Strength and Physique

Q:  "How many sets per body part is recommended if you are doing a total body workout? I usually do compound movements (e.g. I do a total of 18 to 20 sets of chest exercises for the week)." - W. Williams   My Answer: It depends on a number of things. For one thing, how many other body parts are you including in these full body workouts? If you go with the bodybuilding standard, then you have 8-9 body parts in which to hit:  Chest  Back  Shoulders  Biceps  Triceps  Quadriceps  Hamstrings  Calves  Abs  That doesn't leave you with very many sets per body part. Two to three sets per muscle group is really all you can do. This is perfectly fine for beginners and older lifters. But for those who've been in the Iron Game for awhile, 2-3 straight sets doesn't do much.  There is a way to get around the low set total and add some needed volume. I go over this in my article "Supercharging H.I.T." an excerpt from Neo-Classical ...

Q:  I've read your article about shoulder workouts as well as many others, and I have a question. I really appreciate if you can spare some time to answer it. I heard from almost everywhere that you can get wider shoulders by working out. I have a very slim body (56 kg, 172 cm tall, 24 year old male) and very narrow shoulders. The width of my shoulders is only two times of the width of my head (1/2). I checked this ratio by measuring photos of a man with broad shoulders, and this ratio is usually 1/3. I know it has a lot to do with genetics, but how much exactly can you add to your shoulder size by workout? Someone told me that you can add 2 centimeters to each side at a total of 4 cm maximum. Even if that's true, by working out my deltoids I will also work my trapezius muscles as well, even if I don't want to. And the growth of the trapezius makes your shoulders look narrow, because it gives your shoulders an angle to the ground rather than being nearly parallel to ...

I have a few articles out there in queue with a number of magazines. It's hard to keep track of them, so every so often I'm surprised when I see one pop up. Most mags don't let you know if they're going to print your article or not. One time I went to a Barnes and Noble, picked up a mag and thought to myself, "Here's this stupid ass magazine that didn't want to publish my..." [thumbing through the pages] "... well what do you you know? They picked up my article! Aww, that's great... Hey wait a minute... they didn't pay me! Those cheap, thievin' bastards." Of course, at the time I was new to freelancing and didn't know that mags pay after the article is in print or online. Anyway, I have a new article at T-Nation: Controlled Overtraining for Muscle Growth

Q: Your Return to Copland write-up was pretty slick. I plan on using that for my next training block. You mention that prison guards should go a different way in their training. How about a blog or article concerning that kind of training program for guards? I did some searching around the net and could not find one article concerning the matter. It's a new frontier? Hope to see it sometime. Catch you around. -Shane My Answer: As I mentioned in the article, those of you in corrections would probably do best with a powerlifting program. You deal with inmates all the time in confined spaces, so pure strength and physical size are traits that would enhance your job. The reason I didn't write an article specific to correctional officers and deputies manning county jails is that the program really would not be any different from a powerlifting program. In other words, there is nothing specific to the physical demands of corrections that require anything beyond that of ...

Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to this email/question. I have been bodybuilding for a couple years. I have pushed myself hard to earn the body that I have, but I currently have a dilemma. Like many, when I was dedicated to bodybuilding in the past I neglected myself in the pursuit of my goals in the sport of bodybuilding. Injuries, an imbalanced life, poverty I have been subjected to it all in the name of achievement. My problem now is that after years of training I have come to a place where my lats (latissimus dorsi) are much bigger than I want or is reasonable considering I exist as a bodybuilder and an athlete. This problem exists because of my stubborness to build a massive chisseled back frame in my "achievement days". So now, what can I do to reduce the size of my lats? My answer to this situation has been to reduce the time I train my back and to specifically not do pull ups, lat pulldowns and be careful on the angle of my elbows when I do rows. Wha...

Q:  You've helped me from the very beginning with my mass-gain goals. Thanks a million! I've gone from 90kg (200 lbs) to 108 kg (240 lbs), and everything is going well. Haven't got your 4th book yet, but X-mas is just around the corner. and my wife usually asks if I want anything in particular ;) You recently pointed me to the Arm Assault program, which I used in a competition with my work mates. They all chickened out at the last moment, but my training wasn't wasted: I went from 15 and a half to almost 17 inch arms in short time. It gave me some very satisfying results after a period of stagnation! So I wanted to ask if it is a good idea to go through periods of "focus" on particular muscle groups, perhaps even your weak points: e.g. focus 3 months on A, then focus 3 months on B, etc. In particular, can you recommend a chest specialization program? My chest has always been my weak point, and I'd like to improve it. I've always found t...

"Mr. Chan, I have a question. I lift weights, bench about 250 and my strength is increasing, but I'm only 145 lbs. I would like to gain mass, but I only seem to get stronger and not much bigger. I would like to be 160 lbs. Is there any way I can do this before the end of the summer? Or even quicker? I would also like to increase my bench by 50 lbs too. If you have any advice for me let me know." -Johann My Answer: A 15 pound weight gain in 2 months is a tall order. It's hard to say what it is that you're doing wrong, because I have no idea what the hell you're doing with regards to training and eating. But let me see if I can do a little psychic training and give you some advice based on little to no information on your background. For one thing, if you are getting stronger but not bigger, then it usually means 3 things: 1) You're not eating enough calories, protein or fat. Eat, eat, eat! Five meals a day: one hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon an...