So as fall has rolled around, I think I’ve finally got all my ducks in a row and am ready, for the first time, to actually do an appropriate size and strength gaining program for the winter.
As of right now, I’m at 171lbs. Last week I was at 167lbs. So the increase is coming, but I’m hoping to see if I can safely increase that rate of gain.
I’m not to concerned about gaining fat as the past 8 weeks have shown very clearly that using Intermittant Fasting really does help with staying lean. The 16 hour fast period has been helping my upper two abs become more defined without adding a cardio and with a greatly increased calorie intake.
So now the question becomes, what can I do to increase the rate of gains?
My original goal was to hit 190lbs by the end of November while matching the weight gain with strength gains. I think that is easily obtainable having logged everything I’ve been eating and lifting for several weeks now and seeing the linear progression.
The difficulty with IF and muscle mass gain is that it is very hard to cram >3200 calories into a 6-8 hour eating window without bumping the fat content into the stratosphere.
After talking with a friend, and reading and asking questions extensively on Reddit, I think that it’s worth it, for the time being, to throw caution to the wind and attempt the GOMAD program.
So what’s GOMAD? It’s a Gallon Of Milk A Day.
That’s a lot of moo-juice.
I’m currently drinking homogenized at 3.2% fat content. I’ll probably drop this to 2% to offset to some degree the amount of fat contained. I’ll also cut out peanut butter. I think that’s still going to keep me somewhere north of 35% fat content for workout days, but I’ll try to help that by consuming at least 30% of the milk intake in the form of a protein shake.
So let’s see some pretty tables…
First, here’s my intake prior to starting the heavy lifting Starting Strength/Stronglifts program that I’m doing now:
mmm... broccoli
And here’s what I’ve been eating for the past month:
On a workout day.
On a rest day.
If I modify my workout day to incorporate 2 liters of milk (half of the GOMAD) and drop it down to 2% from whole milk, add 2 protein shakes, and half a sweet potato I get this:
Moo.
Though I’d LIKE to breach 5000 calories, I don’t think that’s reasonable at this point, so I’ll start with this on workout days and stick with my above non-workout days.
This, obviously, is not intended for the long-term. I will do this until the new year or when I pass 200lbs (whichever comes first) and then switch back to a cutting diet.
To most of you, this probably seems nutty, but this is my hobby and there’s nothing dangerous that I’m doing here; there’s no steroid use and the short-term cholesterol increase should have no long-term side effects.
I really wish I had a camera to document progress on this program.
Oh well. Let’s see how it goes. Any advice or thoughts are welcomed. 🙂
