Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha

They talk to themselves. . . . They see themselves as they’d like to be. They don’t have the courage you have, to just run with it.”
    — TYLER DURDEN IN FIGHT CLUB

    ENGINEERING THE ALPHA: THE PROGRAM
    T he Engineering the Alpha training and nutrition program consists of four phases, each lasting three or four weeks. Every phase has a different purpose, and—with the exception of Phase IV—each will focus on helping you to optimize a specific hormone through diet and training. Phase IV is a bit more comprehensive, so rather than focusing on just a single hormone or modality, all of them are brought together in a cohesive fashion.
    In order to accomplish this, each phase utilizes a different training style to elicit the desired effect. There are commonalities among all phases, of course. With regard to training, while each phase has you training in a different way, the exercises will be very similar. The reason for this is twofold. First, there are only so many amazing exercises; the fact is, while there are a thousand different pressing variations, you really only need three to five versions to build an incredible, well-balanced physique. The second point is that mastering a thousand pressing movements is impossible or, maybe more appropriately, counterproductive.
    The truth is, in order to get the most out of any exercise, you have to be good at it. Or as we say in the industry, you have to have a high level of proficiency. * In other words, each set and rep you do is not only an end unto itself, but it’s also—in a very real sense—practice for subsequent sets. By sticking with a core group of movements and branching out with slight variations of them, you’ll be consistently improving rather than starting from scratch to learn new skills all the time.
    A number of nutritional aspects will carry over from phase to phase as well. With the exception of your cheat days, you’ll generally be eating a bit on the low-carb side (especially during Phase I). But as you’ll come to discover, after the first two weeks, the definition of low-carb is actually many more carbs than most people think, which means you’re not restricted as much as you’d expect on a typical low-carb plan.
    There are two foundational nutritional principles of every phase of the diet: intermittent fasting and cycling.
    Intermittent Fasting
    During the program, you’ll fast for anywhere from sixteen to thirty-six hours (that’s not as bad as it sounds). How long each fast lasts will vary depending on which phase you’re in, but some form of fasting will be utilized nearly every day. Not only does this allow for better results, but it also just makes life much more manageable without putting extra restrictions on what you eat and when you eat. Yes, there are rules, but you select the eating window, how many meals you eat during that window, and which foods you want to eat. Does this mean you can eat just crap? Of course not. But as you’ll see from the Alpha-approved food list, not even a world-class chef would complain about the number of options available.
    Cycling
    In the context of dieting, cycling just means that you strategically alternate how much food you eat on a day-to-day basis. This means that on days you exercise, you eat more; on days you don’t exercise, you eat less. Throughout the program you’ll be cycling carbohydrates and total calories.
    During various phases of the plan, you’ll be eating up to three times as many carbs on workout days as you do on days you don’t train. This is known as carb cycling, and has to do with energy utilization and recovery. Put in the most succinct way possible, you need more energy on days you expend more energy.
    Cycling calories and carbs is important for both hormonal optimization and body recomposition (shifting to a body with less fat and more muscle), but there’s another advantage as well: researchers at Louisiana State University found in a 2005 study that calorie cycling prolongs your life. This conclusion was further supported by research conducted by the National Institutes of Health in 2008. This means calorie cycling has some pretty sweet benefits . . . if, you know, you like being alive longer.

    GETTING STARTED WITH PRIME
    Prime is intended to do just that: prime your body for everything to come. However, don’t think of Prime as some sort of optional video game tutorial * that you can skip; this is arguably the most important phase. In fact, none of the