Low-Carb Training Secrets

by Jen Heath

First appeared in the Testoreone Magazine

A Low-Carb Overview

There's one main reason why some athletes shy away from lower carbohydrate diets. Although the fat burning effects are a nice allure for anyone, the mental and physiological side effects of training on low carbs can be about as fun as a Navy Seal's Hell Week.

This is particularly true during the first week or two of low-carb dieting as the body adjusts from burning sugar to burning fat. Although some people will feel great from the get-go, a lot of people will initially report feeling sluggish, lethargic, and mentally hazy.

The biggest complaint is that without full glycogen stores and without much glucose in the brain to fuel mental intensity, the amount of intensity a person can put into their workouts can be negatively affected. Losing fat is nice and all but nobody really enjoys feeling weak and having the energy of a zombie.

Additionally, many people claim the ability to build muscle on a low-carb diet can be negatively impacted. Although this would seem very true on paper, in the real world there are plenty of people who build mounds of muscle eating low-carb fare. This is even more true for those who engage in periodic carb-ups as specified in diets such as the Anabolic Diet and other cyclical low-carb schemes.

Even those who don't engage in carb-ups will generally build plenty of muscle as long as they eat enough. One plausible explanation for the muscle-building success many experience while eating low-carb is that training on minimal carbs makes the muscles and body more sensitive to the carbs that are ingested.

Although there are obviously negatives to training on lower carbs, the great thing is that as the body becomes a fat burner, it adjusts just fine to the lower carb intake. In fact, in one study two groups of distance runners were looked at. One group ate high carbs; the other group ate low carb.

Although the performance of the low-carb group was initially worse than that of the high-carb group, after a month their performance was equal. So the negative mental side effects inherent with low-carb dieting don't last for long. The low-carb group ultimately will enjoy a more desirable body composition over time and have equivalent performance all the while.

The thing to do if you're the type who gets the fuzzy mental side effects is just suck it up while your body adapts. You can also use stimulants such as Spike, which will help your mental clarity and ability to focus. The point is, you can get through. You have the mental stamina to do it, and there are plenty of supplemental resources that help. Besides, it doesn't last that long anyway, so it's not really that big a deal.

In addition to the fact that you can supplement to help you through any ill side effects while getting adjusted to lower carbs, there are tactics you can and should employ supplement-wise to increase long-term effectiveness over the long haul. And guess what? They're no differentfrom any other scheme!

That's right, when you switch over to low carbs, there are no magical wands that eliminate the need for things like fish oils and protein powder. If anything, the need for them is increased, particularly protein. Additionally, supplements like Beta-7, Se7en, creatine, and BCAA's still have a very important place in low-carb dieting.

I feel the need to stress this because the obsession with meeting totals and the new macronutrient spreads tends to take attention away from these bodybuilding staples. It's important from the get-go to remember to take them.

The Low-Carb Advantage

With low-carb dieting, appetite is naturally blunted so you tend to actually want to eat less overall. Since the body is already utilizing and burning fat for fuel, the amount of exercise (particularly cardiovascular exercise) needed to burn off fat can also be significantly less.

People who eat low-carb often note they don't need near as much cardio to get ripped. Lower carb dieting is often attractive for older powerlifters and strength athletes who don't want to engage in a ton of extra energy system activity to drop body fat.

Someone with a slow metabolism attempting to get ripped while eating standard high carb bodybuilding fare will generally find they need to perform lots of extra cardio in order to burn off the fat. Low-carb diets aren't magic, but many people with slower metabolisms have had success getting super lean without having to add in much in the way of extra energy system work.

Of particular interest to women is that low-carb training and dieting carries with it some interesting positive physiological quirks. Women tend to carry fat in their hips and thighs and when they diet they often find these areas very stubborn. There's a reason these areas are called "stubborn" fat.

There's also a reason why this fat is stubborn. As you may know, epinephrine and nor-epinephrine are boosted when you diet or exercise. Our body fat stores contain adrenoreceptors that respond to these substances. Most ordinary non-stubborn body fat is high in a type of adrenoreceptor called a beta receptor which reacts positively to this increase. In this ordinary fat, rich in beta receptors, the nor-epinephrine attaches to the beta receptor and this allows the fat to be released into circulation where it can be burned off.

However, the fat contained in the hips and thighs contains a type of adrenoreceptor called alpha-2. Alpha-2 receptors don't respond the same way that beta receptors do. Thus, in order to really "get to" the stubborn fat you need to inhibit the alpha receptor.

A few ways to naturally inhibit the alpha receptor include fasting and increasing levels of blood fatty acids. Guess what type of diet dramatically increases levels of blood fatty acids and also simulates fasting? That's right, a low-carb diet. This essentially explains why women on low-carb diets often report that their "stubborn" areas aren't quite so stubborn.

Setting Up a Training Scheme

On low-carb diets, you don't necessarily need to make any radical adjustments to your training scheme. The diet and training will work just fine as is. However, if you really want to hone in on the strengths and weaknesses of this type of diet there are essentially two different ways of approaching training to maximize its effectiveness.

Training Approach #1

The first option will be more attractive if you're focusing on strength gains or if you're the type of person who just hates to lift anything light.

With this option you should place your heaviest training early in the training week and your lightest training later on in the week. This is to ensure you'll be able to lift heavy weights early on in the week as you come off your weekend carb-up and your glycogen stores are nice and full.

Heavy Rep, Low-Carb Training Plan

Note: Glycogen stores will be full, so you'll feel strong. Lift to failure each set and take enough rest in between sets to lift really heavy weights. Don't hesitate to take up to two or three minutes between sets if that's what you need to fully recover. These first few days during the week are your chance to gain hella strength, so don't mess around. If you love to lift heavy, this is your chance.

Monday — Heavy Legs and Delts

A1. Back Squats: 4 x 6-8
A2. Lying Leg Curl: 4 x 6-8
B1. Calf Raise: 4 x 15
C1. Weighted Alternating Lunges: 4 x 6-8 per side
C2. Weighted Glute Ham Raises: 4 x 6-8
D1. Bradford Press: 4 x 6-8
D2. Side Lateral Raises: 4 x 6-8
E1. Weighted Decline Crunches: 3 x 8-10

Tuesday — Heavy Back and Biceps

A1. Traditional Deadlifts: 4 x 6-8
A2. Pull-ups: 3 x 6-8
A3. Seated Row: 3 x 6-8
B1. DB Incline Curls: 4 x 6-8
B2. Standing Barbell Curls: 4 x 6-8
C1: Hanging Leg Raises: 3 x 10-12

Wednesday — Heavy Chest and Triceps

A1. Smith Machine Bench Press: 4 x 6-8
A2. Incline Flyes: 3 x 6-8
A3. Standing Cable Crossovers: 3 x 6-8
B1. Close-Grip Decline Bench Press: 4 x 6-8
B2. Weighted Chest DipsL 4 x 6-8

Thursday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise

Friday — Light weight high-rep workout, 3-5 sets per exercise done in circuit format.

Perform 20 reps per set with 1 minute rest between sets.

Squat
Incline Bench Press
Pulldown
Leg Curl
Shoulder Press
Seated Row
Calf Raise
Triceps Pushdown
Biceps Curl
Hanging Leg Raises
Weighted Decline Crunches
Swiss Ball Low-Leg Raises

Saturday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise

Sunday — Off

* In this scheme, you should alternate the placement of the back and chest workouts from week to week. For example, week one perform the back workout on Tuesday and chest on Wednesday. Week two, perform the chest workout on Tuesday and the back workout on Wednesday.

Training Approach #2

This option is more attractive if you're interested in burning the most amount of fat possible as well as gaining muscle. With this option you'll do lighter depletion-type weight training using higher reps and short rest intervals early on in the training week so that you can rapidly deplete your muscles of glycogen. With your muscles depleted of glycogen you'll increase the amount of fat you burn throughout the week.

You then perform your heaviest strength training session prior to your weekend carb-up. This will allow all those carbs to start repairing that damage for great muscular gains after an effective week of fat loss.

Deplete and Load Low-Carb Training Plan

Monday — Full body light workout (perform in circuit fashion if desired)

Squat or Leg Press: 5 sets of 15-20
Bench Press: 5 sets of 15-20
Leg Curl: 5 sets of 15-20
Pulldown: 5 sets of 15-20
Shoulder Press: 5 sets of 15-20
Arm Curl: 3 sets of 15-20
Pushdown: 3 sets of 15-20
V-Sits: 3 sets of 15-20

Tuesday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise

Wednesday — Repeat Monday's workout (use different exercises if you wish)

Thursday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise

Friday — Heavy full body workout using full rest intervals

Note: Be sure to milk this session for all it's worth. This is where you can really rob the bank. You may be depleted and not super strong, but if you don't kick your ass in this session you'll lose out on guaranteed muscular gains. You have to cause as much trauma here as you can. This is your chance to put those carbs in their place. The pain is worth the reward.

Squat: 4 x 6-10
Bench Press: 4 x 6-10
Romanian Deadlift: 4 x 6-10
Leg Curl: 4 x 6-8

Pulldown/Chin: 4 x 6-8
Lateral Raise: 3 x 10-12
Preacher Curl: 3 x 10-12
Triceps Extension: 3 x 10-12
Calf Raise: 3 x 15-20 or 5 x 10-12

Saturday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise

Sunday — Off

Wrap-Up

Training on low carbs doesn't have to be Navy Seals Hell Week. It can be very fun and more effective than you ever knew possible. If you don't know this from personal experience, give it a shot. You'll be surprised at what you can accomplish!