Dude, Where's Your Calories?

I just don't get it. People refuse to accept the
fact that in order to build a lean and strong looking physique, you
need to eat! Heck, I would go as far to say that even if
someone's goal is to shed some unwanted bodyfat, the majority
of people still tend to UNDER-eat.

Nonetheless, I have come to the realization that most
trainees just don't seem to comprehend the fact that in order
to add any size to their body, they need to eat... a lot (yes,
I'm talkin' to you "I eat a ton, yet I weigh 150
lbs" guy).

I swear I eat a
ton.

How do you expect to add size to your body if you don't
provide the raw nutrients it needs to grow? As much as you
want to tell yourself that you're going to get hyooge by training two hours per day, six times per
week, it ain't gonna happen.

You can't build an impressive body through sweat alone.
And you certainly aren't going to build an impressive body by
eating like a 14 year old school girl (unless of course, you are in
fact a 14 year old school girl).

That being said, this DOES NOT give you free reign to pull a
Kirstie Alley and eat everything in sight. I'm not a
huge fan of the "see food" diet. Rather, I like a
more practical approach where you try to limit fat gain and
fluctuate your caloric intake to coincide with your
training/non-training days.

Feed me

It's fairly simple (I like simple). Your highest calorie days will be on days where you train with the most "intensity" or where you train larger muscle groups (think legs).

For example, I like to divide my leg training into quad dominant (squats) and hip dominant (deadlifts) days. These tend to be the days where I take in the most calories, because these tend to be the days where I do the most work.

On days where I train upper body, I still take in a caloric surplus (albeit slightly lower) to aid in recovery and growth, and all other days are set at either maintenance or low calorie/low carb (to you know, not get fat).

The Weekly Breakdown

Monday: Legs, hip dominant (+20% above maintenance)

Tuesday: Upper Body #1 (+10% above maintenance)

Wednesday: Mobility/Intervals (Maintenance)

Thursday: Legs, hip dominant (+20% above maintenance)

Friday: OFF/or light mobility work (Maintenance)

Saturday: Upper Body #2 (+10% above maintenance)

Sunday: OFF/watch Lord of the Rings... again (low calorie/low carb day). Maintenance caloric intake will be set at body weight x 15 kcal/lb. Yes, I do realize that this is highly individual and that certain people will need to tweak this number based on their conditioning and nutritional needs, but for the sake of simplicity (remember I like simple), we'll assume that BWx15 is maintenance for the majority of people reading this article. So for a 200 lb individual it would like this:

Monday: 3600 kcals (200x15=3000 kcals. 3000 x .20 = 600kcals. 3000+600=3600 kcals)

Tuesday: 3300 kcals

Wednesday: 3000 kcals

Thursday: 3600 kcals

Friday: 3300 kcals

Saturday: 3000 kcals

Sunday: low calorie/low carb

Breaking It Down Even Further

Monday/Thursday:

Protein: set at 1.25.1.5 grams per lb

(200x1.25= 250 grams. 250x4kcals per gram=1000 kcals)

Carbs: 2.0 grams per lb

(200x2.5= 500 grams. 500x4kcals per gram=2000 kcals)

Fat: makes up the difference (caloric ballast)

(1000 + 2000=3000. 3600-3000=600 calories from fat. 600/9 kcal per gram = ~ 67 grams of fat per day)

Tuesday/Saturday:

Protein: set at 1.25-1.5 grams per lb

Carbs: 1.5 grams per lb

Fat: makes up the difference (caloric ballast)

Wednesday/Saturday:

Protein: set at 1.25-1.5 grams per lb

Carbs: 1.0 gram per lb

Fat: makes up the difference (caloric ballast)

Sunday: OFF (Low calorie/Low Carb)

Just focus on getting your required protein and EFA's and keep your carbohydrate intake to FIBROUS VEGGIES ONLY (spinach, green beans, broccoli, etc).

For most, this will be in the 1600-2200 range and will provide some sort of caloric deficit to keep fat gain at bay. This day isn't necessarily required, but it is just an option for those who feel they are prone to fat gain when ingesting more calories than what they're used to. If you aren't one of these people, I would just eat at maintenance levels for this particular day.