Diet-Specific Workout B: Non Cheat Day Workout
There are multiple possibilities for how you might treat a non-cheat day.
Here are some examples, and then my recommendations:
- Low carb day -- often times, a low carb day means moderate protein and high fat; but, there are options.
- Moderate carb day -- typically paired with moderate protein and moderate fat intake, this is a 'moderation-type' day.
- High carb day -- often times, high carb days involve moderate protein intake, and very little fat intake. This is to differentiate a high carb day from a 'cheat day'.
- Protein only day -- self-explanatory, this is often used for rapid fat loss or weight loss, along with training for competition for bodybuilders.
- Fasting day -- more often than not, a 'fasting day' means 16 hours of fasting, and 8 hours of eating, although some experts recommend a full 24 hours of fasting. The 16/8 schedule was popularized in the Warrior Diet, which has helped many people get super lean and muscular.
- Whole foods designed for your body, only -- this means eating naturally-occurring foods, filtered to be good for you and your body, in specific. Typically, to figure out which foods are best, you might try eating one or two foods at a time, and seeing how your body reacts. "Full" should be defined by feeling full of energy, rather than a pit in your stomach that stops you from eating.
Traditional weight loss and bodybuilding strategies utilize one or more of the first five "diet days" to produce results. Personally, I am of the opinion we need to eat foods that agree with our bodies, based off our ancestors and the foods available to them at certain times of year.
For example, I am Palestinian, Irish, and German. My ancestors ate certain fruits, vegetables, grains (rice), and meats based upon availability. Because of my rather unusual heritage, this allows for a great variety of foods. However, certain seasons were best for potato harvesting, while other seasons may be best for eating mangos, strawberries, or a larger consumption of rice. Depending on the weather outside, my body will adapt its needs and food requirements may change.
In other words, a proper diet requires rotation of foods, a dynamic and adjusting schedule, and using food-based intuition to make decisions on what to eat. To understand what is healthy on a particular day, it's best to think about foods, look at them, and maybe even touch or taste them. Then, listen to your body and react with the proper decision.
All the while, eat whole foods, and do your best to discover the ones that agree most with your body. This means removing foods that are 'artificial', or man-made.
- Gluten/flour.
- Excessive dairy consumption.
- Artificial sugars (not fructose, which comes from nature).
- Animal proteins that were unlikely to be available in my ancestral countries.
- Excessive grain consumption that was unlikely to constitute a typical diet in the absence of large, modern agricultural fields.
- Artificial fats, like lard, margarine, and corn-based oils like vegetable oil. The ratios, and ingredients, are off.
When it comes to macronutrient ratios, I'm less of a believer in this than you'll hear from most people in a related profession. In other words, how many carbs to proteins to fats you eat are less important than eating the right foods for your body. Avoiding sugar is a useful exercise if you're accustomed to eating foods that contain high carb and sugar density, but that's probably because they are not whole foods, to begin with. When it comes to eating naturally-occurring sugars, like sugar from fruits or vegetables, it's much less of a concern.
The next thing to consider is your biotype, which includes the frame of your body. If you're short and stocky, you'll need to eat more protein (i.e. meat) than if you're tall and skinny. If you have long bones, you're the 'tall and skinny' type, even if you have managed to pack on a lot of muscle. Rather than considering how you look now (i.e. overweight or jacked), consider how you would look, naturally, or your body's natural frame. Then, respond by eating for your body type. Dense bodies require more animal and non-animal based proteins; less dense bodies require more vegetables and fruits. Adjust accordingly, but bear in mind that eating 'good' food comes first.
As always, it's my goal to advise you on how to exercise, independent of your dietary philosophy and the choices you make. This way, you have a resource for exercise independence that doesn't corner you into a particular dietary belief system or methodology. After all, food has barely entered medicine, and it's a new area for discovery. The sooner we base food recommendations on ancient wisdom -- paired with modern medical discoveries and the scientific method -- the sooner we'll advance.
'Low Carb Day' Exercise Protocol:
Warm-up (7 minutes), alternate the following exercises for 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest:
'Moderate Carb Day' Exercise Protocol:
Warm-up (5 minutes), alternate the following exercises for 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest:
Power and sprint-based exercises (12 minutes) -- alternate the following three exercises to fatigue. Repeat x 2 with two minutes rest between sets.
- Bent-leg deadlifts (slow down, fast up) -- target 6 reps or less, adjusting weight to hit fatigue within this range.
- Chin-ups (slow down, fast up) -- target 6 reps or less, adjusting your speed and emphasis on your core during the way up to hit this target (reduce intensity with a pull up assist machine or add a weight vest if necessary to increase intensity)
- Starbursts (until fatigue)
- Single leg bounding (focus on getting off the ground as soon as you land and the least number of reps possible to hit fatigue)
- Plyometric push ups (focus on pushing back off the ground as soon as you touch, while making sure not to lock out your elbows on landing; goal is least number of reps possible)
- Side step squat with rotational air press (focus on changing direction as fast as you can from the up and down positions); as soon as you slow down and can no longer keep a sprint pace, rest until the following set.
'High Carb Day' Exercise Protocol:
Warm-up (5 minutes), alternate the following exercises for 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest:
'Protein Only Day' Exercise Protocol:
Warm-up (7 minutes), alternate the following exercises for 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest:
Main workout
(20 minutes) -- perform the following giant set by alternating exercises until you have completed a full set of each exercise. Rest 2.5 minutes between each set and complete a total of 3 sets.
- Bent leg deadlifts with dumbbells or kettlebells -- max of 6-8 reps, adjusting weight accordingly
- Side step squat with dumbbell/kettlebell press -- 15-20 reps, adjusting weight accordingly
- Pull-ups (6-8 reps, adjusting assistance or resistance accordingly)
- Modified tree cutters -- 15-20 reps per side, adjusting weight accordingly
- 3 position sit ups on the ball -- to fatigue (based upon form and controlled speed)
'Fasting Day' Exercise Protocol:
Warm-up (7 minutes), alternate the following exercises for 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest:
Main workout (23 minutes)
Perform the following giant set by alternating exercises until you have completed a full set of each exercise. Rest 4 minutes between each set and complete a total of 3 sets.
- Bent leg deadlifts with dumbbells or kettlebells -- max of 6-8 reps, adjusting weight accordingly
- Bent leg deadlifts to fatigue, with half the weight used above (target 25 reps or more)
- Pull ups -- max # of reps possible
- Rhomboid pull ups to fatigue (target 12-15 reps)
- Spider plank to fatigue (target 10-12 reps per side, dropping to knees as needed to complete the set)
'Whole Foods Designed for Your Body, only' Exercise Protocol:
Warm-up (7 minutes), alternate the following exercises for 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest:
Main workout (8 minutes)
Perform the following giant set by alternating 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all three exercises to represent one set. Rest 2 minutes and repeat once.
As you can see, how you eat affects your exercise program for the day. Our goal is for you to view food as fuel, and energy as fire. First, prime your body with an energy source, then use that energy in the best way possible to contribute to your results.
When you eat a whole foods-based diet, designed for 'your' body, you are creating an epigenetic advantage for your body and your workouts. Your body will have the capacity to withstand more, rest more efficiently, and rejuvenate more quickly.
I realize this can be a lot to take in. For this reason, I suggest you login, choose your workout goal, how much time you have, and click 'Create My Workout'. We created this workout tool to build workouts for our own clients, who happily paid us up to $280 per hour for personal training. Nowadays, CMW is accessible to the entire world, for pennies per day. All you have to do is click below and head over the members' area right now:
