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 SuperSIZE Science
This SuperSIZE workout program is designed to elevate you to a new level of
muscle growth. It is not for the beginners. You will need at least
3-6 months of normal training before you attempt this style of working out.
If you are a beginner, I recommend that you follow one of my other basic
routines before you start Supersize training. What I want to give you here
is an exceptional workout program that taps into every possible fiber and avenue
of muscle growth. If you are reading this then I know you are serious and
I want to give you my 20 plus years of knowledge and experience wrapped up into
a 12-week program. If you are stuck at a plateau or just want to utilize
every possible avenue of growth, I want to encourage you to give this program a
fair try. Most people will notice changes rather quickly, but please give
this program at least 3 to 4 weeks to allow the body to feel the full effects.
You may be a bit sore, but that is good! I just received 2 emails the
other day of one guy gaining 11lbs in one month and another athlete putting on
13 lbs in 28 days. Now those are some really good gains!
What is unique about this training routine is that it influences and
activates powerful hormones that have the ability to speed muscle hypertrophy.
With these hormones activated, your body will be forced into a “growth” state &
you will be able to put on muscle faster than the common “standard” training
style. These undisputed hormone champions that catapult muscle growth are:
IGF-1, Insulin, VEGF, HGH and NO. If you can utilize and force these
hormones into action, you will experience gains like never before.
The 3 ways to increase muscle size (Hypertrophy):
1. Increase the size of your existing fibers.
The first part of muscle that most people are familiar with are myofibrils.
These are the fast-twitch type IIA and IIB fibers that are conducive to rapid
growth. Myofibrils are what cause your muscles to flex and relax.
Every myofibril contains specific proteins called myosin and actin that slide
across each other and cause your muscle to contract. The most common way
to grow bigger muscle is to increase the amount of actin & myosin in your
myofibrils thus creating a denser muscle fiber. Protein synthesis is the
process by which you increase the amount of actin & myosin proteins, however,
this is kept in check by the amount of amino acids available to the cells.
No aminos= no muscle growth.
2. Increase the volume of sarcoplasm.
Sarcoplasm is the jellylike substance that surrounds and bathes the
myofibrils with nutrients such as oxygen, water, glucose, amino acids and
creatine. Muscle growth (hypertrophy) can also occur if you swell
the volume of sarcoplasm surrounding the myofibrils. Most scientists call
this “cell volumizing” as you are literally feeding as much creatine, glutamine,
aminos, glucose and water into the sarcoplasm telling the fiber that you now
have everything it needs to grow, so there are no more excuses! Cell
volumizing is pretty cool because it actually makes your muscle pump fuller and
stretches the fibers beyond normal range. This causes your body to release
a nice little hormone called VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor).
VEGF helps your body build more capillaries, veins and arteries to be able to
properly feed the overstuffed muscle tissue. Overtime, your body will
build roadmap vascularity in order to meet the higher and higher demands placed
upon the fibers. It is critical that you feed your cells before, during
and after you train to make certain that you have the needed nutrients to cell
volumize and create an extra level of hypertrophy.
3. Increase satellite cell fusion
The third way to create muscle Hypertrophy is a little trickier to tap into.
Satellite cells are immature baby muscle fibers just waiting around to become
big muscle fibers. With normal standard training, it is difficult to get the
body to incorporate these immature cells. It takes some extreme training
to reach these little guys! However, with intense training, you create
tiny holes and tears inside the muscle fibers. These “holes” cause the hormone
IGF-1 to leak out of the cells. IGF-1 takes over and commands the
satellite cells to now fuse into existing muscle fibers. This fusion
increases the number of nuclei per muscle fiber, which leads to larger, more
massive muscle fibers. Congratulations, you’ve just created new muscle
cells that are permanent!
Igniting the Fuse:
If you ever want to continually gain more and more muscle, the one word you
need to remember is, “confusion”. Keeping the body and muscle fibers in a
confused state, always guessing, your body will have a difficult time adapting
to the training. When your system is trying to adapt, it sends out
powerful hormones, telling the body to grow in order to handle this new
stimulus. It’s your body’s way of dialing 911 for help. All of a
sudden, in a matter of minutes, you have a whole slew of new people (hormones)
coming to your rescue.
To initiate muscle growth, you must first send the proper
signal telling the body that it is now time to grow. The louder the signal, the
more fibers get activated, more hormones are released and muscle growth will now
be on an accelerated path. There are 3 different muscle contraction types
to initiate the signal: concentric, isometric and eccentric. Most people
are familiar with the 3 different types of contractions and we all know they are
conducive for muscle growth. Most people are used to doing “normal”
repetitions where they utilize both concentric (positive) and eccentric
(negative) movement. With this type of training, existing muscle fibers
are broken down and eventually repaired through protein synthesis. This is
good way to build solid muscle. However, overtime, your body doesn’t
respond like it originally did to this type of training. Your body adapts
to it and you hit a plateau.
What research has recently found, however, is that isometric and mainly the
eccentric (lowering the weight or lengthening the muscle under tension)
portion of the movement triggers greater muscle hypertrophy
through down-regulation of myostatin (the gene that tells your body to stop
getting bigger) and an increase in the expression of IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth
Factor), MGF (Mechano-Growth Factor) and HGH. IGF-1 & HGH are very
important because they act like carriers to bring cells the raw materials they
need for renovation, repair and also stimulate cell division. IGF-1
launches nucleic acids into the cell nucleus while HGH initiates the transport
of amino acids and nucleic acids into the cytoplasm of the cell (area outside
the nucleus). With an increase in HGH and IGF-1 the cells can now heal at
an accelerated rate.
Putting it all together:
Unlike standard training, where you are only focused on 1 method of muscle
growth, the SuperSize routine focuses on all
3 ways to induce muscle hypertrophy. First, we increase
existing fiber size with regular repetitions. Then we radically increase
IGF-1 release and satellite cell division thru Power Partials. Finally, we pump
the sarcoplasm full with aminos, glucose, creatine, glutamine, nitric oxide,
oxygen and water and fill the cells out with drop sets and Tri-Sets. We
want to hit the pump early (drop sets) so that the body can deliver these cell
volumizers throughout the hour-long workout. You have an entire hour where
your body is in an energized state delivering up to 20x more
blood flow to target muscles. It is
critical that you take full advantage of this “anabolic window”
and hyper-feed your cells with nutrients before, during and after your
training!!! This will give you a phenomenal tight pump and help force your
body to release more VEGF (remember, the vein creating hormone) and IGF-1.
In essence, we are building up your regular fibers, creating more nuclei per
fiber and then pushing the envelope one step further by hyper-feeding and
super-swelling all of the above. Now that’s a great workout!
The Workout
If you look at the Supersize routine, you will see that we incorporate normal
repetitions, Power Partials, drop sets and Tri-sets. The normal
repetitions are needed to help strengthen and build your “normal” fibers, your
tendons and ligaments. We do 3 straight sets to failure.
After the 3 normal sets, we are ready to do what I call a “Power Partial”
set. Remember, Power Partials force an increase in IGF-1 release and stimulate
satellite cells to fuse with existing muscle fibers.
It is important that you increase the weight or load at least 30% on this
last set. What you are going to do is execute each repetition only moving
the weight 3-5 inches (a tad bit more than a quarter rep). This is the
strongest range of motion for each muscle group and you will be able to handle
the extra poundage. The top Ľ range on incline dumbbell press for example
or the first 3-5 inches on almost any movement. If you are going to do a
barbell curl for example, you are only going to raise the weight about 4-5
inches. Yes, you will look like an egomaniac trying to lift more weight
than you can handle but we are deliberately forcing new cells to grow here.
When you come back to the gym 10-15 lbs heavier a month later and everyone else
looks exactly the same, they will start to ask you questions!
It is extremely important that at the end of your last power partial rep, you
hold the weight for as long
as possible. You want to fight the weight and only allow gravity be the
cause of bringing the weight down. This is the
eccentric portion of the
movement that is causing the rise in IGF-1 and HGH release. This is where you
are radically creating new cells; you need to push it!!!
Immediately following your power partial set, rest for about
7-10 seconds and do a drop set. You may rest about 7-10 seconds between
each drop, but try and make sure you get a total of 3 drops. This is where
you are creating more VEGF release while pumping the cells full of nutrients.
Make sure that you do one power partial set as the 4th set on each of the 3
major exercises listed.
Tri-Sets
After the 3 main exercises, you are going to perform 3 triple sets or
“tri-sets”. What this is going to do is push an enormous amount of blood
thru the body part and fill it out. This is where the extra arginine comes
into play and helps your body release more of the hormone, nitric oxide (nitric
oxide is critical to make and sustain a pump).
We use 3 different exercises to blast multiple angles, taking your fibers by
complete surprise. Rest about 30 seconds between each exercise and
repeat the tri-set 2 more times. At the very end of the workout, I like to
flex the muscle and hold it for about 5-10 seconds. This will pump even
more blood and nutrients into the muscle and finish off a great workout.
Make sure that you stretch in-between each set, or every other set, to help
loosen up the fibers and keep blood flowing. Stretching helps to bring more
oxygen and nutrients into the cells and also elongates the muscle so it has more
room to grow. It is also very important to stretch the muscle for about
3-5 minutes at the very end of the workout for the same reasons.
Important
Hydration
A well- hydrated muscle is a stronger muscle. When you are dehydrated
you’re blood volume decreases. With low blood volume, you have less of a
pump and less delivery of nutrients to the working muscle tissue. Water
hydrates the muscle and volumizes it. Increased strength, increased blood
volume and increased nutrient delivery comes with a fully hydrated muscle.
Drink 1 to 2 gallons of water per day. Period.
Take FULL advantage of your “Anabolic Opportunities”
If you don’t have the proper nutrients to grow, your muscles simply won’t
grow. When you feed your body high quality aminos, buffered creatine,
glutamine, arginine, glucose and other cell volumizers, a signal is sent to the
rest of the body that it is now OK to grow. These
nutrients “volumize” the sarcoplasm and continue to feed the fibers during
intense training. Exercised induced Hyperaemia
(1) is a unique opportunity where the body is pushing up to 20x the
normal amount of blood through the working muscle. There is never a better
opportunity to hyper-deliver these essential nutrients and completely saturate
your muscle cells. In essence, you are putting your cells in a
“hyper-anabolic” (growth) state.
Hyperbolic 10™ is a high performance product that uses a hefty
dose and only the highest quality aminos, buffered creatine, glutamine, arginine
and other cell volumizers to put your body in this hyper-anabolic state.
(I made Hyperbolic 10™ simply because I was
tired of carrying 10 different bottles in my gym bag and emptying them all into
one drink. I wanted the fastest absorbing and best ingredients all in one
container for pure convenience)
The ideal time to drink your anabolic cocktail is approx 30-60 minutes
prior to your workout, during your workout,
and within 5-15 minutes after your workout. By
maximizing nutrient delivery, you will notice your recovery is quicker, pumps
are fuller, and strength levels considerably increased.
INSULIN
Insulin is the ultimate storage vehicle & is responsible for
pulling sugars, amino acids, creatine, potassium and other nutrients from the
bloodstream and into the cells. When you consume carbohydrates, your
pancreas releases insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin is carried to the
cell membrane and activates the GLUT-4 transporter. This GLUT-4
transporter is your cells’ “Gate Keeper” which opens up the gates and pulls
glucose and nutrients from the blood and into the muscle cell. If you have a
lack of insulin, absorption is inhibited and the gates are closed.
I do want to note, that the GLUT-4 transporter is also stimulated to the cell
membrane when the muscles contract. This stimulation is not as strong as
the insulin initiated transport, but you do get a 1-2 punch if you are able to
increase insulin through carbohydrate ingestion while you are working out
(muscle contraction).
So the goal is to get a carbohydrate that is absorbed very quickly and spikes
insulin at the same time. Sugar will spike insulin higher than anything,
but it is notorious for getting stuck in the stomach causing stomachache and
bloat. Waxy maize is great because it “drops” quickly through the stomach
& into the small intestine, however, it has a pathetic insulin
spike to drive the nutrients into cells. Pure Karbolyn™ is an
enzymatically-modified carbohydrate that has the best of both worlds. Pure
Karbolyn™ has a heavy molecular weight AND spikes insulin almost as high as
sugar. Pure Karbolyn™ also spikes insulin longer (approx 30 min longer)
than sugar, so you get an extended window for amino acid/glucose absorption.
The ideal time to take Pure Karbolyn™ is 30-60 minutes prior to training
(50-75 grams), during your workout (25-50 grams), and within 5-10 minutes after
your workout (50-100 grams). This will give your body the needed insulin
spikes and carry the nutrients quickly into hungry muscle cells.
Insulin Resistance
Insulin is, by far, my favorite hormone and it has the power to make you
freakishly big. I do want make clear that it is only good to elevate
insulin at certain times of the day. You do not want
elevated insulin levels all day long because this will make you insulin
“resistant”. Imagine if you were to eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts everyday,
at every meal, for 30 days straight. At the end of your 30-day binge, you
probably wont even want to hear the word “Krispy Kreme”. Your body will
become “resistant” or over-saturated and insulin response simply wont work like
it used to. This is not good and can cause diabetes
mellitus let alone make you look like Santa Clause instead of Superman.
You want to keep your receptors “fresh” and only use the power of insulin near
your training time and preferably in the morning. (see diet).
There are certain herbal extracts and minerals available that have the
capacity to mimic the effects of insulin. Two of these insulin mimickers
are found in Hyperbolic 10™: 4-hydroxyisoleucine and chromium polynicotinate.
These 2 compounds or “glucose disposal agents” have the ability to pull glucose
out of the blood and into the muscle cell thereby increasing nutrient uptake.
This is a nice bonus to further expand muscle tissue with precious nutrients and
facilitate quicker recovery.
Importance of Glycogen (stored carbohydrates in muscle and liver):
With Supersize training, glycogen stores are rapidly depleted. If you
do not have sufficient glycogen stores before exercise, your performance will
suffer and you will fatigue early. There is also one study to date in the
Journal of Applied Phisiology that states if you train with low muscle
glycogen levels, specific genes that promote hypertrophy will not be activated
and could lead to reduced gains in mass and strength.(2)
The most important time to drink a fast absorbing carbohydrate, to keep glycogen
levels elevated, is before, during and especially after your workout. So
if your on the road and somehow forget your Pure Karbolyn™ at home, make sure
you grab some sort of sugary drink and drink it at least post workout to quickly
replenish glycogen levels!
How to use Pure Karbolyn™ and Hyperbolic 10™:
Step 1. Mix 1 scoop of
Hyperbolic 10™ with 1 to 1 & ˝ scoops of Pure Karbolyn™. Use at least 24
oz of water and drink this 30-60 minutes prior to training.
Step 2. Mix 1 scoop of
Hyperbolic 10™ with ˝ to 1 scoop of Pure Karbolyn™ and sip on this during your
workout. Use at least 24 oz of water.
Step 3. Mix 1 scoop of
Hyperbolic 10™ with 1 to 1 & ˝ scoops of Pure Karbolyn. Drink this within
15 minutes after your workout. Make sure you also drink 50-60 grams of
whey isolate within 30 minutes of your post workout cocktail.
SuperSIZE Synergy
I hope you can notice by now that the SuperSize program is all about synergy.
We try and elevate as many muscle-building hormones to get the ultimate anabolic
affect. SuperSize training gives you the right protocol to elevate your
IGF-1, HGH & VEGF levels. We also blast our insulin levels, Nitric Oxide
levels, and stuff cells full using Hyperbolic 10™ and Pure Karbolyn™.
In essence, we are creating the ultimate anabolic harmony to induce the fastest
gains in lean muscle mass over a short period of time.
Please feel free to email me with any questions or comments. Make sure
you send me some before and after pics! I am always happy to see people
accomplish their goals and feel unstoppable, especially in the
gym…Enjoy!
-Art Atwood
Notes:
I am almost complete with an exciting new product called I-LOAD™.
These power-packed capsules use incredible ingredients to literally cram more
nutrients into the muscle cell thereby inducing a “Super-Anabolic” effect.
The pumps, recovery and gains from this little product are phenomenal & can help
take you to an even further level of hyper-anabolism. I-LOAD™ should be
ready for release in early 2009.
I created exceptional products like Hyperbolic 10™, Pure Karbolyn™ & I-LOAD™
(coming soon) so that my customers will be completely satisfied. I do
admit these products are not cheap. They are for the serious athlete and
trainees. The quality, time and cost that went into these products were
quite painful. But I had to go all out; I was making these products for my
clients and also for my own personal use. I have to have the best, because
that’s just what I expect.
Example diet for lean muscle gain
*This diet is designed to keep your insulin levels sensitive while promoting
lean muscle gains. If you are a hard gainer, I suggest that you increase
good fat intake at meals 2 & 3. You may also be able to handle more
carbohydrates with meal #1.
Eat every 2.5-3 hours
MEAL #1
- 2 whole eggs, 10 egg whites (try to buy some Omega-3 eggs from the
supermarket as good fats help keep you anabolic).
- 2 packets of brown sugar, apple cinnamon or favorite oatmeal
- 1 banana or piece of fruit.
- 2 slices of toast with jelly or honey.
- Vitamins:
Take 2 caps of multivitamins/multi minerals
2-3 capsules
of omega fats. Fish oil is really good.
3 caps of fiber
MEAL #2
- 50-60g Whey Protein (2 &1/2 scoops).
- ˝ cup of walnuts, almonds or cashews.
MEAL #3
- 8-10oz chicken (about 1.5 chicken breasts)
- 1/2-cup walnuts, almonds or cashews.
MEAL #4 (about 1.5 to 2 hours before gym)
- 1 chicken breast
- 1 ˝ cups of rice (measured post cooking)
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
-Preworkout (30-60 minutes before training)
- 1 scoop of H10 with 1 to 1.5 scoops of Pure Karbolyn in 24oz of water.
WORKOUT
- (sip on 1 scoop of H10, with ˝ scoop of Karbolyn during workout)
- Post workout recovery drink of 1 scoop of H10, with 1 to 1.5 scoops of
Pure Karbolyn.
- 60 grams of Whey Isolate (30 minutes after post workout cocktail).
MEAL #5 (approx 1.5 hours after protein drink)
- 8-12oz Salmon, fish or red meat.
- 1 & ˝ cups of rice with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Or 1 large baked potato with butter spray and low fat sour cream.
- Vitamins:
Take 2 caps of multivitamin/multimineral
2 caps of omega
fats
3 caps of fiber
MEAL #6 (optional if hungry or hardgainer)
- 50g Whey protein with 2 tablespoon all natural peanut butter
- or 5 whole (Omega-3) eggs and 6 extra whites
*Drink lots of water through out the day to stay hydrated.
1. Bengt Saltin, Copenhagen Muscle Research Centre, University Hospital and
Copenhagen University, Rigshospitalet 7652, Blegdamsvej 9, DK-2100 Copenhagen,
Denmark. Exercise hyperaemia: magnitude and aspects on regulation in humans. J
Physiol. 2007 September 15; 583(Pt 3): 819–823.
2. Churchley EG, Coffey VG, Pedersen DJ, Shield A, Carey KA, Cameron-Smith
D, Hawley JA. Influence of pre-exercise muscle glycogen content on
transcriptional activity of metabolic and myogenic genes in well trained humans.
J Appl Physiol, 2007 Apr;102(4): 1604-11.
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What is Pure Karbolyn™?
Pure Karbolyn™ is a homopolysaccharide. (relatively complex carbohydrate).
Pure Karbolyn™ is made up of many monosaccharides joined together by glycosidic
bonds. These are very large bonds that are branched macromolecules. The
“Molecular Mass” has been precisely manipulated to create absorption through the
stomach at a rate much greater than maltodextrin, dextrose, breads, pasta, rice
or any other carb product on the market.
Pure Karbolyn™ is a patent pending carbohydrate that contains very unique
properties. Because Pure Karbolyn™ passes through the stomach very quickly, it
acts like a pump, pulling water and nutrients along with it. This high tech
carbohydrate actually moves through the stomach
80% faster than dextrose or
sugar. Pure Karbolyn™ also has a higher solution osmolality than dextrose,
sucrose or other carbohydrate powder mixes on the market. This is due to the
unique properties found in the patent pending process. Pure Karbolyn™ is
completely sugar free.
Pure Karbolyn™ is produced using a newly developed “Enzymatic Milling
Process”. The food source to produce Pure Karbolyn™ is potato, rice & corn. The
finished product is a modified molecular mass polysaccharide that is absorbed
very quickly with out any side effects, stomach bloating or discomfort plus it
mixes instantly.
What is Pure KarbolynTM used for?
Pure Karbolyn™ was invented for the sole purpose of carbohydrate loading. It
was designed for Elite Athletes looking for a fast, safe and high performance
way to easily load the muscle with accessible muscle energy (glycogen). Pure
Karbolyn™ has been instantized, so it mixes instantly!
If you are looking to diet for a show or pack on some mass, Pure Karbolyn™ is
the ideal carbohydrate to get the results you are looking for. It is very common
for many bodybuilders and fitness/figure competitors to rely solely on Pure
Karbolyn and oatmeal as their only complex carbohydrate sources during their
pre-contest & carb loading phase!
When is the best time to take Pure Karbolyn™?
In order to maximize the powerful glycogen and nutrient loading effects of
Pure Karbolyn™, take 1 to 2 scoops 45-60 minutes prior to
workout. This will ensure peak glucose levels in the blood.
- Consume 1 to 2 scoops of Pure Karbolyn™
during your workout to help shuttle nutrients into the muscle and sustain
energy levels.
- Consume 1 to 2 scoops of Pure Karbolyn™ immediately after your workout
to facilitate quick recovery from your intense workout.
How much Pure Karbolyn™ do I take?
Every athlete has different carbohydrate requirements and training goals. If
you are trying to pack on size or are training up to and over 3 hours per day,
you would probably need 75-100 grams of carbohydrate per serving. If you are
trying to sustain energy levels and are training on average 1 to 1.5 hours per
day, 50 grams per serving may be more ideal for you. The best protocol to follow
is to experiment with 1 or 2 scoops per serving and judge your workout
intensity, performance and/or appearance until you reach your desired effect.
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