Ripped Academy Questions

Photo Credit: -bast-

I had a funny little conversation via private message over at Ripped Academy a while back. I hang around over there every now and then to contribute on the forums and to post updates about recent articles etc.

I received a few questions from someone who was viewing my profile and it turned out to be somewhat of an entertaining(to me) conversation. I love getting questions and being able to help out when I can. Here is the conversation and I will elaborate as follows.

CL: first off, what the f*ck is recession whey?

JC: haha that made me lmao
recession whey = cheap(but awesome) whey from TrueProtein

As you can see, I have recession whey listed in my profile under the “favorite supplements” section. Since I am a frugal college kid, I am all about saving some money on the daily essentials. In this case I am able to purchase 25 pounds of protein at a time for a great price. Sure, it’s unflavored, doesn’t taste too great and takes a little extra time to throw some vanilla and sucralose in my shake. Frankly I am not too concerned as I drink it unflavored most of the time anyway. Taste is a non-issue for me.

.

….

CL: second how the hell did u get your legs that big?
JC: squats + genetics + milk + lots of food

Then…

CL: those are the answers i like to hear.
But, which do u think is more effective for legs, a variety of weighted lunges..or a variety of squats?

JC: okay, in general, I am a big believer in compound movements for building the brunt of your mass. I am not too fond of lunges for mass building. I also do not like “variety” as it’s important to pick a movement or 2 and stick to them to track progress. Sure, you can finish your workout with these “extra” movements but these alone are not going to build the size you want.

if you want big legs do squats + RDL’s(for glutes and hams) about 2x per week. Make sure you are dropping your rear in the hole and keep form in check on the squats…

oh yea, eating over maintenance helps too. heh.

Photo of me he asked about

When I reread my response, I laughed to myself. This really is the way I think about this stuff. My equation goes like this. Big legs = the right movements + food + time + sanity in your workouts. All you need to do is progress on a solid compound movement, eat enough to grow, understand that it takes time to develop and always train in a sensible manner.

I built the size in my legs by doing lots of squats and leg presses. During my athletic years, squats were our main lower movements with variations of deadlifts thrown in as well.

In my opinion taking a minimalistic approach is almost always best. I say almost because that isn’t going to be true for every single trainee. However for the majority of those out there caught up in all the fitness/bodybuilding craziness, we sometimes get hung up on all the small things.

Oh, The Silly Questions

I am not saying that CL’s questions were silly, but I read questions all the time such as: “is it better to do cable fly crossovers at a 45 degree or 30 degree incline?” “Is it more beneficial to do curls with a barbell or with dumbbells?” “Should I eat 100g of carbs or 105g of carbs post workout?” “Will sugar make me fat?” “I am eating clean, why am I not losing weight?”

I am sure you get the point.

Where Is Your Focus?

Asking these questions is not a waste of time as we all have to learn but dwelling on them is a waste of mental energy. There is no need to spend time worrying about stuff that does not make a lick of difference. Every time I begin working with someone new, I always emphasize the bigger picture. The bigger picture, to me, is choosing a solid training program with compound movements, focusing on calorie totals including protein, EFA requirements and pushing minutiae to the wayside.

When you finally grasp the bigger picture, you experience complete freedom. You become less worried about the small things such as meal timing, nailing the exact macro nutrients, dining out, the perfect workout program etc.

Once you reach this place, fitness becomes easy. I don’t mean easy in the sense that you no longer have to put in the work to look great in your birthday suit, but you will definitely alleviate the stress and worry we sometimes experience regarding our training/diet regimen.

Can any of you relate? If so, how?

Tagged as: Readers Questions