I used to not be a big fan of question and answer
articles, however I realized after reading many of my
reader's questions that many of them had the same
questions. I think this may save some people some
time and may help those out who have similar questions
but are merely too shy to ask, although there is no
reason to be, I make it a point to try and answer all
my emails. Here goes...
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Can't Get My Lower Abs To Show Up! Help! |
Question: I am 15 years old and I have been bodybuilding for about one and a half
years now. There is one thing about my body
that I really hate and it's my abs! I have been working
and working on them but it seems like I never get
that 6-pack. My body fat is around 12% and I am
145 lbs with a 29" waist, it's just there is no
6-pack! Yeah I have those first four and my
obliques but the biggest problem is those bottom abs
and the fat that is covering them up. It's the
fat in my belly button region. I'm on Prolab ThermaPro and using Cutting Gel, I have also used Twinlab Ripped
Fuel and Ripped Fuel Extreme, and even Diet Fuel. It seems to me that no matter how many crunches, sit-ups, or
supplements I take those bottom abs never pop out!
Please if you have any advice for me or any workouts
or exercises I can do, please help me.
MY ANSWER: It seems to me that you have the right idea about
how to get better abs (you realize you must lower your
body fat) however I don't think you're going about it
the best way. The first thing I see is that you are
focusing way too much on supplements. Yes it's true
that a good ECA stack can help one lose body fat, but
that is only the case if a proper diet is intact.
From the information you have given me I would set up
your daily diet like this...
145g protein
185g carbs
38g fat
1675 kcals
This should be about 500 kcals under your daily
maintenance calorie intake and should allow you to
lose around 1 lb. per week. Try to make sure most of
your fat comes only as a by product of your protein
intake and from good, low saturated fat sources such
as nuts. You can lose fat faster by throwing in 30
minutes of cardio 3-4 times per week but you run the
risk of losing more muscle. As far as ab work goes my
workout and theory on ab training can be found here.
On a final note I would drop the Cutting Gel or
try to get your money back for it. The active
ingredient found in Cutting Gel does nothing more than
remove water from underneath the skin, it has no fat
burning properties, you can get the same results by
applying Preparation-H gel to that area, as it
contains the same active ingredient. The only good
transdermal cutting agent that actually works that I
know of is Avant Labs' Lipoderm-Y, I have used it
myself and have gotten decent results with it.
However it is rather pricey and I would personally
focus more on your diet before you start worrying
about supplements.
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Will I Get Fat If I Drink A Shake Before Bed? |
Question: I sometimes work out pretty late at night (finish
at around 9) and was wondering if my post workout meal
strategy should change as a result. I'm cutting on a
low carb diet, by the way. I usually have my post workout
drink with about 90g of carbs, and an hour after that
a meal with some carbs and protein, but since this
would mean eating at 10 p.m. (I go to bed at 11), I'm
afraid of fat gain while I sleep. I did my usual thing
yesterday and could swear I felt some bloating. Any suggestions?
MY ANSWER:
You are approaching the situation almost the exact
same way I would do it. Make it a point to have very
little to no carbs throughout the day and same most of
them for your workout so you can recover properly. DO
NOT SKIMP on post workout nutrition, even if you are
cutting. If you don't get an adequate amount of
carbohydrates into your system to refill your glycogen
stores your recovery will surely be hampered. You
should also have some complex carbs right before bed
since the simple carbs that you ingest with your post
workout shake will not last you very long and these
complex carbs will help spare muscle protein while you
sleep. You should also have a slow digesting protein
source immediately before bed.
Don't worry, if you're
in calorie deficit and your workouts are intense your
body will not be "worried" about synthesizing fat,
it's first priority will be to refill your depleted
glycogen stores and repair your atrophied muscle
tissue, these carbs will most likely not be stored as
fat. The bloating you experienced is most likely from
water retention from the carbohydrate in gestation.
For every gram of glycogen your cells store they also
bring in 2.7g of water, so you can see how you might
feel bloated, it is nothing more than water retention.
My guess is when you wake up you look rather crisp,
as the water retention is likely to have subsided by
that time.
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Why Should I Drink A Protein Shake DURING My Workout? |
Question: I noticed in your diets, you don't take a post work
out shake... you take an "in workout" shake? What type of
shake do you take? Brand/type? Also why is it better
to take the shake while your working out, than to take
it directly after the workout? Thanks bro, you're the greatest!
MY ANSWER: First off, thank you for your kind compliments, I
appreciate that! Now down to business. I am a big
proponent of taking an in-workout shake... especially
for ectomorphs who have trouble gaining weight. My
shake is home-made and it looks like this:
1.5 servings Optimum 100% Whey Protein (this
equates to roughly 30g protein)
1/2 cup dextrose (50g dextrose)
If I have enough money at the time I also throw in
these supplements as optionals...
15g glutamine
15g BCAAs
5g creatine
There are many reasons I like an in-workout shake as
opposed to the old fashioned after workout shake but the big
reasons are as follows...
1. Consuming a shake rich in fast digesting dextrose
ensures that your glycogen stores will not get too
depleted which can have a negative affect on your
workout (less energy, hampered recovery, etc.).
2. Consuming the shake with high Glycemic Index carbs (dextrose)
combined with whey protein creates a large insulin
spike. Insulin is an extremely anabolic hormone that
helps drive more nutrients into muscle cells (you can
see the obvious benefit here) Insulin sensitivity is
also raised from intense workouts so this is the best
time to consume a meal such as this.
3. This shake is extremely anti-catabolic. Insulin
(which the shake stimulates the release of) blunts the
release of the catabolic stress hormone cortisol.
Cortisol is the main catabolic hormone that is
released during workouts and can literally eat away
muscle tissue! This shake will help prevent the
release of cortisol.
4. This shake supplies your body with a large amount
of amino acids which is also extremely anti-catabolic.
Research has shown that during bouts of intense
training, no matter how full glycogen stores are, some
amino acids are taken from the amino pool and used for
ATP production (energy). If your amino pool is
depleted, your body will actually catabolize muscle
tissue to help make ATP. Taking a shake containing
whey protein which is rich in branch chain amino acids
which make up a large portion of the amino acid pool
will ensure that your amino pool is replenished and
muscle tissue will not be catabolized. Adding extra
glutamine and BCAAs to this shake is also a very good
idea, as they also have an anabolic effect as they
help "spark" protein synthesis.
Some people say that you should not take an in shake
workout as digestion requires blood flow to be
redirected from the muscles being worked to the
stomach. However if the shake is diluted enough (1-2
liters of water) this should not be a problem.
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Is Working Out On An Empty Stomach In The Morning Bad For Muscle Building? |
Question: What's up Layne? I have a very important question... I
have to be at work every day at 9 am. I workout in the
morning when I wake up on an empty stomach because I
don't have time to eat a breakfast and wait an hour or
two for it to settle in my stomach and then workout. I get
up at around 6:45 am. I just wanted to know if it's okay
if I just wake up and lift on an empty stomach? What
would you do in my situation?
Also when I get back
home at around 8:15 am I take my post workout shake
with some grape juice. Does this count as my
breakfast? Don't I need some complex carbs for
breakfast? I don't want to eat any complex carbs
after a workout because I don't want the protein to
digest slowly. Should I
eat my breakfast like an hour after my post workout
shake? Please answer these questions for me, I
need to know if I'm doing things right. Thanks a lot
man.
MY ANSWER: Whoa, slow down brother! You're going to worry
yourself little! When you wake up your body is under a
lot of stress and this is a time when catabolic
(muscle wasting) conditions are high. To not eat in
the morning and go workout is to basically assure you
won't gain muscle. You need to eat something. If you
can't stomach whole foods I suggest mixing some
protein powder with a few bananas and perhaps some fat
free ice cream and blending them together and drinking
that before your workout... this should not upset your
stomach. As far as post workout goes...have your shake and then an hour later have some slow digesting protein
and slow digesting carbs.
