I have something to confess to you. I'm a cheater. That's right, as I sit here and write this blog I am spooning creamy and delicious Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream into my mouth. The reason it tastes so good, besides the fact that it contains too many grams of carbs and fat, is that I have been following a fairly strict diet all week. But tonight is my reward. It's cheat night! Not only did I have orange chicken and chicken chow fun for dinner, now I'm enjoying my well-deserved dessert. I'm all about dedication. I train 6-7 days per week and follow a well-planned diet. After all, growing lean muscle is a full-time job. You need to have your day planned to supply yourself the nutrients you need when you need them. And even though I enjoy training and eating a clean diet, I find it's important to let loose every once in a while and really enjoy myself. And I choose to do that on Saturday nights. Something else I like to do on Saurday nights is answer your questions. Let's get to it.
Hi Joel: Yes, it is possible to gain muscle mass without strength. This is due to the fact that a lot of gains in muscle strength are due to the ability of the nerves that direct the muscles to contract to work faster and more synchronously. This can happen without an increase in muscle size. On the other side, muscle growth occurs due to the metabolic changes that occur within muscle, which leads to a higher increase in anabolic hormones and growth factors. The best way to do this is through training with higher reps (8-15) and low rest periods between sets, which is not the best way to increase muscle strength. That's not to say that increasing muscle strength does not lead to increases in muscle growth. And I suggest that you should consider taking a period of at least 4 weeks to focus on increasing your muscle strength. This can help you to use heavier weight for the same reps or get more reps with the same weight, which can lead to increased muscle growth. Does that help?
Hi Jason: Nice to hear that the M&F Raw! videos have been inspiring. Yes, alcohol can aid fat gain. It also can blunt muscle growth by decreasing testosterone. Plus it messes up your sleep, causing you to release less growth hormone.
Hey Rick: If you do cardio immediately after weight training, which I'm assuming you do based on your question, you should wait till immediately after the cardio is over to consume your protein and fast carbs. This is especially true for the carbs, which would blunt fat-burning during the cardio workout.
Hello Mike: I'm glad to hear that the M&F Raw! videos have made learning all this info on training and nutrition much easier. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are three of the most critical essential amino acids (EAAs). Whey protein is a complete protein, which means it contains all of the EAAs. So if you take a whey protein shake, you don't need to bother with EAAs. However, even though whey does contain BCAAs, you should consider adding them to your whey shakes. That's because BCAA's provide numerous benefits. For example, leucine, the MVP of the BCAAs, actually turns on the processes in muscle that stimulate muscle growth. Add 5-20 g to your protein shakes, especially before and after workouts.
Hi Adam: I am so sorry that your original question went unanswered. That certainly was never my intention. It must have fallen through the cracks. It does sometimes get tough keeping up with writing articles for the magazines, doing videos for the website and trying to reach out to as many readers as possible. My sincerest apologies for dropping the ball on your question. Thank you for giving me a second chance to help you out. And thank you for the kind words. I will definitely be keeping up the Raw! videos and everything else. At 6' and 150 lbs, you must be fairly lean. And I'll assume you're fairly young and have a fairly fast metabolism. If I am right, then I would suggest you bump up your carbs to 300 g on the workout days. That's 2 grams per pound of body weight, and that's on the low side for gaining mass. Just cut back slightly on the fats (even though they're healthy) those days to keep calories around 3000.
Hey Will: Yes, the article I was referring to, Shock Training is in the October 2009 issue (on newsstands now). The timer I use is the Gym Boss. I believe the website is www.gymboss.com. Yes, these workouts are perfect for a 17-year-old...as long as you've been training consistently, which it appears you have been. If not, then you need something with fewer total sets per muscle group. Let me know if that's the case and I'll point you in the right direction.
Hi Assaf: A hello to all the M&F fans in Israel! I am happy to hear that
M&F Raw! has fans in Israel. It is very rewarding to know that those videos
are helping people all over the world. And most off all, I am very glad to
hear that the Raw! videos have inspired you to learn even more and that they
helped you take it to the next level. As far as isolation exercises go - they
are very important for building muscle. That's because they force the target
muscle to do the majority of the work, which stimulates more of the muscle
fibers in that muscle. You will never be able to build a well-balanced physique
without the use of isolation exercises. And just as you said, they've worked
well for you! For the diet, I would suggest you get a minimum of 1 gram of
protein per pound of bodyweight and a moderate amount of carbs (just over 1
gram per pound). Take a look at the Showtime Diet I created, which is on the
M&F website. For you, just stick with the week 1 diet plan. And let me know
how that works for you.
Hello Ismael: Great work getting your body weight down to 265 from 315 pounds!
Keep up the great work!!! Prohormones are technically illegal these days. But at
your age, your own testosterone levels will be enough to put on ample muscle
mass. Just be sure that you are training at least two muscle groups per workout
to help to boost your testosterone levels even higher after workouts. Also
consider taking 2-3 grams of carnitine with your pre- and postworkout shakes. It
will help to raise the level of testosterone receptors in your muscles, which
will help your natural testosterone do its job, which is to grow muscle, better.
Hey Josh F: I'm thrilled to hear how much you love M&F Raw! If you follow me on Twitter, you won't have to check daily for new M&F Raw! videos, as I will be able to tell you immediately when a new one is up on the website. Isopure is a great protein. So if you like it, I say to stick with it.
Hey Jonathan: I'm glad to know that you and your friend have a strong passion for working out and building muscle...and that you are watching the Raw! videos to learn how to work out better and build more muscle. The videos don't really go together to create a single workout. They are tips to incorporate into many different workouts. That's because the best way to work out is to frequently change your workouts. As far as my workouts...they too change very frequently. The best way to follow my workouts is to read M&F magazine. Each workout I create and put in the pages of M&F is a workout that I have followed. If you pick up the current issue on newsstands (October 2009), you can find one of my current favorite workouts in the Shock Training article I wrote. Let me know if you have any questions on it.
Hi Ryan: Than you for your longtime support of M&F and thanks for the kind words! As far as cardio first thing in the morning goes...a better time is actually immediately after your weight workouts. Research shows that when you do cardio right after weights, it enhances fat-burning. One reason for this may be due to the boost in growth hormone you get after the weight workout. Growth hormone not only boosts muscle growth, but also the release of fat from your fat cells. If you don't have time after weights, then just do it any time of day that best fits your schedule. As far as your homemade fat burner of caffeine, green tea extract and cayenne pepper extract - that is one of my favorites. As far as your macros go - was that a typo on cardio/abs day for protein? I'll assume you also eat 150 g protein on that day, as you should. So keep it up, you are definitely on the right track.
Hi Rhett: Glad you are enjoying the Raw! videos and that you especially found the Showtime HIIT one helpful. No, your body won't get immune to L-arginine after a couple of weeks. However, I do like to take a break off of most supps every once in a while. But that's so that you get that strong boost you notice when you first start taking a new supplement. Yes, arginine, HMB and creatine are very safe for a 16-year-old.
Hey Ben: Thank you...I am glad to hear that you think that M&F Raw! is continuing to get better and better. It is constantly evolving and I hope that it keeps getting better and better for years to come. Spotting on dumbbell presses is tricky. If you go by the wrists, it tends to not feel that natural and disrupts your normal pressing movement. Spotting by the elbows tends to be the most natural for the feel of the press. However, if you are really fatigued you may drop the dumbbells since the weight is not being directly supported by the spotter, as when you spot on the barbell bench press. However, the point of spotting isn't to really to allow you to take it to that point where you are so fatigued that you can't handle the dumbbells. The spotter should be providing just a small enough assistance that you are still doing most of the work. So I believe that spotting by the elbows is the best technique.
Hi Jim,
Thanks! It does help. It gives me some peace of mind knowing that I may not be able to systematically increase the weight EVERY week but that I am still making some progress...even if I can't see it immediately. Though concerning the strength training I usually do sets of declining pyramids (which I first saw in M&F Rock Hard Challenge) where I do some warm-ups then do a sets of 5, 8, 8, 12-15. So I already incorporate some strength training but maybe not enough? My question has to do with nutrition. Are there any fruits or vegetables that you don't recommend? Some things are more abundant at this time of year (corn). While others are more or less on sale (pears, grapes) (I still eat an apple before working out) Thanks again!
hey doc
My questions is about REST!!!! this is my current training split
Monday- chest,back
Tuesday OFF-or I do a leg workout
wenesday-arms
thurs-sholders and traps
friday-rest
Saturday- This is when I have a partner so usually (heavy) chest
sunday-rest
I am wondering if am allowing enough rest for my muscles in between training, especially on chest. Must guys are telling me two days for each body part,but its hard sometimes because I started school so I have to squeeze in training when I can even if it means doing to major parts a day(chest and back).So is a day rest OK for chest or should I change my schedule to allow two days rest? I think allot of guys like me who are just starting out in the gym have trouble understanding rest time(sounds like a good idea for a raw episode lol) any suggestion would be appreciated.
p.s I feel that a strict diet is impossible w/out at least one cheat day
Keep M&F raw coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks
Hello Jim,
I Just wanted to say hello from France, I've been watching your videos and and reading your articles in muscle and fitness for a while now. I've Always been a big fan of the magazine. It's the only magazine I have a subscription for!
If you had time I also have two quick questions! I've been lifting weights for a few months along with doing cardio every second day, my strength has improved quite well, i really enjoy doing all the big hormone increasing compound moves (bench, dead lift, squat etc) and supersetting.
But it is apparent that my muscle gains are still hidden beneath a decent amount of fat. I'd like to move into a serious few months of leaning, loosing maybe 20 pounds atleast of fat.
I already eat 6 meals a day, cheat one day a week, get lots of healthy protien use protien shakes after weights and and make sure i eat about only 2000 calories a day.
Now my question is quite simple, how often should I be lifting weights, doing lower intensity cardio and doing HIIT each week to maintain my muscles but loose the most fat? I'm worried i might be going too easy on my body or i might end up concnetraing too much on my weights.
At the moment I'm training for 1 hour 5 days a week doing slower cardio and doing 1 day of full body compound exercises to keep my muscles stimulated during this leaning phase.
Can you clear up this confusion i have about the best combination of cardio, weights and even HIIT and what forumla i should use while setting out my routines.
Thanks, big fan, Scott Comber.
Hi mr.Stoppani!
I am writng from Greece and i am a big fan of Muscle and Fitness magazine,your training videos and nutritional tips.I am 20 years old and i've been training almost for 4 years.I weight 70 kg and my height is 1,72 m and my botyfat is around 9-10%.My goal for the winter is to put as much muscle mass as possible,targeting especially the chest and the shoulders.I am currently using only whey protein Optimum Nutrition Gold Standar 100%.I was wondering how many grams of protein should i consider in my diet(i get about 180 grams per day)?Also how much carbs in training days and how much in days that i don't train?I am going to add to my diet celltech or an other creatine supplement,BCAA's and Animal Pak.Do you think this could benefit my progress?Finally,could you post a good chest and shoulder workout routine(for different days each)?Thanks for reading my e-mail and waiting for more M&F RAW!!!
Sorry if my english are bad,i hope not!
Looking forward to your answer,
Orestis
P.S thaks for the quick respose at my e-mail
Hi Jim! your articles and videos have been very helpful. I'm new to your blog, and more or less new to fitness in general. I recently decided to take control of my life. i'm a 24 year old male, currently at 244, 5'9". 6 months ago I was 264, so I have lost 20 lbs, and I've never felt better. fitness has changed my life, and I look forward to continuing my weight loss and moving towards my current goal weight of 200.
I was looking at the video where you discuss the BCAA study you presented recently. In regards to fat loss and supplementation in general, I have the following question:
In addition to protein shakes and BCAA's, I've read alot about the ECA stack. although isolated ephedrine is now illegal in the U.S. from what I can tell, I was wondering what your thoughts were on this stack? I'm not sure if you've discussed it in the past, but I feel like your input would carry more academic authority than that of the arm-chair nutritionists that tend to populate the forums of the internet. It seems dangerous, and if the recall of Hydroxycut is any indication, trying to depend on chemical cocktails to produce faster weight loss seems to be a risky equation. Could you tell me what your thoughts on the ECA stack are? and are their any supplements you would recommend in addition to BCAA, or more traditional fat burners like caffeine, green tea extract, and cayenne pepper extract?
i am a big fan of the M&F raw series and also your Encyclopedia of Muscle and Strength. I was wondering if you could help me out by telling me what brand resistance bands are you using in the banded abs video, and also what type of jump rope you recommend.
Hi Jim,
I have just bought your book "Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength" and i think it is a really great book packed full of information and programmes that have got you covered for years to come.
I am 6'1-6'2 and weighing just over 170lb (i guess you already know what my goal is lol) and i am obviously aiming to put on some muscle mass. I use to be anorexic and was 2st underweight. After a lot of research on sports nutrition and a bit on physiology i have managed to put on around 40lb in around 2 years which im happy with, i'v got myself at a healthier weight and i look and feel better for it.
Now i want to put on more weight in quality muscle mass, my goal is to get around 190lb fairly lean
I'v gone through your book trying to decide which routine i'm going to follow and then which one after that etc and i was just wondering what you would recommend. I know you have included the Lean & Large programme as well as the Strength & Size programme and i was just wondering what type of results can i expect from them in terms of muscle growth and weight increase.
I was also thinking of performing your Lean & Large programme or your 3-4 day split and add some of the manipulation techniques of reps, sets etc in to the training every now and then to keep things fresh and also challenge my body so i was just wondering how often is it best to incorporate these without risking overtraining.
Hello Jim. I really enjoy the RAW videos. I am 180 pounds 6 feet but cannot seem to put on more muscle size. I train 6 days a week and follow a strict diet. I comsume about 3700 cal. a day to maintain my weight but when I go up to about 4000 to 4200 i can only see a diffrence around the waist. And i only have fast carbs in the AM and after workouts. I consume about 110 fat, 280 pro, and 500 carb on mass gain but see no diffrence on the scale. I even lower my carbs when i see to much gaining on my waist. What do you sugggest?
Also what should I do to lift heavier weight? I thought lower reps with faster speed would build my strenght with longer rest periods. Am i right?
hey jim,
I have a question about the high frequency workout program you developed.
It's a program for 6 days a week, but my problem is I can only train 3-4 days a week. But i like the program not only that you train a musclegroup more than just ones, but I like the exercises and the reps and everything. When I have 3 days to work out I do two times upperbody and 1 time arm and legs, this is because I play soccer as well and I don't want to overtrain my legs.
example:
week1: I take the Monday training of the program,
the Tuesday training (with the legs and arms)
and the Wednesday training
week2: I start with the Friday training of the program
than I do the Thursday (legs and arms)
and for the upperbody I'm back at the Monday training.
I know 6 day training a week with this program is much better but this is all the time I have.
So is it a good idea to train like this or do you say, Stop immediatly!
ciao
Doc,
thanks for the feeedback on the BCAA's. I plan on putting lean mass in the next 3-4 months. I'm currently at 178lbs looking on to at least 190lbs. I plan to follow you advice. A serving of bcaa's in my prework out shake, a serving in my intra drink, and a serving immediately after my workout, and one serving before bed.
You have been very helpful.
Till then Doc,
Mike
Hi Jim,
First I want to say that the speed set is one heck of a workout! Again proving that M&F raw! is the best!
I have a couple of questions to ask:
1.What is the proper intake of proteins per meal? is it true that the body can absorb 30 g per meal? In the same way how much protein is needed after a workout in grams?
2. How many different exercises would you recommend for a single muscle group to be effective? to really trains the muscle.
Thanks again for the great vids, info and all of the fitness education!
I love a good cheat meal! Something sweet and savory always keeps me sane, and knowing that I'll have that treat at the end of the week keeps me on track on my diet.
I have been reading your articles and watching the vids for awhile now and have picked up many great tips and learned more than i ever new existed about training and nutrition. I want to say thank you for all the great info!
Now for my question, well more of a diet and training critique for you. Even though I don't want to be a contest bodybuilder I am going to start my first real mass gain in a few weeks and I will be using a calculated mass gain diet (don't mind some fat gain but not too much). I have researched and put together what I think will work for me, a lot of it comes from your suggestions. To start with I am 22, 5'9" 150 lbs, and have been lifting very consistently for a few years. Shouldn't 1.5 g protein/lb bodyweight be plenty for my needs? Also, at least .5 g fat/lb? The rest of my calories will then come from carbs (always slow carbs besides postwo! and no junk food of course, and plenty of fruits and veggies). Using these ratios my diet will consist of: ~225 g protein, ~80 g fat, and ~370 g carbs, totaling ~3100 calories. Any suggestions for my diet? One more thing, hope you don't mind. Do you suggest a whey shake and fruit upon waking, then a second breakfast later and if so should the carbs at this first breakfast consist of fruit or a fast carb? Thanks alot in advance, and I hope you get to help with some input!
Hey Doc great videos. Hope all is well with you. I have used a lot of your exercise videos and also found new exercises by tweaking them. My question is about L-Arginine. Granted it is found in most supplements. What I wanted to know is when is the best time to take it? Before a workout? or before going to sleep? Thanks and keep up the great work you have helped so much!
Hey Jim,
I found that I had more questions about the exersise after I tried it, and after I saw M&F RAW #30. My first question isnt really about the workout persay, but about when to do it. I HAve started running 3-5 miles a day, depending on if I have soccer practice or not. My question is, sould i do my running before or after my workout. So far I have been doing it after I run. My second question has to do with the workout in the october edition, and the M&F RAW video. Towards the end, you said that it is wise to workout chests and backs because the back doesnt get fatigued during a chest workout. The October edition however put Chests and Triceps on the same day. What I am trying to get at is will it be okay to "switch it up" a little, and make it Chests and back, Triceps and legs, then Biceps and calfs? Thanks for the tips and support.
Will
Hi JIm,
First, I would like to thank you for your time and dedication in answering question from viewers. It's great to be able to ask a professional about nutrition and fitness in such an open forum. Thanks!
Quick question about HMB: How many capsules a day would you recommend for a first-time user like me? Pre- or post-workout, both? Does it have any side effects for people like me with hypertesion?
Cristhian.
Hey Jim,
Really have become interested in the Bodylastics strength bands mentioned on here a bit. Before purchasing, I wanted to ask a few questions - would these be to ok to use with regular attachments also, like an ez curl bar, lat bar, or barbell? Also, do you have any recommendations on using this along with free weights in the same workout? Maybe for chest along with dumbell presses, I seen a video here of using it on a incline bench and just attaching the handles to the end of the barbell.Thank you for any advice
Hi Jim,
Firstly, massive thanks for the M&F Raw! vids - the tips are awesome and have helped me loads. I've been recommending them to all my friends too, by far the best advice I've found on the net.
I've been working out on and off for 3-4 years whilst at college, and I've just got back into training seriously after graduating. Throughout that time, I've always followed the advice on the little card on weight machines regarding breathing - that is, breathe out during the exertion part of the movement, and breathe in on the return. They always say "Never hold your breath".
However, in M&F Raw! # 22, the Zercher Squat, you appear to be holding your breath during the exertion, and breathing out at the top of the movement. Firstly, am I correct? On video it is hard to tell. Secondly, what is your advice regarding breathing during exercises? I've been tempted to try holding my breath during heavy lifts - it seems the intuitive thing to do when doing some short, strenuous lifting - but I've been afraid because of the warnings on these machines. Are they scaremongering? Or is there a proper technique?
Many thanks and kind regards,
Adam
Jim,
Hey! Your new M&F Raw videos rock...as usual. Quick question for you...how do you know if you are overtraining? Also, should you set aside some time to not train in order to let your body rest...how much time for rest would be ideal?
Thanks!!
Take care.
-Ethan