Bodybuilding Forums

Hi All

I am heavily involved in martial arts - something that sees me doing more 'cardio' style workouts 2-3 afternoons a week, while still sticking to Mark's weight programs 5 mornings a week. I know the topic of cardio seperates a lot of people - some are for it, others against it - but I unfortunately don't really have a choice when it comes to my MA sessions.

My questions is, would the M.A.N.S diet work for me, or would it be possible that the no carb factor will leave me totally exhausted 5 mins into my MA sessions, or even worse - would the extra intensity of those sessions interfere totally with my muscle gaining goals?

Thanks in advance guys!

1st of all I understand correctly that you are following Mark's THT weight lifting programs? I.e. you train to muscle failure, and you focus on progressive overload?
2nd if yes and you still progress every week, either increasing in reps or weight, then I personally see no problem with it. I remember Mark has said that if you do "cardio" like biking, martial arts etc for fun and because you enjoy it then there is no problem with it, as long as you still progress in your weight lifting. What I think Mark is mainly trying to underline is that people have this idea that cardio is needed in order to lose fat. And that this is not the best way to lose bodyfat and that it's a case of dieting (i.e. TSPA).
As for MANS diet, once your body is converted to a "fat burner" you wont have any energy problems. It takes different amount of time for people until this happens. Some take a week others two, some can be a quick as 4 days. During this period you will feel sluggish or tired (again this varies from people to people) but once that is over, you feel as great and energetic as ever before.

Hope this helps doomsday.