Q&A

Q: Mike from Michigan again. I see the ectomorph program has gotten a ton of attention on your blog. I understand why! I just finished a 6-week cycle of the program (some minor adjustments due to being a police officer with a family lifestyle) and made SIGNIFICANT increases across the board. The weights on each exercise and set increased over each of the 6 weeks. And yeah, I'm nerdy enough to have calculated my percent of increase of each. I was stunned!

While I only gained about 4 pounds, I feel fuller, thicker, and definitely stronger. The brief bouts of intensity were exactly what I needed. So here's my question: How long should a person wait before digging in for another 6 weeks of the program? During my "off time", I'm training "crossfit style" in preparation for the Tough Mudder in April, which requires strength AND endurance... and I want to be both.

Thanks again for your insight and for turning me on to this marvelous idea!

-Mike


My Answer: Glad you like it. As far as off time, you can lay off the ectomorph program for at least 2-6 weeks. Go ahead and do your Crossfit training for however long you need to, and come back to the pyramid program when you're ready. Good luck on the Tough Mudder!





 Q: I just read your article Return to Cop Land on the Bodybuilding.com website and wanted give the workout a try. Quick question. What do you do during week 3? It doesn't specify in the article anywhere I can see.

Cheers,
M. Bowers


My Answer: That is a typo on the website. What is listed as Weeks 4-5 are actually Weeks 3-4. Hope that clarifies.



 Q: I'm 15 years old. I'm very skinny: 42.6kg and I'm 169cm tall. I want to gain muscle mass but not fat. My body fat is 1.73%. I can go up to 4% or 8%, but I really would want to keep the abs while getting bigger. Is it possible? Can you help me and guide me please? I'm really confused now and not sure where to start.

Thanks.
Nus A.


My Answer: I don't know how you got 1.73% body fat, but you should be dead. Essential body fat (minimum that you need to survive) is at least 2-5%. Less than that and you either had a faulty measurement or you're one of the walking dead.

Anyway, if you want to know where to start, then start HERE.



Q: I recently received your program for the ectomorph. It says in the program that it is for 3 days a week. By this do you mean:

Monday-workout
Tuesday-off
Wednesday-workout
Thursday-off
Friday-workout
Saturday-off
Sunday-off

If this is what the program means by 3 days, I have a question:
Isn't it too much rest after Friday's session till Monday?

Also can we spread this workout into 6 days. There are 6 exercises in the program. Will it be wrong if I do half of them on Monday and the other half on Tuesday? Assuming the table above is what the program means by 3 days then 6 days will be something like this:

Monday- 1/2 of the workout (3 from the total 6 exercises)
Tuesday- 2/2 of the workout (the other 3 from the total 6)
Wednesday- 1/2
Thursday- 2/2
Friday- 1/2
Saturday- 2/2
Sunday- off

I just like working out very much, and I want to do it every day. Also 1 hour workouts are a little bit long for me. I can't seem to focus for an hour.

Thank you very much for the program, and thank you for all the information on your blog.

-Faruk E.


My Answer: That sounds perfectly fine. Go with the 6 day a week variation. Short and sweet done frequently is better than long and less frequently.

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