a dissonant or closed mind. Some success is possible with consistency and dedication, regardless of the training system employed. The physical limitations of a given individual are far less predictive of success or failure than his/her self-imposed cognitive restrictions. The most effective tools in navigating obstacles are self-awareness and honesty.
The absolute worst part of program design for a new client is that they project an ideal, rather than an accurate picture of themselves. They’re always vague, and always lying, whether they intend to deceive or not.

Claim: “I worked out off and on for 10 years”.
Reality: You lifted a couple of times in high school and used the stairmaster at a hotel once.  
Claim: “I don’t eat that much.”
Reality: You eat precisely that much.
Claim: “I eat a lot!”
Reality: You eat the exact opposite of a lot. The louder and more defensive you are about it, the less you actually eat.

This last item is of particular concern to me, as it demonstrates the frightful incompetence of typical people. After so many years of involvement in fitness, certain things are so rudimentary that they are taken for granted. Though trainees would like to believe they are ready for “an advanced program”, they’re actually not even ready for a novice program, because they have no knowledge of basic human physiology or nutrition.

I was shocked to learn that there are still people who can’t read nutrition labels. Would figure that humans, naturally inquisitive, might have some passing interest in the contents of their sustenance, but then again, why go through the trouble of reading a label? Not like you’re getting graded. Despite the fact that very few people could tell you what a calorie is, or even how many calories were in the last thing they ate, everyone is convinced that they can accurately assess their level of consumption. This phenomena is not unique to the fitness world, where delusion is a product of the overwhelming desire to project knowledge and ability, it’s the unintentional condition of most people. Whereas the “off and on” trainee is lying to protect his/her ego, the nutritionally ignorant skinny/fat trainee, more often than not, is giving you an accurate summation of their perspective. Of course, their perspective has nothing to do with facts, but they are [sometimes] innocently oblivious of that.

I watched a very interesting documentary a few weeks ago. Take a break and watch it, if you like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPsKpnu0-X4

The results of the experiment were rather unremarkable, but the genuine ignorance and incompetence of the subjects deserves close scrutiny by anyone considering a career in fitness. They were given the laughably easy task of consuming [at most!] 5,000 calories/day for a month. They were all literate, free from any obvious mental impairment, and had access to a grocery store. I'm not going to say there's a right or wrong way to go about this, but I would:

1. Read labels of food products I enjoyed, preferably complementary ones. The peanut butter, jelly, and bread combination, for instance, might seem a fair choice.
2. Create roughly equivalent meal choices (1,700 calories).
3. Prepare and consume those meals.

Conversely, their strategy:

1. Find energy dense food items
2. Consume them irregularly and hope you meet the quota

Let me reiterate that I understand most people are unfamiliar with meal planning, nutrition labels, and diets, but this had all the complexity of a second grade math problem. It wasn't that they weren't smart enough to figure it out, it's that they didn't bother to try, because they falsely believed themselves competent.

Barring illness or injury, every fat and thin person who comes to your door suffers from mindlessness. The constant availability of food leads us to treat it as we would the air or the sun. It's something vital, but always expected, so we don't bother to regulate it. Different gene expressions, environmental factors, and adaptations to stress are then left to define our consumption. Random variations in size and shape (of untrained persons) have nothing to do with discipline or willpower; they're merely indicative of the different unconscious processes in similarly oblivious people.

Observations:

Overweight: Eating while distracted, eating as a reaction to stimulus, having primarily external satiety controls (whatever is being eaten will continue to get eaten until the bag/box is empty).

Underweight: Forgetting to eat, eating sloppily/incompletely, having strong internal satiety controls (hunger is not modified by the availability or convenience of food)

There is no way to plan a successful diet if your client can't track their daily candy bar intake, or if they leave 30% of the chicken on their plate because "they're done". The common idea that "I can't lose/gain weight, no matter what I do" is a completely rational statement, given the subjectivity with which most people analyze themselves.

An overweight person may truly not remember eating a snickers on the car ride home. Not that they have no memory of eating it, but that it didn't have a context worth remembering, so it may have been three days ago, it may have been last week, it may have been twice, it may have been five times.

An underweight person may be convinced that they ate two pounds of steak and two cups of rice, but what they actually did was stir the contents of the plate around into an unappetizing mess which was eaten by no one.  

Inaccurate information leads to poor diagnosis, which inevitably leads to failure. The results of the client will ultimately determine your credibility, and the single largest factor in determining their success is the accuracy of the information they give you. It's very difficult to get the truth out of anyone about anything, but it is in your interest to constantly inquire about the most minute details, and take absolutely nothing for granted.

It's really sad to see a talented athlete never reach the limits of their potential because no one ever told them to clean their plate. The initial consternation they feel at having their delusions refuted will give way to a lifetime of gratitude.       

Addendum: We Kept It Gray

Addendum: We Kept It Gray

Historiography

There is nothing intrinsically wrong about paleo dieting; short term adoption may, in fact, benefit certain populations. Its popularity is based on selective interpretation and an unfounded belief in applicability. This can be said that this is true of most any popular idea of any time, but paleo is different in that it is not a modern theory based on archaic research, but an archaic theory unchanged from its inception.

This is not to say that it has not been modified to appeal to a contemporary demographic, but rather, that its tenets are reasoned with all of the [lack of] scientific knowledge and bias of the early 20th century. The Stefansson and Price expeditions, which showed that 1) Humans can survive on a diet comprised exclusively of animal products 2) People in westernized nations had reduced markers of health (bad teeth, in particular) compared to indigenous populations. In the 1970s, Gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin decided that since we have the capacity to digest animal protein, and certain populations get by on little else, that we are all innately carnivores. Basically, he said “What applies to remote groups of Eskimos applies to all of humanity, except even more so.”
  
I do not intend to take any credit away from these individuals, as their contributions were of great value in the progression of nutrition science, but we should not forget the historical context in which these studies were conducted. Stefansson was an arctic explorer; he was much more concerned with survivability than optimal health. Price was a dentist; he was absolutely correct in positing that western diets were responsible for the prevalence of weak bones and rotten teeth, but he took his observations to logical fallacy. I do not believe it was intentional, merely reflective of the scientific limitations of the day.

The poor health of western populations was a product of the unregulated industrialization of food. Wheat was hulled, bleached, bromated (which is currently illegal in the rest of the civilized world. USA! USA!), stored in silos with no moisture control, and combined with sawdust. Dairy cows were fed distillery waste and produced tainted milk. “Formula” for babies was often a cheap sugar and rice water mixture, which led to a great many cases of malnutrition and death. Meat was often contaminated, rancid, and preserved with formaldehyde. It was not until we killed hundreds of our own Soldiers with tainted beef in the Spanish-American War that some regulation was imposed. Even later in the century, industrial solvents and lubricants, products of mass production in WWII, became staples in the food industry. The waste product of a popular lubricant actually led to the formation of the modern supplement industry, as defatted soy flour became a cheap source of protein that could be sold at a huge profit margin. It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that the population with the food-based diet is healthier.

Though regulations in America are still dangerously lax, the food industry has been responsive to a health-conscious market. The presence of any poison must be clearly indicated on the ingredients list. It is still the responsibility of the consumer to research the toxicity of any given compound, but, in all fairness, the presence of fire diamonds on packaging might dissuade consumers.

Because people undertaking a paleo diet are doing so in the present day, they should not equate the food of Weston Price’s era to that which is currently available. A modern young European, or a young non-alcoholic, non-obese American, would show very similar, if not superior markers of development and health. There would still be a discrepancy in cavities, but that is due to the pervasive availability of sugar, rather than the absence of essential nutrients. A regular diet of frozen pizza and ice cream sandwiches as a youth allowed me to grow to above average height, with not a single cavity or fracture. I certainly don’t come from hardy stock, as my parents were not so fortunate, spending their formative years in the abject poverty of postwar Italy. I do not in any way condone the typical American diet, but the plausible health advantages of paleo eating are far removed from what they would have been a hundred years ago.

Pragmatic Utility

A paleo-style diet has some applicability in the treatment of metabolic syndrome. A sedentary lifestyle requires very few carbohydrates, and the reduction/removal of dietary fructose will assist in normalizing liver function and insulin regulation. Low intensity activity would also be of benefit, as it would increase glucose transport efficiency to muscle tissue, increase glucagon production, and increase B-oxidation as a proportion of expenditure, all of which contribute to lower blood sugar levels. Because abnormal insulin activity is the perpetuating factor in populations with metabolic syndrome, I would actually suggest that a paleo approach would yield faster results than a similarly restricted isocaloric diet. Once stability is achieved, however, a different methodology would likely prove superior in eliciting further improvements in body composition, especially if anaerobic work (i.e. weight training) is simultaneously undertaken.

Standards, No Compromise

There is no argument that can be made about which diets “work”. Results will vary across every demographic, and very often, even within specific populations. The only way to calibrate a diet to your specific needs is through years of trial and error, ideally under the supervision of a good trainer/nutritionist. In the realm of theoretical work, we can only know the experiences of others, but from that data, we can determine plausible courses of action. There are traps to avoid in conducting diet research:

1. Deceptive Studies. These also feature notably in the absurd claims made by supplement manufacturers. It is impossible to judge the efficacy of any compound/routine/diet if all other variables are not controlled. When an advertisement claims that people have lost up to 40 pounds in two months, they are not saying anything quantifiable about their product. The 40 pounds was lost in tandem with a diet and exercise program (hence the asterisk). Even when variables are accounted for, the claimed efficacy of diets are generally based on comparison with a control group. Your form of caloric restriction works better than unrestricted consumption? Amazing.

2. Assumed Transference. There may exist a great deal of fair, unbiased research which favorably compares a product/diet/routine to many of its plausible options. The only problem is that the studies in question were done on rats/monkeys/horses/pregnant women/diabetics/the comatose/burn victims. There is some transference among all mammals, but life processes and responses to stimuli are extremely variable. It’s great that Boron increases muscle mass in some geriatric populations, and that intravenous Glutamine speeds recovery in burn victims. Perhaps there’s a certain fatty acid that slows the progress of Alzheimer’s, or reduces the risk of relapse following triple bypass surgery. Fantastic, all of it. That doesn’t mean it applies to you. If taking an aspirin relieves your headache, it does not follow that taking two aspirin would be more effective, or that taking aspirin in the absence of pain would cause euphoria. If panaceas were so common, we wouldn’t need fifty variations of a drug to treat the same disease.

3. Attribution Error. Sometimes success is achieved despite a poor diet/training regimen, sometimes failure is achieved despite a proper diet/training regimen. We’re much more likely to attribute success to the most convenient coincidental occurrence, rather than conduct a proper post-game analysis. We like to think about amazing throws and catches, because they give dramatic significance to an otherwise mundane outcome. One might feel sick or tired during a powerlifting meet, and say “I hit that lift through pure willpower”, but actually, they hit it because their months of preparation were sufficient to overcome minor unexpected obstacles. If you follow a diet during a particularly happy time in your life, you may insist it was extremely effective, give no acknowledgement to the context of your success, and be genuinely shocked when the same experiment yields different results.

There are very few circumstances in which inertia yields greater results than action. Insecurity causes an obsession with certainty, and hard doctrine leads to closed minds. There is no “answer”, and nothing “works”. Adherence to archaic convictions in the face of scientific evidence is self-destructive. Progress demands that we cease the tribal practice of tying our egos into a collective idea. You aren’t “faithful” to Westside, or Stronglifts, or Atkin’s, or Muscle Milk, you’re just denying yourself the knowledge of anything else because you’re afraid of realizing your own identity.        

Your Diet is Bad and You Should Feel Bad!

This new and exciting series provides systematic deconstruction of popular diets.

Episode 1: Paleo

Theory: Diseases of affluence are manifested by a diet high in starch, dairy, oil, and salt. Early humans did not consume these products in large quantities, nor do modern-day hunter gatherer tribes, and both populations have/had lower rates of obesity and its co-morbid conditions. It follows that modern humans seeking to improve their health should emulate the [presumed] eating habits of early humans. Sounds like a plan.

False Premises:

1. Evolution has not resulted in substantial changes in the last 20,000 years. Practitioners of paleo dieting insist that we are near biologically identical to our ancestors who inhabited the African Savannah. This contrasts very strongly with actual science, as we are extremely adaptive, even within our own lifetimes. Gene transcription is readily altered with the slightest change in environment, stress, nutrition, or medicine. This is why we all have hundreds of benign cancers in our bodies. Semi-permanent modifications can happen within only a few generations. The vast differences in lactose tolerance among European nations is indicative of how easily we adapt.

2.  Diseases of affluence are a product of agriculture-based diets, rather than by-products of advances in transportation and technology. Most of our ancestors were farming by 2000 BC (before cruci-fiction), some had been since 8000 BC or earlier. The modern obesity epidemic began circa 1970. Throughout the 1950's, there were more reported cases of underweight than overweight children (in America, land of plenty). The 80% grain diet of most peasants for most of history did not result in diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity, even during times of immense surplus. They no doubt lived short, brutish lives, in constant fear of drought, flood, predators, and landowners, and crippled by the cumbersome nature of their work, but they suffered no diseases of affluence. Even the upper classes, who had access to honey, cheese, olives, salt, and aluminium-tainted white bread, were pathetically frail by modern standards. What they did not have was partially hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, and 2am delivery service.

3. Paleo dieting was causal, rather than coincidental. There is evidence of a disparity of health between western nations and hunter-gatherer tribes. There is no evidence that a paleolithic diet contributes to the disparity anymore than the absence of footwear, or free hanging breasts. Of course, there are a great many extremely dangerous and unnecessary additives in our food which contribute to our poor health, but our reduced well-being has no bearing on the efficacy of other people's diets. If American life expectancy is shorter than that of any given indigenous population, it is because we lowered ours, not because they raised theirs. Good health and longevity are seen in many diverse populations, all with unique diets and lifestyles. Typical Japanese and Mediterranean cuisine are both high-fat and high-starch, yet both of those populations have superior life expectancy. The only common link of poor health across the world is excessive food processing, toxic by-products (fats and proteins denature and sometimes produce volatile compounds), and a penchant for inactivity. The perceived fitness of tribal populations has a lot more to do with their energy expenditure than their lack of bread.

4. Natural occurrence is linked to natural availability. The paleo diet is founded on a template of elimination, rather than inclusion, that is, it has some cohesive theory about what should not be consumed, but has very little to say on what should be consumed, and why. All wild game and fish are allowed, but how do we verify that our ancestors had access to them? If our ancestors were fishermen for thousands of years, should we consume terrestrial animals? All non-starchy vegetables are allowed, but certainly, the creators of this diet know that before global oceanic trade routes were established, certain vegetation was only available in certain regions. How can I be sure that as an Italian, I can safely and efficiently extract nutrients from a tomato, when that crop is native to Peru? Populations unaccustomed to certain crops may develop food allergies or intolerances, or they may lack sufficient amounts of certain digestive enzymes. If we are to assume that all food is of equal value to all populations, then we may as well claim that there are no variations in human DNA. Do you need to eat beets and liver so your blood cells don't disintegrate? I do.

5. Grain consumption was relatively unknown prior to organized farming. This is a really interesting one, because paleo advocates like to claim that "before" we became farmers, grains were not a significant part of our diets. Surely, however, they must be aware that the variety and abundance of wild grains was far greater in the paleolithic era than it was after the advent of agriculture. Organized farming, especially in advanced societies with barter and trade, is geared towards specialization and yield efficiency. Crops are selectively bred to produce the most marketable products. Far from avoiding gluten, our ancestors were likely exposed to more varieties of wheat in one season than we will ever experience in our lives. If anything, we have become less versatile in digestive capacity, as we no longer have the vestigial structures (functioning appendix, wisdom teeth) of our plant-sampling forebears.

6. Grains are loaded with antinutrients. The compounds of concern are phytic acid (actually far more prevalent in nuts, which are paleo approved), which chelates minerals, and trypsin inhibitors, which prevent hydrolysis of proteins into peptides small enough to be transported into the bloodstream. That paleo dieters have any legitimate concern for mineral balance is absurd, given that any diet based on the paleo model is almost certainly calcium deficient. Further, trypsin inhibitors are only found in substantial quantity in a few legumes (soy, most notably), and their inhibitory effects are transient and quantitatively linked (X mol of trypsin inhibitor can bind X mol of trypsin during a single feeding). The role of antinutrients is insignificant, especially when one considers the benefits of nutrient and energy dense whole grains. Oddly enough, modern-day processed and refined flour is completely bereft of antinutrients, yet is somehow still linked to diseases of affluence. Might have been something other than a 3% reduction in serum zinc that caused you to get diabetes.

A Poor Choice for Athletes

Just because paleo is based on half-truths and faulty reasoning doesn't mean it's ineffective. On the contrary, there are plenty of other reasons why it should be avoided by a person involved in sport.

1. Glucose is the body's preferred fuel source. What this means is not that the body "likes" glucose, but that it can produce the most energy most efficiently from glucose. Other substrates are less efficient, and are used secondarily. In very low intensity aerobic work, glucose demand is fairly low, in most other life activities, glucose demand (that is, stress placed upon the glycolytic energy system) is moderate to high. Engaging in high intensity activity while glycogen depleted is perfectly feasible, but fatty acid oxidation does not provide energy at a sufficient rate, so the body must find other ways to compensate. Possible routes of compensation include destruction of tissues to form ketone bodies, and deamination of proteins to form glucose. Using protein as a fuel source is inefficient (still can't match rate of normal glycolysis), expensive (carbohydrates are comparatively cheap and plentiful), and dangerous (kidneys not equipped to handle mass protein breakdown). Fortunately, you're more likely to push ketosis into ketoacidosis before you're able to strip off enough muscle to shut down your kidneys. Of course, ketoacidosis can simply dehydrate you into a Terry Schiavo coma, so it's a win-win, regardless of which system fails first.

2.  High protein intake increases calcium excretion. This is more than offset by a typical athlete's diet, which contains ample sources of easily absorbed calcium, but not so with a paleo diet. Calcium is required for muscle contraction, variations of which comprise every athletic movement in existence. Mineral imbalances cause cramps, weakness, fatigue, soreness, and impairment of coordination (firing of motor units).

Why You Think It Works, and Why You are Wrong  

1. Immediate and visible weight loss. After a week of paleo dieting you may be "down 6 pounds" and you may "look thinner", but it's very unlikely that your fat mass changed during that time. The starch-free diet results in depletion of glycogen stores. Each glycogen molecule holds three times its weight in water, so your (approximately) one pound of muscle glycogen is holding three pounds of intramuscular water. Protein breakdown and ketosis both have a diuretic effect, the former through production of nitrogen waste, the latter through disruption of mineral balance. The accumulation of waste products, along with the absence of antidiuretic hormones (on account of sodium and potassium loss) causes increased urination. Because fat is anhydrous, and muscle tissue is hydrated by glycogen, the reactions for their breakdown require external water. A drop in subcutaneous water gives the illusion of fat loss, but it's just water loss brought about by a shift in osmolarity.  

2. You are less hungry. You actually aren't. Malnutrition often operates independently of perceived hunger. When you are "hungry", it usually means something has stimulated insulin release, causing you to desire food, regardless of your body's actual requirements. Starving people have a very weak insulin response, and generally experience more pain and fatigue than what we recognize as "hunger". It's a biological adaptation for survival in times of scarcity. If we became ever increasingly hungry in the absence of food, we'd have no clarity of mind, and no way to actually obtain food. After a while, your insulin response becomes weaker, your appetite becomes suppressed, and your metabolism slows. This doesn't mean the diet is "working", it means your body recognizes a state of deficiency, and is adjusting accordingly.

3. It's not sustainable. It has precious little to do with willpower, resolve, or discipline. While your body is given no cue that food is available, it will remain, for the most part, in the aforementioned starving mode. Any stimulus, however, that would have it discern that starvation is not its necessary fate, will send all of the hunger signaling systems into overdrive. This is simple survival instinct. If you go days without food, and stumble into an apple orchard, you'll experience extreme sensitivity towards, smells, sights, and sounds. Every gram of sugar will be cloyingly sweet and infinitely delicious, because your body only understands ensuring its survival. All restricted carbohydrate diets cause extreme rebound hunger upon reintroduction of balanced nourishment. It's much easier to starve to death in nature than in civilization. One teaspoon of oatmeal or crumb of bread will drive a deprived person into a murderous rage. The hypersensitive ravenous state remains active well after all of the lost calories have been accounted for, which is why crash dieters tend to weigh more after relapse than they did before the initial attempt.

The Half-Life of Credibility

There is an expansive disconnect between internet fitness communities and reality. That they wish to dispel commonly held myths perpetuated by marketers and magazines is admirable. Their noble intent, however, does not mitigate the damage done by their fallacious convictions.

There are many highly educated (though unfit and inexperienced) people online, who consider themselves knowledgeable because they have familiarized themselves with a few strength training manuals. Because these people are likely to be fairly successful in their professional or academic lives, they believe themselves inherently competent, especially through the anonymity of the internet. They form in loose confederations of equally uninformed "regular" people, and are quick to declare their superiority over experienced athletes and trainers, who are obviously stupid, as evidenced by their large muscles.

I do not wish to incite my loyal haters, I merely want to explain why none of what they say is true. What very often happens is that facts are well researched, but context, peripheral knowledge, and experience are nonexistent. This inevitably leads to causality by convenience (which I will address at length in my next piece), and confirmation bias.

Almost every commonly held [false] belief is a reductionist interpretation, or improper attribution, of an otherwise legitimate parcel of information.

Reductionism

These ideas are the universally accepted tenets of Bro-ology. They generally involve only a single step in transforming a fact into a conveniently applicable meme.

Fact: Several studies have shown that MTOR response in healthy untrained adult males rises incrementally to protein consumption at 10, 20, and 30 grams, but a similar increase was not witnessed at 40 grams.

Fiction: Can't digest more than 30 grams at a time, brah. Body can't handle it. 

I don't have time or desire to cite the hundreds of other examples, but I am sure you're all familiar with them.

Theory by Convenience

These ideas are those held by the "elite" of untrained nerds with inordinate egos. The sort of garbage you'll find on fitness forums everywhere. Contest any of it, and you're pretty much guaranteed to receive negative reputation. How dare you.

These elaborate jokes generally involve a multi-step approach, where the original [factual] parcel of information is selectively interpreted, then assumed (this is where knowledge and experience would be helpful) to be directly or indirectly causal to all things convenient. Any facts which run counter to the selective interpretation are collectively ignored, and therefore do not exist.

Fact: Essential Amino Acids are required for positive nitrogen balance.

Plausible: We should only count complete protein sources when we set intake goals.

Unlikely: We should try to restrict incomplete protein sources, as they work against our caloric allotment with no discernible benefit.

Fiction: We should eliminate incomplete protein sources, as they can be synthesized internally. 

Of course, they can be synthesized internally, but that line of reasoning completely ignores the biological implications of such a process. The "regular guy" sees all loose ends tied, because he doesn't have the slightest idea what protein synthesis entails, and he interprets "can be synthesized internally" as "great, I don't have to worry about it".

Instead of giving a lecture on deamination, I would ask our internet experts a few questions:

1. What source of nitrogen will be used to create nonessential aminos?

2. Will your hair and nails continue to grow if you remove nonessential aminos from your diet? Will your skin retain its elasticity?

3. If you start an account with $200, and the bank takes $20 to cover its own expenses, do you still have a balance of $200?

Obviously, you do, as the bank can just synthesize its own money.

The Segugio Unified Theory of Cardio for Athletes

Segugio Unified Theory of Cardio for Athletes

A Word on Intensity

It is well established that substrate utilization, though always mixed, is determined primarily by intensity of expenditure. As intensity decreases, B-oxidation (%) increases. As intensity increases, glycolysis (as well as protein breakdown, ketone production, and activation of the phosphagen system) increases. Intensity is negatively correlated with efficiency, that is, fewer units of energy are produced from an equal amount of substrate for equal work. This necessarily “wasteful” practice is one of the reasons that anaerobic (compared to aerobic) exercise results in significantly higher total caloric expenditure. This has also become the basis of many different cardio protocols, as “total expenditure vs. total consumption” has become a popular (but misinformed) line of reasoning in the fitness world.

There are many other factors to consider in selecting the proper exercise intensity for your goals. Anaerobic exercise results in greater post-exercise oxygen consumption, which denotes a [usually insignificant] boost in metabolic activity for several hours afterwards. Despite the inefficient taxing of non-oxidative systems, anaerobic work generally results in more total B-oxidation (though less as a proportion) than an equal quantity of aerobic work. Anaerobic work has drawbacks in that it places greater stress on the CNS, endocrine system, and soft tissues. The immediate and systemic effects of cardiovascular training require thorough analysis, as these adaptations define training. There are, of course, many significant adaptations I do not explicitly mention, along with those that are not yet entirely understood. The following effects are what I believe most relevant to training.

Immediate Effects

Aerobic:
Increased B-oxidation
Improved circulation and removal of metabolic wastes
Small Increase in AMPK activation

Anaerobic:
Increased total expenditure
Increased post-exercise oxygen consumption
Large Increase in AMPK activation
Increased GLUT-4 translocation

Systemic Effects

Aerobic:
Increased mitochondrial density across all muscle fiber types
Increased angiogenesis (increased capillary density and nutrient delivery)
Increased AMPK concentrations in skeletal muscle
Increased GLUT-4 concentrations in skeletal muscle
Increased oxidative enzyme concentrations
Decreased resting energy expenditure
Pro-oxidative shift in muscle fiber composition (IIX->IIB->IIA->I)  

Anaerobic:
Increased glycogen storage capacity
Improved lactate threshold (work required to induce contractile failure)
Improved motor unit recruitment
Improved mineral retention (calcium, sodium, potassium)
Increased glycolytic enzyme concentrations
Decreased resting energy expenditure
Pro-glycolytic shift in muscle fiber composition (I->IIA->IIB->IIX)

Specificity

Notice that the body adapts through both oppositional and complementary pathways. What we perceive as Specialization is really just selective activation/avoidance of different signaling cascades. The most specialized athletes (ultramarathon runners, Olympic lifters) would suffer a performance decrement if they did not deliberately avoid certain stimuli. It is not to the benefit of the former to hold onto heavy and inefficient glycolytic muscle fibers, just as it is not to the benefit of the latter to hold onto inactive oxidative muscle fibers. Most other athletes, however, fall on the spectrum between the two extremes, and would benefit from varying amounts of both types of training.

Effects of Specialization

The last two items (colored red) in each Systemic Effects category are the products of prolonged and intense specialization. Their deliberate separation is intended to highlight two important issues.

1. Resting energy expenditure (or basal metabolic rate, if you prefer) is decreased at either extreme. Type I fibers are energy efficient by definition, and type IIX fibers have a great deal of surface area with relatively few mitochondria. The IIA/B (slow/fast glycolytic) fibers are least energy efficient, and most versatile. Something to consider if you like food.

2. Shift in muscle fiber composition is very very very very very slow. Most humans have roughly the same "default" fiber type scheme based on our physiology. Calves and stability muscles tend to be Type I dominant, Hamstrings and Triceps (for sprinting and pushing) tend to be Type II dominant. Though there is much fear in the strength community concerning light weights and cardiovascular training, it is entirely unfounded. Appreciable aerobic shifts in fiber composition are seen mainly in the quadriceps of distance runners, and the shoulders of marksmen. Anyone not applying a low intensity stimulus for several hours on a daily basis is extremely unlikely to downgrade their IIA fibers.  

Adaptive Cost    

Regardless of one’s psychological objectives, the physiology of the body is interested only in energy efficiency and homeostasis. When an external stimulus is applied, there is an immediate reaction. Repeated application causes adaptation (though not always beneficial). On a hot day, your immediate reaction is to sweat and increase respiration. After a few weeks of brutally hot weather, you might feel spry and euphoric on a slightly less hot day, because your degree of adaptation (Conditioning) is greater than the applied stress. When the stressor no longer exists, your body will de-condition itself, as homeostasis is its sole objective in the absence of orders. The body is fairly proficient at short-term adaptation, as external stimuli may be a sign of danger. For instance, survival-minded people are able to manipulate sodium balance through controlled water intake in just a few days.

Short-term adaptations are generally patchwork solutions which can be easily undone as the environment changes. When someone undertakes weight training for several weeks, they may notice an increase in muscle size and density, due to increased glycogen storage and [corresponding] water retention. Though they would almost certainly like to believe their weight gain to reflect newly acquired tissue, it would be horrendously inefficient for the body to adapt so quickly. To build and then break down 10-15 pounds of tissue on a whim would lead to rhabdomyolisis every time we decided to climb a stair.

Evidence of short-term adaptation can often be tracked with reactionary hormone/enzyme level fluctuations in plasma. Sugar consumption tends to increase insulin output, as protein consumption tends to increase glucagon. Fasting stimulates PDK and inhibits PDP, just as feeding stimulates PDP and inhibits PDK. A resistance training session will increase muscle insulin sensitivity and GLUT-4 transcription for approximately 48 hours. Localized IGF-1 expression may last only a few minutes, and mineral balance adjustments may last a few days. The common traits among these adaptations are transience (the response is limited by the stimulus and/or the body’s systems) and reversibility (the response is connected to a biofeedback system).

Long-Term [Systemic] Adaptations involve a restructuring of tissues to more efficiently accommodate frequently applied acute stimulus. Because structural adaptations are metabolically expensive, the body must be subjected to stress sufficient to “convince” it that future energy efficiency is worth the upgrade cost.

Example:

Month 1: Workout A (200 cal base expenditure) x 30 days = 6,000 cal expenditure

Month 2: Workout A (200 cal base expenditure) / 1.15 (efficiency factor) x 30 days + 1,000 cal adaptive cost = 6,217 cal expenditure

Month 3: Workout A (200 cal base expenditure)/ 1.3 (efficiency factor) x 30 days + 1,000 cal adaptive cost = 5,615 cal expenditure

In this situation it is clearly visible that despite the 2,000 calorie “investment”, total expenditure is less than what it would have been with no adaptation (17,832 vs. 18,000).

Though systemic adaptations result in fewer calories burned for identical work on a perpetually progressive scale, the threshold on PER (Perceived Rate of Exertion) rises at a comparable rate. A sedentary person may inefficiently burn 200 calories by running a mile, and an elite marathoner may efficiently burn 80 calories for the same mile, but it is much easier for the latter to run three, than for the former to run one.

Synergy and Priming

An observant reader will already have gathered that several anaerobic short and aerobic long term adaptations are related, and could be applied in tandem to produce greater (versatile conditioning) results than strict adherence to one style of training.

Priming is defined as ancillary preparation for increased performance in a defined task. Football teams tend to travel to Denver a few days in advance, so that they can better adjust to the oxygen content of the air. Fighters may use a rolling pin to destroy nerves in their shins. A sprinter may perform a certain sequence of calisthenics and stretches prior to every race.

Priming is interesting in that it covers a broad spectrum from ritualistic anxiety reduction (carrying a lucky trinket), to unintentional versatility (an athlete who excels at one sport may be surprisingly adept at another, despite never having played), to synergistic adaptation.

Contrary to the current trends and fads in the fitness community, and irrelevant short-term studies on specialized populations (I’m sorry that certain exercises didn’t increase bone density markers in elderly women undergoing chemotherapy, but that’s not my target demographic), long-term aerobic conditioning leads to tangible physical performance improvements in almost every context.

Anaerobic Work in an Aerobically Conditioned State

It is in the interest of nearly every athlete, particularly strength athletes, to pursue aerobic fitness, for the reasons outlined below.

1. Enhanced Recovery (immediate). Increased circulation expedites the removal of metabolic wastes, and expedites nutrient transport to damaged tissues.

2. Enhanced Recovery (long term). Angiogenesis leads to increased capillary density and enhanced nutrient transport, even when resting.

3. Easier Fat Loss. Thinking about activating some AMPK with a bout of anaerobic work? There's a lot more to activate if you're conditioned.

4. Preferential Glycogen Loading. It's generally in your interest that your muscles express more GLUT-4 than your adipocytes.

5.  Heart Health. I have nothing but admiration and respect for gigantic people who lift outrageous amounts of weight, and I would never suggest refraining from the decadent side of powerlifting for non-athletic concerns (those are none of my business). It's important to to keep the heart well prepared to efficiently move blood around a 400 pound body, especially during prolonged exertion. A lift missed due to vertigo is still a missed lift.

Formulaic Planning

Cardio plans require a great deal of trial and error, because there is really no way to accurately gauge mitochondrial density and efficiency. Some are genetically predisposed towards aerobic efficiency, some are genetically predisposed towards high glycogen storage. Genes, environment, food, and exercise all play extensive roles in how well we adapt.

Most people don't have the means to conduct enzyme tests during cardio, so our starting point should reflect typically observed responses. Further calibration is done on an individualized basis, though a [real] trainer is very highly recommended. There is no amount of expertise that can replace another set of trained eyes.

Fasted AM Cardio

The popular misconception is that fasted AM cardio is made effective by the presence of ketones or the absence of glycogen. Though both of those conditions would lead to greater fat utilization, they are not specific to a fasted state. One could produce ketones at any time of day. Similarly, one can be depleted of glycogen at any time of day.

The efficacy of fasted AM cardio comes from the pro-oxidative enzymes released during fasting, namely the expression of [PDK] Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Kinase and [LPL] Lipoprotein Lipase. These enzymes, left undisturbed, also (partially) inhibit the production of other substrate-specific enzymes. Because substrate utilization is mostly dependent on intensity, sleep is the most proportionately oxidative activity one can undertake. These two factors create an environment where near 90% of expenditure is fatty acid oxidation.

Split Session Cardio

Every bout of cardio separated by enough rest will incur an activation cost, as well as an increase in post-exercise oxygen consumption. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system results in increased AMPK and glucagon expression. The latter is particularly important during strict dieting, where insulin spikes cause cravings of unfathomable severity. Split Session Cardio is also of benefit to athletes who are required to train at high intensity, allowing partial restoration of glycogen and phosphagen.

Post-Workout Cardio

This is also made more effective by glycogen depletion and presence of ketones, but, just as with AM Cardio, that's not really its defining mechanism of action. Weight training increases AMPK, IGF-1, and Growth Hormone production. A low insulin environment allows the GH free reign to mobilize fat stores. The IGF-1 expression is local to the trained muscles, and has nothing to do with plasma IGF-1, which is decreased by aerobic exercise. It's also important to note that, assuming adequate nutrition, there is very little risk of protein degradation. Muscles begin repairing themselves immediately; they don't disintegrate in 30 minutes, due to the absence of your post-workout shake, as supplement companies would have you believe. The acute response to muscle damage is local. No matter what you decide to do after you lift, your muscles will be repairing themselves with available resources. Nutrient sensitivity is enhanced for 48 hours. You can activate MTOR 16 times before your next training session. Do your cardio.
  
Consideration: Fasted Sustained vs. Split Session

The increased rate of B-oxidation from fasted (10-14hr) morning cardio makes it ideal for the cutting athlete. Because substrate systems shift perpetually towards B-oxidation as duration increases, it would make sense to do one prolonged AM cardio session for maximal fat loss. Those with athletic considerations, however, should be wary of protein breakdown, which also increases over time, due to the steady depletion of glycogen stores. Split sessions offer the advantage of a second activation cost; the thermic effect of the body’s shift into a prepared aerobic state. Split sessions also allow partial restoration of glycogen stores, which would result in less protein breakdown (via greater glycolysis), given identical expenditure. A cardio plan designed for maximum efficiency should take these variables into consideration.

Example:

AM Cardio: (450 cal base expenditure) (F) (AC) (+)Modified: (D)

PM Cardio: (450 cal base expenditure) (AC) (+)Modified: (D)

Split Session: (225 cal base expendtiture) (F) (AC) + (225 cal base expenditure) (AC)

Key:

(F) – Fasted State, increases total fatty acid oxidation
(AC) – Activation Cost, increases total energy expenditure (substrate varies with availability)
(D) – Duration, increases % of total energy expended via B-oxidation

Limitations

Though B-oxidation will proceed practically undisturbed for the duration of your fast, there are retaliatory mechanism which activate at around the 12 hour mark, and increase dramatically by the 18 hour mark. The most significant of these are the buildup of enzymes for de novo lipogenesis, and increased insulin receptivity of adipocytes.

Training beyond one's capacity can result in negative CNS effects. Fatigue, irritability, and extreme hunger may result from a very long training session. Dividing the workload between two sessions would have resulted in roughly the same benefits, and posed less risk of unintended effects.

Sport-specific training has a separate set of protocols. The biochemistry is the same, but attenuation procedures and training goals are different. If someone is building endurance for 30-40 mile hikes, they would very clearly benefit from prolonged training sessions, and probably don't need to be concerned with fasting or intra-workout calorie restriction. This guide is primarily for strength and physique athletes.

The Segugio Cardio Template

This is a basic progression scheme that I've found effective for increasing aerobic workload without peripheral effects. An untrained person would start at 30 minutes daily, adding 10 minutes every week, to be done in a single session, up to 80 minutes. The next week's 90 minutes would be split 45/45. The following three weeks would add 10 minutes to the first session only (75/45). Every week that follows adds 10 minutes to every morning session, and 5 minutes to every evening session: 85/50, 95/55, 105/60, 115/65, 125/70, 135/75. It is limited at 3.5 hours, because anyone requiring longer duration is likely training for specific endurance adaptations.

The intensity for all session is low to medium. Because high intensity work taxes the CNS, it should be planned separately, and given the same consideration as any other form of anaerobic work.

Closing Remarks

To be aerobically conditioned is to be metabolically primed for success. One would, in fact, be at a severe disadvantage by not being adequately conditioned, as they are limiting their training efficacy and capacity for recovery. There has been a dramatic shift in exercise theory over the past decade, and it is reflected (and perpetuated) by out of shape "athletes" suddenly finding the training programs and diets of years past to be ineffective.

Many trainers, bereft of actual knowledge or experience, are die-hard proponents of the newest or trendiest training style. Visible progress has been replaced by unwarranted self-importance. You may notice that "trainers" in your gym are identifiable only by their uniforms. You may notice obese or naive clients who "train" for years under the guidance of these idiots, and remain obese and naive, but pick up an attitude along the way. Why is this?

1. Physical adaptations require frequent stimulus over very long periods of time.

2. People want immediate results.

3. There is no way to get immediate results. Options:

4a. Tell people the inconvenient truth, suggest setting long-term goals.

4b. Promise immediate results, set arbitrary progress markers, pretend that they are all being met. This is actually what Mussolini's General Staff did for most of the 1930s. Worked out well for them, I've heard.

Because it's not enough to want immediate results, people also want convenient workouts. They never have "time". The fitness industry has always made money from convenience scams, but this sort of nonsense has worked its way into mainstream fitness culture. Most trainers in the 90s would have laughed at "8 minute abs" or "the thighmaster", but today, there is hardly anyone who doesn't swear by bosu balls, crossfit, or functional training. The goals of "lose weight", "gain muscle", "get stronger", "get faster" are in demand, just as they were in times past, but arbitrary progress markers give insecure people self-esteem, which is really why they were interested in fitness in the first place.

It's not unproductive, it's counterproductive. Contemporary program design is centered around bypassing the first five years of training, with the primary goal of a session being that people brag to their equally ignorant friends. To this end, you will see people who have never lifted a barbell attempting broom handle snatches, pushing a weighted sled, or doing curls on a bosu ball. Cardio protocol (in the rare event that it exists) is always HIIT. Always. Though it's the least effective form of exercise for an untrained person, it has two very important marketing advantages:

1. It doesn't take very long.

2. Shortness of breath and profuse sweating are misinterpreted as accomplishments

The disgusting state of affairs in the fitness world is fueled by society's self-deluded and hubristic nature. The same statement could have probably been made at any time in history, but this is the first time that the nucleus of the fitness world is comprised of baseless drivel. In the era of unlimited information, we've become too self-absorbed to learn.