Strength and Physique

So just a heads when you go to the magazine stand: the latest issue of Planet Muscle has one of my articles on biceps training. Pick up a copy when you get a chance.

Q: “Hey James, I’ve recently gotten back into weight lifting, and unfortunately I have a couple of bum shoulders which make it hard to do a good portion of triceps exercises. I know of the most common ones out there and for the most part used to have a good routine. I’ve noticed that your triceps have really great size and definition (insert gay joke here), and so I was wondering not really of the exercises out there that I could do, but maybe your routine specifically.”

Thanks for your help,
T.S.

My Answer: I change my program every so often, but these factors always remain constant in my triceps training:

1) I train heavy and rarely go over 6 reps.

2) I train my triceps with 2 different exercises: a press variation and an extension variation.

3) I go slow on the negative and explode through the positive portion.

4) I flex the triceps as hard as I can at the lockout position.

This is the game plan that I follow, and I outline in great detail in the triceps chapter of Strength and Physique, Volume One.

Q: “I’m trying to lean down by eating less and running more. As for the strength training, should I stick with the hypertrophy program or the 8×8 program you briefly mention? The hypertrophy program has really improved my strength, but I haven’t really noticed any changes in my physique because I carry around too much body fat. Thanks.”

Best,
Mike

My Answer: I think you answered your own question there, Mike. I don’t know which hypertrophy program you’re referring to, since I have many hypertrophy programs. Nevertheless, if you can’t see any progress in muscularity, because you have a layer of fat covering it up, then your path is clear: do the 8×8.

Q: “Hello. I was reading your Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph, and I had one question regarding the weight incrementation process. Should I just increase the weight by a certain amount after each week, or should I just guess as to how much weight I can lift after each week that will allow me to do at most the
10, 8, 6 and 15 reps?”

Many thanks!
M. Rivera

My Answer: A lot of it is going to be you guessing as to what weight to choose for each set, especially in the first week. By your second week, however, you should have a good sense of what weight to choose. What I suggest is to slowly increase the weight in small increments day by day for the 10 rep set, but do it in waves. Here’s how wave loading looks with sample weights:

Workout One: 100 pounds
Workout Two: 105 pounds
Workout Three: 110 pounds
Workout Four: 105 pounds
Workout Five: 110 pounds
Workout Six: 115 pounds

As you can see, your starting weight for the 10 rep set zigzags up through the weeks. As long as you hit 10 reps, then you’re good. If you fall short, then adjust the weight accordingly for the next workout.

Now wave loading throughout the weeks is only done for the 10 rep set, which is your base weight. Your performance on the 10 rep set with the weight you choose will determine your weights for the 8, 6 and 15 rep sets.

"Hope you’re doing well. Your second book is great. Your programs and diets helped me gain some pretty incredible results. A lot of skinny bastard people I used to go to school with see me, and they hardly recognize me. They ask me, ‘How the hell did you get like that?”

“I tell them that it’s all in [your] Strength and Physique books. The other day, one of those guys came up to me with your book telling me how awesome it was. I just thought I’d let you know.

“I’m sure you’ve been asked this question thousands of times, but I hope it’s not too late to ask you. I’m looking for a convenient way of getting some protein in my body right after my workout. I’ve been drinking 400 ml. vanilla and chocolate shakes that I would buy from my local super market to get protein in my system after workouts.

“The only problem is that there are 500 calories per shake and it has 18 g. of protein. It is very expensive, and I’m looking for a change. I’m quite aware of all of the supplements for protein on the market, but the only thing stopping me is that some people on the Internet say protein supplements cause tumors and kidney problems. Are there any protein blends that you recommend?”

Thanks,
Jason

My Answer: Hey Jason, good to hear from you again. Protein shakes from the supermarket tend to be more expensive, since they’re ready to go, no mixing required. These type of ready-made protein drinks are not the best type of post-workout drink, however. Whey protein is OK to ingest after a workout, but there are various types of whey proteins, each with a different rate of absorption. There’s whey concentrate, which is the most common. Then there’s whey isolate, which has a little bit more protein. Whey hydrolysate is the quickest to be absorbed, and this is the best protein to ingest immediately after a workout.

Now as far as protein supplements giving you tumors and kidney problems, don’t believe it. That’s just misinformation.

“Hi, I just wanted to ask: what is the most effective workout? Or can you give me an advanced routine, because I’m already used to my workout program. So I just want to mix things up. I already have 2 years of training experience.”

Thanks, more power to you
- Ralph Tolentino, Philippines

My Answer: I have no idea what your training background is, Ralph. You could have been doing 2 years of pushups and sit-ups and calling yourself advanced. Who knows, because you didn’t say what’s your workout program.

A lot of people say they are advanced lifters, but have no idea what that means. Ask yourself this:

1) Can you do a pull-up?
2) Can you do dips?
3) Do you squat?
4) Do you deadlift?

If you answer “No” to any of those questions, then forget being advanced. You do not even have the basic strength foundation for bodybuiding and strength sports.

Now what is the most effective workout? Depends on what your goal is, but I’m assuming you’re talking about bodybuilding workouts. The best workout is the one you are not on. The best training program is one where you cycle through a series of workouts, all designed to hypertrophy your muscles through different means. This is what I go into great detail in Strength and Physique: Neo-Classical Bodybuilding. This is a truly advanced routine.

Q: "I have to send this to you through email, because I don’t know how to post on your blog. Your advice for developing grip power for pull-up and dead hang purposes was great. As a fitness junkie, I believe that we all are meant to be strong, [but] our society is messed up in a way that we don’t let ourselves be. I have done over five years of personal experimenting and research on how to go toward the potential of the human threshold for stamina, muscular endurance, and functional strength, and I have never found a way to build forearm stamina [other] than the advice you gave me. My dead hang time is up to 7 minutes and increasing. I’m shooting for 15. Ha-ha, wish me luck, and thanks for the great advice.”

J. Winkler

My Answer: Hey J.W. Good to hear you’re making such great progress. I have to agree with you: our society is messed up and frowns upon men and women who want to be stronger, unless they are professional athletes. Even then, only certain sports are given respect.

Humans are just like any other animal: designed to be physically active, highly intelligent and highly adaptable. It’s only in recent human history that being fat and inactive is the norm. I’m amazed at how much people crap on those of us who enjoy pushing ourselves physically. Perhaps they see the pursuit of physical and athletic perfection as vain. But even if it is vanity, vanity in moderation serves a legitimate purpose: to make sure you keep up with consistent and smart training that prolongs your life and furthers your good health.

Q: “I just read one of your articles on Bodybuilding.com, and I was wondering if you could help me with something. I have been riding BMX for about eight years now, and I can say that I am in pretty good shape. I’m happy with my body overall, but my chest is the one thing I can truly say needs the most improvement. I know of the chest building exercises that could give me a stronger and less flabby chest, but I have a shoulder problem that holds me back from most them. Even if I do simple pushups, my shoulder will hurt the rest of the day. I was wondering if you know of any low impact/effective exersizes that I can do to finally get rid of my flabby chest. And any other tips would be much help to me. Thanks for your time, and I hope to hear back from you.”

Joey Minozzi
Honolulu Hawaii

My Answer: When you have an injury or muscular imbalance, your first priority is to fix the injury or heal from it. Physique training is no longer important. What’s the point if you can’t even do a pushup? So go to a physical therapist or somebody trained in Active Release Techniques. I have no idea what your shoulder problem is, but it sure as hell doesn’t need to do chest exercises to aggravate the problem. BMX biking doesn’t help either, because sitting on that bike promotes very poor posture. Usually bikers need to strengthen their abs and upper back to straighten their postures out. So bottom line: go to an ART specialist and fix your shoulder first, fix your posture second, then do some chest exercises that don’t hurt.

Q: “I hope my fancy subject line stopped you from labeling this mail as spam. First off, through the decompression phase in your book, I’ve added 20 pounds to my bench! I really wish I knew about you years ago. My question for you is really simple. The adjustable bench at my gym can only go between 15 degrees and 30 degrees. For the 20 degree dumbbell exercise you recommend, should I adjust the bench at 15 or 30 degrees for maximum effect on my pectoral physique. By the way, when volume 3 comes out, you can guarantee that I’ll be the first one to purchase it.”

Thanks,
Larry

My Answer: Good to hear you’ve made progress on the bench, Larry! As far as angle, if you had to choose between 15 and 30 degrees, then choose the 30 degree incline. It’s still at a shallow angle to hit the sterno-clavical area and develop the upper pec fibers. As long as it is not 45 degrees and above, then you’re good.

Volume 3? Gosh, I’m pretty swamped at the moment with work, training, running 2 blogs and writing articles for Planet Muscle. I have thought about Volume 3, and I’ve already got a theme in mind for the book. I’ll keep you guys posted.

Q: “I read your article on building a wider back. I am pretty much new to bodybuilding. One of my roommates got me into it a couple months ago, and I kind of enjoy it. One of the exercises I really can’t do are pull-ups, probably meaning my back is very weak. I can’t do a single wide-grip pull up. I’ll probably get 3/4 the way but will never get my chin above the bar. But I can do a couple of chin ups and narrow grip pull ups.

“So, I’ve been doing pull ups with some weight assistance machines in the school gym. Is there a workout plan you can set up for me? Because the ’shock techniques’ you listed require pullups to failure, and my failure mark is right at around 3 or 4. I know, it’s sad. I really hope I can see some improvement in my muscle hypertrophy.”

- JK

My Answer: Don’t do the machine assisted pull-ups. Do a pull-up as far as you can go, then have your workout partner assist you the rest of the way. Once you’re up there with your chin above the bar, your partner will let go and YOU WILL HOLD THAT POSITION FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN. Once you can’t hold that position at the top, then lower yourself as slowly as possible. This will expose your back muscles to significant overload in the top range position, which is something your back muscles weren’t getting because you could only do 3/4 pull-ups. Do this one set of one negative rep at the beginning of every workout.

And Jun: no I won’t set up a program for you. I don’t work for free. As a trainer, I can point you in the right direction, but it’s up to you to do your homework in and out of the gym.

Q: “Pretty much you are officially godlike to me. Every single exercise I do goes up by about 10-20 pounds each week. I am nearly benching 300 pounds. Whatever you say I will do.

“Here is my question, but it isn’t really related to strength training. I want to push myself to the limit and mentally thrive without sleep and just keep working. I am a medical student. Do you know of any program for this, or any underground book for this? Should I fast? Stop drinking water? Take any supplements?

“I ask you, because I believe your methods can be construed as underground-esque (I don’t know of anyone or seen anyone using your methods and that’s why they don’t increase their bench as dramatically). I guess I believe in extreme training as Tom Platz did with his 10 minute squat routines.

“I just want to find that corollary in other areas, such as mental training. Of course I would do this for only one week, as I believe that this isn’t really healthy, and I’m sure I’d lose some muscle mass along the way. Of course, please feel free to dismiss this idea if you think getting regular sleep is absolutely essential, or if you think my ideas are just insane.”

Best,
Larry

My Answer: I’ve had some crazy ass readers and fans, but you Larry are scaring me. As a cop who’s done graveyard shifts, I can say that you are insane for trying to work and perform without sleep. The key question to ask is: do you want more work done or do you want quality work done?

Let me tell you something. I’m smart, but I’m also lazy. If I can outperform someone else with less effort and less time invested, then isn’t that what counts? Nobody gives a crap how many hours you studied. What counts is that you aced the freakin’ test. Minimal effort, maximum effect is what I strive for all the time, because I maintain a variety of interests.

People think that if they had more time, they’d get more done. That’s just an excuse. You need to use your time more efficiently. This requires a mindset that prioritizes what is relevant and what is irrelevant. It also requires that you be strategic in your thoughts, pragmatic in your actions.

You’re a med student. I don’t know what kind of medicine you’re going into, but to use a medical field analogy, you need to triage what activities are meaningful and what is chewing up your time.

Sleep is really important, because you can’t retain information unless you sleep. When you study knowledge or practice a skill, you don’t fully retain it in your long term memory until you get a good night’s rest. Your recall of the information or your performance of the skill is better the next day.

You’ll also notice that mentally you’re more focused and creative in the morning hours, after you gotten a good night’s sleep. In the afternoon, mentally you’re not as focused. If you have menial, mindless tasks to do, then do them in the afternoon.

Mental performance is much like strength training. I go over the concepts of density and decompression in Neo-Classical Bodybuilding. You train hard, then you pull back and reap the benefits. That is the Way of the Universe.

With mental performance, it works the same way. There is a time to fire up the mental circuitry at full speed (morning hours before lunch), and there is a time to decompress, relax and not worry about anything (evening hours).

As a med student, I’m surprised you’re not using supplemental nootropics. Acetyl L-carnitine and phosphatidylserine are nootropics that also have bodybuilding applications. Fish oil and green tea help with mental acuity and mood stabiization.