Is it possible to gain muscle without carbs?

[silver_shadow]

some great advice here already. just wanted to chime in. i've been working on this myself... the last time i cut i followed something very similar to what you were planning. i've got to say that this works, no doubt about that - i lost around 17lbs in 2 weeks... however by the mid 2nd week i was going crazy and was on the verge of breaking down. i definitely lost muscle and strength and felt like shit. this time around, i've organized my training so i have 2 consecutive higher volume days of training - lower body one day and upper body the next. the day before day 1 i carb up so that i have the energy for the lower body day. lower body day i'll drop the carbs slightly, but enough to get me going for the next day's workout. most of the rest of the week i can then reduce carbs quite low. the next 2 days of training after 1 day gap from the 1st 2, i'll go with less volume and a few heavier reps (over 85% of 1 RM). this helps to maintain strength and hence muscle. i'm also doing AM & PM cardio - less than 5 mins of jump rope. this keeps metabolism high without affecting my workouts. on training days, for instance if i workout in the AM, then i'll jump rope only in the PM. another thing, high rep (10) deads and a single 20 repper squat set (i do these on my first lower body day) are fantastic for kickstarting your metabolism

 

[Mr.X]

Possible? sure it is. Efficient? no.

Your body can convert protein to glucose at about a 50-54% rate, especially with something like whey protein. It will compensate for the lack of carbohydrates by using protein for fuel at first, which - obviously - is not very efficient. At some point, where all liver and muscle glycogen is depleted, your body will hit ketosis and use ketones as it's primary fuel source. However, overall, it's very hard to gain muscle mass without carbs/insulin. You can pack on some mass by compensating the loss in carbs with protein, but it's not a long term solution.