Frequently Asked Questions

 

Exercises

1. Can I just substitute any other exercise that I can perform with the equipment I have, or are some exercises better substitutes than others?

You can certainly substitute any exercise you like for any of the exercises that I've listed in the program. When you do substitute, the best choices are ones that work the most muscle mass. For example, I wouldn't recommend getting rid of dips and using kickbacks for triceps. The harder the exercise is, the more calories you'll burn and the more you'll boost your metabolism. Other than that, feel free to substitute whatever exercises you like! The exercises I've listed are more guideline than requirement.

What you DO need to be aware of in terms of exercise selection is the goal of the training technique you're performing. For example, if you're doing Stretch-Pause training, you can't substitute cable-crossovers for dumbell flyes. Flyes are necessary to focus on the stretch position - cable crossovers don't hit the stretch very well.

Stay within the guidelines of the training technique, though, and you should be fine.

 

2. I work out at home and have a very limited selection of equipment and weights. Is this program still going to work for me?

Obviously, the more variety of equipment you have available to you, the more exercises you'll have at your disposal. But there are plenty of good exercises you can do with a just a set of dumbells, a barbell and a bench and you should be able to do this program very effectively!

If you have no equipment at all at home, to be quite honest, this program is not a good choice. The specific techniques in the book DO require at least basic gym equipment (like dumbells, barbells and benches - a rack is a good bet, too).

In the info on Fat Loss Circuit Training, I've included a suggested cardio technique (stepping) for doing the Fat Loss Circuit Training with no cardio equipment at home, using only a few steps in your house. It can also be done on a low bench or platform.

If you're looking for more exercise ideas, I would highly recommend my eBook "The Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of". It's packed full of unique exercises, many of which can be done at home with very minimal equipment.

 

 

Modifying the Program

1. I have a day coming up where I won't be able to make it to the gym (or even train at home) when I'm supposed to do a training session. How can I adjust the program so that I don't throw off the whole schedule?

The structure of this program makes it fairly easy to modify. The simplest way to go about doing this is to simply insert a single day of rest into the schedule on the day you won't be able to train while continuing to follow the same eating pattern as you normally would have for that day.

For example, if Day 4 is the day you can't make it to the gym, simply push it back a day and do low-carb eating on the day that you're missing. You're basically inserting a day off into the program when you can't train then immediately pick it up where you left off.

Very important!! Continue the same eating pattern of the cycle you're on for one day longer so that the training and eating patterns listed in the program still line up. This is only critical during the first week, of course.

 

2. There is a function/dinner/party coming up where I won't be able to eat according to the plan. What should I do?

Just do the best you can and don't get stressed out about it! If you can't strictly follow the eating pattern for a meal or two, it's not going to significantly throw off the results of the entire program. For example, if you're eating low carb but have a meal where you have to eat higher carbs (you might be at a wedding - it's not polite to ask for low-carb cake!), think of it as a quick shock to your system to help spur a metabolic boost, not as blowing your diet.

Basically, as long as you don't go off the pattern for more than a meal or two, you should be just fine. And always think positively rather than worrying about blowing the whole program. It's what you do consistently that gets you the results, not what happens in a single meal.

3. I would like to adopt your program into my 3 days a week training schedule. Training days: Monday, Wednesday, Saturday Could you let me know how I can adopt your program? How about 2 days a week training? Sometimes I can train only 2 days a week because I am busy for my job. Is it possible to provide me with your program adoption for 2 days a week training? Training days: Wednesday, Saturday

No problem! Basically, here's what you would do - I would start with Week 1 on a week where you CAN do 3 training days.

Week 1 -

Monday - do the regular Day 1 training as-is. - low carb eating on monday
Tuesday and Wednesday
Wednesday - do the regular Day 2 training as-is here.
Thursday - one day of low-fat, higher-carb eating
Friday - back to low-carb eating
Saturday - Tissue Remodeling Training

Chest - 6+2
Back - 6+2
Thighs - 6+2
Shoulders - 4 + 1
Biceps - 4 +1
Triceps - 4+1
Calves - 4 +1

Week 2 -

Monday - 20 minutes compound exercise overload
Wed - 25 minutes compound exercise overload
Saturday - 30 minutes compound exercise overload

If you can only do 2 sessions - go with 30 minutes on the first one and 40 minutes on the second one.

Week 3 and 4 - Stretch Pause Training

With these weeks, just keep to the same workout schedule but add days of rest in as you need them to fit your schedule.

For example, do Day 15 on Monday, Day 16 on Wednesday, then Day 18 training on Saturday. Then you would pick up with Day 19 on the following Monday (or whenever you can pick it up again).

Diet isn't an issue here because it's all pretty much the same from here on in.

 

 

Nutrition

1. On the single nutrient days, do I still need to get a certain number of calories or can I eat as much or as little as I want?

Consider the single nutrient days (only protein and only fruit days) to be days where you can eat as much as you want without worrying about how many calories you're taking in. I would NOT recommend eating only small amounts of food as you still want to feed your metabolism. Eating too little will slow your metabolic rate. The only-protein day will most likely be your lowest-calorie day of the entire program as you aren't eating any energy nutrients.

When doing all protein, you're not taking in any energy nutrients but your body is processing all the protein. You still have energy requirements that must be filled by stored bodyfat. When doing the all-fruit day, since many fruits are rich in fiber and water, you will have a hard time eating enough to go over your limit. Also, since your body is coming off low-carb eating, all the fruit sugar will be stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver, not as fat.

 

2. On the all-fruit day, do I have to eat only fruit or can I include fruit juices or other foods?

While the primary focus of this day should be fruit, you can certainly include fruit juices today as well! Be sure to eat plenty of raw fruit, however, to be sure you get plenty of fiber and micronutrients that are only found in raw fruit. Try to avoid the more sugary, processed juices as one of the other benefits of this day is the cleansing effect it has on your body. Including juices with sucrose and corn syrup will not be the best way to go.

As far as other foods go, if you find you can't handle eating only fruit all day long, you can include a few other zero to very low protein foods. Since, in terms of nutrient rotation, this is a no-protein day, foods that contain very little protein can also technically be included. I would HIGHLY recommend staying away from processed foods on this day to give your body the cleanse that it needs, though. This will help greatly with fat loss as unprocessed foods are easier for your body to work with.

If you can't handle fruit all day, the next best thing would be to include vegetables instead. If vegetables aren't doing it for you, switching to very low protein, high-fiber foods such as whole grain bread is also a possibility.

 

3. You mention that I should eat my largest largest meal of the day after training during the muscle-building phase. Won't eating so many calories at one time make me fat?

Normally, you would think eating a big meal would cause you to gain excess fat. But in reality, THIS is when you SHOULD be filling your body full of nutrients and calories. After training, your metabolism is roaring and your body is primed to USE the nutrients you're putting in for the purposes of rebuilding and repairing the damage done during the workout.

That temporary glut of calories is really effective for building up muscle. You can really feel your muscles swell up after you eat. What I sometimes do after is make a big bowl of rice and corn, mix in a little margarine and some sea salt for flavor (you can use as much sea salt as you like with no ill effects). I'll also eat 2 chicken breasts along with it. Potatoes are also good for this too (you can mash them, add a little milk and a little margarine to make them easier to eat). Pasta with low-fat sauce is quite good as well.

 

4. Let's say I love 1 or 2 of your suggested day meal plans. Could I take one of those day plans and eat the same thing every day for 5 days? Or maybe eat the same thing 2 or 3 days and the rest of the phase eat the other suggested day eating plan? It is much easier to for me to eat the same thing for several days in a row because I don't have to think much about it and don't have to cook a bunch of different things and store them in the fridge.

Actually, to be honest, I normally end up doing the same thing myself! I try to vary things as much as I can but I normally gravitate towards eating many of the same things on a daily basis. That's no problem at all. Just be sure you take your multivitamins so that you get your various nutrients.

In a nutshell, eat the same things as much as you want - it works for me! It's easy, time-efficient (leftovers are such a good thing when you're busy), and if you like the food and aren't bored, why not eat it!

 

5. Dr. Berardi's meal plans call for a LOT of spinach. I don't think I can eat that much spinach. Is it okay to substitute other greens? Also, is the amount cooked or fresh?

Those meals plans are basically there to help guide you during the low-carb phase. You don't HAVE to follow the plans exactly to get results. That IS a lot of spinach (that is fresh amounts, not cooked, by the way). You may substitute other leafy greens during those meals.

Just be sure you're getting enough nutrients by taking a good multivitamin or "greens" supplement to offset the nutrients you're not getting from the spinach. The reason it's there in such quantity is because it is THE most nutritious of the leafy greens.

 

6. I'm a diabetic and can't take in all those carbs. Will I still be able to use and/or adapt your program to suit my situation? I'm interested in the course, but have hesitations due to the large of amount of carb intake you suggest in certain phases of the program.

Actually, you'd do just fine with it with a few modifications. The initial dieting phase is low-carb but it's also low-calorie. Being diabetic, your best bet would be not to do the carb-loading but instead to just reduce the overall caloric intake for that first week.

The following week (which would technically be a carb load), would instead just be going back to higher-calorie eating, which has also has a beneficial effect on testosterone in the body. Insulin, you've definitely got that covered already so carb-loading isn't necessary for you.

The training itself is something you can do without really following the specific dietary program and it'll still be effective. But if you can do reduced calorie for one week then boost overall intake up for 3 weeks, you'll get a very similar effect.

Bottom line - you'll do just fine with it with a few changes.