meltdown questions

I’d like to know which %rm you use doing the program and how you add weight(every set you make 10/every workout/every week)and if you have to choose a % that makes you arrive to failure or simply follow given %like Coach Davis fat to fire.
The best diet to lose fat while on this program is a strict keto or a low carb like the T-Dawg in order to have some more energy?
Thank you
Chris

For best results you will likely want to use the heaviest weight you can do for ten reps at the recommended tempo and adjust accordingly. If you can get all three or four sets of ten w. the same weight either you’re sporting some serious slow-twitch fibers or you aren’t using enough weight. Don’t go strict keto…repeat, DON’T go strict keto. If you’re at a relatively high b.f. level then use a cheat meal w. up to 75 g. carbs every fourth or fifth day. If you’re under 8 percent you can try a whole day, but I would try to eat clean carbs and do it Berardi/Massive Eating style. Some can more or less eat whatever they want on the cheat day but most, myself included, are not so fortunate. I personally am using 100 g. carbs/day and not doing a carb-up meal or day. 50 g. of my carbs come via Surge post-workout. Good luck!

Thanks Ritchie.I’m around 10%but would like to get at 6-7%,so you suggest a low carb approach?.How much time it should take since I have 5-6 pounds of fat to lose?The use of md6 or/and T2 would speed up the process?How should i use them?
So I should go for failure at least on the 3rd-4th set of each of the circuits?Have you noticed a significant drop in strength or explosiveness,since I play baseball and wouldn’t like to lose both if possible.
Thank you for your help again

Depends on what your definition of low-carb is. Have you ever done any type of cyclic keto diet? If not, it may take a couple of weeks to adjust…that’s why I would not go lower than 100 g/day, particularly w. your sport. MD6 and T2 will most certainly speed up the process. Once you have your diet dialed in, you could likely achieve 5-6 percent from 10 percent in 8 weeks, maybe a bit sooner but I wouldn’t try to drop it too fast. I’m a soccer player and I usually find my 1RM’s go down slightly after a high-rep interval program such as Meltdown but strength endurance skyrockets. It doesn’t take long to get any strength loss back anyway. T2 is very potent so don’t drop your cals too low…I usually hit 2100-2400 on training days and 1800-2000 on off days…I’m 160 at 5 1/2 percent right now. Rep-wise…you don’t necessarily have to hit failure on the sets. When I feel proper form is gonna be an issue on the next rep I stop the set. Good luck!

Thanks a lot Ritchie!

RR-I’m curious to know what your BF was when you started Meltdown. You seem to be a veteran on the dieting front so I have some questions for you.

Up until this past Friday I was consuming 1800 calories with 200g P/75g C/75g F each day regardless of whether I worked out or not. I was 200lbs on Friday with BF around 16%, based on waist measurement only.

I increased my carbs to 200g per day on Sat and already with water retention I’m fuller and at 210lbs with not much loss of definition. I am at 2400 cals now with 200g of protein/200g carbs/90g Fat using 3 P+F/3 P+C meals.

How should I adjust the diet to get the BF down much lower? Should I limit to 1 cheat meal per week? I already play ice hockey 3-4 X per week for my intervals.

Fat sources: flax/fish/canola/egg yolks (with eggs)/bacon sometimes.

Carb sources: plain oats/red potatoes

Protein sources: low carb grow/chicken/tuna/egg whites

Are these choices OK or should I be changing them to better sources? I am taking fish/flax in pill form and at 30g for P+F meals that’s 30 pills and I can’t do that. The most I can stomach is 10 at a time.

Thanks for your help.

Well for starters the first thing I would do is scrap the bf measurement based on your waist, if you’re wanting to quote percentages anyway. Try to find a trainer in your area that has a good set of calipers, or buy your own such as the SlimGuide ones. I have the Lange medical ones but the SlimGuide is a lot more cost effective. Also, I would get your flax in liquid form…it’s much more cost effective and easier to get a proper dose.

I started dieting at 12.4 percent b.f. and I've cycled back and forth between three weeks of German Body Comp and seven weeks of Olympic lifting (I play soccer so I need the speed/power work). I'm on day eight of Meltdown and my waist has gone down from 29.5 down to a bit under 29 (this is already after ten weeks of dieting, mind you), and my ab skinfold is down from 8 to 6. I've also been on T2 for four days now so this is also helping. If you're playing ice hockey four times a week, you can't go too low on carbs or performance will suffer, trust me. You might use Berardi's Don't Diet protocols as this is what I did for the ten weeks prior to Meltdown. Now I stay between 1800-2200 dep. on training day or off-day. If you're really around 16 percent, I would limit carbs to 100 g/day as per Alessi's recommendation and get the majority after your workout, although they would likely tell you to skip the carbs and use whey with a high dose of glutamine with your higher bodyfat. I would likely agree if it wasn't for the ice hockey. Basically I would keep protein around 1.5 g/lb or so, and try to utilize green veggies and salads for the majority of your whole-food carbs. An old diet trick is to use 2 tsp. red wine vinegar or lemon juice w. 1 tbsp. of olive oil on your salad. This will dramatically lower the glycemic rating of any food. Hope that answers your questions...if I forgot anything let me know.

Thanks RR-I will increase my protein to 1.5g. Are you talking 1.5 perlb of BW or per lb lean mass? I will drop the oatmeal and potatoes and stick with leafy veggies for carb sources.

I like your idea of shifting calories lower on off days, but does this mean compeletely off or just off the lifting for that day? I ask because I play hockey on some days when I don’t lift.

Lastly, what are your thoughts on my calorie requirements? This morning, depleted I was 204 so I’ll use 2400 cals (12 X BW) to start. My fear is that I’ve always droppped cals to low and hence my metabolism suffers because of this. Off days I will drop to about 2000 calories.

Does it matter that I do Meltdown in the AM? If this is the case should all my carbs come in my first 2 to 3 meals and then limit them the rest of the day?

Thanks again for the help.

I use 1.5 g/lb bw. I’ve heard CP recommend as high as 2 g/lb if bodyfat is high (over 8 percent by his definition). I would definitely not go below 10xBW on any day, but 12xBW is a good figure and may even be about right for your off-days…just depends on metabolism and activity level. You’ll have to do a little experimenting. I do my weight portion of Meltdown in the morning and recommend it if you can get used to getting up early…it’s not easy. I use Poliquin’s Ultimate Workout meal minus the Acetyl L-carnitine and hit the Surge post-w. I don’t really see a problem with oatmeal as long as you stick to your carb requirements, but be careful w. the potatoes. Good luck!

I am trying to find the suggested doasage from Poliquin on Glutamine recommendations. I thought is was on an empty stomach post workout (around 40G) followed shortly later by a protein only meal.

Any suggestions on glutamine intake throughout the rest of the day? I will also be using ZMA before bed and Power Drive for my AM Meltdown workouts.

Straight from the man himself, Charles Poliquin:

“The amount of glutamine in the post-workout shake will vary between .17 to .33 grams per pound of bodyweight. If the athelete is lean (under eight percent), I would go for the lower value. If the athlete needs to improve his or her body composition, I would choose the higher value INSTEAD OF adding carbohydrates in the post-workout shake.”

This comes from an interview he did with PeakHealth. I wouldn’t worry too much about the rest of the day, other than before bed and first thing in the morning. Poliquin suggests 2-5 g. on an empty stomach; however one of Don Alessi’s trainers says 10 g. before bed w. ZMA on an empty stomach. This is what I do.