Low-Carb Training Secrets
by Jen Heath

A Low-Carb Overview There's
one main reason why some athletes shy away from lower carbohydrate
diets. Although the fat burning effects are a nice allure for anyone,
the mental and physiological side effects of training on low carbs can
be about as fun as a Navy Seal's Hell Week. This
is particularly true during the first week or two of low-carb dieting
as the body adjusts from burning sugar to burning fat. Although some
people will feel great from the get-go, a lot of people will initially
report feeling sluggish, lethargic, and mentally hazy. The
biggest complaint is that without full glycogen stores and without much
glucose in the brain to fuel mental intensity, the amount of intensity
a person can put into their workouts can be negatively affected. Losing
fat is nice and all but nobody really enjoys feeling weak and having
the energy of a zombie. Additionally, many people claim the
ability to build muscle on a low-carb diet can be negatively impacted.
Although this would seem very true on paper, in the real world there
are plenty of people who build mounds of muscle eating low-carb fare.
This is even more true for those who engage in periodic carb-ups as
specified in diets such as the Anabolic Diet and other cyclical
low-carb schemes. Even those who don't engage in carb-ups
will generally build plenty of muscle as long as they eat enough. One
plausible explanation for the muscle-building success many experience
while eating low-carb is that training on minimal carbs makes the
muscles and body more sensitive to the carbs that are ingested. Although
there are obviously negatives to training on lower carbs, the great
thing is that as the body becomes a fat burner, it adjusts just fine to
the lower carb intake. In fact, in one study two groups of distance
runners were looked at. One group ate high carbs; the other group ate
low carb. Although the performance of the low-carb group was
initially worse than that of the high-carb group, after a month their
performance was equal. So the negative mental side effects inherent
with low-carb dieting don't last for long. The low-carb group
ultimately will enjoy a more desirable body composition over time and
have equivalent performance all the while. The thing to do if
you're the type who gets the fuzzy mental side effects is just suck it
up while your body adapts. You can also use stimulants such as Spike,
which will help your mental clarity and ability to focus. The point is,
you can get through. You have the mental stamina to do it, and there
are plenty of supplemental resources that help. Besides, it doesn't
last that long anyway, so it's not really that big a deal. In
addition to the fact that you can supplement to help you through any
ill side effects while getting adjusted to lower carbs, there are
tactics you can and should employ supplement-wise to increase long-term
effectiveness over the long haul. And guess what? They're no differentfrom any other scheme! That's
right, when you switch over to low carbs, there are no magical wands
that eliminate the need for things like fish oils and protein powder.
If anything, the need for them is increased, particularly protein.
Additionally, supplements like Beta-7, Se7en, creatine, and BCAA's
still have a very important place in low-carb dieting. I feel
the need to stress this because the obsession with meeting totals and
the new macronutrient spreads tends to take attention away from these
bodybuilding staples. It's important from the get-go to remember to
take them.

The Low-Carb Advantage With low-carb dieting, appetite is naturally blunted so you tend to actually want
to eat less overall. Since the body is already utilizing and burning
fat for fuel, the amount of exercise (particularly cardiovascular
exercise) needed to burn off fat can also be significantly less. People
who eat low-carb often note they don't need near as much cardio to get
ripped. Lower carb dieting is often attractive for older powerlifters
and strength athletes who don't want to engage in a ton of extra energy
system activity to drop body fat. Someone with a slow
metabolism attempting to get ripped while eating standard high carb
bodybuilding fare will generally find they need to perform lots of
extra cardio in order to burn off the fat. Low-carb diets aren't magic,
but many people with slower metabolisms have had success getting super
lean without having to add in much in the way of extra energy system
work. Of particular interest to women is that low-carb training
and dieting carries with it some interesting positive physiological
quirks. Women tend to carry fat in their hips and thighs and when they
diet they often find these areas very stubborn. There's a reason these
areas are called "stubborn" fat. There's also a reason why
this fat is stubborn. As you may know, epinephrine and nor-epinephrine
are boosted when you diet or exercise. Our body fat stores contain
adrenoreceptors that respond to these substances. Most ordinary
non-stubborn body fat is high in a type of adrenoreceptor called a beta
receptor which reacts positively to this increase. In this ordinary
fat, rich in beta receptors, the nor-epinephrine attaches to the beta
receptor and this allows the fat to be released into circulation where
it can be burned off. However, the fat contained in the hips
and thighs contains a type of adrenoreceptor called alpha-2. Alpha-2
receptors don't respond the same way that beta receptors do. Thus, in
order to really "get to" the stubborn fat you need to inhibit the alpha
receptor. A few ways to naturally inhibit the alpha receptor
include fasting and increasing levels of blood fatty acids. Guess what
type of diet dramatically increases levels of blood fatty acids and
also simulates fasting? That's right, a low-carb diet. This essentially
explains why women on low-carb diets often report that their "stubborn"
areas aren't quite so stubborn.

Setting Up a Training Scheme On
low-carb diets, you don't necessarily need to make any radical
adjustments to your training scheme. The diet and training will work
just fine as is. However, if you really want to hone in on the
strengths and weaknesses of this type of diet there are essentially two
different ways of approaching training to maximize its effectiveness.

Training Approach #1 The
first option will be more attractive if you're focusing on strength
gains or if you're the type of person who just hates to lift anything
light. With this option you should place your heaviest
training early in the training week and your lightest training later on
in the week. This is to ensure you'll be able to lift heavy weights
early on in the week as you come off your weekend carb-up and your
glycogen stores are nice and full.

Heavy Rep, Low-Carb Training Plan Note:
Glycogen stores will be full, so you'll feel strong. Lift to failure
each set and take enough rest in between sets to lift really heavy
weights. Don't hesitate to take up to two or three minutes between sets
if that's what you need to fully recover. These first few days during
the week are your chance to gain hella strength, so don't mess around.
If you love to lift heavy, this is your chance.
Monday — Heavy Legs and Delts A1. Back Squats: 4 x 6-8
A2. Lying Leg Curl: 4 x 6-8
B1. Calf Raise: 4 x 15
C1. Weighted Alternating Lunges: 4 x 6-8 per side
C2. Weighted Glute Ham Raises: 4 x 6-8
D1. Bradford Press: 4 x 6-8
D2. Side Lateral Raises: 4 x 6-8
E1. Weighted Decline Crunches: 3 x 8-10
Tuesday — Heavy Back and Biceps A1. Traditional Deadlifts: 4 x 6-8
A2. Pull-ups: 3 x 6-8
A3. Seated Row: 3 x 6-8
B1. DB Incline Curls: 4 x 6-8
B2. Standing Barbell Curls: 4 x 6-8
C1: Hanging Leg Raises: 3 x 10-12
Wednesday — Heavy Chest and Triceps A1. Smith Machine Bench Press: 4 x 6-8
A2. Incline Flyes: 3 x 6-8
A3. Standing Cable Crossovers: 3 x 6-8
B1. Close-Grip Decline Bench Press: 4 x 6-8
B2. Weighted Chest DipsL 4 x 6-8
Thursday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise
Friday — Light weight high-rep workout, 3-5 sets per exercise done in circuit format. Perform 20 reps per set with 1 minute rest between sets. Squat
Incline Bench Press
Pulldown
Leg Curl
Shoulder Press
Seated Row
Calf Raise
Triceps Pushdown
Biceps Curl
Hanging Leg Raises
Weighted Decline Crunches
Swiss Ball Low-Leg Raises
Saturday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise
Sunday — Off
*
In this scheme, you should alternate the placement of the back and
chest workouts from week to week. For example, week one perform the
back workout on Tuesday and chest on Wednesday. Week two, perform the
chest workout on Tuesday and the back workout on Wednesday.

Training Approach #2 This
option is more attractive if you're interested in burning the most
amount of fat possible as well as gaining muscle. With this option
you'll do lighter depletion-type weight training using higher reps and
short rest intervals early on in the training week so that you can
rapidly deplete your muscles of glycogen. With your muscles depleted of
glycogen you'll increase the amount of fat you burn throughout the
week. You then perform your heaviest strength training
session prior to your weekend carb-up. This will allow all those carbs
to start repairing that damage for great muscular gains after an
effective week of fat loss. Deplete and Load Low-Carb Training Plan
Monday — Full body light workout (perform in circuit fashion if desired) Squat or Leg Press: 5 sets of 15-20
Bench Press: 5 sets of 15-20
Leg Curl: 5 sets of 15-20
Pulldown: 5 sets of 15-20
Shoulder Press: 5 sets of 15-20
Arm Curl: 3 sets of 15-20
Pushdown: 3 sets of 15-20
V-Sits: 3 sets of 15-20
Tuesday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise
Wednesday — Repeat Monday's workout (use different exercises if you wish)
Thursday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise
Friday — Heavy full body workout using full rest intervals
Note:
Be sure to milk this session for all it's worth. This is where you can
really rob the bank. You may be depleted and not super strong, but if
you don't kick your ass in this session you'll lose out on guaranteed
muscular gains. You have to cause as much trauma here as you can. This
is your chance to put those carbs in their place. The pain is worth the
reward. Squat: 4 x 6-10
Bench Press: 4 x 6-10
Romanian Deadlift: 4 x 6-10
Leg Curl: 4 x 6-8 Pulldown/Chin: 4 x 6-8
Lateral Raise: 3 x 10-12
Preacher Curl: 3 x 10-12
Triceps Extension: 3 x 10-12
Calf Raise: 3 x 15-20 or 5 x 10-12
Saturday — Optional 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise
Sunday — Off

Wrap-Up Training
on low carbs doesn't have to be Navy Seals Hell Week. It can be very
fun and more effective than you ever knew possible. If you don't know
this from personal experience, give it a shot. You'll be surprised at
what you can accomplish!

About the Author
Jen
Heath is an ACSM certified personal trainer, professional natural
bodybuilder and mother of four children. You can find her at: www.jenheath.com.