Diet:
Lets start with what you believe to be the best basic diet protocol to start. Some believe to just get in your protein (anywhere from 1-2g/lb of bodyweight) and then eat as much as you can.....as long as you dont become a lard ass. Others think you should be pretty strict during the offseason and maybe have a couple cheat meals per week.
Training:
Is there a specific training protocol you've found to be more adventageous? For example myself, after years of taking every set to failure and and using different rep ranges per week.....i cut down on the volume and just trained more frequently, which most on this board seem to do well with.
Periodization, low volume/high frequency, volume training, etc.?
Okay, I'll start here
DIET:
I don't believe anyone should have an "off season" or "bulking" phase per-se unless they are either 1-coming out of a contest, 2-are very lean. This is because the body is much less efficient at nutrient partitioning and usage with higher body fat percentages. It is also harder to tell what is fat, water, muscle or glycogen thus making it hard to gauge one's progress. When very lean, the metabolism is sensitive an efficient at partitioning nutrients. A much higher % of the calories you eat will go towards feeding muscle tissue vs fat tissue when you are lean- the concept is easy...the ratio of muscle:fat is very high.
That being said.. in being very lean or coming out of a contest, one is accustomed to eating below maintenance calories. They have been eating less than or just enough to maintain their muscle mass while keeping bodyfat very low. This is ideal right? yes! because now it is easy to start strategically adding calories in the form of energy (to create a slight surplus here) and raw materials (EAA's, EFA's) to promote growth. This can all be done while keeping a close eye on bodyfat stores. If they begin to inflate, we can easily make adjustments and corrections. The body will be in the ideal physiologic state to grow- after having been calorie restricted and likely carb restricted our muscles are very sensitized to anabolic hormones like insulin.
Many of my clients, as well as myself have experienced increases in muscle mass even in a caloric deficit. This is because we are providing adequate amounts of ESSENTIAL nutrients for recovery and growth. One may be very surprised at how less calories, form the right sources may actually often times be better than more calories form less essential sources. I typically recommend something along the lines of this:
Coming out of the contest or having been maintaining a comparably lean physique, one was probably eating: (using a keto diet as an example)
protein - 1.5g/lb LBM
fat - .5g/lb LBM
carbs - .125-.25g/lb LBM (trace carbs <50g per day for avg 200lb bber)
so now we're ready to grow. Lets stop using the EFA's as an energy source and reserve them for growth, how do we do this? provide an alternative energy source- carbs. Lets add them in during meal 1, meal prior to W/O and meal after W/O getting about .5g/lb LBM from carbs (including trace). Do this for 1-2 weeks and assess energy levels. If adequate, proceed until you reach a plateau. If not adequate, add more carbs to each of those meals or add them to some other meals until you find a good balance to match your energy expenditure in the day (without gaining fat). When the plateau is reached (will take a while- muscle isnt built THAT quickly), we can increase protein to 1.75g/lb LBM for instance. wait for another plateau, then increase to 2g/lb LBM. Keep in mind this is done over months not days or weeks! When I say add protein, I'm assuming one will be adding it from whole food sources (meats). The increase in meat portions will lead to an increase in EFA intake. ALSO, I assume (as i suggest) that most of the previous "trace" carbs come from fibrous green veggies. Therefore even in the off season it is important to have alot of green veggies- ESPECIALLY with the lower carb meals during the day. They will keep you full and keep your metabolism up. ALWAYS eat lots of greens! the potassium content in these leafy greens is also very nitrogen retentive!
**aside: I recommend people get their dietary fat from animal fat. HOWEVER seek quality animal fat, from things like grass fed beef/bison/turkey, omega-3 eggs, SALMON etc. (I can get into the details of why this is preferred in another thread)
Now this is the very base of the plan. There are ways to enhance it like if the athlete wants to use insulin etc etc. We wont start micromanaging here though.
Don't believe me? Kevin Levrone looked his best when he was eating steak and salmon as his primary protein sources. Robert Burnieka (huge and LEAN newer guy) eats lots of salmon and red meat. (I can get into why these two meat sources, along with eggs are my favorite in another thread...very interesting stuff!)...oh and our current MR OLYMPIA- Jay cutler looked REALLY good after having incorporated more EFA's into his diet....as opposed to his previous low fat, high carb approach.
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