"I'm one of your blog readers and bought your Strength & Physique Vol.1, back in March this year. I've been meaning to drop you a line and comment on the articles but never got round to it (yeah, I know, it's horrible).
"Anyhow, I was just reading your blog and came across your post on Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorphs. Wow, what a revelation it was for me! I was going to ask you about specific training for a typical lean Asian guy. (For the record, I'm 5'9 and weigh 63kg.)
"I knew there were difference between the three body types, and some how I need to approach weight training differently. As I read the Ectomorph article, I'm beginning to see why I've been having trouble gaining weight, while my peers would bulk up much easier than I do.
"From now on, I will apply the principle of 'Training briefly, intensely but frequently,' and the 10-8-6-15 program. Previously, I was training for too long, on too many body parts, and not frequent enough. In the end, my muscles were tone, but I was mentally and physically exhausted, and didnt put on much muscle mass.
"To finish up, I just want to just thank you for your writings on this topic, as I find it inspirational, and you know, it's good to have an Asian role model to look up to when you've grown up and surrounded by Western Culture.
"Keep up the good work and I'll be looking forward to Volume 2 when it's released."
Regards,
Steve
Sydney, Australia
My Answer: Hey Steve, glad you like the program. With "typical lean Asian guys," we need to focus on strength and calories and the muscle will follow.
Me? A role model? Wow, I'm honored. I think everyone can be a role model for their communities. Just be an expert at something people have an interest in, and the decent people will respect you as an individual and look past skin color or eye shape. I've been thinking about starting up another blog, one that would interest Asian Americans and other Asians of the Diaspora. Nothing too fancy at first, because I'm busy as hell right now. But a simple blog that aggregates different topics, where people can contribute their findings and writings as well.
We'll see what the future holds.
"Hi James,
"Thanks for answering my question regarding your Ectomorph Training regimen. I see you only recommend using your program for 4-6 weeks at the very most. What do you suggest moving onto after this workout? Does your book provide all the answers, because I have just put in my order from Amazon.com and I can't wait to get my hands on it and read it!
"When is Volume 2 of your book due out, and is it simply an updated version of Volume 1 or is it a completely new book? If it's a new book, I might have to look at buying that one too!"
Thanks again,
Sven
My Answer: Hey Sven, the book should provide you with quite a few specialization routines to choose from. After the 10-8-6-15 program, assess your physique and determine which body part you feel is lagging. Then work that lagging body part with the corresponding techniques or programs listed in the book.
Will Strength and Physique V1 answer all your questions? No, Sven, that's I'm writing Volume 2. Here's an excerpt:
"I want to pass on bodybuilding knowledge to a new generation of lifters. Hence, the goal of this book is not just provide you with an effective bodybuilding program, but to teach you how to train for size, symmetry and strength so that you can go on your own bodybuilding quests. The training program outlined in this book exploits all 6 factors of hypertrophy to maximize your muscular development:
1) Intensity (how much weight you use)
2) Volume (the amount of work you do)
3) Density (the amount of work you do per unit of time)
4) Frequency (how often you workout)
5) Tension (creating muscular tension)
6) Variety (performing a wide range of exercises)
"To avoid burnout and plateaus in size and strength gains, all 6 factors are modulated and varied throughout the training. You will understand how to manipulate these training factors to maximize your body’s natural anabolic hormones: growth hormone, insulin and, of course, testosterone. You will also understand how each body part has different training characteristics and how to tailor your training to hypertrophy that body part.
"Make no mistake. This program is tough physically and mentally and is meant solely for the intermediate to advanced bodybuilder looking to build a lot of muscle in all the right places."
Exciting, huh? Anyway, Volume 2 will be available before the end of this year.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
CKD and the Academy
"Hello! A friend of mine just directed me to your web page. I have some questions, but this might be too much to ask from you. I'll try to be brief. I'm a 40 year old female, I've been weightlifting for 6 years, I've competed in strongwoman competitions including nationals, and some powerlifting competitions. I'm 185 and 25% bodyfat. I'm in the process of applying for the police academy here in Wichita which will start in January. I am working on my conditioning through hill sprints, running, calisthenics, some weights, etc. usually with 2 a day workouts. I still have to pass the Cooper's run (1.5 miles in under 14 minutes).
"Here's the big question: I feel like I need to lose about 30 pounds to be really lean and mean. I've already lost 40 since last September, mostly using low carb, but also a 4 week ultra low calorie diet. For the past month or so I've been doing something more like the Zone. Did you find that you could support your daily LEO activities when you were on the metabolic diet? Would you recommend it for me in my current situation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated."
Thank you!
Michelle Smith
Assistant District Attorney
Wichita, KS
My Answer: Well first off congratulations on losing 40 pounds! That is a huge achievement, so keep up the great work. To answer your question, I experimented with the Metabolic Diet (Anabolic Diet) prior to my law enforcement career. When I was on that diet at the time, it was a logistical nightmare, because nobody had heard of low carb dieting and there were no products to help with low carb dieting. Had I been in law enforcement at that time, it would have been hard to prepare and pack lunches for patrol. I would have tied a large animal to the hood of my patrol car and eaten my 5-6 meals that way.
The Metabolic Diet is a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD). CKD's are excellent for fat loss and muscle preservation, but I would not recommend it if you are an athlete who needs to train all day every day and needs to be at peak performance. But as far as body recompositioning, CKD's are the best, hands down. I have a fellow officer on a CKD, and the resulting changes on his face and waistline were almost immediate.
What I would suggest is that if you want to give the CKD a try, then follow the diet primarily for fat loss from now until you're accepted by the academy. Once you start the academy, up the carbs. The Zone Diet would be good for this. This way you get enough carbs for the high volume of physical work you'll do in the academy. But if you find that you can stay on the CKD and perform fine athletically and not tear people's heads off, then by all means stay on it.
Good luck!
"Here's the big question: I feel like I need to lose about 30 pounds to be really lean and mean. I've already lost 40 since last September, mostly using low carb, but also a 4 week ultra low calorie diet. For the past month or so I've been doing something more like the Zone. Did you find that you could support your daily LEO activities when you were on the metabolic diet? Would you recommend it for me in my current situation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated."
Thank you!
Michelle Smith
Assistant District Attorney
Wichita, KS
My Answer: Well first off congratulations on losing 40 pounds! That is a huge achievement, so keep up the great work. To answer your question, I experimented with the Metabolic Diet (Anabolic Diet) prior to my law enforcement career. When I was on that diet at the time, it was a logistical nightmare, because nobody had heard of low carb dieting and there were no products to help with low carb dieting. Had I been in law enforcement at that time, it would have been hard to prepare and pack lunches for patrol. I would have tied a large animal to the hood of my patrol car and eaten my 5-6 meals that way.
The Metabolic Diet is a cyclical ketogenic diet (CKD). CKD's are excellent for fat loss and muscle preservation, but I would not recommend it if you are an athlete who needs to train all day every day and needs to be at peak performance. But as far as body recompositioning, CKD's are the best, hands down. I have a fellow officer on a CKD, and the resulting changes on his face and waistline were almost immediate.
What I would suggest is that if you want to give the CKD a try, then follow the diet primarily for fat loss from now until you're accepted by the academy. Once you start the academy, up the carbs. The Zone Diet would be good for this. This way you get enough carbs for the high volume of physical work you'll do in the academy. But if you find that you can stay on the CKD and perform fine athletically and not tear people's heads off, then by all means stay on it.
Good luck!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Training to Failure
"Hey James, I read your article on Training for Ectomorphs and have decided to give that routine a try, as I have had trouble gaining on other routines. I was just wondering what your thoughts are on failure and whether or not I should be training to failure on any of the sets?"
Much appreciated,
Dan
My Answer: Well, it depends. If you are completely new to strength training, then going to failure would be good. A newbie needs to develop those neural pathways. However, if you've been seriously training for years, then going to failure would not be a good idea. Intermediate to advanced trainees can tap into larger motor units much better than newbies, because they have been training for a while. If they were to train to failure, then they would exhaust their nervous systems much more than a newbie and their recuperation period would be much greater. This is why really big guys tend to use split routines where they train each body part once or twice a week.
What I suggest is this: for the last 2 sets (6 reps, 15 reps) go to failure. This way the first 2 sets (10 reps, 8 reps) serve as a warm-up. The last 2 sets are the money sets, anyway, so it's best to go close to failure on those.
"Hi, I wanted to ask if you can give me a good training routine program to gain mass gains?"
E. Dinkha
My Answer: Check out the excerpt from Strength and Physique V1 titled: Five Battle-Tested Strategies for Size and Strength. That should give you plenty of ideas.
"For the Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph, would it be ok to do different exercises? Like squat, incline dumbbell bench press, barbell rows, lateral raises, seated dumbbell curls and close grip press? Or even this approach:
Day One - Squat, Bench, V-bar pulldown, dumbbell lateral raise, dumbbell curls and close grip press
Day Two - Leg Press, Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, Barbell/Dumbbell rows, dumbbell lateral raises, cable curls, skull crushers
Day Three - Same as Day One
And so on and so on with a rest day or two between the days? I'd like your opinions on that please?"
Thank you,
Jeff
My Answer: Looks good young padawan. Now go forth and get big.
Much appreciated,
Dan
My Answer: Well, it depends. If you are completely new to strength training, then going to failure would be good. A newbie needs to develop those neural pathways. However, if you've been seriously training for years, then going to failure would not be a good idea. Intermediate to advanced trainees can tap into larger motor units much better than newbies, because they have been training for a while. If they were to train to failure, then they would exhaust their nervous systems much more than a newbie and their recuperation period would be much greater. This is why really big guys tend to use split routines where they train each body part once or twice a week.
What I suggest is this: for the last 2 sets (6 reps, 15 reps) go to failure. This way the first 2 sets (10 reps, 8 reps) serve as a warm-up. The last 2 sets are the money sets, anyway, so it's best to go close to failure on those.
"Hi, I wanted to ask if you can give me a good training routine program to gain mass gains?"
E. Dinkha
My Answer: Check out the excerpt from Strength and Physique V1 titled: Five Battle-Tested Strategies for Size and Strength. That should give you plenty of ideas.
"For the Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph, would it be ok to do different exercises? Like squat, incline dumbbell bench press, barbell rows, lateral raises, seated dumbbell curls and close grip press? Or even this approach:
Day One - Squat, Bench, V-bar pulldown, dumbbell lateral raise, dumbbell curls and close grip press
Day Two - Leg Press, Incline Dumbbell Bench Press, Barbell/Dumbbell rows, dumbbell lateral raises, cable curls, skull crushers
Day Three - Same as Day One
And so on and so on with a rest day or two between the days? I'd like your opinions on that please?"
Thank you,
Jeff
My Answer: Looks good young padawan. Now go forth and get big.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
New Article: Training for the Ectomorph
So I've been a little busy writing up "Strength and Physique Volume 2" as well as some personal business. Haven't had as much time to blog, but YOU KNOW WHAT?! I have yet another article out there. This one is on strength training for the ectomorph. In this article, I give some insights on how to train if you're a life size Tinker Toy man.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Halos for Warm-up
I'm going to dinner with friends real quick, but I thought I'd squeeze in a video post on "halos." Check it out:
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
High Rep Olympic Lifting for Muscle
"Hi there,
"I came across your article on Bodybuilding.com, and it appealed to me: cutting fat while maintaining my gains (or improving on them) is exactly what I was looking for. Having tried the workout, it seems to be just right. I enjoy the full body aspect and approve of the flexibility. That said, a quick question: I find the barbell hang clean to front squat to be very awkward. It may be that I have a poor range of motion/flexibility in my arms and shoulders, but I'm not able to rest the bar on my torso following the hang clean. Is it supposed to be held in the air still? That left me feeling unbalanced. This said, is there an alternate circuit that you would recommend?"
Thanks in advance for your help!
-Phillip McMullen
My Answer: Glad you like the program, Phil. No the bar is not held but rests in your hands on top of the front of your shoulders when you squat down. Not everybody has the flexibility to do the front squat with a clean grip, so if you can't do them, then substitute clean and jerks instead. High rep clean and jerks have been used by old time bodybuilders for rapid muscle gain, similar to 20 rep squats. Ironman Magazine editor Peary Rader wrote of a lifter who
"used the clean and jerk as an exercise in a weight gaining experiment... He went on this program of clean and jerks... with all the poundage he could use correctly for the required number of reps (about 15 to 20). He immediately began gaining weight very rapidly and was amazed that the practice of this one lift or exercise could have such a profound effect on his body. Subsequently others of us have made similar experiments with this lift and found that it not only was a good weight gaining medium but also developed strength, endurance, speed, and timing that nothing else could give us. We also found it to be the toughest workout we have ever had."
"I came across your article on Bodybuilding.com, and it appealed to me: cutting fat while maintaining my gains (or improving on them) is exactly what I was looking for. Having tried the workout, it seems to be just right. I enjoy the full body aspect and approve of the flexibility. That said, a quick question: I find the barbell hang clean to front squat to be very awkward. It may be that I have a poor range of motion/flexibility in my arms and shoulders, but I'm not able to rest the bar on my torso following the hang clean. Is it supposed to be held in the air still? That left me feeling unbalanced. This said, is there an alternate circuit that you would recommend?"
Thanks in advance for your help!
-Phillip McMullen
My Answer: Glad you like the program, Phil. No the bar is not held but rests in your hands on top of the front of your shoulders when you squat down. Not everybody has the flexibility to do the front squat with a clean grip, so if you can't do them, then substitute clean and jerks instead. High rep clean and jerks have been used by old time bodybuilders for rapid muscle gain, similar to 20 rep squats. Ironman Magazine editor Peary Rader wrote of a lifter who
"used the clean and jerk as an exercise in a weight gaining experiment... He went on this program of clean and jerks... with all the poundage he could use correctly for the required number of reps (about 15 to 20). He immediately began gaining weight very rapidly and was amazed that the practice of this one lift or exercise could have such a profound effect on his body. Subsequently others of us have made similar experiments with this lift and found that it not only was a good weight gaining medium but also developed strength, endurance, speed, and timing that nothing else could give us. We also found it to be the toughest workout we have ever had."
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Workout After Dinner?
"Hi James, I have started training full body twice a week. I am not able to train full body thrice a day, but plan to do the same soon. Right now I am following the following regimen:
Monday: Back and biceps (45 minutes)
Tuesday: Chest and triceps (45 minutes)
Wednesday: Shoulder and legs (45 minutes)
Thursday: Back and Biceps (45 minutes)
Friday: Chest and triceps (45 minutes)
Saturday: Shoulder and legs (45 minutes)
"I follow the above regimen by doing 15 minutes of stationary biking every day immediately after the workout. I do three different exercises for each body part with three sets of 12 reps each. Please let me know as to what constitutes an ideal number of sets per body part and what should be the ideal number of reps in a set.
"Also I would like to know whether it is advisable to do some weight workout/cardio after one hour of having dinner in order to digest the same in proper manner. I have my dinner at around 8.30 pm."
Kindly guide.
Regards
Manu
My Answer: "Kindly guide," Manu? How about you kindly pay? Technically you've got a split routine and not a full body routine. But that's OK for now, at least you've made some improvement on your program design. As far as optimal number of sets and reps, there is no optimal number of sets and reps. However, what you're doing (3 sets of 12 reps, 3 exercises per bodypart) is fine.
As far as working out after dinner, if you can do it without throwing up, then by all means do it. If you throw up, then that's your body telling you something, isn't it?
Monday: Back and biceps (45 minutes)
Tuesday: Chest and triceps (45 minutes)
Wednesday: Shoulder and legs (45 minutes)
Thursday: Back and Biceps (45 minutes)
Friday: Chest and triceps (45 minutes)
Saturday: Shoulder and legs (45 minutes)
"I follow the above regimen by doing 15 minutes of stationary biking every day immediately after the workout. I do three different exercises for each body part with three sets of 12 reps each. Please let me know as to what constitutes an ideal number of sets per body part and what should be the ideal number of reps in a set.
"Also I would like to know whether it is advisable to do some weight workout/cardio after one hour of having dinner in order to digest the same in proper manner. I have my dinner at around 8.30 pm."
Kindly guide.
Regards
Manu
My Answer: "Kindly guide," Manu? How about you kindly pay? Technically you've got a split routine and not a full body routine. But that's OK for now, at least you've made some improvement on your program design. As far as optimal number of sets and reps, there is no optimal number of sets and reps. However, what you're doing (3 sets of 12 reps, 3 exercises per bodypart) is fine.
As far as working out after dinner, if you can do it without throwing up, then by all means do it. If you throw up, then that's your body telling you something, isn't it?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Making Weight With A Stationary Bike
"Hi James, just found your back routine on the Bodybuilding.com web site and was wondering if you could explain to me: do I do all the exercises in this routine or just pick one of them? Look forward to hearing from you, thank you."
-Andy
My Answer: Each of the four techniques is a separate workout. You'd be crazy to do all four SHOCK techniques in one training session. If you did that, then you wouldn't be able to lift your arms for a week. That'd make it pretty hard for you to eat, Andy.
So I got asked a question on how one could drop weight in a relatively short period of time. This question came from a guy who wanted to make weight for the police academy. Wrestlers and boxers do this all the time, but I generally don't recommend this for long term fat loss. BUT, if you must drop weight for a weigh in, then here's a technique you can use in addition to strict dieting and strength training. If you want to workout at home and have a stationary bike or any other cardio machine in front of a TV, then do this:
Watch your favorite show and do some steady state cardio on your machine. Then during commercials, you get off the machine and do 50-100 pushups during the break. Once the commercial break is over, get back on the machine. Do this for the length of the show, whether it's a half hour or a full hour.
This is a nice no brainer technique for cardio, because you can zone out and watch TV.
-Andy
My Answer: Each of the four techniques is a separate workout. You'd be crazy to do all four SHOCK techniques in one training session. If you did that, then you wouldn't be able to lift your arms for a week. That'd make it pretty hard for you to eat, Andy.
So I got asked a question on how one could drop weight in a relatively short period of time. This question came from a guy who wanted to make weight for the police academy. Wrestlers and boxers do this all the time, but I generally don't recommend this for long term fat loss. BUT, if you must drop weight for a weigh in, then here's a technique you can use in addition to strict dieting and strength training. If you want to workout at home and have a stationary bike or any other cardio machine in front of a TV, then do this:
Watch your favorite show and do some steady state cardio on your machine. Then during commercials, you get off the machine and do 50-100 pushups during the break. Once the commercial break is over, get back on the machine. Do this for the length of the show, whether it's a half hour or a full hour.
This is a nice no brainer technique for cardio, because you can zone out and watch TV.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
SPV1 Back in Stock, Offer Over
So just a quick heads up: Strength and Physique V1 is back in stock on Amazon.com. I've made some revisions to the book, so new buyers will find some added material. The revised SPV1 has more exercise descriptions, including some lesser known but highly effective bodybuilding exercises for the biceps and the triceps.
Now that SPV1 is back in stock on Amazon, the free program offer with Lulu.com is now over. To those who recently bought my book through Lulu.com, thank you and enjoy your program.
Now that SPV1 is back in stock on Amazon, the free program offer with Lulu.com is now over. To those who recently bought my book through Lulu.com, thank you and enjoy your program.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Finger Extensions
So here's me instructing on how to perform finger extensions with a rubber band. As bodybuilders and strength athletes, we tend to exert a lot of grip strength. Because of this constant gripping, we end up with strength imbalances that can result in aches and pains in our hands and lead to arthritis and carpal tunnel. Finger extensions can alleviate these strength imbalances and are easy to do.
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