What do you think of my article? Endomorph's survival guide

**skelooth** · 06-28-2006, 07:24 PM

I wrote this at work b/c I was bored out of my mind and forgot to bring homework with me. Let me know what you think.... is it useful? Is it interesting? Do you think this is something people would like to read? Should I continue adding to it? Do I smell like spoiled milk?

The Endomorph's Body Transformation Survival Guide.

If there was ever an area of personal study that is confusing, it's bodybuilding. Any quick combination of bodybuilding related keystrokes on your favorite search engine will result in a plethora of advice. This might seem like a good thing until you actually try to read through it all. Article A says not to do Y, but Article B says to do nothing but Y, still Article C says to do Z then Y. How do you sort through all of this stuff? How do you separate fact from fiction?

One of the best pieces advice that anyone can ever give you is that different things work for different people. If anyone ever offers you this advice you can probably rest assured that if they aren't entirely on your side, they at least know what they are talking about. What this means to our plethora of search engine results is that it's very possible that each and every one of those tactics work great! Just maybe not for YOU.

If you've been enticed to read this article because of it's catchy title then it's safe to say you already know what an endomorph is. It's also safe to say that you consider yourself to possess at least a small amount of endomorphic qualities. If this is not the case I will give you a quick break down of soma types as they theoretically relate to bodybuilding. Endomorphic people are genetically prone to being overweight and are typically lazy by nature. Ectomorphic people are the opposite being genetically prone to being skinny and are typically overactive and fidgety in nature. Mesomorphic are the “perfect blend” of the other two somatypes so to speak and are naturally very athletic. If you look into this further on your own you will see that most articles will liken the scenario to a three point triangle with Mesomorph being the top vertex.

So why is a soma type so important? Because it partially dictates what works and what doesn't work for us, and this is possibly the main reason why there are so many varying techniques of bodybuilding plastered all over the internet. What I really want to do is jump right into the cookie batter of why this is important to endomorphs in specific and dispel any confusions about training along the way.

Beware of bodybuilding articles that act as if you don't eat enough food you will never gain an ounce of muscle. Yes even as an endomorph you have a requirement to eat a moderate sized portion of calories throughout the day, the issue is that it's just not as extreme as it is for ectomorphs. As an endomorph you will most likely never in a million years need to consume anything called a mass gainer shake. You will probably never even have an issue with not eating enough. In fact your problem will most likely be the opposite for the rest of your weight lifting life. If you're reading an article that talks about eating food like it's going out of style you can pretty much rest assured that the author's body type is from a completely different end of the spectrum, and that his advice probably does not fit you as well as someone else's might.

You do not have to live your life on the treadmill! Time and time again I see nutrition and fitness gurus preaching to us that we need to do cardio for hours upon hours each week, and that for the rest of our lives we'll need to continue doing it. I think this is some type of conspiracy to make us chubs miserable. It's just blown way out of proportion and will serve most of us nothing better than burning out and hating exercise. A cohort I interact with regularly is a slightly endomorphic bloke who's obtained some pretty low bodyfat percentage levels. His advice is to only add a little more cardio if you need it. Otherwise keep it at a minimum. What a beautiful piece of advice, it translates into less being more.

How does an endomorph know if he needs more cardio? Well, I hate to rain down on you with my acid rain, but you should be doing at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio per week. Mostly for cardiovascular health reasons and not just weight loss. You know you need more if your weight loss has halted. Pretty simple eh? The best advice always is. Adding 10 minutes per session or an additional 30 minute session is really all you need to do. You can even take this extra torture time back out later on if you like.

Your cutting calories are not 3,435! This is another huge mistake I see all over the internet. Some of it is intended for ectomorphs, while some of it is just math applied in an unrealistic manner. Beware of high calorie amounts from webpages that give you formulas and equations. There is only one true way to determine your maintenance calories. Are you ready? Because I'm going to tell you right now. Carry a notepad around and log everything your eat. At the end of the week add it up. If you lost weight you're below maintenance calories, if you're the same weight then you're eating right around maintenance calories. Do it for a few weeks to months and you will have a pretty accurate measure of what your metabolism is really like. You might find that endomorphs have much lower maintenance calories than we'd like to believe.

Carbohydrates are your enemy! If you say this out in public be very careful... the general fitness crowd might tie you to a pole and burn your low carb ass alive. Unfortunately the general fitness crowd is not forward thinking enough to realize what's going on under the hood of all of my endomorphic brothers. Most endomorphs are partly the way they are because of insulin resistance. That is it takes more insulin to break down carbohydrates than it does for the thinner part of the population. Endomorphs are at high risk of things like type 2 Diabetes because of the huge roller coaster of insulin levels we put ourselves on when not paying attention to what we eat. Follow any clinically obese person around the supermarket in ninja like fashion.... watch in amazement as the majority of their diet will be carbohydrates. Coincidence? I think not.

This is not to say to cut carbohydrates out completely, this is more implying that you should be weary of how many carbs you eat, and that they probably should not take up the majority of your diet. 40/40/20 is a very popular macro-nutrient percentage breakdown, but 40% carbohydrates may actually be high enough to limit fat loss because of insulin floating around. Try a 40% protein, 30% carbohydrate, and 30% fat diet instead. I think you might be surprised with your results in terms of both fat loss and over all energy levels.

There is no supplement or drug under the sun that will make you have the metabolism of a thin person. I don't care what the ad on TV or in the magazine said, it's a lie. Things like ephedrine can help, but supplements only supplement your diet and training.

You are not going to look like a fitness model in six months, and you'll be lucky if you do in six years. This is something that drives me crazy because it sets people up for some terrible disappointment. I will not mention any names but there are multiple “transformations” of people who have gone from a supposed 30% bodyfat down to a muscular 10% in anywhere between 6 weeks and 6 months. I'm sorry folks, for the majority of us this is just not going to happen. You can attain anything in this world you desire within reason with enough work and dedication. If it could be attained in 6 months then everyone and their brother would have done it 6 months ago.

Delving out of the area of things to avoid, I'd like to offer my simple advice. After all, isn't the best advice always simple? Make healthy fat a part of your diet. Taking fish oil caps isn't enough sometimes. Learn to incorporate things like olive oil, salmon, avocados, and flax into your daily diet. Avoid bleached white flour and sugars, they're just not good for you. Watch your sodium intake, water weight can look just as gross as fat weight, especially if you have loose skin that fills up like a balloon. Oh, and don't eat too much protein. Your body can only process so much protein, and no one wants to smell your protein farts.

**romanaz** · 06-28-2006, 08:23 PM

Seems pretty good, kinda ended soon for me. Personally, for me as a Endo, I have a few rules I live by:

1) No Artificial Sweetners. They trick your mind into thinking this Diet Pepsi is this sweet with no sugars so a Regular Pepsi tastes the same and the body reacts like it has no sugar! Messes with your insulin and it really bad imho.

2) No Soda period! End of story, soda sucks.

3) Fruits in the morning (before say 1-2ish) when your insulin is higher and the body is less resistant to it, vegetables later in the day, and no simple carbs after 7ish.

4) No mass amounts of candy/chocolate etc... its ok to splurge every now and then, but not all the time.

Following this simple diet (for me!) helped me lose ~25lbs in about 8 months.

DJohnson · 06-28-2006, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skelooth

Carbohydrates are your enemy!

Blasphemy!!

I agree with you for the most part but I think it's very beneficial to eat the extra carbs (and protein) and then burn them off with cardio. This way you get the extra insulin shuttling that extra protein into your muscles for protein synthesis, and you're at the same calorie deficit. Not to mention extra leptin release. Makes sense, no?

You don't have to worry about carbs too much when your glycogen stores are almost never full from the high intesity lifting/cardio you do.

**skelooth** · 06-28-2006, 10:24 PM

I see the enemy has brainwashed you

lol.

Here's my counter arguement: Look at the size of my muscles after close to two years of almost nonstop cutting (with two and a half bulks thrown in there). Even better, look at the size of fitnessman on bodybuilding.com, he is like the incredible hulk... and he also cuts with CKD. I'm not lean *yet*, but I will be

Besides, I never said eliminate carbs completely, but to limit them. Believe it or not even venuto says this in BFFM with that exact same 40/30/30 ratio.

**jkeithc82** · 06-28-2006, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skelooth

I see the enemy has brainwashed you

lol.

Here's my counter arguement: Look at the size of my muscles after close to two years of almost nonstop cutting (with two and a half bulks thrown in there).

Just make sure to look at a photo that hasn't been photoshopped.

**skelooth** · 06-28-2006, 11:08 PM

Brent · 06-29-2006, 01:55 AM

Carb depletion slows down your thyroid. It is better to consume carbs and burn them off, than burn protein. The metabolism will be faster throughout your dieting.

(My opinion)

**skelooth** · 06-29-2006, 03:24 AM

well, now we are going into a gray area. My original statement in the article was that carbs should be more closely monitored and restricted.

Carb depletion is a completely different ball game and entails a different diet strategy. If you are on a high fat diet there is very little protein that is burnt off beyond the normal amount that we all burn everday regardless of what we eat. As for lower thyroid hormones, that will result from any reduced calorie diet. That's why most diet plans incorporate refeeds of different natures.

Brent · 06-29-2006, 05:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skelooth

well, now we are going into a gray area. My original statement in the article was that carbs should be more closely monitored and restricted.

Carb depletion is a completely different ball game and entails a different diet strategy. If you are on a high fat diet there is very little protein that is burnt off beyond the normal amount that we all burn everday regardless of what we eat. As for lower thyroid hormones, that will result from any reduced calorie diet. That's why most diet plans incorporate refeeds of different natures.

I am going to post a source to what I was talking about. That way it doesn't seem like I am spreading BS diet info. It might be a while before I actually find where I read that though.

DJohnson · 06-29-2006, 02:25 PM

Venuto does 40/40/20 and never drops below three cardio sessions a week. At times he's stayed at 6-8% bodyfat year round by doing cardio 5 times a week with a maintenence diet. He doesn't even go into double digits while bulking.

I still think cardio is very beneficial to getting lean.

**skelooth** · 06-29-2006, 02:37 PM

He recommends 40/30/30 for extreme endomorphs, and I never said anything negative about cardio. Only that some of the amounts you are expected to do at 15%+ bodyfat is ridiculous and blown out of proportion.

**skelooth** · 06-29-2006, 02:38 PM

My article must be half way good if it's sparked so much debate

DJohnson · 06-29-2006, 02:49 PM

RAWR!

~~2Ripped4U~~ · 06-29-2006, 02:53 PM

About the only time I ever have candy, cookies or whatever I eat them pwo

**skelooth** · 06-29-2006, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJohnson

RAWR!

I see your RAWR! and raise you a GUUURRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUE

**Peaked_18** · 07-04-2006, 01:29 PM

Carbs aren't your enemy, your decisions are. What's better for you, a piece of cake or yams?

06-28-2006, 07:24 PM	#1
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,198 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 156	What do you think of my article? Endomorph's survival guide I wrote this at work b/c I was bored out of my mind and forgot to bring homework with me. Let me know what you think.... is it useful? Is it interesting? Do you think this is something people would like to read? Should I continue adding to it? Do I smell like spoiled milk? The Endomorph's Body Transformation Survival Guide. If there was ever an area of personal study that is confusing, it's bodybuilding. Any quick combination of bodybuilding related keystrokes on your favorite search engine will result in a plethora of advice. This might seem like a good thing until you actually try to read through it all. Article A says not to do Y, but Article B says to do nothing but Y, still Article C says to do Z then Y. How do you sort through all of this stuff? How do you separate fact from fiction? One of the best pieces advice that anyone can ever give you is that different things work for different people. If anyone ever offers you this advice you can probably rest assured that if they aren't entirely on your side, they at least know what they are talking about. What this means to our plethora of search engine results is that it's very possible that each and every one of those tactics work great! Just maybe not for YOU. If you've been enticed to read this article because of it's catchy title then it's safe to say you already know what an endomorph is. It's also safe to say that you consider yourself to possess at least a small amount of endomorphic qualities. If this is not the case I will give you a quick break down of soma types as they theoretically relate to bodybuilding. Endomorphic people are genetically prone to being overweight and are typically lazy by nature. Ectomorphic people are the opposite being genetically prone to being skinny and are typically overactive and fidgety in nature. Mesomorphic are the “perfect blend” of the other two somatypes so to speak and are naturally very athletic. If you look into this further on your own you will see that most articles will liken the scenario to a three point triangle with Mesomorph being the top vertex. So why is a soma type so important? Because it partially dictates what works and what doesn't work for us, and this is possibly the main reason why there are so many varying techniques of bodybuilding plastered all over the internet. What I really want to do is jump right into the cookie batter of why this is important to endomorphs in specific and dispel any confusions about training along the way. Beware of bodybuilding articles that act as if you don't eat enough food you will never gain an ounce of muscle. Yes even as an endomorph you have a requirement to eat a moderate sized portion of calories throughout the day, the issue is that it's just not as extreme as it is for ectomorphs. As an endomorph you will most likely never in a million years need to consume anything called a mass gainer shake. You will probably never even have an issue with not eating enough. In fact your problem will most likely be the opposite for the rest of your weight lifting life. If you're reading an article that talks about eating food like it's going out of style you can pretty much rest assured that the author's body type is from a completely different end of the spectrum, and that his advice probably does not fit you as well as someone else's might. You do not have to live your life on the treadmill! Time and time again I see nutrition and fitness gurus preaching to us that we need to do cardio for hours upon hours each week, and that for the rest of our lives we'll need to continue doing it. I think this is some type of conspiracy to make us chubs miserable. It's just blown way out of proportion and will serve most of us nothing better than burning out and hating exercise. A cohort I interact with regularly is a slightly endomorphic bloke who's obtained some pretty low bodyfat percentage levels. His advice is to only add a little more cardio if you need it. Otherwise keep it at a minimum. What a beautiful piece of advice, it translates into less being more. How does an endomorph know if he needs more cardio? Well, I hate to rain down on you with my acid rain, but you should be doing at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio per week. Mostly for cardiovascular health reasons and not just weight loss. You know you need more if your weight loss has halted. Pretty simple eh? The best advice always is. Adding 10 minutes per session or an additional 30 minute session is really all you need to do. You can even take this extra torture time back out later on if you like. Your cutting calories are not 3,435! This is another huge mistake I see all over the internet. Some of it is intended for ectomorphs, while some of it is just math applied in an unrealistic manner. Beware of high calorie amounts from webpages that give you formulas and equations. There is only one true way to determine your maintenance calories. Are you ready? Because I'm going to tell you right now. Carry a notepad around and log everything your eat. At the end of the week add it up. If you lost weight you're below maintenance calories, if you're the same weight then you're eating right around maintenance calories. Do it for a few weeks to months and you will have a pretty accurate measure of what your metabolism is really like. You might find that endomorphs have much lower maintenance calories than we'd like to believe. Carbohydrates are your enemy! If you say this out in public be very careful... the general fitness crowd might tie you to a pole and burn your low carb ass alive. Unfortunately the general fitness crowd is not forward thinking enough to realize what's going on under the hood of all of my endomorphic brothers. Most endomorphs are partly the way they are because of insulin resistance. That is it takes more insulin to break down carbohydrates than it does for the thinner part of the population. Endomorphs are at high risk of things like type 2 Diabetes because of the huge roller coaster of insulin levels we put ourselves on when not paying attention to what we eat. Follow any clinically obese person around the supermarket in ninja like fashion.... watch in amazement as the majority of their diet will be carbohydrates. Coincidence? I think not. This is not to say to cut carbohydrates out completely, this is more implying that you should be weary of how many carbs you eat, and that they probably should not take up the majority of your diet. 40/40/20 is a very popular macro-nutrient percentage breakdown, but 40% carbohydrates may actually be high enough to limit fat loss because of insulin floating around. Try a 40% protein, 30% carbohydrate, and 30% fat diet instead. I think you might be surprised with your results in terms of both fat loss and over all energy levels. There is no supplement or drug under the sun that will make you have the metabolism of a thin person. I don't care what the ad on TV or in the magazine said, it's a lie. Things like ephedrine can help, but supplements only supplement your diet and training. You are not going to look like a fitness model in six months, and you'll be lucky if you do in six years. This is something that drives me crazy because it sets people up for some terrible disappointment. I will not mention any names but there are multiple “transformations” of people who have gone from a supposed 30% bodyfat down to a muscular 10% in anywhere between 6 weeks and 6 months. I'm sorry folks, for the majority of us this is just not going to happen. You can attain anything in this world you desire within reason with enough work and dedication. If it could be attained in 6 months then everyone and their brother would have done it 6 months ago. Delving out of the area of things to avoid, I'd like to offer my simple advice. After all, isn't the best advice always simple? Make healthy fat a part of your diet. Taking fish oil caps isn't enough sometimes. Learn to incorporate things like olive oil, salmon, avocados, and flax into your daily diet. Avoid bleached white flour and sugars, they're just not good for you. Watch your sodium intake, water weight can look just as gross as fat weight, especially if you have loose skin that fills up like a balloon. Oh, and don't eat too much protein. Your body can only process so much protein, and no one wants to smell your protein farts. __________________ http://loseover100lbs.com/misc-f7.html

06-28-2006, 10:24 PM	#4
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,198 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 156	I see the enemy has brainwashed you lol. Here's my counter arguement: Look at the size of my muscles after close to two years of almost nonstop cutting (with two and a half bulks thrown in there). Even better, look at the size of fitnessman on bodybuilding.com, he is like the incredible hulk... and he also cuts with CKD. I'm not lean yet, but I will be Besides, I never said eliminate carbs completely, but to limit them. Believe it or not even venuto says this in BFFM with that exact same 40/30/30 ratio. __________________ http://loseover100lbs.com/misc-f7.html

06-28-2006, 11:08 PM	#6
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,198 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 156	_ __________________ http://loseover100lbs.com/misc-f7.html

06-29-2006, 01:55 AM	#7
Brent Pro Stature Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: ND Posts: 367 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 6	Carb depletion slows down your thyroid. It is better to consume carbs and burn them off, than burn protein. The metabolism will be faster throughout your dieting. (My opinion) __________________ Brent@AnabolicX.com NEW! Anabolic Xtreme Forum!

06-29-2006, 03:24 AM	#8
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,198 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 156	well, now we are going into a gray area. My original statement in the article was that carbs should be more closely monitored and restricted. Carb depletion is a completely different ball game and entails a different diet strategy. If you are on a high fat diet there is very little protein that is burnt off beyond the normal amount that we all burn everday regardless of what we eat. As for lower thyroid hormones, that will result from any reduced calorie diet. That's why most diet plans incorporate refeeds of different natures. __________________ http://loseover100lbs.com/misc-f7.html

06-29-2006, 02:25 PM	#10
DJohnson IMPC Contestant Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 1,008 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 45	Venuto does 40/40/20 and never drops below three cardio sessions a week. At times he's stayed at 6-8% bodyfat year round by doing cardio 5 times a week with a maintenence diet. He doesn't even go into double digits while bulking. I still think cardio is very beneficial to getting lean. __________________ Age: 21 Height: 5'10.5" Mar, 2001: 135lbs @ ~14% Nov, 2004: 245lbs @ ~40% Feb, 2006: 188lbs @ 20.1% - Hydrostatic Tested Dec, 2006: 168lbs @ 5.5% - 7 Point Caliper Tested BULKING FOR A LONG TIME NOW Long Term Goal: Over 200lbs @ 8%

06-29-2006, 02:37 PM	#11
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,198 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 156	He recommends 40/30/30 for extreme endomorphs, and I never said anything negative about cardio. Only that some of the amounts you are expected to do at 15%+ bodyfat is ridiculous and blown out of proportion. __________________ http://loseover100lbs.com/misc-f7.html

06-29-2006, 02:38 PM	#12
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,198 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 156	My article must be half way good if it's sparked so much debate

06-29-2006, 02:49 PM	#13
DJohnson IMPC Contestant Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 1,008 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 45	RAWR! __________________ Age: 21 Height: 5'10.5" Mar, 2001: 135lbs @ ~14% Nov, 2004: 245lbs @ ~40% Feb, 2006: 188lbs @ 20.1% - Hydrostatic Tested Dec, 2006: 168lbs @ 5.5% - 7 Point Caliper Tested BULKING FOR A LONG TIME NOW Long Term Goal: Over 200lbs @ 8%

06-29-2006, 02:53 PM	#14
~~2Ripped4U~~ Banned Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NY Posts: 1,463 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 0	About the only time I ever have candy, cookies or whatever I eat them pwo

07-04-2006, 01:29 PM	#16
Peaked_18 a la commode Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 4,247 Recipes: 2 Rep Power: 96	Carbs aren't your enemy, your decisions are. What's better for you, a piece of cake or yams?

07-11-2006, 02:53 AM	#17
vadox6466 IMPC Contestant Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 278 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 6