Q&A for: 19-Jul-05
197. Q:
how many calories does 500 crunches burn
A:
500 times more than the calories burned by 1 crunch :) The answer to this question doesn't matter either. You WILL NOT GET FLAT ABS by doing crunches alone! All these crunches will do is build up your abdominal muscles, but they'll still be covered by a thick layer of fat, making them completely invisible and making you look exactly like you do now. This would be the case even if you did 10,000 crunches every day. Just because there are millions of other poor souls trying to crunch their way to six-packs, doesn't mean that you have to make the same mistake. Please fully read and understand this and start following weighttraining and diet programs as explained there.
198. Q:
how many crunchies does it take to have nice abs
A:
Please see Q&A #197
199. Q:
Hi Mike, i looked at ur 6 week program, but am honestly confused. My max at the bench is 135, can you give me an example of it using the weight i use. Failure-10? i dont really get that, saying that i pyramid.. i do about 15 reps of 95, then go up to 115 and do 8 reps then 135 at max, then go back down and do like 6 reps at 115 and 12 reps at 95. Also, i know this guy at the gym who is 19 he is into all the supplements he says 'i take everything but steroids', and everytime i see him benching he is always adding weight! finaly, do u recommened any other supplements since u didnt recommend glutamine?
A:
Sorry, I'm going to change the notation I use to describe that program to hopefully make it clearer. And now I also understand why you can only do 2-3 reps at 135 lbs -- it's because you exhaust yourself by doing 15 reps at 95 and 8 reps at 115 beforehand! If you did only 3-4 reps at 95 and 115 to warm up, you can probably max out (do 1 rep) at 155 or be able to do 4-5 reps at 135. So your true current max, if you attempted it, is approximately 155. With that new information in mind, here's the weights you'd use in a strength-oriented program for your bench press:
Week 1: 6 sets of bench press with 90 lbs, 5 reps per set. Take at least 2-minute rests between sets. Repeat on Monday, Wednesday, Friday.
Week 2: 6 sets with 100 lbs, 5 reps per set. Repeat M W F.
Week 3: 6 sets with 110 lbs, 5 reps per set. Repeat M W F.
Week 4: 6 sets with 120 lbs, 5 reps per set. Repeat M W F.
Week 5: on Monday: 2 sets with 140 lbs, 3 reps per set. On W and F: 6 sets with 110 lbs, 5 reps per set.
Week 6: on Monday: 1 set with 150 lbs, 2 reps. On W and F: 6 sets with 110 lbs, 5 reps per set.
Hopefully that makes it clearer. Have a spotter and do light low-rep warmups on Mondays of Weeks 5 and 6 before attempting the big lifts. Do not go anywhere close to failure on the warmups. After week 6 you can try finding your new bench press max. It will probably be around 165 lbs, maybe more. To find your max, again, you will need to have a spotter and do 2 sets of very light warm-ups. For example: 4 reps at 95 and 1 rep at 135 before attempting 165.
Even if the guy who 'takes everything but steroids' is on real steroids, he still cannot add weight to his bench every week. It's really simple math. Suppose you add just 1 measly pound per week to your bench. That's 50 pounds/year, 100 pounds in 2 years, 150 pounds in 3 years. Nobody short of genetic freaks and/or very heavy steroid abusers can make progress like that. It's common to use periodization programs which cycle the weights which may create the impression of extra weight added every week (look at the program I gave you: it increases weights for 6 weeks straight), but it doesn't mean that your bench max actually goes up every week.
The other thing, and I truly hate saying it, but there's a pretty good chance that guy actually is on steroids if he's so willing to take supps. Over 3% of high school 12th-graders use steroids now and the numbers only go up with time and age. Very few will actually admit it. Nobody knows the true number of steroid abusers and I've seen estimates as high as 7% of the entire population. It's much more common than most people realize. Anyway I don't want to accuse the guy. I'm sure he works his butt off, and even if he is juicing it's his choice. But I would be careful about taking nutrition or supplement advice from him.
You asked about other supplements and I'm going to tell you again that at your age you need to focus on perfecting your diet and not on the supps, both for looks and for health reasons. Get pure whey powder if you cannot get enough protein from real foods. Get creatine if your parents and your doctor OK it. But beyond that you have a natural testesterone high for the next 5 or even more years. Other people have to inject the stuff to get enough for growth while you have it in you, naturally! Take advantage of it! Eat to perfection, lift hard, and you'll get results far better than any legal or illegal supplements will ever give you. I've seen a ton of people fall into the trap of looking for the perfect supp. The end result is always either disappoitment or steroid use or both (roids are no guarantee of great results -- that's on top of possible mental and health problems that can haunt you for life). Do not look for shortcuts, learn about nutrition and training, clean up your diet to perfection to match your goals, and grow strong, lean, and healthy. Save your supp money for more chicken breasts and salmon. Sorry for the lecture, but it's the truth. Good luck to you!
200. Q:
ive visited two gyms that are local to me, both of them are full of posers. is it ok to train at home or is the equipment you can buy inferior to gym stuff? thanks in advance mike.
A:
Gyms have the same people as does real life :) So, yes, you'll find plenty of posers. But if you think about it, why does it matter? You're not there to look at them, to listen to them, or to be annoyed by them. You are there for only one reason only: to give your all and have the best workout possible for yourself. Unless they are actively hogging all the equipment (which does happen sometimes unfortunately), you shouldn't care about the one way or another.
Having said that, I certainly understand why you may prefer to work out at home. Good news is that yes, you definitely can have a pretty darn good workout at home with not too much equipment to buy. What you will need at the minimum is a bunch of dumbbells like this (get all the different weights, from light to very heavy for the different exercises), a chinup bar, and an adjustible flat-to-incline bench (like this). A good bench will run you around $100-150 (get a sturdy one), a chinup bar will be cheap, maybe $15, and each pair of dumbbells (plain hex dumbbells are perfectly fine) will be from $10 to $30 or thereabouts.
Obviously with this equipment you'll be substituting all barbell exercises with dumbbell ones. For bench press it's almost no loss at all. For deadlift dumbbells will test your grip more than a barbell which is probably a good thing (and you can always get wrist straps to help hold the weights, though try holding them on your own as much as you can). The squat will be the most difficult to do well with dumbbells. You'll have a tendency to 'deadlift' the dumbbells instead of standing up properly in the lift phase of the squat. If you can be mindful of that and, again, hang on to the dumbbells, then the squats will be OK with dumbbells as well.
Alternatively you can splurge and purchase a full-blown 'power cage' with a barbell and weights which will allow you to do regular squats, deadlifts, pullups/chinups, and possibly even barbell bench press. A power cage looks like this (I'm not endorsing any of the specific products in the photos, just using them for illustration).
201. Q:
I have some mild pain near the upper arm and shoulder area for 6 weeks now. I know its not from muscle soreness.It's my bone that's hurting but I dont think its a fracture. have you any idea what kind of sports injury can cause long term bone pain that is not fractured? I can only weight train the left side of my upper body for now.
A:
You have to talk to your doctor and/or physical therapist about it and soon. There's no way I can diagnose it over the internet (and I'm not qualified to do it anyway), but it sounds like it maybe the tendonitis (or bursitis) of the shoulder. If it is tendinitis, then rest is your main cure and there's still a chance it'll come back later. In that case you will need to adopt low-volume training and possibly avoid exercises that put too much stress on the shoulder (such as bench press and shoulder press) altogether. You'd also want to avoid sports that stress the shoulder through throwing or rapid movement or exertion of force. These include baseball, throwing the football, tennis, badminton, and ping pong. But again, I'm just guessing here and in order to get the correct diagnosis and prescription you need to see your doctor or physical therapist.
Until you do, I would recommend laying off all upper body training completely. If you wanted, you could still use the leg press and other lower body machines (but not do barbell squats since it again may put stress on the shoulder). Good luck with rehabilitation!
202. Q:
grow taller
A:
See Q&A #117
203. Q:
what is a poser?
A:
A person who spend too much time in the gym doing anything other than working out. How much is too much depends on who you ask :)
204. Q:
HI Mike, its me from Q 199, ill try that workout routine, i dont understand though how i can go from 135 max to 165 max like that? Also, i need some help with my diet. Every morning i eat a bowl of honey bunches of oats, which isnt bad. for lunch ill normally eat 2 PB sandwiches and some fruit, but at dinner anything goes, i eat like half the dinner of my family for myself esecially anything pasta, same with snacks, i try to eat healthier but their is never any good snack healthy food, any suggestions?
A:
Your new bench max will be around 165 (maybe even higher) because your true current max is about 155. The reason you can only do a couple of reps on 135 is because you exhaust yourself in the first two sets with 95 and 115. Trust the program :)
Your diet can use a lot of improvement and that should be your focus right now. Honey bunches of oats, PB sandwiches, pasta, are all bad bad choices of foods. You might've glanced at it already, but please read my nutrition article very carefully. Note the recommendations for the number of meals, the types of foods to eat, the combinations of foods in a meal. Look at the sample plans. Since you're trying to lose man-boobs, but not necessarily weight (since you're growing), you should be following something like this fat-burning diet except you probably should eat a bit more than is suggested there (around 2800 calories) but of the same types of foods and makeup of meals.
So again, read the nutrition article, thoroughly understand it, and think how to fit all those meals and foods into your everyday life. It won't be perfect a fit, but it should be a whole lot better than how you're eating now. I would also imagine that your parents will help you with your new diet as much as possible once they see the healthy nutritious meals with lots of veggies that you'll be eating. Once you come up with a customized diet plan for yourself, post it here in the same format as my sample diet plans (you don't have to include protein/carb/fat/calorie count, but do include portion sizes) and I'll evaluate it and give you some advice on how to improve it further.
205. Q:
Sorry i forgot to add this, from question 199. on MWF when i do the benches can i also do Inclines and dumbbell flyes?
A:
No, don't do any other chest training while you're following that 6 weeks program. Also, minimize or eliminate completely any shoulder and tricep training for that duration too -- shoulders and triceps also heavily play into bench press strength and you want them as fresh as possible for the bench press during the program. Feel free to do leg, back, bicep, and forearm training if you wish, but do so on separate days from chest training. Or at least a couple hours apart.
206. Q:
Q 121: So how much of my muscles is in the lower body?
What can I do to exercise my calves and forearm?
A:
Your legs and gluteus (aka butt) muscles are the biggest muscle group in your body and are easily 30-40% of the total muscle mass. For your calves you can do standing calf raises or with straight legs extend your toes to push up the 45-degree leg press sled (remember to lock it in place -- this is different from actually doing the leg press exercise) or even simply walk on your toes around the house all day :). For your forearms this and this will take care of your wrist flexors and extensors.
207. Q:
HI,Mike, i just started ur 6 week chest routine today. In my previous question you said not to do any shoulders or triceps? why is that? couldnt i work them after my chest workout, just to get a final burn for them, i dont want to lose the muscle im gaining in my shoulders and triceps. Plus, with shoulder muscles, i heard somewhere else it can hide man boobs a little bit. I would just work them on M and F. Oh, and also u dissed honey bunches of oats, what is wrong with that? plenty of oats and grains. Same with peanut butter, one gains 9g of protein per tablespoon!
A:
The reason to not work shoulders and triceps is to be as fresh as possible for the bench press which is your primary focus while on this program. Bench press on its own will provide some good work for the triceps and also a decent workout for shoulders too. Many low-volume programs do not have any isolation tricep work and instead rely on the bench press to do all the tricep training -- and they work perfectly well! I guarantee you that you won't lose any tricep/shoulder muscle while on this program for 6 weeks. You might lose a bit of shoulder/tricep exercise strength when you come back from the program and you will gain it back in 1-2 weeks (this kind of strength loss happens due to neurological changes, not muscle changes and you regain the old strength back quickly. If you absolutely feel the need to work shoulders/triceps, do it for weeks 1-3 only, not for the last 3 weeks.
The problem with honey bunches of oats, along with pretty much any other processed cereal is that all that processing makes them very easy for your body to digest. This basically has the same effect on your body as eating sugar. Body digests them quickly, lots of glucose enters your bloodstream at once, your pancreas responds by releasing insulin which stimulates glucose uptake both into your muscle and into fat reserves. However your muscles don't have any particular need for extra glucose at that time, so it all ends up as fat.
Actually the process is much much more complicated than I described, but the basic lesson is the same: avoid eating processed foods, especially if you're concerned about fat gain! To defend honey bunches of oats, you do eat them in the morning when your body is less likely to store fat and they're not the worst choice you could've made. But you can still do a lot better by eating real old-fashioned oatmeal without any extra sugar or processing (see sample diets). Slice an apple, sprinkle cinnamon, or throw some strawberries into the oatmeal to make it taste better.
Peanut butter is OK (as long as you control portion sizes), but PB sandwiches are not OK. Bread is, again, a heavily processed carbohydrate (whole grain is better than white bread, but still not a great choice). Combine that with the calorie-heavy PB and you have a combination of heavy insulin release with lots of extra calories in the form of glucose and fatty acids floating in your bloodstream. All those calories will go to your fat reserves. (Again, I'm oversimplifying the actual physiological processes to illustrate my point). PB would be OK to mix with say, low-fat cottage cheese -- that would give you a high protein/low carb/high fat meal. But PB sandwiches are a big no-no, especially when trying to lose fat.
Hope that helps.
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