Widening the Lats

I am writing you in regards to the post you displayed on Bodybuilding.com. It is the Wingspan Workouts plan. The question I have sir is would you recommend doing all 4 variations of the workout in the same day or splitting them up and incorperating them into an already established routine? I really like the look of this workout and cannot wait until the next back day to give it a try. Thank you for your time Sir. Have a good day.

-Justin


My Answer: It's Wingspan WorkoutS, meaning each shock technique is a workout for the back. What you would do is rotate through all 4 shock techniques.

Be warned: these techniques are brutal. Your lats will be very sore, and your armpits will chafe from the extra width.

Guns, Ammo and Muscle

First let me say a huge "Thanks." I've been doing some kind of weight training since... geez, the early 70's. I spent a career with San Diego PD and worked out at Gold's for years. Got pretty big, 6'1, 260 lbs @ 10% BF.

Cruising through Amazon the other day for Gironda readings, and I happened upon your books. Did my due diligence, saw that you are PD and decided to get Volumes 1 and 2.

Holy Schazam! Read The Articles: clarity and simplicity in less than an afternoon. Years of past practices gone. So simple even a "Blockhead" like me can figure it out!

I tried one of the "Trisets" mixed in with one of my splits. Nice pump, some burn but nothing super-duper. Until today! Holy Crap, I feel like it
was my first time to the gym. I haven't felt this way for a long time! Awesome!!!

So I quickly dove into Volume 2 and ordered Volumes 3 and 4.

I am planning my start next week with your "Mesocycle". I've had thoughts along these lines but just didn't have the inside track on what, why, how much or how long.

Thanks for your PD service and a super thanks for your exquisite bodybuilding books.

-Retired SDPD Sergeant


P.S. By chance do you know Roy Huntington, a Guns & Ammo writer?


My Answer: Thanks for the high praise, Sarge. I don't know Roy Huntington. It's not like all us magazine writers hang out together, you know?

I'm glad that you're getting a lot from the books. The longer you train, the harder it is to find that new stimulus, new ways of training that reboot muscle growth. You'll enjoy the next 2 volumes, because there are a lot of different programs and training philosophies in these books.

I am planning on writing a 5th and final book, one that shows a variety of exercises to hit your musculature at different angles and with different force curves. I've shot all the photos that will go into the book, but my writing of the book has been on hiatus due to work and family. Hopefully Volume 5 will be out in 2012 before the apocalypse.

Fat Loss on a Vegetarian Diet

Hello James,

The hypertrophy for the ectomorph training program really worked, and I gained quite a lot of muscle.

The thing is that I wasn't looking for the bodybuilder physique, but a more skinny lean [physique]. I still believe that I have some muscle to gain, but I've started my cutting phase from the beginning for this month so I can be leaner for [the] new year when my girlfriend is coming. I want to surprise her.

Anyways I always had a skinny-fat physique with some extra fat on my tummy and pecs. But ever since I became a vegetarian with a proper diet of healthy grains, veggies and fruit, the belly and the fat on my pecs begun to disappear without any noticeable muscle loss. I still need to get rid of the extra fat, and I have time to lose that fat. I'm realistic, and I'm not expecting Brad Pitt abs for the new year, you know. My body fat must be around 12%-14%, so here are my questions!

What diet and workout should I follow?

What book do you recommend me to buy for a guy with my physique?

Does running early in the morning on an empty stomach help? Not HIIT but a nice paced jog for a couple of miles?

I'm currently going to the gym to keep up my muscle mass. I play rugby and surf, but I still can get rid of those final layers of fat!

I'm 6 feet and 163 pounds. I used to weight around 150, so I was veeery skinny.

Thanks for your help, I'm a big fan of your blog.

-Mariano V.

My Answer: Well if you're a vegetarian, then your diet is pretty much set. As someone concerned with your physique, your goals on any diet (vegetarian or not) is to make sure you get adequate protein and calories. It's very tough with vegetarian diets, because in order to get those extra calories, you need to ingest a lot of carbs. And that makes it very tough to get lean. So eat vegetarian foods that allow to hit your daily goal of 160 grams of protein daily. But focus on training for fat loss as opposed to dieting for fat loss.

Jogging on an empty stomach in the morning will not help. You will simply lose muscle, and you need that muscle to burn fat. You should use strength training as the primary means of fat loss, not cardio. The 8x8 program will work nicely in this regard.

With regards to my books, Volume One has a chapter on diet and 7 strength training strategies for fat loss. Neo-Classical Bodybuilding also has a chapter devoted to strength training for fat loss.

H.I.T. for Poor Strength Endurance

Just flicking through Volume Two and reading about the Supercharging H.I.T. programs and it mentions people that the program might be good for.

One section says, "Individuals who have really crappy neural endurance - Some lifters have no strength endurance, no matter what stage they are in their training history."

This definitely feels like me, as I am an intermediate lifter and been training long enough, [but] I don't have any strength endurance. We had recently put this down to low T, but could it simply be that I have crappy neural endurance?

I mention this, because I even struggle to get through the Low T/Fast Twitch program in your book Tactics and Strategies. Would I be better suited to a HIT type program?

Thanks again,
Aaron


My Answer: Well, there's only way to find out and that's to try out a H.I.T. type of program. For all we know, you could have both: low T and poor strength endurance. Sort of sucks.

But knowing what your weaknesses allows you to overcome them. You can still gain quite a bit of muscle and strength on H.I.T. type of programs. You just don't have strength endurance. As long as you adhere to the principles in that chapter (1-2 sets per exercise, short frequent training), then you should make some progress.

Gaining Muscle, But Not Weight

I finally received your books (Volume 1 to Volume 4). I hit a plateau of the 10-8-6-15 program (modified somewhat because of a muscle strain), which I've been doing for the past 4 weeks.

I gained muscle on my chest, shoulders, lats, lower back, thighs, and arms. I do feel like I'm making progress. My body looks stronger also. Yet I didn’t put on any weight at all. I’m still around 121-123 pounds. And I didn’t do aerobics.

My macronutrient ratio for the past 4 weeks according to Fitday.com is 48%, 29%, 23%. Average calories are 1,600. Yet it may have some error. I didn’t count on rice, because I couldn’t weigh them when I ate at restaurants. At home I can, LOL. I concentrate on hitting my goal of 126-130 grams of protein intake a day. But I couldn’t count servings on some meats or beans, because I didn’t weigh them or couldn’t possibly know what macronutrients they are even after looking it up on Fitday.com. So I estimated them by the way some teachers told me. Yet I weigh the meats when I’m home.

I consider my problem of not gaining actual weight as follows:

1. I didn’t take enough carbs or calories so that my body took the protein I ate as energy to burn?

2. Is it because of my training frequency? I train at least two times a week. I can do the third time if I get up really early because of my courses later in the morning. I can’t go to the gym at night, because it's full of people.

3. Does it take time to gain lean muscle weight?

Now I eat 4-5 meals a day. I take more carbs during training days, while the macronutrient ratio is 40% 30% 30% during off days.

Here are some other questions:

1. Should I now take a deload week training or reset my metabolism of high protein intake and for how long? What to do after resetting metabolism? Keep the high protein intake?

2. Should I do another program? I saw previous articles saying not to do the program more than 6 weeks. If I should change another one, which one is now suitable for me? EX: 5x5 training, GVT, etc. Or should I remain with the standard program for weeks if my muscles have recovered?

3. I read your book talking about Paleo diet. Would you tell me what are the advantages about coffee and green tea? Is that good for fat burning?

Thanks a lot for your patience and help. And keep the good books and videos coming.

All the best,
Mike


My Answer: Let's do some rapid fire answers.

"I didn’t take enough carbs or calories so that my body took the protein I ate as energy to burn?"

If you don't eat enough carbs AND fat, then you will burn protein. But given your macronutrient intake, that's not the case.


"Is it because of my training frequency? I train at least two times a week. I can do the third time if I get up really early because of my courses later in the morning. I can’t go to the gym at night, because it's full of people."

Two days a week is not enough to stimulate muscle growth. You have to get that 3rd workout in.


"Does it take time to gain lean muscle weight?"

YES.


"Should I now take a deload training week or reset my metabolism of high protein intake and for how long? What to do after resetting metabolism? Keep the high protein intake?"

Switch to another program, preferably 5x5. Choose completely different exercises. Keep the protein and calorie intake high.


"I read your book talking about the Paleo diet. Would you tell me what are the advantages about coffee and green tea? Is that good for fat burning?"

Coffee and green tea have a lot of anti-oxidants and are good for fat loss. I don't recommend them for you, since your metabolism is already too high. You're burning off more than you are gaining, which is why you are not gaining weight, but the look of your musculature is improving. Plus green tea kills your appetite, and you need a healthy appetite to eat a lot of food to gain weight.

SPV5

Hi James,

First off, let me thank you for all of the stellar training advice that you offer all physique trainers. I've got all your books, and find your no nonsense writing refreshing and invaluable.

Thank you much.
Adam


My Answer: Well thanks for the high praise, Adam. I'm working on a 5th and possibly final book. This book that I'm working on is going to have over 200 exercise photos. A lot of these exercises are going to be rather esoteric but highly effective at creating muscular tension. So a simple "bench press, pulldown, military press, squat, barbell curl" list this is not.

The best part is that most of these exercises can be performed in a home gym with barbells, dumbbells and body weight. Originally I thought of shooting an exercise DVD detailing all of these exercises in addition to some machine exercises.

But unfortunately I've been quite busy with work and family, and the cost to shoot a video is prohibitive at this point. I still have a long way to go with the book as well, but it should be coming out next year.

I'll keep you guys posted.

Calculating your Next Workout

What would you do after the Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph workout? I am thinking of something like this:

--> 6 weeks full body 10-8-6-15 program
--> 6 weeks alternating A and B workouts
--> 6 weeks 3-day split workout

What do you think? Would you change the rep scheme drastically? I am also thinking about doing a HIT workout. It was the first workout that gave me a boost, and it was only a 2-day program. I may give it a try again but in a 3-day a week A-B workout probably.

Well, thanks for all.
Juan


My Answer: What you have looks fine. You could certainly follow up the 18 weeks with a HIT program. Your rep scheme should change up from program to program. The total volume for each muscle group should fluctuate. So 10+8+6+15 = 39 total reps. Your next program should either more or less than 39 reps.

Turning on the Anabolic Switch with Intense Leg Work

Can the Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph program be changed to something like this:

- Instead of Squats, any press with machine
- Instead of V-bar Pulldowns, any normal or wide grip pulldown

And another important question: is it 100% necessary to do an intense leg day if your body doesn't need it? By looking at myself (75 kg, 180 cm), what I see is that my legs are okay and maybe the calves can be improved, but my quads, hamstrings and glutes look to be in a good form. I have small wrists and then small arms, wide back (V-shape) but an underdeveloped chest. Looks contradictory, I know.

I feel like I don't need to widen myself too much, but I really need to be thick. Any advice?

Thanks in advance,
J. Perez


My Answer: Judging from your stats, you could use the extra weight, even if it is extra muscle added to your legs. But people don't want to hear about what they need. They only hear about what they want. And you want extra thickness in your musculature, particularly in the chest and arms. If that's the case, then you should focus on a chest specialization program and then an arm specialization program. Neo-Classical Bodybuilding has specialization programs for the chest and arms as well other muscle groups.

Regardless of what you focus on in your training, it's always a good idea to include some leg training. Heavy leg training turns on an anabolic switch in your body. Bottom line is your arms and chest will grow more if you include leg training. Without leg training, your arms and chest won't grow as much.

You can make the exercise substitutions, but don't get rid of leg training completely. If you feel your legs are overdeveloped, then just do 2 sets of squats or deadlifts per workout. This way you turn on the anabolic switch without overdeveloping the upper thighs.

How Periodization Works

Hi, I've been reading your article Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph for a while. I just started doing fitness for 2 months:

168cm, 50kgs

3 day workouts: Chest/shoulder/tricep; back/bicep; & legs split. All compound exercises.

I've gained 2 kilograms of weight during this time. I'm limiting the sets to 3 or 4, with rep ranges 6-8. I used machines almost all the time.

I've seen in these latter 3 weeks that I've stopped gaining weight, & I can't lift more than the week before. Did I hit plateau?

I'm switching to dumbbells, or I'm going to try your article listed above, 10-8-6-15. How do I use the weights on the 10-8-6-15?

I know as the set progresses, I accumulate fatigue & lose power. Any recommendations?

Also how do I do periodization. I haven't gotten the grasp of the meaning: The Nuts and Bolts of Program Design.

Thank you for your time reading this.


Sincerely,
Adi


P.S. I mean for the weight, do I go heavy for the 10-8-6-15, or I will pick moderate weight all the time?


My Answer: For pyramid training, use a weight that allows you to perform the prescribed reps for each set. So the weight will be heavier from set to set until the 4th set, where you must drop the weight to perform 15 reps.

You've hit a plateau, because you've been using the same program over and over for 2 months. At the very least, change to free weight exercises. You will find that you cannot use the same weights on free weights as you did on machines, so use the appropriate weights to accomplish the prescribed reps for each set.

Now if you go with the Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph, then don't worry about periodization. Microperiodization is already occurring in pyramid sets with a wide rep spread (10-8-6-15).

But if you want to do periodization, then this means you cycle the reps throughout the week. The article explains this. So your reps throughout the week may look like this:

Monday- 10-12 reps
Wednesday- 8-10 reps
Friday- 6-8 reps

You are not designed to be in peak condition all the time. You cannot max out and beat your prior weight every day. That is a sure way to burn out. Your body responds better to periodization and varying its workload. There is far more to periodization than just repetitions, which I go over in great detail in my books.

Rest Periods for Specialization Routines

James,

Awesome books!!! Workouts feel so productive, and I look forward to the challenges your plans put on me.

I was just looking into the chest specialization to use when I get done with my 14 week mesocycle. The question is on workout #2: after the neck press the other exercises do not show any rest periods. Same thing on workout #4. Are they to be done one after the other and then loop back to the first exercise?

Thank You,
D


My Answer: In general, if there are no rest periods designated, then rest periods are up to you. For the chest specialization routine, all other body parts are on maintenance training, which means 3 sets of 6-8 reps with no strict adherence to rest periods.

To keep things consistent, however, do the neck presses in workout #2 with 90 seconds rest, then do the other exercises with 90 seconds rest as well. Rest 90 seconds for all exercises in workout #4 also.