Strength and Physique

Q:  "James, I also read your program called  strength training for the police officer . I currently work for ICE/DRO. I don’t know if you had a chance to meet any officers from my agency, but in a nutshell we are the marshals of Immigration & Customs Enforcement. We do work in correctional environments as well as fugitive operations. Could you provide a simple and basic power lifting program to follow?" Thank you very much and stay safe. -CB My Answer:  Simple? Basic? You can't get simpler than the 3-5 Power Periodization program. If you want to adapt this program for powerlifting, then simply substitute the competition lifts (bench press, squat, deadlift) and assistance lifts, but stick to the basic parameters: Weeks 1 and 2: 5x5, 3 minutes rest, 5 days a week Week 3: 3x3, 5 minutes rest, 3 days a week Also, don't do squats and deadlifts in the same workout. Alternate between the 2 from workout to workout for your legs. Test for your 1RM during Week 4.

Q:  I need help in widening my lats. I have tried many kinds of techniques, but all those exercises and techniques never work for me to widen my lats. My other body part I can manage to build muscle on my other body parts except for my lats. Can you guide me to which exercise is the best, and please give me a proper workout plan? Thanks. Regards, Simon My Answer: Can I guide you to which exercise is the best for lat development? Will I give you a proper workout plan for the back? I already did, Simon: Wingspan Workouts. Q:  I have a question about drop sets: How many drop sets are suitable for biceps and triceps if I do NO other biceps and triceps exercises during that particular workout? Today I did 2 triceps drop sets with a rest of 4 minutes between them. That wasn't very heavy. Maybe I could take 3-4 sets? Are 4 minutes rest enough? A typical biceps drop set looks like this for me: 16 kg - 15 kg - 12 kg - 10 kg - 9 kg. I choose weights that I can li...

Q: I'm currently following your Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph (HTE) programme, which is simply brilliant. It's a joy to follow, I never get bored and my body never gets fatigued because of the fourth week changing of rep ranges. I also bought and read your superb book High Tension Exercises for Muscular Growth which contains astonishing scientific information about the body and muscles. It's on another level compared to all the publications, websites and magazines I've ever read. It really is a fascinating book and has given me a far greater understanding of muscle growth and the best associated exercises and rep ranges. Thus, I have some questions. (a) You mention the benefit of the guillotine bench press, and I've been doing it. Where should my arms be when doing this? If I try to keep my arms at 90 degrees, forearms directly vertical, I can only lower the bar to approximately 18cm / 7inches off my chest. If I butterfly my arms, I can get the bar lower ...

Q: "It's an honor being able to contact you via email. Whenever I read one of your writings, I am impressed. I'd like to ask you a question regarding shoulder health. Do you think it's important to balance out vertical pushes (like shoulder presses) with pulls (like pull-ups) as well as horizontal pushes (like bench press) with pulls (like seated rows or dumbbell rows)? "In other words: if I do military presses, do I also have to do pulldowns, pull-ups, or chin-ups? If I do bench presses, do I also have to do seated rows? I've read that this was important to avoid shoulder injuries due to lack of balance (rotator cuff, etc.)." Thanks for your time, Sir! -S.C. My Answer: Yes and no. How's that for an answer, huh? Anyway, what I mean is that for shoulder stability, yes, you do need to have movements that balance each other out. But it's not necessarily in the manner that you're describing. For example, to counterbalance hori...

Q:   What are other good exercises for the hamstring other than deadlift? I have a home gym but I don’t have a lying leg raise machine. Thanks. My Answer:  In the hamstring chapter of  High Tension Exercises for Muscular Growth , I list out the best hamstring builders.  They are categorized as either leg curl variations or deadlift variations.  If you don’t have access to leg curl machines, then you can still build some rather thick bundles of steel just from the floor glute-ham raise, a.k.a. Nordic curl. The Nordic curl is a body weight exercise that resembles the leg curl, but it is extremely tough to do.  It requires that you have a training partner to hold your legs down, or you can secure your ankles underneath a heavy piece of equipment.  You slowly lower your torso under control.  When your body reaches the floor, push off in an explosive manner and do another rep.  You might only do 1-3 reps.