Marty Gallagher • Strength & Fitness Archive • Health & Fitness section • Talk: Health message boards • Live Online Transcripts • Subscribe to the Live Online E-Mail Newsletter and receive the weekly schedule, highlights and breaking news event alerts in your mailbox. Strength & Fitness With Marty Gallagher Special to washingtonpost.com Tuesday, June 17, 2003; Noon ET 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. Submit your questions and comments before or during today's discussion. 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 there everyone,

Top musicians and top athletes have a lot in common; mind-set and attention paid to training or practice. Does anyone know the story of Sonny Rollins and the bridge? Rollins was the hottest thing on the scene as a youngster; critically hailed and popular, a cult figure. He, on the otherhand, was bored with his approach and felt as if he was 'phoning it in.' So he quit. Dropped out of music totally for five years. Only he didn't drop out he went to the proverbial 'woodshed.'

Living in an apartment in New York meant he couldn't practice his incredible loud tenor at home. So every night around midnight he would walk to the center of one of New York's massive suspension bridges (I forget which one) and play for four hours. Every night for five years. Guess what? He broke through to the next level of technical proficiency. He came out of retirement when he felt good about his chops. Fittingly he called his reemegence album, "The Bridge."

I could tell you similar tales about athletes determined to take their competitive skills up to the next level. Men will do some crazy, wild things in order to bust through to the next level, be it art or athletics. In order to break out of whatever physical rut you find yourself in, you might want to find a figurative Bridge and go to it seriously and often. If you train hard and smart and often, you'll bust through to that next level.

Sameness does not beget radical change and never is that more true than trying to renovate the human body. If you want to make a radical change you need to do some radical things. Maybe you need a woodshed to go to and get your chops together. A serious fitness game plan is the first step - do you have a game plan set in a time frame with a specific goal? If not, how are you ever going to get anywhere?

Who has a question?

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Boyds, Md.: Marty, do you think zottman curls are a decent substitute for regular dumbbell curls? Also, how much emphasis do you put on form? I find that when I do 5-rep sets and I put the weight near my max my form, especially on my bench press, goes to hell.

Marty Gallagher: My compadre Hollywood Frank Moran loves Zottman's and got me back to doing them on a semi-regular basis. A Zottman curl is halfway between a curl and a reverse curl: do a regular dumbbell curl and on the way back down flip your wrists over and slow the speed of the descent to a crawl. You lower the bells as if you were doing a reverse curl. Slow and precise is the key to Zottman success/make the mind muscle connection - biceps up and forearms down.

The only reason your form goes to hell going heavier is that you are attempting too much weight. At some point your form is disintigrating and you are likely compensating by bouncing, heaving or arching. Just be cool and do precise 5-rep sets; take smaller poundage jumps at the top.

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Alexandria, Va.: Coach Marty,

I hope you are enjoying this glorious day! I have one observation and a question.

First the observation. I know that you don't normally read the former Weider publication, Flex, but I just wanted to note that since they've been bought by Rodale press (publisher of Runner's World, Bicycling, etc.) they've become a bit more irreverent and maybe a tad more honest about the sport. They're still trying to sell snake oil to skinny 16 year olds, but the Weider supplement and publication link is breaking loose.

Now to my question. Where to I go to get serious nutritional counseling? I know the basics about proportions of carbs, proteins and fats, the good and bad fats, and portion control, but there are days that I find that I have misfueled myself and either my blood sugar dives, I become ravagingly hungry, or my recovery time is prolonged more than it should be. An example of the type of question that I have is what should I eat the day before I know that I am going to get up and swim in 68 deg. water and then bike 10 miles to work? An apple and a yogurt between the swim and bike are enough to get me to work, but I feel really depleted. It seems that I should have been better able to prepare my body to fuel itself the day before.

Thanks and let's hope for more mornings like this!

Marty Gallagher: My understanding, talking to weider people last month, was that the mags were bought by National Enquirer. This transaction just occured and though there are changes anticapted at Muscle & Fitness, my sources tell me that they intend to leave Flex 'absolutely alone' because Flex is doing extremely well at securing marketshare within the target demogaphic.

If you are doing all that cardio and eating an apple and a mini-container of yougurt, maybe you are under-fed and over-trained and in some sort of physiologocal state of overtonus. Contact me at my e-mail for some names: mgso@supernet.com

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Hey coach,: Hope things are well with you. What do you recommend to prevent or limit muscle soreness the day or two after lifting? The problem is I'm playing tennis or basketball and I am not as quick and agile as I could be, had I not lifted the day before. Thanks.

Marty Gallagher: Can you do you lifting on days subsequent to tennis and B-Ball? Sometimes shifting training days does wonders for body and mind. Are you refering to things like sauna, whirlpool, hydrotherapy, massage and steamrooms? I like all these things and love to finish a workout using one of these resorative tactics.

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Long Beach, Calif.: I’m male, 26, 5-foot-10, 160 pounds. I’m a competitive runner, but my knees have been hurting me lately and I think it’s time I cut down on the running and increase the lifting. One thing I’d like to do is improve my bench press. The most I’ve ever benched is 205 pounds and I’d like to do more than that. I have very clean eating habits and I’m willing to do all the necessary hard work in the weight room. What do you recommend?

Marty Gallagher: Chest twice a week;

day 1
bench press - regular grip - after warmups 2x8 with 175
narrow grip bench - after regular bench 2x8 with 155
wide grip bench - after narrow - 1x20 with 135 - pause reps
tricep pushdowns - 4x10 progressive

Day 2
dumbbell incline - after warm up sets - 2x8
flat DB flye - 3x10
pec dec 1x20
tricep french press - 4x10 progressive

If you make the poundages move up 5-pounds in the next workout

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Portland, Ore.: Hi Marty,

I have a question about cardio endurance. I've upped my cardio recently, bought a HR monitor, and I bike and run.

Why is it that I can cruise along at 75 percent max HR for an hour bike riding, but after 10 minutes of jogging my HR approaches 90 percent and I have to slow down? Is it because of the different muscle groups being used?

I'm a 24-year-old female, 5'10", 150 lbs.

Marty Gallagher: Whatever it is is what it is and impossible for me to say definatively - are you in shape? I know a lot of conditioned athletes who can work at 85-90% all day long with no problem whatsoever - I worry when a fat, out-of-shape person new to fitness does cardio in this high of a range. If you are in shape than hey - that's great and I think its a tribute to your abilities. If you are out of shape - back off and back down; work in the 65% range and over time gradually bring this up - but in a slow and systematic fashion.

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Northern Virginia: I plan to set aside one hour a day to exercise. Do you have any suggestions on diversity of exercises for each day?

Marty Gallagher: I would devote 1-hour to lifting three days a week and perform 40-minutes of cardio on the remaining four days. Add a solid eating plan to this mix and you should be off to the races.

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Washington, D.C.: Dear Marty, my husband is 5'10' and weighs about 195-200 lbs. He's in decent shape but needs to lose weight and and build more muscle. He's joined a gym and is doing cardio work and eating less, but he's not sure how to start a weight training program. Can you recommend a beginning program for him? In addition to the gym, he has a weight bench at home and a very small barbell/dumbbell set.

Marty Gallagher: Here are some basic, core exercises that ought be in every fitness devotees repetoire...

1. full squat
2. leg curl
3. calf raise
4. bench press
5. incline bench press
6. seated overhead press
7. lateral raise
8. chin/pullups
9. dips
10. row
11. deadlift
12. curls
13. tricep press
14. tricep pushdowns

2-3 sets of each for 10 rep might make a good starting point - you could dived the exercise up over two days or do them all at once twice a week.

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Alexandria, Va.: A couple discussions ago, you mentioned that you'd used ketogenic diets occasionally. What were your experiences with keto diets? Did you lose weight faster than otherwise? Did you get more muscle soreness than usual? How did it work out for you?

Marty Gallagher: It worked well but I knew how to use it, how long to use it and when to get off it -

A ketogenic approach in my case is fine for 2-4 weeks but past that and I start to suffer psychologically and the results seem to flatten out - fine - what a great time to switch directions (create contrast) and double-back/go with perhaps a low fat, moderate protein, moderate carb aproach. I think diet approach needs to be rotated periodically just like we need to alter training periodically.

All meat all the time gets a little old and I am convinced that running fibrous carbs through the body's internal plumbing helps keep the sludge from corroding the pipes.

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Western Fairfax, Va.: The average person who's trying to lose weight would be surprised at the results of just cutting the sugar and salt from their diet. Eating clean food just helps the process along as I'm finding out right now. Knocked one notch off of the belt, working on another.

Marty Gallagher: Sugar is huge - plus it screws up insulin; makes it spike and do crazy things to blood sugar levels.

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Lexington, Ky.: I'm trying to tone up the abs, and have been doing several varieties of crunches. I have recently noticed that my stomach -- while tighter -- also sticks out more. Can you build ab muscles OUT? Is my form contributing to this? What are your suggestions for the best ab exercises? I don't have access to a gym so no captain's chair or anything like that please. Many thanks.

Marty Gallagher: The best ab exercise is a really good diet.

You can do ab work from now until the cows come home ("...guess I'll put on my hat and hot pants and promenade down funky broadway until the cows come home." Who said that?) but unless you melt the fat that obscures the abs away, you will be sorely disapointed. Ab exercise does not melt fat off the abs - ab exercise strengthens the abs - melting the fat off depends on resetting the diet/exercise ratio. You need to burn up more calories than you ingest on a regular and consistent basis for a protracted period of time.

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Arlington, Va.: Marty,

How bad is it if my heart rate goes a bit above my range? I'm a 38 female, 5'6", 168 pounds, trying to lose store baby weight after a fairly difficult pregnancy. Prepregnancy I worked out regularly and was in really good shape. Post-pregnancy, due to difficulties, I've been carrying around 50+ pounds for 16 months. I started doing some Leslie Sansone "Walk Away the Weight" videos because they give me a good workout and and easier on my arthritic knees (plus I need to be in the house for when the baby wakes up). My issue -- I use a Polar heart rate monitor, and my range is 118-155. Even though I don't feel like I'm overexerting myself (i.e., I can carry on a conversation while exercising), I'm often in the 156-160 range and have to dramatically slow down to bring it back down. Now, these aren't excessively high rate videos to begin with -- just a nice, easy 15-minute a mile 4-mile walk. So, how bad is it that my heart rate gets 1-4 beats above the max? My above range rate tends to be 10-12 minutes above my target range during the 60 minutes, although the last time I worked out, by really decreasing my exertion (including, in some instances, not walking at all), I was able to keep within target for 57 of the 60 minutes. Thanks.

Marty Gallagher: Heavy people generate a higher heart rate than correspondingly fit lighter people.

I would kick this question back to my doctor, a trained medical professional who knows you and your general level of fitness. I can't tell from here. Why not be cool and work up gradually, over a couple of months, just to be on the safe side?

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Fairfax, Va: Now that it's getting warmer out and easier to break a sweat, I've got a question. Is there any benefit from just working up a good, long sweat ? Provided you take in water, I mean.

Marty Gallagher: Fitness success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration - plus you need a good eating plan.

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Re: cutting sugar: Very important! And guess what has a LOT of sugar in it ? Beer!

Marty Gallagher: How many sugar grams in an 12-ounce can?

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Maryland: I get concerned about how hard to work out when it is hot outside. I try to stick to my plan of running but today I got dizzy after just 10 mins. of jogging so I switched and did power walking. I am concerned that I am going to lose my speed if the weather stays warm for awhile.

Marty Gallagher: I'd be a hell-of-a-lot more concerned about getting dizzy than I would about losing 'my speed' - something ain't right and to ignore this big flashing caution sign is a mistake.

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Washington, D.C.: I am doing 1 hour of cardio a day and have started to integrate short bursts of jogging into my fast walking on the treadmill. I usually do 3 - 6 minute intervals; after 6 mintues of jogging I am worn out but I would like to buil up to 10-15 mintue stretches of jogging. How can I do this without killing myself? Should I increase it by a minute each time and work my way up?

Marty Gallagher: Well, first off, unless you are a competitive athlete who needs a super high level of cardio proficiency, I think an hour of cardio is too much - the duration dilutes the intensity you can bring to bear. I say go shorter and more intense - you will reap MORE benifit than an arduous 60-minute marathon session that requires you to subconciously hold back in order to complete the session. Why are you so hung up on doing a full 60-minutes?

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Olney, Md.: Howdy Marty:

It's been a while since I posted.

Can't thank you enough for leading me down the path of total fitness these past several years.

Yesterday, I looked forward to moving 10 full wheel barrows full of brick I purchased for a multi-terraced brick planting wall in my back forest.

The reason I looked forward to doing this task is that it gave me a tremendous workout. My thighs feel great and my upper body benefited as well. No back pain, since I bent my knees.

Then I had a late afternoon appointment with my cardiologist. It was to follow up on an extensive stress test I recently took.
I had great results and my blood pressure was a remarkable 110/70, the lowest reading I've had in two years.

Thanks for keeping all of us healthy and pumped.

Marty Gallagher: Do me a favor; drop by Graves Tire and Appliance on Georgia Ave by 108, ask for Scott Graves and give him my regards.

Glad to be of assistance - all most serious folks need is a clear-cut gameplan. You pony-ied up the requisite grit and gumption. Pat yourself on the back....

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Lexington, Ky. again: But I have a flat stomach ... there's not really any fat to burn off. I just want some nice definition. My weight and cardio routine leave me with fairly strong abs, but not defined ones.

Marty Gallagher: If your body fat was low as you think your six-pac would be plainly visible. You have defined abs right now - they are obscured by fat - its not as if you have low body fat and due to some freak occurance your abs are not seperate and distinct - they are clear cut and defined as we speak - but they are obscured by fat! Sorry but that's the cold facts: if your body fat was low enough your abs would be crisp and visible!

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Sacto, Calif.: Marty,
Van Morrison?! WTF? That is not iron-pumping music!

Marty Gallagher: Excellent lyrical call.

I have a wide variety of musical tastes that run from Glenn Gould to Art Tatum, from ACDC to Aaron Copeland, from Paganini to Hendrix, from Joni Mitchell to the Sex Pistols...I am hardly a one-dimensional musical Visagoth who listens to the same three Iron Maiden tracks in every single workout.

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Washington, D.C.: I see your point about the law of diminishing returns doing 1 hour of cardio but I have about 50 more pounds to lose and I guess I'm trying to burn the most calories possible. But I would hate to cut back my cardio when results seem to come so slowly.

Marty Gallagher: How many calories do you think you are burning in an hour? 6,000? More like 600! Look - isn't it a hell of a lot easier to bag that cardio workout at the 40-minute mark after you've burned say 500 and just eat 200-less calories that day?

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Alexandria, Va.: Hey Marty,

I'm doing straight back deadlifts, squats and calf raises with dumbbells once a week. Is it overkill to try to add in a plyometric leg activity such as sprint work or box jumping during the sam workout? Thanks.

Marty Gallagher: Try it and report back with results - 2-4 weeks would be a good test period.

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Chantilly, Va: Have ya noticed that a lot more people don't have waistlines anymore? No shoulder definition, nothing!

We ARE truly a fat and lazy society.

Marty Gallagher: What do you expect? We don't pick cotton in the fields all day long or cut timber with saws anymore.

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Arlington, Va.: Would you laugh at someone doing a "top deadlift"? A partial version of the conventional deadlift set so that the bar is located above the knees on a rack. Could this be a good way to build traps?

Marty Gallagher: No deadlifts done in a power rack off pins set high is a legitimate arrow in the training quiver.

Some top powerlifters will start their cycle doing rack deadlifts with their target poundage and over a period of months systematically lower the pins until they are doing the target deadlift off the floor.

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Confused in D.C.: For the past couple of talks, you have discussed a device called the "wheel of torture", What is it?

Marty Gallagher: A silly little wheel with a handle on each side - buy them for 10-bucks at the local sporting good store. Knee down and roll the wheel out, then roll it back - sounds easy, doesn't it?

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New York, N.Y.: I can do 450 lbs. on the leg press, but can't go much above 230 on squats. Squats also get me puffing much more than any other lift. I can do well over 100 lbs. on the leg extension with each leg separately, so I don't think it's my quads that keep me from squatting heavier weights. I feel it most just under the hips. Should I keep doing them or should I stick to leg presses. Thanks.

Marty Gallagher: Bag the leg presses for a while and concentrate all your efforts on perfecting squat technique: don't fudge on depth; try pause squats, deadstop at the bottom-most point then rise explosively.

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Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.: LOL: "crisp and visible."

Marty Gallagher: Every human on earth has a six-pack (unless they're deformed) - if it is visible or not is another matter entirely.

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Colesville, Md.: Hi Marty,

A couple of chats ago I submitted a question and you said to contact you for your phone number. I sent an e-mail but didn't get a response. Is the correct e-mail address: mgso-supernet.com

Thanks for the chats and the advice,

P.S. I just read your piece about Ed Coan ... was the 1000+ lb. squat 1 effort or a combined total for several lifts?

Marty Gallagher: Try it again but identify yourself in the title - i get a lot of spam and unless I know its from a reader I delete.

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Sacto: Just kidding, Marty ... one of my workout tapes is 90 min. of Howling Wolf and Muddy Waters. If you're not ready to rip the weights off the floor after listening to "Mannish Boy", you gots no soul ...

Marty Gallagher: I just finished watching the Last Waltz DVD and thought Muddy tore it up. Robbie wanted to bounce Muddy from the lineup but Levon put his foot down. I saw a special on him on some channel the other night and was knocked out by footage of his live appearance at Newport in 1963 - as Bonnie Raitt said, "You knew Muddy was Packin. He was the real deal."

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Silver Spring Maryland: Marty,

Please recommend what you know to be the best fitness videos on the market today and if it is best to use a variety and what those would be. I have used several, as I like to work out at home. The Firm is the one I am currently using.I also walk, swim when I can and bike ride, weather permitting.

Thank you in advance

Marty Gallagher: No clue - I don't watch fitness videos.

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re: Wheel of Pain: You said to write back with what muscles the wheel exercises. Well, I believe, from the feel of it anyway, that the abs from ribcage to beltline are primarily affected, followed by the side abs, then the tops of the shoulders/arms.

That wheel is one wicked little device.

Marty Gallagher: Plus, you can radically change the effects by slowing down or speeding up the speed of the rep. Try some super slow reps for extra added torture.

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Marty Gallagher: Okay I got to roll onto other things - if you have a question left hanging, it'll be answered and posted at the end of next week's show. If you had one left from last week, check it out now.

6-3-03 Questions

Manassas, Va.: Can you give me examples of what foods contain a lot of saturated fat and what foods do not? Thanks!
Marty Gallagher: C’mon I’d be here all day – that’d be a list as long as your arm. Buy a food breakdown book in the grocery store for a couple of bucks and look it up!
Tall and skinny from Arlington, Va.: "Bud -- you need some muscle BAD!" Sounds good to me. Do you mind if I write you via e-mail? My lunch hour's up and I don't have time to write much right now.
Marty Gallagher: Shore.
Bethesda, Md.: Hi Marty, I am a 110 pound, 5'2'', 26 year-old-woman. I am fairly active (cardio 3-4 times a week, weight lifting 3 times a week). I was wondering how many grams of protein I should aim for in a day? If I want to increase muscle mass and lose body fat, should this amount be increased? Thanks for the advice!
Marty Gallagher: Why not try for ½ grams per pound of body weight, in your case, 50-60 grams per day. The harder I train the more protein I intake and the less I train the less I intake.
Washington, D.C.: Hi, I'm a 24-year-old female, 120 pounds, just starting weightlifting. I don't know if this is normal or not, but the right side of my body is naturally WAY stronger than the left side. I've been doing bicep curls with 10-pound weights, and while my left arm can barely get through three sets of 10, my right arm doesn't feel like it's been worked at all. What should I do to even out?
Marty Gallagher: By taking up weight training, particularly weight training movements using dumbbells, you are doing about the best thing you can possibly do to ‘even out’ real or perceived physique and strength disparities.
New York, N.Y.: Coach, Does this seem like a reasonable back routine?
Deadlift 95x12, 135x4, 185x15x2
Assisted Pullup 150 x 12, 130 x 4, 100 x 15x2
Seated Cable Row 50x12, 80x4, 110x15x2
Shrug 10x15, 25x8, 40x4, 65x15
Back extension holding 10 lbs. 2 sets of 17
Marty Gallagher: I think 15-rep deadlift sets (for two sets?) are suicidal and the grip is likely to fatigue before the back. How about 1-2 sets of 8? I never do more than 10-reps in the deadlift and usually 5-8.


Alexandria, Va.: I've got a blown-out MCL from an old injury. It's generally not a problem, except when I'm doing near 1RM squats and deadlifts. I squat 335 and pull 355 at a bodyweight of 250, which sucks. Any suggestions for how to train around this? My strength is slowly coming up, but I feel that if I could get the knee stronger, I'd be rocking. I want to avoid surgery if at all possible; I figure that since I get around OK now, why risk complications?
Marty Gallagher: I’d never max out and I slash the poundage and really learn how to squat perfectly: deep, slow, precise and without any supportive gear. Try relearning the exercise using low motion descent, perfect bottom position, slight pause at the deepest point, no bouncing, heaving, twisting or jerking.
Washington, D.C.: I'm a 28-year-old woman who has been weight training for just 5 months now. I have seen a lot of improvement in my body and more definition in my muscles. However, I would like my arms to appear more "cut". What is the best way to achieve that appearance? I am 5'4 and weigh 110 pounds, so I don't want to be bulky, but would like my muscles to have more definition. Thank you.
Marty Gallagher: Zero in on your eating: lift weights 3-4 times a week; hit cardio 3-5 times a week and get the calories down. Not too much too fast or you’ll ruin your progress and mess up your metabolism. I would eat less, clean up the food selections. If you spread out the daily calories over say 5-6 ‘feedings’ instead of the traditional three-square meals, the digestive burden is lessened resulting in improved assimilation and digestion. Definition is related to body fat and the main lever of progress is getting a handle on what and how much you eat.
New York, N.Y.: Marty -- I'm a 30-yr-old woman, 5'9", 143, trying to get leaner through the tripod. I belong to one of those girly gyms with no dumbbells over 35 lbs., and no bench/bars. I'm doing OK on bench press w/ 30-35 lb. bars (especially now as I'm on a hi-rep, low-weight cycle), but I'm stymied in the squat area: I don't get tired doing squats holding the 35-lb dumbbells. Should I try for one-legged squats? other suggestions?
(Besides switching gyms: It's the only one in my neighborhood. And as a New Yorker living in a 1-bedroom, a home gym is not an option!) Thanks, these chats are great motivation every week!
Marty Gallagher: I would do high-rep free weight pause squats without any weight. I would try to work up to a single 100 rep set using zero resistance. Take a shoulder width stance and inhale, descend down to where the thighs are parallel to the floor – hold the bottom-most position for 2-full seconds before rising explosively. Exhale as you arise. I know men who can do 5-600 in a row. Try two sets of 25 to start. These are tough and they teach great technique for later weighted squats. Stay flat-footed as you squat.



Washington, D.C.: Marty -- I'm following up with you from a couple weeks ago. I'm the 24-year-old, F, 22 percent BF who's been lifting on and off for the past year and a half. I have access to the gym Tues. to Fri. and would like for you to devise a weights program for me. I'm looking to lean out and know I need to watch the food intake as well as do cardio most days of the week. I go to the gym on my 1-hr lunch break and have been doing weights and cardio during lunch. What kind of schedule would you recommend for me?
Marty Gallagher:

1. no-weight squat (see previous question for technique)
2. calf raise
3. lying leg curl
4. bench press
5. seated overhead press
6. lat pulldown
7. seated pulley row
8. curl
9. tricep pushdowns

Do this routine twice a week using three sets of 10-reps. Write back after using for 4-weeks.
Fairfax, Va.: I am totally confused these days about what is healthy food. Didn't a study come out recently suggesting that we can improve our heart health by cutting down on carbohydrates and substituting fat and protein? This is the opposite of what we have all been led to believe. Besides losing weight, my concern is to keep a healthy heart.
Marty Gallagher: I’m totally confused by your question? What? I’m no heart expert so perhaps you might want to pose this “health” question to your MD.
California: Hi Marty -- For the past year and a half, I've been making a real effort to eat well and work out a lot, and it's really been paying off for me (and I've realized that I really enjoy working out, which is an added bonus). The problem is that for the next month, because of work and other responsbilities, I'm not going to be able to spend much time at the gym during the week, or if I do get there, it's going to be about 30 minutes at lunchtime (I can go for significantly longer on the weekends, though). What should my priorities be in those 30 minute workouts (that I can probably squeeze in about 2-3 times a week)? After this month, I can go back to normal, but I don't want to lose the good work that I've been doing. Oh, and I'm a woman, late 20s, and I'm looking to lose weight and generally shape up. Thanks a lot, your chats have been so helpful for me over this past year.

Marty Gallagher: Hit two big workouts on Saturday and Sunday (legs on Saturday and chest and triceps on Sunday) and then hit back on Wednesday and shoulders and biceps on Thursday in short, 30-minute workouts. You can get 15 sets done in 30 minutes. I’m talking strictly about weight training.
Columbus, Ohio: Marty, Long time reader and devoted follower of your column. I have a question. Description: Male 200 lbs., 6'3", about 10-12 percent bf. I am trying to maintain my muscle mass and weight for the summer, but when I increase my cardio I tend to thin out and my muscles become smaller. Though when I reduce cardio and eat more carbs my muscles respond and I become much fuller in stature. I am eating about 2k-2500 calories per day with a breakdown of 18% from fat, 45 percent carb, and 37 percent from protein. How can I maintain my muscle mass but still keep the body fat percentage down? Thanks in advance.
Marty Gallagher: So cut back on the cardio, kick up the calories and slam some serious iron! Set some PR’s and those muscles will have no choice but to grow. Pro bodybuilders just prior to a competition (last 4-weeks) will typcially keep the pure protein (devoid of saturated fat) intake high and level and reduce fat and starchy carbs in order to create a caloric deficit yet hang onto muscle mass. Most pros live on steamed fiber veggies and grilled super-lean protein for the final four weeks leading up to a competition. Increase cardio, and shift to a moderate intensity, high volume weight training approach complete the equation.
Alexandria, Va.: Any news on how Ed Coan's recovery is going? Hope he gets well soon.
Marty Gallagher: No real word.
Gaithersburg, Md.: Marty, I know that you have answered this question a million times before, so I'll apologize in advance for asking it. I am a regular lifter, male 34-years-old, been lifting for 19 years. I have never used any kind of supplement, in pill form or as a drink. What is the best shake-type product that you recommend for helping to build mass? Even better, one that is not too expensive. Thanks.
Marty Gallagher: I swear by protein powder and it is the single supplement I use every single day. I also use sport nutrition bars to fill in the nutritional ‘gaps’ – the times when I need something nutritious but don’t have the time of inclination to cook. Past that I like E&C vit combo. Write my e-mail for personal recommendations. mgso@supernet.com
Alexandria, Va. : Marty - I'm hoping that you or one of the other chatters can help me. I wrote last week about jogging with a tune belt and CD player and getting it to play smoothly when I run. Currently it skips. You suggested that I'm pounding the pavement with my feet instead of gliding across it. I'm not a very "heavy" runner (at least I don't think I am), but I made every effort to tread as lightly as possible and my CD player still skipped. It's supposedly "skip proof" and made for jogging. Surely someone must have had and conquered the same problem. Anyone? Thanks!!
Marty Gallagher: I suppose you’ll have to shift to one of the MP3 deals with no moving parts – how about returning the CD player and telling them its not jog proof and asking that you be shown another model. I did that once and no one questioned it: apparently there are different degrees of ‘jog proof.’
Western Fairfax, Va: Greetings Coach, I'd like to take this opportunity to encourage a few of the lurkers and couch potatoes to get involved in their health and well- being. I know hard work and dedication pay off in the end, but laziness pays off in the here and now. So, let's hear from some of those who've decided that hard work is definitely worth it for a healthy life.
Marty Gallagher: I ain’t much of one for cheers or toasts…
New York, N.Y.: Hi Mr. Gallagher, I have an unusual but I think important safety question: what is the best/safest way to extricate oneself from a bench press or squat that goes awry (thought you could lift it Xtimes and you give out before you hit the goal), if you don't have a spotter or safety bars to rest the weight on? I'm guessing for the squat throw it off and lean forward, but what about the bench? Keep it above the thickest part of the chest as much as possible and call for help? Roll it off the body? I know better than to lift so much that this could happen, but I'm thinking just in case knowledge. Thanks.
Marty Gallagher: Depends how heavy the weight – less than 200 and you should be able to use the ‘roll it down your chest, flex your stomach and sit up’ routine. Over 200 is problematic. In the squat I would ride it to the bottom and flip it backward off my back onto the floor.
Manassas, Va.: Hello Marty, Thank you for the chat. How do you rate your Protein powder products that you like to use compared to Designer whey protien powders? Also will you be at the bodybuilding show June 14 with Linda Murray guest posing?
Marty Gallagher: No clue – I’d have to have a container of each in hand and compare the labels item by item. I doubt I’ll be going to any local bodybuilding competitions anytime soon.
Virginia: I am trying to build and tighten my chest. The problem is, I injure my back every time I start to get into the heavy weights. Any advice on an exercise strategy easy on the back, but will still offer reasonable results? A trainer once advised me to do push-ups daily, but others say not to exercise the same muscles consecutive days. Any pointers would be helpful. Thanks
Marty Gallagher: You injure your back doing what – bench presses? You want to be a little more specific please? How can I suggest alternatives when I don’t know what it is exactly that you’re doing?

Dunkirk, Md.: Marty, love your chats! With my wedding coming up at the beginning of 2004 I really want to buckle down and lean out. I've been lifting a couple days a week for the past five months and do cardio 4-5 days a week. I know I need to focus on the diet, but I need help designing a new leg routine. I work my legs Tues. and Thurs. for about 30 min. each day. The gym doesn't have a Smith machine, but just about everything else. I've been doing squats, hip ab/adductor, leg curls, and lunges. What do you recommend? (Female, mid-20s, 23 percent BF)
Marty Gallagher: At least you’re allowing sufficient time to renovate your physique. What’s wrong with squats, leg presses, leg extensions and leg curls? Each done for 3-4 sets of 12 reps. Toss the ab/adductor and the lunges. You do what I’ve outlined and it’ll eat up every second of that 30-minute session.
Silver Spring, Md.: I'm 42-years-old, and in January I decided to get fit. I've lost about 35 pounds, and I've gotten into running, lifting dumbbells, fencing saber, doing push-ups and crunches, biking around my neighborhood, and so forth. Now I'm trying to build my upper-body strength. A couple of weeks ago, I installed a chin-up bar in my basement. Chin-ups have NEVER been easy for me, but I can do about 4 or 5 chin-ups at a time now. Here's why I'm writing: How often should I do chin-ups? Every day? Every other day? Less? How can I build my strength best? Just keep doing them all the time? I want to build my reps and increase my strength and bulk. Any advice would be gratefully received! Thanks.
Marty Gallagher: I would chin every other day. I would also do assisted reps. After you do a set or two to failure, pull a bench up behind the chin bar and do a set or two of ten reps using you legs to give yourself forced reps. Vary the grip width for extra added work.
Springfield, Va.: Marty, On certain protein bars I'll see where they contain like 17 or 20 total carbs. And on the packaging it will say "this bar contains 2 grams of Net Impact Carbs that should be counted toward your daily carb intake." What does that mean? And on the bars that this is not printed on, does that mean to count the total amont of carbs toward daily carb intake? Thanks.
Marty Gallagher: No clue. Someone explained this a few weeks ago. A carb is a carb is a carb and I would most certainly count its calories towards your daily allotment.
Alexandria, Va.: Marty, I am a 25-year-old female, 5 ft. 8" and I weight 145 lbs. I work out with weights and cardio 5-6 times a week and the diet is progressively getting better. I have kept a 30 lb. weight loss of for over a year. I love the way I look (extremely toned and on my path to being shredded) in all parts of my body. But, try as I may (and I am still losing body fat because my size 6 pants are getting loser and loser), the flab on my stomach refuses to go. Without my stomach, I could start considering fitness modeling, but that flab just stays put. What to do? I am eating exactly between 1750-2000 calories on weekdays and relaxing to about 2500-3000 just for the weekend. Should I eat less? I can see the veins on my arms when I flex(literally) but still have a flab on my stomach - help!
Marty Gallagher: It is not uncommon for individuals to be able to achieve low body fat on their limbs yet still hold fat on their torso. Here is what we know: what it is you are doing is not producing the results you seek. This presents you with two distinct choices; continue in the direction you are going or strike off in a new direction. If you want to lean out I suppose you need to up the exercise and decrease the calories or some combination of the two. Are you Italian?
Washington, D.C.: Marty, I've recently started exercising again. My goal is to get back into shape -- convert some of my mush into muscle. I'm 5'9 and 132 lbs., so I don't expect to lose too much weight, but I'd really like to lose my newly developing spare tire. Now that I'm exercising again, I am starving! Is is counterproductive to eat before I work out in the mornings? I usually have a small bowl of grape nuts with fruit, skim milk and a little honey, plus some o.j. I could go without the juice, but if I skipped breakfast, my energy level would be too low to fuel a productive workout. Also, can you suggest a healthy mid-morning snack? Even when I eat before working out, I can't last until lunch. I usually grab a powerbar in the afternoons to tide me over until dinner (I'm a vegetarian, so maybe my lunch doesn't last as long as it would if I ate meat). Any dietary suggestions would be most helpful! Thanks.
Marty Gallagher: Male or female? Makes a huge difference. What can I say? You say you have a spare tire and you want to lose it but in the next breath you say you’re starving all the time – in order to lose body weight (is that the goal?) you need to burn off more calories than you eat on a daily basis. You can increase the amount of activity or cut you calories? Or a combination of both? Nothing very spectacular or revolutionary is going to happen until you make some contrasting changes to whatever it is you are doing currently. I sort of get the impression you don’t want to reduce calories or dramatically increase exercise – so how is anything of any real significance going to happen?
Madison, Wisc.: Sir, Define "maximum" as in I "max" 300 lb. benching. Is it the most I can bench after doing a warm up set or the most I can do right after the bat? Thanks.
Marty Gallagher: Take all the warm-ups you want, need or require.
Somewhere, USA: An article in Sunday's "Post" about spas and tanning salons included a comment from one person that a tan smooths out one's skin and can even make one look thinner. Incredibly, there was not one mention in the article of the dangers of tanning, including artificial tanning. No comments by physicians about anything in the article. Skin cancer is serious stuff. I've had two basal cell carcinomas removed, and my late father had melanoma. Surely people aren't clueless about this. I'm sure the article was intended a just a light piece, but there should have been at least a brief cautionary message included, don't you think?
Marty Gallagher: I don’t do sun tans. I hear what you are saying. As the comedian said, “Putting an Irish guy on the beach is like sticking a fork in a microwave.”
Blacksburg, Va.: Hi! I am 5'9, 140 lbs. I have a pretty nice frame and athletic build. I am happy with everything except my tummy and buns. Is this a woman thing? What is the fastest and most effective way to work on these areas? It is odd because my hip bones stick out yet I have a small pouch. It does not look proportional to the rest of my "on the skinny-side" body. Thanks!
Marty Gallagher: So are you fat or not? What am I supposed to say? No real detail so I’ll answer in the same general fashion that the question was posed: the fastest way to lose fat is lift weights or a regular basis, hit cardio on a regular basis and cut calories. There is no magic secret exercise that melts fat off the ‘tummy.’ You need to melt that fat off the top of the ‘tummy’ and this involves eating fewer calories than you oxidize on a regular basis.
Detroit, Mich.: Hello. There seems to be a lot of varying opinion on how many days a week a muscle group should be worked. What is too much? What is too little? Is one muscle group per week sufficient? If so is it just for the lean out phase just for a bulking phase or both?
Marty Gallagher: Depends how strong you are: a real strong person, an advanced trainee needs a lot longer to recover one workout to the next than the stone cold beginner who, because of the relatively pee-wee poundage can train a muscle 2-3 times weekly. An intermediate can train a muscle twice a week and still recover one session to the next.
Alexandria, Va.: Good day, Marty, I have a question regarding supplements. In your previous chats the first supplement that you recommend above all others is protein powder. What are your thoughts on the various pills that are available such as antioxidant fuels, multivitamins, flax seed, etc.? Have you used them? Are they really necessary to use? Thanks.
Marty Gallagher: I use a B&C combo daily plus a multi-vitamin and mineral tab. That’s it for me. Others might have different needs based upon the peculiarities of their situation.
Silver Spring, Md.: Mr. Gallagher, thank you for taking my question. For some reason every muscle group has responded well to my lifting -- except my back. I'd especially like to improve my posture since I slouch a bit so this is important for me to make stronger. Right now I'm doing (sorry it's all in metric!):
Lat pulldowns: 10x50kg, 8x55kg, 6x60kg
Seated row: 10x45kg, 8x50kg, 6x55kg
Upright row: 10x25kg, 8x30kg, 6x30kg
Shrugs: 10x65kg, 8x70kg, 6x70kg
I want a bigger/stronger upper back. What do you suggest for what I should add or change?
Marty Gallagher: Why not try something completely different?

Day I
1. deadlift
2. hi-pull
3. shrug

Day II

1. pullups
2. underhand, narrow grip pulldown to chest
3. strict row preferably on a machine

This is a light day/heavy day scenario – how about four sets of 5-8 reps on heavy day and three sets of 12-15 on light day. Deadlifts and high pulls are the key to building upper back. (traps, rhomboids, teres, rear delts) Most likely you are not isolating the lats and probably using too much bicep. Pull with the lats not the arms on chins, pulldowns and strict rows.

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