Another Interview

Here’s a recent interview I did for a dutch site.

Other interviews and articles can be found here.

Martin, we can all read your bio on your blog, but what have you been up to in the last 6 months? Any news on a book for example?

I’ve been keeping very busy with clients, articles (for the swedish bodybuilding mag “Body”) and book writing. More of the former, less of the latter, but I’m picking up the pace to get the book out fairly soon. I actually have a date set in my mind, but won’t say anything more on that topic. It’ll be done when it’s done (and hopefully worth the wait).

Some people complain of headaches during the fast, any idea what causes this and better yet, how to solve it?

The most probable cause in this context is hypoglycemia and the headaches are likely to occur after low carb (rest) days. I rarely encounter this among my own clients, but I’d wager a bet that most people experiencing the headaches are eating very low carb/ketogenic on rest days, which is why hypoglycemia may occur early in the fast on the next day. If that is the case, I’d then suggest to up carb intake on rest days – 1 g cho/kg body weight is a good starting point. The goal is not to hit ketosis on rest days like some people seem to believe; if you do, then you’re doing it wrong (and shifting in and out of ketosis isn’t exactly ideal for mental performance either). Make sure protein and carbs are high enough to not go ketogenic on rest days if you’re having problems with fasting headaches.

Another factor that plays into this is the caloric surplus and deficit; if you’re having headaches, make sure that the gap between training days and rest days isn’t too steep in terms of calorie surplus/deficit. Large swings, i.e eating +50%–50% maintenance/ on training/rest, can also cause headaches and other mood disturbances during the fast.

Other possibilities not related to hypoglycemia include dehydration and caffeine withdrawal, both easily solved by drinking more and keeping your regular caffeine habits intact.

If all of the above can be ruled out as explanations to your headaches, studies show that there is a pretty strong genetic predisposition to migraines, which can be triggered by very small fluctuations in blood glucose – if that’s the case, well, fasting simply isn’t for you, and you may in fact be better off with more regular meals.

Do you recommend a different training approuch especially volume wise when following the IF guidelines?

Whatever works for you will work just as well on an IF regimen. That being said, I am biased towards a certain style of training; my own training methodology is inspired by the works of Stuart McRoberts and Arthur Jones, for example, and puts a heavy focus on training core movements with proper intensity and set structure. I also consider some of the 3-5 x 5-templates out there to be solid, success-proof, routines. So sure, given that I believe 90% of trainees out there are much better following the likes of these training routines than the stuff I see people doing in the gym, these are approaches I would recommend for most people doing IF as well; but again, there is no need for a special approach due the diet. However, for fasted state training, i.e if you’re working out at the end of the fast (with only a small amount of BCAA, as I recommend as a pre-wo ‘meal’), I would definitely recommend starting out doing shorter weight training sessions as a general rule for everyone.

A lot of questions are asked about recomp. Lots of powerbuilders (not bodybuilders) want to get leaner, but don’t want to loose a lot of bw and especially no strength! Can you give us some guidelines about recomping (eg some people say +25% kcal on training days and -50% kcal on off days)?

That’s what most people want, and it’s not something easily covered in a few lines here. On the topic of the diet, I’ll say this: if the +25%/-50%-approach is working for you, that’s great. If it isn’t, consider keeping a tighter caloric interval, especially if you’re already lean. And what is absolutely crucial – make sure to get a lot of protein on rest days.

Is bulking up just a matter of upping the calories or do you have some special approuch for this as well?

Another topic that I won’t try to cover in depth here, rest assured that special measures have to be taken if you want your gains to be lean. First of all, training wise, I do things differently. Aside from visual cues, I rate the quality of gain by relative strength. If anything, that is something people should take away from this interview. Look at your weight gain in relation to your strength gains. If you’re losing reps in chins on your bulk, odds are you’re getting fat. If you’ve gained 10 lbs on your bench in the last month, while similarily gaining 10 lbs of body weight, you’re getting fat. You get the point. I have a system for that, sort of a minimum standard of relative strength I think people should gain in relationship to their weight. This is complex and dependent on training experience, body leverages and so forth. Needless to say, there are exceptions such as training a beginner or when introducing a new movement, the system cannot be applied.

Diet wise, it’s a matter of finding the sweet spot when it comes to weight gain, calorie intake and macros; dependent on training experience and insulin sensitivty, among other things.

What do you think are average natural muscle gains in a month’s time?

Hard to say, since there is such a tremendous variability here. However, assuming that a) you’ve already tapped into your newbie gains, b) you’re not completely retarded when it comes to your diet or training regimen and c) you wan’t to keep the gains lean, then we’re looking at 1-1.5 lbs per month for most people.