Q&A for: 15-Oct-06
1831. Q:
Re: 1820. Mike, I could not find where on your site I found the 'standards' link, but I saved it on my favorites. The address is http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/BenchStandards.html. Somewhere in there, there was also a calculater/estimater like you suggested, and that estimated that I should be able to lift 220 lbs on a 1-time max.
A:
I see. I agree with somewhere around 220 pounds for your one-rep bench press max, so you're right on target!
1832. Q:
My question is based on q 1819 - you said that we all reach a limit in how much weight we can lift - My question is what do you do to keep testing yourself once you you cannot lift any more weight. And what causes these limitations, is it do the limits in the size and strength our muscles can achieve? Thanks for all the great info on your site by the way.
A:
Our strength limitations are genetically built into our body. Each one of us has a limit on how much muscle mass we can gain naturally and similarly, each one of us has a limit of how well we can train our nervous system to use the muscles that we do have. Though these limitations exist not a lot of people bump up against them -- most people stop experiencing progress because of subpar programs and diet programs.
One straightforward way to keep gaining strength is to bulk up, eat more and more to keep putting on more and more mass. Eventually, as your body starts to bump up against its genetic limitations, this starts to give diminishing returns -- all those calories simply result in new fat with little or no muscle gains. Most people, of course, are not willing to gain twenty pounds of fat just to gain a couple extra pounds of muscle.
The other, and ultimately more important, way to keep gaining strength is to have a good year-round strength-oriented training program. A good program will be more effective in training your nervous system to better take advantage of your existing muscles. For a beginner almost any weight training program will induce strength gains, but as you advance further and further in your training a well-designed program can make a huge difference. Unfortunately the design of such a program can get pretty complex, but all good strength-oriented programs will share certain characteristics:
- Frequent training sessions. These may be daily or every-other-day, but in all cases you will not go for a full week in between practice sessions. Frequent training keeps your nervous system from 'forgetting' how to do a certain exercise.
- Many relatively light sets. Many sets train your nervous system and keeping them light keeps you from overtraining. You will very rarely reach failure when training for strength.
- Periodization throughout the short-term and long-term intervals. In a short-term (1-2 months) a good program will vary from high-reps with low-weights to low-reps with heavy weight eventually peaking at one-rep max. Over a longer period of time (a year), programs will vary from focusing on hypertrophy (muscle gains) to strength to power to rest before starting the cycle over.
For a very simple but very effective squat/deadlift/bench press strength program check out this.
1833. Q:
mike, im 16 6'4 225, and am bulking right now. for the fun of it i put what i eat on a PERFECT day onto fitday.com, and came out with a 35/37/28 ratio (protein/carbs/fats). is this a good ratio? heres the link to my foods, if it works for you http://fitday.com/WebFit/DayFoodsTab.asp
A:
The link doesn't work, but your protein/carbs/fats ratio looks very good! As you advance in your bulk it's likely you'll have to keep increasing carbs to keep gaining mass, so expect that ratio to change with time to lower protein and fat and higher carbs. But it certainly looks good for now.
1834. Q:
hi am 15 years old and i weight 212 who do lose that weight?
A:
The biggest problem is undoubtedly in what (and how much) you eat. You need to make sure you eat lots of vegetables and fruits -- both raw or lightly cooked. Also eat whole grains like plain old-fashioned oatmeal (not the sugary kind), brown rice (not white rice), and whole-wheat bread (make sure it specifically says 'whole-wheat'). In addition you can eat lean meats, poultry, and fish, eggs, dry-roasted nuts, and olive oil. Some dairy is OK too. And drink a lot of plain water or unsweetened tea throughout the day.
On the other hand, avoid all prepackaged and processed foods such as various microwavable meals, cold breakfast cereals, white bread, white rice, pasta, fast food and junk food of all kinds (no pizza/burgers/chips/fries/candy bars, sweets, sodas and juices (eat whole fruits and drink plain water instead).
Eating healthy foods and avoiding junk will not only help you lose extra fat over time but will make you a lot healthier too. The second thing you should do is make sure you are physically active. This can include walking, jogging, running, biking, swimming, playing organized school sports, playing pickup games with friends, doing chores like shoveling snow and mowing lawns, as well as weight training. If and when you do weight training, make sure you have adult supervision and do not push yourself too hard till you're at least 16 and have learned the proper form for each exercise.
The combination of healthy diet and active lifestyle will guarantee that you will naturally lose extra fat and weight. At your age your body does not want to be unhealthy and overweight, so just help it along by doing your part and it will make sure to get back into shape. Do not try to lose a lot of weight quickly -- instead be patient, eat healthy, and stay active and over a year or two you will find yourself in great shape. Good luck!
1835. Q:
hi mike am 14 years old am weight 212 i want to lose some of that fst how do i do it?
A:
Check out Q&A #1834 right above -- the same answer will apply in your situation. Good luck!
1836. Q:
i am a member of a weight lose group, and when someone has a gain for the week our leader will say, don't be upset you are gaining muscle. none of us do more than walk or ride a bike for exercise. can we build muscle from doing light exercise?
A:
Light exercise such as walking or leisurely biking will only build muscle in absolute out-of-shape beginners who would find these activities very challenging. If you don't find yourself out of breath at the end of such activity, it's very unlikely to build muscle for you.
What is more likely to account for fluctuations in weight are changes in water weight. If you weigh yourself in morning and then again in the evening, it's not unusual to find a variation of five pounds or even more! If you eat and drink differently on consecutive days, it's not unusual to weigh a couple pounds more or less one morning than the other morning. For this reason I usually recommend not paying too much attention to day-to-day weight fluctuations and not even to week-to-week. Instead track weight progress over 3-4 week intervals when true fat loss will account for more than water weight noise.
|
