berardi's growth surge project

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freddy1

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well i just finished the "growth phase" of john berardi's growth surge project with some but noticable gains:

approimate increases:

5-7lbs
+1.25 inch around chest
minimal gain around arms
+1 inch around waist

so as you can see, while i did gain some muscle, i gained more fat than i would have preferred. i also saw a marked improvement in squat and deadlift numbers.

im just glad that phase is over! dont get me wrong, i love to eat, but eating 5000 CLEAN calories a day...thats an unholy amount of food. im glad i am not currently starting my day with a 1400 calories breakfast as i had been.

one crazy thing i noticed: i was taking in a truckload of protein and carbs everyday...my recovery time became freakishly short. i would be sore for no more than 18-24 hours after a fierce heavy deadlift workout...
 
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there is a 2 week "priming stage" and a 2 week "growth surge." i am currently in the recovery stage (2 weeks)...

i bet youve seen the article on bodybuilding.com or t-nation, but if not, heres the link:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/berardi35.htm

yeah, ill take 1.25 inches on my chest in 4 weeks any day. as i said, i gained a few pounds of fat, which i guess is expeced. nothing a few weeks of sprint intervals cant handle. the program claims the potential for huge gains, but recommends the use of prohormones. the only suppliment i used was protein powder, but nonetheless, i am satisfied with the muscle gains.

the twice a day workouts arent bad when you get used to them, but the diet for the growth surge is what i thought was tough (its not at all bad for the priming stage). i never thought i would hear myself say this, but man, i am so glad i am not eating that much anymore. if i was awake, something was entering my stomach.
 
freddy said:
dont get me wrong, i love to eat, but eating 5000 CLEAN calories a day...thats an unholy amount of food. im glad i am not currently starting my day with a 1400 calories breakfast as i had been.
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freddy, can u plz post a typical day of eating on this diet with the calorie numbers? i really wanna see this kind of diet, because like u, i love to eat.
 
absolutely. in fact, i kept a log, so heres a typical day:

wake up, preworkout:
whey protein
can of tuna
8 oz of beans

AM workout

post workout:
16 oz gatorade
whey protein
8 oz beans
8 oz chicken

1st meal at work:
8 oz of beef

2nd meal at work:
8 oz brown rice
8 oz chicken

snack:
3 oranges

PM Pre workout:
8 oz of beef
whey protein shake

PM Workout

PM post workout:
16 oz gatorade
whey protein shake
8 oz chicken
8 oz rice

snack:
8 oz of beans

not long before bed:
1 6 oz can of olives
5 eggs

according to my excel sheet (YES, i kept my food log in excel, what can i say, im a nerd), that comes out to pennies shy of 5000 cal, and over 500g of protein. i know i wasnt getting enough fat...but it was tough since you cant have fat and carbs in the same meal (and i LOVE carbs).

obviously, there was some variation, but not much. some of those you see were pretty routine.

like i said, the gains were far from spectacular, but heck, any noticeable gains in that short of a time is nice. be advised though...you will gain some fat.

one other thing: the above is just for my caloric needs. check berardis calulators on the link if you want to see yours.
 
The only thing that stands out for me is the tuna in the morning and 3 oranges. It would be very tough to eat tuna first thing after waking up and 3 oranges would make my teeth hurt like a son... alot - too much acid.

I get berardi's email newsletter, anyone else?
 
i would be sore for no more than 18-24 hours after a fierce heavy deadlift workout...
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Lots of calories will do that to you. If you're getting a good amount of L-Glutamine too, you can cut that down to 6 - 12 hours.
 
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