PhD Mass- The key factors of mass building!
Every athlete wants to get bigger, right?
Of course you do. Whether you are a body builder looking to increase mass for next year’s competitions, a rugby player beefing-up for the pack, or a martial artist looking to jump up a weight category, you all crave one thing, Solid mass.
Gaining body weight can be somewhat of an illusion and often, one step forward, two steps back. Gaining body weight on the scales is quite simple, sit on your sofa and eat fast food all day, nothing too difficult or remotely scientific about that approach right?
Gaining quality muscle mass however, is a different ball-game entirely. It’s the difference between men and boys and done correctly in a sufficient time-scale, can make a huge amount of difference to your appearance, without making such a huge jump on the scales. Remember!! A little goes a long way.
Following are the PhD key factors of mass building! Key factors that both myself and Mark followed in our training life and all promote today to clients and on our PhD discussion forums, where positive results are seen on a regular basis. However, rather than just give you the benefit of our experience, we’ve gone one step further, we’ve asked the PhD endorsed athletes, as well as author of “Ultimate Hypertrophy training” and well known strength and conditioning coach Gavin Laird to give us their one tip that helped them promote gains in muscle mass. The tip had to be the single most notable factor throughout their training life that made an instant or certainly noticeable difference to their muscle mass. Remember, we’re talking about champions and experts in their field here, so listen up!!
Key factor 1- Jason Rickaby- PhD Managing Director- Champion natural body builder
The Post workout meal!
Between the ages of 21-22 I discovered the post workout meal, I’ve never looked back. The simple switch from a regular protein drink with milk, to a specifically formulated and planned, protein and carbohydrate drink helped me gain 10lbs in little less than a month. The combination of high GI liquid carbohydrates and liquid whey protein helped me push my physique up a huge notch, to the point where guys were questioning my natural status. As a lifetime natural body builder with a light frame, I struggle and have struggled for every inch of muscle mass I possess today, so the giant steps I made when beginning to consume a liquid post workout meal, though a small step for some, made a huge difference to me. Right now I use 2 servings of Pharma-Whey™ and 3-5 scoops of Battery+/-3™ immediately after I finish training. This provides me with:
I recommend this combination to many of my on-line training clients and all note positive results.
Key factor 2- Dean Garratt- World Champion, British champion, 3-time Overall BNBF Champion- lifetime natural body builder- PhD endorsed athlete.
The most radical change in the development of my physique came when I started to increase training frequency. Before now, I had followed the idea of training each body part once per week, believing this was necessary to allow sufficient recovery between workouts so that body parts could grow and become stronger. Yet more recently I have come to realise that optimum nutrition is a key factor in promoting recovery and that if this is adequately addressed, it is quite possible to train more often and recover more quickly between workouts. Overtraining is simply a factor of inadequate nutrition and quality supplementation. I now train each body part once every three days, which increases the number of opportunities for enhanced protein synthesis, providing I supply my body with enough high quality nutrients, including a first-class whey protein supplement (I use and approve Pharma-Whey™). Without a doubt, high frequency workouts backed up with high quality supplementation have transformed my physique, with improved muscle size, density and condition.
Key factor 3- Gavin Laird- Power lifter, author of “Ultimate hypertrophy” and owner of Results Gym.
A conductive lifestyle!
Every athlete I have ever trained who gained substantial lean body mass first satisfied 4 conditions. 1. A positive calorie balance. 2. Positive nutrient balance. 3. Progressive overload at EVERY training session. 4. A lifestyle conducive to growth.
Positive calorie balance means getting more energy from food than you burn off. Positive nutrient balance means that your body never wants for protein, EFA's, fibre, energy or micronutrients. Progressive overload at every training session means that EVERY time you train you have to lift heavier loads than the last time. This is only possible through a sensible periodised training scheme. Number 4 is often overlooked but if you are surrounded by negative people and stressful experiences your body will not thank you. Sort out the things in your life that hold you back! If you give your body the building blocks it needs for growth and then provide it with a strong training stimulus and a good lifestyle you will grow.
Key factor 4- Fivos Averkiou- 2-time Natural Body building Britain champion, UK-Champion- PhD endorsed athlete
Since 1999 I have began using large amounts of whey protein, having previously used alternative sources of protein. As soon as I began using Whey Protein, I immediately noticed an increase in strength and primarily my ability to recover from hard training sessions. Whereas it used to take 3-4 days for the soreness to subside, now it can be gone in as little as a day or two. A huge part of that is down to my intake of Whey Protein and a major reason why I use large amounts of PhD Pharma-Whey™.
Key factor 5- Peter Chown- Junior European and world natural body building champion, South-East overall BNBF Champion and WNBF competitor- Phd endorsed athlete.
Having been training now for well over a decade I’m constantly looking for new and improved ways of doing everything. When PhD Nutrition approached me to become one of their endorsed athletes, I was eager to try some of the products Jason had been telling me about. Retaining 100% concentration through a training session has often been my limiting factor over the last few years and because of this I was eager to try Wired™. After using Wired™ the first time, I reached the end of an intense leg workout and almost couldn’t believe that I’d sailed through without contemplating any difficulty or considering any barrier. I simply sailed through. I now use Wired™ religiously before all my major workouts and every time I have an ultra-productive workout without one negative thought entering my head. If I can maintain this level of concentration and ensure that every workout is productive, I plan to make 2006 the best year of my competitive life.
Key Factor 6- Ian Stocks- NPA Britain Under 70KG champion, NPA Yorkshire Champion, European INBBF Runner-up
I noticed the biggest increase in muscle mass as soon as I began living the body building lifestyle and eating like a body builder. As soon as I began eating 6 times daily with the largest amount of calorie-intake during the early stages of the day, I began to get bigger. I make sure to eat wholesome carbohydrates like oats during the day and always have a serving or two of a good quality mass-gainer like Pharma-Gain™ during the day, with added fruit, nuts or seeds. Post workout I make sure to use a liquid carbohydrate beverage like Battery+/-3™, combined with the supplements I am using at that specific time (mainly Creatine and L-Glutamine). This approach helps me keep a good off-season weight, though never lose sight of abdominal definition. My tip is to eat big, but eat clean!
The PhD mass and strength plan- The 5 essentials to remember!!
1) Eat at least 6 times everyday- This is a given if you are to increase muscle mass and strength. Take in around 2 grams of protein per KG of body weight and get the rest of your calories from healthy fats and a good blend of complex and fibrous carbohydrates. For examples of optimum mass-gaining diets, visit www.phd-supplements.com and look in the “PhD Mass gaining tips” section I like to use solid protein sources for a few meals per day and then rely on the quality whey protein within Pharma-Whey™ and Smart bar™ to make up the remainder of my protein intake.
2) But……..Don’t eat for the sake of it!
As fun as eating lots of food can be, it’s only going to end one way. You’re going to get fat! Like most other weight-training athletes, in particularly body builders, I’ve gone through the “calories are calories” phase of my life. Sure I weighed 2 stone more than I do now and looked big in clothes. However, underneath the clothes I looked appalling. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that extra “Bulk” equates to you looking bigger and better, it doesn’t! Sure if you don’t hold competitive body building aspirations, or don’t particularly train with weights to look good with your clothes off, be a little more lenient with your nutritional habits. However, never make the mistake of gaining quantity over quality.
3) Train for no longer than 60 minutes. Even 60 minutes is often too long. Research has clearly shown that once circulating anabolic hormone levels begin to diminish, you need to be out of the gym. Warm-up should last 10 minutes and your workout done in 45-50 minutes.
4) Train frequently. The old-adage of rest and grow is partially and fundamentally flawed in my opinion. Of course you need to rest and true, during this rest potential muscle growth will occur, but resting 3-4 days out of every week is not living an athletic lifestyle and it’s not conductive to quality muscle growth. Most PhD athletes will train at least 5 times per week, some will train more. The key is how you train when you are in the gym. I follow many of the principles in Gavin Laird’s book “Ultimate hypertrophy training” which is very different to what you may read in Flex magazine. For an example of how the PhD athletes train for mass and how I schedule my training, check out www.phd-supplements.com
My outlook is that I want to be an athlete, I want to get bigger and stronger, but I don’t want to gain 20lbs of body fat to do so. In my opinion, following the UHT plan or something similar is the best way to do that.
Below is an example of an optimum mass-gaining PhD supplement stack.
Weeks 1-4: Use 1-2 servings of Pharma-Gain daily in addition to 4 wholesome meals and a liquid post workout meal containing Battery+/- & PhD L-Glutamine and 1 serving of Pharma-Gain.
Weeks 5-8: Use 3 servings of Formula-X (for men only) daily with 1-2 servings of Pharma-Gain in addition to 4 wholesome meals and the above post workout meal. Use 1 serving of Formula-X 30 minutes before training (with PhD Nutrition Wired if you wish), followed by 1 serving before bed. Take the third serving of formula-X immediately upon waking, on an empty stomach.
Weeks 9-12: On week 9 perform a traditional creatine loading phase with 20 grams of PhD Nutrition Creatine monohydrate daily, for 5 days. After the 5 days, simply consume 5-10 grams on training days only, immediately after training with PhD battery +/-and 1-2 servings of Pharma-Whey. Continue to use Formula-X until the end of week 12, then take 4 weeks off.
Throughout the 12 weeks, PhD Nutrition Smart bar can be an excellent source of quick and easy mass-gaining calories, either between meals, or as a pre-workout snack.