Q&A for: 20-Aug-06
1732. Q:
I have not got a lot of money to spend on weights or gym memberships - therefore I was fascinated to find on the internet sites which discussed how to use cheap low tech methods of exercise like sandbags. I was interested because you can create a compound exercise using a sandbag very easily, cheaply and as it is so demanding you do not have to spend hours at time to get results. I just wanted to know what you thought of using this type of equipment in terms of its effectiveness?
A:
Yes, 'homemade' equipment lke sandbags can be just as effective as typical gym set up. In fact, some of the most effective exercises don't require any equipment at all, but just rely on your own bodyweight to provide resistance -- see my no-equipment program.
The biggest concern I would have with sandbags or similar setups are injuries. Gym freeweights are perfectly balanced to provide constant weight distribution on the left and on the right sides and the weights do not shift around as you lift them. With homemade equipment that's going to be nearly impossible, so there's a danger that, say, trying to deadlift a heavy sandbag all the weight will shift to one side which can easily lead to pulls and strains.
You'll also likely be somewhat limited in developing your chest strength unless you have a partner and some fairly elaborate equipment. The reason for that is because the single best chest builder is the plain old chest/bench press which is tough to do by yourself with a sandbag. Pushups are a decent alternative but they won't have quite the same effect as heavy to-failure presses. However diamond pushups (with hands very close together) can be great tricep developers.
So overall, yes, you can certainly make great progress with only homemade equipment and some ingenuity -- just be very aware that you'll be putting yourself at risk of injury on many exercises and be careful.
1733. Q:
I a following your 5 day heavy program and just wanted to know what 'BB Hang Clean and Press' was. I didn't see a link for this or 'Bent Rear DB Raises' If you could provide a link for those o rhelp out tha would be great. Thanks again
A:
Here's the hang clean part and here's the press part. So you perform the hang clean to get the barbell into the starting position for the press and then you perform the press. The only note I want to make about this exercise is that it's very advanced and if you're not sure how to perform it correctly and don't have a trainer who can teach you, you may want to skip it -- in that case simply replace its sets with more sets of shrugs and presses.
1734. Q:
mike, would doing 10 minutesof cardio 4x a week while bulking reduce my bodyfat at all?
A:
It may serve some purpose as far as slowing your bulk down a little. In general, the slower the bulk the better, so it may help in that sense. You can achieve the same result by simply eating a little less. In either case the benefit will be quite small, possibly too small to notice.
Cardio will have the general benefit of keeping your cardiovascular system in shape, so that's another plus. On the other hand, when bulking, I would strongly recommend to not do cardio in the same workout as weights but instead have a nice big protein-rich meal as soon as possible aftr the weights workout. So if you do cardio, try to do it on different days or different times from weights. You may also want to consider HIIT instead of traditional cardio.
1736. Q:
I have fat arms for my size. How do I get rid of the fat so my muscles will be more defined
A:
Unfortunately there's no way to target the fat on any specific area of the body, whether its arms or legs or belly or anything else. The only thing you can do is to lose overall body fat and that will naturally lose the fat on the troublesome areas as well. Check out my fat loss article to see the most effective way to lose overall body fat.
1737. Q:
Hi Mike. I love your website. It's so straight forward and easy to follow. I am 27, 5-11, and weighed 242 pounds when I started your weight and cardio plan. I do the three day per week medium intensity stuff. I have lost 12 pounds in 6 weeks and I feel great. I wanted to ask you about my cardio plan. After my weights on Mon. Wed. Fri. I do 30 minutes of fast walking adjusting the incline every minute on a cycle of 0-7.5-15 on the incline after a 3 minute warmup. Is this good for burning fat? I sweat like a pig when I do it and it feels great. Also, is the 3 day/week weight routine good for burning fat? I can totally see the difference in my muscles. Thanks. Sorry for such a long winded question.
A:
Congrats on your great start!! Very glad my site helped you (and thank you for letting me know that it did -- I love to hear that!) As far as your program, it sounds like everything is working perfectly, so I'd say you're doing all the right things already. 12 pounds in 6 weeks is a perfectly good pace for somebody like you since you're starting a bit heavy so you can afford to lose weight a bit quicker. So by all means, just keep on doing what you're doing as long as it's working!
Your cardiovascular system will get in better and better shape with time so you'll be able to increase the speed and/or the incline more aggressively -- though I would keep the cardio sessions to no more than 20-30 minutes/session, as you're doing now. Similarly, your strength will increase as will your familiarity and comfort level with exercises, so you'll be able to increase weights on your exercises while still being able to do the same number of reps and sets.
I also generally recommend changing weight training programs every 2-3 months (while taking a 1-2 week break from exercising in between), so for your next weight training program you may want to pick out one that's higher in volume or intensity.
But overall it sounds like you're exactly on the track that you want to be on now, so congratulations and just keep it going!
1738. Q:
mike, right now im too weak to do a pullup :(.. how can i increase my strength to the point where i can?
A:
Pullups are a great exercise but a very challenging one as well so you should not feel bad at all that you can't do a full pullup. Start by doing partial pullups -- where you pull yourself up by only a couple inches, then hold there for a second, and then lower yourself back down as slowly as possible. Another variation is to leave your feet dragging and even pushing off a little bit from a chair/bench or a floor to lessen the weight you're pulling up. Another variation is start in the pulled-up position (just stand on a tall chair/bench so your chin is level with the bar, grab on in the pulled-up position, and lower yourself as slowly as you can. All these exercises will prove very difficult at first but as your strength improves these will become easier and easier and evetually you'll be able to do full pullups.
The other part of improving your pullups is losing weight -- IF and only IF you are overweight. By losing extra weight and fat you're making yourself lighter so it's easier for your muscles to pull you up. However, again, this should only be done if you genuinely need to lose weight. If that's the case, please read my weight loss article to learn the most effective way to lose weight and fat while building your strength. Good luck!
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