For a large portion of the time I’ve been training, it’s occupied a lot of mental space. Only recently I’ve learned that by reducing the amount of mental space it takes up, you’ll actually stop spinning your wheels and make better results.
I’ll explain why.
Approach A, the pick ‘n’ mix)
You’re constantly searching for the optimum macros to eat, you’re always reading up on new diet and training protocols, and trying to somehow incorporate them into what you’re currently doing.
flickr: cazphoto
Oh, John Broz has his athletes doing high frequency squatting? Awesome, I’ll start squatting every day.
Carbs at night? OK I’ll give that a try.
Alternate day fasting for fat loss? Fantastic.
Oh dear, maybe the upper body pulling rep scheme I’m doing isn’t optimal, I’ll add in some drop sets.
Better add in some dynamic-effort deadlifts twice per week to work on my form.
Not losing fat fast enough, maybe add in some high intensity cardio, Tabata style.
The problem in this situation is that each of the training protocols that you’re picking have specific dietary counterparts. We cannot cherry-pick single components of one coach’s idea, each one is interrelated to other components (which you’ve left behind!) such that they will not work when taken out in isolation. Why not?
If you want to buy a car, what would happen if you took the engine of a Ferrari, the exhaust of a Toyota, the bodywork of a mini, and the tyres of a monster-truck in an attempt to create the ultimate vehicle? It would look ridiculous.
Strawberries are nice. So is fish. But mix them together and you ruin both.
Ew, strawberries AND fish? (Photo: Mandi Gaga)
Approach B: The Single Approach)
You follow a single coach’s approach for 8 weeks. Even if there are parts of it you dislike or think are sub-optimal.
Situation B is buying the whole Ferrari, regardless of whether you prefer how the steering wheel looks in a Fiat. Situation B is eating a fish curry, followed by a strawberry cheesecake, not trying to cram both of them into a blender.
Whether you can see the coach’s rationale for certain choices or not, they have their reasons. Their choices are in the context of other components of their approach, so don’t screw with them! This is why we honestly believe getting a consultation can be one of the best things you can do for your physique: all of the thinking is taken out of it, and overthinking is stopped dead in its tracks.
I’ll end with a ridiculous example by Jonn Kiefer:
“I once had a stay-at-home mother tell me that she loved back-loading, but she couldn’t figure out why she was gaining weight. After a few questions, it became clear, she never exercised, barely made it off the couch during the day, yet, at dinner every night, began slamming cupcakes, brownies and ice cream. Hmmm…I wonder what the problem could have been. But she worked out—which, to her, meant putting groceries away, doing chores and vacuuming every now and again, pushing the stroller around in the store.”
Of COURSE she loved back-loading! Here, she took the fun part of the approach, the carb loading, ignoring the part she didn’t like, the heavy resistance training.
The point of loading carbs is to replete glycogen that you’ve spent the day depleting through heavy training. If you can deplete your muscle glycogen by doing household chores then I’ll eat my hat. By taking an element in isolation and out of context she ended up getting fat.
Conclusion
Although it’s good to challenge your assumptions, find a source you trust (for example, PropaneFitness!) and if you’re going to follow its advice, make sure not to cherrypick. If you follow advice comprehensively and it goes wrong, you’ll know who to blame, and you can make an informed decision at the end on what to do next. If you mix and match, you’ve learned nothing and only have yourself to blame!