Today is the final day of the NCMI conference and I am thrilled to be heading home later this evening. It was a great experience as I met a lot of new people (possible collaborators), and learned a bunch about the new software options available for my research. I also got to present my work on the yeast V-ATPase and I believe it was well-received.
Back to training. Over the past couple weeks I have noticed a little strength in my workouts and I thought I was in the right direction in terms of putting on quality mass. Unfortunately the food at this conference has made following the zone/paleo regime almost impossible. I have adjusted and instead of getting my blocks from just anywhere (like the pizza and shit they have offered) I have stuck to zone/paleo foods while sacficing the number of zone blocks. In other words I am still zone/paleo eating but instead of 20 blocks 5x fats I have been lurking the 14 blocks 3x the fats range.
This isn't a total disaster but I will be extremely happy to get home and get back on the plan. However, this adjustment has got me thinking. Much like the METABOLIC DIET in which the nutrient rations are cycled on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis, maybe it would be a good idea to play around with my protein blocks in order to optimize protein synthesis.
Here's what I've been thinking. Stick to the x5 fats, but alter the carb and protein blocks to harvest the rewards of protein sensitivity. So maybe throughout the week I would have 30 blocks of CHO, and 10 blocks of protein (note the add up to 40) with 5x fats. This would help raise glycogen levels and further fuel the intense workouts. Now on the weekend (friday through sunday) I would flip the switch and change my diet to 10 blocks of CHO, 30 blocks of protein, and 5x fats. I am hypothesizing that by having the protein levels low during the week and during the training I would increase protein sensitivity. Now on the weekend when I am resting I will flip the metabolic switch (cut the carbs and up the pro) and hopefully drive an enhanced mechanism of protein synthesis.
This may seem counterintuitive to some but I think this may be crazy enough to work. Remember the zone/paleo regime is an amazing way to fuel your body. By my hyperactive curiosity can't help but wonder if there isn't a way to further optimize this.
Please give me your feedback so maybe I can further consider some of the parameters before I impliment this regime.
I consider myself somewhat of a scientific consultant to CFEP and if there is any way I can serve the people better I will.
Cheers!
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Well there are tons of factors that play into this experiment. The changes you have made in your workout regimen alone will cause an increase in strength and mass. The increase in fats is encouraging your body to use more fat as fuel and less protein. As we move forward in this program the blocks increase more and more and I think that that is where the main gains are going to be made. I see this as a good primer stage for the real mass building stage when we will be eating way over 4 thousand kcals.
As far as increasing protein synthesis, altering the post workout meals has worked for me. I'm sure you've talked to David about that one.
The flaw I see in your program is that you don't have a balance of protein and carbohydrates. During the week your blood glucose levels may be a bit more erratic, but the 5x fat will help keep them level.
On the protein deprivation, I haven't ever heard of the body going into a protein synthesizing frenzy when deprived. I do know that post-WOD is a great time to feed your body a nice cocktail of starchy carbs and clean protein because that is when they will absorb it like a sponge.
Either way, at the end of this you will have documented what you did and what results were gained. And it is inevitable, you'll get stronger with this program.
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