The Anabolic Diet Blog

Vince Gironda, one of my biggest influences in the bodybuilding game, swore by guidelines similar to those laid out by the Anabolic Diet.  In his book, Unleashing the Wild Physique, Vince stated that he believes great results in bodybuilding are 85% from nutrition and diet.

Vince, in describing a “muscle building” diet he called the “Hormone Precursor Diet,” wrote a recipe for a shake to be drank throughout the day.  The shake is as follows, copied from Splendid Specimens: The History of Nutrition in Bodybuilding:

Vince’s special protein drink made of 12 oz half and half, 12 raw eggs, 1/3 cup milk-and-egg protein powder, 1 banana. (Make one to three mixtures of this formula and drink throughout the day, between meals, and before retiring)

My plan, right now, is to make one of these shakes and sip on it throughout the day rather than having many small shakes intermittently all day long.  The milk-and-egg protein powder will be replaced with one scoop of Biotest’s Metabolic Drive protein powder, and I will be omitting the banana.  I will also grind some frozen broccoli into the mix for some greens.

This seems like a convenient way to get the nutrition I need and have it all throughout the day.  I’ll report back on how well it works, of course.

My goal through this transformation is to use training plans freely available on the Internet. My reasoning for this is primarily so others can follow along with exactly what I’m doing, and I won’t be restricted in what I can and cannot post.With that said, for the first four weeks (starting this past Monday, 1/7/08) my primary workout template will be Christian Thibaudeau’s HSS-100 Back Specialization program. I chose this specific plan for the following reasons:

• I respect Thibaudeau and all the work he has contributed to T-Nation.
• I’ve used the HSS-100 template to much success in the past.
• My back has been my most neglected part for the past few months, so I’m focusing on it so as not to over-stress my other muscle groups.

One thing you’ll note when reading up on the HSS-100 Back Program is that there are two workouts — chest and arms & legs — that do not have a specified regimen. On the chest and arms day, I’ll be performing Gironda-style 8×8 — eight sets of eight reps with minimal rest — for two sets of chest exercises, two sets of bicep exercises, and one set of tricep exercises. Leg days will follow roughly what Thibaudeau recommends — about 3-4 sets of 6-8 reps. I will be using heavier leg volume later in this transformation process.

My ultimate goal with each workout is to get through each set as fast as possible. My HSS-100 workouts thus far have lasted, maximum, about 30 minutes. I am experimenting with very little rest between exercises, and will have reports back on its success or detriment to me later.

I am also trying to fit in as much extra exercise as possible — walking in the mornings, walking after weight training, high-intensity cardio on off-days, etc — and will try to document it as I go.

My “Workouts” page will always reflect my current routine, as well as outline previous workout routines. I am going to try to document weights used, as well as my “miscellaneous” (non-weight) training.

I’ve been interested in physical fitness since I was in high school. I started off going to the gym once or twice a week with my friends, mostly goofing around, getting nothing done. I was not fit, but I went to a gym to socialize with my buddies, so I at least had a foundation set.

I then decided, early on in high school, that I wanted to be forced to exercise. My solution: join the track team.

My first year running track was an absolute joke. My coach even revealed to me later that he had been considering kicking me off the team all year, because it seemed all I ever did was goof off in practice and I never committed myself to work outs or meets. Looking back, I am embarrassed at the latter of my sins: my work ethic was disgraceful and insulting to everyone who was trying to help me.

I decided to take track a little more seriously by the end of the season, and saw immediate results from my renewed interest in performing the exercises prescribed to me. This gave me a taste of what I could accomplish with hard work, and it set the foundation for the next year, and the rest of my life.

The next season I decided to take my workouts very seriously, and I ended up winning the county title in my race at the end of the season. My teammates looked up to me, and I remain on a number of my high school’s all-time record lists. I also had, by high school standards, a nice body; nothing too exciting, though.

Post-high school, I was done with organized sports and strictly wanted to look better naked, which is where I am today.

To summarize: I wasted three years eating tons of junk food and not following a good work-out plan, under the impression that you just needed to “eat a ton and train hard.” I thought I was doing both, but I really only had part of the equation down. I ended up fat and without much extra muscle. The picture to the right is from 2004, and documented my “bulking” progress. In reality, I was just about fifteen pounds heavier in the second picture with no extra muscle to speak of.

I smartened up a little bit and ended up putting on about twenty pounds of muscle over my final two years of college, and even dieted down to enjoy my abs, but I still didn’t look quite right. I was more muscular than ever before, but I wasn’t proportional or — honestly — nice to look at. It was like I could only choose between super ripped or flabby but fuller-looking.

Aftering dicking around for another year or two, I discovered the Anabolic Diet. It intrigued me, and I read almost nothing negative about it from the few who swore by it. My body had never responded well to carbs anyway, and I figured I had nothing to lose, so I dug in.

Within weeks I was receiving compliments from strangers, being described as “the muscular guy,” and so on. I also felt physically amazing. It was great, and I had never experienced immediate and dramatic results like that in my life. I had been training for years, and for the first time in my life, I was seeing noticeable and good results.

Then I got lazy. I didn’t train very hard for a number of months. My excuse is that work fatigued me and got in the way, but all it is is a bullshit excuse. I still followed the Anabolic Diet fairly strictly, but without a good training program, my results stalled. I stopped getting the compliments, and really found the attention I was getting was slowly dwindling away.

And that leaves me where I am now. Yes, I’ll admit to being completely vain, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I want to have a jaw-dropping body, and I want it now. I loved it when people noticed me and gave me positive attention because of my looks. The Anabolic Diet, along with strong training programs, will get me to where I want to be.

And, now, I’m putting it up for everyone to watch.

If you are reading this: thank you. You are helping to kick me into amazing shape.

I am, as of today, your average slow-gaining weight trainer. No, I don’t blame this on genetics or any other undeterminable factor. I am your average slow-gaining weight trainer because I don’t work hard enough or apply my knowledge well enough.

This blog is set up specifically to document my progress in losing fat and gaining muscle in the fastest time possible — as life permits, of course. One of my fitness heroes, Vince Gironda, has stated that bodybuilding is 85% nutrition, and I agree completely. I have been following the Anabolic Diet for months, and I feel it is going to be my “secret weapon” in attaining my goals.

To get specific with the point of this blog: I am sick and tired of not having the body I want, and I am going to do what it takes to get it.

And, with your help, I’m going to finally achieve the goals that I’ve been half-assing for years.