Connection between diet and strength training

The connection between diet and strength training is absolutely undeniable.  If a client does not eat well it will manifest in their strength training within 90 days, less if the person is older than 30 and already overweight/de-conditioned.  What happens is this:  Client experiences progress without fixing their diet.  The progress is a product of them having a "beginners body", a body that is unaccustomed to strength training.  Their nervous system gets used to the moderate intensity of strength training and they do develop some new muscular strength.  So the person gains some strength, sees some new muscle developing and gets excited.  They think this can continue w/o proper diet so they don't make the necessary nutritional changes.    Somewhere between day 30 and day 90 this progress stops, the body can no longer grow due to poor diet.  I believe a person can be overtrained even if they are not actually training too often/too strenuously.  I have seen it a few times this past year.   A person seems to be doing well initially but the stress of their diet puts them in an overtrained state due to poor nutrition.  You can identify these folks easily because their strength gains will stop and you will find them often yawning in the middle of a session.  This is why most programs are "90 days", this seems to be the limit to how long a person can train with any level of intensity w/o modifying ther diet and lifestyle.

I am convinced that many of these people find themselves attracted to cardio/conditioning/endurance work because this work is often untracked and non-progressive. You can just mindlessly bang out the miles and get the "feel-good" sensation of endorphins and cortisol running through the body I believe there is no better proof than can be found in mid-level marathoners/triathletes (not high-level, these folks usually understand nutrition).  If you look closely at a mid-level biker, runner, swimmer, they all carry certain  physical traits, mainly excessive bellyfat.  So a person can be "in shape", have the ability  to do long duration medium intensity exercise, but are most likely experiencing degenerative health conditions.   The bellyfat tells it all, we have known this for decades but the truth of it is just now being slowly revealed.


I can not tell you how many bad eaters have asked me, "can I just do cardio?  You know, get on the bike and bang out an hour or 2 to help me lose bodyfat?"  No, the answer is no!  When we eat poorly the body is accustomed to burning glucose for fuel.  When a glucose-burner runs out of energy their body starts breaking down muscle tissue for fuel.   This is the beginning of metabolic disorder, the body can no longer work with efficiency.    When a person eats "right", basically a fat-burner, their bodies do everything it can do in order to burn fat and retain muscle mass.  Cardio is absolutely a waste of time for a person who does not eat "right".  The lean "cardio-bunnies" always look the same, their body never changes.  Their bodies are sick on the inside and they have the same health issues an obese person has.