Steroids and protein intake.

[peachfuzz]

I think it is important to understand your diet needs to be very precise to pull this off. how much should protein be reduced? 10%? 20%?

if done incorrectly i see more harm then good coming from it.

[Ronnie Rowland]

I think it is important to understand your diet needs to be very precise to pull this off. how much should protein be reduced? 10%? 20%?

if done incorrectly i see more harm then good coming from it.

If you are taking in 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight during a reload then you would go down to around 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight during a deload. I usually go down to right at 1 gram with a deload because it gives my body a needed break from the 2 grams during a reload. It's hard on the stomach trying to digest 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight day-in, day-out.

Note: 8 time mr. olympia Lee Haney rarely took in more than 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day during his lifting career. I wanted to throw that out there for those who are afraid of losing muscle when decreasing protein during a deload. Lowering protein intake during deloads is only going to increase size!

[Mase33]

If you are taking in 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight during a reload then you would go down to around 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight during a deload. I usually go down to right at 1 gram with a deload because it gives my body a needed break from the 2 grams during a reload. It's hard on the stomach trying to digest 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight day-in, day-out.

Note: 7 time olympia Lee Haney rarely took in more than 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight each day during his lifting career. I wanted to throw that out there for those who are afraid of losing muscle when decreasing protein during a deload. Lowering protein intake during deloads is only going to increase size!

State your source on the Lee Haney Note:

[Ronnie Rowland]

State your source on the Lee Haney Note:

It was flex or muscular development. I can't remember which one for sure but Lee consumed 6 meals per day and only 40 grams of protein per meal.

Another 255 pound bodybuilder (Matt Mendenhall) often consumed even less than a gram per pound of body weight. He was considered big in the 80's. Here's a quote- "Mendenhall’s diet is fairly standard: In off-season, I’m more concerned about keeping my protein intake up to at least 150–200 grams per day. Other than that, I don’t worry about my diet, although it is usually quite high in fresh foods. I don’t go overboard on calories. Twelve weeks before a competition I’ll drop my calories to 1800 per day, eating mainly fish, turkey, chicken, fresh vegetables, fruit and an occasional baked potato. For the American Championship, I stayed at 1800 up until two weeks before the competition, when I dropped it to 1200 per day. I adjust the calories according to how I look in the mirror.”

[Phate]

Ronnie, i have a couple questions about this as i find it very interesting

how far are you dropping carbs and what carbs sources are in use during this, and at what time during the day are you using each type of carb source?

is there potential to drop into ketosis on the deload week due to carbs being too low with exercise and cardio intensity high(this of course depends on the answer to the first question so you don't have to answer it if you covered it already?

how much do you increase fats on the deload week?

is there a reduction of carbs/pro and introduction of fat or do you use an all-at-once shock?

do you use any supplements to detox during the deload week?

[Ronnie Rowland]

[QUOTE=Phate;4730275]Ronnie, i have a couple questions about this as i find it very interesting

how far are you dropping carbs and what carbs sources are in use during this, and at what time during the day are you using each type of carb source? I use mostly slow burning carbs unelss right after a workout. I am reducing my carbs to 200 on low carb days. High carb/calorie days is anywhere from 400-600 per day (a good baseline is 2-4 grams per pound of body weight depending on metabolism). I am normally around 500.

is there potential to drop into ketosis on the deload week due to carbs being too low with exercise and cardio intensity high(this of course depends on the answer to the first question so you don't have to answer it if you covered it already? No ketosis during a mass phase regardless of body type!

how much do you increase fats on the deload week? I don't count grams to the exact or total calories. I decrease protein by about 200 grams during a deload=800 cals (I normally take in around 400 grams of protein during reload). Notice I cut protein by 50% during the deload!


When coming off a reload I reduce carbs by about 25% on both high carb/cal days and low carb/cal days. During a deload this come out out around 350 carbs (1400 cals) on high carb days (800p+ 1400c =2200 cals divided by 9 for fat requirements means I take in around (245 fat grams) on
high carb/cal day.

On low carb/cal days it's around 25% less carbs than low carb day during a reload so 150 carbs (600 cals from carbs) + 800 cals from protein= 1400 cals divided by 9 totals (156 additional fat grams) on low carb/cal days.

is there a reduction of carbs/pro and introduction of fat or do you use an all-at-once shock? Change all at once when entering a reload or a deload and continue alternating higher carb/cal days with lower carb/cal days in both the reload and deload.

1ST NOTE: Some people do best keeping total cals the same on high carb and low carb days while others stay too bloated trying to eat a lot of food day-in-day-out or get too fat eating high calories every day and need to reduce cals accordingly on low carb days. Experiment to find your sweet spot.

2nd NOTE: If someone cannot stomach a lot of fats during a deload then more carbs can be used in that case but protein intake is always cut to about half.
do you use any supplements to detox during the deload week?Not needed.[/QUOTE]

Great questions Phate! Answers above in bold. It probably sounds more complicated than it really is. It's very simple to put into action!

[Phate]

Great questions Phate! Answers above in bold. It probably sounds more complicated than it really is. It's very simple to put into action!

yeah, i just love the details and such behind those things, lol, thanks for the info Ronnie, always a pleasure reading your stuff

[Ronnie Rowland]

do you use any supplements to detox during the deload week?

Phate, I wanted to elaborate on this in more detail. As mentioned above supplements would probably not be neccessary during a deload when using injectables but when using orals it would be a good idea. Take the mass cycle below for example:

24 week cycle:

Test Enanthate weeks 1-24
Tren Enanthate weeks 1-24
D-bol-8 weeks on/2 weeks off for entire 24 weeks

Note:In this particular situation one could reload for 8 weeks while stacking all three anabolics. During the two week deload drop the d-bol adn reduce test by half. A liver-detox along with cutting protein intake to about half would be a good plan during this two weeks. When you entered back into the eight week reload protein intake would double, the d-bol would be added back into the cycle for another 8 weeks, as well as teh full dose of test or even a little more and the liver-detox would be discontinued until the next deload. This protocol would continue for the entire 24 weeks or until you wanted to do an extended PCT or bridge for 8 weeks.

[TractionIssues]

Phate, I wanted to elaborate on this in more detail. As mentioned above supplements would probably not be neccessary during a deload when using injectables but when using orals it would be a good idea. Take the mass cycle below for example:

24 week cycle:

Test Enanthate weeks 1-24
Tren Enanthate weeks 1-24
D-bol-4 weeks on/2 weeks off for entire 24 weeks

Note:In this particular situation one could reload for 4 weeks while stacking all three anabolics. During the two week deload only the d-bol would be dropped. A liver-detox along with cutting protein intake to about half would be a good plan during this two weeks. When you entered back into the four week reload protein intake would double, the d-bol would be added back into teh cycle for another 4 weeks, and the liver-detox would be discontinued until the next deload. This protocol would continue for the entire 24 weeks. Then a PCT or bridge could be utilized.

That's alot of Dbol, I would be worried about my liver, but I definitely see the potential for size with that type of cycle.

[kojak_x]

Its funny because I have been doing this since I first started working out. without the steroids of course. Shit...., too much of anything isn't good for the body.