Getting good sleep is one of the most important things we can do, not just for muscle building and fat loss but for our mood, energy levels, and overall health.

Sleep is when our body is able to recover and repair cells, a lack of it even affects our aging process, speeding it up internally, as well as visibly causing wrinkles and sagging skin.

During the first few hours of deep sleep is when many hormones, including growth hormone and IGF (major fat-burning hormone) are released.

Getting enough sleep also helps to keep cortisol levels lower and balance estrogen, testosterone, progesterone and thyroid.

So if we want a lean, toned or muscled body, then we need deep sleep every night for full recovery, muscle building, natural fat loss and hormonal balance.

Yet a third of Americans get poor sleep, and those with the worst sleep generally have poor health.

So what causes this and what can we do to not only get better, deeper, more refreshing sleep, but also to reverse the effects of poor sleep?

Let’s dive in and see.

If we want to build and keep lean muscle, or have a lean, toned, and shaped body without the excess body fat, there are key hormones we need to look at:

Cortisol is our stress hormone, released in times of physical or mental stress. It's necessary, but when it goes too high it acts to break down the muscle we do have, prevent or slow new muscle gain, and create and hold onto body fat.

Estrogen and Insulin also play a large role here. 

On the other side we have Growth Hormone, Testosterone, and IGF, Hormones that act to repair muscle, bone, ligaments, etc, build lean muscle, burn excess body fat, and shape our body in both men and women.

But cortisol, estrogen, and insulin work on a sort of seesaw-reaction basis with growth hormone, testosterone, and IGF. 

Raise one side and the other side lowers, and vice versa.

Increase cortisol and we decrease testosterone and growth hormone levels, causing fat gain, preventing muscle gain, and even breaking down the muscle we do have. 

But raise testosterone and growth hormone and we lower cortisol, estrogen and insulin levels.

So while we've covered how to prevent cortisol, estrogen, and insulin from going too high in the above linked articles, in this article we cover how to increase levels of growth hormone, testosterone and IGF.

Let's dive in.

Those are some big claims in that title.

And how could they be true when we have statements like:

“BCAAs stimulate the building of protein in muscle and possibly reduce muscle breakdown.”

“Valine is needed for your muscle fibers to fire, for tissue repair, and for the maintenance of proper nitrogen balance in the body.”

“Leucine stimulates muscle protein synthesis and may be the dominant fuel involved in anabolic (tissue building) reactions.”

Well, unfortunately, the claims in the title of this article are true.

They come from research studies done on BCAAs, while the above quoted statements come from marketers.

BCAAs, or Branched Chain Amino Acids, taken on their own regularly and over time, can have a significant effect on body fat creation, muscle gain reduction, kidney trouble, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity.

And it's becoming quite a problem. Just google "BCAAs side effects" or "BCAAs and Type 2 Diabetes" and you'll find much more than you wanted to.

But how can they say these things and how does this all work?

Let's dig in and see.

When we look at Lean Bulking, building lean muscle without the excess body fat, we need to look back at what the original body builders did, the golden age body builders.

Because it was very different to what is done now.

And I'm not talking about the 70s or 80s when counting macros and Bulking & Cutting became popular.

We're going earlier.

To the time of Jack LaLanne and the other greats, before egg protein powders, whey powders, creatine, and BCAAs were first introduced.

Back then body builders ate very differently. But very effectively.

As we enter Week Two, cravings for junk food or processed sugars should be lowering or gone.

And you may not have added much in the way of muscle yet.

That’s fine, you’ve just started and it will come. Right now we’re dialing things in and balancing hormones for muscle building and body fat regulation.

You also may have found it hard to eat all of the natural proteins on the protocol. But this protein is necessary.

Building muscle is about injuring our muscles by putting more pressure on them than they’re used to so they’ll be forced to not only heal, but grow to accommodate the new levels of stress we’ve put on them.

It takes about 90g of pure protein to build a pound of muscle. Most of the rest is fat and water. A pound of muscle is about the size of a tangerine, so even one pound is noticeable if in the right places.

So we need to make sure we’re getting enough protein to not only heal and maintain the muscle we do have, but add to it.

If you’re having trouble getting in all the protein, first, make sure you’re taking your digestive enzymes. Most people’s digestive tracts are not set up to fully digest natural proteins anymore due to our diets. But this prevents us from getting the nutrition we need from this food.

Here we cover the specific supplements and macronutrient you will be consuming during this protocol and exactly how.

This protocol is meant for significantly increased lean muscle, so the macros may seem high to some. 

But it's also meant to be used with the Advanced Workout Regimen, so the macros will be used by our body.

There are three different macronutrient ranges to pick from depending on which Carb to Fat ratio you personally prefer, with notes on each.

There is also an exact way in which you will dial in your macros to ensure you are getting the correct amount for what your body needs.

Let's start.

Here we cover the exact supplements and macronutrient you will be consuming during this protocol and exactly how.

There are three different macronutrient ranges to pick from depending which Carb to Fat ratio you personally prefer, with notes on each.

There is also an exact way in which you will dial in your macros to ensure you are getting enough for what your body needs.

Let's start.

Here we cover the exact supplements and macronutrient you will be consuming during this protocol and exactly how.

There are three different macronutrient ranges to pick from, depending on which Carb to Fat ratio you personally prefer, with notes on each.

There is also an exact way in which you will dial in your macros to ensure you are getting enough for what your body needs.

On this protocol you will be lifting 5 days per week.

As this protocol is very specific to building lean muscle and toning, there will mainly be weight lifting.

There will also be something called Zone 2 Cardio, which will not cause muscle loss, but other than that there is no cardio during this challenge.

If you would like to take a walk, that’s fine. But adding in other forms of cardio could hamper your progress.

And it’s only 30 days.

Okay, let’s run through a few key points and then jump into the workouts.

On this protocol you will be lifting 5-6 days per week.

As this protocol is very specific to building lean muscle and toning, there will mainly be weight lifting.

There will also be something called Zone 2 Cardio, which will not cause muscle loss, but other than that there is no cardio during this challenge unless you have extra energy for Day 6.

But if you really want to build muscle, extra cardio is not recommended.

If you would like to take a walk, that’s fine. But adding in other forms of cardio could hamper your progress.

And it’s only 30 days.

Okay, let’s run through a few key points and then jump into the workouts.

Bulking and Cutting has been around for decades now.

We work out hard, we count our macros, and eat and eat and eat.

And we build lots of muscle.

But at the same time that we’re building muscle, we also build body fat. And we build each at about the same rate, a pound of muscle for a pound of fat.

Then we do a cut, cutting back on our calories, and in some cases starving ourselves (which is never necessary), and do a lot of extra cardio — running, biking, sprints, etc. — all to lose that extra body fat we gained.

And hopefully we don’t lose too much of our muscle gains in the process.

Now, I have no problem if someone enjoys that. Many people do. But many others don’t.

And the thing is, it isn’t necessary.

At all.

If you’d like to build lean muscle without the excess body fat, either to build significant muscle or just to tone your body, and all while raising your overall health, energy levels and mood, then the Lean Body/Lean Bulk Protocol is for you.