David
Henry's pro debut at the 2004 Ironman Pro Invitational
should leave no doubt that smaller bodybuilders can grow
into top pros. Henry earned his pro card at the NPC Nationals
in November 2002 at a bodyweight of 167. Fifteen months
later, he was a ripped 190 at the Ironman, where he finished
sixth behind five bodybuilders who all have at least one
Olympia appearance under their belts.
"I'm a hardgainer, so finding the right nutrition
strategy was the key to adding mass," Henry says.
He also says that his diet strategy will work for other
hardgainers. The key to Henry's success? "Every weekend,
I eat nearly 7,000 calories a day. On weekdays, I follow
a basic bodybuilding diet of about 3,000 to 4,000 calories
a day."
Doubling
the amount of calories gives Henry's body an overload
of energy, helping it to grow without adding excess bodyfat.
"When I compete, I'm at around 3% bodyfat, but when
I was trying to grow in the offseason, I only went up
to about 7%. That's still pretty low, but I was able to
add more than 20 pounds of muscle in a little over a year."
He attributes this to the metabolic confusion that the
high-calorie days create. When you change up the amount
of calories you normally consume, your body burns bodyfat
more effectively while adding muscle mass.
Henry says that the quantity of calories consumed is every
bit as important as the quality, especially for hardgainers.
"Guys who have trouble adding size are often eating
only chicken breast, yams and broccoli, and it's hard
to get in enough calories to really grow. If that's what
you're doing and you're not adding the muscle you want,
then you need to make some adjustments." He adds
that it's important to take in at least a gram of protein
per pound of bodyweight each day, on both high- and moderate-calorie
days. On high-calorie days, include some cheat foods to
make certain you hit your caloric target. "I'm not
saying you should eat Twinkies, but you can eat foods
like burgers and pizza on high-calorie days. These foods
have plenty of protein and the calories you need to pack
on quality size."
If you're a hardgainer who wants to grow and stay lean,
try adapting Henry's plan to your own needs. For five
days a week, eat up to 10% more calories than you require
for maintenance. For example, if you need 3,000 calories
a day to maintain your current weight, try to get in 3,300
a day, making sure that you consume at least a gram of
protein per pound of bodyweight. On the weekends, increase
caloric intake to about double what you need for maintenance
(6,000 in this example). Try this for about eight weeks,
and see how your body responds. If you're adding too much
bodyfat, scale back your daily calorie consumption and
include a couple of moderate cardio sessions a week.
BY STEVE STIEFEL