Ask Lyle McDonald #4

Dear Lyle,

Your advice has been the most valuable and useful information I have found while researching fitness and fat loss. I realize you are unable to answer all of your e-mails, but I would really appreciate some advice on fat loss for non-bodybuilding women. For the past 4 weeks I have been using an “herbal” E/C/A stack, 40-30-30 diet, cardio and light weight training (not trying to gain a lot of muscle). I am trimming down quickly and seeing improvement in all parts of my body — except for my thighs. I am petite to begin with and only have about 10 or 15 pounds to lose, but I just don’t see this lower body fat going anywhere. I know the thighs tend to be the “last place to go” for women, but I am getting really frustrated. A few questions: Does the body become accustomed to E/C/A after a certain period of time? Should I cycle off then back on to get better results?

A: There’s some debate over this one. For most individuals, the central nervous system (CNS) effects tend to go away fairly quickly, within 1-2 weeks. But according to at least one paper, the ECA stack maintain it’s thermogenic effects for much longer, up to 1 year if I recall. However other authorities feel that the beta-receptors (which ECA targets) will downregulate an ECA will lose it’s thermogenic effect. I don’t see how cycling off of it and then going back on can possibly hurt though, it’s worth a try.

I read that adding L-tyrosine to E/C/A can improve results. Is this true, and if so, what exactly does it do?

In rats, l-tyrosine was shown to enhance the anorectic (appetite supressing) effect. In humans, everyone I know of that has added l-tyrosine to the ECA stack (including my training partner who has been on ECA for 3.5 years without a break) notices an additional kick from it. In all liklihood, the tyrosine is acting as a precursor to adrenaline/noradrenaline and ensuring adequate amounts of these substances.

Is there any point in stopping E/C/A and trying yohimbe supplements (I read that since there is little or no circulation in fat tissue, the yohimbe can’t actually get to the fat areas)? I am using topical yohimbe cream and really can’t tell if it’s doing anything (obviously). Is there anything else you would suggest (except for, I have a feeling, “patience”)?

Patience is good of course but I think herbal yohimbe is worth trying. A female bodybuilder I prepped for a contest last year used yohimbe and it did seem to help with her lower bodyfat. Since that time, she has spent an inordinate amount of time reading the research on adrenoreceptors, yohimbe, and thinks it is worth using and that it definitely stimulates lipolysis despite the reduced blood flow. She had a male bodybuilder at her gym try it and it helped him get rid of the stubborn fat on his low back. We’re still trying different ways to increase blood flow including heat packs, sauna, etc. No conclusions yet.

There are at least 2 keys to maximizing the effects of yohimbe:

1. Adequate dose. Most people recommend far too low of a dose. In the studies, the minimum amount of oral yohimbe is 0.2 mg/kg (divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to get kg). So a 200 lb person (90 kg) will need 18 mg of yohimbe at once to get an effect. Caution: some people get really freaky heart rate/blood pressure responses from yohimbe. To asess your tolerance, start with about 1/3rd your optimal dose (so our 200 lb person would start with 6 mg) and build up over a period of a few days. If your HR or BP goes haywire, stop using it. Being cut isn’t worth having a stroke.

2. It must be taken without food. This is critical as even a small insulin response will negate any effect of the yohimbe. In fact, taking yohimbe with food will give you a greater insulin response than if you’d eaten that food by itself (has to do with alpha receptors in the pancreas). Based on this rule, this makes the best time to take yohimbe prior to morning cardio. If you just can’t do morning cardio, I would imagine the best time to try yohimbe would be 30′ before evening aerobics but wait at least 3-4 hours after eating so insulin will have gone down a bit. I think morning is the best time though. The bodybuilder in question would take her yohimbe with some caffeine about 30′ prior to getting on the treadmill. Actually, she used the ECA stack as well. However she never took the two together. The combination of ECA + yohimbe is potentially dangerous (moreso than either one by itself) because of the interaction on heart rate and blood pressue. So she would use yohimbe before her morning cardio, wait about 4 hours after her yohimbe dose to take her first dose of ECA. Hope this helps!

Dear Mr. McDonald,

I really need your advice. I want to try using DNP. I have been reaching for information on the Internet but to no avail. I recently ordered a book from Mesomorphosis.com and the person who took my order said someone there might be able to help me. I am 39 year old female. I have been bodybuilding for 2 years. I have been eating chicken and tuna till it comes out my ears. And have tried various supplements for fat lose. To know avail. I can’t get below 13 or 14%. Maybe it’s the age thing.   I have the DNP and have made up the capsules according to Dan Duchaine’s Recipe. But I don’t know how to proceed.  Re: when to take, with food or without, how many times a day, for how long. Do I need to take Cytomel????  Any information would be helpful.

A: First, it’s not the age thing. I took a 43 year old natural female bodybuiler to 7-8% bodyfat last year with diet and supplements only. You didn’t give much detail about your diet and training but I’m willing to bet that your diet is a big part of the problem. Women don’t seem to do as well with high carb/low fat diets as men do for reasons I don’t have space to discuss here. But based on the fact that you’re eating so much tuna and chicken, I imagine you’re doing the typical bodybuilder, very low fat type of diet. As you’re finding out, it doesn’t work for everyone (But does work for some people). Anyway….

The female I trained last year used the Zone diet first (30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fat), got to about 12% bodfyat if I recall (starting at roughly 15%). Then she did what’s called a Cyclical ketogenic Diet (CKD) which is 5-6 days of zero carb, high fat eating with 1.5 days of high carb eating. That plus too much cardio took her to 7% in about 8 weeks. I say too much because she lost some muscle. So first consider that you may be eating too *little* fat. Anything less than 20% of calories as fat is too little and seems to prevent women from losing fat effectively.

One other thing, too few calories slows fat loss. A good rule of thumb is to eat 11-12 calories per pound of total bodyweight for fat loss. The bodybuilder I mentioned never went below 1400 calories during any phase of her diet (and she had one day per week, during the carb-up, to eat anything she wanted which generally included a margarita and pancakes). The other girls in her gym were starving at 900 cal/day, doing hours of cardio (one even passed out in the locker room) and weren’t losing fat because they had put their body into starvation mode.

Along these lines, if you’ve been dieting for a long period of time, the first thing you should do is take a week off of your diet at normal calories (approx. 14-15 cal/lb) and normal carbs. This seems to help reset metabolic rate. Then get back into dieting at about 12 cal/lb with a minimum of 20% fat calories, 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, and the rest carbs. If that’s not working, cut carbs back further and increase dietary fat to about 30%.

Also look at your cardio. Too much cardio can slow fat loss and increase muscle loss. Try cutting back to no more than 4-5 days per week and a maximum of 40′ per session. Then look at your weights. assuming you’re natural, you shouldn’t need more than 3-4 days per week in the weight room (the female I trained lifted weights 3 times per week during her entire diet cycle).

Finally, consider using the supplement yohimbe, it may help women lose lower body fat (which I assume is where yours is located). The recommended dose is 0.2 mg/kg but you should start with maybe 1/3rd that dose and build up gradually. That with some caffeine (but NO food) about 30′ before morning aerobics can get fat loss started. Be forewarned that some people get really weird heart rate/blood pressure responses to yohimbe (why you should taper up). So if your body freaks out on you, quit taking it.

I’d suggest trying all of those suggestions before mucking around with DNP. If they don’t work, get back to me or check the archives, there are lots of DNP questions on there. If the advice above and what’s in the archives fail to answer your questions (esp. about DNP), send me another message.

Hi Lyle,

I’ve just read through your excellent web-information about CKD. Thanks! I think I have an interesting issue/question to you – BodyOpus and females.

I am 33 years female natural BB, 6’00”, ca. 184 lbs, ca 13-15BF%, also in excellent cardiovascular shape. I’ve been on BodyOpus for second week. Week 1: 30E% prot – 70E% fat about 9g carbs/day my glucose never dropped below 70 mg/dl  ketostick showed very slightly purple maybe twice  Cardio each day to speed up descent into ketosis. Fat sources: mostly flax seed and olive oil

A: First note, blood glucose never gets very low on a CKD. I know what Bodyopus says but it happens to be wrong. 65 mg/dl is about the lowest it will get even during total starvation.

Results: (from BF% measurements): lost 3 lbs of LBM, gained 3 lbs fat.

I have trouble believing this. One thing to consider is when you are taking your bodyfat measurements. Contrary to what I did during my diaries, you shouldn’t compare Friday readings to Monday readings. The shifts in water and glycogen screw everything up. Instead either just look at total skinfold measurements (i.e. just look at the numbers and forget the equations) or compare measurements made on Friday to other measurements made on Friday (and Monday to Monday). This will be more accurate.

I learned that I ate too much protein, which was converted to glucose. Week 2: 15E% prot – 85E% fat about 7-9g carbs/day glucose levels are still pretty high, about 60 mg/dl ketosticks – neg BF% measurements are showing lost LBM while maintained bodyfat .

Rather than thinking in terms of percentages for your diet, I would suggest calculating calories this way: 1. Set calorie levels: 12-13 cal/lb is a good place to start 2. Set protein: should be 0.9 grams/lb of bodyweight. More important than the percentage of protein is how much you are taking in relative to bodyweight and this much is needed to prevent msucle losses. 3. SEt carb intake: low 4. The rest of your diet is fat.

My wondering is, if you have any experience with female athletes who have problems with CKD. I really like (theoretically) CKD and I believe that it should work. And I don’t want to give up (just for your information, I am normally on 40-30-30 (p-c-f) diet, and my body responds pretty well to it). Do you possibly have any explanation what is going on?

It’s really hard to say without more details about everything you are doing. Other things I have found that seem to shut down women’s fat loss (and increase muscle loss).

1. Eating too few calories. This is critical as women’s bodies seem to go into starvation mode more easily than men’s. 11-12 cal/lb total bodyweight is about the lowest you should go but try starting a little bit higher and see what happens.

2. Too much cardio. The body interprets too much cardio in the same way it interprets too few calories, and it goes into starvation mode and hoards fat and burns muscle. I think 40′ 4-5 times per week is plenty.

Finally look at your carb-up. One of the biggest modifications we’ve made to Bodyopus is to shorten the carb-up. If you tend to put on fat easily over the weekend, cutting your carb-up back to 36 hours OR LESS can be the key to making it work. yes it makes the diet less fun but that’s life. In practice this means that you should have your last workout on Friday (and it should be a full body workout) and carb-load from immediately after to bedtime on Saturday. If you get up Sunday morning and hit some cardio first thing, you should be able to hit ketosis by that evening. See my article on this page for more details about the workout. And it none of this works, simply consider that your body doesn’t respond to the CKD ideally and Zone is a better choice. YMMV.

Dear Lyle,

I’m looking for web page where i can look up eg egg whites and see protein / carb and fat amounts – any ideas? (thanks)

Andy

A: Yup, check out: http://www.rahul.net/cgi-bin/fatfree/usda/usda.cgi

This is the USDA food database, you enter the food you want and it gives the total breakdown (I mean everything) for a 100 gram portion of that food.

Or for the lower tech, pick up a copy of “Corinne T. Netzer’s Complete Book of Food Counts” it has foods in it that you’ve never heard of.

Dear Lyle,

Is injectable yohimbine any good?

A: Might be useful for fat loss. I’ve never used it though, don’t like needles. Oral yohimbe at the right dose (approx .2 mg/kg) does seem to help with stubborn fat loss.

How is it taken sub-q (subcutaneously) or IM (intramuscular)?

You want the yohimbe in the fat cells, not in the muscle. So sub-q would be my first choice. Maybe with an insulin needle (which are very short)

What concentration gives best results?

I haven’t the foggiest. Orally you have to take 0.2 mg/kilogram bodyweight for optimal results. Obviously an injectable form would be much lower concentration. But I don’t know what the conversion would be. Might ask Pat Arnold (also on this site) or Bill Roberts.

Hello Lyle,

I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism (TSH 11.55) and am currently taking 50mcg of Synthroid  Would this interfere with reaching ketosis? Could my low carb diet have brought on hypothyroidism?

A: The only way that a low thyroid would affect ketosis would be terribly indirectly. The development of ketosis is dependent on two things:

1. That liver glycogen is depleted. I can’t see how low thyroid would affect this. 2. That there is adequate free fatty acids available. A low thyroid level might affect this but since you’re on replacement synthroid (which should bring your T4 and T3 back to normal levels), I don’t think it will matter too much.

Lowcarb diets to lower levels of T3 (active thyroid) but TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) levels to not typically drop. The drop in T3 with normal TSH and T4 (and increased reverse T3 or rT3) is called Euthyroid Stress syndrome (ESS) which is distinctly different than true hypothyroidism (indicated by low T3 and low TSH).

Hello,

I have been weight training for about 17 months and have made some decent gains in my lifting. I have been a Type I Diabetic for 5 years and I am 27 years old. My question is this. I’ve read articles about Body Builders who aren’t diabetics but they inject insulin. I’ve also been told that I have an advantage because I regulate how much insulin I take. I am trying to find out the following:

1) Why would a Body Builder who’s body naturally produces insulin want to take more?

A: Does “Because they are insane.” count as an answer (this from the guy who took DNP)? Seriously, the reason that bodybuilders at the pro-ranks might use insulin is several fold. First and foremost we know that insulin is one of the most anabolic hormones in the body. It stimulates protein synthesis (and decreases protein breakdown), increases glycogen storage and also increases fat storage.

It’s been hypothesized that bodybuilders might be unable to produce enough insulin naturally because of the large amount of lean body mass they possess and the amount of food that they eat. By itself, insulin has been a bust, mainly because it causes as much fat gain as it does muscle gain. But by stacking insulin wth Growth Hormone (and other drugs to prevent fat gain), bodybuilders have reached a new level of development.

2) Do I have some advantage because I control how much insulin I take?

I remember a story about a bodybuilder years ago who was Type I diabetic and his competitors felt that he had an unfair advantage because of his insulin control. As to whether you have an advantage or not, I’d probably doubt it. The insulin regimen used by Type I diabetics is geared towards maintaining normal insulin levels (relative to what you’d have if your pancreas functioned properly). Bodybuilders are using insulin injections to get supra-normal levels of insulin throughout the day.

Side note: A still unanswered question is whether insulin abuse by healthy individuals can cause a loss of pancreatic function (akin to how abusing anabolic steroids causes the body to stop making it’s own testosterone). That is, will the individuals abusing insulin make themselves diabetic in the long run.

Lyle,

I do very well on low carb diet but wonder where you stand on Dr. Atkins viewpoint that as long as you are in ketosis calories dont matter as you cant help but burn fat in ketosis. your thoughts on calories while on ketogenic diet do they count? thanks in advance.

Mike

A: Ahh, I’m glad someone finally asked this question (kept me from having to make it up, ha ha ha). Arguably the biggest misconception about the Atkins Diet (which is a vey low carb ketogenic diet) is that you can consume unlimited calories and still lose weight/bodyfat. This implies that somehow basic thermodynamics (energy in vs. energy out) is being affected somehow. That ketosis somehow increases calorie expenditure to compensate for caloric intake.

The thing is that Atkins NEVER said that this would happen (although I have a feeling that he wanted people to read what he said that way, as a marketing gimmick). What he said was that, as long as you ate less than 30 grams of carbs, you could eat as much protein and fat as you *liked* and still lose weight, which is not the same as an unlimited quantity. He was basing this on studies done in the 60’s and 70’s showing the following fact: When individuals remove all carbohydrates from their diet, but are told to eat ‘unlimited’ protein and fat, they will generally reduce their caloric intake to between 1400-2100 calories/day. This creates a caloric deficit and weight is lost.

That is, there’s no magical fact of ketosis that allows weight/fat (not counting the water loss that occurs) to be lost while eating above maintenance (or even maintenance calories), you still have to have a caloric deficit for fat loss to occur. Strangely, and I havewn’t been able to find an answer to this, many people have reported that they can eat many more calories while in ketosis and not GAIN weight. It *may* be that excess fat is converted to ketones and excreted without being stored but I’m not 100% sure so take this with a grain of salt. But they don’t lose without a deficit.

So you may ask why bother with a ketogenic diet? The difference between a ketogenic diet and a non-ketogenic diet *may* be in the proportions of fat and muscle lost for a given caloric deficit. That is, ketogneic diets *may* cause more fat and less muscle to be lost compared to a non-ketogenic diet for the same deficit. But the deficit MUST exist.

Hey Lyle,

I enjoyed reading about your Bodyopus experience on the net. I have seen a new thermogenic aid which contains norephedrine, along with caffeine, aspirin, and yohimbe. Is norephedrine as effective as the standard ephedrine?

A: According to one rat study (so it may or may not be applicable to humans since there are some differences in receptor density, activity, etc) nor-ephedrine *may* be more thermogenic than ephedrine. The study compared a bunch of different sympathomimetics (compounds which mimic andrenaline and noradrenaline) and found that amphetamine was more thermogenic than norephedrine (also knows as Phenylpropanolamine) which was more thermogenic than ephedrine which was more thermogenic than norpseudoephedrine which was more thermogenic than pseudoephedrine.

So if you’re burnt out on ephedrine (been using it for a while), switching to norephedrine may be worthwhile. Couple of comments. Norephedrine amplifies the effect of caffeine such that the caffeine in 2 cups of coffee will have the effect of 8 cups of coffee when taken with norephedrine (meaning: be careful of side effects). Also, the most effective dose of norephedrine appears to be 25 mg of instant release (NOT time release) taken 3 times daily. which can be hard to find. For what it’s worth, I got ahold of some instant release PPA and took it with caffeine and did notice a kick, something I don’t get out of the ECA stack anymore.

What about synepherine or products that stack it ephedrine? Are these worthwhile? Thanks for the insight!

I had to go to an outside source (my biochem nerd friend) to answer this one. While it is true that synephrine is a sympathomimetic, because of it’s structure, it’s mode of action is to stimulate alpha-2 receptors. It’s main effect, which makes it *appear* to be thermogenic, is to cause peripheral vasocontriction (meaning that blood vessels close up). This causes the body to feel warmer. This makes it appear as if true thermogenesis (burning calories to make heat) is ocurring but it is not and there is no data to show that synephrine is thermogenic. So save your money.

Dear Lyle,

I have just returned from the Junior Nationals in which I placed fourth in the lightweights. I am 37 years old and I don’t really know how many years I have left in this sport. Next year I plan on trying to line up some sponsorship so that I can keep competing at the National level.I plan on doing the Team Universe and the Junior Nationals one more time next year. I an 100% drug free and I need something that will give me some sort of edge. I recently read in Muscle Media that you could take glycerin with water to rid oneself of the water that covers the muscles. Was he talking about Nitroglycerin that you buy at the drug store over the counter and mixing it with water. I was concerned because the bottle says not for internal use.. Is this legit?

A: No, this was not nitro glycerin (which is used sublingually for heart attacks) it is simply glycerol (also called glycerine). Glycerol is an interesting compound. It’s the backbone of triglycerides but acts sort of like a sugar in the body (it can be converted to glucose in the liver under the right circumstances and might be used as a caloric source during ketogenic diets). It’s more interesting application however, for bodybuilding at least, is the potential to pull water from under the skin. Glycerol is hydrophilic meaning that it is attracted (chemically) to water.

Glycerol was originally used to hyperhydrate endurance athletes. In long distance endurance activities, dehydration becomes a very real issue. Dehyhdration of as little as 2% will hinder performance, dehydration of 10% is fatal.

By taking glycerol along with a ton of water, it was possible to force the body to store extra water (in the bloodstream) which helped to prevent dehydration of muscle tissue. As well, it helped to keep body core temperature down, which can cause other problems.

So how does this apply to bodybuilding. Well, the theory is that taking glycerol WITHOUT all the extra water (as recommended for endurance athletes) will pull water out from under the skin and into the bloodstream. This is basically an osmotic kind of reaction. Since glycerol attracts water, if you take glycerol without water, it will pulls water from other tissues, in this case from under the skin. I would surmise that the reason glycerol is not pulled from the muscles is that water in the muscle is complexed with glycogen and potassium.

This has a major advantage over typical diuretics used for bodybuilding contests. Most diuretics pull water out of the body and cause it to be excreted as urine. Which causes the bodybuilder to become dehydrated (also increases electrolyte excretion) which can be dangerous if taken to too great a level (Mohammed Benaziza is thought ot have died from diuretic abuse coupled with not drinking water for three days. He screwed his electrolyte levels and his heart stopped). Since glycerol doesn’t increase the excretion of water, it may improve appearance without dehydrating a bodybuilder.

Dear Lyle,

I’ve read a number of differing opinions as to the correct amount of glutamine to take, anywhere from 2 grams a day to 15 grams a day. Some opinions are that more then 2 grams a day lowers growth hormone production, whereas other opinions are that anything less then 15 grams consumed at once won’t even have an effect. What is the scoop? How much should I take and when should I take it?

A: Glutamine is an odd compound to say the least. There’s no doubt that it is involved in many processes in the body including immune system modulation and potentially muscle growth. The problem is that most oral glutamine tends to get used by the intestines and very little gets into the bloodstream and into the muscles (this is called the glutamine paradox).

To get around the glutamine paradox, you have two options. 1. Megadose: I imagine this is the idea behind the 15 gram number you have. The idea is that if you put enough glutamine into the system at once, some of it will get into the bloodstream (and to the muscles) because not all of it will be used by the intestines. Along these lines Dan Duchaine has recommended dosing l-glutamine right after training in high dosese to replace any glutamine lost from the muscles (glutamine, along with alanine are used to make glucose in the kidney and liver respectively). The problem with this approach is that it’s a very cost ineffective way to do things. You’re using a TON of glutamine but only a little is getting into the bloodstream and to the muscles where you want it.

2. Take small doses throughout the day: a study a year or two ago found that 2 grams of oral glutamine, raised growth hormone and did get into the bloodstream. The researchers posited that the small doseage used prevented the intestine/liver from going into ‘absorb all glutamine’ (sounds like a cool sci-fi movie) mode. An interesting (and unanswered) question is how much glutamine you could consume without activating uptake by the intestines/liver. In my mind, if you’re discplined enough to do it, this strategy makes more sense to me. So instead of taking 15 grams of glutamine at once, and only getting some portion of it into the bloodstream (and I’m not sure how much makes it), take 2-3 grams multiple times throughout the day (at least one doseage would be before training and another immediateley after in your post-workout drink) perhaps with each meal. This might allow better uptake and absorption while minimizing cost.

FWIW, my training partner was given some l-glutamine mixed in DMSO (thae solvent that carries anyting you put in it through the skin and into the bloodstrem) by a chiropractor friend of his and swears it helped his recovery when he rubbed it directly onto the bodypart he had just trained. Just FYI.

Hi Lyle,

I got a couple of questions that I can never get a truly answer anywhere.

1) Does creatine have any side effects? Do I lose all / most my gains that I got from creatine if I stop using it? Is there any problem taking creatine with protein? How many grams I need to take daily to get the best results from creatine?

A: Do you consider weight gain and strength increases a side effect? There are mentions of increased muscle cramping in athletes with creatine use but this has never shown up in the studies. [Editors’s note: please see the creatine review article by Dr. Richard Kreider, PhD]  It’s possible that creatine may increase water requirements (since it pulls water into the muscle) so an athlete (such as a football player) doing heavy workouts in the summer might be more prone to cramping if they aren’t drinking enough water.

In the short term at least, the gains in terms of weight and strength gains from creatine are transient. Of course, if you’re eating a large amount of red meat, you may remain creatine loaded for quite some time even if you stop using creatine so the gains may persist. In the long term, it’s possible that the increased training intensity from creatine might increase true strength and mass gains.

Nobody seems to have an answer for the whole creatine and protein thing and I’ve seen arguments on both sides of the fence. It seems anecdotally that people have taken creatine with protein and without and it works pretty much the same so I don’t personally thing there’s any worry.

As to amount, there are a couple of options. 1. Fast loading: this is the standard loading phase which is 20 grams per day (5 grams 4 times per day) for 5 days.

2. Medium loading: Some people, like myself, find that 20 grams of creatinte per day causes stomach upset and diarrhea. The first time I took creatine, I lost 4 lbs because I couldn’t eat and was on the toilet all day. As a compromise I found that I could handle 10 grams of creatie per day (2 5 gram doses) and loaded for 10 days.

3. Slow loading: a recent study showed that 3 grams taken for a month results in the same creatine levels as with the fast loading phase. So decide whether you want to load fast or slow.

There is (contrary to what supplement companies want you to believe) no evidence supporting the maintenance phase for creatine supplementation. Daily turnover of creatine is about 2-3 grams and anyone eating sufficient red meat should stay creatine loaded for quite some time without any additional creatine. If you’re paranoid, take 5 grams once or twice a week (after training) after your loading phase.

2) I was going to use Androstene , but I was reading and I saw that it does have some side effects.I was going to take only 100g a day and I want to know if there’s any visible side effects like ginecomastia and prostate enlargement.

There’s no easy answer to this one, too individual. In the same way that some people get gyno/prostate enlargement from using anabolic steroids but others don’t, I imagine the respons to androstene will be the same. At 100 mg/day I would be surprised if you got gynocomastia but there is no way to be sure until it’s too late.

3)Is there any other non steroid supplement I should give a try?

Food.

Lyle,

I hope this doesn’t sound too stupid. I am fairly new to using supplements. Everybody seems to be using creatine. In one of you responses you mention that it adds strength and water. It doesn’t add muscle mass?

A: No, not in terms of actual contractile tissue, at least not in the short term. Now, technically speaking water is considered to be lean body mass (as is glycogen, electrolytes, etc). This has led some supplement sellers to imply (without ever saying) that creatine increases muscle mass. That is you’ll read ads that say “Gain 10 lbs of lean body mass in 5 days” or whatever. TEchnically this isn’t wrong, since water is lean body mass (it’s not fat). But they know that lifters will read the ad as “Gain 10 lbs of muscle mass in 5 days” which is incorrect. One particular researcher (no names of coures, but he was one of two people who brought creatine to the forefront) actually had the gall to look me in the face (at a conference) and tell me that the mass gains from creatine were contractile tissue. Bullshit.

How quickly are strength gains seen from creatine? One week? Two?

If it’s gonna work for you, you should notice results within 5-7 days. if your bodyweight/strength has not gone up in that time period, you are what is called a non-responder and might as well quit taking it. Frequently, non-responders to creatine can become responders by taking their creatine with a simple sugar (i.e. fruit juice or something) as insulin enhances creatine uptake.

Although you didn’t ask specifically, one thing to note is that most creatine powder mixes very poorly meaning that some may be left at the bottom of hte glass. Two possible solutions (and no, one of them is NOT micronized creatine). First try using a warm liquid to mix your creatine in (increaes solubility). Yes warm grape juice is gross as hell but live with it. Second (and perhaps preferable), get your juice out, get your teaspoon of creatine, dump the creatine straight into your mouth (it tastes like sand) and then chase it down with the juice. Kind of like an ergogenic tequila shot. The lemon is optional.

Does anyone take E/C/A and creatine at the same time, or would you be working at cross purposes?

I’m sure somebody out there takes both. I think of it this way: ECA is primariy a dieting supplement, increases fat loss, may spare muscle tissue. Creatine is primarily a mass/strength supplement. I think you should focus either on fat loss OR strenght gains, but not both. Of course some people use creatine during their diets to keep their strength levels up.

The article on the Mesomorphosis’ website says that E/C/A provides thermogenic benefits for up to 20 weeks.

Just for the record, I disagree with this. I recall a paper (have no idea where I saw it) that ECA continues to have a thermogenic effect far longer than this. I seem to recall the study lasted over a year.

What happens when you stop after the 20 weeks? Do you pack on fat?

If you go back to your old diet/activity habits sure. I think ECA should be used as a helper compound, along with a good fat loss diet and intense training. That way when you go off the ECA your diet/activity habits are set in place and you can keep the fat off. But there aren’t any negative adaptations from using ECA that make you regain fat if that’s what you’re asking.

How long do need to cycle off of E/C/A before you can start again?

I’m not really sure, nobody seems to be sure how long it takes the receptors to upregulate (if they downregulate in the first place). I generally only use ECA for my dieting cycles, which typically last 4-6 weeks at a shot. Then I’ll stay off hte ECA while I’m in a mass cycle which lasts varying amouts of time. If I’m off of the ECA for long enough, going back on is just like when I took it the first time, I get all edgy and pissy (well, edgier and pissier) with people.

Sorry if these are simplistic questions that have been answered time and time again. BTW, the BodyOpus diet is fascinating. A totaly different approach than the traditional high-carb (absolute crap) diet. I ran cross country in college and never got exceptionally lean. I am leaner (with way more LBM) now doing virtually no aerobics following the Neanderthin diet.

As John Travolta said in “Broken Arrow” ‘Ain’t it cool?’

Dear Lyle,

How often should I change exercise routines?

A: The short answer: whenever you get stale with your current routine.

Muscle Media writer Charles Poliquin suggests changing routines every 3 weeks or 6 workouts (he has his athletes train each bodypart twice a week apparently). Since I can’t stand this much volume, I only work each muscle group once a week. Should I change my routine every 6 weeks or every 3? Since Poliquin also works with extremely gifted athletes (Olympians), should normal people (like me) change routines less frequently than this? I’ve read some authors in other magazines saying they believe that 3 weeks on one routine is too frequent of a change…   Poliquin also says you should change routines when you get bored with them. is this good advice? I get pretty damn bored after 3 weeks and start to dread going back to the gym. I’ve also been lifting for a couple of years if that makes a difference.

I think how often you need to change your exercise routine depends on a lot of factors. One is probably personality. If you are bored with your workout (and people get bored at different rates), you won’t be pushing as hard (or you may skip workouts entirely, funny how it’s always leg day that we skip). Although we can debate this routine vs. that routine, we can all agree that working hard is one of the single biggest factors in reaching your goals. So if mixing up your workouts to avoid boredom means that you push harder during your workout, I think it makes sense.

Now, on the other hand, you also have to consider how long it takes you to start getting results from your training. I’ve made the frequent mistake of changing routines too often wih the end result being I end up spinning my wheels. When you change a routine (exercises, sets, reps, whatever) you may take a couple of weeks to figure out the correct weights to use, or re-learn form if you introduce an exercise that you haven’t done before. In which case changing too soon may be a negative.

That is, let’s say you haven’t deadlifting for a bunch of months and decide to start doing them. First you have to re-perfect your form, which may take a week or two and which must be done at a submaximal level. Then you start ramping up the intensity, raising weight or training to failure or whatever. If you are scheduled to change routines again in 3 weeks, you might only get 1 productive week of training with that exercise before it’s time to change things up.

As a more real-world example, a guy I’m working with is just coming off a heavy strength cycle. Lots of low reps, heavy weights, etc. So he’s pretty beat up, wrists are bothering him a bit, etc. So it was time to move back into some more typical growth work (and bring up lagging bodyparts). First thing I wanted him to do was spend a couple of weeks submaximally to let the little aches and pains go away. But I went ahead and started him on the program that I’m gonna have him use. he spent 2 weeks subimaximally, also working on form on a few new exercises, but he’s into maximal work now. I’m gonna hammer him on this routine until he starts to get stale (which won’t take long, it’s a big jump in volume) and then switch things up. But if you include the 2 weeks he spent submaximally, he might be on this program for 6-7 weeks total.

Does how often you change routines depend on your exercise goals? Would switching routines more or less frequently be better for strength or growth? My goal is growth if it matters.

I think to a degree how often you change depends on goals. If pure strength is you goal, I’m assuming that you have some specific exercise (perhaps bench press or squat) that you want to improve in which cases sticking with that movement a bit longer may be useful. Poliquin seems to think that growth will be better with more variety as the body may recruit motor units in a different order (giving more muscle fibers a chance to get a growth stimulus).

I guess the most general answer would be that it’s very dependent on the person. I can hammer away at the same movements for months without getting bored, just adding a little bit of weight to the bar. But I usually take a 3-5 week run-up at submaximal weights before I start nearing my previous bests. This is sometimes called intensity cycling and pretty much mandates that you stick with the same routine for a while to make progress above and beyond your previous best. As well since I’m fairly slow to put on muscle, I have learned to stick with teh same routine for a while to evaluate if I’m making progress or not.

Hope that vague answer helps!