I think I'm going to try a partial calorie restricted diet

[mulder]

Long long term for the incredible longevity benefits, not just for weight loss. 5 days of calorie restriction and two days of my regular eating. Since I'm losing fat and doing weights now I think I should be able to do this without losing much muscle at all. Once I get down to my set point weight- around 185- I might start losing muscle as well. Typically on a full calorie restricted diet (3/4-2/3 of daily recommended) weight drops 10-25% below your set point weight, since I'm thinking about partial restriction 10% below set point would sounds reasonable. I'd still be quite muscular at 165-170. Having two days of regular calorie consumption would presumably give me one workout day where I could still make muscle gains even after all the excess fat is burned off.

Do you guys think I'd be able to maintain my muscular physique on a five day a week calorie restricted regimen? Any supps etc that might help? One idea that comes to mind is to design a very efficient exercise routine- too much exercise will burn too many calories and contribute to wear and tear without additional health benefits. For maintainence of health I'm thinking 45 minutes of mixed intensity cardio exercise daily and resistance exercise 4 times a week, exercising each muscle group 1x a week, would be near ideal.

 

[CCS]

good plan. i can't stress enough though that you should do small workouts that are spaced out. I think the main reason some people don't make gains is because they tear the muscle down too much. As for fat burning, you will burn more fat if you keep your muscle from getting catabolised. you do that by stimulating it regulary. I think each muscle group 3x per week is good. Just do a very light workout -- heavy lifts, but not many sets.

 

[Knendell]

How many calories are you going to eat on the restricted day? I am thinking of doing the same thing to lose some body fat if possible.

 

[mulder]

good plan. i can't stress enough though that you should do small workouts that are spaced out. I think the main reason some people don't make gains is because they tear the muscle down too much. As for fat burning, you will burn more fat if you keep your muscle from getting catabolised. you do that by stimulating it regulary. I think each muscle group 3x per week is good. Just do a very light workout -- heavy lifts, but not many sets.

I personally think 3x a week for most muscle groups is counterproductive or at least a waste of time. 1x a week resistance is good enough for both maintenance and growth in my opinion unless your an athlete perhaps. For rapid growth less frequent higher intensity workouts with more rest I think is the way to go...best way of developing your fast twitch and push intermediate muscles in the fast twitch direction. But maybe you're right about more frequent and less intense workouts being good when you're restricting your calorie intake- your body maybe aging less rapidly and more healthy in many respects but probably can deal with certain trauma as well- i.e. extremely hard workouts might be counterproductive when you're restricting your cals... When I'm really into the calorie restriction regimen long term I'll probably have to just shift the intensity of regular weight training down except on the one full calorie workout day. Hopefully this will be enough to sustain a quite muscular and incredibly lean physique long term. I suspect the biggest danger would be getting ill...probably could lose a lot of muscle very quickly with very low body fat...then again maybe the much more efficient metabolism would make up for that? Overall I think calorie restriction is the way to go.

 

[mulder]

How many calories are you going to eat on the restricted day? I am thinking of doing the same thing to lose some body fat if possible.

First you have to know what your setpoint weight is...whatever you tend to gravitate towards to in the long term when your eating right. My full adult set point has been around 180-190 for the past decade or so...I did put on about 20 pounds of muscle around 20 but I really think it permanently changed my metabolism and physiology (its very hard for me to lose that muscle now)...so I feel safe in saying 180-190 is my set point. On a full (about 1/3 of recommended calories) CR diet you eventually want to achieve a weight about 10-25% below your natural set point.

To know how many calories you have to basically count all your cals when you're 'eating right' and exercising normally. For me it's around 2400 cals a day. So I'm aiming for around 1600 a day on the calorie restricted days, will definitely try to keep it under 1800 a day. Some people throw in fasts for more variety too...then you can eat more 'normally' on more days.
If you do this diet long term you have monitor your nutrient intake very carefully. Check out this link:

http://www.optimal.org/peter/cron.htm

 

[CCS]

I personally think 3x a week for most muscle groups is counterproductive or at least a waste of time. 1x a week resistance is good enough for both maintenance and growth in my opinion unless your an athlete perhaps. For rapid growth less frequent higher intensity workouts with more rest I think is the way to go...best way of developing your fast twitch and push intermediate muscles in the fast twitch direction. But maybe you're right about more frequent and less intense workouts

Intensity = weight. I'm saying you should do lower volume. 3x per week is so easy for me I don't even feel like I worked out. But I see the results when I lift heavier weights next time. The trick is to do only 3 sets, and only come near failure on the last set, and don't grunt and struggle to get the last rep. The last rep should be in good form, without clenched teeth. I've been adding 5 pounds to my bench press every workout, and they are 48 hours apart. I leave the gym feeling high, not worn out.

 

[mulder]

I personally think 3x a week for most muscle groups is counterproductive or at least a waste of time. 1x a week resistance is good enough for both maintenance and growth in my opinion unless your an athlete perhaps. For rapid growth less frequent higher intensity workouts with more rest I think is the way to go...best way of developing your fast twitch and push intermediate muscles in the fast twitch direction. But maybe you're right about more frequent and less intense workouts

Intensity = weight. I'm saying you should do lower volume. 3x per week is so easy for me I don't even feel like I worked out. But I see the results when I lift heavier weights next time. The trick is to do only 3 sets, and only come near failure on the last set, and don't grunt and struggle to get the last rep. The last rep should be in good form, without clenched teeth. I've been adding 5 pounds to my bench press every workout, and they are 48 hours apart. I leave the gym feeling high, not worn out.

Are you actually seeing any gains? I very much doubt this approach will work.

 

[CCS]

I personally think 3x a week for most muscle groups is counterproductive or at least a waste of time. 1x a week resistance is good enough for both maintenance and growth in my opinion unless your an athlete perhaps. For rapid growth less frequent higher intensity workouts with more rest I think is the way to go...best way of developing your fast twitch and push intermediate muscles in the fast twitch direction. But maybe you're right about more frequent and less intense workouts

Intensity = weight. I'm saying you should do lower volume. 3x per week is so easy for me I don't even feel like I worked out. But I see the results when I lift heavier weights next time. The trick is to do only 3 sets, and only come near failure on the last set, and don't grunt and struggle to get the last rep. The last rep should be in good form, without clenched teeth. I've been adding 5 pounds to my bench press every workout, and they are 48 hours apart. I leave the gym feeling high, not worn out.

Are you actually seeing any gains? I very much doubt this approach will work.

No mass gains yet. Just strength gains. 20 pounds on bench in the last 12 days. Also all my other muscle groups are getting steady gains. My father has been doing this the last 4 months with great success and is much stronger than me. He's 60.

I do 3 sets of 6 reps each, only approaching failure on the last set. I never increase the reps. I increase the weight on individual sets, and know my muscle building speed limit. If you think about it, you can tear your muscle down as much as you want, but it can only rebuild so fast. Just stimulate it often, and don't tear it down too much.

 

[mulder]

No mass gains yet. Just strength gains. 20 pounds on bench in the last 12 days. Also all my other muscle groups are getting steady gains. My father has been doing this the last 4 months with great success and is much stronger than me. He's 60.

I do 3 sets of 6 reps each, only approaching failure on the last set. I never increase the reps. I increase the weight on individual sets, and know my muscle building speed limit. If you think about it, you can tear your muscle down as much as you want, but it can only rebuild so fast. Just stimulate it often, and don't tear it down too much.

I don't doubt your strength is increasing but I'm skeptical this is the way to get optimal growth results. You don't do warm up sets? I'm a big believer in exhaustion sets, esp for hard to grow muscles.

 

[CCS]

I warm up by doing pushups with my hands on the bench.

 

[mulder]

http://www.calorierestriction.org/

excellent resource