Warrior Diet Experiment

[RoaringMad Mac]

I will be watching from here as well M&B

[Muscle and Brawn]

I will be watching from here as well M&B

Hi mac. 

[Muscle and Brawn]

I had a headache most of the day today. Two nights ago I had a rough time sleeping, mostly because my testosterone levels felt through the roof. Last night my sleep was OK, but I think the headache is still residual from the poor sleep night.

I had been trying to up my protein levels when overeating, making sure I get at least 100 grams nightly. But I am backing off that a little. I want to make sure I get a minimum of 60-80 grams nightly...it is real easy for me to under eat protein on the Warrior Diet. I am so used to eating one can of tuna, or one chicken breast...my brain till is stuck on bodybuilding diet mode.

I feel so much more satisfied when I eat a bit more carbs. The nights where I ate over 100 grams of protein I didn't feel as satisfied.

FYI, the Warrior Diet doesn't pretend to encourage counting calorie and macro-nutrient intake, but I want to do it so this experiment is more scientific. If I know what my diet is, I can make adjustments if there is any unwanted muscle loss.

Today's workout was so-so. I improved on the bench press, but on the overhead press I stayed about the same. Regardless, my shoulders felt pumped.

I want to add exercises as my fat loss progresses, but during the initial stages of this diet, I am taking it somewhat easy with regards to total training time...want to see what I am capable of on an empty stomach.

I do tend to feel slightly hungry after lunch, but generally by 2 in the afternoon I feel wide awake and like a hunter ready for a kill. This is perfect, since I head home to workout.

Lastly, my scale needs a new battery, which is kind of nice. Stepping on the scale each day is a bad habit.

Bench Press

225 x 7/4/3/3/1/1/1

Overhead Press

135 x 8/4/3/2/1/1/1

[Muscle and Brawn]

This morning's weight = 295.2 pounds. I am down 12.6 pounds so far.

Things are progressing well. No noticeable strength loss. In fact, my strength is progressing as if there hasn't been any diet change.

I have been changing things up on leg day lately, trying to hammer my legs past a mini-plateau. Today I did 10 sets of 2 reps, with a one minute break in between sets. It was a solid workout.

The bulldozer method is especially effective on hamstrings...great workout and next day soreness.

I think I need to keep my squats old school (for me)...4 sets of 5 reps...something more like 5x5, or 4x5. Leg size is not my current issue. I would love to keep my size and get stronger, but I need to go back to a consistant squat day so I can shoot for rep/weight progression.

For dinner I made chorizo, chicken and cheddar vegetable soup. Red onion, carrots, peas, corn, some rice, 1/2 cup bisquick to thicken the soup, butter, broth, etc. Man, this stuff was out of the park.

Squats

365 x 2/2
335 x 2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2

Ham Curls

75 x 7/4/4/3/2

[Muscle and Brawn]

I bumped my deadlift weight to 405 today, and it felt fairly decent. I struggled to 20 reps, stopping shy @ 17. My back was a little off from my squat workout a few day ago, which is odd, because my back never bother me while squatting. In any case, it's just a minor tweak, and all is well.

My back was toast when I was done.

The weight loss is going incredibly well. I will do another vlog at the end of the month.

Deadlift

405 x 17

T-bars

130 x 7/4/4/3/2

[Muscle and Brawn]

A few observations...

1) The first week on the WD, I felt slightly hungry while working out. But, my energy was good...as good as when I ate pre-workout. Since that time, the energy remains, but I no longer feel hungry during workouts.

2) I find myself much more mentally stable on the WD with regards to cravings. I don't feel like I "need" to have ice cream, nachos, etc. The big meal is leaving me satisfied, and though I occasionally think about junk food, the cravings are mild and controllable.

3) Since my workouts are going great, and my strength and energy is there, I am going to up the intensity a bit to what it was pre-Warrior Diet. My new workout regimen is as follows...

Saturday...Legs
Sunday...Arms
Monday...Off
Tuesday...Back
Wednesday...Chest
Thursday...Off
Friday...Shoulders

I will still be using Bulldozer training principles, but will be adding sets. Workout totals on the Warrior Diet prior to this scheme have lasted 30-35 minutes. Workouts on my new routine should last 40-50 minutes.

[Muscle and Brawn]

Not the greatest of days. Sleep wasn't the best last night. I have been a urinating machine the last 24 hours, mostly diet related. I was up numerous times last night running to the bathroom.

Up until last night, I hadn't had a night like this on the Warrior Diet. On previous cuts, I was up flushing out water many, many times.

On top of my fatigue, I had a bit of motion sickness going into my workout. I was watching my daughter play Tomb Raider on the PS2, and started to feel a little off. Not uncommon for me.

Because of the fatigue and motion sickness, my workout started slow. But by the end, my strength and endurance were there. This was the first workout in three months where I had a retreat in strength on the bench. Hopefully it was not Warrior Diet related.

I DID complete my incline in 5-mini rest pause sets, so the weight goes up next workout.

A side note...today it was 46 below zero. Yes, not a typo. Yes, Wisconsin truly is the frozen tundra. You think last year's Packers vs. Giants game was bad...that isn't squat compared to how January normally gets.

I have lost 15 pounds so far. Official weigh in will be on January 31st.

Bench Press

225 x 7/4/2/2/1/1/1/1/1

Incline Bench Press

175 x 8/5/3/3/1

[Muscle and Brawn]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VALLfQ1caDg

[Muscle and Brawn]

One thing I had forgotten about is that I am not using creatine during the Warrior Diet. I had used it prior...could have contributed to yesterday's sub-par chest day.

[TheUsurper]

I just want to say keep up the good work man!  Your approach is definitely solid and I like that you are taking a scientific approach to the WD with calorie counting and macronutrient breakdown.  I am doing this as well except my lean body mass (assumption) is about 160-165 lbs with 15-20lbs of fat for a total weight of 180.  I am cutting as well on the warrior diet, while trying to preserve as much muscle mass as possible (well in truth, gain muscle mass as well) in preparation for a bodybuilding contest (goal is 170 competitive weight).  I just got done watching a couple of your Vlogs and I just wanted to share some advice from a fellow WD follower with the same goals in mind.
1.  Personally, I would trash the "arm" day.  I know your split is a typical bodybuilding one, but the more I look into and reflect on the results I got from using basically the same split, the more I realized that it makes no logical sense to have.  Your biceps are going to give out before your back on any "back" exercise, and your triceps will fatigue before chest in an exercise like bench.  Training them again on their own day with the same level of intensity will result in overtraining.  I believe you will experience much benefit from consolidating your workout, but you will need to add something to supplement for the previous volume you had.  Everyone has their own level of weekly volume they can maintain for a set level of calories without experiencing overtraining.
2.  I am curious to know what your diet's macronutrient breakdown is.  I have had the most success following a 4 fat fuel days (my training days) followed by 3 carb fuel days on my rest days.  This puts me in line for the competition when I need to carb deplete and load because that will be my typical diet.
3.  You need to add some form of cardio.  And I do not mean this in the typical sense.  I would do 1-2 days of HIIT or tabata training per week, 15 minutes MAX.  The Tabata can be done with weights, say with deadlift upright rows on the day before chest for example.  You could perform supersets with extremely short rest periods on your arm day instead as well.  The GH response from training in short intervals with short rests is undeniable and is the key in my opinion to your plan for max fat loss while preserving muscle.  At your current weight it is probably not safe for you to do plyometrics or sprints, but you could do intervals on a stationary bike instead.

[Muscle and Brawn]

Hi Usurper. Thanks for the advice and encouragement.

Regarding the arm day, I have been training for about 20 years and believe it or not this is my first go around with an arm day. I know where you are coming from...I have written many articles giving the same advice, and I agree. But for me, I know my body well...my triceps respond well to extra work. Most folks don't have this good problem though.

Also know that if my triceps don't like this routine...no worries, I generally change routines every month.

I am as close to a heavy compound, no flyes or isolations Jedi as they get...for beginners to intermediates

Here are a couple articles I have written...

http://muscleandbrawn.com/2008/11/why-am-i-not-seeing-results-with-my-weight-lifting-program/ (http://muscleandbrawn.com/2008/11/why-am-i-not-seeing-results-with-my-weight-lifting-program/)


http://muscleandbrawn.com/2008/11/8-signs-of-a-weak-weightlifting-routine/ (http://muscleandbrawn.com/2008/11/8-signs-of-a-weak-weightlifting-routine/)

Regarding my macronutrient intake, this is what i can tell you...

My undereating is all fresh veggies, fruits, and an egg AND a piece of string cheese. So during the undereating phase I am some fat, minor carbs and 14-15 grams of protein. This is the same every day. If I had no fat, my body would be about 178-180 pounds, so and of course I want to maintain this mass, so I do eat a minor amount of protein. I am going to take my first body fat/skin fold reading at the end of February...we'll see how this is working for me.

During overeating, I am making sure that I get at least 80 grams of protein, and a good source of quality, healthy fats. While I am not counting fat grams, I am making sure that I get enough good fat...no margarine, only fat from butter, almonds, olive oil, beans, cheeses, and some milk (not much). I have tried pushing my protein past 100 grams, but I have found that they reduced carbs that I ate while gorging on protein made it harder for me to sleep at night.

Regarding the cardio, my lifting style raises my heart rate. It is a self-created style called Bulldozer trainer. For example, on deadlift days, I use controlled fatigue to get to 20 reps on deadlift. I only rest long enough to regain my strength. Last workout I used 405x17 reps. These workouts are killer, and ARE cardio

It takes me 15-20 minutes to complete this set, and my heart is rocking, brother

Same deal for squat day.

Nearly every set I perform is done in bulldozer style, so there is very little rest in between my 20 or so mini-sets each workout. 10 deep breaths...that's it. Bulldozer takes your muscles to near fatigue, and then pushes them when they don't want to be pushed. And my heart is hopping during the process.

Also, I work a very physical job, and my body does not respond well to an extra pounding. I was a runner for 10 years, and I believe that most of my current joint related issuies are from past running bouts.

[TheUsurper]

Thanks for the info!

I love the articles especially the quote "A routine without squats is like a kegger without a keg. It just ain’t happening."

I'm feeling the bulldozer training, I do my own variation of the short rest thing, with a test day of 4-6 rep max for an exercise with 2 min rest until I can't match the max, then progress each week by pulling the rest period down to an eventual 15 seconds with the same weight, reps and sets, before performing another "test day."  Just my preferred method of progression.  I need a cooler name for it though haha.

Just wondering about your opinion on one thing, if I have been having only 70-120g protein on any given day and found that this is completely sufficient for building muscle, then why is it that most muscle mags or "sports-nutritionists" will recommend something like 1-2g per lb of body weight in most instances?  It seems like taking in just enough to prevent muscle wasting and give your body what it will use would be most beneficial.  Do you think its just another case of the "more is better" mentality?

[Muscle and Brawn]

Just wondering about your opinion on one thing, if I have been having only 70-120g protein on any given day and found that this is completely sufficient for building muscle, then why is it that most muscle mags or "sports-nutritionists" will recommend something like 1-2g per lb of body weight in most instances?  It seems like taking in just enough to prevent muscle wasting and give your body what it will use would be most beneficial.  Do you think its just another case of the "more is better" mentality?

This is the great mystery. Let's analyze it...

1) The number one supplement in terms of sales and dollars is...protein.

2) The current thinking in protein is...more is better.

3) More protein = more sales.

The industry has successfully created a paranoia that if you don't overeat protein, you are a fool. Also note that a lot of this advice came from the steroid camp...lifters who were gaining and maintaining insane lean body mass needed that amount of protein. Heck, if you are gaining 25 pounds of lean muscle in 3 months, you better be eating like mad!

The industry likes to take rules created by steroid users, and tell the general public that these are rules for success.

I have never really eaten more then 150 grams a day, and never had a problem. My lean mass is 178-180, so by those standards I should be shrinking away to nothing! I am a natural lifter.

[Muscle and Brawn]

And this experiment will be important in my mind. I am using a radical (to bodybuilding) diet, and eating only 100 grams of protein a day.

With these 2 ingredients, common thinking states that I am a fool, and will lose all my muscle...we will see.

[Ró-fhéinní]

the industry also does not take into account the body's recycling of proteins that occurs when you fast