Got Questions?
If you have any questions or subjects you would like me to write about, just drop a question in the comment section below. I will be active in conversation and be glad to answer your questions. If I don’t have an answer, I will definitely find one.
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I am wondering what your opinion of programs like Big Beyond Belief is? I have been doing a 3 day full body split for over a year and was thinking of trying a body part split like BBB. I don’t compete in anything, just looking to put on some size. Thanks for your time, I really love your writing.
Chris and I have been exchanging emails. I’ve got an article coming out based on our exchange.
@Richard: There’s a lot of information out there as to whether or not the smith machine is bad for your knees or not.
I cannot comment as to whether or not it’s hard on the knee ligaments but I can comment from personal experience that it’s never felt good on my knees or my hips when attempting them on the smith machine. I don’t like how it limits your body’s natural movement or how it takes out the stability factor from regular squats.
I’ve done quite a bit of searching online for some differing view points but nothing seems conclusive.
personally, I’d rather put someone on a good sled leg press or hack squat if they couldn’t do regular squats.
Hi,
I enjoy your site, I was wondering what your opinion is on whether Smith Machine squats are any more dangerous than regular barbell squats. I saw on FitMarker under “8 Stupid Myths about Squatting” that the author said was very hard on some knee ligaments.
Thanks,
Richard Wood
hey Dieter, thanks for the update. original comment he is referencing here.
it’s true – many people overestimate their recovery abilities, only to find themselves crashing and sometimes burning.
JC,
I had commented before on the marathon post about training frequency and training for a marathon. I’ve got to admit:
You were right.
I had to cut down my training frequency and intensity as I ran longer on the weekends. Even though barefoot running kept me injury free, the 18+ mile runs along with the workouts really did me in. I had to cut back to lifting 2-3x per week, maintaining strength with high rep squats and the like. I have decided not to compete in the marathon because my sister is now involved in a political campaign and cannot run in the race. Running bores me terribly so with no reason to run (she had convinced me when I was in the middle of the book Born to Run), I’m back to one of my favorite pastimes: lifting heavy objects over my head.
Keep up the good work on the blog and the social website.
Regards,
Dieter
Hello I have been lifting for many years and am a 25 year old male with a scrawny upper body and thick lower. Would a split of:
M-chest/back
W-Legs/arms
F-chest/back
Sun-arms
T-chest/back
Th-legs/arms
etc. etc. be an adequate split for someone who wants to specialize with respect to their upper body? Given that volume is kept under control
Thanks!
@Brad I would need to know a bit more information such as sets, reps, intensity, etc before I could make any comments.
Hey Al, thanks for stopping by
1. If you’re having problems reaching your protein requirements, an easy solution is supplementing with a protein powder.
2. From Lyle’s Article:
3. Your BMR is what it takes to maintain your weight without extra activity. If you laid in bed for 24 hours and got a reading of what you burned at rest, that would be your BMR.
If you want to lose fat, you simply eat below your maintenance. A ballpark way to estimate is to multiply body weight by 14-15 if you’re fairly active.
I love your site, your report, and your methods. here are my questions:
1) Any tips on meeting my protein intake (i way 240)? I seem to be having a hard time getting to at least 240 grams everyday.
2)What is the importance of the fish oils that you mentioned in your report?
3) Do I use my BMR as a guideline and try to eat below that everyday or what? (That was the only fuzzy part in your report that you did not get into much).
I think the hardest part for me is reaching my minimum protein intake WHILE not going over my supposed BMR at the same time. Thanks!
Its a permanent injury, though now i visit a chiropractor once a month and its helping me live pain free …
@Sami – that sucks. lunges, BSS’s are fine. What are you currently doing to nurse the injury?
i cant squat/deadlift due to a low-back injury.
@Sami: that looks fine. but is there any reason you cannot do squats or deads? do you have access to a leg press?
JC,
I have 3 months weightlifting exp. Though I am too weak and going to start a strength routine “for the first time”. I am trying to do some thing like Starting strength but unfortunately i cant squat/deadlift so what do you think about this and what would you add/change ? “My Main goal with this is to increase bench press and chinups/pullups”
Sun[A]/Tues[B]/Thurs[A] Alternating each week.
WorkoutA
Walking lunges 3×5
Bench Press 3×5
Cable row 3×5
Core 3×8
WorkoutB
Bulgarian split squat 3×5
Weighted Chinups/Pullups 3×5
Lowincline DB bench press 3×6
Pull throughs 3×8
Core 3×8
Sorry for the long story …
JC, Thanks very much indeed for the quick reply….!
I’m pretty lean at the moment so its literaly just those last few pounds around my stomach. What you say sounds right on the money. Using on-line BMR calculators and such like, always seems to peg my calories at well over 2000 a day when I imput my workouts. Even though I train, my job is very sedentary and so the figure you suggest which is close to maintenance should be just right. It really helps when a real person gives advice !
Once again, Thank you for the quick response ! I’ll keep reading your blog and will let you know how I get on.
Have a good one !
Jeff
@Jeff: Have you established a maintenance intake just yet? How lean are you currently?
Depending on how active you are, you might start with setting your kcals at about 11-12 kcals per lb. At 66 kilos (145lbs) that would put you at 1600-1750 kcals per day. you might need a bit less if you’re sitting most of the time.
Then set your protein at about 170-180g and fill in the rest with the macros you see fit.
As long as your training is up to par (intense and low(er) in volume) you’ll retain your mass. It’s just creating the deficit that will aid in fat loss.
Hi JC
Would like to ask you a question please !
This should probably be obvious but I can’t seem to get my head around how many calories I really need.
I’m 47 years old, weigh around 66 kilo’s and am trying to lose the last few pounds from around my belly button. (Aint everyone !!)
I do 3x per week weight training (full body type compound movements) and like to think that I work pretty hard. In addition, I add some easy cardio/bike rides/core work etc, usually 2 to 3 times per week.
I use the 16/8 hour Intermittent Fasting style of eating which suits me really well.
Just how many calories should I be aiming at to drop the body fat, while retaining (adding a bit?) of muscle mass?
Would be really grateful if you could give me a bit of help with this……don’t know why, but I just can’t seem to arrive at a number that I trust will be right.
Many thanks for reading this.
All the best
Jeff.
@ED: Cool. So drop volume for a few weeks and focus on increasing the weight or reps for a few sets only. Then, slowly add back in a set or two until progress stalls again. Repeat as needed.
JC,
I just had some research on the auto-regulating method, but sadly it confuses me even more,(just like everytime I discover a new method on the internet). I apologize for that. But how many methods should I be included in my workout? Correct me if I am on the wrong path, in my mind, to progress to heavier weight, you just keep on pushing more reps in a set to get more total reps in the end?
Say for example, a bench press, I do 4 sets, with reps of 6/7/6/7(which ends up total reps of 26). The next time I come back to do the same exercise, if I cannot push through beyond 7 reps, I just add another set of 6 or 7 to add more total reps. First this starts out pretty okay, but the problem arises when the 3rd of 4th time I come back to the exact exercise, I still cannot push through the 7th rep, and I have probably added another 2 or 3 sets to the total reps which isn’t helping me doing other exercise as well.
Forgive me for thinking this is the rule to live by for overloading, as there are just too many advices and articles on the internet that supports different theories. All I am looking to do is just to simplify the whole process for myself.
ED: have you ever considered auto-regulating your training?
Thanks for the reply JC, I think I have come to what you call a plateau, as I am very stubborn I thought that if you keep doing more total reps the next time I come back I would be able to push those last few reps more easily, guess I should try techniques like drop sets. I mainly follow philosophy on this link : http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=6700441&highlight=kelly+baggett+training+philosophy
Long read but I reckon it’s gold. Cheers
ED: Just repeat the same workout – if you stall out consider dropping a set or two for a few or so.
Hey JC,
I do not think I am at where I am experienced enough to not get linear gains, but say when you do 5 sets of 5 reps, and the next workout you cannot go beyond that, should you repeat the same number of reps and sets? Or do more reps and sets to keep up the intensity?
hey Ed: In this situation, I think you should focus on form and quality reps as opposed to adding weight every single time. It sounds like you may be to the point where progress will no longer be linear and you’ll just have to accept the gains when they come. This is not a bad thing by any means but can be discouraging. Just make sure your form and feel are great.
Hi JC,
One thing that seem to stop me from progressing is the so call ‘progressive overloading’, from all the articles and workouts that I read, it states that I should add more weights or add more weights the next time you do the same exercise, but my problem is, for example:
I do hammer curl with ‘x’ amount of weight for 5 reps, for 4 sets. For the next workout, I am suppose to add more weight on the bar, or do more reps. But what if, I add more weight but I cannot seem to maintain proper form, and if I keep the same amount of weight on bar, I cannot do more than 5 reps. How do you keep on progressing in this situation? Because this happens to me a lot and it’s stopping me from adding more bar weight.
@Eric – I’ve never counted it actually. I explode through the movement and control it slowly on the eccentric.
JC, what tempo to you use for your lifts, is it the same for all rep ranges?
JC, new site looks good!
@Eric: I’m a big fan of the low-bar squat. It’;s not going to matter too much. If you want to focus more on quads, an Oly style may be better but overall, the lower half will be stimulated nonetheless.
Hey JC, great job on the new site design, looks great.
I had a question on squat form for hypertrophy. High-Bar, low-bar? Make a difference? I’m currently using Rippetoe’s suggestion for squats.
Thanks
JC,
Regarding the HST program do you think 1-2 working sets is abit low and it will be better to use 3 working sets ? I’ve been using Lyle routine for few months and got good results with 3-4 working sets per exercise.
Sorry for the noobish question.
no need to apologize, it’s why I have this section up. Although, I need to find a better solution for the question organization, though.
If you’re used to the volume and have seen good results from the extra work sets, then I’d say to roll with it. No worries.
Hey JC,
What protein powder are you using? I did not read the report from CR but i head they blasted the protein powders. I usually use Gold Standard 100% Whey I get from Body Building.com(double rich chocolate). I am getting low and before I order in more I want to make sure I am getting the best that I can.
I love your updates that I get weekly. Thanks, Larry
Hey Larry, all I’ve been using the last year is protein from http://www.trueprotein.com. I get it free almost every month(just checked and won 8lbs for the month of June), so I’ve been testing out different varieties and flavors.
I’ve had the whey(big shortage currently), Milk Protein Isolate, Gemma(pea protein) and currently using the Complete Milk and Dairy Isolate.
In terms of flavors, I’ve had their dutch chocolate fudge, cookies n’ cream, peanut butter and peanut butter n’ jelly flavors. My current favorites are the dutch chocolate fudge and peanut butter.
keep in mind, these are PREMIUM flavors in which you pay like .75 cents per lb. But it’s so worth it as their free flavors are horrid.
I hope this helps. and if you decide to order from TrueProtein, the code JCD370 will get you 5-10% off depending on how large your order is.
I’ve been using them long before I ever got their discount code, so I’d still be using it regardless…
Hey JC,
I got a question for you.
If i am trying to cut down right now, and am on a 2000 calories per day diet to lose 1 pound of fat per week. This mean that I get 14000 calories per week. However, what if by the end of the week, I eat 15000 calories instead? Does the thermic effect of food apply to weekly calories as it does to daily calories. I remember you saying that 10% of the calories you digest must be used or something like that.
So if I accidently consume 15000 calories one week, will 1500 be erased due to the thermic effect of food, and will that put be back at 13500 calories for the week, putting me back in my caloric range?
Thanks and sorry for the somewhat confusing question.
I wouldn’t even think of the 10% thing. Not sure where you got that? Just focus on what’s happening. If you’re losing on 2000 kcal per day, continue. If not, change something.
Ya but I thought approximately 10% of food you intake is metabolized due to the thermic effect of food. Theoretically, would my situation be true? Thanks
yea, but that’s included in the figures for daily expenditure…
What differences would there be if:
you ate a large surplus on lifting days and around maintenance on rest days
or
a smaller surplus every day
if the weekly calories remained the same. Same recovery time? Same anabolism? Any other factors affected?
Seth,
I wish I had that answer but I’m afraid it might be impossible to determine. There’s so many factors involved such as age, hormonal levels, training experience, genetic predispositions, among many other variables.
JC,
enjoy reading your fat loss related articles. curious what you would recommend to someone who needs to lose 20+ pounds and who wants to keep it off? in the past I lost weight slow and kept it off, then I got obsessive and started losing weight fast (and lost alot of muscle) only to regain some weight. now I want to lose it and keep it off for good.
thanks,
pucca
since you wish to keep it off for good, you’ll need to think about the habits you might need to drop and the ones you may need to develop. After all, it’s about prolonged lifestyle change/management rather than a fix.
Anyone can lose the weight but the hardest part is keeping it off. Why? Simply because old habits die hard.
I would recommend taking a long-term approach to the weight loss. Start by looking at your diet. If you’re snacking a lot, cut it out. If you’re eating too many high-calorie foods, replace them with lighter alternatives such as fruit and fibrous veggies.
Make sure you’re getting a decent amount of protein (~1g/lb of body weight). It’s also a good idea to try and have lean protein with each meal due to the satiety factor.
If you like to feel satisfied after a meal, I recommend cutting your meal frequency down to 2-4 meals per day.
How much are you exercising? More importantly, how much time do you have/are you willing to commit to exercise? If you’re fairly active, then you’ll likely only need to tweak the diet. If you’re not active at all, you’ll need to consider adding in some type of activity to help increase your expenditure.
hope that helps
Thanks JC,
sound sensible advice:) I do 3 full body kettlebell workouts a week and then the other days I might rest or walk, maybe some bodyweight exercises if I feel up to it. snacking is by far my biggest problem–I read your article on how to stop binging and altho I am not a binger–more of a grazer I still think it’s good advice. I might be sending you an email soon with more info.
pucca
ps I found your site thru Leangains.
ahh… grazing. I’ve been meaning to write an article about snacking/grazing and frankenfoods. I think it’s about time I get on that.
JC,
Curious if you could provide some help with designing a workout to fit my work schedule? My greatest challenge is that I’m typically traveling mid-week. Here is what I’ve been working with for a typical plan:
Day 1: Chest/Sholders/Tri’s
Day 2: Back/Bi’s/Abs
1-2 Days Rest/Cardio
Repeat
I vary between 1-2 days off given travel/not knowing when I’ll see another dumbell. I fit legs in on the weekend workouts. Basically dont know if I’m allowing enough time for recovery, or if you would suggest a more drawn out split?
Also, did you see the Men’s Health article late last year with their 20 some “Power Sandwiches”? If not, I’ll scan/e-mail you a copy given you affinity for a mean SAMMICH!
sure send that article over. I’d like to see it!
and I’ve sent you an email to discuss your training.
Hey JC,
When performing heavy incline dumbbell presses, what is the safest way to get the weights off the floor without injuring your lower back? I tend to swing the weight up, but my back hurts like crazy 10 mintues later
I tend to get the DB’s on my thighs when I sit down. Then I rock back and throw them up with my thighs and get them into position. However, eventually, they will get too heavy and it’ll be safer to have someone hand them to you.
When I do floor presses, I always have someone hand them to me for fear of injury.
OK, but does that mean you get up between every set to place the weights on your thighs?
depends on rest time. If my rest periods are less than 1 minute, I just sit there and rest with them on my thighs. If not, yes, I do as you asked.
I thought this would interest you. Mainstream diet stupidity.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2010/05/tesco_slimming_powder.html
“‘Ultra Slim’ powdered shakes as having 135 calories per serving – when the correct number was actually 205…..Tesco then admitted the error and offered her a £10 voucher in compensation…she’d been drinking the meal-replacement shakes for three weeks but had not lost any weight….”
http://www.tesco.com/superstore/xpi/5/xpi64361505.htm
” In addition, enjoy a third meal and one or two healthy snacks during the day.”
So that the error would have 135*2+800+2*150 = 1370kcals…not a lot really the real amount of recommended is 1510kcals
Hey JC,
A month back into working out, and I’m feeling great! Still fine tuning the training and diet, however I had a question on something that may be real easy to solve, in terms of my workouts.
Most notable when I’m doing any shoulder exercises (dumbell presses and lateral raises), my right arm consistently has more strength and endurance than my left. I find myself struggling to get my left arm up, when I can easily hoist my right, and feel like I have another 2 or 3 left in it, but my left is completely gassed.
The funny thing is that I actually killed a nerve in my right arm in HS, that then essentially killed a muscle (just a small indentation when flexed), but my only left arm injury is a small bit of scar tissue near my shoulder blade from an old tear.
Any general tips on how to overcome this for any muscle group, or get myself to even out? I’ve considered doing bar oriented shoulder exercises, but this is still somewhat of an issue.
Thanks man!
Derek
As far as getting things to even out, if you’re doing bilateral work with dumbbells as opposed to a compound movement with a barbell, only do as many reps as you can with the weaker arm until it catches up in strength with the other arm. If you have 1 rep left in the left arm but 3-4 left in the right arm, cut the set short right there as opposed to doing more with the stronger arm.
it’s just going to take some time for the other arm to catch up.
Something else you might think about is the fact that no one is perfectly symmetrical. I’m right handed but my left arm has always been slightly bigger than my right. Don’t know why – I just blame it on mom and dad.
Hey JC, thanks for all your hard work here.
I have 2 questions: First, I know Lyle Mcdonald suggests 10% bf to start bulking, but what are your thoughts on this? Personally I don’t know my BF % right now (it was estimated at high teens about 3 weeks ago, have been RFL since then), but I am incredibly lanky except my stomach – 6 ft 1′ and 165 lbs with a big gut.
It’s really disheartening because I just want to add some LBM to my frame, but before I can bulk I think I’ll have to continue to drop lbs for my stomach to go away (how low can I go though?)
Secondly, I have never bulked in my life, and the only training I’ve ever done has been in the last 6 months. Note though that this has been mostly poorly self-taught stuff, no deadlifts, squats or anything considered for mass gains. Just screwing around on the weight machines with low weights and treadmill (all while in a deficit mind you). Do you think I qualify for the “newbie” category of bulking (and would thus probably benefit from GFH?)
Thanks for any response
I know the 10% rule and for the most part I am on that side of the fence. However, you can still add muscle at a higher body fat percentage (look at powerlifters) but just understand that the dieting process is going to be long and awry.
however, at your height and weight, you are definitely underweight, and in my opinion, need to stop dieting and focus on eating well and training hard with a focus on strength gains. I’d never recommend the GFH approach unless your expenditure was through the roof.
Hi, jc. Reading about IF, and your article meal, I can relate, I going nuts carrying food around. Been doing this for a while now. Still fighting with some stubburn fat. Do you fast everyday or just on training days
I no longer fast everyday due to my schedule. However, this past week while on vacation, I’ve been fasting to deal with all of the nights eating out.
Hi. First of all, thanks for answering in the binge eating-article.
My question. Do you have any recommendations for some good beginner routines other than the usual strenght routines? I’ve tried some of them and they are kinda boring and I don’t really like doing them. I want to have some fun, dammit.
Thanks!
first, explain what “boring” and “fun” means, and then I can probably help you out.
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