-Nothing
-Absolutely nothing
-Zero
My back has been giving me fits since Estes Park. I've been trying to train though it with zero success. With that in mind, I've done something that I haven't done in probably a year: I did nothing. No training. No sled dragging or Prowler. No reverse hyper. No yoga. No bar work. No tempo work. Nothing. I saw the chiro twice this week and my back hasn't felt this good in ages. Proof will be in the pudding as I'm restarting training for my next meet tomorrow.
On to vastly more interesting topics: Carb Backloading. I've tried a number of different diets with my training, from Carb Cycling to a modified version of the Warrior Diet to Intermittent Fasting. I have found my most success from Carb Backloading and its sister plan, Carb Nite. I used Carb Nite for ten weeks right after my last meet and moved from 214-202 and lopped an inch and a half off of my waist, which has stayed off. I must say that I would HIGHLY recommend people try a wide variety of nutrition programming (including ALL of the previous programs) and see what works for you.
So the basics of carb backloading: skip breakfast, stay ultra low-carb and stick to protein/fats/veggies during the day, train hard and then pound high glycemic carbs til bedtime. That's the 50,000 ft view; the actual mechanics are much more detailed than I can (or should) go into in a blog post. I highly recommend you pick up the book and read it for yourself. There are literally about fifty pages of references for the protocols to scratch your nerd itch, and these protocols are backed by the science.
I won't go into big picture details, as none of these ideas are mine and I want to protect Kiefer's intellectual property. I will, however, give you some details on what has been optimal for me specifically. This is my second go round and I learned quite a bit from my first run of CBL.
1. Gluten free is the way to go: I've never had any noticeable issues with gluten in my life. Having said that, I experimented with going gluten free for a week of backloads and the results were fantastic. No bloating, no feelings of impending doom, no issues with sleep and no morning-after carb hangover. I stick to white rice for my first post-workout meal, typically a bowl from Tokyo Joe's, a stir-fry at home and/or a yam and sweet potato. I get a little dirtier for my second meal, which is usually a bowl (or three) of Cocoa Krispies (with raw milk), some Rice Krispie treats or a Fro-Yo. I'm also terribly partial to Udi's gluten free muffins. The cinnamon and chocolate are the shiznit.
2. Paleo is the way to go: I'm no expert on the Paleo diet, but it's very tough to make an argument against the idea of eating whole foods from smart sources. Carb-Backloading, within the Paleo realm, is still incredibly easy. Sweet potatoes, white potatoes, bananas, mangoes and cherries all make excellent high-glycemic backloading foods. Personally, I've noticed that I don't get as good results when my backloads are high in fruit, so I stick to the potatoes with a mango or banana or the side rather than the other way around. Honey and agave aren't the best ideas either, as they're actually quite low on the glycemic response scale.
3. Find your upper and lower ranges: The first week I pushed the backloads very hard to see my upper limits and the second week I pushed them low to see my body's response. For me personally, staying at the lower end and cleaner works best as far as refueling and feeling good. It's probably a function of my style of training (Olympic weightlifting) that I stay at the low end as it isn't terribly glycogen depleting. Carb backloading isn't a one-size fits all protocol; you need to dial up the particulars for your personal situation.
4. Watch out for too much fat in the morning: My "breakfast" is typically coffee with a half scoop of whey isolate and some combination of coconut oil and heavy cream. When I go overboard on the fats in the morning...the phrase "gastrointestinal distress" some to mind. If/when you go too far, you'll know.
I like to think of the whole backload process as an extended post-workout shake. Pretty much the entire fitness industry agrees that a post-workout shake is a good idea in most cases. The ideal shake is typically high-glycemic carbohydrate and a fast acting whey protein, rich in leucine. So imagine the backload process as multiple meals within the post-workout window rather than a single meal.
So that's that. Visit Dangerously Hardcore. Read the book. Listen to the Biojacked Radio podcasts, either on Soundcloud or through the Dangerously Hardcore website. Be open minded. Ask questions. I've implemented both diets with success. Be moar healthy and moar awesome.
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