Build and Burn
Muscle Building for the 21st Century
by Mike Roussell
Some things never change. Man's primal desire to become big and strong has been a part of our evolutionary history. It isn't changing anytime soon. While
the urge to become big and strong hasn't changed, the methods in which
we use to become such have. With these evolved methods comes a new
standard for muscle building in the 21st century. The new muscle man
applies not only dedication, intensity, and consistency to his muscle
building endeavors, but he also intermixes cutting edge scientific
findings with personal experience.

Bulking Is History The
previous model for more muscle was to gain as much weight as possible
with complete disregard for any fat gained. The mantra of "building as
much as possible now and just diet it off later" worked for those
taking their regular injections of vitamin T. But for the natural 21st
century muscle man, this isn't the most time efficient way to sculpt
their physique. Also, as bodybuilding in the form of a
competitive sport has become less popular, the biannual contest diet
schedule has escaped most trainees, thus leaving them to function in a
state of perpetual mass (and not necessarily muscle). Muscle Building Strategies for the 21st Century The
new approach to muscle building is focused more on the attainment of
quality mass and not sheer size. This approach requires a series of
mini-cycles of caloric surplus and caloric deficit. Years ago
this idea was proposed in the form of the ABCDE diet. But it was too
extreme to be effective, as it was basically a two week cycle of
extreme overeating followed by a two week cycle of severe calorie
restriction. Cycles this short aren't conducive to proper periodization
and gains in strength. Instead, since the focus is on building
more muscle, we should extend the gaining cycle to six to eight weeks,
followed by a calorie restriction phase of two to three weeks. During
the building cycle we'll accept fat gain at a ratio of 3:1 (three
pounds of muscle gained for every one pound of fat). Thus, after an
eight week muscle building cycle where five pounds is gained, theyÕd
only need to take two weeks to burn off the less than two pounds of fat
gained.
This building and burning cycling is extremely effective and is used by natural pro bodybuilder Layne Norton. By
staying lean while building muscle you'll maximize your insulin
sensitivity. This will allow for nutrients to be preferentially
shuttled away from fat cells and into your muscles. The fatter you get,
the worse your insulin sensitivity gets. This is why it's important to
get lean first and then stay lean as you build muscle.

New Mass Building Foods In
the past, a common approach has been to consume more calories by any
means necessary. We're talking all out wars on Big Macs, KFC, loaves of
white bread, bags of pasta, and regular trips to steakhouses that give
away "I Survived" T-shirts for finishing your toilet-seat sized hunk of
meat. It doesn't have to be like this. Actually, it can't be this way. Do you want to be a fat guy with big forearms? Or do you want to have a head-turning, lean, muscular physique? Ironically
many of the foods that you would eat for fat loss are similar to foods
that you'll consume to become massive. The main difference is the
amount. The new mass building foods are "clean" foods.
• Chicken breast
• Salmon
• Metabolic Drive
• Tilapia
• Cod
• Tuna
• Lean beef
• Broccoli
• Spinach
• Onions
• Carrots
• Cottage cheese
• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Natural peanut butter
• Olive oil
• Fiber One cereal
• Brown rice
• White rice
• Yams
• Potatoes
• Whole wheat pasta
• Black beans
• Chick peas
• Kidney beans
• Lentils As David Barr has pointed out previously,
you may need to reduce your fruit and vegetable intake during your mass
gaining phase in order to get in enough calories. What makes fruits and
vegetables (especially green vegetables) such a fantastic fat loss food
is also what can make them detrimental to reaching your calorie goals
when in a building phase. Fruits and vegetables are high in fiber and
water content; two factors that aid in appetite suppression. During
building phases, the focus has traditionally been on consuming higher
glycemic/starchy carbohydrates. These foods provide more carbohydrates
and calories than fruits and vegetables, but because of their ability
to stimulate insulin they may add to your gut a little faster. The
other option, one often over looked, is to increase your legume
consumption. Legumes, or beans, such as black beans, kidney
beans, and chickpeas are higher in calories, carbohydrates, and protein
than most fruits and vegetables. But they're slower digesting
carbohydrates compared to starches. This makes them a great
carbohydrate to eat throughout the day.

Insulin: To Stimulate or Not To Stimulate The
major anabolic hormone that's going to mediate muscle growth or fat
loss is insulin. Proper timing of insulin spikes during building phases
will maximize muscle growth. While controlling insulin during fat loss
phases will allow you to drop your recently gained blubber, so you can
stay lean and get back to packing on muscle.
Insulin: The anabolic hormone. Insulin
is predominately stimulated by carbohydrates — especially fast-acting
carbs. Fast-acting carbs cause fast increases in blood sugar. The body
responds by releasing insulin. Insulin, when used properly,
preferentially jams amino acids and sugars into your muscles for
maximum growth. When stimulated at the wrong times, insulin is an equal
opportunity hormone and indiscriminately stuffs muscle and fat full of sugar. During
your building cycles you'll want to stimulate insulin first thing in
the morning and during/following your workout. During your burn cycles,
you want to limit major boosts in insulin to the workout period. This
will help facilitate recovery.

Strategic Supplementation Because
the Build and Burn diet is a combination of both muscle building and
fat loss, you're going to need to modify your supplementation regimen
slightly between cycles. First let's look at the basics. These supplements should be used during both cycles. Low-Carb Metabolic Drive: This is such a staple in my daily routine that I almost don't even consider it a supplement. Surge:
You should use Surge as your workout drink during both the build and
burn cycles. During the build cycle, you may want to experiment with
Chris Shugart's Double Dose Surge Protocol. Flameout:
The benefits of long-chain omega-3's have been discussed extensively on
this site so I won't beat you over the head with them here. Take 'em. Low-Dose
Multi-Vitamin: One-half a Daily One for men will give you the insurance
you need against vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Women should use a
women's formula with the addition of calcium if you don't consume three
to four servings of dairy each day. Micronized Creatine: Add five grams of creatine to your workout shake.

Cycle Specific Supplementation During
the building phase, your supplementation strategy should be to boost
work capacity, nutrient partitioning, and Testosterone as much as
possible. To do so, you should add Alpha Male and BETA-7 to your arsenal. It's also beneficial to take 100mg of alpha lipoic acid (ALA) at each carb-heavy meal. During the burn phase, you can switch out the Alpha Male, BETA-7, and ALA for HOT-ROX Extreme, branched-chain amino acids (BCAA's), and Caffeine-Free Spike. HOT-ROX
will help stoke your fat burning furnace, while the BCAA's will aid in
the protection of your muscle. The Caffeine-Free Spike will give you an
energy boost, as you may find yourself lacking in the energy department
when switching between phases until your body adjusts.

Putting It All Together Let's put the entire program together with sample menus for both building and burning phases.
Building Phase
Meal One
Steel cut oats
Metabolic Drive
Blueberries
Flameout, Alpha Male, BETA-7, multi-vitamin, and 100 mg of ALA
Meal Two
Chickpeas
Chicken
Broccoli
Olive oil
100 mg of ALA
Meal Three
Lean ground beef
Tomatoes, onions, and peppers
Butter
Meal Four (Workout)
Surge
BETA-7
Meal Five (Post-Workout)
Surge
Creatine and 100 mg of ALA
Meal Six
Chicken
Brown rice
Spinach
Olive oil
Alpha Male and 100 mg of ALA
Meal Seven
Pork loin
Mashed yams with plain yogurt and crushed pecans added
Side salad
100 mg of ALA
Meal Eight
Cottage cheese
Metabolic Drive
Raspberries
Almonds
BETA-7
Burning Phase
Meal One
Egg white/whole egg omelet (3:1 ratio)
Spinach
Diced onions
Chicken sausage
Cheddar cheese
Flameout, HOT-ROX Extreme, and a multi-vitamin
Meal Two
Chocolate Metabolic Drive
Cherries
Walnuts
Meal Three
Chicken
Romaine lettuce
Sliced red onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms
Feta cheese
Olive oil and red wine vinegar
Meal Four (Workout)
Surge
Creatine and HOT-ROX Extreme
Meal Five
Salmon
Asparagus
Meal Six
Metabolic Drive
Peanut butter
Flaxmeal
Add minimal water and mix Note: Consume three to five Biotest BCAA tablets between meals.

You're Ready to Build and Burn Now
you have all the tools to get started developing your lean, muscular
physique. Here's a recap of some important points of the Build and Burn
approach:
1. Get lean before you start your journey to become massive.
2. The goal is lean and muscular. Not fat and huge.
3. It's okay to gain some fat while building your physique (3:1 muscle to fat gain).
4.
Opt for longer building cycles to allow for progressive overload and
progress. Then switch to a fat loss phase to burn off whatever fat
you've gained.
5. Controlling insulin is extremely important.
6.
Metabolic Drive, Surge, Flameout, micronized creatine, and a
multivitamin are your base supplements. You can then add others
depending on if you're in a building or burning phase.

About the Author
Mike
Roussell is a sports nutritionist and doctoral candidate in Nutritional
Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. For more information about Mike and to get the free 30 Physique Transformation eCourse and his free Naked Nutrition Newsletter point and click here.



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