In all my coaching systems and many articles on my site, I regularly refer to the process of transforming into a wow physique by “climbing a ladder step by step”.

Here I want to explain as to WHAT exactly I mean by that.

Now, many people think they are starting to climb the ladder and start transforming, and they actually start doing rather great, but then stuff starts happening…things like: getting sick regularly, tendon/joint injury or other serious injury or they lose hope because they just cannot put on muscle no matter how hard they train and some just cannot lose fat no matter how hard they diet.

This is when the train stops and they get off the ladder.

Not because it was not possible but because they LACK knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE in terms off:

1. You CANNOT lose fat if the calories are too low…then your body enters famine mode and you WILL lose all your hard earned muscle first before it uses the fat – no matter how HARD you train! There is a sweet spot with calories where the body use fat for energy and keep muscles safe. You need to find it. (In my SYSTEMS I and II this is covered).
2. You CANNOT build muscle if: caloric intake too low, body fat too low or you do too much cardio!
3. You WILL get sick regularly if you continue pounding your body week after week, month after month, in the wrong fashion and you do not use certain basic health supporting supplements.
4. You WILL run into serious tendon and joint issues if you do not alternate every 3 months between BUILDING and CUTTING phases to allow healing and strengthening.

All of these are covered in detail in my COACHING SYSTEMS (https://gertlouw.com/contact-me), but the bottom line which brings all these together are a continuous alternating between a 3 month CUTTING PHASE and a 3 monthly BUILDING phase.

Each Phase has its own specific training methodology and specific type diet.

The two phases are vastly different and by continuously alternating between them, you allow your body every 3 months to go through a process off:

1. Loosing max fat while protecting muscles in Cutting Phase.
2. Building max muscle at slightly higher body fat levels in the Building Phase.
3. Allowing your body to be fed correctly for your exact goal and training methodology for each phase.
4. Allowing tendons and joints to strengthen and recover regularly in Cutting Phase.
5. Allowing the body a balanced and healthy approach preventing sickness and injury by not overtraining and stressing the body and immune system.

These 2 phases hold the KEY to climbing the ladder. One step on the ladder = 1 BP (Building phase) + 1 CP (Cutting Phase). After each step you will be able to see a significant difference in shape and size. THIS is how you climb up the ladder.

Look at the following graph showing the BODY FAT variation during the phases

This is what your body fat will do when sticking to my SYSTEM I or II training that incorporates these principles (BP = Building Phase, CP = Cutting Phase):

Every BP1 + CP1 covers a 6 month period. At the end of each of the cutting phases your body fat is lower and lower till typically after a 3 year period you reach crazy levels like 5% body fat.

 

Let’s look what your muscle size will do when alternating between the phases:

At the end of each of the cutting phases your body weight is higher than after the previous cutting phase. That COUPLED with the fact that the body fat is lower after each Cutting Phase compared to the previous cutting phase makes a HUGE difference on how the body looks and the amount of lean mass you are carrying.

THIS (!) is how you climb the ladder…not after one cutting phase or one building phase but after various of these phases. Stopping with the process simply mean you stop climbing the ladder.

Simply put – After each Building Phase your muscle weight is higher at lower body fat levels, and during the Cutting Phase you show your results, keeping that muscles safe and dropping the body fat on each Cutting Phase lower and lower than in the previous Cutting Phases until after a few years you look back and say…”WOW!”

Wish you all happy training!

Cheers – Gert Louw