Q&A for: 18-Apr-06
1510. Q:
Hi Mike , i've recently joined a gym and would like to gain a bit of weight but add some good definition to my overall physique. Could you give me a good programme to work to also including a good workout on my abdominal area as well. I have the opportunity to go to the gym 3 times a week and in general is there anything that you would suggest eating to help me achieve this as well.
Many thanks.
A:
Sure, all you have to do is fill out my fitness guide and you'll get a custom diet and training programs (specify 'Gain Muscle' as your goal). If you haven't already, you should also read both of my nutrition and weight training articles. Remember that your diet is at least as important as your training! Also remember to always always perform exercises with perfect form -- that will give you best results and prevent injuries. If you're not sure if you perform the exercise correctly, check out my exercises page and/or ask a trainer or somebody knowledgeable.
What you want to accomplish -- gain muscle and yet achieve better definition (which means losing fat) at the same time -- is not easy to do, though if you've never trained before it's doable. A very clean diet and very slow weight gain (no faster than 2 pounds per month) will be key. If you are already in pretty good shape, then achieving both these goals simultaneously will be near impossible and you'd do well to focus first on one, then (by changing the diet around as the fitness guide suggests) on the other.
Doing extra ab work like you asked wil not make any difference. The program that the fitness guide will give you will include a bit of ab work and that's all you need. Doing more abs will not bring your six-pack out any sooner. Good luck!
1511. Q:
I have heard that in the cutting face after the bulk up u cut the carbs from the 2 last meals of the day.The whole idea is that as the time of sleep approaches the body is not be able to burn lots of carbs so it stores it as fat(which is the last bit of fat all lean ppl have in their belly).So,u keep up taking protein while in the last 2 meals eat only little of carbs(which are necessary in order for the protein to be invested well from the body cause as i know alone isnt so easy to be invested).Also u do almost every day cardio starting from 20 mins brisk walking till going in steps to 40.Is everything of these ok cause i wanna try some cutting also starting from the next week coming.
A:
What you said about the carbs in last meals of the day on a cut is generally correct. I don't usually recommend eliminating them completely, but a green salad (which is very light on calories) is very appropriate for evening cut meals.
As far as cardio, different people prefer different amounts of cardio. I personally like less cardio and I recommend keeping it more intense than just brisk walking. HIIT cardio is a perfect example of very intense short cardio (actually it's not cardio at all, but most people refer to it as such anyway). But, as I said, if you want to do more of endurance cardio, you can do that as well and if you feel it's not going so good then you can switch to shorter, more intense cardio.
1512. Q:
i'm a diabeit
A:
As a diabetic you should definitely take nutrition advice from your doctor. What your doctor is likely to recommend is to eat natural fiberous carbs like green veggies and avoid sugary or sweet stuff or processed carbs like white bread. But again, you should talk to your doctor about what you should and should not be eating -- though his advice is likely to be very similar to mine. Good luck!
1513. Q:
I attempted the 'Dumbbell-Only Program' in your sample programs with a 15lb and a 10lb weight (you might remember my previous question asking if I could use two different weights until I could pick another 15lb up). Anyways, I only made it to push-up's, and could only do 20 (only about 3 at a time...), and I couldn't go on with the program. I had to stop there. After a shower and everything, I could barely move, my legs hurt like hell. It was like that for another two days, I've done exercises before in an attempt to lose weight, and was sore, but never that bad that it hurt to walk.
Is this just because I'm not used to it, or is it that I injured myself doing it wrong? There are absolutely no gyms around here (nearest gym is over an hour away), and nobody I know does weight-training. When I go to the city, it's not for something like that, I go when I have to do something.
Should I continue? Will it get easier as I go on? Am I injuring myself or is just because I'm badly out of shape?
Thanks.
A:
First off, great job on starting the program!! Yes, the first few sessions will be the most painful ones, but I promise to you it will get a lot easier and after a few weeks you'll hardly get sore at all. Your strength will also build up quickly and you'll be able to do more reps in a set.
But you definitely need to survive through these first sessions :) so only do what you can in each set. If you can only do 3 pushups before needing a rest, then only do 2 sets of 3 pushups each. If you can't do a single pullup, do a couple of partial ones (just get to a slight bend in the elbows before lowering yourself back down). You can also scale down to just doing 1 set per exercise until your strength builds up. Good news though is that the first exercises you did -- squats, lunges, deadlifts -- are the most important (and toughest!) ones so your workout was actually quite productive.
So take your time, rest until soreness goes away and then get back to exercising, only this time go just a bit easier as I suggested above. Pushing yourself is what will make for best progress over time, so great job doing that. Just ease up slightly until your body is more used to heavy exercise stress.
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