Holiday Q&A
"Hope all is well. I started reading the Volume 2 book, and I’m learning a lot of important aspects on how to come up with the ultimate bodybuilding program. The book is great!
“Recently, I’ve been eating a little less than normal given that I was gaining too much body fat. I have an ectomorph body type, and I’ve been losing the weight like crazy. My arm size decreased by ¼ of an inch in about a week. The funny thing is, is that I’m constantly lifting more weight every workout (I keep track of how many sets and reps I do for each workout). I workout 4 times a week: Sun, Mon, Wed and Friday. I did what you suggested your readers to do in Vol. 1. I chose 3 different exercises for a muscle group and spread the exercises throughout the whole week. So, every workout, I attack the muscle using a given exercise I chose from the 3 I picked for my program. The reps and sets for each exercises change every workout to recruit different muscle fibres. This works fantastically!
“Seeing that I’m getting stronger from workout to workout, shouldn’t my body be getting bigger instead of smaller? Eating a surplus of the right calories is key to getting big, I know. But doesn’t getting stronger correlate with getting bigger?
“Your help is much appreciated.”
Take care,
Jason
My Answer: Hey Jason, great to hear you’re making excellent progress. To answer your question, does increased strength directly equate to increased size? No, not necessarily. You can be stronger and not gain size at all. This is why there are weight classes in powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting.
Gaining muscle is contigent upon 2 things: the right stimulus (weight training) and the right building blocks (diet). The Strength and Physique programs are increasing your strength, but without the extra calories and extra protein, you will not get bigger. You’ll certainly get more toned and lean, so your physique will still be impressive.
But if you want to have impressive muscular size, then you’ll need to up the calories and protein. I understand that you want to avoid getting too fat, but you’ll need to focus on one goal at a time. What I suggest is to follow the ZigZag Zone diet mentioned in SPV2: Neo-Classical Bodybuilding for 2 weeks, then follow a lower calorie diet for 2 weeks. Alternating in this way will help you focus on one dietary goal at a time and will help you make better gains in the long run.
“I got Volume 2 from Amazon.com the other day, and it looks great. I have questions about two of the exercises you list. In the Insulin/Testosterone pump and pre-stretch exercise list, you include ‘barbell high pulls’ for the deltoids. I understand high pulls to be a power clean without catching the barbell at the top: an exercise where you use a clean grip and start either on the floor or from a hang and explosively pull the bar to chest level or so. Is that the exercise you mean? I never thought of that as a pump and pre-stretch movement. Also, is the Gironda swing lateral the movement where one arm goes out to the side and the other crosses the body at the same time? If so, that’s a great exercise.”
Thank you for any response,
Adam
My Answer- Yes, you can use barbell high pulls as a pump movement for the deltoids, as long as you perform high reps in good form. In the Insulin/Testosterone workout, you can perform either a pumping exercise or a stretch exercise for a muscle group. There are no good stretching movements for the deltoids, however, so you simply perform high reps on shoulder exercises, such laterals and high pulls.
The high pull that I’m referring to, however, is not the Olympic version, but the bodybuilding version. The Vince Gironda high pull is a variation of the upright barbell row done from the hang position. Here’s a description of the VG high pull from the Iron Guru website.
- Overhand grip on the bar about shoulder-width apart.
- At the “low position” the bar rests on the front of the thighs and the elbows are slightly bent.
- With the elbows pulled high the bar is raised to about the top of your head.
- At the raised position, the bar should be about 12 inches (30 cm) in front of the head.
“I am a college student beginning to gain interest in bodybuilding as a sport. I am legally blind, so it is a good sport for me to feel competitive but also stay safe. I read your article, Wingspan Workouts on Bodybuilding.com. It was a very good, no nonsense workout that gave me a good burn. Do you have any other tips for someone just starting out? My biggest problem is losing body fat and gaining muscle. It seems really hard to do both at the same time. Thank you for any advice you can offer.”
Tony Taliani
Pennsylvania
My Answer: Well, if you’re serious about becoming a competitive bodybuilder, then you’ll need someone to visually assess not just exercise form, but also how your physique looks overall. You’ll need someone who knows the bodybuilding aesthetic and can help you bring up lagging body parts. If you’re serious about competitive bodybuilding, then you’ll need the guidance of a good trainer specializing in bodybuilding, which is very hard to find.
If you’re just a recreational bodybuilder and you’re working out to look good naked (not because you have a burning need to oil yourself up and pose on stage in front of a hundred people with nothing on but a speedo!), then get yourself a good workout partner if you haven’t done so already. A good workout partner can spot you on exercises, motivate you to push hard and can also visually assess what your weaknesses are in your physique.
If you’re just starting out in bodybuilding, then read up on training techniques and exercises. Strength and Physique, Volume One is a good start. SPV1 will provide you with a wide variety of training strategies to get the physique you want. There’s a chapter on each major muscle group and how to train them for size and symmetry.
Strength and Physique, Volume Two is also a great bodybuilding book, but it’s meant for an advanced bodybuilder and is far more focused.
“I am a 30 year old Asian-American ectomorph in the Air Force. Unfortunately, running is mandatory 3 times per week, since there is a monthly PT test. I want to build some muscle. Can you recommend a workout program? Should I use the one in your article for Bodybuilding.com? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!”
-J. Yu
My Answer: I don’t know which one of my articles you’re talking about, since I have quite a few at that site. Since you mentioned that you’re an ectomorph, I’m assuming you mean the 10-8-6-15 article. I have no idea what you’re doing as far as training, so that program or any of my programs would help you build some muscle. You need to be more specific about your background.
I will say this though: if you’re an ectomorph who has to run 3 times per week, then you should eat a lot of carbs and not worry so much about your fat intake. Endurance athletes perform better on a diet that is high carb and moderate fat, because their high volume of training requires a lot of fuel (carbs and fat), but not as much protein.
If you ate low carb and low fat, then your body will have to use protein as fuel and it will catabolize your muscle just to fuel those lengthy cardio sessions. So eat a lot of carbs.
