Application of Training/Diet to YOU

[BigDownUnder]

A number of posts on the forum have highlighted to me that many trainees fail to correctly apply 'general' training and diet protocols to their own body.

The application of these protocols can only be successfully achieved if you have a clear understanding of:

1. your current physical status - healthwise (recoverying from illness, returning from long layoff, suffer from medical condition etc), conditioning, body composition, etc as it relates to your short-term and long-term goals;
2. the protocols and the rationale behind them;
3. how your body reacts to various training stimuli (both resistance and cardio), including various exercises (exercise selection - working around pre/existing injuries, limb and torso length), training frequency (recovery), training loads etc;
4. nutrition, including how your body reacts to various foods and macronutrient combinations, food allergies etc; and
5. supplementation.

A clear understanding of the above is only ever achieved through trial and error - this takes time and it certainly does not happen overnight. For some it will take longer than others. Admittedly if you engage an expert like Dante or SuperD for offseason dieting, or Skip, Homon et al for pre-contest dieting you will take a lot of the guesswork out and will expedite the process.

Take a look at professional bodybuilders - the vast majority engage nutritional experts for offseason and/or pre-contest dieting. This shows that even though they have reached the pinnacle in their sport they still have not established the ideal diet for their body - sure they are obviously well in tune with their bodies but they are still fine tuning the details.

If you are going on the journey alone it is ultimately up to you to establish:

• what foods agree with your body;
• what food combinations work for you at different times;
• what number of calories is your maintenance level;
• how many calories below maintenance you need to lose bodyfat without losing too much lean mass;
• how many calories above maintenance you need to accumulate lean mass without adding too much bodyfat;
• how best to apportion the calories between carbs, protein and fats for your body;
• cardio (if any) frequency, intensity and duration depending upon your goals;
• the best stance for you to perform squats depending upon your goals, limb and torso lengths etc;
• the best way for you to perform skullcrushers - iwith a an ezi-curl barbell or a standard barbell, with or without wraps, to nose, forehead or behind the head;
• finding the right training frequency which allows you to make gains without pushing into overtraining too quickly; and
• knowing what signs to look for which indicate you are pushing into overtraining territory.

If you do not understand or apply the training and dieting protocols correctly (i.e. you add too much bodyfat, you fail to add lean mass, you fail to make strength gains, you overtrain, you suffer an injury performing scapula manipulation, extreme stretching or an exercise specifically recommended by Dante, you get fat trying to implement Skiploading etc) you only have yourself to blame.

We can give you the tools but you need to know how to apply these to your body, and this will not be successfully achieved unless you have a thorough understanding of:
(A) the relevant protocols; and
(B) your body.

Now, I wonder why DC is only ever recommended for advanced trainees.

Time for me to go and eat what's right for ME