David to Goliath


Thought this was interesting…

How David became Goliath: David Henry adds quality muscle with two superhigh-calorie days per week

David Henry’s pro debut at the 2004 Ironman Pro Invitational should leave no doubt that smaller bodybuilders can grow into top pros. Henry earned his pro card at the NPC Nationals in November 2002 at a bodyweight of 167. Fifteen months later, he was a ripped 190 at the Ironman, where he finished sixth behind five bodybuilders who all have at least one Olympia appearance under their belts.

“I’m a hardgainer, so finding the right nutrition strategy was the key to adding mass,” Henry says. He also says that his diet strategy will work for other hardgainers. The key to Henry’s success? “Every weekend, I eat nearly 7,000 calories a day. On weekdays, I follow a basic bodybuilding diet of about 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day.”

Doubling the amount of calories gives Henry’s body an overload of energy, helping it to grow without adding excess bodyfat. “When I compete, I’m at around 3% bodyfat, but when I was trying to grow in the offseason, I only went up to about 7%. That’s still pretty low, but I was able to add more than 20 pounds of muscle in a little over a year.” He attributes this to the metabolic confusion that the high-calorie days create. When you change up the amount of calories you normally consume, your body burns bodyfat more effectively while adding muscle mass.

Henry says that the quantity of calories consumed is every bit as important as the quality, especially for hardgainers. “Guys who have trouble adding size are often eating only chicken breast, yams and broccoli, and it’s hard to get in enough calories to really grow. If that’s what you’re doing and you’re not adding the muscle you want, then you need to make some adjustments.”

He adds that it’s important to take in at least a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight each day, on both high- and moderate-calorie days. On high-calorie days, include some cheat foods to make certain you hit your caloric target. “I’m not saying you should eat Twinkies, but you can eat foods like burgers and pizza on high-calorie days. These foods have plenty of protein and the calories you need to pack on quality size.”

If you’re a hardgainer who wants to grow and stay lean, try adapting Henry’s plan to your own needs. For five days a week, eat up to 10% more calories than you require for maintenance. For example, if you need 3,000 calories a day to maintain your current weight, try to get in 3,300 a day, making sure that you consume at least a gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

On the weekends, increase caloric intake to about double what you need for maintenance (6,000 in this example). Try this for about eight weeks, and see how your body responds. If you’re adding too much bodyfat, scale back your daily calorie consumption and include a couple of moderate cardio sessions a week.

BY STEVE STIEFEL

Yeah, I’ve seen this idea before. Defranco calls it the hour of power, where once a week you eat as much as you can in an hour without throwing up. Pretty cool.

I love David Henry.

In one of the old T-Mags (the actual paper magazines!), there was a protein discussion, and I don’t recall who proposed it, but the notion was that there might be some good evidence to support the anabolic effects of an occasional huge over-feed, protein heavy meal, as opposed to just smaller, frequent feedings (well, not opposed to, but in addition to).

S

Hmmm… I wonder who David Henry is trained by… and what kind of nutritional philosophies he follows?

I bet he does straight sets.

Omar Deckard eats that way as well and has for several years now. He states he eats whatever he wants on the weekends (drastically increasing calories) and then eats a “cleaner” diet the other 5 days. I was basically doing the same for the last few months.

I think this works to some degree for those who are NOT trying to add another 50lbs but are already big and trying to take it to the next level without bulking up all out.

For me, it slowed the gains I would make by eating more all of the time but it does have its uses when I was trying to remain near the same weight with some change in body comp.

interesting… if x said it then i might not :wink: jks

but seriously im gaining atm so i may try this on the hols when theres more free time to eat clean during the week

I love the twice a week hour of power.

Then again, I just love eating.

Every time I see him the first thing that comes to mind is he looks like an evil alien.

His face +that smile just seem so creepy to me lol

Completely irrelevant, I know.

[quote]waylanderxx wrote:
Every time I see him the first thing that comes to mind is he looks like an evil alien.

His face +that smile just seem so creepy to me lol

Completely irrelevant, I know.[/quote]

Hey…he can’t help it that EVERY SINGLE TOOTH in his mouth is visible every time he smiles.

Give him credit…if he didn’t brush regularly, everyone on the planet would be aware of it.

[quote]SSC wrote:
Hmmm… I wonder who David Henry is trained by… and what kind of nutritional philosophies he follows?

I bet he does straight sets.[/quote]

I’m pretty sure that David Henry is a DC trainee, I could be wrong though…

[quote]Bloobird wrote:
SSC wrote:
Hmmm… I wonder who David Henry is trained by… and what kind of nutritional philosophies he follows?

I bet he does straight sets.

I’m pretty sure that David Henry is a DC trainee, I could be wrong though…[/quote]

You could also be missing out on sarcasm.

[quote]Bloobird wrote:
SSC wrote:
Hmmm… I wonder who David Henry is trained by… and what kind of nutritional philosophies he follows?

I bet he does straight sets.

I’m pretty sure that David Henry is a DC trainee, I could be wrong though…[/quote]

SCC knows, his post wasn’t serious…

[quote]Professor X wrote:
Bloobird wrote:
SSC wrote:
Hmmm… I wonder who David Henry is trained by… and what kind of nutritional philosophies he follows?

I bet he does straight sets.

I’m pretty sure that David Henry is a DC trainee, I could be wrong though…

You could also be missing out on sarcasm.[/quote]

See, this time you saw it first. Now we’re even again :wink:

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Bloobird wrote:
SSC wrote:
Hmmm… I wonder who David Henry is trained by… and what kind of nutritional philosophies he follows?

I bet he does straight sets.

I’m pretty sure that David Henry is a DC trainee, I could be wrong though…

SCC knows, his post wasn’t serious…
[/quote]

Partial reps right?

[quote]MEYMZ wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
Bloobird wrote:
SSC wrote:
Hmmm… I wonder who David Henry is trained by… and what kind of nutritional philosophies he follows?

I bet he does straight sets.

I’m pretty sure that David Henry is a DC trainee, I could be wrong though…

SCC knows, his post wasn’t serious…

Partial reps right?[/quote]

Drop sets!

It’s all about drop sets and exhausting all muscle-fibers, all the time, as often as possible…

I just hope no gullible beginner reads this now.

Great post OP-

The interview lacked the token DC hype up that Davey is known for.

Am I the only one that thinks its a joke that he is calling himself a hardgainer? He may have more trouble then some other successfull bodybuilders but he obviously is able to put on large amounts of muscle.

[quote]Doyle wrote:
Am I the only one that thinks its a joke that he is calling himself a hardgainer? He may have more trouble then some other successfull bodybuilders but he obviously is able to put on large amounts of muscle.

[/quote]

Hey, everybody loves an underdog