TRAINING
Exercise is the most powerful and potent anabolic agent available to the bodybuilder. It’s
also the most catabolic.
While testosterone and growth hormone increase as the intensity and duration of exercise
continues, they will become severely depressed if you overtrain. At the same time, cortisol
increases as does the cellular breakdown of protein and, ultimately, muscle. Because of this, it’s
important to train at the right intensity and pace to maximize hormonal response, while insuring
that you don’t overdo it.
A short, intense approach to workouts is probably the best for the bodybuilder, whether on
the high fat diet or not. A rigorous workout limited to no more than 35–45 minutes seems
wisest here, although some allowances for personal preference or training structure can be made.
All resistance programs will result in some increase in GH or testosterone, but what we’ve
found so far is that, in general, using moderately heavy weights for 6–20 reps maximum with
only limited rest between sets optimally increases both GH and testosterone. So if you’re still
doing those 2-hour marathon sessions at the gym, WAKE UP. You’re sabotaging your growth.
The object is to limit cortisol production while increasing growth hormone and testosterone.
If practical, measuring serum levels of testosterone, GH, and cortisol in the blood would be an
excellent way of telling when an athlete is training to the maximum level, and when he’s going
into overtraining.
Without this, you can keep a careful eye out for the classic warning signs of overtraining.
Irritability, depression, loss of motivation, increasing soreness, swelling of lymph nodes, loss of
appetite, and bowel problems can all be indicative of overtraining syndrome. If you’re
overtraining, back off. Look for that level of work where you’re right at the edge between
maximum growth and doing too much.
As we’ve pointed out, it’s necessary for all aspects of a person’s life—including diet, training
and lifestyle—to combine to create a synergistic effect on muscle growth. Along this line, exercise
complements the high fat diet very well. Exercise increases the use of free fatty acids in muscle
and decreases fat buildup, thus adding to the lipolytic effects of the high fat diet.^10 The reduction
of carbohydrates available on the high carb diet has also been shown to play a role in increasing
the mobilization of triglycerides during exercise, thus enhancing the fat-burning process.
WHY SUPPLEMENTS
The main purpose behind taking supplements is to increase your serum testosterone and
growth hormone levels to their optimum level, and manipulate insulin production so as to create
the best anabolic environment for the body. But there are three other major reasons why
supplements should be strongly considered by the bodybuilder.
The first is to help your body make up for any deficiencies it may already have. Because of
the strict nutritional practices and the stress of training for bodybuilders, they may have an
increased need for certain vitamins and minerals. Large quantities of potassium and zinc, for
SUPPLEMENTATION 51