Written by IFBB Pro Josh Wade
07 May 2021

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Relentless Pursuit

By IFBB Pro Josh Wade

Presented by Allmax Nutrition

 

Making Clean, Quality Gains

 

Q: I’ve hit a plateau with weight gain and have been stuck at the same weight for over a month now. I’ve increased food but I can’t get it all down, and I feel so full and uncomfortable that my appetite sucks. Any suggestions?

 

A:It’s kind of funny. When people are in prep while other people they know are bulking, you always hear them say, “Man, I wish I could eat that much!” In reality, bulking has always been the most uncomfortable part for me. Being hungry isn’t fun, but it really sucks to force feed, feel bloated and uncomfortable.

 

I can give you all the numbers that people use as guidelines, like eating 20 to 23 calories per pound of bodyweight, 1.5 to 2 grams protein per pound of bodyweight, 2 to 3 grams carbs per pound of bodyweight, and 0.35 to 0.5 grams fat per pound of bodyweight. That’s a great general guideline to start from, but even if you can match all of those numbers, I believe there always comes a time when an adjustment needs to be made; especially when as you mentioned your appetite sucks and looking at food makes you nauseous. When a client is in that situation and I already have their calories high from all nutrients, I do a mini cut with them to get their metabolism humming again, insulin sensitivity back up, and get them enjoying their food again. The first thing I’ll do for a male around 200+ pounds is to reduce his carbs. I keep protein the same at 1.5 to 2 grams per pound of bodyweight, and fats the same at the 0.35 to 0.5 grams per pound of bodyweight. Usually, I cut the carbs to half of what they were eating as it’s not usually the calories that are hard to get down but the sheer amount of food. Carbs make up the biggest portions when trying to build. Usually, I’ll keep them there for one to two weeks, which is always enough time to get the body reset and appetite stimulated again. During that time, there’s not much weight loss. The weight that is lost is just intracellular fluid that has been flushed due to the reduction of glycogen stored in muscle tissue, therefore it was purely water weight. Once hunger is back, then I’ll increase the carbs and within a couple of weeks they’ve broken their weight gain plateau while staying hungry, and the metabolism is revved instead of being bogged down.

           

Everyone has their own individual carb threshold. The amount of muscle you have usually determines how many carbs you can store as glycogen. That takes some trial and error as well as a keen eye to make sure you aren’t getting too soft or watery. Protein is usually a constant when I build a diet for someone, then I find a person's carb threshold through trial and error like I mentioned above. Once I find that then I’ll increase healthy fats like extra-virgin olive oil, avocados and nuts. Healthy fats are a good way to increase calories without too much bulk food.

           

A good-quality glucose disposal agent like Allmax Nutrition’s new Fuel Injector GDA is a great product while bulking to make sure those carbs are transported and stored as glycogen and not fat by helping to increase insulin sensitivity. Hope that helps you continue to make clean, quality gains.

 

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Not All Chests Built With Flat Bench Press

 

Q: Is the flat bench press the best exercise to build your chest?

 

A:When I was younger, I would have definitely answered yes. I do feel young, new trainees need to learn the basic strength exercises like the flat bench press, squat, deadlift and barbell row. I do feel that those will give you the best foundation for a muscular, quality physique loaded with that dense tissue that can only be built with heavy loads. After many years, and especially if you’ve had any shoulder injuries, then I’d say hell no! If you are doing an exercise and feeling nothing but pain then it’s not a beneficial exercise for you, even if it is the best for others. You need to find what’s right for you to build your physique without furthering or causing injuries.

 

As someone that loves training and loves to be strong and push heavy weight, it’s hard for me to practice what I preach sometimes. I’ve had injuries to my shoulders and triceps, so pushing exercises normally bother me. But then when I feel good, I forget about that and go back and do them again, mainly the flat bench. Then wouldn’t you know it, I get hurt again and subsequently I have to adjust my training for a couple of weeks so as not to further aggravate the injury. Obviously that means a complete loss of both training time and progress.

 

The point of that is to remember if an exercise hurts you or doesn’t seem to be beneficial for you, then it’s not the best exercise for you. This is why the sport of bodybuilding is an individual sport, because what works best for one person might not work well for another. Find what gives you the best results and stick with it for a long successful career in the sport and the weight room. I always say, “Be cautious, not scared!”

 

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Strengthening the Immune System

 

With the COVID-19 situation, I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries as to which supplements can strengthen the immune system and help prevent infection. These are the supplements that I take every day year-round for immune system function and antioxidants, but they are even more beneficial at times of stress or sickness.

 

Allmax Immune-Boosting stack

Glutamine: 10g 3x day, upon rising, post-workout and before bed.

R+ALA: 2 caps (300mg) with first and last meal.

CytoGreens: 1 scoop upon rising. 

Vitastack: 1 multipack with first meal.

Omega 3: 2g with first and last meal.

 

Please send questions for this column to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Website: www.teamwadefitness.com

 

Instagram:

@ifbbprojoshwade

@teamallmax

@allmaxtraining

 

For more information, visit allmaxnutrition.com

 

ALLMAX is now selling directly to the consumer. Go to store.allmaxnutrition.com and use code JOSHWADE20 for 20% off. 

 

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