T Nation

The 5/2 Diet with 5/3/1

Jim Wendler 5/3/1 Coaching
#1

Jim,

Came across this article today: https://www.T-Nation.com/diet-fat-loss/5-2-fat-loss-diet-for-lifters

It got me thinking… could a person use this strategy for a lean bulk in order to keep insulin sensitivity up? Instead of a traditional bulk where you’re slamming carbs and calories 7 days a week, I feel like those two 800 calorie days could actually be beneficial during a bulk, especially considering that insulin is the catalyst for muscle growth. It seems like it could be used as a way to keep your body primed to grow, instead of letting it get lazy by overfeeding it every single day.

Obviously, you’d have to consume enough calories on the other 5 days to ensure a calorie surplus at the end of the week… But I feel like manipulating insulin those two days could be important.

Thoughts?

#2

Warning: pure anecdotal content.

I’ve been using IF (14-16h fast each day) for almost two years now, of which almost a year with 531.
I have made substantial gains every since I:

  • started on 531
  • in doing so, almost doubled my workout frequency
  • started eating more in general*
  • started eating more carbs and protein*

I have NO idea how this would have turned out without IF, but I am very happy with my mass and strength gains. Whatever that means :smiley:

To me, the IF approach does make a lot of sense, though. But truth is everybody is different and you should really just give it a try (for several months) and see how it compares. I plan on switching over to the more “classic” many meals a day approach at some point for comparison.

*) 1g per lbs of body weight for protein and carbs and 0.5g per lbs for fat as a minimum intake per day. Consistently.

#3

After doing a couple years of research, I found 100% of reasonable “eating plans” are the same. You have the moronic/retarded outliers like the “pineapple and dog shit diet” but for the most part, you eat reasonably healthy food/appropriate calories 90% of the time, consistently train smart/ like a absolute maniac and you’ll be ok. I have yet to see this proven wrong.

in case anyone wonders: “consistently” is NOT 12 weeks or 12 months.

#4

[quote]Jim Wendler wrote:
After doing a couple years of research, I found 100% of reasonable “eating plans” are the same. You have the moronic/retarded outliers like the “pineapple and dog shit diet” but for the most part, you eat reasonably healthy food/appropriate calories 90% of the time, consistently train smart/ like a absolute maniac and you’ll be ok. I have yet to see this proven wrong.

in case anyone wonders: “consistently” is NOT 12 weeks or 12 months.

[/quote]

Consistentcy is what you do Now and Forever ! NOV mantra !!