How To Determine How Much Macros You Require?

Perfect Macronutrient Ratio/Split? 

There is no perfect macronutrient split in my personal opinion. The following method that I am going to share is how I determine my macronutrient targets to be hit on a daily basis based on what I have learnt and what have worked for me. Influences to these information would be from my coach as well as individuals like Layne Norton, Alberto Nunez & Eric Helms.

Hopefully these information would be helpful for you and set you up onto the path of success. Cheers!

Step 1: Determine if you want to go on a Bulk or Cut.

Essentially bulking refers to eating on a caloric surplus and cutting requires to eating on a caloric deficit. 

Caloric Surplus = Calories Consumed > Calories Burnt

Caloric Deficit = Calories Burnt > Calories Consumed

Step 2: Determine your TDEE.

TDEE refers to Total Daily Energy Expenditure. To calculate your TDEE, I would recommend you use the calculator from http://www.iifym.com/iifym-calculator/ . 

Step 3: Select how aggressive you want to be on your cut or bulk.

After calculating your TDEE, you will be at this stage.

There will be options as to how aggressive you would want to be on your bulk/cut. But i would recommend being more conservative on it. As naturals, it would be more optimal to lean bulk and not put on excessive fats. Being conservative during your cut and having a higher caloric helps with maintaining energy levels and preserves more muscle mass. 

After selecting your desired approach. The calculator would show the Calories that you require  to achieve your goal. 

Step 4: Determine Protein Intake. 

Protein sources

A general rule of thumb would be to consume 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. This equates to 2.2grams of protein per kg of bodyweight. However, on certain occasions I would recommend slightly more protein, especially during the cutting phase, for satiety reasons.

Step 5: Determine Fat Intake.

Carbohydrates sources

After determining your protein intake, you will have to determine your fat intake. Fat intake is recommended to fall between 20-30% of your total caloric intake. Personally 20% is the lowest I would recommend because fat is essential for hormonal regulation.

Step 6: Determine Carbohydrate Intake.

Fat Sources

This is the part that everyone is interested in ;) Who doesn't love to have more cake, brownies and sweet treats? Everyone love carbs <3 Of course I do not recommend eating unhealthy foods all the time like how #iifym (If it fit your macros) like how it's portrayed in social media. I always recommend and abide to the 80/20 rule. 80% whole foods, 20% processed foods. 

How much Carbohydrate would be the remaining calories left after deducting the calories from your protein and fat from your targeted caloric intake. 

Conclusion

So in just 6 simple steps, you would be able to set up your macros and eat towards your goals ! 

Muscle Balance

Why is Muscle Balance Important?

Muscle Balance is vital for to injury prevention. Whether you chose to train for bodybuilding, powerlifting, crossfit, perform calisthenics or training to peak in your sport, you need to focus on muscle balance. Optimal muscle balance enhances the function and length, and reduces the incidence of training related injuries.

"Athletes should always focus on injury prevention before focusing on performance enhancement" - Quoted by the world's famous physical preparation coach Ian King. 

Push Pull Ratios

I am sure many of you are familiar with the term ' Push Pull Ratios '. But however there are people do not truly understand about the entire concept. 

In Simple terms, when you do pushing movements you will have to do a pulling movement to negate the negative effects of the pushing movement. For every form of training there will definitely be the advantages to training it but however there will definitely be side effects which needs to be addressed. For example if you were to do plenty of pressing movements and neglect pulling movements, there will be higher chances of injuring your shoulder as compared to a person who does a larger amount of pulling movements. There optimal push pull ratios are required!

The general rule of thumb of push pull ratios is 1:1. However there are people who want to bulletproof their shoulders or perhaps train for their sport specificity, they perform up to 2:1 or 3;1 of pulling to pushing.

One simple way to calculate push pull ratios would be based on the total volume of the movements.

Volume = Weight lifted  X  Repetitions Performed  X  Number of Sets

So which part of the Push Pull Ratios do people get confused about?

Something that I have learnt from Ian King is that people assume a push is a push and a pull is a pull. However, they should factor in the planes of movement. 

The two main planes of movement will be Vertical &amp; Horizontal. So essentially it is optimal to be able to balance the Vertical Push with the Vertical Pull (Scapula Depressor) as well as to balance the Horizontal Push with the Horizontal Pull (Scapula Retractors). Please refer to the table below for a references of pushing and pulling movements. 

Examples of exercises in each category

Something interesting to take note of is also Strength Balance.  This concept is popularised by Canadian strength and conditioning coach Charles Poliquin. Refer to the image attached for upper body strength balance targets:

In Reference to Tnation.com

Ratios for Lower Body Training

For lower body movements, the main focus would be classified into Hip Dominant Movements &amp; Quad Dominant Movements. The easiest way to differentiate if the movement is a Hip Dominant or a Quad Dominant angle would be the torso angle during the movement. In general, when Quad Dominant movements are performed, torso angle would be more upright as opposed to the Hip Dominants movements where the torso would be at a angle of 45 degrees or lower. Refer to the picture below referenced from a youtuber "Omarisuf ". Do check out his youtube channel for more informative videos! 

Table done up by Omarisuf

Let me explain why squats and deadlifts are considered to be part of the grey area. Squats and deadlifts vary from individual to individual due to the leverages of their body. For example a person with a long torso and a short femur would be able to squat in a more unright position as compared to a person with a short torso and a long femur because he is likely to lean forward to achieve proper depth.

Also it depends on the variation of the movement that is performed. Squats can be done in a high bar position (more upright) or in the low bar position (leaned forward). Also the deadlift, it can be done like the conventional deadlift (High hip position, torso leaned forward), or it can be done like the sumo deadlift (low hip position, upright torso).

Strength Balance for lower body lifts can be referred to the table below: 

Reference from Tnation.com

Conclusion

To sum things up, proper programming is required for optimal muscle balance to achieve longevity in your sports/lifting career. I hope this article would help you to understand more about muscle balance. For any questions, feel free to drop me a DM on my instagram: Muscleintelligence. Peace out :)