This site continues to grow and become more successful every week.
That’s all down to you guys and I want you to know how much I appreciate it 🙂
At the moment I am planning the next few months ahead and I thought I’d keep you all informed and see if there are any suggestions that you would like to make. Please comment below or email me with your hints and tips.
Feel free to get involved in this site and influence it for the better. After all, MuscleHack was set up to help you.
(1) A MuscleHack Forum
Would you guys like a forum? I get a lot of email and it’s great to hear from you all. It’s just a shame that you can’t meet each other. I plan on changing that with a forum here at the site. I need to research this and figure out all the technical aspects of it first though. Here’s where you can help:
(a) What areas should be covered? At the moment there will definitely be the following sections:
* Bulking / Muscle Gain
* Cutting / Fat Loss
* Beginners Area
What other areas would you like covered or should we leave it at his for the beginning?
(b) I’ll need moderators. Want to be a mod at the forum? Comment below or send me an email if you would like to moderate discussions. Let me know if have any experience of this in the past (though not necessary).
(c) Are you technical? I’m not! I may or may not need help in getting this set up. It would be great to have someone that could answer any queries I have during the set-up process.
(d) Members only. Anyone can read the messages but only members can post, that’s how I’d like the forum to be. When I say ‘members‘ I mean only those who have either subscribed to the rss feed or who have downloaded the free ebook ‘ Total Anabolism.’ How can I achieve this?
I am really excited about building up a great community here at MuscleHack. You will then have 24 hour access to help and support from other members! I hope to have it operational before the summertime.
(2) A New Bodybuilding Diet Plan
Some people just don’t want to low-carb. Others experience some initial water-weight loss and freak out, thinking they’ve lost muscle (you get all the water back on your weekend carb-up 😉 ). Anyway, I respect that choice and I’ll accommodate it. The main advantage of a carb-cycling diet like MANS is the ability to build muscle without piling on the fat.
If you’ve read my other articles you will know that I believe this is due to the ability to keep blood sugar and insulin levels steady. What if there is a way to do this while still eating carbs?
I am devising a new plan for those who can’t live without their carbs to do just that. It won’t replace the MANS approach but will be a powerful alternative. It’s based on the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load i.e. carbohydrates that have a minimal impact on blood sugar. It’s working title is the G.L.A.D. diet which stands for the ‘Glycemic Load Anabolic Diet.’ Turkey sandwich anyone? Stay tuned!
(3) A New Tweak To The MANS Diet. This is especially relevant for ectomorphs / hardgainers. For those who find gaining muscle a real challenge, I suggest a mid-week carb-load on top of the weekend carb-loading phase. More on this coming very soon.
(4) Exercise Execution Videos. As I have started Vlogging at youtube I think it would be of great benefit to you guys if I film myself performing each exercise to show the correct form and timing.
I’ll make an individual post here about each exercise and also embed these videos into the workout plan article so that anyone reading the plan can see for themselves how to perform each exercise correctly.
Do any of you know if videos can be embedded into a word or PDF document? If so, let me know as I’d love to put these into the ‘Total Anabolism’ free ebook.
(5) An update of the bodybuilding ebook ‘Total Anabolism.’
I will be adding the alternative diet strategy and hopefully the videos to the ebook as well. I’ll probably add some extra sections too like a fuller explanation of the concept of ‘Progressive Overload‘ as I still receive a lot of questions about it.
So that’s all the upcoming changes to MuscleHack. It’s a very exciting time and I hope to be able to continue to help you guys more and more. Again I have to say thanks to all of you.
Thanks for all the help and support, the contact and the encouragement. It makes my day to hear your positive testimonials! To your continued success…
Your buddy,
Mark McManus
image credit: strangelittlemama
Mark,
I found your site today while researching anabolic meal plans – what a fantastic resource. Great job!
By the way, have you heard of a product called Anabolic-Pump (from USP Labs)? Just wondering what your take on this supplement might be; I’m considering giving it a shot in conjunction with a low-carb diet. Again, the site is fantastic – I’m recommending it to all of my friends.
Rob, thanks for recommending my site and the kind comments.
I had not heard of this supplement before Rob.
After a little research today it seems that it seeks to mimic the effects of a MANS type carb-cycling diet.
It claims to be able to allow for entry of glucose into muscle cells without the use of insulin. Also, they claim that it almost completely inhibits the lipogenic effects of insulin.
If a supplement could do these things then it would be a worthwhile investment. I personally haven’t tried the product and I will never recommend a product that I personally haven’t seen to work myself. This is how I will keep the integrity of this site.
Rob, it may be worth trying for yourself but it’s your choice. If you do, be sure to get in touch and let me know how it goes.
If I decide to try it, I’ll let you guys know.
Thanks,
Mark
Hey Mark,
The link below is for embedding a video into pdf. Good luck
https://www.totalwebvideo.com/pdfmedia/
Thanks for your help Nguyen!
Mark
Mark,
Thanks for the quick and honest reply. I definitely appreciate your response and your commitment to maintaining the integrity of this site…nothing is more important. I’m sticking with MANS Diet for now. If I add Anabolic-Pump into the mix, I’ll send along my thoughts.
A forum sounds great. Unfortunately, as far as I know, checking for RSS subscription when joining the forum is not possible.
i’d like to see some “perfect form” videos from you – literally showing the ‘perfect form’ for an exercise (curls, pushups, whatever) – there are so many ways to do basic exercises that beginners get lost (e.g. shoulder blades back, or up? hands under shoulders or out a bit on pushups?)
Hi Dave.
They’re on their way buddy.
Mark
Mark,
I just found your site today, and I plan on starting tomorrow using your ebook. I am very new to weight lifting. I always had commitment issues with workout plans; they always made me work out 2-3 hours a day and never included a diet plan. I believe a daily log will help me see my progress, and keep me from losing interest and giving up.
As far as a forum goes, I installed phpBB and mySQL back in college and used to run my own forum. I highly recommend it since it is simple to use and very popular. My work schedule is very volatile, but I am interested in helping moderate the forum when I have the time since I do have a technical background .
Check this site to see if your host supports these features:
https://www.phpbb.com/support/documentation/3.0/quickstart/quick_requirements.php
Another “benefit” a forum may add to your blog is commitment with beginners. I believe that beginners (like me) who are going to ask questions, post progress, and learn will more than likely stay committed to the plan. Also, online peers may encourage friendly competition.
Like Nguyen stated. I do not know of a way for the forum to automatically check for subscription. Member access can be controlled by the administrator and/or moderators by email. Currently in phpBB, the moderators can verify the account once they get the automatic email when someone tries to create a forum account and checking to see if their email is in the subscription list. There may be a more efficient way. I’ll try to look into it.
In conclusion, a forum will make your blog more efficient than standard comment posting.
~Mark (It is a great name isn’t it?)
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the great advice.
I’ll add your name to the list of potential mods and keep you posted.
By the 2-3 hours a day workouts are ridiculous and counter-productive. I hope you enjoy the MuscleHack workout plan a lot more.
Thanks,
Mark
Mark, great website, great idea, and I would defintely be interested in checking out the forum. I’m in the second week of the M.A.N.S diet as well as your work out plan. Week one was a little tough since I really never realized how many carbs I consumed until I started on this! I stuck to the 30g or less and did the overload from Friday at 6pm to Saturday at midnight. I did a lot of reserach on this way of eating / working out and I’d figure I would give this a shot for a while. I don’t really consider myself to be a typical “bodybuilder” rather more of an athlete who wants to build more muscle, lose some fat to get to the 10% body fat level, have fun while doing it and also be healthy. I consider myself extremely deicated, disciplined, and goal oriented which is why I think this plan will work for me. Your right, I think there is a lot of bad advice out there on pre & post workout carbs.
I do have a couple of questions which is why I think a forum would be awesome. I think in order to truly be successfull in this way of eating /living you need to speak with other people at different phases i.e. get some feedback / direction since there can be a lot of quesitons. Can’t wait to hear the details on the forum.
Ryan
Hi Ryan,
Good to hear you’re making progress. Once I get my book finished I can give more time on getting the forum up and running.
That’s what I like about the idea too, the help that you can get from a community.
Cheers,
Mark
Mark, thanks, I do have two quick questions since it might be a while before you start the forum. One, I know that cardio is not part of your routine that you post however I’m assuming I could add a couple of cardio minutes to one of the days without effecting the muscle gains too much? Two, I’m assuming it’s alright to decrease the fat intake a little after the first week but continue to maintian the same protein levels in order to not lose any muscle mass? I have been staying within the percentages, protein, fat & carbs but wasn’t sure when I could decrease the fat if I thought I needed to.
Thanks
Ryan
Ryan,
Just keep the cardio sessions very short.
If the main goal is to lose fat this is fine Ryan, keep carbs low as well and protein consistently high.
Mark
Mark,
I agree with Mark about PHPBB. I’ve seen it work elsewhere nicely. I’ve never had any back-end experience with it (haven’t touched PHP for 3 years), but from what I’ve heard, it’s good stuff.
Also, I’m quite interested in seeing your take on a glycemic index diet, as I’m a big fan of whole grains. I’ve been doing the MANS diet now for 5 weeks, and have seen *some* gains…but nothing earth-shattering (i.e. 1/4″ more on the chest). I may just not be eating as much as I should, as I have made it a long-term habit of not eating until I’m stuffed. I eat until I’m comfortable, and only start when I’m hungry. Should I be switching that up some? Eat, hungry or not, then eat until I’m stuffed? It might be the only way that I can see to get the calories in, if that’s what my problem is. *shrug* And, of course, I didn’t know about the whole beef thing until 2 weeks ago…up until then, my meat intake was primarily fish and chicken. At least I *am* gaining now, after about 6 months of getting -nada-; and my overall weight has stayed about the same (low 180’s).
Ok, enough of my life story. 😉
Hello Mark,
I have been on the MANS plan for about 3 months now.
I’ve seen some great results.
I think your ideas for the future of MH are really great thus far,
and I’m here to help with anything I can.
I have a good amount of technical knowledge, so your free to email me if you’re ever stuck in a rut.
As for the sections in the forums, a few ideas are:
-A section on Proper Form, (where people could discuss your upcoming form videos and put a bit of their own input into it).
-A section about progress and success stories/pictures (mostly for motivation)
-Also a section on Diet would be greatly welcome (the MANS diet, and other diets like the upcoming GLAD diet)
One more thing I nearly forgot. I am a very skinny guy, about 135-140 generally, and 6 foot. Also i’m about 2% body fat. I don’t know if i should continue the MANS strategy exactly (fat during week, carb-up during weekend) or should i just keep both consistently high? I surely need to gain some weight however. Preferably muscle.
Thanks
Your friend,
Ramin
@ Andrew. On a low carb bodybuilding diet, you need to eat BIG – really BIG. I can’t stress that enough. Low carb is satiating and you can be tricked into thinking you’ve ate enough when you haven’t so eat like you’ve never ate before. That’s why I did the post on the monster protein shake. Don’t be afraid to go a little nuts at the weekend too when carbing up.
@ Ramin. I appreciate the offer Ramin, I’ll keep your email address. Yes a section on exercise execution might be beneficial. The diet section is on its way for sure. I like the pictures section idea. If I don’t get that up right away, it’ll be in the works for the future. Ramin I’m going to do a post soon on a mid-week carb-up for skinny guys but for now just start carbing from around 4-5pm on Wednesdays until you go to bed. You can also experiment with the GLAD diet when I get it done, it’s higher carbs but only those carbs that have a minimal impact on blood sugar. You may be very well suited to it.
Cheers guys,
Mark
Hi Mark,
First off, excellent site you have here. I used to work out religiously, then kind of got sidetracked after an injury.
I started searching the web for interesting bodybuilding articles, and found your site. Sure glad I did.
I think your MANS diet is very intriguing, and I plan to implement some of your suggestions into my daily routine.
My 1 question is this: Where can I find a list of High protein/Fat foods that aren’t processed? I’m having a hard time finding natural foods to add to my diet.
Thanks!
Hi Tarek. I just answered a very similar question via email so I’ll include some of that email here.
As far as food ideas goes I would advise a high-protein breakfast. Nothing beats eggs for this.
Your main meal should be meat and veggies. Then you have your post-workout shake, so there’s maybe another 2 or 3 meals throughout the day you need to plan for.
A leafy salad is always a good idea (with caesar dressing, mayo, balsamic vinegar).
Home made protein bar which is just whey protein, natural peanut butter and a tiny bit of cream (splenda to sweeten).
Sometimes I just grab a big bag of chicken drumsticks (not breaded but flavored) for a daytime snack from local supermarket
Beef Jerky
String Cheese or just some cheese cut into cubes with a cup of coffee 🙂
Nuts
Whipped cream sweetened (add some chocolate flavored whey to taste)
BIG protein shake https://musclehack.com/monster-whey-protein-shake-recipe/
Here’s a list of foods,
tuna
chicken
prawns
beef
salmon
turkey
clams
pork
sole
duck
squid
lamb
trout
goose
shrimp
veal
crabmeat
ham
sardines
quail
venison
devilled eggs
herring
pheasant
omelettes
Here’s some good veggies
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Celeriac (celery root)
Onion
Salad Veggies
mushrooms
lettuce
tomato
peppers
cucumber
celery
Youtube is good for finding low carb recipes too.
Hope all that helps Tarik,
Mark
Bro, found your site last night. Honestly, I havent had the time to throughly go through the whole thing yet, but it took about two minutes to understand that you are sharing your experiences with us as a service to the individuals that are serious about their health. Thanks. I am 40 years old and have drifted in and out of the fitness world most of those years simply because I seem to always hook up with the lastest fad that never lives up to the hype. This past year I recommitted myself to fitness and have made monumental gains with the goals that I set. As your experience shows I too found myself wading through the BS, wasting time, but have achieved a forty lbs weight loss in a healthy manner. Im in the early stages of rebuilding my body to fit the physical demands that working in a prison dictates. I think that your site will be the catalyst that helps me dodge the plateaus and achieve my goals efficiently. As for the future of this site, I truly hope that a forum is in the future as everyone has millions of questions. I have a computer geek friend that I will see this weekend that I will pick his brain for info that might help in making this a reality. Sorry for the long blog, but thanks for the straight dope that I have seen so far. A question, may be out of your area of expertise but here goes….I have a competition at work the first week of june. The physical fitness test consists of two minutes of pushups, two minutes of sit ups and a mile and a half run. Presently my pushups are in the 100-110 range and the situps are about the same(Im please with that, by the way im 6ft 185) The problem is my run, while my time is somewhat respectable around ten minutes, I struggle with the first mile. I seem to really bog down out of the gate and lose alot of time in the first mile, after that the proverbial second wind kicks in and I can run forever. Any ideas on how I can overcome this obstacle? I would like to be around 830 for the mile and a half. My legs feel fine its just I cant seem to get my breathing in check fast enough. Peace.
Thanks Mark for the great resources.
Stumbled!
Hi Allen,
Comments like that make my day, thanks.
I hope this site serves you well and I know you’ll get your body into the shape you desire.
40 lbs down, that’s fantastic – congratulations!
Work on the forum will commence soon and I’ll be glad of any help I can get quite frankly as I’m not a technical in the slightest.
You’re doing great on the sit-ups and push-ups but as you suspected I’m not an expert in running and stamina. There’s a marathon-running guy at youtube I know. I’m sure he’d be glad to help you, go here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/bowulf
Tell him MuscleHack sent you.
Glad you like the site Allen,
Mark