Strength and Physique

Q: I have a question about the upright row.  Many people mention that the movement is bad for the shoulder capsule, causing shoulder impingement . But I noticed one of your videos doing the upright row, I saw the bar was not that close to the body which most people do. Could you give some advice on this?   And thank you so much for the reply! Great books, and great blog! Take care, Mike My Answer: The traditional upright row (with a narrow grip and pulling the bar close to the body) can cause and aggravate shoulder impingement.  It also develops the traps more instead of the lateral deltoids. The version that I show you is easier on the shoulders.  By pulling the bar farther out in front of your body, the movement resembles a lateral raise as opposed to an upright row.  This version of the upright row is essentially a "barbell lateral raise" and will build cannonball delts instead of pyramid traps. I go over a numerous exercise variations to blo

Q:  I have some questions about 20-rep breathing squats :   How many sets should I do? I used a weight that I can perform a 15 RM ,but I quickly start breathing hard around 8 reps at the second set. And I couldn't do total 20-rep at the third set. How often do we train squats using 20-rep breathing squats? Does the 15-rep breathing squats work as well? Thank you so much for your time   All the best, Mike     My Answer: Breathing squats are extremely traumatizing to the nervous system, so it is not a shock technique that I would use any more than once a week. Just do 1-2 sets of breathing squats, and you will find yourself gaining quite a bit of weight throughout your entire musculature, not just your thighs.  So forget about doing a third set.   Now 15-rep breathing squats should work just as well, so if you find that works better for you, then go for that.  The whole point of breathing squats is to extend the time under tension of a highly anabolic ex

Q:  Hey there James, I just read your article on Bodybuilding.com . I believe I am an ectomorph, however, I am not too sure as ectomorphs are generally tall. I am 156 cm tall and weigh 50 kilos. Yeah really skinny I know.   I have been going to the gym for about 3 months now, and I can see the difference that it has made.  I was just wondering am I an ectomorph? Also what type of diet should I go on, and is there somewhere you can suggest where I get a diet plan? Thanks a lot.  ~Shiv My Answer:  Judging by your photos, yes you are an ectomorph.  Ectomorphs are not necessarily tall.  The one distinguishing factor is that they are skinny. You look fairly lean, so you should go on a See Food diet .  You see food, you eat it.  Plain and simple.  The See Food diet is what is called a "dirty bulk."  You bulk up by eating a lot of food, even junk food.  For a young ectomorph who works out hard, this is an easy way to gain weight.  Older lifters (25+) and endomorphs o