The 1-2-3 Health Protocol

The 1-2-3 Health Protocol ________________ Day 1 Lifting Day Focus on bodybuilding and hypertrophy training. No carbs until 1 hour before workout, eat pre-workout rice cakes, coconut oil, and jam along with a protein shake. Post-workout switch to a protein only diet. Workout spikes muscle protein synthesis, so avoid carbs/insulin after to stay in that state. Use a 6-8 hour eating window to enhance intermittent fasting. * 3-5 working sets per exercise * 3-4 working exercises per major muscle group Day 2 HIIT Plus Lifting Day Start with a HIIT workout first thing in the morning, fasted. Follow a rounds-based system - e.g. 15 sec sprint, 45 sec rest. Build over time from an initial 5 rounds. Can use bike, rower, ropes, stairs, etc. Just don't do sprints, that way you can avoid injury. Follow later in the day with a lifting session. Diet-wise, same approach as Day 1. Can have some pre-workout carbs if needed for energy. * 3-5 working sets per exercise * 3-4 working exercises per major muscle group Day 3 Low Intensity Plus Refeed Day Start off with steady state low intensity cardio for 45-90 min, keeping heart rate ~140 BPM. Walking or equivalent. Follow with a high carb refeed diet for the remainder of the day, focusing on healthy clean carbs. Increase carbs significantly, potentially 2-3x above baseline. Let your periodic higher intake fuel muscle growth and faster fat loss. Includes carbs sources like rice, sweet potatoes, oats. Still get some protein too, aiming for about 80% carbs. ________________ That completes the 3-day cycle. As you progress, scale up portions of the workouts that suit your goals. Add additional rounds on the HIIT days or extend the duration on the low intensity days. Listen to your body and track progress in terms of energy, muscle gain, fat loss etc. Adjust nutrition to fuel your work capacity. Diet Recommendations Protein Intake Set protein goals relative to your target weight. Recommendation is goal weight + 25g per day. Spread across 3-4 meals ideally. Carb Intake Limit carbs significantly on lifting days and HIIT days, focusing intake pre-workout only. Get 50-85g pre-workout with some direct sugar/dextrose/glucose to spike insulin along with protein and fat. Avoid all other carb times to stay insulin sensitive. On low intensity days, carb intake can vary based on individual needs but start around 2-3x normal baseline (e.g. 250g) and scale up from there if performance and body comp goals are being met. Focus on healthy clean carbs from whole food sources. Fat Intake Fats help provide energy on restricted carb days and aid satiety. Intake can vary based on needs and goals but a reasonable starting point is around 80 grams up to 140 grams. Additional Supplements * Creatine monohydrate can help provide energy, boost performance, and drive muscle protein synthesis. Consume 3-5g daily. Can add other supplements like beta alanine, citrulline, and caffeine for workout performance. * Peri-workout nutrition includes essential amino acids during training, then quickly getting in a whey protein shake with leucine post-workout to maximize MPS response.