Wednesday, December 14, 2016

What's the Best Workout Plan and Diet

Work hard.  Eat well.  Recover sufficiently. Repeat. 

The key is hard work and consistency.  You may see quick progress and you may not, but if you stick with it, you will improve. A workout you will do is better than the perfect workout that you won't.  The "perfect" diet that you cannot stick to, does you no good.  

Don't worry about supplements, esoteric routines, contest prep, etc. until you're already near your genetic potential and you're seeking that last 1 or 2 percent improvement.

At the same time, if a new routine or a new diet plan provides you incentive to work harder and more consistently, leverage that to make gains.  Just never stop.

Just like there is no such thing as a "perfect" diet, there is no such thing as a "perfect" workout.  There's lots of wiggle room if you keep working, day after day, year after year.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Should I use HMB. I have seen some promising recent reports.

I'll have to read these new HMB studies/reports. 

I have tried HMB in the past and have seen zero discernible results.  My current supplementation is limited to creatine and beta alanine which have very noticable effects on my workouts and sports performance, and fish oil, vitamin D3, and a multi, which I take just for "insurance." 

Also, I find it difficult to hit my protein targets within my calorie limits without using whey and casein, depending on time of day.

I have used many more products in the past but have personally experimented to see what really works for me and have eliminated most products.

At the same time, if something works for you, by all means continue, no matter what science or your fellow trainers might tell you.

Friday, September 23, 2016

My Progress Seems so Slow. Should I Quit?

I think you're making great progress.  Some body parts are always harder to develop than others and that will vary from person-to-person.  The real key is consistency and hard work  Sounds like you have the hard work part down. 

Just stick with it and don't be afraid to experiment; different exercises, rep and set schemes, rest between sets, volume, nutrition. etc.  Bodybuilding should be a life-long pursuit and love, but you gotta stick with it to see how far you can really go. Over time you'll find things that work for you, even your stubborn body parts.

I sometimes have to work on a particular body part for a year to 18 months to see a noticeable difference.

You may never be great, but you can always be better.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

I'm a beginner but don't want to do whole body workouts. Can I split?

Some workout programs are better than others for your/anyone's current stage of development or goals.  The primary factor in making long term progress is using a routine that you're going to do, consistently, whether it is optimal or not.  The so so routine you will do is far better than the optimal routine you won't do.

If you don't want to do whole body workouts, don't.  If you want to repeat a 3 way split, twice per week, do it.  Just make sure you're working all of your body parts evenly/proportionally, over time.

Experiment.  Over time you'll find what works best for you, both mentally, and physically. Consistency and a continued focus on making progress will get you where you want to go.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

How Long Should I Workout? Some Say No More than 50 Minutes.

Over time, I would experiment with different rep schemes, rep speeds, number of sets per body part, body part combinations, number of sets per workout, rest between sets etc..  Some combinations will result in longer workouts than others. Give each little experiment a couple of months to really see what the results are going to be.  There is really no reason to rush the process.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

I am having hernia surgery. How can I keep my size and strength?

First, always follow your doctors instructions.  He or she will know more about your unique situation than anyone here on the forums.

That said, you will lose size and strength.  It is just one of the side effects of forced inactivity.

Once you do come back, start slow and increase volume and intensity very conservatively.  It makes no sense to "re-injure" yourself just because you're impatient.  You will find that you can get back to previous strength and size levels more easily than it took to get their in the first place.  Some research shows that this is due to increases in muscle cell nuclei from previous hard training.

Also, bearing in mind my first caveat about following doctor's orders, light band and dumbbell work should be doable throughout your recovery, so long as you are careful not to induce inter-thoracic pressure.  No bearing down or straining.

Good luck

Monday, July 25, 2016

I have just started exercising and want to get rid of my belly fat. What should I do?

In this order:

1. Keep exercising, gradually increasing intensity and dosage.
2. Gradually clean up your diet with more veggies and lean proteins, less sugar and "bad" fats. 
3. Learn how many calories per day you need for maintenance and how many you're burning with exercise and start hitting these numbers. (you'll need to count and calculate for a bit, but the knowledge you gain is worth it.)
4. Define a proper ratio of macro nutrient intake and hit those numbers.
5.Give yourself several months to incorporate all this new knowledge and behavior.
6. Experiment with all of the above.
7. Never, never, never quit.

Friday, July 15, 2016

Why would my grip strength suddenly fail on a deadlift PR attempt?

Any number of factors could have affected your grip.  The bar or your hands may have been more slippery than normal, you may have used less chalk, your forearms may have been fatigued from something you did earlier in the day or on a previous day.  Without more context, it's really hard to say.

My advice is to try to attempt the 180, if you feel the rest of your "chain" is ready for the attempt.  It takes at least three data points to make a trend. So this one day anomaly should not be of real concern.  If you fail in similar fashion next week, it may be time to look more closely at the entire context of your dead lifts to diagnosis the specific problem.

I'm confident that if you approach your next session with a positive mindset, the weight is going to go up.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

How do I get big and super cut?

Find a good low volume, full body workout based on compound movements. Do that three days per week. Stick with it for a year using progressively heavier weights.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Can I do two workouts in one day if I'm splitting between upper and lower body?

So long as each muscle group is getting adequate time for recovery and you're also allowing for overall central nervous system and systemic recovery, you will be fine.  Body part splits are really a matter of choice and you ought to experiment over time to see what different combinations do for you. 

Can I do two workouts in one day if I'm splitting between upper and lower body?

So long as each muscle group is getting adequate time for recovery and you're also allowing for overall central nervous system and systemic recovery, you will be fine.  Body part splits are really a matter of choice and you ought to experiment over time to see what different combinations do for you. 

You might even try working the same body part two or three days in a row and then allow a week or more to recover.  We used to call that "over reaching."  As long as you allow plenty of time to compensate and grow after the super-stimulus, you will improve, assuming overall rest and nutrition are adequate.