Mike O'Hearn's Power Bodybuilding: Nutrition

Power Bodybuilding is heavy-duty training designed to build muscle and strength at the same time. This ambitious agenda requires some Grade-A fuel. If you fall short in this critical department, your gains won't be superhuman, as they should be.

The basic concept here is that you do a clean bulk - definitely not dieting, and DEFINITELY not dirty bulking. Remember, the goal is to boost your strength and power, but simultaneously improve your physique. This ain't a moving-and-storage workout, where you pat yourself on the back because you can lift a fridge instead of a sofa at the end and you still have a gut spilling out from under your pit-stained T-shirt.

Here are the rules of the road - er, the sky. The goal here is to become Superman.

Before I start this training, my baseline caloric intake is 5,000 calories/day.

Weeks 1-4: Calories decline to 4,500/day.
Weeks 5-8: Calories decline to 4,000/day.
Weeks 9-12: Calories decline to 3,500/day.

What's that, you say? You're not as big as me? You don't eat 5,000 calories per day? Well, use this as a guide. The percentage declines are what matter as you make your way through Power Bodybuilding.

Eat your biggest meals before and after your training sessions. I train in the morning, so that's when I take in the majority of my calories. As an added benefit, my body has all day to adjust energy expenditure to energy intake. You enjoy no such luxury when you stuff down meals before hitting the sack.

I strive to eat a balanced diet, usually along the lines of 40 percent carbohydrate, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat. This seems to work well with my body type and metabolic tendencies.

Feel free to tweak percentages to suit your body and needs. No matter what, don't go crazy on the carbohydrates and/or skimp on the protein. By the time you get up in the range of 60 percent carbohydrate, you fail to give your body enough protein or healthy fats to succeed on my program.

I eat at least 6 times per day, and so should you. If you want a houseplant to grow, would you water and feed it periodically, or would you ignore it for long stretches and then flood the pot once in a while? The analogy isn't far-fetched. A constant flow of nutrients is better than feast or famine. Muscles are no exception.