Q: Steve’s “roller-coaster size-shreds” diet [in the Super Size Crash Course] has me rethinking my plan. The results he got with it are spectacular, but I have a few questions. He lists his two ultra-strict diet days a week, but how did he eat on the other five days? Also, how was he training, and what was his cardio schedule?
A: Yes, his results were fairly “spectacular,” as the pics below show (there are more in the e-book; apologies for the crummy old iPhone images—old man needs a new phone. Lol). These results were after about 8 weeks on the new diet.
The reason for going on the controversial eating plan with 2 “extreme” days a week was the sluggishness of Steve’s fat-loss on his standard ripping diet…
Here’s what happened: He began his normal cutting phase in spring, but soon noticed that he was getting stringy as summer progressed (the above before photo). It seemed as though his older body/metabolism wanted to hold fat and burn muscle more than usual.
At 54 in those pics, his body just wasn’t responding to his normal methodic gradual calorie reduction he’d used for years, so he tried a radical approach—2 extreme days per week.
It worked, melting some body fat and, unexpectedly, helping him put on muscle mass. Notice that his arms got markedly bigger as his abs got sharper. His other five “diet” days were still fairly strict, six moderate high-protein meals a day…
His calories on those “normal” days were around 1700, with protein at 200 grams and carbs around 130 to 150 grams. Fat was the remainder of the calories—mostly from eggs and nuts. Remember, those were his NON-diet days…
It was the two “radical-reduction” days that made the difference. Calories dipped significantly with a strategic meal spacing to tap into more body fat. He tried to keep those to non-workout days to minimize any muscle loss, as he explains in Chapter 8 of The Ultimate Super-Size Crash Course.
His training stayed the same—only moderate-weight TORQ, 4X, etc.—hitting it four days a week with a routine very similar to the one Jordon used in Phase 2 that’s outlined in Chapter 4 of the SSCC—no ultra-heavy training.
Downward-Progression 4X was the heaviest he went; however, the short rests between sets with that method prevent joint-jarring poundages even though weight is added to each of the four sets…
His weight workouts took about 50 minutes. He did cardio only two days a week—3-mile run/walks each time.
An “extreme” diet day right after holidays or special occasions is a good idea too to minimize fat deposition. One extreme day a week through the winter is a great experiment…
No matter what your age, if you have trouble losing fat, you may want to try really dipping your calories on two nonconsecutive days a week. It can even help you build more muscle as it did for Steve (there are anabolic properties, as documented in the research it’s based on).
The “roller-coaster” diet is one more addition to your size-and-shreds ammunition.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson
X-Rep.com
The “New” Perfect Physique
You’ve probably believed that women go crazy over huge muscles. You’ve probably even aspired to look like Arnold at some point.
The picture of the perfect physique seems to have changed over the years…
There were several years when it seemed women preferred a leaner and smaller physique like Brad Pitt’s in Fight Club.
Luckily, that seems to have just been a fad, and a more muscular look has become more desired again. Not pro bodybuilder big, but something in between with good muscularity and chiseled detail…
Alain Gonzales refers to it as the “Athletic-Aesthetic” physique, and women go wild over it.
Check out Alain’s 12-week program here: