Better Than Steroids

1. Food is a Powerful Drug

Food is a Drug! By every term and definition of a drug, food fits.

Food's profound impact. Food isn't just fuel; it's a potent substance that profoundly affects our physiology. Recognizing food as a drug shifts our perspective, making us more aware of its specific effects, interactions, and potential side effects. This understanding is crucial for anyone seeking to optimize their health and physique.

Consequences and awareness. Just like prescription drugs, food has consequences. Understanding that food can affect you not only while you eat but sometimes up to 72 hours later is a game-changer. This awareness allows for more strategic food choices and timing, maximizing benefits and minimizing drawbacks.

Empowerment through knowledge. Once you realize food is a drug, you gain the power to manipulate your body's responses. This includes understanding how food affects cravings, fat storage, and overall well-being. This knowledge empowers you to make informed decisions that align with your health and physique goals.

2. Body Composition is King

Too many people are hooked on weight loss or weight gain, not caring if it is coming from fat, water, or lean mass.

Beyond the scale. Focusing solely on scale weight is misleading. True progress lies in understanding and tracking body composition, specifically the ratio of lean mass to fat mass. This metric provides a more accurate reflection of physique transformation.

Accurate tracking methods. While various methods exist, skin fold assessments are highlighted as a cost-effective and accurate way to monitor body mass changes. Consistent measurements using skin calipers allow for precise tracking of fat loss and lean mass gain.

Informed adjustments. Regularly measuring body composition enables informed adjustments to diet and exercise routines. This ensures that efforts are effectively targeting fat loss while preserving or increasing muscle mass. Without this data, progress can be misconstrued, leading to ineffective strategies.

3. Water: More Than Just Hydration

I am a ‘water pusher’. I often suggest a lot more than is actually needed, just because the trend is for people to not get enough.

Debunking myths. Many misconceptions surround water intake. Thirst is a reliable indicator of hydration needs, urine color is not a reliable measure, and caffeinated beverages can contribute to daily fluid intake. Understanding these truths helps optimize hydration strategies.

Essential for bodybuilders. Water plays a crucial role in the bodybuilder's world. It aids in maintaining blood volume, reducing stress on the heart, and regulating body temperature during workouts. Adequate hydration is essential for peak performance and recovery.

Personalized intake. Determining individual water needs involves multiplying scale weight in pounds by 0.75 to find the required fluid ounces per day. Consuming water throughout workouts and adjusting intake based on exercise intensity and climate are also crucial for maintaining optimal hydration.

4. Mastering Food Timing for Physique Transformation

Lean mass gain and fat loss are based on food timing, not the type of food you choose.

Insulin's pivotal role. Insulin, a key hormone, is central to understanding food timing. It regulates blood sugar and influences whether energy is stored as fat or used to build muscle. Strategic food timing leverages insulin's effects to optimize body composition.

Strategic carbohydrate intake. The ideal approach involves consuming active carbohydrates in the morning and immediately after workouts to replenish glycogen stores and promote muscle growth. Gradually decreasing carbohydrate intake throughout the day encourages the body to burn fat for energy.

Practical application. By understanding how food timing affects insulin levels, individuals can manipulate their metabolism to favor fat loss and muscle gain. This involves aligning food intake with activity levels and prioritizing carbohydrate consumption around exercise.

5. The Strategic Freedom of the Free Window

You can actually benefit from eating whatever you want and as much as you want with the free window.

Psychological and physiological benefits. The free window, a period of unrestricted eating, offers both psychological relief and physiological advantages. It provides a break from strict dieting while boosting metabolism and replenishing glycogen stores.

Metabolic and anabolic boost. Overeating during the free window increases metabolism, stimulates growth-promoting hormones, and replenishes glycogen stores. This surge in energy and nutrients supports tissue repair and muscle growth.

Implementation guidelines. Two types of free windows exist: three-hour blocks and full-day periods. Following guidelines such as starting with fibrous carbs, progressing to proteins and fats, and incorporating metabolism-boosting spices can maximize the benefits of the free window.

6. Eating Plans: Tailoring Your Nutritional Strategy

One of his books, Better Than Steroids! , is sold internationally as it is the most concise summary of what you need to know to get that ultimate physique!

Four powerful plans. The book reviews four distinct eating plans: Isonutrient, Keto Run, Modified Carb Drop (MCD), and Zig Zag. Each plan offers unique benefits and is suited for different phases of physique transformation.

Isonutrient for balance. The Isonutrient plan provides equal caloric values from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. It's a versatile baseline plan that promotes normalcy and can be used between more rigorous diets.

Keto Run for fat loss. The Keto Run is a short-term, high-fat, low-carb plan designed for rapid fat loss. It requires careful monitoring and is not intended for long-term use.

MCD for flexibility. The Modified Carb Drop (MCD) involves alternating low-carb days with high-carb days. It allows for a more normal lifestyle and can be effective for both mass building and fat loss.

Zig Zag for adaptation. The Zig Zag diet involves varying daily caloric intake to prevent metabolic adaptation. It can be applied to any of the other eating plans to further optimize results.

7. The Anabolic Power of the Post-Workout Meal

My experience personally and with a large array of clients has demonstrated that the most important meal of the day is the post-workout meal.

Optimizing the anabolic window. The post-workout meal is the most critical for muscle growth, recovery, and performance. It's the ideal opportunity to provide muscles with the nutrients they need to repair and rebuild after exercise.

Counteracting catabolism. Following an intense workout, the body is in a catabolic state. The post-workout meal helps shift the body into an anabolic state by replenishing energy stores, reducing muscle damage, and promoting protein synthesis.

Key components. An ideal post-workout meal includes fast-acting whey protein, glutamine, branch chain amino acids (BCAA), high glycemic carbohydrates, antioxidants, and insulin mimickers. These components work synergistically to maximize muscle growth and recovery.

8. Pre-Workout Fuel: Priming the Body for Growth

For the excellent readers of this book, I am quite sure the goals are maximization of muscle and athletic abilities; therefore, I am going to discuss the second most important meal of the day in your case; The Pre Workout meal.

Setting the stage for success. The pre-workout meal is crucial for maximizing energy stores and minimizing muscle catabolism during exercise. It prepares the body for an intense workout and sets the stage for optimal recovery.

Combating catabolism. The pre-workout meal helps to replenish energy stores, decrease the catabolic hormone cortisol, and lessen muscle damage and inflammation. It also supplies a fluid source prior to the workout.

Ideal composition. A pre-workout meal should include fast-acting whey protein, L-leucine, high glycemic carbohydrates, antioxidants, and electrolytes. Consuming this meal 15 minutes before and during the workout optimizes its benefits.

9. Glycogen Supercompensation: The Ultimate Mass Builder

These types of results are typical with the first glycogen supercompensation.

Depletion and loading. Glycogen supercompensation involves depleting muscle glycogen stores through a low-carb diet and intense exercise, followed by a carbohydrate loading phase to overload the glycogen stores. This process results in a net gain in lean mass.

The rule of 12's. The carbohydrate loading phase is structured around the "rule of 12's," with carbohydrate intake decreasing over three 12-hour periods. This ensures optimal glycogen storage and minimizes fat gain.

Strategic implementation. Glycogen supercompensation should be performed no more than four times a year. It's an effective strategy for jump-starting muscle growth and achieving a fuller, more muscular physique.

10. Beyond Progressive Overload: Weight Lifting Techniques

Continually changing the stress placed on the muscle groups prevents adaptation and forces the body to respond.

Challenging the status quo. Progressive Overload Training (POT), the theory that you need to lift more to get bigger, is flawed. Instead, continually changing the stress placed on the muscle groups prevents adaptation and forces the body to respond.

Variety is key. Utilizing a variety of weight lifting techniques not only breaks monotony in the gym but allows for periods of growth by alternating tissue breakdown and tissue repair. This approach prevents plateaus and promotes continuous progress.

Diverse techniques. The book outlines various techniques, including giant sets, super sets, forced reps, stalled reps, eccentric contractions, progressive segmental training, timed sets/reps, partial reps, pre-exhaustion, post-exhaustion sets, pyramiding, and clusters. Each technique offers a unique way to challenge the muscles and stimulate growth.

11. HIIT Cardio: Maximize Fat Loss, Protect Muscle

Overall, the evidence suggests that HIIT is the most efficient method for achieving fat loss!

Cardio to calories. Fine-tuning a body takes balance between cardio and calories. When one goes up (i.e. you do more cardio) your calories can go up as well to compensate – you remain the same, or the calories go down and you start to drop the fat.

HIIT's superior fat-burning. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a series of fast and slow intervals, spaced out over a short period of time in an effort to maximize fat loss and protect lean mass. HIIT training not only burns the fat while you are doing it, as does long slow distance (LSD) training, but also has the advantage of continuing to burn the fat once you stop!

Practical application. The book provides a sample HIIT program that alternates high-intensity intervals with low-intensity periods. This program can be adapted to various cardio activities, such as walking, running, cycling, or swimming.

12. Algorithms: Putting It All Together

Remember: The only way to truly utilize the different eating plans is to measure your body composition.

Comprehensive approach. Achieving optimal physique transformation requires a holistic approach that integrates proper eating, resistance training, and cardiovascular exercise. The book provides algorithms to guide individuals in creating personalized plans.

Personalized plans. The algorithms outline 12-week schedules that incorporate different eating plans, weight lifting techniques, and cardio routines. These plans are tailored to specific goals, such as increasing muscle while decreasing fat, increasing muscle mass, or decreasing fat while maintaining muscle.

Continuous monitoring. The key to success lies in continuously monitoring body composition and making adjustments to the plan based on individual results. This ensures that the program remains effective and aligned with the individual's goals.

Last updated: April 5, 2025