BioRhythm Diet - Revisited

          In light of some of the more recent podcast interviews and articles involving Borge Fagerli and Menno Henselmans, I have some highly consolidated bullet points to share, regarding details to the BioRhythm Diet / Circadian Rhythm related protocols. Following the bullet-points, I've summarized the protocol that I will personally be using from this point forward. I really encourage you to read the articles and listen to the podcasts that I have linked at the end of this post. The information therein is far too expansive to capture in a single blog-post, but I have tried my best to provide some useful take-aways that may help those already using a BioRhythm type eating pattern.

 

Circadian Rhythm & Meal Timing

• Synchronize nutrient intake with daylight hours.
• Over time intermittent fasting can desynchronize circadian rhythm.
• Regular meal times will aid in the establishment of proper circadian rhythm.
• Extrapolating from ‘Blue-Zone’ dietary habits: larger breakfast & lunch, lighter (lean protein & lower carb) dinner.
• Large meals & higher calories at the beginning of the day can reset circadian rhythm and make people move more & increase NEAT.
• Improve overall metabolic health by increasing baseline activity level, via more basic movement (i.e. - more standing + walking, rather than sitting all day).

Nutrient Timing

• Protein should be spaced throughout the day with a double-size serving at the last meal. 
• Protein later in the day (amino-acid surplus during sleep) has benefits pertaining to circadian rhythm.
• The further into the evening you ingest fats, the more fats will be stored, rather than oxidized. Fats ingested earlier (during daylight hours) will preferentially be oxidized.
• The timing of protein & carbs is much more important than the timing of fats due to fats being stored and incorporated into cell membranes, more of a long-term effect.
• There is no magic advantage to ketosis other than appetite suppression.
• Carbs scale with activity levels, although tolerance is very individual.
• Most people who lift (and are otherwise sedentary) greatly overestimate carb requirements.
• Large amounts of carbs are not needed pre-workout. Just have a fruit.  
• Resistance training does not deplete many carbs (One study showed only 40% glycogen depletion after 15 sets per body part).
• No need to rush the carbs in the post-workout period for the purpose of glycogen re-synthesis (for the standard weight-training population, lifting 1x/day). Stores will return to normal levels in 24hrs (survival mechanisms prevent glycogen deprivation). Things change with endurance training or very high volume weight-training multiple times per day.  
• In a Fasted or Keto state, the body will still restore glycogen to ~70%.
• There is no discernible advantage to ‘back-loading’ carbs vs. spreading them throughout the day. In fact, a high carb breakfast tends to out-perform low carb breakfast in all areas (food choices play a key role obviously, i.e.- eating eggs + oatmeal vs. sugary cereal + low-fat milk).
• Carbs in the evening meal have a distinct effect (benefit) on circadian rhythm and can improve sleep quality.
• Cycle calories (bulk/cut days, moderate surplus/deficit) rather than having ‘refeeds’ or super high carb days.

 Bonus

• Don’t take life so fucking seriously. Live more. Play more. Do what makes you truly happy.

 

Ok, so after distilling all that down, here is the general protocol that I will be preceding with;

 

Meal Timing

• Eat all meals between the hours of 7-9 in the morning and 7-9 in the evening.
• Ensure enough food early in the day to have mental and physical surplus.
• Ensure enough food around training for performance and recovery.
• Cycle Carbs and Calories based on activity levels & hunger.

Nutrient Timing

• Protein: 2 - 3 meals during the day (0.4-0.6g/kg), 1 larger portion in the evening (0.8g/kg+).
• Fats taper from high to low (not zero) throughout the day.
• Carbs taper from low (not zero) to high throughout the day.
• If training earlier in the day, add 25-50g carbs to the meal following the workout. Consume the rest/majority of the carbs at the last meal(s).

Generic Meal Template (3 meals/day)

Breakfast – High Protein / High Fat / Low Carb

Lunch – High Protein / Moderate Fat / Moderate Carb

Dinner – High Protein+ / Low Fat /High Carb




Thanks for reading and I hope this has been helpful / informative.

Podcasts
Sigma Nutrition Podcast, Episode73 - Borge Fagerli
Modern Musclehead Podcast, Episode14 - Borge Fagerli
Sigma Nutrition Podcast, Episode51 - Menno Henselmans
Primal Edge Health Podcast, Episode 5, Menno Henselmans
Articles
Should you eat breakfast or not ? - Borge Fagerli (Run this one through a translator)
Menno Henselmans - Circadian Rhythm Protein Timing

"Everyone goes into the gym to get health. We go into the gym to give our health away." - Max Aita quoting Ivan Abadjiev

Some thoughts on Programming

This is something I wrote up a while back and never got around to finishing / posting, part of the process of compiling my first comprehensive system of training. You can see the implementation of this system if you look at my 'training-log' posts from March and April of this year. Ended up being quite a great system for me, resulting in some solid PR lifts. Its somewhat of a 'loose' system, in which you make daily decisions on what lifts/sets/reps you want to do. Its intended to be high frequency, but I suppose it could work just as well with 3-4 training days per week.
 
Hopefully it benefits someone else. -Joe 

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·         Top-Set Work – Going for Rep-PRs with a given weight, typically 5-8 or 10+ rep range. Choose to do a PR day based on energy level, physical/mental preparedness, bar-speed on warm-ups & elapsed time since the last PR.

o    Actions

§  1 – Perform 5/4/3/2/1 warm-up. The final single should be around ~90% of current Training Max (which is a 1RM estimate from Rep-PRs).

§  2 – Back-off to the desired weight or % for the PR attempt.

§  3 (Optional) – Perform 1 or 2 back-off sets after the PR attempt, always leaving 1 or 2 reps in the tank.

 

·         Volume Work – Sets across at a given weight or % (based off of the current training max), aiming to build strength, mass & work capacity.  These days should be of medium difficulty overall, putting the work in without psyche-up. Do not rush the workload, pick a weight that you can sufficiently handle in correct style, without forcing or grinding reps.

o    Actions

§  1 – Perform 5/4/3/2/1 warm-up. The final single should be around ~90% of current Training Max.

§  1A (optional) – Perform a traditional style warm-up, increasing weight up to the amount required for the working sets. For example; 135x10, 225x8, 275x6, 315 5x5.

§  2 – Aim for 15-50 reps total, via one the following;

       Sets of    5 @ 75%*   until RPE 9+ is reached

            “        8 @ 70%*                “

                                "        10 @ 60%*               “

                                “        15 @ 55%*               “

                                “        20 @ 50%*               “
 

*Based on training max

·         Base Template – 6 Training days / Rest days as needed

o    Day 1 – Squat, Pressing, Abdominals

o    Day 2 –   Pulls,    “   , Back-work

o    Day 3 – Squat,    “    , Abdominals

o    Day 4 –   Pulls,    “   , Back-work

o    Day 5 – Squat,    “    , Abdominals

o    Day 6 –   Pulls,    “   , Back-work

o    Day 7 –   Rest

 

·         Daily Layout

o    Day 1

§  Warm up: Stretching, Jump-Rope, Band Good Mornings

§  Pressing: Bench, Dip or Press

§  Squat

§  Ab Wheel

o    Day 2

§  Warm up: Stretching, Jump-Rope, Band Good Mornings

§  Pressing: Bench, Dip or Press

§  SLDL

§  Back-work: Rows, Chins or Shrugs

Training Log - 4 / 28 & 29 / 2014

4/28/14

Bench
20kg x30
60 x5
80 x4
100 x3
110 x2
125 x1
115 x8 (+2 Rep PR)
100 x10

BTN Press
20kg x20
60, 2x8
50, 2x10
40 x20

Flat DB Fly
42.5lb, 3x10
22.5lb, 2x20

FacePull
25kg, 5x25


4/29/14

SLDL
20kg x20
80 x5
100 x4
120 x3
140 x2
160 x1
125 x13 (+3 Rep PR)

Chins
Bw x9,8,8

T-Bar Rows
60kg, 3x12
40kg, 1x20

Db Shrugs
80lb x60,60,40

Rope Hammer Curls
20kg x25,20

Training Log - 4/27/14

Squat
40kg x10
90 x10
115, 2x10
135, 2x8

Barbell Lunge (alternating)
40kg, 3x20

Leg Extension
25kg, 3x20

Leg Curl
20kg, 3x20

BioRhythm Diet / Typical Days Eating + Training Log 4/25/15

Thought I'd include some diet related stuff since you guys seem interested in that. 

My bodyweight is currently hovering around 90kg and my goal is to maintain it while using the BioRhythm diet to Recomp / Consolidate my gains. Things have been going well for the past 2 weeks. I've had to increase my food intake quite a bit to avoid losing weight. At 3000kcals per day I began losing weight rapidly, so I've gradually increased it. 

Here's todays diet log, which is pretty typical of most days, considering that I basically train everyday. 

Breakfast (8am)(493kcal, 31 fat, 11 carbs, 40 protein)

6 Large Eggs 

1 cup Green Beans

2 Fish Oil Pills 

Lunch (12pm)(553kcal, 30 fat, 17 carbs, 54 protein)

Beef (140g)

1 cup Green Beans

1.5oz raw Almonds

2 Fish Oil Pills 

Pre-Workout (4pm)(369kcal, 25 fat, 8 carbs, 29 protein)

Black Coffee

1 scoop Whey Isolate

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

30 Pistachios

Post Workout (6:30pm)(121kcal, 0 fat, 31 carbs, 1 protein)

1 Large Banana

Dinner (7:30pm)(1,751kcal, 5 fat, 350 carbs, 69 protein)

1 can Tuna

1 cup Black Beans

2 cups (Raw) White Rice (cooked in the rice cooker)

Dessert (8:30pm)(446kcal, 6 fat, 83 carbs, 15 protein)

1 cup Blueberries

1 cup rolled Oatmeal

Macro Totals: 3,733kcal, 97 fat, 500 carb, 54 fiber, 208 protein

For anyone who's interested in continually looking at my daily diet, here is a link to my MyFitnessPal page.

And todays training;

Strict Press

20kg x20

40 x5

50 x4

60 x3

75 x2

85 x1

70 x12 (Rep PR!)

60 x10

50 x12

Db Incline Bench

80lb, 3x12

Db Side Laterals

8kg, 3x10

Reverse Tricep Pushdown

20kg, 3x25

FacePull

25kg, 5x25

Training Log - 4 / 23 & 24 / 2014

I know the blog has been simply training-logs lately, but if there is anyone actually reading this shit... hang in there. Pretty soon I'll be putting some post regarding the first CircaStrength Training System.

4/23/14

Bench

20kg x20

60 x10

80 x10

85, 3x10 (standard grip)

85, 3x10 (wide grip)

85, 3x10 (narrow grip)

BTN Press

20kg x15

50kg, 4x10

Side Laterals

2x10

Front Raise

2x10

Tricep Rope Pushdown

20kg x15

22.5, 3x12

4/24/14

SLDL

60kg x10

90 x10

115 x10

140 x5

160 x3

115, 2x10

Ring Chins

Bw, 3x8

T-Bar Rows

60kg, 3x12

40kg x20

Barbell Shrugs (strapless)

160kg, 3x20

Band Good Morning

1x50

Rope Hammer Curls

20kg, 2x20