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Strength, Health & Fitness
With Marty Gallagher
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, Nov. 13, 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?
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, takes your questions about every fitness topic under the sun.
Below is a 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: Hello Fitness-minded people,
I hope that everyone is making progress as we swing into the holiday season. Please give some serious consideration to commiting your fitness goals to paper. The idea is to establish an ideal body weight, degree of fitness and set this against a chronological time table. Professional athletes use this approach, Periodization, to whip themselves into shape. You establish realistic goals and then subdivide the end result into bite-size chunks, edging ever closer to the end result by hitting weekly goals. This makes the process bearable and allows small incremental steps to compound over time. Think about it. Most athletes will use a 12-week 'cycle'. Maybe you should do the same.
What else? Please take a look at the answers to last weeks leftover questions posted at the end of today's program. As always, any questions posted and unanswered will be delt with in detail and posted the following week. I usually leave the complex, multi-part questions for the following week. To answer them in real time would be unfair to 'live on line' questioners. If you want a question answered in real-time, make them short and sweet. On the other hand if you have a comlex, vexing problem, post it and rest assured it will be answered in detail during the week.
Who's got a question?
Washington, D.C.:
Marty-
I am a 34-year-old male, my weight is 220 lbs. and am 6'2" so I am, according to most height/weight tables, overweight. About a year ago I decided that I wanted to increase strength and lose bodyfat. Since I stared I have worked out 3-4 times a week, primarily weight training. I have also tried to eat a sensible diet but this is probably the most difficult part of the equation for me. I have never met a baked good that I did not like! I am pretty happy with the results that I have acheived -- steady increases in my strength and weight loss of about 12 lbs.
However, I am wondering if I am approaching my goals correctly. If I want to lose bodyfat and increase strength and mass, should I focus on weight loss first by upping my aerobics and then work on building muscle. Or, can I do both at once? I would appreciate any advice you can give. Thanks!
Marty Gallagher: Are you conflicted or what?
On the one hand you want to get lean on the other hand you won't deny yourself the sweet treats. Sounds like an irresolvable paradox. Look, I have a sweet tooth myself but I use sports nutrition bars to satisfy sweet cravings as they arise.
I really wouldn't put to much stock in the doctor office height/weight charts; Marshall Faulk, the NFL's top running back (and a man 'fit' in every sense) at 5'8" and 205 with 9% body fat would be considered 35-pounds overweight. How ridiculous. Think in terms of your own body fat percentile rather then some bland-o height weight chart.
Somewhere, USA:
Hi Marty, I'm new to the chat and need your help. In a couple of hours, I've decided to take my lunch break and begin working out again. My butt, and front and back thighs have turned to jelly a bit. I've never really used weights before. What specific exercises can I do to combat this? BTW, I'm 25 years old, 5'3 and 130. I've already started trimming up my diet. Thanks!
Marty Gallagher: There are three dimensions to the fitness riddle:
1. Lift weights - strengthens muscles, builds strength and improves bone density
2. Perform cardio - aerobic activity builds endurance, burns off fat and makes for healthy internal organs
3. Diet - whether you need to add weight (too skinny) or lose excess body fat (overweight), diet allows you to modulate in an appropriate fashion
You need to do all three simultaneously; there is a physical synergy that occurs when you combine all three that propells results past the logical sum of the parts. Better to do a little of all three then a whole lot of any one.
D.C.:
If you want to make sure to get enough protein in your diet, to build muscle -- is protein from cheese and tofu and beens and rice comparable to meat, chicken, fish?
Thanks!
Marty Gallagher: No way Jose.
This is why protein powder is such a god-send to the veggie eater. Three types of protein:
1. whey - great stuff
2. Casein - also top drawer
3. Soy - not as potent but a hell-of-a-lot better then nothing.
Columbia:
I am a 25-year-old woman. I am 5'7" and currently weigh 145. Given my small frame, this weight does not look good on me. Until about a year ago, I jogged on a regular basis and was very toned. My diet is fantastic, as I eat mostly vegetarian low-fat foods and don't take in many fats or calories (about 1200 a day).
I love being toned and trim, and would like to incorporate exercise, especially jogging, back into my life. Do you have any suggestions, considering I am NOT a morning person and find myself VERY distracted in the evenings? How do I get motivated? Thanks!
Marty Gallagher: Again - what magic words can I say that will motivate you?
I don't know you and certainly don't know your psychological hot buttons. I do a lot a motivating with the few folks that actually train under my direct supervision (three folks currently) but I cannot offer any real suggestions for you 'cause I don't know you.
Burning desire is the key. I've seen wheel chair athletes overcome the most horrific circumstance and build amazing physiques and awesome strength - but they burned for it.
I've also seen genetically gifted folks fritter it all away on acount of a lack of real desire. A lot, I'm convinced, has to do with being able to visualize the final finished physical product: a strong, clear mental image serves as a daily source of inspiration for those who want transformation so bad they can taste it.
Good luck.
Nashville:
I started working out about six months
Soon after I switched things up to try and
break the plateau, I injured my shoulder.
I've been able to remain at the same
place - 5'9", 175 lbs. for a 29-yr.-old male,
but after resting my shoulder and not
lifting weights at all for 2.5 weeks, it's still
too tender for me to bench.
I was really hoping to be a lean 160-165
lbs. by the end of the year (started at 195),
but now I'm starting to lose some morale.
What weights can I stick with while I wait
for my shoulder to heal and how much
longer do I wait before I try to bench
again?
Thanks for all the usefull advice you dole
out week after week.
Marty Gallagher: You have to 'train around' the injury.
Top pro athletes will double up on exercises that they can do when hobbled with an injury that prevents exercising certain body parts.
If your shoulder is hurt and you can't do certain upper body exercises, use this time to really pound your legs - also learn to do one-armed exercises (curls, machine presses, lateral raises, etc.,) with the good arm. You can do a bunch of one arm exercises, double up on the leg work and relax about the injury.
I've seen athletes forced by injury into specialization programs bust up to the next level as a result of the injury - an amazingly good, albeit unintentional consequence.
You need to see your glass as half full, not half empty. Get creative, devise a radical new program and use this time to 'bring up' the healthy body parts.
Virginia:
So Marty, what will you eat for Thanskgiving?
Marty Gallagher: Any damn thing I want - I don't believe in these food Nazis who eat like fanatics all the time.
One idiot bodybuilder, a top guy, used to bring his own 'special food' to Thanksgiving. He was such a zealot that he could not relax for a single day. What a jerk - ironically, he had health problems related to massive drug use that prematurely ended his career.
Somewhere, USA:
Hi Marty: It's the girl from the second question that you answered. Thanks for the advice about incorporating all three areas into my routine. I've been doing a good job with the diet and will start riding the bike or other cardio to complement my regiment. However, what specific weight lifting exercises can I do for my butt and thighs? Thanks!
Marty Gallagher: Free hand squats - no weight - take a shoulder width stance and learn to squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep a flat, tight back and stay flat footed throughout. Play with your stance width until your able to do this with ease. Inhale as you lower and exhale as you arise. Start with 10 perfect reps and build this up to 50 over time. Do this 2-3 times a week.
Calf raises on a stairstep - deep stretch before rising high on toes, hold the top position before lowering. Start with 10 and build to 50. After you're able to do this write back.
I would do two sets of each exercise.
Washington, D.C.:
Marty,
No question here. Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your wonderful advice. Reading your no-nonsense chats keeps me focused, and I'm already seeing results from 5 weeks of lifting.
Thanks so much!
Marty Gallagher: Thank you for not getting mad at me for being 'to raw' as I've often been accused of.
I try to get to as many folks as possible in real time and this makes me a little abrupt. If you notice my edge is less visible in the 'leftover' questions I answer during the week. On those I have a little more time to reflect and those answers tend to be a tad more mellow.
I also don't take time to correct my spelling in real time so excuse my mashing of words.
Please stay in touch and when you hit that inevitable sticking point, write in and we'll bust you through the malaise and stagnation.
Alexandria, Va.:
You could please elaborate on the differences in protein and why one's better than the other?
Marty Gallagher: Without taking too much time, there is a BV value (biologic value) standard that measures protein assimilation and quality against the gold standard of protein: the egg white.
In addition, certain brands of protein are just freaking better then other brands. It depends on how much the makers 'cut' their product with filler and fluff.
Certain brands have a reputation for potency and are used by athletes who depend upon potency for results. Other brands are industry jokes made by makers strictly interested in ripping off the unsuspecting public.
North Carolina:
Marty:
Thanks for letting me rant last week about the "cupcakes," the women (men, too, but the Grillman covers them just fine!) who forget about the "work" part of "work-out" and worry that, oh no! muscle might replace that flab. Can I add one more? The math-impaired. Do you know how often I'll hear some version of, "well, I walked a whole mile today, so I can have that pint of Ben and Jerry's" (or whatever their particular goody is)? Okay, that mile might have given you an extra 100-calorie deficit. That pint of Ben and Jerry's is going to cost you 1200 calories. Do the math, cupcake.
Marty Gallagher: Hey is this GrillGrrrl?
I don't know, about the most I can burn off in 50 minutes is 700 calories and to do that I got to walk up some hellacious grades on the nearby firetrails with a weighted pack. Is a pint of Ben & Jerry's 1200 calories? Dang! After the firetrails I'd have to jog back to the house to burn that off - it's just easier not to eat it then to get into the 'I'll just burn it off' mind set. Plus, folks have a terrifically exaggerated idea about how many calories exercise burns off. A tough, hard lifting session might burn off 500. Those cardio gerbil machines at the gym love to give overly optimistic accounts of 'calories burned'; good for sales.
D.C.:
What are your favorite sports snack bars with "good" protein in there?
Marty Gallagher: I probably should make recommendations off-line. You can e-mail me at MGSO@supernet.com for the brands I use.
It's a GYM! II:
(Re: End of last week)
Grrrrr, that lit my fuse. Grill-Woman is welcome at my gym anytime. I burned out on the Cupcake Brigade ages ago and found solace in the free weight room, where I'm the only female and politely share the weights with the guys. No giggling, and no reading Cosmo (hello? intensity level?) while operating one of those ergo-gyro-gerbil-machines, wired in audio equipment and sipping designer water.
In my observation, if you stick with the most effective equipment, you won't be competing with other gym patrons anyway. That's dumbbells, barbells, squat rack. Do cardio outdoors; our huge, heated outdoor pool is equally abandoned.
While we're having this Yang moment, spare me of the Teenyweeny Primadonnas. You know, women size 2, skinny but weak and just looking to flash a midriff, willing to starve themselves on rice cakes and diet coke but afraid to sweat, judging their progress with a scale or measuring tape. They act like gaining 5 lbs. would send them into sobbing fits in the locker room, even if it was all muscle. I'm so over them and their swimsuit psychosis. Everyone has room for improvement, but women who obsess solely over the size tag in their jeans peeve me.
These people give women a bad rep. Quit sniveling, throw out the scale, stock up on flank steak, and be an athlete already! How do we convince women (and the guys who encourage this view) that fashion-mag models are not the definition of "fit"?
- Potomac River Girl
Marty Gallagher: Whoa!
Hey look you win a free workout - come on up to the Mountain Compound and train with me and Stacy. We'll show you some tricks of the trade (like how to make that god-awful tough flank steak eddible).
Write me at my e-mail address for directions.
Springfield, Va.:
Marty,
Do you recommend the use of creatine? Will it actually increase gains? What about pills with ephedrine in them, such as Xenodrine; will they help to lower body fat % and get the muscles "cut-up?" Or do these supplements basically just give you expensive urine?
Thanks!
Marty Gallagher: Last question of the day - I've got to take my daughter to the ear doctor.
I really would save my money (creatine) and my health (ephedrine).
There is so much room for lift in meal timming, meal construction, weight train regimens, aerobic strategies and exercise intensity, that getting involved with this stuff before getting the items I reference squared up is like putting mudflaps on a junker car.
Chicago, Ill.:
Hey Marty,
Festivus is right around the corner. You getting your Feats Of Strength in order?
Marty Gallagher: A Festivus for the rest of us!
Aluminum pole, airing of grivences...FEATS OGF STRENGTH!
Yes - I will sponser the first on-line celebration of Festivus.
Details to follow.
11-6-01 Questions
Re: Elliptical : I love those machines. I have bad knees that hurt doing the Stairmaster or treadmill and I can't stand the bike. The Eliptical machines take the pressure of the joints but still have resistance for muscles and you get a good cardio workout as well (use good posture or you're doing a diservice to your back!).
Again, I don't know if I'd recognize an eliptical machine if I saw one.
The problem with cardio machines is that most make effort so easy that it requires you work twice as hard to achieve half the results. In other words, a smooth, ball-bearing machine that allows you to workout effortlessly is counterproductive: effort is what yields results, effortlessness increases sales.
I want Madonna's arms: I am a fit 29-year-old woman, 5'4", 133 lbs. and I am trying to really tone my upper arms. They are not flabby, and I am seeing results using 20 lb. free weights to do biceps curls, shoulder presses, triceps. What I really want is to have great arms like Madonna does ... nice and sculpted. Can you suggest a routine that I can try? Thanks coach!
1. seated dumbbell curls - super strict; 3 sets of 15 reps
2. overhead tricep extensions - full extension and contraction; 3 sets of 15 reps
Superset these two exercises, first curl then tricep extensions, no rest. Take a minute or two then do the second and finally the third superset. Twice a week. Work the reps up to 20 in subsequent workouts then add enough poundage to bring you back down to 12-15 reps and work it up to 20 (over time) once again.
Minnesota lean: Off-focus here but speaking of small stature over big: Two Minnesota ex-wrestlers, Gov. Ventura and Sen. Paul Wellstone ... Politically, Wellstone in spite of his smaller stature, beats Ventura "verbally" to be sure! ... and if there ever was a contest between these two former athletes, I betcha Wellstone would come up on top here too. A light couple of thoughts although off-subject ... now back to my weights etc. ...
Why don't you set it up? Put me down for two tickets.
Arlington: Hi Marty,
I've just started my heavy-duty training for a marathon (my first one) in March. Long time runner but a newcomer to weight training. I've been lifting for about 6 months now (you convinced me) and am amazed at how much better I look and the strength I've gained. So my question -- I've been advised by numerous marathon runners to lay off the lower body weight workout until after the marathon so my legs aren't sore and exhausted while I'm trying to build endurance. Is this really necessary or could I just reduce the amount of weight I'm lifting and do more reps? I know you're not an expert on running but thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks.
Hey, if you can do both, then by all means have at it. You need to jettison lower body lifting when you find it interfering with recovery.
Pittsburgh, Pa.: Hi Marty-
I've finally decided it's time to drop the 35 extra pounds I've been carrying around. I'm off to a good start -- with a diet and hitting the treadmill or stationary bike for a half hour each weekday I've lost the first 3 pounds in the past week. I'd like to maybe build my legs more, but apart from that I'm mostly interested in losing the weight. Are there any lifting or other type exercises you'd recommend I add to my workout?
1. squat
2. calf raise
3. leg curl
4. bench press
5. seated overhead dumbbell press
6. barbell row
7. lat pulldown
8. curls
9. tricep pushdowns
2-3 sets of each, 10-12 reps, use this routine twice a week with 2-3 days between sessions. Should take about 30-40 minutes.
College Park, Md.: I read some research that stated when doing cardio, it is better to go slower for a longer period of time than faster for a shorter period of time. However, if you burn the same amount of calories does it really matter?
Here the deal; at low cardio intensity a greater percentage of fat is oxidized. The fly in this ointment is how damn long you have to go in order to oxidize sufficient calories. Plus, the research doesn't take into account individual differences in physiology. In practical terms, while moseying along at 50% of age related heart rate maximum might burn a greater percentile of body fat, who's got time for an one-hour and fifteen minute walk necessary to burn a measly 300-400 calories? Do yourself a favor: quite reading so much, get out there and go between 70-70% of age-related heart rate maximum, preferably while in a low glycogen (carbohydrate depleted) state.
D.C.: Hi Marty,
I am 26-years-old, female, 5'4" and just weighed myself for the first time in ages and discovered I've crept up from 114 to 120. While I know that's not a huge deal, I can tell a difference and my clothes are definitely tighter. Here's my question: I work out 3-4 times a week, doing 40 min. of cardio then working legs or arms and back. I do glute and ab work at home in the evenings. I'm wondering if my sedentary job (I am at my desk in my office all day long) could be contributing to my softer midsection. If so, what can I do about this? If not, do you suspect this is a diet thing? I eat good foods, but I suspect my portions might be a bit out of control.
You exercise regularly so I would crank back a tad on portions. Each time you eat, leave a few bites.
Washington, D.C.: Marty,
To the post who complained about his gym being to crowded, get there early. My gym opens at 5 a.m. and I never have to wait and with this cold crisp air in the morning it gives your body a great jump start. Now that I've switched to "before work" sessions my days have never been better. The only downside is that I'm usually in bed by 9 p.m. Thanks for the forum coach.
I was always an early am guy when I belonged to a commercial gym. Another oft overlooked factor: you're a hell of a lot less likely to blow off workouts on account of the inevitable circumstances that crop up during the day. Plus, early workouts put me in an incredibly good mental place and I really tore it up at work. True, you need to get to bed early but what are you really missing, TV?
Bethesda, Md.: Hi Marty,
I recently joined a gym and I have found that it is extrememly crowded and this does not make it a joy to work out. Do you think there is any way that I can break the contract outside of moving from my residence? Thank you.
Check out the above answer - maybe early am workouts are the answer.
Mt Kisco, N.Y.: Hey Coach
What's the mystery behind the phenomenon where, after missing a week or two or even three of workouts, one cannot lift as heavy or as many reps as before? I'm thinking maybe the muscle itself "shrinks" in that period, and is therefore weaker -- but that's impossible, right? So is it all in the mind? Am I just convincing myself that, because I haven't touched the iron for a while, I am automatically weaker? Why can't I just pick from where I left off?
Why is it impossible? If you lift to build and strengthen when you stop lifting the muscle, deprived of its stimulus will lose size and with it strength. The good news is how quickly you can get back up to 'normal.' I think it's wishful thinking to believe that there will be no disintegration in performance, strength and muscle size when you cease doing that which bestowed the attributes to begin with.
Alexandria, Va.: Question related to your opening comments: I just started working out again after a very very long layoff (a few years! I know, I know). At the moment, 3 days a week I'm doing 30 min. cardio, and a full-body workout with weights. Two days per week, 30 min cardio and another 10-15 min swimming. (weekends, I do something different -- bike or hiking or whatever). My question: does it make any difference if I do full body three days a week, or if I alternate upper body and lower body workouts during the week? Will I see the same results either way?
"Things without reform should be without regret; what's done is done." (a free phone consultation for the person who identifies the speaker)
Welcome back Kotter. Please don't kill yourself. So many comebacks start out so fast and so hard the trainee burns out and quits. Be cool, I would limit full body weight workouts to twice a week.
Herndon, Va.: Thanks for all the good advice. Over the past 6 months I have lost almost 30 pounds. I am in need of more advice. I am 5 foot 3 inches, 124 pounds. I work out regularly but I would like to change up my abdominal workout. Something that I can take 15 minutes or so a night. My current exercises include normal crunches, knees up crunches, the bicycle, and the legs crossed up in the air/hands touching the feet. Any suggestions or resources for me to find a more varied abs workout?
Oh sure - I'd advise buying Pavel Tsatsouline's "Beyond Crunches: heard science, hard abs" a book that shatters every ab myth I've ever encountered. www.Dragondoor.com
Gaithersburg, Md.: Marty,
Finally getting serious about losing weight and toning up. Have begun to work out with dumbbells (8.8 kilo) each. It's the only thing I have at home and they work into my schedule rather well. I'm working on reps, as in 50, 100, etc. Also gave up on the malt liquor. Diet includes lotsa veggies, always did, but the beer always kept it on me. Anything else you can think of given my limited circumstances? P.S. Enjoy your chats immensely.
Keep going. Use some of that recouped beer money to buy a 110-pound barbell set. Check out the local Advertiser newspaper under "used exercise equipment" and you'll be able to shag a barbell for $20-40.
Springfield, Va.: Marty,
Hope you enjoy the Indian summer day today. You told me last week to do perfect form pushups before going back to weights for shoulder issues. Well I tried it and I can go half-way down before I have pain in my left shoulder. Is is OK to just go half-way or should I just forget it for now? I am still lifting for other parts of my body other than military press and bench press.
Never push through pain. You got the right idea, namely, train around that sore shoulder and bag any and all exercises that cause pain.
Arlington, Va.: Hi Marty,
I've got a question about correct squat form. How low do you go? I've heard that you should try to get to where your hamstring and calf are at a 90 degree angle. Are these competition reg's? When training should you try to go lower? I've seen some folks at the gym who get way down near the floor -- is this really necessary? Also, what exactly are half squats? Is there any benefit to abbreviating your squat depth? Thanks.
1. Descend until the tops of the thigh are parallel to the floor.
2. In competition you must descend until the thighs dip below the parallel plane, called breaking parallel.
3. Half squats are worthless squats.
Calgary: Hi, I've been reading this Q&A for about 2 years now and have found it very helpful -- I started reading after losing a subtantial amount of weight (from 230 lbs. to 175 lbs., 6'3" male) and discovering that I was very weak indeed -- especially upper body strength. Anyhow, I have made progress since then and now am more in the 185 lb. range but still have a long way to go! My quesiton is about an interview I read between Bill Phillips and Torbjorn Akerfeldt discussing the Akerfeldts "Anabolic Burst Cycling Syste" where you basically overfeed heavily (almost double maintenance calories) and lift heavy for two weeks and then diet/cardio/lighter lifting for two weeks. This is supposed to be the optimal way to utilize natural hormonal systems to gain lean muscle mass without accumulating excess fat stores .... Have you come into contact with this system and if so, what do you think?
Thanks
Hey Calgary, we've used a version of the "anabolic burst" since the Civil War ended. The key to the "burst" is dieting down beforehand and limiting the hog out period.
Strength athletes and competitive bodybuilders dieting down for a competition have long noticed how once the dieting deprivation period ended and they started eating ravenously, three days after competing, despite eating everything that wasn't nailed down, the athletes were larger and stronger while still retaining the same degree of hardness. Phillips and the Norwegian dude gave this phenomena a catchy name and packaged it up in a pretty package but ultimately it was old wine in new bottles.
If you haven't dieted down strict and hard and really depleted yourself, the burst is a bust. Plus, the amount of time that you can burst without "spilling over" and adding to fat stores varies radically from individual to individual. The neat and tiddy formula offered for the masses is a little to pat.
The basis for this approach, in a nutshell, is this: after dieting down, depriving the body of calories and certain nutrients (fat, most carbs) for a protracted period, suddenly flooding your body with lots of calories and missing nutrients produces an incredible anabolic effect. Yes it works but unless you've paid your diet dues beforehand the anabolic burst becomes an atomic pig-out.
Washington, D.C.: I'm a female, 5 ft., 5 in. and weigh 185. I've set a goal of dropping 40 pounds by July 1, 2002. Given a clean diet of fruits, veggies, lean protein, water with very little carbs and fat and exercise (40 minutes of cardio and strength training 6 days a week), how much weight should I safely aim to lose each week?
Serious bodybuilders, the world's greatest and most effective dieters, aim for 1-pound per hundred pounds body weight per week. If you weight 185 you should shoot for 2-pounds per week.
Memphis: It's obvious why your buddy GRILL-LA-LA doesn't take your advice and work out in his own private gym. He loves posturing in front of "mullets", sneering at and mocking their inability to move big stacks. Poor bas_ _ _ _ s are just trying to get/stay in shape, and they have to put up with some hulking mass trying to intimidate them into feeling inferior for their efforts. There's a jerk like him in every gym.
GRILL-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA, WOODSHEDDIN, ARIZ.: GOOD MORNING COACH GALLAGHER,
I'M SURE YOU'RE AWARE THAT THERE'S A NEW "WORLD CHAMPION" IN THE LITTLE BOYS GAME OF STICK BALL. HERE OVER THE STRONGEND EXTRA SECURITY WAS AVAILABLE TO ASSIST IN CONTROLLING THE MOB FRENZY THAT FOLLOWED THE ACTIVITIES AT BOB. FANS WERE FULL OF "WE WON DUDE!" CHANTS. FIRE WAVING, TURNING OVER CARS, LOOTING, BEDLAM HAVE NEVER BEEN A PART OF THE "SHOWS" WHERE MEN AND WOMEN MOVE MASIVE AMOUNTS OF STEEL. DO YOU RECALL AFTER ONE OF THE GREAT ONES DUNKED A GRAND OR PULLED THE FOUNDATION UP, THAT THIS TYPE OF CELEBRATING BY THE AUIDENCE TOOK PLACE? DIFFRENT ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM FOR SURE, PERHAPS A DIFFERENT APPROACH IN THE MARKETING OF MOVING STEEL WOULD REAP SIMILAR RESULTS. IN JAPAN SUMO WRESTLERS ARE CELEBRITIES SECOND TO NONE. PERHAPS SOME DAY ED OR KIRK AND GENE WILL HAVE THEIR OWN FIGURINE DOLLS AND TRADING CARDS AND BE GUESTS ON WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONARE. PERHAPS THAT IS YOUR CALLING AND YOU ARE THE MOSES TO DELIVER THE MUTANTS TO MAINSTEAM MEDIA. NO WWF STUFF THOUGH, PERHAPS SHOWING A SOFTER SIDE LIKE KIRK COLORING AND ED TENDING TO HIS BUTTERFLY FARM. NO, I HAVEN'T BEEN TO THE SWEAT LODGE IN MONTHS, LATER. GRILL-LA-LA-L-A-LA
New York, N.Y.: What can you say to those people who just can't feel their pecs on chest excercises? As much as I try to concentrate on my pecs during bench/incline press, it is my front delts and triceps that fatigue first.
Thanks
1. Try slowing down the rep speed of the pushing pec movements
2. Concentrate on the 'tree hugging' pec movements (flye and pec dec variants)
3. I'm not real convinced that you need a mind/pec connection to build a monster chest; I know plenty of powerlifters who've never even sought a mind/pec connection yet have build monstrous pecs. They're secret? Forget feel and go for poundage: add fifty pounds to your flat bench (using a wide grip) and I'm quite sure your chest will show significant improvement regardless of whether or not you 'feel it.'
Laurel, Md.: Hi Marty,
I hope you can help with this. I am a 26-year-old female with a unique problem. I work out six days a week with weights and also do cardio. My diet is super strict, yet I am developing lumbs on the sides of my glutes (upper outide quadrant). I stopped leg press and hamstring curls as well as side hyperextensions. I have asked the trainer at my gym as well as other lifters to no avail. Have you ever heard of this and what can be done to correct it? I am in excellent shape everywhere else. Thank you for you help.
Do you mean lumps?
Muscle or fatty tissue? If it's muscle, don't worry about it; if you've suddenly developed lumps of fatty tissue best trot on over to the doctor for some x-rays.
Arlington, Va.: Marty, I started an ambitious exercise program about six weeks ago. Four weeks in, I badly bruised my tail bone during a spin class. Not a big problem because I could still do other stuff without incurring pain. But then I hurt my knee. I haven't been to the doctor or anything, but it feels like bursistis (I've had that before in my shoulders.). I have completely laid off exercising for a week and a half now, and the knee feels healed, although if I rub the side of the kneecap, it feels a little tender. At what point is it safe for me to start doing cardio again? How about lifting? I'm trying to listen to my body, but I'm also terrified of sustaining a serious knee injury -- I'm a former college breaststroker, so I fully understand the importance of good knees and how fragile the joint is. I don't want to mess it up permanently. Any thoughts?
Never train through pain. Train around the injury. Use the recovered weight training time to double up on lagging body parts. Try single-leg leg presses, leg curls and leg extensions for the good leg. As far as cardio goes, maybe you should try swimming, the least injurious of all cardio exercise. I don't know what to tell you otherwise on account of you don't really know what the injury is - you 'think' it might be this or that but that vagueness makes providing a intelligent solution impossible. If it doesn't clear up in a month have it looked at.
Virginia: Marty, I'm a 24-year-old woman who has just started lifting regularly in the past few weeks. I do this routine 2x a week:
weighted squats (2x25)
weighted calf raises (3x15)
overhead press (2x15, 1x10 (heavy set))
chest press (2x15, 1x10)
upright rows (2x15, 1x10)
bicep curls (2x15, 1x10)
tricep extentions (2x15, 1x10)
Is this enough? I'm already noticing nice changes in my body, but I want to make sure I'm on the right path. Can I keep this routine indefinitely, just upping the weight? Also, I'm a runner (about 15 miles a week). Are there any other leg exercises that I could do (keep in mind that I don't have access to gym machines on a regular basis) to help with my running? Thanks!
Hold the course for 4-6 weeks, log the results and write back. If you read this column on a regular basis you'd know that no routine renders results indefinitely. Systematically add poundage or reps and throw in some stiff-legged deadlifts to stimulate the hamstrings. Keeping a rigid, convex back, lower slowly from a standing position then slow come erect using the hamstrings to power you back to the standing position. 2x15 ought to do it. Stay in touch.
Arlington, Va.: Hey Marty,
Glad your chats have started up again. My question is about curcuit training. I have read some different ways to do it, full body (many exercises, one loop) -- a few body parts, two to three loops through those exercices. I am looking to do some strenght maintance while increasing my muscle endurance. Any recommendations?
Yes, don't mix mediums.
If you want to get big and strong, lift weights classically and conventionally.
If you want to increase endurance, perform serious cardio.
Circuit training is the worst of both worlds: a second rate size and strength regimen and a second rate cardio builder.
GRILLMAN, WOODSHEDDIN, ARIZ.: GREETINGS HONORABLE COACH GALLAGHER,
PASSED BY THE MAGAZINE ISLE WHILE GRABBING SOME GROCERIES AND SPOTTED THE LATEST "MUSCLE MAGAZINE," SEEMS TO ME THAT THEY ARE MORE LIKE A SOFT PORN RAG THAN THE "PURE MUSCLE" OF DAYS OF YORE, WITH SOMEWHAAT LEGIT INFO. NOW IT'S ANOREXIC CHICKS AND THE LATEST HYPE ON RX. DON'T GET ME WRONG, I DIG THE HONEYS IN THE SKIMPIES, MAKES ME GLAD TO BE A MAN. I GUESS THAT'S WHY I DON'T WASTE MY MONEY ON THE DISIMFORMATION PUMPED OUT TO THE mullets TO RIP THEM OFF WITH THE LATEST SNAKE OIL AND MAJGIC BULLET TO HURL THEM INTO SUPREME HYPERTROPHY OF MUSCLEDOM. TRAINING IS COOL, DOWN TO 330 AND SLIMMING, DID SOME RACK PULLS AFTER SQUATS SUNDAY. MOVING TO THE FLOOR IN TWO WEEKS. LOOKING FOWARD TO MOVING SOME MONSTER STEEL. HOW'S THE TRAINING ROLLING BACK AT THE COMPOUND? KICK YOU SOME QUESTIONS ON THE PRIVATE LINE.
ALOHA,
GRILL-RIL-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA
Sorry I missed your phone call on Sunday I was taking my ritualistic post-training doze (after a big steak and a salad) watching the game on TV. With so much Tolstoy, Turgenev and Faulker as yet unread, I refuse to waste valuable time reading those fountains of misinformation: muscle mags.
Check out the leftovers and see you next week!
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