What I'm doing in the gym and in the kitchen right now.

I've had lots of questions on what I'm doing in the weightroom right now, and what my days of eating look like. Right now I am in the pre-season of university basketball, so my volume of activity outside the weightroom is very high. This means I have to lower the volume of weightroom work, and keep my sets short of failure. This is different for me because I've always tended to take every set to clean failure - it's really the only way I know how to train. Also, I just recently re-tested my Metabolic type, and I came out as Balance Dominant this time, meaning that I needed to adjust my diet. 

My weightroom plan is very simple. I rotate through two very simple workouts and simply lift on whatever days I don't feel rundown from basketball. I always lift at least twice per week, though, and most of the time I hit three workouts. 

The two workouts look like this: 

Day 1: Back Squat, Bench Press off pins (no spotter), DB Rows

Day 2: Deadlift, Military Press, Pullups

I simply hit 2-5 sets of each movement not to failure. The reps tend to vary, but I generally hit 1-3 reps on deadlifts, 3-5 on squats, 4-6 for upper body presses and pullups with one higher rep set of 8-10, and generally 8-12 for rows. I really train according to how my body feels that day. I don't usually recommend an approach like this for new trainees, but for people who have been training for a while, a "cybernetic" approach to training can often work well. To make it work, it really requires strict attention to your logbook to ensure that you are making consistent progress over time. 

In terms of my diet, as I mentioned before I recently re-tested as a balanced type meaning I need roughly 50% carbohydrate, 30% protien, and 20% fat. Each day I have one source of protien, one carbohydrate, one of a few choices of vegetables and one fat. I cook it all up and split it into 5 meals, then eat the same meal all day long. The next day I rotate to new sources for each macronutrient. 

My days look like this: 

Day 1: Red meat, pumpkin, broccoli/cucumber/bell peppers, organic raw butter

Day 2: White meat, sweet potato, spinach/carrot/cauliflower, olive oil

Day 3: Fish, winter squash, broccoli/cucumber/bell peppers (different choice than day 1), coconut oil

This approach allows me to avoid developing any food intolerances, and stay strictly to the foods that are right for my metabolic type. I have also only selected foods that I am tolerant to, and have no IgG reaction. 

I truly am able to eat meals that are perfect for my body every time. It may seem boring, but it is well worth it judging by my recovery ability and energy and mood as of late. I have also noticed an extreme leaning out/detoxification affect, and I feel like I am carrying very little fat compared to where I was before (~9% bodyfat). 

August 3, 09

September 9, 09

I don't eat or train at all for leaning out, so this was a surprise to me. It just goes to show how powerful Metabolic Typing is as an eating plan. 

Anyway, hopefully that will shed some light on my current plans for all those interested. If there are any questions, comments, thoughts or suggestions I'd love to hear them below. 

Train hard. 

- T