Tony Horton’s P90Xvs.

Tim Ferriss’ Occam’s Protocol

Dan Dascalescu

@dandv #qs2011

Goal: muscle gain

• I’m an ectomorph, aka hardgainer

• No serious prior weight training

P90X – 2008/9

P90X cons

- 3 months

- 6 days a week

- 1-2 hours a day

- hard to follow diet (for the first month)

- extremely intense

- low muscle gain

- confusing guide/nutrition, but see my wiki

P90X pros

confidence boostfat lossstrength gain ~2xenduranceleast boring – 11 workout DVDscan be done at homepredictable dietlong-lasting results

Compliance

• Diet: 95%

• Workouts: 90% (alternatives to cardio)

• Rest: ?

P90X results

Permanence of results

Right after P90X

A year later

+ / -

Chin-ups 12 10 .. 11 -1 .. -2

Abs definition

“Holy sh*t” Padding, but still visible

Endurance Excellent Very good -10%..-25%

My P90X FAQ Wiki

bit.ly/p90xfaq

From Geek to Freak34 lbs of muscle in 4 weeks

Occam’s Protocol - 2011

• easy version of “From Geek to Freak”• for beginners• "More than four hours per month of gym

time is not necessary to reach your target weight in record time.”

• only two exercises per workout• ~5 minutes, including rest

• you need to eat A LOT

Occam’s Protocol Claims

• Triggers muscular, neural and hormonal growth mechanisms

• “In just over four weeks, Neil [Strauss], who’d never been able to gain weight, gained 10 pounds of muscle and grew from 125 to 135 pounds, a near 10% increase in total body mass”-- The 4-Hour Body, p. 195

• That implies no fat gain (!)

Diet

• 20 calories per pound of lean bodyweight for 10 pounds more than your current lean bodyweight115 + 10 lb, x 20 => 2500 calories

• drop calories by 50% one day per week to prevent protein uptake down-regulation

• protein - at least 1.25g per pound of current lean bodyweight => 144g

• carbs(not mentioned in 4HB) – 1.5g - 3g per pound of body weight => 230g – 460g

• supplements

Water – why I stopped short

• 3 weeks into Occam’s I had a sudden attack of stomach pain

• went to ER

• diagnosis: gastritis? (doctor not sure)

• blood test results:– protein levels too high– renal function too high (BUN)

• drink water - 2.8% of your body weight

Workouts, ~2 / week5 up/5 down count

• Workout A– Close-grip pull-down (palms facing you)

x 7 reps– Machine shoulder press

x 7 reps

• Workout B– Bench press x 7 reps– Leg press x 10 reps

Occam’s Protocol compliance

DXA scans for maximum precision~$60, ~30 minutes total

Occam’s Protocol resultsbody composition

Start After 3 weeks

+ / -

Fat % 21.8% 22.6% +0.8%

Lean mass 115.7 lbs 117.7 lbs +2 lbs

Total mass 153.4lbs 157.6 lbs +4.2 lbs

My Occam’s Protocol Wiki

bit.ly/4hb-occam

Conclusions

• P90X - strength, endurance, fat loss;don’t expect muscle gain

• Occam’s Protocol– easy workouts– eat like a pig

• DXA scan for body composition

• You’ll have to shed the fat you gain via Occam’s, but that’s for another talk

P90X vs. Occam’s Protocol

Dan Dascalescu

@dandv #qs2011

Q&A