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carb cycling questions

jzpowahz

jzpowahz

Well-known member
First of all stats are in signature.

Looking to do a clean bulk using a carb cycling strategy but I have a few questions.

1. I usually train at around 5pm and would be aiming to get the majority of carbs around this time. Rest of the day just beans and fibrous veggies. Except, from all the reading I have done on the topic, people recommend a carb breakfast also (oats for me). Now in my mind it seems to make more sense having this higher carb breakfast on a non-training day e.g. Train Monday night, get lots of carbs in. Tue morning, more carbs. As opposed to Mon morning, carbs. Tue morning no carbs (well no starch carbs) Thoughts on this?

2. Also, I realise it is better to have the higher carb days on training days. I also do mma training 2-3 times a week. If I am doing this as well as 3 days resistance training that could potentially be 6 high carb days a week which doesn't seem like much of a "cycle" :P So for anyone else who has tried this that does other sports as well, how have you handled it?

Thanks

Chris
 
I don't really have much to comment on your 1 or 2, but I just wanted to say, that the most important thing for you, if you want to do a "clean bulk" would be to gain weight very slowly. Given that you are past the beginner stage, I would be aiming for 0.5-1kg of weight gain per month.

Good luck.
 
I've spent years working of various formats of carb cycling diets. They work, but IMO limit your growth and strength.

The best approach I think is having your macro's on training days as such fat 60%, pro 20%, carbs 20%. carbs are taken breakfast and pre training.

Non training days, fat 60%, pro 35%, carbs 5%. carbs are eaten breakfast time.
 
I don't think there's any point in carb cycling on a bulk, even a slow one.
Just eat healthy with lots of protein, and introduce a slight excess of calories (every day, training or not).
Carb cycling is designed to trick your body into retaining muscle when you're in a caloric deficit, not the other way round.
If you were really keen on the idea, you could pursue the 'pulse-fast' system being sold by Biotest, the owners of TNation. They advocate a traditional bodybuilding diet with one or two 'fast days' per week that basically uses their low carb protein drinks to keep you going on the off days.
Frankly I think it's a waste of time.
 
Upon reflection you could manipulate your carbs on a clean bulk if you were super keen. It would consist of this:
- only eating low Glycemic Load carbs, except directly after training.
- getting most carbs in at breakfast and pre / post training
- no high GL carbs on non-training days
- caloric increase to come from high protein source, like poached chicken breast NOT carbs
- good quality fats etc etc etc

That's about as clean as it gets.
My take anyway. Not the end of the world if people don't agree.
 
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And the Ugly said:
Not the end of the world if people don't agree.
Click to expand...

Is it the end of the world if people agree? Because I agree with that.

Carb cycling is a fatloss technique, not for weight gain. How much weight you gain is entirely upto how great a caloric surplus you're in. Do it slow and steady and take longer to build muscle without having "as much" fat tissue gained or go for broke and take it how it comes, more muscle more fat more weight and in my opinion, more awesome.

How old are you?
 
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Thanks for the links El Freako.

And the ugly: that was pretty much my plan except I would have thought the increased cals on training days would basically be from the high gi carbs used peri workout.

I actually tried a "pulse feast" type thing for about a week but it wasn't for me. (I just used casein protein shake not biotest stuff which I know is not exactly how they were saying to do it)

If carb cycling is a fat loss technique, I can't see why it couldn't be used in association with common bulking nutrition to be able to add muscle without excess fat gain. All about the timing of nutrients I guess and utilising them correctly.
 
If that's basically what you planning on doing then cool, good choice. A couple of things though: if you're training six days then you don't want raised carbs on those days. You want decreased carbs on your off day. Even then you just dont want the high GL carbs. The others have to stay.
Also, this is diet manipulation but it's not carb cycling. That term refers to something specific, and if you use it to describe what you're doing you'll confuse people.
 
like i said before, i'm a big fan of The Anabolic Solution For Powerlifters. It works pretty simple. From monday - friday (for example) your main source of calories come from protein & fat, with about 5% carbs. Saturday - sunday, the main calories are protein & carbs, with fat being about 5% of the intake of calories.

This is inclusive of any persuit of body recomposition, muscle gain, fat loss or maintenance. Ie, when wanting to gain muscle multiply your body weight (in pounds) by 17-20, for fat loss, between 11-13 & for maintenance, by around 15. As time goes on, you simply change the figures as you work out how you progress



p.s. im watching 2012 right now....
 
And the Ugly said:
If that's basically what you planning on doing then cool, good choice. A couple of things though: if you're training six days then you don't want raised carbs on those days. You want decreased carbs on your off day. Even then you just dont want the high GL carbs. The others have to stay.
Also, this is diet manipulation but it's not carb cycling. That term refers to something specific, and if you use it to describe what you're doing you'll confuse people.
Click to expand...

gotcha. Thanks mate. Suppose it would be more a cycle if I was only training 3-4 days a week.
 
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