Recently I had the good fortune of stumbling across one of the blogs of reader Andy Fossett, Anabolic Diet Results. I enjoyed the writing and found the content to be thought provoking. The following is a guest post from Andy about his experiences with the Bodyweight Exercise Revolution in conjunction with the Anabolic Diet.

Since the beginning of this year, I've been involved in an experiment to become "great." It's a relative term and a fuzzy goal. But as someone who has always just been good, it's a very real challenge to go beyond the results I've experienced so far in my life. Getting better results requires better effort and better tools. Effort comes down to motivation. My two primary tools in this experiment have been the Bodyweight Exercise Revolution and the Anabolic Diet. Before I describe my experience with combining these tools, let's skip to the results so you can see where this is going.

4x7 + Anabolic Diet

In a little less than three months following the Anabolic Diet and programs from the Bodyweight Exercise Revolution, I've:

gained about 10 pounds of muscle and
reduced my body fat by 1 or 2 percent.

To me, those are great results. Even better, I've achieved them while eating food I love, pursuing my hobbies, working at my career, and spending time with my friends. I'm convinced that, with greater effort and stricter compliance, I could have exceeded these results by a wide margin. However...

I've tried to "go hardcore" before. I ate almost nothing but oatmeal and chicken breasts for a couple of months while following a program of Olympic lifts and sprints. I got results with that too, but I hated life and eventually reverted to my old lifestyle - losing most of my gains in the process.

I've since come to grips with the fact that I'm not a Spartan. I don't live to train. I like beer. I like ice cream. I like having fun. Anyone who reads this blog probably already knows that CST is A LOT more fun than oatmeal and chicken breasts.

What's the Anabolic Diet?

On that note, I should probably write a few words about what the Anabolic Diet is all about. In a nutshell, the Anabolic Diet a carb-cycling diet that alternates between periods of insulin-fueled anabolism and lypolysis sparked by carbohydrate-depletion. Though there's a lot of science involved, it's extremely easy to put into practice. Monday to Friday, I eat a lot of healthy fats, meats, eggs, and vegetables. No sugar or grains. On the weekends, I eat pasta, bread, ice cream, whatever. The weekend "carb-up" lasts until I start to feel bloated or lethargic. Then it's back to high-fat and low-carb until next weekend. I love eating this way. I don't have to worry about eating too much of anything or timing my pasta meal an hour after my workout or anything like that. When I get hungry, I eat. Simple.

[Adam's Note: I just wanted to point out that although this nutritional strategy has been very successful for some people, I've never been able to make it work for myself or my clients. People who do meet with success generally find they are taking two steps forward and one back. I find that I take one step forward and two back.]

Bodyweight Exercise 4x7

This is actually pretty simple now too, thanks to the Bodyweight Exercise Revolution ebook. I'm by no means new to CST. I began using Warrior Wellness (the precursor to Intu-Flow) and Clubbells in 2005 and have since enjoyed working with a number of RMAX resources. I remember being intrigued when Coach Sonnon first made the 4x7 methodology public. At the time however, it just seemed too big, too complex, too expensive, and too difficult to integrate with all the other stuff I had going on in my life. Coaches Steer and Murdock totally destroyed that conception in the BER. The ebook came out a week before I had planned to begin my experiment, and it looked like the perfect way to apply 4x7 to my lifestyle. The targeted programs, the adjustable difficulty levels, and the ability to perform the workouts at home in a short time were especially attractive to me. I bought BER the first day it went on sale, and I read the whole thing in one sitting. After that, I couldn't wait to get started.

My Experience So Far

Since my primary goal (as a lifelong skinny guy) was to gain weight, I started off with the hypertrophy program. I found the workouts very challenging despite their minimal time requirement. I also enjoyed the creative application of the various protocols to make each workout fun and interesting. As I grew accustomed to each exercise, I looked forward to trying the next level in a subsequent session.

Though my workouts were a blast, and I felt like I was improving, the metrics did not agree. I was varying my diet heavily from week to week, trying to find the sweet spot with a few variables. I gained a little bit of weight, but it was mostly fat - not what I was looking for. I got somewhat discouraged, but decided to stick with both the Anabolic Diet and 4x7 for one more month. I'm now very glad that I did.

My second cycle was much more successful. I began working on the strength program in the BER. I found this program even more fun than the hypertrophy program. I loved the dynamic exercises and got super excited about bouncing around my dining room on those days. I also corrected my dietary balance during this cycle by eating more varied meats and a little less ice cream. I gradually increased my overall caloric intake and began to put on muscle.

The workouts in the BER are challenging and fun, but the high and moderate intensity days are only one half of the program. The low and no intensity days are integral to the the overall effect, which is a major point of departure from most workout programs I've seen. Having dedicated days for recovery and compensation is a huge benefit of the 4x7 system.

I'm a big believer in joint mobility training and yoga, but I've always found it a struggle to integrate them into a cycle. For one thing, I always thought of them as extras to be done in addition to my workouts. there's only so much time in a week, and extras are the first to get cut when life gets hectic. The 4x7 program makes a space for these important modes of training, and helped me slow down and make the most of each session.

Making It Life-Proof

The Anabolic Diet is that is works by causing a bodily adaptation. Basically, you train the body to prefer fat to other fuels. Of course, this is great for burning body fat, but it has a neat side benefit. After you are fat-adapted, occasional higher-carb meals during the week (or a beer or some ice cream) won't set you back - the body still prefers fat.

So you can pick up where you left off and not have to worry about wrecking your results for the week. I've done this a couple of times for social engagements and the like. In each case, my body composition still improved over the course of the week.

I've found the 4x7 to also be pretty bullet-proof. Like most people these days, I'm busy. I work, I work on the side, I practice martial arts, I have friends. All the usual stuff.

Busy Man

In the past, this has made it difficult for me to stick with a workout program. Sometimes, my Taido training conflicts with my recovery. Sometimes, I can't make it to the gym during hours. Sometimes, I'm just too damn tired to work out.

Since 4x7 is based on the concept of varying intensity (rather than sets, reps, etc.), I can adjust the day's plan based on my energy level. If I have training in the evening, I can downshift a high-intensity workout to moderate intensity. If I'm absolutely exhausted, I can take a recovery day and restart the cycle from there. And it's not difficult at all to make these adjustments. I just make sure to keep my effort, technique, and discomfort within the correct ranges. When I step outside the acceptable range, I back off or step down in exercise sophistication. Learning to use the Intuitive Training scoring has been the key to making 4x7 fit with the rest of my life.

Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together

4x7 and the Anabolic Diet work really well for me. I'm getting the best results of my life without having to sacrifice the things I enjoy. it's as close to a perfect combo as I've found yet. The BER really helped make 4x7 accessible for me. Besides providing a good variety of ready-made programs for specific goals, it explains the methodology in a very easy-to-understand way. Everything is easily customizable to your own individual capabilities and goals. In fact, after my current cycle (I'm working on the fat loss routine right now), I'm planning to try to put together a 4x7 cycle to increase my jumping ability. So I'm obviously pleased with my results so far and plan to continue using the Anabolic Diet the and 4x7 and BER programs in the future. The combination has been very effective for me and easy to put into practice.