Q: Mike, I recently shifted to a lighter weight-more rep workout. On my bench press, I now do sets to failure of about 12-9-5 reps. Is this still too heavy? Should I knock off a few pounds?

A: If you're doing 12-9-5 reps to failure, I would still consider that heavy. That is the range I would recommend for most people most of the time, but if you wish to try higher-reps program I would reduce the weight by another 10-15% which should bump the reps to 16-20/set range.

Q: mike, i have 2 questions

1) when im squatting, my knee clicks pretty much every time im coming up from the squat, it doesnt hurt, i can just hear the sound.. is that bad?

2)why am i so weak? im 16, 6'4 224 pounds, and i only bench 145, squat 145, and dead 145. bench-5 reps squat-6 dead-8 reps

Q: I was a bit overweighted before but now i have obtained some muscles and iam lean overall.After a bit of cutting i have lost even more fat and i only have around stomach area(thing that is very common).I cant continue the cutting phase as i eat already only about 2450-2500 calories only each day.I have been told that in order to lose the extra fat around my stomach area i need to either eat even less thing that is not possible or exercise a lot more thing i cant afford to do due to my job.

Q: I am a 19 yrs old girl.My height is 5'3' and my weight is 39.5kgs.I have tried a lot but have not succeded in gaining weight.I am very depressed.Please suggest the exact food that i should have to gain weight.

Q: mike, i made some protein bars to eat at school

i eat breakfast at 6 30, and lunch is at 10 45.

my question is, each bar has 27g of protein, and 22g of carbs. should i cut them in half, and have one inbetween breakfast and lunch, and one inbetween lunch and home, or just one full one inbetween breakfast and lunch? which would be like 13.5g of protein inbetween meals . i dont want to eat 2 full ones, because i will be draining my whey protein supplies way to fast.

Q: I have been doing hit cardio and weight training for weeks now and have noticed my strength and stamina really improve as well as losing body fat. Although I'm not overweight I would like to lose the fat on my stomach area. What I have noticed is though I'm losing a pound of fat a week, it is going to many weeks, if not months to get a low body fat. It made me think If only I had been doing this all my life, I may not have gained the fat in the first place then have to spend ages losing it later in life. Prevention in this case has to be better than the cure.

Q: Are the carbs on the meal plans listed on this including fiber or not? I have been tryin gto follow the carb/fat/protein ratios to the tee. The gym I use offers a website where you can plug in everything you eat and trak carbs and and so on. i have noticed that my protein is a little higher than you have listed but the calories are roughly the same. it has been really helpful because I found out I was eating too many carbs and very little fats. So I have added olive oil and dry roasted nuts to the mix. Thanks for your help!

Q: what is the best way to lose love handles, thigh fat and calve muscle? as summer is around the corner?
Linda

A: Check out http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/female-has-large-calves

Q: Hey Mike Well my question for you is I'm a skinny guy I weigh about 150lbs and I'm 6'1' and I have man boobs I dont need to lose weight! but I would love to get in shape If you have any ideas let me Know Thank you

A: You definitely should not be trying to lose weight! At your height and weight you can't possibly have significant 'man boobs'. A bit of fat deposit behind the nipples in the chest area is perfectly normal and you should not fret over it. If you are a teenager, then chances are good the appearance of these 'man boobs' will diminish as your body matures.

Q: mike, after randomly putting on a kilogram for the last 4 weeks, each week, I have ballooned from 78 kg to 82 kgs. I have been told that my body has become intolerant to dairy products (including eggs). I admit, I have always been chubby, but I'm actually getting very fat now. I have been weight training, and a small amount of this gain in mass is muscle, but my waistline has exploded. could you recommend the types of food that I should NOT eat, as I am unfamiliar with nutrition, and would whole heartedly appreciate the guidance of a fitness guru like you. Kim UK (male 22)

Q: mike, when I do cardio, I am confused between training as at my hardest for 30 mins, or training in the 'fat burning zone' on my electronic, heart sensor cross trainer. does training in this zone actually work? and if so, how long will I need to train in this lower intensity zone for? thanks for the great website

Q: how to get huge arms?

A: To build any muscle the recipe is simple: eat healthy protein-rich diet with enough calories to slowly gain weight + do heavy weight training. Even if you only care about having big arms I would recommend that you still do whole-body weight training -- it'll contribute to arms more, will keep you in good overall shape, and help keep your fat gains low. Read the articles I referred to in http://www.mikesfitness.com/content/how-to-get-ripped to learn the details of how to go about eating and working out right.

Q: mike, i bought some all wheat bagles to eat with breakfast with peanutbutter on them, along with eggs. however, i noticed each bagle has 63g of carbs each. is that too much carbs for breakfast?
im 6'4 225, and am trying to bulk as cleanly as possible. keep in mind, i eat breakfast at 6 30, and dont get to eat again til around 11 15

Q: reason why your body is not holding protein

A: Not sure what you mean by this exactly, but in general our bodies will always excrete some protein as waste (dissolved in urine). The exact amount of protein your body can make use of and whether the protein will be burned for energy or used to repair muscles or tissues depends on a lot of factors, so there is no one answer. But to put it simply, if you eat more protein than your body can make use of then it will discard some or all of it as waste.