Q&A for: 19-Nov-06
1891. Q:
how do i loose my man boobs?
A:
Please read this.
1892. Q:
mike, on your 5day workout routine, is the chest day overtraining? thats alot of sets + exercises
A:
It's 15 to-failure sets for chest which is a lot, but remember that you won't be training chest again for the whole week. Also, you should not stay with a high-volume program like that indefinitely but for only 2-3 months after which you'll switch to lower volume. Given those circumstances it should not cause overtraining.
1893. Q:
reply to 1880. im gonna start eating 1/2 cup of oatmeal mixed with some PB in the morning, along with 3 eggs and a cup of milk. so that would be 5 slices of bread still :-/. i have to eat bread for lunch, and my during class snack, unless u would say a banana instead, but thats all sugar carbs right? as far as the brown rice thing, i usually eat brown rice in my pre and post-post workout meals. what would be a healthier carb source right after school besides brown rice?
A:
That breakfast looks better! I would say a banana is about equivalent of whole-wheat bread (though one banana has 50-100% more calories than one slice), so you may want to try it and see if you like it better (or just for variety).
For another healthy starchy carb idea, try sweet potatoes / yams (boiled, not baked). Beans or lentils are over 50% very healthy carbs with the rest being protein. Oatmeal is always a good choice or just about any other whole grain -- try barley soup for example. And there's nothing wrong with eating brown rice more than twice a day as well.
1894. Q:
hi mike i am 18 year old male about 5'10 and 160 lbs. i workout 3 to 4 times a week which consist of cardio, weights and calisthenics. I have a lean built but i have few flaws that need to be fix. Such as my stomach and lower back. i 've got a small portion of excess fat in those regions. how can i lose the fat without losing muscle?
A:
It sounds like your exercise program is good already, so the next thing to do is make sure your nutrition is good -- read this.
Assuming your diet is already good and you still have excess fat, you need to make a decision about how to proceed to lose the extra fat. It's unlikely you'll be able to lose it just by maintaining your weight -- or at least the process will be painfully slow (years). A more effective approach would be either to go on a cut immediately (lose weight and fat at the expense of losing some minimal muscle) or first do a bulk (gain weight and muscle at the expense of gaining some minimal fat) followed by a cut.
The bulk-first-cut-later approach is usually more effective but it requires you pay careful attention to the diet both in bulk and cut phases. You need to eat as described in the article I linked above, but gain weight very slowly -- no faster than one pound every two weeks on average. After you've gained 10-15 muscles of mostly muscle you can start on a cut, slowly losing weight (a pound per week or slower on average). After a few months you'll be back to your present weight but with slightly more muscle and slightly less fat. If needed, you can then repeat the bulk-cut cycle again, again gaining a bit of muscle and losing a bit of fat. It's not a very fast process, but it's your best bet to lower your body fat in the long run without losing muscle.
1895. Q:
hey mike, how can i increase my bench press?
A:
Check out my strength program. The way I wrote it up it's meant for deadlift and squat as well as bench, but if you are not interested in those two exercises you can just do the bench part of it. While doing this program for the chest, don't do any other chest, shoulder, or tricep exercises.
In this program in the first few weeks you'll be lifting lots of sets with very light (though slightly increasing week-to-week) weights which will get your nervous system to the exercise. In the last couple weeks you'll push yourself once a week lifting very heavy for a couple reps to test your new strength -- make sure you have experienced spotters for that. The program may feel strange (first few weeks you won't feel anything at all since you'll be lifting very light weights) but is actually very effective when performed as prescribed.
1896. Q:
Hi, mike, now i just finished my bulking programme and i was wondering why when we are going to lose fat, we should eat less carbohydrate?
A:
In general, we have to eat fewer calories when trying to lose weight. It doesn't make much sense to cut on protein since extra protein helps preserve muscle plus protein is a subpar energy source anyway. It's usually not a good idea to cut down on fats too much -- fats are essential for health and a low-fat diets are notoriously difficult to stick to since fats keeps us feeling full and sated. So that leaves cutting down on carbs.
1897. Q:
I want to be 105 pounds but I don't know what kind of exercise I should do. I'm pretty young and overweight and I have junk food at my house so I can't resist the junk and I eat it. How do I keep myself from eating it? And my mom won't let me throw it out because its for everyone. Thank you.
A:
I can't really give you very good advice since I don't know your gender, age, height, or weight, but in general eating healthy HAS to be the main thing if you are trying to get in or stay in shape. You can read my nutrition article to learn how to eat healthy and you'll have to find one way or another to stay away from junk food, even if it's at your house all the time. Having a healthy balanced diet goes a good way towards avoiding junkfood since by eating healthy you won't feel hungry much. Aside from the diet, as a teenager you need to be active -- walk, jog, run, swim, bike, play sports, do stuff around the house (clean, mow lawn, shovel snow), etc.
1898. Q:
Mike how many grams of protein can a body absorb per meal(every 3 hours?)I have heard about up to 25 grams .Is that true?Iam thinking of adding more protein to each of my six meals a day in order to gain more muscles.Would that work?Thanks.
A:
There is no one answer since everyone's different. Probably somewhere between 25 and 40 grams of protein per meal is right for most people. If you are already getting 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily you're in good shape and if you're getting 1.5 grams per pound, then you're in excellent shape and it's unlikely you'll get any benefit from more protein.
1899. Q:
H mike! I am 22 5'7 about 150 and male. I just started a bulks a few months ago. After the initial weight gain of about six pounds in two weeks ( I also started creatine at the same time), I really haven’t gained any weight. My abs are disappearing behind more and more fat though. I have noticed a little more fat around my waist. How can this be?? I am on your five day a week heavy volume workout and I do about thirty minutes of cardio the other two days. My diet is fairly good. in the morning I have two servings of old fashioned oats, or oat bran with either cottage cheese or some other lean protein. I have a snack roughly three hours later. Again a lean meat and either rice or black beans. for lunch I will have broccoli fat free cheese chicken and some nuts. Lunch is also my pre-workout meal. I also snack on salads and nuts throughout out the day. I keep to about 2400 calories a day with 200 grams of protein 200 grams of carbs and 84 grams of fat. All of that and about 50-60 grams of fiber. So what am I doing wrong?? I have been at this for about a year and half now. I feel like just giving up. I still do not have the body I want. How can I improve??? Thanks mike!
A:
Sorry to hear your bulk isn't going so well. The initial six-pound gain in first two weeks is probably OK, especially since you started on creatine at the same time. However after that you should be gaining about 2 pounds per month to make it a bulk. If your weight hasn't changed in several months, then you are not really bulking.
Your meals are fine individually, but overall you need to increase your calories. Try increasing carbs by about 50 grams and stay with that for couple weeks. If you weight doesn't budge, add another 50 grams of carbs. I would also try to diversify your sources of fats -- try olive oil, fatty fish like salmon, or maybe flax seed. However the main thing is to increase the calories so you're slowly gaining weight -- otherwise you are simply not bulking.
As far as your current progress or lack or it, I really doubt that you are somehow gaining fat now -- it's much more likely that your eyes and mind are playing tricks on you. Also, if you're really unhappy with your present level of fat you can always consider doing a cut before restarting a bulk. But in either bulking or cutting you'll need to monitor your weight and adjust your calories to stay on track -- gain of one pound every two weeks for a bulk and loss of one pound every week for a cut. Good luck!
1900. Q:
Is that possible if u gain muscles and not doing any crunches at all to have problems later at your back cause it wont be able to hold the upper part of your body?
A:
It's very unlikely that you'll gain so much muscle that your lower back starts hurting (it's much more common for overweight people). But there is a kernel of truth in what you're saying -- it's important to have balanced abdominals to avoid lower-back problems. If you do whole-body exercises like deadlifts and squats your abdominals will usually be well-developed as well, though you can always supplement with some crunches. But if you only do isolation lower back exercises like hyperextensions, then it's virtually a requirement to also do abdominal exercises to keep your core muscles in balance.
1901. Q:
How many times should i go to gym in order to bulk up?I ve heard that 3 is the best cause this way u have one day in and one out thus giving your body more time to rest and create muscles each time.What is your opinion?
A:
Anywhere between 2 and 5 days/week is OK. I recommend changing your program every couple of months, so you can alternate between higher-volume (4-5 days/week) and lower-volume (2-3 days/week).
1902. Q:
I love black beans. I get ones where the only ingredients are black beans and salt. Are these ok? would they be considered 'good carbs?'
A:
Sure, black beans are great! All beans and lentils are terrific food choices.
1903. Q:
Hi mike, i notice that everytime i wake up every morning my pecs are not so visible and only maybe after awhile in the afternoon than it starts to get more visible. Whats wrong:?
A:
The most likely explanation is that your body is hanging on to a bit water when you wake up which can look like a bit of fat on you. You can weigh yourself at different times in the day if you'd like to know when your body is holding more water -- usually your muscles will look most defined when your body has least excess water, which is when it weighs the least. You'll find it's not uncommon for your weight to vary 5 pounds or even more depending on when you eat, when you use the restroom, and when you weigh yourself.
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