Depletion workouts are weightlifting sessions that are geared toward exhausting the body’s muscle glycogen supply. Muscle glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates in the body, and this is what powers you throughout your workouts. When it becomes depleted, you will not physically be able to continue, as the body will be exhausted.
Depletion of muscle glycogen is a good thing for those looking to gain lean muscle mass; however, it’s important to note that if you take correct measures as far as your diet is concerned, the muscles will overcompensate with their ability to uptake the nutrients, leaving you with fuller muscles that are able to store more glycogen.
Along with this, a very large intake of food immediately after the workout will send your body into an anabolic state, which is required in order to gain lean muscle tissue. As long as your food intake is planned properly, you should not see much in the way of fat gains, and most of the calories you take in will be directed toward repairing and growing your muscles.
To do a depletion workout, you want to adopt a circuit-style training protocol. Basically, you will be moving from one exercise to the next with little or no rest in between. You are also going to aim to perform 15-20 reps per set, so take note that the weight you are lifting should be on the lighter side.
Generally, the less carbohydrates you have in your diet, the less work you will need to do in order to deplete the muscles of their glycogen (since less will be replaced on a continual basis from dietary carbohydrates). Therefore, if you are already eating a low-carb diet, you may only perform one to two rounds of the circuit, whereas if you regularly consume a larger portion of carbohydrates, you will need more reps to burn through the carbs.
Most individuals will want to perform the complete workout circuit 4-5 times. If you find you get to the third one and are feeling extremely fatigued, however, then you should stop there, as pushing yourself too far will inhibit certain enzymes in the muscle that aid in glycogen supercompensation, thereby defeating the whole purpose for doing the depletion work in the first place.
*Note
A good recommendation would be to consume about 5-7 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight. Therefore, if you weigh 175 pounds, you should be shooting for 3,500-4,900 calories from carbohydrates alone, both immediately following the workout and also the day after.
