PrecisionNutrition.com
interviews Justin Harris

Coach Mike: Justin, welcome to the Precision Nutrition forums. Before we start hitting you with questions, how about briefly telling us a bit about you.
My name is Justin Harris, owner of Troponin Nutrition. I'm a competitive bodybuilder, winning the Overall at the 2004 Mr. Michigan and the Superheavyweight class at the 2006 Jr. USA's. I'm also a powerlifter, winning "Best Lifter" at the 2007 APF Michigan powerlifting championships, totaling 2,149lbs for an Elite Classification.

Coach Mike: Now looking at all the top nutrition gurus, the common denominator for fat loss or weight control, appears to be managing insulin. Precision Nutrition successfully uses nutrient timing and Poliquin is big on carb deprivation with judicious use of glutamine over PWO carbs and insulin sensetizing agents ( R-ALA, Fenugreek, etc.).
I know you've been quite successful with CARB CYCLING. Tell us about it.
For the most part, I utilize a higher protein intake and a lower carbohydrate intake than I do in the off-season. Protein and carbohydrate intake should vary inversely to each other. The more protein you eat, the less carbohydrates you'll need since much of that protein will be converted to glucose by the body.
Conversely, the more carbohydrates you eat the less protein you'll need as carbohydrates, and more specifically the insulin secretion caused by the carbohydrates, is very anti-catabolic and protein sparing.
But, insulin also blunts fat loss by decreasing the amount of fatty acids shuttled to the mitochondria to be oxidized, so carbohydrate manipulation becomes more important when attempting to shed body fat.
The vast majority of my diets are set up in a carbohydrate cycling approach, where the amount of carbs ingested will vary each day. Some days will see carbohydrate intake be very high — some clients as high as 1,500 grams in a day. Then, some days will be very low and other days will be in a more moderate range.
We utlize the lower carbohydrate days to increase the potential for fat burning by decreasing insulin levels. These days will have higher protein and essential fatty acid content. A by-product of the low carbohydate intake will be depleted glycogen stores. A superheavyweight bodybuilder will be able to store upwards of 1,000g of glycogen in the body. That is 4,000 calories of variance just from carbohydrates.
The problem with lower carb/calorie intake is the body's fight for homeostasis. Eventually your body lowers its metabolic rate to a level concurrent with your calorie intake. To fight against this, we utilize high and medium carbohydrate days.
The high carbohydrate days restore the lost muscle glycogen (which in large bodybuilders allows for a LOT of calories from carbohydrates without additional fat storage). The elevated insulin from the carbohydrates also lowers the risk of protein catabolism. The insulin also promotes protein synthesis.
When utilized properly, our high carbohydrate days can still be "growth" days even deep into a contest prep.
The medium carbohydrate days are a day that allows for fat loss, without the extreme calorie reduction of the low carbohydrate days. This is another aid for maintaining a high metabolism.

Coach Mike: I've followed Dave Tate's journals over at elitefts.com as he got ripped under the tutelage of Dr. Berardi, Dr. Serrano and most recently yourself. Dave, like many of us always seemed to find compliance a real issue. Tell us about your own experience with Dave.
Dave was much more compliant than I had expected. In fact, Dave never mentioned deviating from the diet the entire time. One of the things I do is include very high carbohydrate intake days when possible, as well as cheat meals when possible.
Dave had a carb day each week termed a "mega-high day" where his carb intake was over 1,000g of carbs, with up to 1/2 coming from sources containing high amounts of sugar. His only rule was to avoid fat as much as possible.
We also utlized cheat meals quite frequently. These two "reliefs" from the diet allowed him to remain focused each week knowing a day of enjoying food was never too far off.
Dave is also a very large man. This allows him to eat a very high calorie amount. Eating the amount of food he is able to with his LBM will help make hunger a minimal side-effect.

Coach Mike: Many of our forum members are in a battle to go from scrawny to brawny. They fear cardio will negate their strength and muscular gains. Could you tell us about your own training ?
My current training is primarily geared towards powerlifting as I'm planning on a few powerlifting meets in 2008. As a 130lb High School junior, I know a little bit about starting out scrawny.
Cardio can actually be an effective tool at increasing appetite. Cardio creates some anabolic advantages, provided you ingest the proper nutrients afterwards.
Cardio lowers blood amino and blood sugar levels. It also oxidizes fatty acids. The usage of blood aminos will facilitate a release of muscle and liver glycogen to be used as energy as well.
This creates the situation where, after cardio, the body is looking to store glycogen, is sensitive to insulin, and had a desire to restore blood amino levels. By providing essential amino acids and carbohydrates after cardio, the elevated insulin will promote protein synthesis and there will be lower likelyhood that the carbohydrates will be converted to triglycerides and later fatty acids, as the carbohydrates will be predisposed to replacing the lost glyocgen stores.
Any EPOC created by the cardio will help minimize fat gain throughout the remainder of the day as well.

Coach Mike: So your advice for the "Hard gainer" ?
Stop pigeonholing yourself as a hard gainer. Hard gaining means slower/smaller gains. Believing that fact is a set up for failure. I bought into that term when I started out too. Unfotunately all it did was give myself a convienient excuse for why I wasn't growing at the rate I wanted.
Everyone is a hard gainer. You just don't add muscle at extreme rates. If you started out at 15 years old and 150lbs, and converted just 10 GRAMS of protein to new muscle each day. (10 grams out of the 100's that you eat) You would be almost 400lbs of pure shredded mass in your mid 30's.
Obviously, there are no contest ready 400lb bodybuilders, so it is safe to assume that even the "easiest gainers" out there are converting much less than 10g of protein to new muscle each day.
The advice for hard gainers is to be diligent and consistent. Creating the potential for even 1 additional gram of protein to be converted to muscle protein each day will amount to MASSIVE gains over time.

Coach Mike: I've thoroughly enjoyed my recent transition to Dante Trudel's DC training . Are you still a proponent of it yourself ? Times when you would not recommend it ?
I still utilize many aspects of DC training, even when preparing for a powerlifting meet. When training for bodybuilding, DC training is my favorite training program.
I would recommend it to anyone looking to add muscle size. The routine focuses on heavy, intense training with big eating and extreme stretching. These are all elements that promote anabolism.
DC breaks it down to what works. HARD training, HEAVY lifting, BIG eating....and it IS that simple.

Coach Mike: I understand you and Dante will be releasing your lines of supplements for bodybuilders and powerlifters through trueprotein.com. Care to tell us about them ?
We are hoping to release our "Static Strength" line of supplements early in 2008.
These products will be 100% devoted to improving performance. These won't be about looking pretty, getting a pump, or any superficial effects. Static Strength will increase performance. Period.
The first product will be called LEVERAGE:
Leverage will contain every ingredient available to increase strength and endurance for weight training.
Our formula contains two products that have never been used in a supplement. These products have shown amazing effects in studies, and how they've been missed is beyond me.
They're so under-used that writing the chemical name into a google search will yeild no results. I'm incredibly excited about getting them out to the public.
Another product will be called HYSTERIA:
Hysteria will be a pre-workout stimulant/mental focus product. The ingredients in this products are also rare and un-used in the supplement industry. I've supplied beta samples to a few clients, and one of our sponsored athletes, and they've been amazed.
In fact, one sponsored athlete Tim Hensely used Leverage and Hysteria to break the all-time AAPF Michigan 198lb bench record.....as a 181lb competitor. Tim just decided to do the meet to try out the products. He moved up a weight class to avoid the worry of making weight, and still set the all time record.
We have a few other products, including a night-time growth formula called ACQUIESCE and a pre/during/post workout nutrient formula.
The main problem with production has been the rarity of these ingredients. They're just not ingredients you have available at your warehouse. And, we've been finding that they're not just available at major chemical manufacture plants either. We're currently looking for Chemical manufacurers to produce these products solely for our supplements.
We also have plans for a Troponin Foods line of products later this year, as well as an MMA product division through Myosci Technologies.

Coach Mike: And for those that hope supplements will counter poor nutrition?
It's a wonderful hope, but it won't provide any benefit. Nutrition is the most important aspect of physique alteration. I could spend a lot of time trying to show why, but it shouldn't be an issue. Everyone at the gym is doing the same exercises. Most are doing the same routine. The reason some look like bodybuilders and some look like they don't even workout is nutrition, plain and simple.

Coach Mike: And in your experience, the most common dietary blunders by those wanting to achieve optimal fat loss or muscle gain ?
Believing that the extreme will be the best route. I can't tell you how many people I've had tell me they were just going to eat chicken breasts and lettuce until they're shredded. Or conversely, how many people believe that you have to eat whole large pizzas by the hour to add muscle.
It's just not that way. It is about consistency. Consistant focus and diligence on the main aspects of training and nutrition over time is what gets results.
I tell people it is like creating a diamond. A diamond starts out as a lump of coal, and after millions of years and millions of tons of pressure....the coal becomes a diamond.
Our bodies are the same way. We start out as a lump of coal, but with constant pressure and enough time, you can create a diamond.

Coach Mike: Many people site work and family obligations as the reason for their lack of gains or ability to commit and comply to a program. Tell us about your typical day
My kids get me up abou 7:30. I get the little one a new diaper, get her dressed and comb her hair.
By then our 2 year old is wandering around. I get her dressed, comb her hair, and head to the kitchen. I make them breakfast, and why they're eating, I try to get my breakfast going.
After they finish, I clean up, throw down the rest of my food and get dressed for the gym. By that time it is usually about 8:45/9:00. I take them to Day Care and get to the gym about 9:30. I train from 9:30 until 10:30. From there I head back home and pack up my food for work. I shower, get dressed, and try to answer as many emails as I can by 11:30. I then leave for work, where I stay until 9pm. I get home about 9:45 or so, and my wife and I begin preparing my food for the next day. We're done about 10:30 or so. Depending on the day, we have up to 3 hours of packaging to do for the business. If there are a lot of clothing orders, we have to make them at that time (we have a clothing printing set up at our home).
By then it is pretty late and my wife has to study (she'll be a Dentist in 18 months). I try to get work done on the books I have planned, or complete interviews such as this at that time. We're in bed by 12:30 (my wife is often later....and also out the door at 6am for 7am classes).
I work full time at one of the top Cardiovascular hospitals in the US. I also run www.TroponinNutrition.com where I have 6 nutritionists. I get over 100 emails a day, and am my own shipping and receiving for the business. My wife is in medical school to become a Dental surgeon. We have two children aged 13 months and 2.5 years.
While I understand the difficulty in having a family and job while still improving your physique, believing you can't achieve your physique goals is a convienient cop out.

Coach Mike: Does your diet and training advice differ greatly for women and men ?
I rotate carbohydrates for both men and women. Women require much less calories than men, which is the biggest difference.
In the offseason, I'm more caring to include higher essential fatty acids for hormone production in men.
Other than those differences, the carb rotation approach works for anyone with a human physiology. lol

Coach Mike: I thoroughly enjoyed your Detroit workshop this past fall. You provided so much depth of discussion in training and nutrition, I had bad writer's cramp by mid-afternoon. I feel all you offered to be a wonderful adjunct to the tenets of the Precision Nutrition methods.
For those wanting to purchase your seminar on DVD or your new book, "Comprehensive Performance Nutrition", where should they tune in ?
You can get my book "Comprehensive Perfomance Nutrition," my DVD "Project Superheavyweight," my Seminar DVD, Troponin Nutrition clothing, and all your diet advice needs at www.TroponinNutrition.com.
You can also get any of our products, as well as ask me direct questions, at www.EliteFTS.com.

Coach Mike: My thanks for taking the time to share with us Justin. Any parting thoughts or comments ?
Thank you very much for the interview, and thanks for always keeping me on my toes with your questions and insight with nutrition.