the mutation series ii weeks 4 to 6

7/27/2019 The Mutation Series II Weeks 4 to 6

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The Mutation Series II

Weeks 4-6 of a new 12-week transformation plan!

by Christian Thibaudeau

Phase II: Heavy Lifting and Carb Rotation

In Part I I presented the training program and nutritional strategies I used during the first

phase of my mutation. During that initial phase, I achieved significant fat loss while

gaining a little muscle. However, I wasn't where I wanted to be in terms of body fat.

This second phase was aimed at lowering my body fat as much as possible in a three

week period. I knew I wouldn't gain much in terms of muscle mass, but I intended to at

least maintain what I already had.

Ill say it once and for all:

The purpose of strength-training while dieting is primarily to prevent muscle loss!

A lot of gurus these days like to use strength training exercises to burn fat by using long

sets (15-20 repetitions) and short rest intervals (30-60 seconds). Their logic is that this

form of training increases growth hormone output. Since GH is a lipolytic hormone (it

increases fat usage), they argue that a training method causing a boost in GH willnaturally lead to fat loss. This theory is interesting, but in the real world it's just not that

effective!

Why? Consider that when a bodybuilder injects growth hormone, a minimum dose of two

IU per day for at least three months is required to produce noticeable changes. Manybodybuilders even argue that below four IU per day is useless for body composition

purposes! The medical dose recommended for GH is around 0.20 to 0.5 IU/kg per day, so

for a 90kg individual (200 pounds) this comes up to a daily dose of 2.6 to 6.5 IU. Andthis is formedical use, which is often too low to cause any "bodybuilding" results!

As a comparison, the natural production of GH by the body varies from 1 IU to 2 IU per

day (so maybe 0.25 to 0.5 IU during exercise). So it's unlikely that the slight, transient
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increase in natural GH levels from strength training would cause any significant short-

term improvements in body composition.

High-intensity strength exercises (in the 70-100% range) are better than low intensitystrength exercises (in the 40-70% range) while dieting. The higher training loads help you

preserve strength and muscle while on a hypocaloric diet much better than super-highvolume/low intensity workouts.

We've been brainwashed by the various muscle magazines to believe that you should dohigh rep training for definition. This is absolutely ridiculous! Sure, you use a little more

energy, but think about it: the higher the training volume, the more energy you need to

recover. The more glycogen you burn while strength training, the more carbs you'll needto recover and progress.

While on a hypocaloric diet, your body has a lowered anabolic drive, meaning that it can't

synthesize as much protein into muscle compared to when you're eating a ton. A super-

high volume of work leads to a lot of microtrauma to the muscle structures; a lot ofmicrotrauma requires a great protein synthesis increase. So if you use high-volume/low-

intensity training while dieting, you'll break down more muscle and build up less. Not

exactly good news!

Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of high-reps training is an increase in blood andnutrient flow to the muscles, but if you have a reduced amount of nutrients available in

your body, this benefit is pretty much wasted.

So to force my body into maintaining this muscle mass, I decreased my training volume

and increased the intensity factor. I also included more rest periods to allow for

maximum recovery between sets so that I could lift more weight.

I know this type of training isn't commonly seen as a program to use for fat loss, but more

and more bodybuilders now understand the benefits of lifting heavy while trying to lose

body fat. One of the bodybuilders who believes in heavy training even while dieting isSkip La Cour, arguably the best natural bodybuilder in the world.

So, without any more chatting, heres my training program for Phase 2!

Phase 2: Weeks 4-6

Objective: To maintain as much muscle mass a possible while losing a lot of body fat.

Strength Training Frequency: 4 times per week

Energy System Work (Cardio) Frequency: 3 times a week


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Training Program for Phase 2

Monday: Chest and Upper Back

Tuesday: Quadriceps and Hamstrings

Wednesday: Energy System Session

Thursday: Biceps, Triceps, Forearms

Friday: Energy System Session

Saturday: Shoulders and Traps

Sunday: Energy System Session plus Abs MondayA. Flat bench press4 sets of extended

5s (Use as much weight as you can for 5 reps. After the 5 reps, take 15 seconds of restthen perform as many reps as possible. Pause for 15 seconds again and perform as many

reps as possible.)301 tempo120 seconds of restB. Barbell row4 sets of extended 5s, same

method as above.301 tempo120 seconds of restC. Low incline dumbbell press5 sets of 5reps301 tempo120 seconds of restD. Lat pulldown to the front, mid grip5 sets of 5

reps301 tempo

120 seconds of rest

Tuesday

A. Leg press

4 sets of extended 5s

301 tempo

120 seconds of rest

B. Leg curl


301 tempo

120 seconds of rest

C. Back squat


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5 sets of 5 reps

301 tempo

120 seconds of rest

D. Romanian deadlift

3 sets of 10 reps

301 tempo

120 seconds of rest


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E. Seated calf raise

3 sets of 15 reps

301 tempo

90 seconds of rest

Wednesday (HIIT energy system work)

Alternate 100m sprint with 100m brisk walk. Complete as many intervals as possible. (Igot anywhere from six to ten during this phase.)

Thursday

A. Gironda perfect curl


303 tempo

120 seconds of rest


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B. Decline dumbbell triceps extension


303 tempo

120 seconds of rest

C. Barbell curl

5 sets of 5 reps

301 tempo

120 seconds of rest

D. Cable triceps extension

5 sets of 5 reps

301 tempo

120 seconds of rest

Friday (Low intensity energy system work)

Slow pace treadmill walking (3.4 mph, 8 degree incline) for 40 minutes

Saturday

A. Machine shoulder press


301 tempo


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120 seconds of rest

B. Barbell shrugs


201 tempo

120 seconds of rest

C. Dumbbell shoulder press

5 sets of 5 reps

301 tempo

120 seconds of rest

D. Hise shrugs on calf machine

5 sets of 5 reps

201 tempo

120 seconds of rest

Sunday (Low intensity energy system work plus abs)


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A. 20 minutes slow pace energy system work (treadmill 3.4mph, 8 degree incline)

B1. Cable crunches

3 sets of 10 reps

402 tempo

No rest

B2. Crunches on Swiss ball

3 sets max reps

402 tempo

120 seconds of rest

C. 20 minutes slow pace energy system work (treadmill 3.4mph, 8 degree incline)

D1. Incline Russian twist

3 sets of 10 reps

402 tempo

No rest

D2. V crunches

3 sets max reps

402 tempo

120 seconds of rest

Nutrition Program for Phase 2

During this second phase I wanted to follow a low carb diet, but I felt that it might make

it harder to maintain my muscle mass. I decided on a "carb rotation" diet instead:

Monday: 100g of carbs, 500g of protein, 50g of fat, 2850 kilocalories

Tuesday: 150g of carbs, 500g of protein, 50g of fat, 3050 kilocalories


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Wednesday: 50g of carbs, 500g of protein, 50g of fat, 2650 kilocalories

Thursday: 150g of carbs, 500g of protein, 50g of fat, 3050 kilocalories

Friday: 50g of carbs, 500g of protein, 50g of fat, 2650 kilocalories

Saturday: 150g of carbs, 500g of protein, 50g of fat, 3050 kilocalories

Sunday: less than 50g of carbs, 500g of protein, 50g of fat, less than 2650 kilocalories

This allowed me to get the benefit of low-carb days and caloric deficit without riskinglosing muscle mass. The moderate carb days also prevented loss of energy during my

workouts and kept my glycogen reserves relatively full.

It would be too complex and repetitive to write down all my meals, so suffice to say that I

ate seven times per day and consumed most of my carbs in the two meals followingtraining. My protein and fat intake stayed the same during the week at around 500g and

50g respectively.

My first "meal" was in the form ofSurge plus someLow Carb Grow!. The second meal

included starchy carbohydrates such as rice, oatmeal or whole bread. Pasta can also be

consumed, but with the amount of carbs allowed, this left me with a very small portion,

which isn't very filling.

The amount of carb meals and portions per meal were adjusted depending on the carb

level of the day. If only 50g were allowed, I'd only ingest one carb meal (post-workout

shake). If 100g were allowed I'd ingest two carb meals (50g post-workout shake, 50g inthe next "real food" meal). Finally, on days where 150g were allowed, I also split the

carbs into two meals, but consumed 75g instead of 50g.

My other meals of the day were divided into two types: whole food and protein shakes.

Both were rotated (one food meal, one shake, one food meal, one shake, one food meal,one post-workout shake, one food meal). The first five meals were low in carbs and

contained around 70g of protein, mostly in the form of steak, fish, turkey or chicken.

I also included 12g of good fats in the form of 6g of CLA and 6g of fish oils in each of

the "real food" meals. Fat wasn't consumed in the shake meals. Low Carb Grow! was my

choice once again. At each meal I ate a small portion of green vegetables. Broccoli,lettuce and spinach were the usual suspects.

All and all my energy stayed up during the whole phase which pleased me, as I

sometimes go flat and lethargic on a "normal" low carb diet. This phase also proved to besuccessful as I dropped six pounds of fat (down to 211) while gaining strength, thus at

least maintaining muscle mass.
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Supplement Program for Phase 2

I used several supplements during this phase; mostly supplements that would help megain muscle mass and build strength while reducing body fat. I again used a lot of Low

Carb Grow!, fish oils, and CLA. On top of that I also used daily:

TRIBEX: three capsules, three times per day

M: three capsules in the morning

RED KAT: two capsules twice per day (morning and evening)

SURGE: 1 to 1 1/2 servings post-workout

HOT-ROX: 2 capsules twice per day

Vitamin A: I used 10,000 IU per day. (Vitamin A has been shown to help reduce fat

gain.)

BCAA: 10g three times per day (morning, during workout, and post-workout)

As you noticed, I added HOT-ROX to the mix. Once again, it didnt let me down. I feelthat HOT-ROX greatly enhanced my rate of fat loss while helping me maintain muscle

mass.

The TRIBEX, M and RED KAT trio provided me with a natural anabolic boost. TRIBEXincreased Testosterone production. M improved the Testosterone to

estrogen/progesterone ratio, and RED KAT increased T levels via a different mechanism

and drastically lowered SHBG, which meant that more of the added Testosterone
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produced would be in free form, the active form of the hormone. For people wanting to

really increase their anabolic drive without touching legal or illegal androgens, I feel this

is by far the most effective stack to use.

On to Phase 3!

This second phase proved to be even better than the first one. I was also pleased with the

results I got from the carb rotation plan.

Training went very well, except for some minor joint pain in the third week. My strengthwent up during this phase, which was a big bonus as I hadn't really expected it to. Overall

I began to feel more solid and hard. Its probably just a psychological thing, but it made

me feel good nonetheless.

So, where are you at in your own transformation? Drop a note on theT-forumand let me

know! Coming soon: Phase 3!

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the mutation series ii weeks 4 to 6

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