Hi, I am not cut but I love to train with
heavies! I am gonna try your workout today and
stop with mine!
My question is how many sets do you perform with
each musclegroup?? With the big and the little
groups?
This is one of the most asked questions. The
question you need to ask yourself is "am I
training for strength, or to put on size?" If
you are training to gain strength (say you want
an unGodly bench press) do whatever you can for
4-6 reps. If you are training to put on size, do
sets of 8-10 reps.
Regardless of your goals, you want to do 4
exercises per bodypart, and no more than 3 sets
per exercise. This will give you a total of 12
sets per bodypart. Anything beyond that, and you
risk overtraining.
Example: During my current
cycle on bicep day I do Standing Dumbell Curls,
Pull-Ups, Preacher Curls, and Arnold Curls (I'll
be going more in depth on my workout strategies
in a later article). 3 sets of 8-10 reps each.
Couple of questions. First of all love your
website. Had never seen it before
(Bodybuilding.com). Lots of useful stuff! My
main motivation for lifting besides self-respect
and the way it makes me feel (I love that pump
after a good workout, ya feel so alive and
totally invincible) is dating again since my
mid-40s (divorced twice) and ya gotta compete.
I'm very happy with my pipes, chest and legs.
Would like more delt size, but definitely want
to shape up the middle, esp. obliques, and tone
it up.
Is it OK to do abs session after every
workout, every day (I go 5 days a week sometimes
6)? Or is it like most other muscle groups where
you have to rest it a couple of days? I know I
have muscle in the ab section (I can take really
hard punches) but dammit it doesn't show! Any
suggestions?
I heard you should not work a major muscle
group until 2 days after it is no longer sore
from the last workout. Like I did chest
yesterday (Monday), rest 2 days (always sorer
the 2nd day) then wait 2 days before hitting it
again. That would be Friday or Saturday at the
earliest. Does this sound OK to you or is it
unduly cautious?
Last one, Sgt.: When I started doing flat
bench presses and flys I was taught to put my
feet up on the bench or even lift 'em off
completely like a friggin upside down beetle.
Now I read somewhere that legs should be flat on
the floor because lifting your feet shifts the
weight to your shoulders and your not working
pecs anymore? I know if my feet are on the floor
I am careful not to arch my back. What is
correct?
Also is decline bench a waste of time?
Good to hear from you, man. What I can say in
regards to your questions is what has worked for
me. I work each major bodypart only once a week.
The reason you don't work most major groups more
than once, MAYBE twice a week is because any
more and you won't gain size.
I try to work abs 2-3 times a week. They are
more of an endurance muscle, however you can
overtrain them. It is safe to work them every
other day, but I would not do them every day. As
far as getting them to show, the only way to do
that is to drop your bodyfat. Read my
article "Having it All" as it covers all
of that.
When it comes to bench press and flies, I
find that neither having your legs up or feet
flat on the ground to be better than the other.
Mike Lower, my workout partner, keeps his feet
up. I on the other hand keep mine flat on the
ground. To me it is all personal preferance.
Decline bench presses are NOT a waist of
time, they just aren't your money-makers when it
comes to chest size. However, I see a lot of
people who have under-developed lower chests.
The big thing on lower chest is that while I do
incline and flat presses and flies, I only do
presses for decline.
I read your a bunch of your articles but
recently the one about "common sense strategies
for losing fat and gaining muscle."
I am about 6'3, 210 and have been building some
decent muscle and seeing some size gains but I
want to lose my love handles and some other fat
around my muscles. I have not taken up a cardio
regimen yet besdies my basketball games. I have
a good split practlically similar to yours. My
nutrition could be a problem...if you don't mind
reveiwing it...
Note: I don't pay attention to my calories but
eat everything in moderation and am rarly full.
1. Preworkout/breakfast Oatmeal, milk, eggs
2. Postworkout/150 grams maltodextrin w/ 7 grams
creatine 40 grams whey(lots of water)
3. 1- 2 hours after workout/ meat w/ a slow
digesting protein like cottage cheese or eggs
and vegatables (maybe sandwich on wheat bread)
4. Dinner with whey
5. Meat with veagtabels and water
6. Before bed/cottage cheese, milk, whey
* I have almost got to the point where I
eliminate junk food completly
My last question would be how to fit in cardio
without losing any hard earned muscle?
Lots of good questions. As to what you're
eating; you're eating good foods, you just
didn't specify quantity. I'll break down your
day and see what we can change.
Breakfast: Oatmeal, milk and eggs are all good
for you. The question is, how many eggs are you
eating, and are you drinking whole, 2% or skim
milk? When eating eggs, if I have 5, I'll take
the yokes out of 3. The yoke has all the fat,
and the vast majority of your protein is in the
whites. I also drink skim instead of 2% milk.
However, I don't cut out fats or carbs
completely.
The rest of your day makes sense, just make sure
you are never starving yourself. Timing is
crucial when it comes to diet. The one thing I'd
gig you on is eating right before going to bed.
Eat your last meal no less than 2 hours before
going to bed. This will let your food settle, so
it won't just sit in your stomach as you sleep.
Cutting junk food is good, however don't be
afraid to let yourself have something every once
in a while. Just use common sense and make sure
it is the exception, not the rule.
Cardio: If you read my article, then you know
that I detest doing cardio. However, it is a
neccessary evil. The biggest thing to remember
is not to do more than 45 minutes a session.
Also, go for broke each session and don't hold
back. I do cardio 3-4 times a week while
cutting.
Summary: Good questions people. Keep them
coming! I plan on covering more specifics of my
workout regime in future articles. I also plan
on covering "overtraining," since there seems to
be a lot of confusion in this area. Keep hitting
the steel, focus on your dreams, and they will
become reality. No excuses!
James Mace
TankSergeant@military.com
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