Just when you think you know everything about intermittent fasting, you come across LeanGains. One may argue that LeanGains is the most unique form of intermittent fasting. It’s designed for, well, fasting and getting lean gains, two things which are rarely associated with one another. After all, there’s a common misconception that fasting comes with a loss of muscle mass but don’t be mistaken. As we said, LeanGains includes a unique regime that’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before from intermittent fasting or the training industry as a whole.
What is LeanGains?
To put it simply, LeanGains is all about skipping breakfast, eating big meals and training hard, heavy and intensely. At first, this likely sounds really weird because intense fitness training is rarely associated with a low-calorie intake.
With LeanGains, you’re still getting a larger number of calories in on the days you work out. However, the way in which you do so is different. Then, on the days you don’t work out, you lower your calorie intake. Sounds simple enough, right?
This form of intermittent fasting then gets into fat and carb intake. On the days you work out, you eat a diet higher in carbs and lower in fats. On the days you don’t train, you eat a diet that’s higher in fat with a smaller carb intake. By doing so, you’re actually removing stubborn fat while building leaner, meaner muscle.
Now, that’s only a crash course to LeanGains. As you’re about to find out, it can get significantly more in-depth and specific than just that.
How to do the LeanGains Diet
Getting starting on the LeanGains regime isn’t hard at all. However, there are some specific steps you should follow to maximize your benefits and relish the power of fasting, without sacrificing your training. Here are some things to remember before you start this type of intermittent fasting:
- Eat all of your meals in an 8-hour window
- Fast in the morning (skip breakfast)
- Zero foods and drinks during fasting periods
- Fast up to 15 minutes before your workout
- Never go longer than two hours without eating after a training session
- Choose your gym time based on how you feel
- Choose your gym time based on when you eat/digest
- Have the majority of your calories AFTER your workout
Rules to Achieving Lean Gains
LeanGains has a unique regime that completely revolutionizes the way trainers train and increase their fitness, performance and health as a whole. For that reason alone, it’s more complicated than the other forms of intermittent fasting. Since you are still working out intensely while fasting, there are strict guidelines you have to follow to ensure your health, safety and training.
Everyday:
- Skip breakfast
- No eating or drinking during your fast
On training days:
- Eat more calories
- Eat a higher carb diet
- Decrease your fat intake
On resting days:
- Eat less calories
- Eat a higher fat diet
- Decrease your carb intake
Training 101
Training is a huge component to the LeanGains fasting program. After all, that’s what the entire fasting regime is based around. Since you’ll be exerting an intense amount of energy at specific times throughout the day, you need to ensure you fast properly and train according to your fast. Here are some things to remember:
- Train three days a week
- Make the large, intense movements the core of your training
- Deadlift, bench press, chin=ups, etc.
- Train for approximately one hour
A Day of LeanGains
To help you better understand how you can live the LeanGains lifestyle – and just how easy it is – we’ve included an example of a typical day in the life of. You can easily readjust the times in this routine to suit your schedule. For example, if you work out earlier in the morning, you’ll want to shift everything a couple of hours earlier. Here are some example schedules to follow:
General Routine:
10PM – 12PM: Fast
12PM – 1PM: Train
1PM: Eat largest meal of the day
4PM: Eat second meal of the day
9PM: Eat last meal of the day
10PM: Begin fasting and repeat steps
Early Morning Routine:
6PM – 6AM: Fast
6AM – 7AM: Train
9AM – 10AM: Eat largest meal of the day
1PM – 2PM: Eat second largest meal of the day
4PM – 5PM: Eat last meal of the day
6PM: Begin fasting and repeat steps
You can readjust the times however you like, as long as you’re getting all your meals in within an 8-hour window.
The important thing to remember is that meal frequency is fairly irrelevant when following this eating pattern. You can have 3 meals a day of 10, as long as you’re eating within that 8-hour window. That is the most vital step to ensure you capitalize on the fasting period.
However, if you truly want to get the most out of LeanGains, you want to consider the recommendations listed above. Either way, the intensity in which you follow (along with the level of benefits) is completely up to you. That’s what’s so unique about LeanGains. The power is in your hands.