If your newbie gains are up or if you're 4-5 years in a traditional bulk isn't the best idea. Same with skinny fat, just keep lifting maintaining weight your body should recomposition itself.
Who wants more Helms? What do you want him to talk about? Thanks to Eric for appearing on the channel! Really looking forward to making more videos. Make sure to follow Eric on Instagram here: instagram.com/helms3dmj
Can you do a video on frequency(more training days in a week but less volume in a workout) vs volume(less training days but more volume per workout) for natural lifters who have real life jobs that kind of have to make a choice between the two. I guess my theory is I would rather keep reps in the tank and be able to do the same workout again in a couple of days rather than destroy myself and be sore for a week. Thanks.
so basically in short,for as long as you have body fat you don't have to hit caloric surplus to make muscle gains. your body just naturally uses it's own fuel sources and still make gains, even on caloric deficit. but you still need your daily macros. :)
ewwwt I've slimmed down a lot recently, lost about 40 pounds over the last 3 months. I'm currently at 135 pounds and I'm about 5"8, and I want to start getting stronger. I still have tiny bit of belly fat though that I'd like to get rid of. It's only really noticeable when I bend over, and I get minor tires. . Aside from that I'm fairly slim. Do you think it's still a good idea to run on a deficit and try to lift? I'm probably eating about 1000 calories now on my deficit, mostly high protein, but I'm not sure if I should equalise it for lifting or keep the deficit to get rid of the belly fat. I don't wanna make myself ill with fatigue you know? I mean it's really not that much but it's basically just making my stomach a "flat pack" where as I want my abs to be able to show. Got any a advice?
Harry Pothead when I made that last comment I was a bit ill informed, in short go to calorie calculator on google, type in your age, height, weight, and it will show you your maintenance. TO LEAN BULK you must go 4 to 500 calories over your maintenance, TO CUT you must go 4 to 500 calories below maintenance. when bulking at that range your body doesn't get fat/ter unless you are bulking 6 to 1000 calories over. (it's ok to dirty bulk twice a week but only on training days :P) I recommend cutting once a year. and of course figure out how much protein your body needs. Ps. your maintenance changes as you grow stronger, revisit calorie calculator when that happens :D ONE LAST THING!! it doesn't matter how much work you put in the gym or how on point your macros are, you will NEVER!! make gainz without at least 7 hours of sleep! \m/ ^Omo^ \m/
@@ewwwt A late reply but, a friend of mine has been working out for about 5 months now and he has sleep problems. he maybe sleeps around 5 hours, sometimes less, sometimes more. And hes made a big transformation. He doesnt track macros either, and he sometimes eats 2 times a day but big portions. Ive been working out for 5 months aswell, first months i didnt care about the sleeping part, but then i started to sleep around 7 hours and ive been doing that for a while now, and i havnt noticed me getting bigger faster. The sleeping part have to be over exaggerated. I think having rest days is more important than having solid 7-8 hours of sleep EVERY night. Or that its just more important for advanced lifters rather than novice.
@@SIideAway the sleep part is to remove your body from cortisol. Cortisol breaks down muscle. When you sleep your body goes into anabolic state which is the rebuilding precess. You can only rebuild when you have enough proteins in your body. Thats why its best to eat solid proteins vs liquid protiens before bed so it will last longer when you sleep. Edit: your friend is only gonna get so far, and that muscle he has now is probably from physical activity he's probably done in the past, that includes physical labor type jobs. Edit 2: make sure to brush your teeth before bed XP
Slideaway Dude completely agree. I have had very bad sleeping issues for years, at one point I was sleeping 2-4 hours a night for months straight and a good nights sleep was 4-5 hours at most. This was two years ago at 16 years old. I had many steroid accusations, and all that. Bench 315x1 at 180 lbs bodyweight 16 years old. (almost 17)
I've been in a caloric deficit for nearly 90 days. I have lost fat but gained muscle by working out. Simple logic tells you why: I have been using my excess fat as energy while my caloric intake (low cal high protein diet) has been used for replenishing nutrients and building muscle. So in a sense you do need a "surplus," but not in the way that most people would think. If you have very low body fat (which I do not) then you might need the extra calories because your body doesn't have any stored.
“THE WAY YOU THINK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT YOU THINK” yes thank you Omar, thank you Eric. You have a great channel Omar, really appreciate all of your insight. The guests you feature are always so knowledgeable as well!
you missing the biggest part...you need a sufficient amount of body fat to use as energy during the deficit....you wont build muscle on a cut at 10% bf.
probably one of the best videos out there! people are just too caught up on the assumption that there is only one correct answer to everything, when that is almost never the case. and eric does a great job illustrating his point.
Omar your channel is the best lifting channel and I say "lifting",not bodybuilding not powerlifting not olynpic weightlifting but simply "lifting" because you upload videos with advices for every kind of lifter,so your channel is the best representation of the sport of lifting weights
This is something that I have been struggling with for a while. I'm still working out my noob-ness in the gym, but I've gone from a 300lb 40% body fat blob to a 216 15% Raskol in about a year. Your videos have been a huge help in the past several months, as I've been able to significantly increase the amount I've been able to lift, such as performing proper bench technique for example. This video really spoke to me, as I am/was someone who OBVIOUSLY had an overeating problem struggle with caloric deficits/surpluses, and properly maintaining those. Thank you for all that you do, it truly is a big source of support, especially for someone who has to go to the gym at 4 a.m. everyday and doesn't have access to a trainer, or even a spotter, at those times.
Strange in the book " strength and nutrition pyramid " he wrote that dedicated periods for muscle gain and fat loss is required. And that advance lifters may not need a Caloric surplus but intermediates and beginners do. Nice theory btw. Cool Vdo!
who doesnt want more eric helms. He's changed my perspective on all things weight training. Youre awesome too Omar!!!! I got your chest/deadlift and squat program through strength theory.!!! Im gonna make massive gains for sure!!
+Rob D It doesn't matter that you don't want it. Just don't watch it and that's it. +OmarIsuf asked what else people wanted to see. We're saying we want to see Vinnie. Simple as that. Nothing too complicated to try and wrap your head around.
@@spodergibbs5088 this is a bit late but I do have low and high calorie days simply because I just don't have enough food! I've been training for 1 month now and seen minor progress
More Helms! Dude is awesome at explaining so even the weakest of minds can follow. Would love for him to talk about his thoughts on cutting weight before a powerlifting meet in regards of keeping your strength up and making sure that you actually "peak" when intended, and not letting the "cutting for weightclass" interfering with performance. Dude must know, he lifts heavy stuff.. Keep it up Omar!
I am a little overweight, just started hitting the gym and am in a HUGE deficit, dropped 12 pounds in 3 weeks. As far as I can tell, I am getting stronger, I know that will not last as I am a newbie, 44 years old.
Yes, that's what I got out of it. It appears that bottom line, to gain muscle, you basically need 2 things, protein and resistance training. A calorie surplus is not necessary for muscle gain, but apparently, it gives you faster and higher total muscle gains than a deficit would. Here's a good link that I found. sci-fit.net/bulking-deficit-gaining/
so correct me if im wrong guys..but if im fatter i can gain muscle while in caloric deficit because the body will utilise the stored body fat as energy? so that means i can gain muscle while losing fat?
Not exactly, if you are on a permanent caloric deficit your body will eventually adapt to that situation, like Eric said. What he meant is, if you are currently on a "bulk" and have that as a status quo going, then decide to do a minicut, your body might be able to respond to that situation in a way that's utilizing your own body fat to at least get maintenance level or even get to a surplus. Hope that was clear enough, and also that's just my understanding of what he said. I can be totally wrong actually :)
so me for e.g. i have 25% bf and want to cut now, can i build muscles and cut at the same time? my goal is to reach a bf of 15% and to look a bit muscular^^ so is it possible to cut and build muscles at the same time (while eating much proteins) ?
+Evade :] as a natural your body only utilizes the protein it needs if you increase your protein the un needed protein your body doesn't use will be used as fuel. so no increase of gains.
great video Omar and Eric thanks for taking the time. Another subject that id love to hear Eric's take on is "clean" eating vs iifym style of cutting/clean bulk. I think more people would find this interesting as well. Surely alot of info out there but Eric does bring a different perspective as we see in this video. thanks
After 7 years of lifting I personally have come to the conclusion that I can build muscle while on maintenance calories. My strength increases go up exactly the same at maintenance as they do during any increase beyond maintenance and in fact if I go too far beyond maintenance calories I actually start feeling weaker. I have always had a thing in the past where "I seem to get stronger when I first start cutting compared with when I was in a caloric surplus. Like right now Ive been cutting 3 months and I'm getting stronger than I was when I was bulking. So for me personally maintenance calories or just very slightly over is where its at for bulking.
how does that work? doesn't muscle have weight? so if you were on maintenance and you're building muscle, wouldn't that mean you will be gaining weight? or does your fat somehow gets converted into muscle or something? that's the only way i can think of that would make sense
+Heisenberg101 There has been times where I have gained inches on my chest and arms while weighing exactly the same or losing a few ounces of weight while staying at maintenance even after many years of training. I just keep lifting heavy and keep pushing my strength limits at maintenance and the strength goes up. Its amazing how much of it is in your mind. If you have a mind set of "I need to keep getting stronger" Then the body somehow keeps making it happen if the desire is strong. The mind set is very important. You need to come into every workout thinking "I have to get stronger" also eating a lot of protein has helped me I think. I weigh about 195 lbs and I eat about 225 to 240 grams of protein on some days. I use to only eat 1 gram per pound of bodyweight and I noticed a difference in recovery and strength after upping it. Protein is the only thing that rebuilds and repairs muscle tissue. I just lowered my maintenance calories from carbs to make up for the increase in protein.
+Nick Smith That might be true too. However i didnt gain any weight but still gained inches at what I assumed was my maintenance calories so maybe I was burning fat too from the strength increases. Nobody ever truly knows their exact maintence calories so I could very well just be slightly over what I thought was maintence but the increases in strength was burning extra calories keeping the weight the same? Who knows at the end of the day. The point I am making is. Everything is much better for me at what I assume is maintenance compared to a regular bulk. The lower caloric surplus I use the better strength gains I get for some reason. If I raise calories above that sweet spot then I get shittier workouts not better.
Strength and hypertrophy are not the same. Strength is training the nervous system to become more effective at recruiting the right muscle cells (with low rep exercise). Hypertrophy is increasing muscle cells by giving right stimulus (higher reps) and metabolic environment (muscle grows when in abundance of energy - what exactly that means is the topic in this video). However, strength and hypertrophy are interdependant.
LoveHateDont Also true. But I mentioned I was gaining inches and could see the muscle gain as well with the above method. So for me they was one and the same during the maintenance experiment I did.
Man honestly that is such a fucked up request, what do you take me for...someone willing to sell their integrity for a few bucks? Like honestly dude?? **You can send $50 to omarslocks@gmail.com. I'll send it over in 2 business days, thanks.
This guys great!!! Very knowledgable.. He should have his own channel.. So tired of these u tube guys just trying to sell their bullshit fucking clothes and driving their fancy fucking Lamborghinis.. It was actually nice to listen to someone give good quality advice.. Keep putting this guy in videos!!!
ehhh.. this only applies to a certain group of people imo, namely beginners and maybe intermediates in certain circumstances (ie. when they have lagging parts). an advanced lifter is not going to build muscle on a deficit, its just not gonna happen. can you gain STRENGTH on a deficit though? sure, due to neural adaptation (learning a new movement) its possible even for advanced lifters. i dont think this video applies to the majority of us who have been lifting for a while though
Agreed... Or someone who is detrained in some way. Like, if an intermediate to advanced lifter had to take a break from leg training for a few months due to an injury, yet was still able to train their upper body, then entered a deficit at the same time they began training legs again, they would gain (or regain) muscle while losing fat.
GoddGurley LOL if you must know, i didnt squat (or do legs in general) for about a year due to injury and general stupidity. worked back up to 265 lb squat in literally 2 months. then a few months later i hit 305 ass to grass so i think im doing alright. wouldve easily hit 315 for reps by now but i injured my MCL playing hockey in march so im working back up again. totally irrelevant to my comment btw, but whatever dude.
I have a question that i have always been wondering about. Shouldn't we always have enough energy to build muscle, as long as we have bodyfat? Isn't bodyfat energy, just like the food we eat? If we don't take in enough food, the body will just tap into the bodyfate storage to get the rest of the energy. So as long as we have fat on our body, we are always at maintenance -- especially if we make it easier for our body to tap into it (improve lipolysis, via fasting or a low carb diet). What is your take on it?
Energy can not be changed into mass. In order to gain muscle mass, you would need components that muscle is made of: protein (and some energy ofcours with that). You can't gain muscle mass out of just 'fat energy' you burn.
But if you get adequate protein (1g/lb) it should be possible, correct? You only need so much protein to maintain your muscle, the rest could be turned into new muscle tissue. Also, when you eat in a surplus... where is the difference? Calories are energy, similar to fat storage. Only protein can be turned into muscle tissue.
The body works in a complicated way. Firstly, more energy is used in order to burn bodyfat, so the body will most of the time turn to other sources such as stored glucose, or protein if you're doing something strenuous. If you haven't eaten, and you're just sitting down, or going for a light walk, then the body will turn to bodyfat. When you eat a high carb meal, your insulin spikes in order to get the glucose out of the body. When your blood sugar levels are back to normal, your insulin may still be elevated, so your body will still not burn fat since insulin prevents fat burn. In this case, your body uses protein for energy. An adequate amount of protein probably depends on what you're trying to do. If you're on a low carb diet, you'd probably need to consume a lot more protein since the body will turn to protein for energy instead of using it to build muscle. The body honestly doesn't want to burn fat, and doesn't care about being ripped. The body's primary focus is survival, and fat will be the last thing it burns. The body stores fat in preparation for a period of starvation. Unfortunately it doesn't know how the world is now.
yes bring on the helms. and can you speak on the topic. of what happens to your body and hormones on a diet, when you diet to hard. and what causes binge eating
It's like you read my mind Omar..... since as of June 1st, I'm going on a calorie surplus thinking i'll gain muscle and strength. This video was absolutely helpful. Holy shit....
I was just reading about this topic in his nutrition book last night ! So glad that I got to hear him explain it more here ! Please bring more of Eric into the channel !
The answer is No. You do not need to be in a caloric surplus to gain muscle. I know this because I have gained muscle on a 1500 calories per day diet. However I am a beginner and was at 20% body fat. Your body can use your fat stores for energy - and therefore does not need calories in order to have energy for Hypertrophy if you have plenty of fat stores. You do want to make sure you have plenty of protein in your diet as well as the other variables that promote muscle growth like plenty of water. However, if you are pretty lean and don’t have much body fat then you need adequate calories or a surplus in order to maximize your gains.
This is exactly the kind of response this video is referring to. The point of these long videos is to get you to learn the theory and answer your own questions, rather than expecting to be fed information on a silver spoon - because that way you don't learn anything and keep asking the same basic questions over and over again.
+Synthesisv3 The first 5 minutes of these videos are just here to say, "you can believe me." That's basically a waste of time, like he said we tend to believe people who look knowledgeable about their fields.
eric already have an awsome video about this in his channel, check it out 3dmj, he actualy have 2 videos about weight progression wich both are awsome, dam eric is awsome
I needed this, I'm really skinny and have bulked up a bit a few months ago, but I've been 145 for a while. Getting stronger and muscles look better but still need to get more calories in. Good to know that I'm not in danger of actually losing muscle but I am getting more shredded.
I'm not trying to be condescending, just opening the possibility for a different perspective. Best basketball, baseball and football coaches weren't the best players. You'll miss out a lot on life if you always judge a book by it's cover.
What he says is true. I've been doing SL 5x5 for 4 months and remained at the same body weight (177 lbs) but got stronger and lost fat. Close to having a six-pack. Haven't tried for 1 rep max yet because I'm middle age and don't want to hurt myself, and I'm battling health issues while doing this. At 6'1" my 5x5 weights are Squat- 160 (bad knee holds me back), Bench - 170, Deadlift - 235 (5x1), OH Press - 115, Barbell Row - 145, Power Clean - 145. I've deloaded a few times to focus on form and from not being in the gym (summer festivals). I've been staying at the same weight until it feels easy and my form feels perfect then adding 5 lbs, so it's been a relatively slow progression. But I am progressing and most importantly not injuring myself. I also do a lot of cardio which probably holds back my progress but I love biking and running. Just trying to be healthy not compete.
