Primed for Growth Update 3

by: Pm - November 25th, 2007

Maybe my body is starting to adapt to the increased load. Could be that the new supplement stack is starting to really kick-in. Or it might just be that with the passing holiday weekend I finally consumed enough calories to fully meet my recovery needs. Whatever the reason, Week #2 seemed significantly better – though not necessarily much easier – than Week #1 on the Primed for Growth (P.F.G.) plan.

Workouts
No significant changes from Week #1. As with last week, the sets calling for 15 or more repetitions always tended to be the most difficult for me. My muscle fibers just aren’t programmed that way naturally. Give me something very heavy and ask me to lift it a few times, no problem. Ask me to run a 5K or even lift a 15 lb dumbbell 20-30 times and my muscles complain like Mofaz the depressed tow truck driver during rush hour traffic in a blizzard.

Now, research suggests that muscle fibers can adapt. When repeatedly forced to perform tasks that are outside of their specialized function(s), Type IIa & IIb (fast twitch) fibers can learn to act more like Type I (slow twitch) fibers. In other words, guys like me who were born with a higher concentration of fast twitch muscles can, with enough training, eventually perform more like a slow-twitch-rich runner. This knowledge (and a sense of accountability to all of you) is what kept me going through Week #2. And, I’m glad that I did, because it seems as though I’m starting to turn the corner with this routine. Don’t get me wrong, the sense of intimidation, beforehand, and soreness, afterward, are still there; but, the outlook has gone from drudgery and dread to something that I actually look forward to.

My mental and muscular fortitude are already starting to pay off. Visually, my chest, shoulders, back, and arms, and upper legs are bigger (to the point where people who haven’t seen me in a while are asking what I’m doing). These observations are also supported on the scale. My weight is up about 5-6 lbs and my body fat levels dropped a little over a percentage point, so the gain is lean, not fat, mass. Needless to say, I will be ecstatic if I can maintain the same rate-of-results for the remainder of the program. Sure, these are lofty goals, but IMO that’s the way that goals should be set.

Nutrition
Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, my diet wasn’t as dialed-in as I would have liked this week. As alluded to earlier, I did manage to get my calories up into the 19-20 cal/lb BW range, which is much closer to the 21 cal/lb BW that M&F recommends for the program. Although my protein levels are still lower than I’d like at ~0.8 g/lb BW, they were still higher than the week previous. Not too worried about it though. All those starches that I consumed Thurs, Fri, and Sat undoubtedly provided some serious protein-sparing benefits.
With one major eating holiday behind us and nearly a month before the next one gets here, I should be able to clean-up the diet pretty significantly for the remainder of the program.

This week’s objectives are:

(1) Maintain current calorie levels
(2) Increase protein to 1 g/lb BW/day
(3) Consume 2-2.5 g carbs/lb BW/day
(4) Eat at least 5 times per day
(5) Increase dietary fiber to 35-40 grams/day

Supplements
Week #2 was basically an extension of the changes that I made toward the end of the first week: 3.2 g beta-alanine (split in 2 doses) and 5 g creatine monohydrate (post-workout) for stamina, whey protein (1 scoop 3x/day) and ZMA (before bed) for recovery, and a multivitamin (1st thing in the morning) for micronutrient coverage. Recovery seems to be adequate thus far, so I’m holding off on adding the casein and BCAAs. If protein intake remains suboptimal this week, a scoop of casein protein (at bedtime) may become a necessity.

Well, that’s my story for Week #2 – and I’m sticking to it. I have some thoughts of ways that the program might be improved for Week’s #3 & 4, but I need to have something to write about next time so I’ll save these for later. Hope that everyone had an outstanding Thanksgiving and that this update gives you some motivation to keep going (or get back on track).

…till next time.

Happy Heaving,

PM

The information contained in this article is not intended to be used for, or replace, the advice, medical diagnosis, or treatment of your doctor. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other licensed healthcare provider before starting any new supplement, diet, or exercise routine or when you have questions regarding any medical condition. Use of this article indicates that you expressly acknowledge and agree that Optimum Nutrition, Inc., its suppliers, licensees, and sub-licensees are not responsible for the results of your decision resulting from the use of this information including, but not limited to, your choosing to seek or not seek professional medical care based on the information contained in this article.