Strength and Physique

Q:  My name is Trey, and I am writing you today to see if by any way you could possible whip me in to shape with a workout. I would say I have maybe 2-3 months to get in to shape for the job demands. I work out now, but I feel like it's not getting me any where. I bust my ass when I go to the gym, but I see nothing different, so maybe you could refer something? Please help! Thank you. My Answer:  First off I have no idea what is your physical condition and physical conditioning.  Are you overweight, or are you looking to add more muscle? The problem I see with a lot of guys trying to get in shape is that they are not honest about what their condition is and what they need to do to remedy the condition.  I know a deputy who doesn't do cardio and was doing 5x5 to get in shape. I thought to myself, "Dude, you're diabetic and overweight.  You don't need to do 5x5.  You need to do higher reps and cardio." If you're trying to prepare for the physi...

I thought I'd do something a little different than the usual exercise video and do a video podcast instead. In this podcast I talk about body weight exercises and how to build muscle from calisthenics: Here are the show notes: I’m not sure what it is, but there’s a fascination with body weight only programs.  It’s the number one search topic on my Strength and Physique blog, and I know many personal trainers have their own body weight only programs. I don’t think it’s the cost factor (calisthenics can be done without equipment), because I’ve seen people do just body weight exercises at the gym.  Which is ridiculous, because why do calisthenics at the gym when you can do them anywhere for free? Not only is there a lot interest in body weight only programs, but there’s a lot of interest in building muscular bulk through body weight only programs.  Can you build muscle mass on just calisthenics? Yes.  But the road to muscle mass is long and narrower on a ca...

Q:  I want to say thanks for those Strength and Physique updates.  Those are nice little nuggets and tips in my inbox. I just got done with my last physical therapy session for my tweaked back. I fucked up my bulging discs back in March and had to go back in for therapy. And then once my back was better, there were OTHER issues they discovered: muscle compensations and imbalances affecting my hip/pelvis alignment.  My back is actually much better now (when I tweaked it doing, of all things, a yoga stretch I had lots of nerve irritation which was scary as it made my legs feel weak) but there are other issues with a rotated pelvis and/or hip misalignment.  But one question I wanted to ask you was what your thoughts are on lifting for those with injured backs? Obviously, I need to always be mindful of my form and if I'm pushing the boundaries, but my physical therapist discouraged me from doing deadlifts anymore. Even my orthopedist didn't want me doing deads, o...

Bodybuilding dogma states that in order for you to build muscle you have to eat. You want to be big? You got to eat big. You have to eat a lot, and you have to eat often. Bodybuilders typically eat 6 times a day. But is it necessary to eat all the time? When I was a young buck concerned with getting big and muscular, I was eating all the time. I’d pack 3 mini meals to take to work. My meals were a protein drink, a protein bar and a can of tuna mixed in with mac and cheese. Each meal had about 20-30 grams of protein. Plus I made sure I drank a lot of water. With breakfast before and dinner after work, I'd total 5 meals a day. I used to eat frequently, but I found that it was far too expensive and time consuming to always be eating. It helps to gain and maintain muscle by eating frequently, but it does interfere with your lifestyle and work. You can’t really do much if you’re carrying around a cooler of food and have to eat every 2-3 hours. You also can’t perform ath...

Q:  I have really been enjoying your books and making great progress in the gym.  Recently just finished the 14 week mesocycle in  Neo-Classical Bodybuilding , and I'm very keen to start on the body specialization as I have some weaknesses. Just slightly confused how to plug these workouts into the density phase.  Are these workouts purely for density phases only?  For instance Chest specialization workout #2:  Is that just one training session or added onto the T-boost workout?  I guess using the specializations means I'll be training one more day a week?  Thank you very much just slightly confused. Hear from you soon, love the  videos  too.  E. Pascale UK My Answer:  Glad you like the books and videos. As far as the specialization workouts, they are to be used only as a density phase.  Chest specialization workout #2 is one training session.  Workout #3 is the T-boost workout in the chest specialization program. ...