-: So, when we look at all the different stimuli
that we have, there's gonna be a lot
of variable options in terms of the calories
and micronutrients, macronutrients,
that we're able to use during these phases,
or should use during these phases,
because these can be applied to multiple goals.
So, what I wanna start with before we get into the ranges
and applications of each individual stimuli is
to kinda give you a global, big picture look about
how these compare to each other from a nutritional need.
So, starting with calories here.
If you look at the asterisk, not always,
and that these are typical requirements,
I'll give a few examples here to kinda make it clear.
But when we get into the specific,
'cause we'll go through each one of these individually
and talk about different instances
where we would bump the calories up higher or lower
because goal is going to be a factor,
but I just want you to see.
When we say this is how we would use them,
most of the time, this is a rough general comparison
of them.
So, by far, does not mean that,
so just because at the top here,
systemic right here is a higher amount
of calories than AMPK, that will not always be the case.
There will be applications to be able
to use more calories in an AMPK phase
or less calories of a systemic phase, and whatnot,
but if we're kind of comparing the middle ground
of the most common uses of these phases
that you guys are gonna apply with your clients
or yourselves, this is kind of how they would compare.
So, without further ado and with that,
that, kind of, asterisk ahead of time,
let's look at how these compare.
So, what you will see is, we'll just start
with the biggest one on the board,
which is our volume-based hypertrophy method.
That is probably going to be your highest calorie demand
because the whole point on that program
is it's a high volume of training
and it is a hypertrophy program.
So, because it's a hypertrophy program,
more often than not, we're going to be trying
to do that in at least some degree of a calorie surplus.
So, some of these other systems are going to be able
to be used in a surplus or a deficit,
but they may be more commonly used in a deficit.
So, for instance, the systemic training here,
even though this is a high volume of work per session,
so if you're doing a full-body or half-body split,
the goal of those particular programs is usually
not hypertrophy, it's usually body comp loss,
body fat loss, body composition improvement,
or some sort of conditioning aspect.
So, we're not necessarily trying to be in a calorie surplus,
or at least it's usually not a requirement.
More often than not, the calorie deficit
is the requirement there.
So, that in its own, beyond the physiological demand
of the workouts themselves, is going to separate these
because, typically, when we are using these,
we are using these for different purposes.
We are usually not going to use a volume-based
hypertrophy method as our best body comp tool.
We are going to be using something
more on the metabolic end,
or maybe even more on the neurological end
with a calorie deficit and some aerobic work.
We have options, but hypertrophy is probably going
to be the least valuable one to do in a calorie deficit.
We will talk about some recomp possibilities for using some
of these hypertrophy phases with lower calories,
but definitely not significant deficits.
So, your biggest ones on the board are gonna start from,
you got sarcoplasmic hypertrophy in the red
and then we go through the different phases,
volume-based hypertrophy, tension-based hypertrophy,
mechanical damage, oxidative, stress-based hypertrophy.
So, those right there, they're the biggest ones
on the board.
All the hypertrophy, highest amount of calories,
because the volume tends to be higher,
the muscle trauma tends to be higher,
and our goal is actual hypertrophy.
Now, what you'll notice is, when we go
through the other macronutrients,
is that that will shift between these.
So, while we see volume hypertrophy
as the highest calories on here,
it may not necessarily be the highest protein
or the highest carbohydrate.
You'll have to wait and watch those videos and see.
But keep in mind, this is just calories
that we're talking about.
Okay, so if we just take into account
that there's gonna be a separation with these
because of the typical goals,
now we can start breaking them down
and comparing these two.
So, if we look at systemic in relationship to AMPK,
the reason that's gonna usually separate out like
that is because, with systemic,
we tend to be doing a higher frequency of a lot
of big tissue.
So, if we're usually using full-body or half-body splits,
so we may be training quads twice a week,
like, all the big body parts two to three times per week.
So, even if we're shooting for a calorie deficit,
we tend to actually be, we're just burning more
because we're using more tissue more often.
We tend to be able to use a little bit higher calories,
whereas when we're doing AMPK,
our split tends to get broke up a little bit more
and calories tend to be able to be lower.
What you will see, though, is when we switch over
to carbohydrates, that's gonna be an opposite story
because of the way that those sets work within that
and the fuel that's consumed and the adaptation that occurs.
With the systemic program, we're not getting as big
of a nutrient partitioning effect per muscle,
we're getting a big net effect nutrient partitioning-wise
because we're contracting a lot of tissue
but that tissue isn't necessarily super compensating
in glycogen.
So, while some carbohydrates are gonna help,
not a ton are needed.
So, this is where you're gonna kinda see some
of these things start to differ between the amount
of calories they need versus what I can do
with the macronutrients, which really allows you
to be creative with your nutritional programing
because this is where, like, so in an AMPK phase,
is gonna be one of those instances
where you could essentially be higher carb
and lower calorie for a short period of time
and really see a significant body comp change,
because you're able to use a calorie deficit
as long as you use enough carbohydrates
to facilitate the training stimulus in recovery
and your ability to keep that going.
Whereas other things, because of the sheer volume
of work that you're doing or the amount
of mechanical damage that occurs,
this is not necessarily an option.
But with AMPK, we should be getting very low
mechanical trauma, and therefore,
it really creates an option for us
to have a big calorie deficit
but also utilizing a lot of carbohydrates
if we're actually getting that nutrient partitioning effect.
When we get into the oxidative,
we're gonna see calories go back up, closer to systemic.
The big difference there is, one,
there's more damage to the tissue with oxidative,
so then, therefore, we're gonna get a little bit more,
we're gonna need some more calories.
When we break down the macronutrients,
you're gonna see that likely gonna come from protein.
And it tends to be just more volume
than the AMPK-based work.
So, again, volume is a huge part of the picture in
how much calories each of these phases are going to need,
and so when we look at them, you're gonna look at, also,
the volume within those given programs
because within all of these different stimuli,
there is a threshold of higher and lower volume.
So, this is if you were to pick the middle volume
for all of these and compare them to each other.
We're not comparing the lowest volume, systemic,
to the highest volume, AMPK, or vice versa.
Middle to middle, equal comparisons.
So, then we get into our hypertrophy methods.
Alright, so sarcoplasmic is gonna be very similar
to AMPK in that its calorie demand is gonna be the highest
because you're not getting as much tissue trauma,
and the volume isn't necessarily going to be the highest,
but when we see, when we look at carbohydrates,
you are gonna see that it is
because it's the more lactic-based,
it's very similar to, kind of, our AMPK-based training
but just with more tension and a little bit more volume.
You're gonna see that the carbohydrate demand
is gonna be quite high, but because it's hypertrophy,
it is gonna be higher calorie,
but you're gonna see that a lot
of those calories are gonna be carbohydrate-dependent.
So, as we get through our tension-based stuff,
because we're just simply doing less volume,
especially from a metabolic demand,
so we're not gonna use as many calories, likely,
as if we're focusing on pure volume.
Even though we will have a good amount of sets here
because we're doing lower reps,
we won't be doing as much total volume in terms
of energy demand as we are with a just straight
volume-based approach.
Okay, and then when we get into the mechanical damage,
calories are gonna be pretty close to the tension-based.
Really, it's gonna come down, again,
to just how much volume you're putting in these programs.
But if you were doing this same number of sets,
or a relative volume quality between those,
you could argue that with the mechanical damage stuff,
it's a little bit more inflammatory-based
but, likely, you're just not gonna expend as much energy
because what'll happen is, when you look at these
two things, if you equal out their stimuli,
the oxidative method is gonna be slightly lower volume
because you're gonna hit failure in that session.
You're gonna check that stimulus off in a shorter amount
of time.
Just like with metabolic oxidative,
there's that point of diminishing returns there
once we've got it.
So, the big reason that this is slightly different,
that the mechanical damage is slightly less is,
because you're working mechanical damage stuff,
you're just not gonna be able to maintain as much volume.
When we get into oxidative, it goes up a little bit,
and that's because the metabolic demand
of that volume is higher.
So, it's getting closer to the sarcoplasmic hypertrophy.
If you think of the way those two are set up,
the red one here and the dark orange one here,
sarcoplasmic and oxidative hypertrophy,
they're both very lactic hypertrophy methods.
The oxidative is obviously more metabolically demanding
but the sarcoplasmic is gonna have a little bit more volume,
and they're gonna equal out and be very close
to the same amount in terms of calorie demand.
You're gonna get a little bit more tissue trauma
with the oxidative, you're gonna get a little bit more
pure volume with the sarcoplasmic.
Again, and that's why it's kind of evening out.
When we get down to the neurological stuff in terms
of calories, I mean, with neurological training,
it really depends on how you're using
that neurological training, what it's for,
whether it actually is for a long-term neurological goal,
whether that be for powerlifting or a sports performance,
an external outcome, that's gonna be different
'cause you're gonna be spending a lot more time
in those phases, and therefore,
the calories that you use is gonna be much more geared
towards what you need for that long-term goal
versus if you're using neural phases periodized
within a hypertrophy or a body composition-based goal
over all.
So, when we're using a neural phase
within a body composition goal, a lot of times,
neural phases give us an opportunity
to decrease calories down and decrease carbohydrates down
because they're just not that metabolically demanding.
So, you could see these things shift lower if needed,
but then, you have to look at how you use that.
Typically, in those cases, a lot of times,
maybe if we're using it as a deload,
well, then, yeah, it's just a deload.
And so, then it depends on,
am I trying to use higher calories
because I'm kind of coming from an overtraining phase
or just a very, super compensating from a hypertrophy phase?
Then the calories might be higher.
Maybe I'm coming out of a metabolic phase
and so I'm gonna drop the calories lower
because I just did a lot of metabolic efficiency work
and I'm just trying to reduce inflammation and stress,
and so lower calories is gonna be better
and it's gonna allow the mitochondria
to go through all their adaptations,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
So, big swings depending on what your goal is
with neurological work.
So, when it's more of a performance-based
from a neurological perspective,
you're gonna see those calories go towards the top.
When you're doing this and you're using it
as a deload coming out of a, like, say,
a sarcoplasmic or volume-based hypertrophy,
and you're doing neurological training
but at a lower volume, you're calories might still be high
because you're super compensating from
that hypertrophy work.
If you're coming out of a metabolic system
where you've been using a lot of carbohydrates,
you might take that neural phase
as a chance to lower calories,
and especially carbohydrates, for that period
and then jump back into another phase shortly after.
So, as we get into those individuals,
you'll see a lot of differences,
but what you should take from this is, obviously,
our hypertrophy ones are gonna be the highest calorie.
Our metabolic ones are going to be somewhere in the middle,
really, depending on what the goal happens to be.
Are you doing a metabolic phase to condition the body
as part of a long-term, so it's a block
within a hypertrophy protocol?
So, you're using this metabolic phase
to improve mitochondrial health and improve glycogen stores,
well, then, you don't necessarily need
to jump down into as much of a calorie deficit,
like maybe you're able to go to maintenance calories
or whatever it may be, and that's fine.
But when we're using it more for body comp,
you will see that the calories are gonna shift.
So, goal is gonna shift this one direction or the other,
and then, whether or not, where this exists in the context
of the big picture.
If you're programming your long-term goal,
so you got like 16 weeks that you're working in,
if it's primarily metabolic-dominant,
well, because you're focusing on a body composition goal,
everything else that you put in there when you're deloading
or spending time out on that metabolic phase,
whether they be neurological hypertrophy phases,
their calories and macronutrients are gonna shift
accordingly to help facilitate the big goal.
They can't go so far, like, I can't go into a huge
calorie deficit and a hypertrophy protocol just
because I'm in a fat loss protocol,
we'll get into that in the individual stimuli,
but I can use less calories than I would
if I was doing a hypertrophy phase
in a dedicated hypertrophy program.
So, hopefully that gives you guys a little bit
of insight in terms of how these things are gonna compare
in terms of calorie demand.
Ultimately, like I said, these things are gonna exist
in a range with different applications,
and so we will go through what things you need to consider
to figure out whether or not you're gonna be in the top,
the bottom, or the middle of those respective ranges
for calories and all the macronutrients.
And then we'll go through the macronutrient generalizations
for all of these as well.
Really, I'm gonna go through carbohydrates and protein
because that's the main thing that you need
to kinda figure out between these,
and then obviously, if carbs are down or protein are down,
you know what the calories are,
and then we have out minimum requirements for fat.
And then also, then depending on what you want to do,
if you're trying to go lower carb, fat's gonna come up,
if you're trying to go lower protein and lower carb,
fat's gotta be there.
So, really, fat, once you get to the maintenance level
of what you need to be able
to sustain healthy hormonal balance
and all of the things that you need to do,
getting adequate essential fatty acids,
omega-3s and omega-9s, and all of the things
that we need for just function,
then how much fat you use very depends on
what you're doing with the other macronutrients.
Your goal is not gonna be like,
hey, I just wanna use X amount of fat
and I'll fill everything else in later.
No, you need to figure out the carbohydrate demand
for the stimulus that you're doing
and the protein demand for the mechanical trauma,
and et cetera, that you're doing
and the stress that you're putting on the body,
and then the fat comes after the fact
and then you have to make sure that the fat is adequate.
And there are times where the fat can get below
the adequate amount, but not for long periods of time.
So, during an AMPK phase,
if you're jacking up carbohydrates,
if you're doing that for one week, two weeks,
and fat is lower, then you know what the average,
or what the minimum requirement is, that likely okay,
if you're having more fat than that outside of that.
There are times when we can go.
So, if we look at what we're averaging over the course
of a year, over the course of a block of training,
over the course of a macrocycle of 16 weeks or 12 weeks
or whatever, obviously we wanna make sure
that we're keeping fat high enough
to maintain all of that stuff.
But that doesn't mean there can't be a week here
or there where we're really pushing carbohydrates
or something and so that fat gets very, very low,
because we're not gonna just all of a sudden all
of our hormones are gonna be jacked
because we went one week on super low fat.
But if you go 12 weeks on low fat,
that's where you have problems.
So, when we're looking at these things,
really, three weeks is about the maximum
that I would take fat really low,
and that would only be in people that have had a history
of getting in good essential fatty acids.
You wanna make sure that hormones
and everything are already good.
If somebody's already screwed up,
they have no business going into that phase.
That system is already stressed for them.
Not having enough healthy fatty acids
or an imbalance between good and bad fatty acids,
or just not enough overall fat in their diet for too long.
So, they already have hormonal issues
and cellular membrane health issues,
and et cetera, et cetera, poor inflammatory cycling,
all of those things, you're not gonna do them any service
by pushing them into a super low fat method.
So, you would pick your programming appropriately
for that, right, tradeability.
Okay, I will stop there on the calories
so you guys have a global picture here.
We'll go through the macronutrients,
and then we will start ticking away
at these individual phases and how to determine whether
or not you're gonna be at the top, the bottom,
the middle for calories and macronutrients
for an individual stimulus.