Hey everyone, I've been doing carb backloading for a little over a month now and I'm really loving it however I have some concerns/questions.I've just come off Madcows Intermediate 5x5 and jumped into Bill Starr Advanced 5x5. I've been gaining a small amount of weight (less than a lb, I log my weight every morning and average over the week) each week and also leaned out a little bit which I really like. I was maintaining or making small strength gains on the intermediate program with backloading.However now that I'm on this advanced program, I think I'm having a hard time keeping up with the high volume. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the program I've attached a spreadsheet which shows what I'm lifting. As you can see, the volume is significantly increasing each week. Today was the first day in the third week and I struggled on the squats but hit all the prescribed reps and sets. I missed my 270 bench (3 reps). Could the reduced food intake on backloading be the problem? (Note I was sick on Sunday and didn't consume much food. Dropped 2 lbs since then. Training on Monday went well though). Your overall level of recovery will affect this, so Sunday being ill could affect your weights.  Also level of sleep, stress, etc., can all affect your lifts.On training days I try and hit 300-400 grams of carbs in a 4 hour time span. ULC on off days (starting to backload 200ish grams of CHO on second back-to-back offday). I don't want to over consume but maybe I have to take in more carbs on off days? If you're goals are to increase strength, what is your reasoning for decreasing your CHO BLs?I'm sitting at 220lb bodyweight by the way. 16-18 percent bodyfat. Thanks!

Just a few notes above.  A lot of variables will affect your ability to hit those numbers.  One of the reasons that pre-set programs are difficult is that the way they calculate your values for certain 1RM% is flawed.  There's very little individualism in programs such as these which can affect your ability to hit certain repetitions based on any number of factors, from sleep, stress, diet, work, etc.  You may have just had a bad day.  We all get them.  Just keep working at it and re-evaluate once you have reached a finishing point in your program.  Try to isolate the things that might be interfering with your recovery.  I would say your sickness would have quite a bit to do with it, keeping all other factors the same in your daily lifestyle.

Hey everyone, I've been doing carb backloading for a little over a month now and I'm really loving it however I have some concerns/questions.I've just come off Madcows Intermediate 5x5 and jumped into Bill Starr Advanced 5x5. I've been gaining a small amount of weight (less than a lb, I log my weight every morning and average over the week) each week and also leaned out a little bit which I really like. I was maintaining or making small strength gains on the intermediate program with backloading.However now that I'm on this advanced program, I think I'm having a hard time keeping up with the high volume. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the program I've attached a spreadsheet which shows what I'm lifting. As you can see, the volume is significantly increasing each week. Today was the first day in the third week and I struggled on the squats but hit all the prescribed reps and sets. I missed my 270 bench (3 reps). Could the reduced food intake on backloading be the problem? (Note I was sick on Sunday and didn't consume much food. Dropped 2 lbs since then. Training on Monday went well though). Your overall level of recovery will affect this, so Sunday being ill could affect your weights.  Also level of sleep, stress, etc., can all affect your lifts.On training days I try and hit 300-400 grams of carbs in a 4 hour time span. ULC on off days (starting to backload 200ish grams of CHO on second back-to-back offday). I don't want to over consume but maybe I have to take in more carbs on off days? If you're goals are to increase strength, what is your reasoning for decreasing your CHO BLs?I'm sitting at 220lb bodyweight by the way. 16-18 percent bodyfat. Thanks!

Just a few notes above.  A lot of variables will affect your ability to hit those numbers.  One of the reasons that pre-set programs are difficult is that the way they calculate your values for certain 1RM% is flawed.  There's very little individualism in programs such as these which can affect your ability to hit certain repetitions based on any number of factors, from sleep, stress, diet, work, etc.  You may have just had a bad day.  We all get them.  Just keep working at it and re-evaluate once you have reached a finishing point in your program.  Try to isolate the things that might be interfering with your recovery.  I would say your sickness would have quite a bit to do with it, keeping all other factors the same in your daily lifestyle.

Thanks for the response. There aren't any major stressors in my life at the moment and my sleep has been solid (8+ hours). I think I will attribute it to my sickness for now. I'll finish the program and try and adjust it from there. As for your other note, I wasn't planning on decreasing my CHO BL's but consume more carbs on the days when I don't train. I think right now, I'm not even hitting the allowed 30 grams most days. Could I consume low GI carbs to avoid the big insulin spike?  For CBL and CN, no Low GI CHO will not work for this purpose.  I'm actually not sure what you mean on this?  It just seemed like you were keeping your CHO intake low on your BL.  I must have been mistaken.  Sorry.

Make it a five hour window and just watch how your body looks/ feels or if you can't eat more than 4 hours  then add another 100 carbs to that second off day..if you maintain weight then add another 100..if you start getting fat cut back 50 and reassess.   I think it was just you being sick though myself ^^;