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Strength, Health & Fitness
With Marty Gallagher
Tuesday, March 20, 2001; Noon EST
Are you trying to lose weight, build muscle, get stronger or excel in a given sport? Maybe you're just hoping to slow the aging process, which exercise and good health habits can surely help accomplish. But male or female, young or old -- where do you start and what do you do? And if you're already an experienced exerciser or athlete, how do you fight your way off a plateau or avoid going stale?
Start by asking Marty Gallagher!
Over the past 20 years, Gallagher has written more than 200 articles for such magazines as "Muscle and Fitness," "Flex" and "Powerlifting USA." He has interviewed hundreds of the world's top athletes, quizzing them on the training tactics they used to succeed.
Gallagher, a World Powerlifting Champion and fitness expert, is taking your questions about every fitness topic under the sun.
Below is the transcript.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Marty Gallagher: Hey people -
I have been pressed for time the last two week and had to rummage around my exerise quiver to find a short and sweet routine. Check this out:
Monday bench
Tuesday squat
Wends curls
Thur overhead press
Fri triceps
Sat off
Sund off
I worked up to one set of 8 reps and am able to finish in between 15-30 minutes. Boom! In and out. I am actually going to keep this exercise template for a while to see how it shakes out. Quick and hard!
Whaz up?
Doc Pink set a world deadlift record for his age group on Saturday past, 675, I believe and Virgina Bruce captured the State championship in Tae Kwoon Do. Good to see our iron brothers putting all that muscle to use and waxing the competition in the process.
Look for the big question dump at the end of this week's clambake - lots of interesting questions.
Somewhere, USA:
Marty: I recently started a great govt. with a wonderful gym and personal trainer. I can work out five days a week which I plan to do. Can you recommend a good free weights workout that I can get to in about 30 minutes? My goal is to be toned, but not huge. I'm especially looking to work my lower half being that i have been lifting on the top for a while. I am a 25 year old female about 5'3 125lbs. Thanks
Marty Gallagher: Started a government job?
If you have a personal trainer, get him to give you a routine and then send in to us and we'll look it over. Hey, maybe he/she knows what they're doing? You need to set some goals before anyone can help you.
Doc Pinkzilla in Monterey:
Dear Honorable Coach Gallagher,
I SHOOK UP THE WORLD!
I SHOOK UP THE WORLD!
I SHOOK UP THE WORLD!
TEMBLE UN MUNDO!!!
Just like Godzilla (Go-gee-ra) picks up buses and trains, etc., Doc Pinkzilla was at it on Sunday, setting a new IPA master's drug-free (aka as "natural") world record in the deadlift. Zamm! Reports have been coming in from around the globe. GRILLMAN said he felt the shaking in 'Zona, and here is a report from an old partner in Southeast Asia:
Southeast Asia falls under the magnetic pull of Pinkzilla's movements from time to time. It's like those new telescopes that measure light bending as it zips past a black hole. They can't see the black hole, but they can
see the reaction in light and know it's there. Well, when Pinkzilla is throwing around the weights, you can see changes in nature in Southeast Asia as a result. Most people don't notice it, but you'll see it if you know what to look for.
There it is.
Doc Pinkzilla
Inter-Galactic Headquarters of Swelling in the 21st Century, Ltd.
Marty Gallagher: Try not to be so modest. You're like a plain wallflower in a Jane Austin novel. Don't be afraid to express yourself. Do people fighten you? You have low self esteem, most likely.
Worcester, Maine:
Good Afternoon,
What is your opinion of German Volume Training -i.e. 10 sets of 10 reps, where the weight is selected so that you started to go to failure towards the end of the 8th to 9th set]? Another arrow in the quiver?
BECAUSE:
I have been using an assisted pull-up machine for wide grip pull-ups and went from 80# assisted weight to 24# assisted weight doing 3 sets of 8 and then PROGRESS STOPPED. Looking back about half of this progress was my weight going from 215# to 185#.
So I was thinking of doing 4 reps per sets at 24# assisted weight but increasing the sets to 10.
Or should I do 3 sets of 8 reps using my bodyweight but doing negatives to complete the sets when I can't complete a real rep?
I have been making good progress with my deadlifts & T-bar rows, so my back is getting stronger, BUT I WANT TO BE A "CHINNING MACHINE".
Thanks.
Marty Gallagher: I like what's behind door # 3.
Get off the assisted stuff for a while. It subtly screws up your regular chin tecnique. Real good chinners get a little rebound out of the bottom. 3x8 would be great. Build that up to 3x10 and eventually 3x15. Then go to 1x20 and finally 2x20. Write back after you do this.
German volume is all right. Pat Casey used to do 10x10 back in the 1960's and got great bulk and power results. After warmups he'd use a level weight and take all afternoon to do a routine. For chest he might do bench, DB inclines, upside down wall pushups and flyes - all 10x10. He would be in the gym so long he'd eat lunch while he trained.
Severn, Md.:
Your abbreviated workout routine does not include any back exercises. Any particular reason? Perhaps you resemble the Silver Back and do not need to work your back?
Crackin' in Md.
Marty Gallagher: Hey thanks for catching that - It actually reads like this
Mon Bench
Tue squat
Wed curls
Thurs over head press
Fri deadlift
Sat triceps
Sun off
Washington, D.C.:
For the past 4 years, I have exercised religiously -- 45 minutes cardio 3-4 times a week (step/cardio boxing classes) and weight training (free weights) 2-3 times a week (well, usually only 2 times a week).
However, despite the fact that my diet and exercise routine hasn't changed, in the past year I have been seeing changes in my body that I don't like! Things are not fitting the same and the scale is telling me awful things. I hit 30 not too long ago. Was my mother right when she said that at 30, your body changes and things become an uphill climb?
Marty Gallagher: Well, you most likely hit a metobolic slowdown, which is when the human body turns down the calorie burning thermostat.
All of a sudden those 2000 calories a day that used to be breakeven now make you fat. Happens to all of us. Look, you need a whole new approach. The fact that your exercise routine hasn't changed in a year is a bad thing - not an admirable thing. The body is remarkably adaptive and will neutralize the most sophisticated exercise routine given time. You've probably under gone a metabolic slowdown that has combined with an ineffective exercise routine and resulted in stymied progress.
Perdy, Mo.:
Pinkzilla? Sounds like a gay dinosaur. Not that there is any thing wrong with that. Why is this guy fixated on black holes? Latent tendencies?
Marty Gallagher: Perdy, where's that? Doc Pink is a walking black hole.
Pink honed his brain in the spy trade and now works at a think tank as an expert on Asia. In his free time he sets world powerlifting records and persues his judo blackbelt.
Washington, D.C.:
I used to be super fit --worked out 7 days
a week. Once I got into the "real world", I
started going less (4 days/wk ). I
underwent knee surgery in the fall and,
though it was routine, had difficulty
bouncing back. As a result, I put on some
weight (10-15 pounds).
I recently began workig out again (3 days
of aerobics classes and usually 1 day of
cardio/weight training per week). I have
been watching what I eat. Yet, my weight
loss is SLOW. I thought you lost weight
faster early on and then leveled out. That
doesn't seem to be happening. I should
mention that I am not super over weight (I
weigh about 135 now).
What can I do different to speed up the
weight loss situation? Alter my workout? I
don't want to be "bulky", just toned and fit.
Marty Gallagher: I don't want to be bulky . . . just toned and fit.
If I had a nickel for everytime I've heard that one.
A one pound a week weight loss is ideal. Any more then that (at your size) and you would most likely lose equal parts muscle and fat. That's not what we want - what we want is to oxidize the body fat while retaining the hard-earned gym muscle.
You want to lose 15 pounds and I would advise taking 15 weeks to do it. Hey, in three months, if you play your cards right, you could be inn the best shape of your life - if that's not fast enough then you're being unrealistic!
D.C.:
I recently started exercising for an hour each day - I do 25 minutes of aerobics and then 4-5 reps of 25 crunches - I am a beginner. I would like to reduce my "little pouch" (lower stomach part) but it seems that it is not getting smaller, just bigger. Do you know why that is and what exercises can I do to reduce it?
Marty Gallagher: You need to lift weights in order to build and strengthen the muscles, you need to do aerobics to improve the health and function of internal organs. Aerobics also bestows endurance, always a great physical attribute to possess. Diet is the third leg of the fitness tripod and we minipulate it. We need to provide enough nutritents to promote muscle growth and speed recovery - but not too many or they will be stored as body fat.
Read back though past shows and educate yourself. Develop some specific goals -
Centreville, Va.:
Hi Marty,
Thanks for the time you put into these. I'm a female 5' 102lbs 17.4% bodyfat. I've been training during the last 4 months to build muscle, which I've been able too. Now I want to go to the next step and get cut. My food intake as it stands is 1250cals(140g p/100g c/ 25g f). I'm gonna work sets of 25 reps, trying supersets and trisets. What to do you think would be the appropriate numbers in foo d intake to get to my goal.
Keep up the good work!
Marty Gallagher: How do you feel subsiting on 1250 calories a day?
That sounds pretty damned low - even for someone who weighs 102. I mean, if you eat only 1,250 calories a day, what do you drop to in order to trigger fat loss? 800? That's the caloric eqivilent of one Big Mac.
Give me some help here - are you already dieted down? You could use exercise to create a caloric deficet but you got to be careful or you end up overtrained and in a heap of trouble.
Virginia:
Actually, I always thought "pinkzilla" sounded more like a communist dinosaur.
Marty Gallagher: Yeah, a North Korean Communist Dinosaur -
We all used to wonder if he would become the first American to defect to North Korea, he always going over there on 'trade delegations', all very suspicious.
Va.:
Are any of the excercises in your routine good for the abs? Deadlifts maybe?
Marty Gallagher: Deadlifts fer sure -
Technically, deads are a 'reverse deadlift'. Bio-mechcanically, the deadlift in the inverse opposite of the situps or crunch and stresses the abs intensly - in a way not possible with crunches. I'm talking heavy weight - 550 to 650 for reps. Any great conentional deadlifter has fabulous abs - once you scrape all the visually obscuring lard and padding.
Mt Kisco-NY:
Hey Coach
Alright - Back omission has been corrected on your SHort&Sweet workout in the intro, but you mention you worked up to one set of 8 reps. What were the other sets? How many sets and reps before the Big Kahuna?
I'm curious about how many sets to do. Recently I've dropped from 5 to 3 and never feel like I've sweated, even though I'm setting new maxes in weight.
Pauly-NY
Marty Gallagher: Pauly New Yawk - hey its different on each
bench - 2-3 warmups, then 1x8
squats - 3-4 warmups then 1x8
curls - 1 warmup then 3x10 (seated steep incline DB)
shoulders - 2 warmpups then 2x10
deadlift - 3-4 warmups then 1x6-8
Triceps - 1 warmup then 3x12-15
Doc Pinkzilla :
You thought wrong Virginia. But I should probably take that as a compliment since some people out your way say Barry Goldwater was a communist too.
And I have never been to the DPRK.....
Pinkzilla
Marty Gallagher: congratulations - next stop 700? GrillMan's all pumped up to deadlift 750. I think he's got deadlift envy.
Centreville, Va.:
Marty,
Is the 1250 cal person here? My personal trainer and me came to that figure. We started at 1400, didn't make a difference (I was about 15 lbs overweight) and over the curse of 2 years arrived at 1250-1300 range. I feel pretty good actually, I eat 5 smaller meals with one fruit snack. I have a lot of energy in the evening which is when I train.
I've been in this number for a year now. Although I like to cycle my diet and sometimes go as high as 1400 for two weeks or so.
I look muscular for a 102 but I am not cut.
Marty Gallagher: Well we have three choices;
1. cut calories
2. burn off calories with cardio
3. cut calories and increase cardio
Realistically, you can pick anyone of these alternatives and make it work. You might want to think about resetting your caloric ceiling higher somewhere down the road. How old are you?
Woodbridge, Va.:
Marty,
Is there a big benefit to taking supplements after a workout vs. before? I usually workout at 6 p.m. and have a protein bar or shake before I leave work. It holds me over till supper. Would I be better off waiting until after the workout?
Thanks for all your insight.
Marty Gallagher: Hey Woodbridge!
I like to drink caffine before and during a work out - I'm not too concerned about eating beforehand but I really make sure I eat or, more likely, take a protein or a protein carb shake immediately after a workout. If the workout is in the evening I try and keep the carbs to a mimimum to preserve my glycogenic status for the next morning's cardio session. If I work out in the morning (most often) I will chug down a meal replacement powder that deliver a whopping 40 grams of protein and 60 grams of carbs. Bang! Rip open a packet, mix it with water and, presto! immediate healing nutritents! Dousing traumatized muscle tissue with easily digestible protein is smart! Contact my e-mail: mgso@supernet.com for my personal preferences.
Arlington, Va.:
Hey Marty,
You often talk about cycling rep amounts every 4 weeks or so to avoid plateaus. I'm wondering if the cycle length should in general be shorter for muscles that I work out more than once a week. On your advice, I've been doing arms twice a week or so to try to speed my progress (because they are small muscles you said 2x a week was cool, and my experience with soreness recovery is consistent with this). However, it seems my progress stopped about twice as early as it normally does, i.e. after a couple weeks. Is this normal? Should I have to switch things up every couple weeks for muscles I work out frequently?
Thanks
Marty Gallagher: Some of the top guys will just toss the calender out and train the muscle whenever they feel it is ready, regardless the day of the week. Use your instincts. Err towards taking a little extra time as opposed to trying to jam too many sessions in too few days. Plateaus are inevitable - if what you're doing is working, by all means roll with it. But be ready with alternate plan B, ready to rip as soon as progress peters out.
Centreville, Va.:
Marty,
1250 - I like the increase cardio approach.
How long should I do this for? I only do 3 sessions of 30 mins a week for cardio, and that is not really high intesity. I'm 27. Instead of cutting back calories I was thinking of shifting between protein and carbs, but I do not know how low to go for these, I am taking about 150 g of prot and 100g of carbs.
Marty Gallagher: You have to think calorically.
The idea is to burn off 250-500 calories a day (everyday) through cardio. How long does it take to burn off 500 calories? Its impossible to say because it varies individual to individual. If you are huge and fat your burn rate will be different than someone slim and small. Most folks can burn 250 to 300 in a fairly intense 30-minute session.
If you exist on 1,250 calories per day and burn off 250 in a 30-minute session then you are creating a deficit that will theoretically force the body to oxidize fat stores in order to cover the caloric shortfall.
South Riding, Va.:
Hi Marty! I've enjoyed your ongoing talks for awhile now and wanted to ask you specifically what foods you suggest I eat before a workout and immediately after. Also, what do you think of supplements like Universal's LAVA or Optimum Nutritution's AFTER MAX? Both are protein and carbohydrate supplements with other additives/minerals included. Also, both have Creatine included. What do you think of Creatine specifically?
Marty Gallagher: Didn't I just answer this - or one very similar? I have no direct knowledge of the products you are speaking of.
Marty Gallagher: Okay people - that's all for this week.
I have to go grill some chicken on the deck. Please take a look at the leftover questions from last weeks show and remember that the unanswered questions on today's posting will get delt with in detail and posted at the end of next week's clambake.
Adios.
3-13-01 Questions
Marty,
I've really tightened down on the diet and it certainly is showing (no
sweets in 1.5 weeks)! Here's my question. Since two weeks ago I've lost 6
lbs, most of it 4-5 coming off last week. Amazing what a no sweets diet
does for you. Anyway, I was wondering if it's coming off a little too
fast. I'm not hungry all day long (get hungry 1-2 hours before meals), and
eating clean foods till I'm full but not stuffed. I'm taking 1-2 protein
shakes a day (25g per serving). I don't feel tired or worn out, but this
weight loss was really fast. I was wondering if I should up the calories a
little.
After years of lifting/running/biking I never knew that the candy bars
were killing my physique the way they were. Even when I was doing 24
mountain bike races I didn't look as good. Fiancee agrees with me.
Thanks, I never would have been able to do it without your knowledge.
If you feel good and the process is effortless then don't touch anything! Roll on!
I love your common sense approach; 'eating clean food until full, not stuffed'. That's a great way to approach it. Intake clean food (devoid of fat and sugar) of some type or another every 2-3 hours. This elevates the metabolism, spreads out the calories (which allows the digestive system to work optimally) and keeps you in positive nitrogen balance. PNB is a beatific state in which all muscle-building prerequisites are present and accounted for. Once you are in PBN (a combination of timed eating, rest and lack of stress) all that remains is to undergo a high intensity weight training session and presto! Muscular hypertrophy!
You have a good approach to meal portions with you approach: not to little, not too much, just right - Dogen Zenji could easily have uttered this in Shobogenzo. Hey, if all your vital signs say 'go' and you're rolling, then I say let's breach the barricade. Roll on!
If your energy starts to drop, add some more protein back into the diet. How is the lifting progressing (get it!)? Can you kick up the intensity (not the session frequency, length or poundage) a notch? You could actually add some muscle mass while simultaneously shedding body fat. Do basic exercises with pristine technique and take them right up to the limit on those top sets.
Saw in the dump that you were asking for any good stretches for shin
splints. About the only thing I've found that works is to sit with your legs
fully extended, and then point your toes. First, try for horizontal (and
hold, of course), and then go back past vertical as far as you can.
Thanks - anyone else have any shin splint remedies?
Springfield, Va.:
Dear Marty: Thank you for being so accessible on-line and for offering your e-mail address. I can never be on-line when the chats happen, so I hope it is okay to e-mail you my routine.
I'm 5'0", 123 pounds. I have been doing the weights and cardio, trying my best to get the diet under control, but I'm a junk food junkie and I also love sandwiches (lots of refined carbs). I'm hoping to motivate myself to change my diet by having an exercise routine that I know makes sense (i.e., one that I didn't make up by guessing). Here is my current routine, hoping to get your opinion/suggestions. My goal is to lose about 15-20 pounds and tone up.
I do lower body day, upper body day, then one day off and start over again.
LOWER BODY DAY:
Calf raises (on a step, I'm too short for the machines): 20 x 3 each leg separately, one "two-leg super set" x 30 reps, own body weight
Leg extension 50lbs 3x12
Hamstring extension 35lbs 3x10
Inner thigh adduction 55lbs 3x20
Outer thigh abduction 50lbs. 3x15
Back extension, body weight only, 3x10
150-200 crunches of various varieties, 50 crunch sets
30 minutes cardio machine, heart rate acceptable (i hate cardio machines)
UPPER BODY DAY:
Curls (concentration or standing)10lbs 3x15 (really difficult towards the end of set)
Shoulders (don't know what it's called, when you hold free weights and extend your arms outwards)8 lbs. 3x10
Triceps (also don't know what it's called, but i've been lying down and holding two dumbbells, elbows pointed up, and raising and lowering--hurts like hell (good pain)) 8 lbs., 3x12
Seated row 40 lbs 3x10
Chest press when i feel like it (i don't think i'm doing it right) 15 lbs. 3x12
Same crunch routine
2.5 miles indoor track running (approx. 25 mins., heart rate through the roof).
I think my form is good (power weight up, slow on the way down, keep everything still and isolated) and i have been trying to increase the intensity with which i work since reading your chat.
I can't really do the upper body machines because my arms aren't long enough, and when i do cables i feel like my right arm is doing more work, so that's why i stick with the free weights.
I know this is long, but i hope you can help! I'm quite tired of being chubby. Thank you in advance and for the no-nonsense advice you give everyone!
Your routine is lame.
Look - if you are going to lift then lift!
1. squat
2. leg curl
3. calf raise
4. bench press
5. seated db press
6. back extension
7. seated row
8. curls
9. triceps
Use this routine twice a week. Keep performing your cardio. You are a self-confessed refined-carb eating junk food junkie. We can hardly expect much in the way of results if you are continually overloading the body's calorie processing capacity. The excess is stored as body fat. I want you to think about cutting calories. We'd eventually like to change both the quantity (gross daily calories) and the quality (type) of food you ingest each day but for now, if you could reduce the caloric you intake daily you would see some nice gains. We will gradually substitute good foods for bad as we head down the line.
Try and eat less when you are eating the bad stuff. I encourage you to compensate yourself and eat more of the good foods, particularly when you get a junk food craving. Don't deprive yourself; substitute good foods for bad ones. This way there is far less chance of bingeing, which is usually precipitated by intense hunger cravings. By substituting good foods for bad ones you satiate those hunger binge-inducing hunger cravings and actually reduce the gross caloric intake. Clean food contains 4-calories per gram while 'dirty' food weighs in at a whopping 9-calories per gram. 100 grams of clean food contains 400 calories while 100 grams of dirty food contain 900.
Marty,
Its your old TKD buddy.
My old plan you gave me is no longer working. I have a new plan I want to run past you.
week 1 day 1
Leg Press 225x20 225x15 225x10
Leg extentions 115 x10 115x10 for each leg lift together lower with one.
Prone leg curl 105x10 105x10 for each leg lift together lower with one.
Calf Raises 100x10 100x10 100x10
Hip flex (in) 100x10
Hip flex (out) 100x10
week1 day 2
Shoulder press with chains. 95x12 95x10 95x8
Side Lat Raise 95x10 95x10 both arms together one arm lower.
High Pull 90x10 90x10 both arms together one arm raise.
Pull Over 110x10 110x10
ISO Row 95x10 95x10 both arms together one arm lower.
Incline chest 65x12 65x10 65x8
Bicep curls 32x10 35x10 42x10
Dips 130x10 100x10 60x10
week 2 day 1
Squats 250x20 300x15 350x10
Dead lift 140x10 190x10 240x10
week2 day 2
Same upper body as above.
How you doing?
What's the goal? Are you a powerlifter, ballplayer, bodybuilder, fitness fanatic? Gimme a clue.
I'd move to three days a week - you're jamming too much into the two sessions. The exercises deep into the routine have to suffer. By the time you get to them you are fried. Out of every four sessions, three of them are jam-packed. Break up the current sequence. Try this,
Day 1
Squat
Leg press
Leg extension
Leg curl
Calves
Shoulder press
Laterals
Day 2
Bench
Incline
Flyes
Triceps
Day 3
Deadlift
High pull
Pullover
Iso row
Biceps
Strength suffers by the time you get to the end of an overly long workout. That's why we always do most important exercises first. Position the least consequential exercises at the end of the workout. That way, if you run out of gas before session's end, you've got the important work done.
It's still snowy here in Minneapolis: Hi Marty!
Love these discussions and the post-clam bake answers too. I have been dealing with a very mysterious knee problem (or else not very intelligent orthopaedic doctors) for about two years now. No one, and I mean NO ONE, can give me a clear answer on why my knees hurt when I exercise, nor a way to repair them, and I thus have not been able to find a way to do cardio work without aggravating them. I am, and have been, at my wits' end. I have sooo much motivation to exercise but my knees won't always allow it. I weight train for my upper body and my legs when my knees will tolerate it.
Question is, can you think of/suggest any cardio activity that might not hurt my knees? I have tried everything I can think of, including swimming which seems to bother them too!!!! I can't begin to describe how frustrated I am with this situation, but I'll keep trying!
Thanks...
My favored form of cardio might work for you. I load a backpack with a 25, 35 or 45-pound dumbbell plate and walk the fire trails up in the mountains. I am able to generate a heart rate reading easily the equal of jogging at a brisk pace. Walking with a weight-filled pack (even without the mountains and the trails) is an effective way to generate aerobic intensity. Best of all, there is no lower impact form of cardio activity then walking. But with walking the problem has always been generating enough intensity to elevate the heart rate to an effective level. Wearing a pack with poundage provides a neat and tidy solution. I noticed how much my heart rate monitor jumped when I carried even a small (10-pound) rucksack on my back. This got me thinking and I decided to experiment with progressively heavier loads. I combined the poundage with some steep local terrain and I suddenly I was getting massive aerobic activity, all I could handle, (90%-plus of age related heart rate maximum) while walking at a snail's pace! Cool! I can now get a kick-ass aerobic session while strolling around the woods like a spaced-out tourist. Throw a dime in a kids backpack, the kind they carry their books in, and go for a high speed nature walk.
McLean, Va.: I'm trying to get to 2 miles in 20 minutes - a pre-req for a Spring Boot Camp at my gym. Right now, I'm a jogger, not a runner. Combination jog/fast walk I get to 2 miles in 25 minutes. Help! What do I need to do to accelerate my time, while avoiding that stitch in the side?
You have to be consistent, progressive, methodical and patient.
The fastest way to get to your goal is to get on the track every single day and run the two miles for time. Every day! You could also stand to lose some body fat. If you shed 10-pounds of fat and retained your current muscle mass, your running time would radically improve: you are hauling around less weight with the same horsepower.
Fairfax, Virginia:
Do you really think just being "buff" is healthy? Doesn't your heart have the main role in your being? Just plain good excercise and eating right will do that, and of course a regular Doctor's checkup. And if you are "fat" as society says, if you are in good health, that shouldn't matter either. No matter what people say. Just being "buff" does not make you healthy, you just look that way. Don't judge the book by it's cover.
Thank you for your time
Let's dissect this one sentence at a time.
1. Did I ever say, "just being buff equates to perfect health"? Or did I say something along the lines of 'being buff is certainly a good indicator of health' Just as being 100-pounds overweight is certainly a good indicator of poor health.
2. I would like a clarification on sentence number two.
3. I don't care if you're fat. Honest. Some of my best friends are fat.
4. Whatever you say.
5. Most who adhere to the fitness lifestyle are far healthier then their chronological contemporaries.
6. I promise not to judge a book by its cover but I reserve the right to judge that same book by its content.
7. Thank you for your time too.
Doc Pinkzilla in Monterey: Dear Coach Gallagher,
You mention in the intro that summer is on the way, blah, blah...This is just to let everyone know that we in Cali are in the land of never ending ice storms and freezing rain. Don't check the weather on Yahoo or the Weather Channel, just take my word for it...it sucks here. So all y'all just stay back there on the (L)east coast...unless you are a lifter. We don't need anymore mullets out here. Training is ALL GOOD. Been consulting with GRILLMAN, as always. After talking about the game plan a couple of weeks back, I decided that just as all the great ones, such as Cassidy et al., I would commence into consuming large quantities of food. Lots of blue berry pie, and total mental focus at the dinner table to defeat the stomach. After eating clean for weeks on end, low carbs, etc., I started throwing down massive amounts of carbs, fats and protein, with the usual veggies and a salad thrown in, and a large volume of H20.
In no time, I have begun to get all SWOLLED in the body. I had been hanging around 270 lbs, and thought I'd roll into the meet next Sunday and lift in the 275 lbs class, but now I'm closer to 308! Taped the arms last week at 20.5" (52 cm),which ain't bad for a powerliftah, not a bodybuildah. Hit a single in my last deadlift workout on Saturday, 605 lbs, which felt like 225 lbs. The worst part was crouching (tiger hidden dragon?) down to grab the bar. Keeping up the cardio throughout has kept the metabolism stoked as I have transformed myself into a swollen toad. Walking around, the legs start to get a little pumped, but the spinal erectors are all fresh!
Doc Pink aka "Toadzilla"
Ahh, my progeny are checking in.
308? Well, no doubt the weights are flying, talk about leverage improving. That squat should be zooming as well. The bottom position must feel like sitting down onto a concrete parkbench. Doc Pink is the guy who back in 1978 had his Lincoln Mark II blow up in-between his work at National Security Agency and the gym. He was driving over for a workout when his car overheated and died. He hitchhiked and jogged and when he finally got to the gym he was a hour late and exploded when everyone began expressing concern for his auto, "Fork the car! I'm here to squat and I don't want to talk about it no more!" He used all his pent-up rage to set a new personal record, 750x3 in the squat. After the workout, he calmly walked to the pay phone and called a tow truck.
Go Toadzilla Go!
I SHOOK UP THE WORLD!!!
Went three for for three in the deadlift in my competition this past weekend: 275 kg (606 lbs) 1st attempt, 295 kg (650 lbs) 2nd and 305 kg (672 lbs) 3rdattempt
That's good for an IPA, Master's (40-44 year old group), drug-free, new world record!
Was good for more (around 690-700 lbs) but the left hamstring was not cooperating. So I bagged it and will comeback to battle another day.
That's shaking up the world.....so now the whole galaxy can shhhwing!
doc pinkzilla
Denver, Colo.: So how do you figure out what your caloric break-even point is?
And if you are consuming too few calories, can you reset your body to the right level? What can you expect to happen when you do that (weight gain, etc.)?
Thanks, man.
The caloric breakeven point is a shifting target that varies day to day. The realistic and practical way to look at it is to be aware of the relationship between food intake and scale modulations: eat to much and the digital ratchets upward. Take in fewer then you burn and the poundage drops.
There is an exact point where energy expenditure and food intake balance and you neither gain or lose. You stay level. From this balanced place, you can jump off into whichever direction you choose (get bigger and more muscular - get lean and trim). You monitor the quantity and quality of the food you intake and pay attention to its impact on your body weight. You monitor it each day using a high-tech digital scale that breaks pounds down into tenths. In other words, you establish your own caloric breakeven point by studying the relationship between your eating and your body weight.
Arlington: Hi Marty. I joined a gym about six weeks ago and have been working out at least three times a week including spin classes and the life fitness cross trainer. I'm reluctant to do weight lifting because I don't want to "bulk-up." My diet is moderate, I drink lots of water and don't eat snack food, but I haven't lost any weight yet. What am I doing wrong?
You're not lifting and you need to lift.
You think you're going to lift for two weeks and suddenly wake up one morning looking like Franco Columbo with boobs. If it were only that easy! It's a tad arrogant to think that you'll just walk into a gym, do a few curls and build 15-inch arms after a dozen workouts. No way! It takes a decade to build that freakish muscle you are so afraid of acquiring. You shouldn't ignore the advantages of adding muscle. Every pound of muscle needs 30-40 additional calories per day to operate. That mounts up fast. You say that your diet is 'moderate', but your not giving me much to work with here. I say do some cardio, lift some weights, pay better attention to what you eat.
Bethesda, Md.: OK, I need you to weigh in on this: in one workout, cardio before weights, or weights before cardio? I have been doing the former.
Thanks.
Depends how hard you go. Generally I would lift and then do cardio. As Dorian Yates is fond of saying, he doesn't want aerobics interfering with the sheer poundage he is capable of handling. Too much cardio will cut into the poundage-handling capacity of the lifter. Particularly a kick-buttocks cardio session prior to a serious leg workout.
If you are talking real light cardio, like 60% of age related heart rate maximum, a walk in the park at a moderate pace, then yeah, I would say 20-30 minutes of cardio beforehand wouldn't be too detrimental. 70-90% could rag you out for the weights. I'd rather see you dragging through a cardio session at the end of a high intensity weight session than pre-fatiguing so bad with cardio that the poundage you handle suffers and the weight workout suffers.
Washington, D.C.: Over the past couple of months, I've gone from 25% bodyfat to 22%. At the same time, my weight hasn't changed. Is that normal? I'm 5'10" and 225#. I've been doing cardio 3-4 times a week and weights once a week.
If it is true and factual and not the result of sloppy body fat measurement technique, then it is good news. It indicates that you'll lost fat and built additional muscle tissue. That is ideal. It is also deceptive, theoretically a person could assume that because the scale wasn't registering a radical change their appoach was ineffective when in fact muscle tissue was supplanting fat.
You need to lift more. Once a week is not enough. What's up with the diet? What kind of foods are you eating and how often? Keep up the good work on the cardio. Write back.
GRILLMAN, WOODSHEDDIN, AZ : GREETINGS COACH GALLAGHER,
I WAS READING OVER A FEW ARTICLES BY THE EVIL RUSSIAN, PAVEL, AND TWO STUCK OUT AND I WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM YOU ON THERE PLACE IN TRAINING. FIRST WAS THE ZERCHER SQUATS, DEC 98 ,PARILLO PRESS. ALSO THE ROMAINIAN DEADLIFT,FEB 99. FOR YOUR REFERENCE TO THE QUESTIONS. DROP A NOTE ON THE PRIVATE LINE IF THIS TAKES TOO MUCH SPACE TO RESPOND ON MARTY-VISION. TRAINING IS GOING WELL AND THE MILK IS PEELING OFF, DOWN TO 330 AND LOOKING THE THE WAY OF SOME CONCERN FOR COLEMAN. RECKON HE SHOULD UP THE $$ SO I STAY HOLED UP IN THE WOODSHED OR I'LL PUT THE KNOWLEGDE AND POWER OF THE GREAT-ONES, AND UNLEASH HELL, YO DO YOU HAVE AN EXTRA 30K LAYING AROUND TO DO BATTLE WITH THAT MOOSE? IS TONY STILL IN THE UK? HOPE YOUR TRAINING IS ON.
LATER
YOUR HUMBLE DECIPLE
GRILLMAN
Hello Humble Desert Dwelling 'DECIPLE".
Pass my regards onto Chief Iron Bear and all the other tribal elders at next month's peyote ceremony at the sweat lodge. Are the peyote seances still standing room only? Remember when Iron Immortal Paul Anderson came to you in a peyote-induced vision dressed as an Apache and told you to quit fooling around and bulk up in the name of Jesus? I asked you how'd you knew it to be Paul and you said, "cause he was gargantuan and had a southern accent."
Zercher squats have zero appeal to me. I saw a picture of some dude in Powerlifting USA doing a 600-pound Zercher squat. Can you imagine holding 600-pounds in the crock of your elbows then squatting and standing up again? Hardly my idea of fun.
The Romanian deadlift is worth checking out. It is almost the same as Eddy Coan's stiff-legged deadlift. I would use it as an erector assistance exercise done after regular deadlifts.
Wow - at 330 you must be a shadow of your former self - how's your self-esteem holding up? Are you okay out there? Melting away into a pathetic puddle of weakness can be traumatic.
WDC: Hi Marty:
For about a month I have been incorporating significant weight work into my cardio routine and I have seen some pretty awesome results. Knowing that Rome was not built in a day, I still have a way to go, but have a question on specific problem area. The area right underneath my arm-pit is well...flabby. My biceps, triceps, etc are firm except this area. Is there any exercise that can help me get some definition.
Thanks much, by the way, this chat is great!
WDC, the battleground is at the dinner table.
You have fat storage depots located on your lower pecs and armpits, common among men. We need to oxidize this stored fat through a combination of diet and exercise. You're doing the exercise - though I'd be interested in seeing your whole training program. Does it include aerobics? The trick is to stay right at or slightly below the caloric breakeven point and allow the exercise to create a caloric deficit. This will result in fat stores being used to fuel activity, which is exactly what we want. Zero in on the food, WDC.
Woodbridge, Va.: Marty,
Thanks for doing these discussions, they are really helpful with knowledge and motivation! After a long break I started working out in December. Everything is going great except I'm not happy with my lat/bi development. All other muscle groups will be sore for 1-3 days after a workout. Lats and bi's are lucky if I'm stiff the next day. Here's what I started with (reps are from memory, but should be pretty close):
Wide grip pulldowns (in front)(140x10,160x10,180xMAX)
Close grip (150x10,170x10,190xMAX)
Dumbell rows (45x10,55x10,65xMAX)
Bent bar rows (65x10,75x8,85xMAX)
Dumbell rows (with a twist at top) (25x10,30x10,35xMAX)
Concentration curls 3-20x10 real slow (25 if I feel good)
Last week I tried lowering the reps and upping the weights. I basically started at the same weights and did sets of 4 to failure (increasing 20 lbs for lats, 5 lbs for bi's). I still wasn't sore. I thought it might be because I usually do chest the day before and am very sore from that. So I did lats 'n bi's
yesterday. I also changed the order and tried a pyramid.
Dumbell Rows (55x10,65x10,75x8)
Wide Grip (140x10,160x8,180x8)
Narrow Grip (140x10,160x10,190x8)
Dumbell curls (30x8,35x8,40x8,45xMAX)
Bent bar (65x8,65x8,65xMAX) (I was beat and thought for sure I'd feel it today)
Concentration (3-20x10, but didn't make the last set)
Sorry for the lost post, but you always say you want detail.
Do you have any alternative suggestions? I'll try anything. I was thinking of doing pullups every time I'm at the gym (assuming I'm not sore...but that hasn't happened in months)
You need to make the all-important mind/muscle connection.
Your exercises are well sequenced and I'm sure you have good technique but I suspect the problem is mental: You need to establish a Vulcan mind-meld with both your biceps and lats.
Some tricks of the trade might help. Slow the rep speed down drastically, and pull with the lat or the bi only! Hold the contraction at completion and flex the target muscle really hard before lowering the weight slowly and under control. Use light poundage and high reps and you'll eventually make the mind/muscle connection. Particularly if you take the high reps to failure and maintain proper exercise technique. Once you grock it and make the connection you slowly increase the weight and decrease the reps, making sure to never lose the 'feel'.
D.C.: What are your thoughts on boxing for exercise? Having never given it any consideration, I watched the Holyfield match last night and was fascinated.
Any type of serious martial art will provide you a great cardio workout. Rope skipping, heavy bag, speed bag, top-and-bottom bags, sparring, grappling - what a great way to get in serious cardio and learn a manly skill at the same time. Such a deal! Just be aware that wen you box, sooner or later you're gonna get your lights punched out.
NW: What would you recommend for giving my shoulders a blast. I've been doing a warmup set and a set of 20 (front lift; side; military press) but I don't feel as though I'm making any difference in shape and size.
It's time to sling some serious iron Gilligan.
You need to get strong! Enough 20-rep stuff for a while; let's pile on the plates and do some power-building 5-rep sets. By lowering the reps and increasing the poundage we stress the muscles in a completely different fashion. I want you to maintain proper technique but increase the poundage methodically, even if it's just 2-5 pounds a week. In response, you body will adapt and grow.
Let's assume you used 40-pounds for 20-reps in the seated press. Try this;
1. 1x10 w/20lbs, 1x3 w/40lbs, then 1x5 w/60, rest 1x5 w/60
2. " " 1x5 w/65 1x5x/65
3. 1x5 w/70 1x5 w/70
4. 1x5 w/75 1x5 w/75
5. 1x5 w/80
Arlington, Va.: I know you need to burn the fat first to see results in Abs -- now that I have a good bit of it burned, what would you say would be the best abdominal defining exercises? I hear so many products and instructors giving differing opinions!
Thanks!
How about cable crunches done while kneeling under a cable cross-over pulley. This was a favorite of Arnold and Franco and if done correctly the stress can be rotated between the frontal abs, intercostals, serratus and external obliques.
Bethesda, Md.: Let me try to paint a quick self-portrait: I look pretty slim in clothes, but in a bathing suit you can see I have about 10 pounds of baby fat that I haven't gotten rid of yet (five years ago I was 45 more pounds overweight). I disguise it pretty well because I have thin bones, but would like to get rid of those remnants and get more muscled.
But I don't know what the best plan is: go mostly for cardio exercises in the beginning to burn the extra fat and then do strength-training? Or do both kinds of exercise simultaneously? And depending on the workout plan I follow, what kind of of foods should I be particularly careful about? Fat or carbs? Thanks.
Portrait of Tracy by Jaco Pastorious, Self Portrait by Dylan.
Where to start?
Start by establishing a synergistic balance between weight training, cardio and diet. A little of each is better than a whole lot of any one. When done simultaneously, physical gains are exponentially magnified. So do yourself a favor, institute a fitness regimen that includes a little bit of weights, a little bit of cardio and a little bit of diet. That way you can ease into it and allow your system to become aquatinted gradually. Over time you tighten the screws down in each area. For now, try and establish an elemental program inclusive of all three legs of the fitness tripod.
Marty Gallagher: 3-13-01 Questions (cont'd)
Rosslyn: Marty, you answered my question in the big dump at the end last week ... I'm the 33 y.o. female runner, 109 lbs, trying to get toned for an island honeymoon. You suggested that I might be cannibalizing b/c you assumed that I eat like a bird. Well, not unless that bird is a CONDOR!! I'm a chowgirl of the highest order...I eat very healthfully during the week (I kept a food diary to check)...lots of tuna sandwiches, salads, low-fat everything, etc...and I cook healthful meals every night...but on the weekends, look out!....anyway, I've been lifting 3 times a week for 6 weeks and running around 35 miles a week for years. When am I gonna be TONED? I still have flab in the saddlebag region and around my tummy.
Okay - this is good news - if you are eating a goodly amount of food then that gives us a high caloric ceiling to work with. Reduce your calories slightly (500 per week). Take a common sense approach: eat what you normally eat when you normally eat it. Leave a small amount of each food on your plate when you're finished eating. Keep you meal sequence, timing, preparation and quality untouched, the only thing that you need to change is the quantity. You make an across-the-board reduction in calories and this will give us the deficit necessary to force the body to oxidize fat stores. Continue your weight training and cardio. Let's leverage the diet leg of the fitness tripod and see if we can't coax off the fat.
Washington, DC: Marty--
I need some advice as to good hips exercises: either for at home or at the gym. Any advice?
Thanks so much!
Here is one exercise can do most anywhere: high rep, free-hand squats.
This exercise uses no equipment. You take a balanced, shoulder width stance and squat down, keeping a convex backbone and an upright torso. Dip down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Hold the bottom-most position for a beat before rising. Consciously contract the glutes as you stand erect.
That's one rep. Over time try and build up to 100. 20-reps is killer. One training partner of mine built up to 500.
Washington, D.C.: Quick question about eating after my workout. A typical day for me: Get up at 7 a.m. to go running. Go to work. Get home at 6:30 p.m. and leave for night classes at 7 p.m. Get out around 10 p.m. and go to the gym until 11 p.m. Go to bed around midnight. During the day I manage to eat five to six meals, getting plenty of protein, etc. However, I usually don't eat after my evening workout because I get finished so late and have to be up about eight hours later. Should I try to fit in an a straight protein meal afterward (egg white, cottage cheese, shake)? Or should I hold off? Thanks for your advice!
I would intake a protein shake post workout and before bed, one that was as carbohydrate-free as possible.
Dousing muscles traumatized from a high intensity weight workout with an easily assimilated protein shake post-workout is an incredibly smart thing to do. Protein provides the regenerating amino acids necessary to repair traumatized muscle fiber. In addition, if the protein is ingested within an hour of the workout the recovery process is dramatically accelerated. On the other hand, I don't want to ingest a lot of carbs right before bedtime as I don't want my system loaded with glycogen right before I hit the hay. That's a sure-fire way to add to body fat stores. My solution is simple: I would intake two servings of protein powder. Here's what it would deliver: 312 calories, 60 grams of protein, 3 grams of fat, 11 grams of carbs and 6 grams of sugar. Best of all, you don't have to cook it and its essentially pre-digested. Hey, after drinking this magic potion, I'll be growing as I sleep. Write my e-mail address for my personal preference of protein powder: mgso@supernet.com.
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washingtonpost.com:
That was our last question today. Thanks to Marty Gallagher, and to everyone who joined us.
Stay tuned on Live Online:
World: Sharon's
Visit at Noon EST
Strength and
Fitness at Noon EST
What's Cooking at
Noon EST
Bob Levey Hosts Ted
Leonsis at Noon EST
Radio Talk at 1 p.m.
EST
Health Talk at 2 p.m.
EST
Hollywood: Sharon
Waxman at 2 p.m. EST
In Store: Spring
Accessories at 4 p.m. EST
Keep up with the latest in news, sports, politics and entertainment with washingtonpost.com e-mail newsletters.
washingtonpost.com:
That was our last question today. Thanks to Marty Gallagher, and to everyone who joined us.
Stay tuned on Live Online:
World: Sharon's
Visit at Noon EST
Strength and
Fitness at Noon EST
What's Cooking at
Noon EST
Bob Levey Hosts Ted
Leonsis at Noon EST
Radio Talk at 1 p.m.
EST
Health Talk at 2 p.m.
EST
Hollywood: Sharon
Waxman at 2 p.m. EST
In Store: Spring
Accessories at 4 p.m. EST
Keep up with the latest in news, sports, politics and entertainment with washingtonpost.com e-mail newsletters.
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