This week is the most exciting week of the year for bodybuilding. That's because on Friday, September 25, the 2009 Olympia Weekend kicks off in Las Vegas. I'll be shooting some new M&F Raw! videos right from the Weider booth at the Olympia Expo in the Las Vegas Convention Center. So even if you can't stop by to see me at the Weider booth, just tune in to muscleandfitness.com to watch the videos.

Another exciting thing about this week is that I am posting not one, not two, but five new videos on the FLEX Magazine website.  For those of you who aren't aware, I'm also senior science editor for FLEX Magazine. The videos are online bonus content for an article I co-wrote called Science of a Rep, in the November 2009 issue of FLEX Magazine, on newsstands Monday, September 21.  The videos will cover training techniques such as forced reps, drop sets, negative reps, ballistic reps, and 100-rep training. So head to flexonline.com on Monday to see some of these videos and keep checking back for the rest to be posted later this week.

Alright, I better get packing for my trip to Vegas. I'll leave you with this week's QnA's. See you in Vegas!

Q: hey jim,
first off i just want to say that u do a great job on the M&F videos
and i watch every one of them and cant wait for the next one to come
out.

i am 15 years old trying to despreatly pack some muscle for my sport i
am 5'5 and weigh 125lbs. i have been working out for a year now and am
starting to see some increase in how much i can lift, like on the bench
press i do 119.  i have two questions for you.  1) i take 100% gold
standard whey in the morning and in the night i take casein same
company(optimum nutrition) but thats on non workout days on workout
days i would do the same but i would add a pre and post workout shake.
now the question that i have is that is this okay for someone like me
or should i switch to a different shake and if so do you have something
in mind?

2)  the second question i have is that i play basketball and i really
need to build up my calf strenght  and what i wanted to ask you was can
you maybe tell me what exercises i should do to build up my calf
strenght and if taking 5 grams of creatine two to three times a week is
okay for me or should  i discontinue it.
thanks for all of your help and it is greatly appreciated.
ps love watching the M&F raw videos. i look forward to your response!!
       kunal.

A: Hey  Kunal- That's perfect on the protein. Just make sure that for your postworkout shake you use half whey and half casein for even better muscle growth. As far as creatine goes, I'm glad to see that you're taking it. It's definitely a great supplement for you. I would just suggest that you take it more often to get really good results. Take 2-5 grams with your pre and postworkout shakes and on days you don't train take 2-5 grams with your morning whey shake. Watch my new M&F Raw! Nutrion #9 - Creatine 101 video.

For calf strength, I assume you're asking to increase your jump height and ability to sprint across the court. For that you need to build power in your calves and your quads/hams. On leg days, start your workout with 2-3 sets of squat jumps. Use no weight other than your body weight and simply jump as high as you can for 5 reps per set. To build power in your calves do an exercise I call Calf Jumps (I will be doing an M&F Raw! video on this exercise soon). These are a modified version of the jump squat. Jump as high as you can, but focus on not bending your knees much and exploding up off the ground by extending your feet (like on standing calf raises) as fast and powerful as possible. Do 2-3 sets of these at the start of your calf training.

Q: Hey Jim,Im 15 years old,145lbs,5'8.Well my diet is very crappy but its
the best i can do for now until i get some ideas

6:00-Breakfeast-I usually try to have a bowl of oatmeal or cereal with
a apple or bannana
7:30-Lift for 40min...only have 1 class period
10:20-Lunch-water,chicken sandwhich,granola bar
3:00-I usually just eat another bowl of cereal
6:00-9:00-Whatever is for dinner, i dont really get to chose unless i
cook it and clean up.Any ideas?

I know what your saying...this kids diet is dirt,I know.If you  could
give me some ideas on what to buy for basics.Im not trying to get super
ripped,im just trying to lose fat and gain muscle,mostly belly
fat.Thanks :)

A: Hey Cody - look for your new diet, personnaly revamped by myself in a future issue of M&F in my Diet 911 department. Shoot me your email and I can send you the new diet ahead of time.

Q: Dr. Jim,  I respect your education & proven personal results!  I don't
usually receive advice from those who lack a performance track-record &
am wary of supplement advertising due to their, understandibly, vested,
yet,  possibly, stretched claims about their products;  so, I scour
muscle mags to find your articles & think your Raw is tops!  There are
so many recommended supplements.  Whew.  Honestly, I take whey,
glutamine, creatine, a GH Releaser, Multi-vitamin, and nearly 6 small
meals a day.  I consume plenty of veggies, fruits, milk, cottage
cheese, soy milk, chicken, lean ground turkey, potatoes, etc. at key
times throughout the day.  My age is 39;  height: 5'5.5";  at 155 lbs.
I hit the weights hard  for about an hour 4-6 xs a week including some
1:00-sprint/1:00-rest HIIT and include some 30-second/rest aprox.
15-rep anerobic cardio.  Frankly, I'd like to be Mr. Olympia near 2015.
 Bottom line: What are the 7 most important supplements for
non-steroidal, extreme muscle mass gains?  I'm considering, CLA, DHEA
(again), HMB, beta-alanine, arginine, a test booster, NO, &  fish oil
to name a "few"!  Seriously, Doc, is it possible that taking a
multitude of supps simply dupicates what other supps could do alone?
I'm grateful for your time, response & expertise!  J.R. York  -  P.S.
Consider inspecting "www.mmusa.com" Creatine/Glutamine Serum, probably
my next purchase.

A: Hey J.R. - Thanks for your kind words about M&F Raw! No, taking a multidtude of supplements will not duplicate what a single supplement can do. In fact, watch my M&F Raw! Nutrition #4 - Traveling With Supplements video, and you will get a glimpse at the dozens of supplements I take every single day. Why do I take so many? Because they work. Some so-called "experts" might say my supplement regimen is extreme, but it's funny how they often seem to be the guys who have 13-inch arms and a pot belly. I would say for you, stick with the whey, creatine, gluyamine, multi and GH- releaser. I would also put at the top of the list of things to add to that, beta-alanine (2-3 g with your pre and postworkout shakes), DHEA (50 mg twice per day with food), which is critical at your age, a test-booster is also critical for your age, as well as CLA (2-3 g with three meals each day), fish oil (1-2 g with three meals per day), vitamin D (1000 IU with two meals per day).

Q: Hello again Doc Stoppani,
Thank you for answering my question last week. After reading your
advice I went back and found the Showtime article in one of the
previous magazines and I'm giving that a shot.

Now of course all good ideas in training lead to more questions so if
you have the time I have two more brief questions if that's ok :)

1: How do you measure success (in terms of body fat/muscle mass) at
home week to week? I'm trying to measure the how successful any
particular form of exercise I perform is in terms of improvment of my
over all body composition. So once a week I do the following; Take a
photograph in the same position in the same clothes, take a waist
measurement and check my weight on the scales.
Now there are a few formulas out there when it comes to body fat% but
most seem rather simplistic. I can tell my body is getting better by
the photographs but 'better' is rather subjective, and changing body
weight as read by scales can mean almost anything.

Is there a sure fmire method to measure body fat%/ Lean muscle mass at
home? For example what should I think when I loose 1 inch off my belly
and also gain 1 pound in a week. :)

2: This next question I'm sure you must have heard many times but i
can't seem to find it any where. So please forgive me if you've
answered this before.

I currently take a post work out shake of whey protien protien isolate,
 BCAA and creatine. It's quite hard to find casine and soy protien here
but I'm moving in a month and after that i'm going to order in a few
tubs so I can try adding those to the post work out mix as you suggest
in your Raw Nutrition video.

Now my question is quite simple, in you're videos you refer to 'high
quality protien' when you say this do you mean a whey protien isolate,
hydroslate or concentrate? On top of that some brands seem to offer
'profesional protien' which apears to be 'ultrafiltered' concentrate.
What is idea behind these protiens? should I just stick to 'pure' whey
protien isolate powders and use the BCAA + creatine stack ontop of
that?

Thanks again for you're help Doc. Looking forward to you're Raw Video
on creatine soon! :)

Scott

A: Hi Scott - It's really impossible to track you body composition without having it done professionally. But if your weight increases while your waist size decreases that definitely means that you are gaining muscle and dropping body fat. So that's great news! Keep up the great work. One thing I would suggest you add is girth measurement of your biceps and thigh (about the mid-way point on both). That way if you don't gain weight, but lose waist size, and your arm and/or leg size increase you'll also know you gained muscle while losing fat. The photos are also a great idea.

When I say quality protein, I mean any protein that contains whey, preferably some whey isolate. So what you have with the BCAAs and creatine stacked to it is perfect!

Q: Hello Jim how's everything I like to know if you have any suggestion
for someone that trying to get back in the gym. But he has a routine
that starts at 3am 5 days a week and does not get home till 3pm. By
that time am spent and going to the gym or just getting the energy to
do and exercise even at home is hard. And the nutrients part of thing I
think I got a handle on it. I eat breakfast at 3:15 am and snack at 5am
and at 6:30 eat again and so on at 9am and 12noon and so on till I get
6 to 7 meals in and that includes protein shakes. I went from 280lb to
214 lb in 6 months but like to get to 180lb am only 5'8 and 38 years
old.
I love the routine you have on M&F and love to try some of them but I
cant muscle the energy. Can you help?
Manny

A: Hi Manny - great job on all the weight loss. I hate to sound cliché' but it's true what they say - once you start exercising you will find you have more energy, which will make it easier to exercise after work or before. The only solution is to fight the fatigue and get in at least 3 workouts each week to start. Either get up and work out before 3:00 am or try to muster the energy to workout after 3:00 pm. Once this becomes a part of your normal schedule it will become easier. If you need more energy there are certain supplements you can try: Coenzyme Q10 (100 mg twice per day with food), green tea extract (500-1000 mg 2-3 x day between meals), B-complex 100, and of course there's caffeine (go with pill form like in NoDoz as opposed to coffee for optimal results.

Q: Hi Jim,

Awesome job on the dumbbell row video. I've added some of your tips to
my back routine. It's very helpful to see you include exercises that
can be done with dumbbells. As a beginning weight lifter, it's really
all I have for now. You've made the creative process easier by
including dumbbell exercises...thank you!

Quick question: How many fish oil pills do you recommend a day? I
currently take 4 1000mg a day, 2 with breakfast and lunch. I train
about 5 days a week for about an hour.

Gracias,
Cristhian.

A: Hey Cristhian - Glad you enjoyed the dumbbell power row and the other dumbbell exercises like the straight-arm pullback. Here's some great news too, one of the exercises I am filming at the Olympia weekend this week is a dumbbell exercise that hits the inner/upper pecs, which are impossible to hit unless you have cables or machines. So stay tuned and be sure to watch the M&F Raw! video called leaning one-arm dumbbell fly. Taking 2000mg of fish oil twice per day is perfect for you.

Q: Hello Jim keep up the great work with M&F RAW
My question is what parts are the most favorable to work out together
so I do not over train a certain part I might be working out the next
day. Example back legs or arms shoulder?
Thanks again and keep up RAW
Manny

A: Hi Manny - there is no secret combination. In fact, I suggest you switch up the muscle groups you train together from time to time so your body does not egt used to the same routine. If you have a copy of my book, Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength, you can read more about specific training splits and pairing up different muscle groups.

Q: Hi Jim, I recently watched your video on speed training and I have
added the protocol to my workouts. The question I have is how can I
make it a total body workout, if so how many times a week do you
recommend? Also Sets and rest period would be a great help. Thanks and
Keep up the great work, it is very inspiring and motivating.
Rob

A: Hey Rob - I will keep it up. It means the work to me to know that the work I do is inspiring and motivating others, like yourself. Go to the Muscle & Fitness Trainer Website and the whole body workout is there with sets. Rest about 2 minutes between sets.

Q: Hey Doc!!
Just want you to know your M&F Raw videos are awesome and are really
helping me deep in the heart of Texas!!  I have a pretty flexible work
schedule and right now just train once a day, 5 days a week.  I do my
weighttraining and then usually some form of HIIT cardio afterwards.
I'm like most 30 year old's trying to look 20 again. Could i lose more
bodyfat if I did my HIIT cardio after waking or in the morning? Then do
my weightraining in the afternoon? Or does it really matter, I've read
in some articles that doing morning cardio can hinder muscle growth,
because of overtraining. My current split is:

Monday:  Shoulders, Traps
Tuesdays: Bi's & Tri's
Wednesday: Legs (No Cardio)
Thursday: Chest
Friday: Back
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: Basketball League

I also supplement with Elite Whey Protein Powder, Creatine, Centrum
Performance multivitamin, Fish Oil, and Green Tea Extract.

Thanks for the time, Will from Texas

A: Hi Will - and a big Hello to all the M&F fans in Texas! Will you're better off doing your HIIT immediately after weights. Research shows that cardo after weights burns more fat than any other time of day. So keep it up. Your supplement plan looks solid, too! Might want to add some CLA (2-3 gram with three meals per day).

Q: Hey Dr..thank you very much for answering my previous questions it
means the world that you take the time to reply..after bulding a good
built i had to have emergency surgey and had to take almost a year of
lifting but now have been lifting continuously for 4 months now.the raw
vids and your advice keep me very focused to achive my goals.
       

I was hoping that you would critique my my diet and training program
for me..I am 21 years old with plans to moving to america in the next
8-10 months to presue a career in the fitness industry as a
trainer/nutritionist and i aspire to one day apper in a issue of m&f as
a model..you suggestion to some one else was to get ncsa certified but
as i was a troubled teen i was thrown out of high school with no
diploma and cannot apply there..i was thinking about studying through
the issa pt/nutrition program would this be a good enough qulification
to have or could you recommend one?


At the moment iam following the  3 Months to Mass diet from the
February 2008 issue of m&f with the Simply Huge training plan from the
april 2008 issue of m&f..

Here is what i eat on a daily basis for workout days
7.30-1 scoop whey and a banana or some other serving of fruit

8.00-3 whole eggs-3 whites 1 big serving of whole grain oats(cant find
any steel cut oats in new zealand where i live)

11.00-225g low fat cottage cheese,150g pineapple and 3 whole grain rye
crackers(=18g carbs)

2.00-1 chicken breast or fish with either soba noodles,brown rice or
whole wheat tortillas along with 150g of spinach as my choice of salad

4.30-preworkout meal-1 scoop whey,5g creatine,5gbcaas 1 apple(train at
5)

6.15-postworkout shake-1 scoop ON 100% whey and 1 scoop dymatize 12hr
protien,5gbcaas and 1 serving of cell tech

7.15-7.30-extra lean rump or topside with a large sweet potato 150 g
spinach and 90g brocolli

10.15-10.30-1 scoop dymatize elite 12 hr protien,2tsb toasted
flaxseeds(sleep at 11)
 As far as supplements go i have a good supply of whey,bcaas,basic
creatine pre workout,pwo i have cell tech,cellmass  and using the
dymatize elite 12 hr in place of casien as per your recommendation..but
i have orderd a casien and a dymatize xtreme pump just today.


on rest days i consume less overall calories from protien and carbs and
add more healthy fats like salmon for dinner like the atricle says..the
simply huge split has me train four days per week and iam working my
ass of and not just depending on supplements to look like a fitness
model thats featured in the magazine.

any advice would mean the world.

A: Hey Robbin - And please tell al the fans in New Zealand that I say hi. Actually, a good friend of mine and one of the M&F advisory board members. Dr. Michael McGuigan, now lives in New Zealand and is the power scientist for the New Zealand Academy of Sport. Your training and nutrition plan look very solid, so keep up the great work there. When you finish that program, you may want to consider my Showtime training and nutrition program. ISSA is a good option for you. I have numerous colleagues who have been involved in creating the curriculum for the ISSA.

Q: Hello Dr. Stopanni, I really wanted to say thank you for the m&f raw
videos which are very helpful.I I watch them to learn more techniques
for my workouts and to learn more about diet which is my BIGGEST
PROBLEM, I do not know if my diet right now is right or wrong. Well, I
need your help because I feel so overwhelmed not knowing what am doing.
 My goal is to gain more muscle mass on my body. I weight 144 lb,my
lean mass is 111lb,and fat mass is 33lb. I would like to wheigh 150lb
but just lean mass. I need to know if my supplementation right or wrong
too, PLEASE!!!
But here is a sample of my diet.

4:20 am. Preworkout:  a apple
                 30 g whey protein(GNC)AMP  w/ 2 g creatine
4:30-6:30 training---------NO XPLODE
6:55 am Postworkout: 20 g whey protein(GNC)AMP
                                           1 cup oatmeal cooked w/water
                                            4 eggwhites & 1 whole egg
(scrambled)

9:30  1 scoop of isopure low carb protein shake(25g)
            1 tbsp all natural peanut butter

11:10 or 12:00 6 oz grilled chicken breast 
              1 cup of brown rice
                1/2 cup of beans

3:00   4oz grilled chicken breast
           2 slices of whole wheat bread

4:30 1 cup whole wheat pasta
         6oz grilled chicken breast
         2 cups of mixed greens salad
 
8:00 1 cup low fat cotage cheese OR  30 g protein shake(ON) pro complex

sometimes i train twice a day, for example the fist one would be early
in tha morning, and the second would be around 3:30-4:30. I do thi8s
split training once or twice a week.
So, my honorable Dr. i hope you can help me with this problem, i hope
you can fix it, because you are the judge.....Thank you i'll be waiting
for your answer.
And once again, your videos are just awsome and I really enjoy watching
them, they teach me a lot. CIAO!!!!!

A: Hey Maritza - It's great to hear how much you enjoy the M&F Raw! videos. Not to bad on the diet, but I do have some suggestions. I will do your diet in my Diet 911 column in Muscle & Fitness Magazine. Shoot me your email and I will give you the new diet ahead of time.

Q: Hi Dr. Stoppani,
First off I know everybody says it but your advice and videos really do
make a difference Thank you! I have a question regarding ZMA
supplementation, the directions say to take on an empty stomach before
bed. How do I do that if I'm taking my Casein shake and BCAA's before
bed also? Will the casien affect the absorbtion of the ZMA? Also, I
have been training for only a year and was training everybody part
twice a week, My Bi's seemed to almost get smaller(overtraining I'm
assuming) so about 6 weeks ago I started training every other day
hitting bi's only on my back day once a week and I still haven't
noticed any real gains. Am I missing something, Is there some advice
you could give to get some kind of overall growth? Any help would be
appreciated!! FYI I'm 36 5'7 145lbs. so I'm naturally
skinny(hardgainer) supplements are: whey- casein-  bcaa's- creatine-
green tea extract- vit c- vit d3- fish oil- calcium- ZMA & just started
Animal M-Stak. Sorry for running on!
 THANK YOU

A: Hi Farrell - Thank you for the kind words. I never tire of hearing about how well-received my info is being recived. And I never tire of telling you guys just how much it means. So thanks again, it really means a lot! As far as ZMA goes, you can take it 45-60 minutes before bed and then take your casein shake immediately before bed (45-60 minutes after you take the ZMA). It's hard to say what has stopped your biceps growth without seeing your entire program. Try doing biceps on a day when you can do them first in your workout. SO not with back...maybe before legs or before triceps. If that doesn't work after a few weeks to get them growing again, you may be one of those guys who needs to train muscles very frequently, like 3 times per week. The good news is that Ihave a brutal biceps exercise/program called biceps ladders that I am going to film at the Olympia this week. So stay tuned for that. Keep me updated.

Q: Hey Jim. In your recent video on muscle and fitness raw you stated in a
recent study that creatine hydrochloride absorbed 50% better in to the
muscle than creatine monohydrate.

You also shared that con-crete creatine was what you use because it has
hydrochloride. How does this compare to bsn's cellmass with creatine
ethyl ester? I usually take cellmass but am interested in the study you
have mentioned of hydrochloride.

A: Hi Brandon - Cellmass is a very good product so stick with that if it's working. Of course, it can't hurt to try a new creatine either to see if you get even better results. The difference between creatne ethyl ester and hydrochloride is the chemical/s that are attached to the creatine. The hydrochloride form of creatine is definitely more soluble in fluid and gets better absorbed by the body than most other forms of creatine.

Q: hey Jim,
theres this new diet product that came out and its called BETASTAX and
i don't know if you heard of it but iwas hoping to get a comment on it
from you.....would your recomment it? do you use any supplements?

A: Hey Jonathan - you made it within minutes with your question. I was just about to post my new blog and figured I'd check one last time for new questions. We just covered the study on Beta-Stax in the September 2009 issue of M&F. It contains a fat-burning ingredient called WaySlim contains extracts of vegetable wax, fenugreek, tribulus terrestris, magnolia, French lilac, jojoba, phellodendron amurense, eurycoma longifolia jack and rice bran. Subjects taking 250 mg of this blend 45 minutes before two meals each day for four weeks while following their normal diets lost more weight (an average of 4 pounds) and decreased their waist:hip ratios (an average of about a half-inch) more than subjects taking a placebo. It appears the blend works by decreasing hunger and food intake, as well as by lowering blood-glucose levels following meals. So if hunger is a problem for you then this may be one supplement to help.