Diet and Supplementation Book?

"Hey James,

"I meant to say a while back [that] your third book is great! Very cool workouts that I want to try in the future. Love the article for women as well. Now I can finally get my girlfriend in shape.

"Anyway I just have two questions:

1. For the size and strength workout, you say to alternate between 2 workouts for 5 days a week. So this means Monday, Wednesday, Friday I do Workout #1, and Tuesday, Thursday do Workout #2? And for pull ups, should weight be added? Same question for sternum pull ups during the 3x3 week.

2. I'm wondering if you were thinking about writing a book related to other aspects of bodybuilding? Like the importance of sleep, dietary guidelines for bulking/cutting/etc, supplements and other important topics? I know it sounds like I'm kissing your ass or something but I don't know: ever since I started working out with your workout regimens I actually made progress. Your workout ideology is smart, and when I have better results doing one exercise per body part as opposed to three or four, it's hard to trust other trainers' opinions. So I trust your word, and it would be great to have a book on diet, what foods to eat, etc. I'm sure tons of others would love it as well.

"Well thats all. Hope you do decide to make that book though, haha."

Thanks,
Craig


My Answer: Glad you like the third volume, Craig. I appreciate the praise. To answer your questions:

1) For the size and strength program, you'll alternate the 2 workouts for five days, take a 2 day break and continue the alternation for 5 more days. So it will look like this:

Monday- Workout #1
Tuesday- Workout #2
Wednesday- Workout #1
Thursday- Workout #2
Friday- Workout #1
Saturday- Off
Sunday- Off
Monday- Workout #2
Tuesday- Workout #1
Wednesday- Workout #2
Thursday- Workout #1
Friday- Workout #2

For pull-ups and sternum pull-ups, use a weight that allows you to perform the required reps. So if you can perform more than 5 strict full range pull-ups in Weeks 1 and 2, then hang some weight on yourself. If not, then just stick with your bodyweight. Same goes for sternum pull-ups. Simply add or subtract weight as your strength increases or decreases from set to set, workout to workout.


2) With regards to another book on bodybuilding diet, I don't know if I have the time or inclination for a full blown diet and lifestyle book. I go over diet in Strength and Physique, Volume One, but I know what you're getting at. A book with recipes and meal plans and dietary philosophy would be helpful to you guys.

I will write a diet and lifestyle article in the future, but for now, let me give you some direction:

- With regards to diet, follow a meat and greens diet to be lean and muscular. It is far more complicated than this, and dieting should be in phases, just like training. I'll go over this in my article. But for now, if you want to keep it simple, then follow a Paleo Diet.

- With regards to supplementation, it will depend on what your goal is and at what phase of your training and dieting you are on (bulking or cutting): Supplementation for the Academy

- With regards to sleep, this is a no-brainer: Get some sleep! Sleep for as long as you can: 7-9 hours of continuous uninterrupted sleep is good. If you find that you're sleepy in the afternoon after lunch, then take a nap if you can. If you can't because you're at work, then don't worry about. Save naps for the weekends.

Focus and Focus on the Right Things

The above is an interesting video on a study about multi-tasking. The study essentially lends credence to the adage "Jack of all trades; master of none."

This is relevant to muscle building, because building muscle mass is really not that hard. All you have to do is focus your training. If you're looking to gain mass, then keep your training and diet simple.

A lot of trainees try to cram in 3-5 exercises per body part, thinking that you need to train a muscle from different angles. The fact is you do need to train a muscle from multiple angles in order to fully develop it. But you don't have to hit all of those angles in the same workout. If you do, then your nervous system gets confused trying to perform different exercises. You become the jack of all trades, master of none, and your physique reflects the fact you're still at square one with regards to muscle size.

If you're in need of serious muscle mass, then focus your efforts. Don't train like a bodybuilder and do every exercise in the Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding. Train like a powerlifter and focus on getting strong on a few basic compound movements.

The key word is to train like a powerlifter. Powerlifters develop a lot of muscle mass by focusing on heavy weight on a few exercises. Follow this training strategy, but instead of working the traditional power lifts (bench press, deadlift, back squats) choose multi-joint exercises that develop bodybuilding symmetry: pull-ups, incline barbell press, front squats and deadlifts.

Focus on getting stronger on these lifts and don't add any other exercises. Do this on a high protein diet, and you will develop some incredible muscle mass in no time.

Martial Arts Relevant to Cops

"Hi, I have been reading some articles (not all yet) of yours on Bodybuilding.com. As a fellow Police Officer (just 3 years) I appreciate reading articles regarding police fitness by someone who has been there, done that.

"I am currently only lifting weights with minimal cardio right now. I like the idea of the HIIT cardio, and will do that from now on.

"My question is regarding training, specifically to martial arts. I love to train with weights and want to continue to gain mass and functional strength, but I also want skill and training. I love the idea of doing some MMA training, Muay Thai, etc. but have not enrolled into any programs yet. I am afraid those courses will be ‘too much’ and ‘unnecessary.’ They will also burn a tremendous amount of calories which will hinder my weight training/gaining mass. I was thinking more of a Judo or Aikido approach, where the workouts won’t burn your through thousand plus calories everyday.

"Does this at all make sense? Do I have this all wrong? I think I can keep the body going full speed with training Aikido or Judo along with an all out intensive weight training program. I am having a hard time believing I will be able to maintain an intensive weight program with full time MMA/Muay Thai training. What do you recommend?"

- D. Walden



My Answer: It’s funny, I’m in the middle of writing an article on strength training for MMA. Anyway, from what I sense in your email, you want to attain some fight skills, but compromising your size and muscle is not an option. It really depends on how much time and effort you want to devote to each activity. If your physique is your main priority (be honest with yourself now!) and you’re dabbling in MMA, then obviously you’re going to make more progress in bodybuilding and your MMA skills are going to suffer. If it’s the other way around where you value your DT skills more than being big and muscular, then obviously you have to scale back on the weights.

Now you would be mistaken that judo is less physically intense than MMA or Muay Thai. Grabbing opponents, slamming people to the mat, rolling on the mat and falling on to the mat are all very taxing on the body.

Aikido is no cakewalk, but it isn’t as physically demanding as other martial arts. Just look at Steven Seagal these days. A lot of moves in DT are based on aikido, so you will find them more relevant to the job. It’s very training intensive, however, meaning you have to practice the moves over and over, more so than the striking arts.

Bottom line: Try aikido; see if you like the art and if the instructor is any good. In my experience, there aren’t very many good aikido instructors around who can teach aikido for real world situations. If you go with a different martial art, then scale back on the weights.

Constant Improvement

"Hello Mr. Chan,

"I am going to try your Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph, and I just had one question. Should I try to add weight to each exercise every week, or not? If so, then should I add weight on each rep or just the low ones?"

Thanks,
Elias


My Answer: Yes, you should definitely increase your weight on each exercise not just every week, but every workout. How much you increase the weight depends on the exercise, as smaller muscle groups require smaller increases while larger muscle groups require larger increases. But if you want to play it safe, then use the smallest incremental increases. So if you're gym has 1.25 pound plates and 2.5 pound plates, then take advantage of them. Over time, those small increments of weight will add up, and you'll be hitting new maximums.

Try adding weight to all your sets, but use the first set as a barometer. So how much weight you add to the 2nd, 3rd and 4th sets depends on how you perform on the 1st set.