28 THE 4-HOUR BODY
y o - y o i n g b e c o m e s p a t h o l o g i c a l a n d u n c o n t r o l l a b l e . S c h e d u l i n g o v e r e a t -
ing at specifi c times, on the other hand, fi xes problems instead of creating
them.
The top bodybuilders in the world understand this and, even when in
a pre- contest dieting phase, will cycle calories to prevent hormonal down-
regulation.
5
The daily average might be 4,000 calories per day, but it would
be cycled as follows: Monday, 4,000; Tuesday, 4,500; Wednesday, 3,500, etc.
Ed Coan, described as the Michael Jordan of powerlifting, set more
than 70 world records in his sport. Among other things, he deadlifted
an unbelievable 901 pounds at 220 pounds bodyweight, beating even
s u p e r - h e a v y w e i g h t s . H i s t r a i n e r a t t h e t i m e , M a r t y G a l l a g h e r , h a s s t a t e d
m a t t e r - o f - f a c t l y t h a t “ m a i n t a i n i n g p e a k c o n d i t i o n y e a r - r o u n d i s a t i c k e t t o
the mental ward.”
Yo u c a n ha ve yo u r c he e se c ake a nd ea t i t t oo , a s lon g a s yo u g et the t i m -
ing right. The best part is that these planned ups and downs accelerate,
rather than reverse, progress.
Forget balance and embrace cycling. It’s a key ingredient in rapid body
redesign.
PREDISPOSITION VS. PREDESTINATION: DON’T BLAME YOUR GENES
The marathoners of Kenya are legendary.
Kenyan men have won all but one of the last 12 Boston Marathons. In
the 1988 Olympics, Kenyan men won gold in the 800- meter, 1,500- meter,
and 5,000- meter races, as well as the 3,000- meter steeplechase. Factoring
in their population of approximately 30 million, the statistical likelihood of
this happening at an international competition with the scope of the Olym-
pics is about one in 1.6 billion.
If you’ve been in the world of exercise science for any period of time,
you can guess their muscle fi ber composition, which is an inherited trait:
s l o w - t w i t c h . S l o w - t w i t c h m u s c l e fi bers are suited to endurance work.
Lucky bastards!
But here’s the problem: it doesn’t appear to be totally true. To the sur-
prise of researchers who conducted muscle biopsies on Kenyan runners,
there was a high proportion of fast- twitch muscle fi bers, the type you’d
expect to fi nd in shot- putters and sprinters. Why? Because, as it turns out,
they often train using low mileage and high intensity.
5. For example, proper conversion of T4 thyroid hormone to the more thermogenically active T3.
Ferr_9780307463630_4p_01_r1.indd 28Ferr_9780307463630_4p_01_r1.indd 28 10/12/10 2:33 PM10/12/10 2:33 PM