1. Carbs are neither good, nor bad - they are necessary, if you deserve them
The 121kg Bodybuilder at 6% will tell you that you have to have carbs. Does that advice count for 86kg guy at 21%? Definitely not. It's not about carbs being good or bad. Assuming that your carb choice is jasmine rice, sweet potato and some decent neo carb such as ice cream, not wheat bread, donuts and IHOP pancakes.
Its about how much you deserve and need. For the average YPSI client its one meal every 7 days, that is some steak with potatoes and a dessert on Saturday night. Depending on 5 factors the carb intake might go up to 400g of maltodextrin after every workout and 2 bowls of rice per day every day. I had clients go from 94.1kg at 6.2% to 103.3kg at 2.5% in 4 weeks using this approach.
The five factors that regulate carb intake are: training volume, body fat percentage, muscle mass, subscapular and supra-iliac skinfold. With this data, you can adjust carb intake to make maximal gains. Having carbs too early will slow down or even reverse your progress. Not having them when you need them will lead to being lean but small. You have to have them—when you deserve them.
2. No one eats too much, you don't eat the right foods – and if in doubt, eat more
One thing that I tell my clients which surprises them all the time is that the more they ll eat the faster they will lose bodyfat and gain musclemass. And eating more doesn't mean going from 200g of chicken to 250g of chicken per meal. It means eat as much as you can and then eat some more.
Calorie balance is a somewhat valid concept, it is too narrow minded though. The body doesn't work that way. I constantly produce Before'n'After results where all my clients lose bodyfat and gain lean mass at the time, eating a lot of good food. If you want to build muscle mass and get jacked, you need to eat - eat a lot of good food. And then eat some more good food.
I value high quality - in life, training and food. Garbage reps wont make as strong and keep you healthy as great reps do. Same counts for everything in life – including the foods you eat.
High amounts of good food its one of the best investments in your body, your wellbeing and your energy level. Grassfed meats, wild fish and organic vegetables plus some filtered water, organic coffee and high quality supplements and you are one the right track to getting jacked.
More articles from the "2 Things I know for sure about..." series:
2 Things I Know For Sure About the Periodization
2 Things I Know For Sure About the Incline Press
2 Things I Know For Sure About Squats
2 Things I Know For Sure About Training
2 Things I Know For Sure About Conditioning
Picture: MMA Fighter Peter Böhm definitely deserves his carbs after this transformation. For a fight that won with a submission at 38s of the first round.
Are you interested in more information how we tailor Nutrition and Supplements to maximum results? For the second time the YPSI Nutrition Seminar – Nutrients, Hormones & Neurotransmitters will be taught in English in April 2017 at the YPSI in Stuttgart.