Getting ripped is a process. You don't luckily stumble into single-digit body fat simply by training hard and eating better foods. You need a strategy.
IFBB Pro John Meadows likes to start slow, cleaning up his diet before doing anything else. Then after a few weeks he'll add 30 minutes of cardio. Then a few weeks later he'll reduce his carbs a little. A few weeks later, he'll make another small change. And then another. And then another. Each part of the strategy falls in line, one step after the other.
If you try to do everything at once, your diet will start strong and you'll make a lot of progress the first two to four weeks — but then what? If you've been carb-restricted, with low calories, multiple cardio sessions per day, and using clenbuterol, what will you adjust when your progress slows? You won't be able to change macronutrients. You won't be able to reduce calories. You won't be able to add more cardio. You'll be stuck.
In this part of his Open UGSS Presentation, John walks through the variety of tactics you can use to shred fat, including the one topic almost no one in bodybuilding is willing to speak about publicly: drug use. John holds nothing back, and gives a fully transparent look at the side of the sport that is surrounded by mystery. He isn't scared to share the truth, both about what other people are using and what he has used in the past. John discusses Clenbuterol, T3, yohimbine, ECA Stack (ephedrine, caffeine, aspirin), growth hormone, insulin, and a variety of other substances.
John also goes into detail about dieting tactics such as refeeds and cheat meals, and why it's important to keep your sanity with a sustainable approach to dieting. He discusses the topic of peri-workout nutrition and gives guidelines for improving recovery.
By the minute:
- (0:19) What tactics can you use to get ripped?
- (5:24) Supplements and Drugs (including what John did for The Arnold)
- (7:36) Should you taper down off T3 or drop it out all at once?
- (12:05) Ephedrine, Caffeine, and Aspirin (ECA) Stack
- (13:26) Growth Hormone
- (17:35) Insulin
- (19:34) The Biggest Risk of Drug Use
- (20:47) Growth-Hormone Releasing Peptides and SARMs
- (25:18) Refeed and Cheat Meals
- (29:30) 90/10 Rule of Dieting
- (33:25) Examples of Refeed/Cheat Meals
- (36:16) Peri-Workout Nutrition: Pre-Workout
- (41:53) Intra-Workout Nutrition, Recovery, Branched Cyclic Dextrin
- (47:50) Where should you cut carbs if you're carb cycling on a diet?
- (49:25) Nutrition Guidelines for Cardio
- (51:07) Post-Workout Nutrition
Steroid Policy
Public health officials have concluded that possible serious health problems exist that are associated with the misuse and/or abuse of performance enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids. All athletes should rely on these messages in making all performance and health-related decisions.
EliteFTS believes that all athletes should be guided by the conclusions of health officials and medical professionals regarding the health effects of performance enhancing drugs, including anabolic steroids, when deciding whether or not to incorporate these substance in their training regimens.
WATCH: UGGS John Meadows Presentation — Building Calves
