GOMAD
- Category: Journal
- Date: 5.21.09
GOMAD
Gallon Of Milk A Day. You drink a god damn gallon of whole milk every god damn day.
This little gem comes by way of one Mark Rippetoe. Apparently, according to the preachings of this fine gentleman, anybody wanting to put on some serious size and strength, must down a glorious gallon of whole milk every day.
This info was brought to my attention by my good friend and coach, Adam Morden. He attended Rippetoe’s Crossfit Basic Barbell Cert course the other weekend. They covered the deadlift, low-bar back squat, bench press, and the power clean.
Among other topics brought up, nutrition came into play. And Rippetoe’s main concern was driving the point home that every real man should be drinking a gallon of whole milk a day. To make the men at the cert feel a bit worse, and more to hasten their mass building wants, he told stories of teenage 114lbs girl in Texas, who are deadlifting well over 300lbs… This has lite a fire under the asses of Alchemy Crossfit’s owners Adam and Andy. And as a result, the MeatHead Challenge was born!
The MeatHead Challenge will consist of dropping our MetCon days down to 1-2 a week, allowing for better recovering and bigger gains in strength. Hitting the weights 3 times a week, squating every day, deading ever other day, alternating in strict press and bench, and hitting some power cleans on our non-deadlifting days. In addition to this workout routine, of course we are going to be doing our best to hit the GOMAD 110%! Our goal (at least mine and Adam’s, not Andy cause he’s a sickly looking runner haha) is to hit 225 in 8 weeks, we both have about 30lbs to go. Here goes!
I’ll keep you all posted on the happenings og the event, and finish with the before and after pics! Until then, here’s some more info on the GOMAD:
Comments: 0Why milk?
1) It is VERY easy to consume. Most kids can down a ton daily with cereal, pop tars, ice cream, protein drinks, etc, and for a skinny kid who is growing vertically as well as horizontally ( yeah puberty!), this is a VERY easy way to ensure you get your calories.
2) Protein, yeah protein…tons of high quality protein. Whole milk will have a nearly ideal macronutrient profile for a growing kid as well.
3) It is rich in calcium, vitamin A, B-12, D, potassium, phosphorus, niacin, and riboflavin.
4) Calorie for calorie it is one of the cheapest ways you’re gonna get fed on a budget. T-bone steaks and fast food are gonna quickly drain your wallet.
Rippetoe Says:
Milk works because it is easy, it is available, it doesn’t need any preparation, and it has all the components necessary for growing mammals, which your trainees most definately are. There also seems to be something special about milk that the equivalent amount of calories, protein, fat and carbs can’t duplicate in terms of growth enhancement. It may be the fact that milk has been shown to have very high levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a peptide hormone that has been shown to have some tenuous relationship to accelerated growth in mammals. But that research is far from conclusive; suffice it to say that people who drink lots of milk during their novice phase get bigger and stronger than people who don’t.
Why WHOLE milk?
The fat adds more calories and it’s all about calories. The fat also plays an important role in the delivery of certain nutrients and regulation of the body’s hormones. There are other factors at play with what drinking Whole milk does to body composition too. Though I’m not privy to the science behind it, I am sure of the results.
A Gallon of milk has a ton of salt in it! That can’t be healthy
You have to remember, this is done for a short term heavy mass gain; not as a health regimen or lifestyle diet, not to get cut, it’s to get big and strong. I can’t imagine drinking a gallon of milk per day for more than a few months tops, those kinda muscle gains don’t don’t last forever and eventually you will get diminishing returns. Once you’ve put on 20-30 pounds of meat, feel free to go back to a healthy eating lifestyle.
What about all the saturated fat?
Rippetoe Says:
The deal with saturated fat is that, above all, it is not poison. No study in existence has ever shown that saturated fat causes [cardiovascular disease], and its presence in a food that is useful should not prevent you from using in your diet. No one is suggesting that you get half of your calories from the “butter” they use on movie popcorn, but whole milk for a growing young lifter is much more valuable than the fat it contains is dangerous. Milk is quite literally better than steroids for a novice lifter to grow on, and no supplement produces the same effect.





