Quote Originally Posted by novastepp
1. & 2. so i do know that some LBM might be at risk when doing cardio in the am on empty. but that is risking LBM that is already present. do you think that PWO cardio might scrifice LBM gains? that is what i'm getting at. which is worse? risking losing some mass or losing some gains? and which payoff would be less of a shot to your presence. and yes clean bulk would be correct. but personally i am going to try to up my cals 1000+ over maint. and add cardio 4 days a week, to help with any fat gain that may occur. Can never be too positive on this one but depending on the intensity of your training PWO may sacrifice a bit more. I cant see a definitve answer to that one as both studies and personal runs (not to mention tons of Trial and error with clients). But the thing with AM is that cortisol levels will be high (we're trying to take care of that) but on the bright side you'll be tapping almost immediately into fat stores from the get go. With PWO it will depend on how hard you trained but for the most part your glucose stores will be tapped and onto fat-----we hope.

Sorry but I cant give a definite on this one. I'vehad too many mixed results with other people and cant give a definite. It's one of those plug and play moves.

3. yes i am talking pro/fat because of 2 reasons. carbs will blunt the lipolysis if i am correct, and fats allow for an increased release of FFA's so that would make sense to me. Ahh yes this has been covered a ton of times in the diet forum. We've both seen it over and over. Kind of touches on the "You need fat to burn fat" saying. Some prefer to go Pro/Fat for the reasons mentioned. I have tried that and had a very difficult time retaining LBM. I really felt that without the carbs PWO my muscles were still deprived and needed and immediate source of Fuel (Carbs).

This gets tricky b/c only adding 1000kcals over maintenance is going to be difficult to put on a lot of size. I"m not exactly sure how much you're looking to put on but those extra 1000kcal may go dam fast if you're training really hard, which I"m sure you are Nova.

4. i underdtand not wanting to lose sleep (which is the biggest factor in recover IMO), but again which is the bigger trade off? being fasted, or waking up mid sleep? IMO i would agree that while bulking or adding LBM, straight sleep would be very beneficial and should not be taken for granted. however, during a cutting phase, fasting can lead to extra LBM loss especially in an already lean state. so i might think that the fat would help release FFA's and prevent loss of LBM by fasting.
If concentrating on bulking I'd really try to get a full nights sleep. Adding the shake mid sleep can help in the fasted state expecially when performing AM cardio and what not, but you have to weigh out your options. If you're bulking then you're pretty much hitting it dam hard and trying to fatigue your muscles as much as possible. Consuming a bedtime shake can be enough to keep the busy throughout the night (depends on shake).





See you know what it is here Nova, there are too many personal decisions here. As stated above I've seen tremendous results for some with a regimen and others fail with the same exact regimen. Trial and error is something we have to do in this lifestlye we live. Obviously the more concrete answers we have can help but what works for me may do nothing for you.

I like the way you think, but sometimes I think so hard that it confuses me. If there's one thing I've learned from going to school so much. It's not that the more you go to school the more you know, its the more you go to school the more you realize you dont know. I read studies all the time that will contridict a previous study, it's an ongoing battle. I know thats not what you're looking for but thats the best I could do, sorry.

I tried throughout the previous 5 pages to give as much as I knew and to what would work and why. At least from my perspective..................