I'd like to send a solid thank you to all the fans that have made M&F Raw! a huge success. Without your continued interest and support of the M&F Raw! training and nutrition video series, we could not continue to deliver to you the most cutting-edge training and nutrition tips in video format. The M&F Raw! video series has close to 2 million hits and growing. So thank you for visiting the site and thank you for spreading the word to others about all that we offer here at muscleandfitness.com.

I'd also like to send a solid thanks to Body-Solid! As those who follow me on facebook and/or twitter already know, Body-Solid recently sent me a bunch of pieces of their new line of equipment, including a cable crossover, power rack, Smith machine, leg press, hack squat, Roman chair, and adjustable bench to name just a few. You will see all of this quality equipment in action in upcoming M&F Raw! videos. If you have room for a few pieces of quality equipment of your own you should check them out at www.bodysolid.com.

And as always, let me say thanks by answering your questions.

Q: Hey Jim,

       Great videos as always. I have a questioN about the STRENGTH
BANDS.  Do you always have to perform each repetition fast? because for
example when using them for triceps, i'll do my reversegrip kickbacks
to hit the medial head in a fairly controlled manner, then say after
the last set, i'll move to the lighest band and perform them fast to
really get the blood in the triceps. I pretty much follow your video
you did when you were at the beach(and it seems your using the bands in
a controlled manner)... .Okay, to sum it up if it's not clear... When
should you perform the bands in a controlled manner and when should use
use them in a fast motion. take care


Brian

A: Hi Brian - Yep, I'm following you and see where you and are confused. It's a great question. Bands can be used for training for power or for muscle development, as you clearly know. In the M&F Raw! #32 - Bands Chest and Triceps Workout video I was using them in a slow and controlled manner for the point of illustrating how you can use bands when you can't get in a normal workout with weights. However, since bands are great for building muscle power, due to the fact that they get harder the further you stretch them, you can do exercises fast and explosively with bands to build power. I would suggest you do this as the first set or two of and exercise for only about 3-8 reps. This will build power. Then you can follow with slow and controlled reps. And if you want, you can finish with a set of fast reps to get blood to the muscle and to "burn out" the muscle being trained.

Q: Hey Jim

Wondering about NO explode from BSN. Should I take it if I'm on cardio
that day (Running Swimming and Circuit Training ? Can I take it and how
much
I currently use 2 scoops for weightlifting but when it comes to cardio
I'm in the dark : )

Thanks

A: Hey Chris - I actually take 2 scoops before I spar, or do HIIT. So yeah, stick with two scoops before any kind of exercise.

Q: hey Jim

hope all is well! I was wondering if this would be a good idea for my
goal of building overall strength:
I was planning on using the "squat-bench press-dead lift training
split" and use that sample workout you supplied with it for the first 4
weeks. Then, for the following 6-10 weeks, or so, I wanted to implement
the "5% method" to really boost my strength. Does this sound good? If
so, what should I do the following weeks after I complete the 5%
method? Should I stop training for strength?
Moreover, I wasn't sure if/when I should put my HIIT workouts in? I was
planning on using them twice a week while training for strength, if
this is a good idea.
Lastly, when performing the assistance exercises, would it be a good
idea to use principles, such as drop-sets since I'd be training each
body-part only once a week? Or could that lead to over training?
Thanks a lot! Love your book!
Frank

A: Hi Frank - Glad you're enjoying the book. Yes, that would work well. I would suggest after completing the 5$ program that you follow a muscle mass program, but only if you want more mass. If you are interested in more strength try another strength program. There are a ton to choose from in the book. Yes doing drop sets, and even rest pause and forced reps will work well. I would do one set per exercise and make it the last set. For HIIT, try to do at least 3 sessions per week. Either right after weights, or on days off. Consider my power cardio HIIT program as I demonstrate in M&F Raw! #27 - Power Cardio.

Q: hey Mr. Stoppani, i was wondering how to get my upper body stronger for

next years football season.  i tore my acl and go surgery recently so i

can only do upper body for now.  I need some suggestions of workouts

and supplements to get my beck, chest shoulders and arms strong, really

fast. then ill work my legs after i Heal in about 3 more months.

Please Help Me

By the way, I am 15 yrs old if that helps

A: Hi Pono - Check out Rob Fitgerald's online program Big Bench Primer, which will get your entire upper body stronger. Click on this link http://www.muscleandfitness.com/back_arm_bench/training/249

Q: Hi Dr Stoppani,

Thanks for the great RAW! video on creatine, it answered lots of
questions for me. However, I live in Hong Kong and cannot find the
con-cret brand. The only creatine hydrochloride I can find is in tablet
form (GNC's Amplified Creatine 189). The question is, are there any
advantages of powder over tablet form? Would I be better off with
creatine monohydrate in powder form?

Thank you, and a HUGE thank you for all the excellent RAW! videos. They
are my biggest form of motivation.

Karl

A: Hey Karl - It's great to hear that the M&F Raw! videos are teaching you a lot AND motivating. I would go with the GNC amplified creatine... it's fine to take in tablet form.

Q: hey jim,

just saw u r raw video on extended sets and was wondering is that all i

should do for the shoulder workout or can i do other exercises for the

shoulders after i have compelted the extended set?  would it be too

much if i did other exercises for the shoulders after i complete the

extended set?

thanks for replying

kunal

A: Hey Kunal - If you do three sets of this extended set, taking each exercise to muscle failure, it will be ALL you will need for shoulders.

Q: What is the deal with "Kangen Water"? Its ionized water...

A: Hi Tury - Ionized water has a much higher pH than standard tap water, making it alkaline. Research shows that those consuming a diet higher in alkaline foods, such as certain vegetables, fruits and beans, maintain more muscle mass than those eating a diet low in alkaline-producing foods. Drinking alkaline water is one way to help keep your body "alkaline", but the best way to do this is to eat a diet rich in vegetables, beans and fruits that produce alkaline residues, such as apples, asparagus, bananas, broccoli, berries, cauliflower, oranges, green beans, pineapple, spinach, black beans, and soy beans to name a few.

Q: Hi Mr.Stoppani

You told me via facebook to send my diet so you can help me to make

some changes, Im 19 years old, i weight 185 lb, and im 5´77¨ , my

diet consist in 6 meals, and i want to gain lean lean muscle hope you

can help me.

Meal 1

6 to 8 egg whites

1cup of oatmeal or 1 cup of ezekiel cereal

1/2 grapefruit

Meal 2

2 scoops of whey protein

1 banana

Meal 3

8oz chicken breast

1 cup of brown rice

1cup of salad

Preworkout

2 scoops of whey protein

Postworkout

2scoops of whey protein

Meal 4

8oz chicken breast

1 cup of brown rice

1 cup of salad

Meal 5

8oz lean beef

3 tortillas

Meal 6

1 scoop of casein

A: Hey Oscar - A few easy fixes can help you gain some more muscle without the fat. First off, include about 3 yolks with y our breakfast, as opposed to all eg whites. Research shows that those consuming 3 yolks per day while training gain more muscle and strength than those not getting any yolks. Also, drop the rice and tortillas from meals 4 and 5. That's too late to be eating carbs and may lead to fat gain. Instead, get the carbs with your postworkout shake, which is when those carbs won't be stored as fat and will encourage better muscle growth. But go with fast carbs such as Gatorade or gummy bears, or even better, some Vitagro.

Q: Hi Jim,

I have a question concerning routines. In a lot of the magazines and

even your book you see a lot of 4 week programs. Some are on strength,

some on muscle size etc. What would be a good year long program? i.e. 2

months of mass building, 1 month of strength, 2 months mass, 1 month

"cutting", etc.

A: Hey Joel - Anything along those lines would work. Did you happen to see the year long programs I include in my book, "Encyclopedia of Muscle and Strength"?

Q: Hey Dr. Jim

I would just like to say that your advice is magnificent and has helped

me a lot. I would like to know if even though I just finished the

Showtime Plan, I can keep on repeating it to maximize my muscle gain

and fat loss, in an effort to look awesome and gain as much muscle and

have as low a body fat as possible in 8 eight months. Is this ok or

should I switch it up? If I do switch it up, how should I go about my

food intake. (like calories, fat, protein, and carbs).

Thanks for your valuable time and I really, I mean really appreciate

it.

A: Hi David -  Yes, if you received good results with Showtime you can keep cycling it.

Q: Hi Dr. Jim

I just ordered your book, and I would like to know what to expect in

the book.

Also, how should I go about cheat meals? Or should I just avoid them

all together?

Would cycling carbs like you do help me reach my goals of also becoming

as muscular and low fat as possible, or in other words looking awesome,

in eight months like my son? Or are you just doing it to maintain your

body?

A: Hi Luis - Thanks for the support in ordering my book. You can got to amazon.com to read the reviews of my book to get a better take on what it provides. But real quick, it will teach you how to develop your own training program and provides tons of workouts and periodized training programs. It's hard to say if you should use a cheat meal without seeing how you are responding to your current diet. You can always try and see if it helps. Carb cycling could definitely help you gain muscle without the fat, so definitely consider that.

Q: Hi Jim - Didn't get around to my questions last time. I'll try again!

I was wondering what a good density training program would be to

improve the amount of reps I could perform on the 225lb bench press? I

am an experienced lifter, and as of right now I am stuck at only six

reps, but I have never truly trained for strength before so I know that

there is plenty of room to improve! I hope to dish out fifteen reps

with the help of this density training program.

- Also, I am not sure how the workouts are spread out in the density

program. Do you do one workout the first week, then advance to workout

#2 the second week? Or do you perform two workouts for the body part in

one week? Or does it depend on the split you choose to use?

Hope you get around to answering this one, I know how busy you get.

Thanks!!!

A: Hey DJ - You do each workout once per week. So if your goal is 15 reps with 225 pounds. You sill want to do 30 reps per workout. So week one you could do 10 sets of 3 reps in 10 minutes. Then, drop down to 8 sets of 4 reps in 8 minutes, then 6 sets of 5 reps in 6 minutes. Then 5 sets of 6 reps in 5 minutes, then 4 sets of 8 reps in 4 minutes, then 3 sets of 10 reps in 3 minutes. Once you can do that, you should be able to get at least 15 reps with 225 pounds.

Q: Hey Jim

I just have a quick question.  Seeing as how the holidays are here, I

was wondering where I can get a recipe for healthy apple pie for

example, since I LOVE IT!

Thanks for your time and I really appreciate it.

A: Hi Patty - I am not much of a baker, but if anyone has a healthy recipe for apple pie, it would be chef Devin Alexander. You can find her on twitter and facebook.

Q: Hi Jim

Love your video series. All your tips have been very helpful.

Could you recommend some exercises to build my hamstrings? I am
concerned that my leg training does not adequately target my hamstrings
and as a result I may be developing an imbalance in my upper legs.
Unfortunately my gym does not have a leg curl machine and I can't
perform lunges due to an annoying toe injury.

I currently train my legs on 2 non-consecutive days per week. My
workouts are as follows:
Day 1
Single leg squats 3x5 (each leg) warm up
Barbell Squats 1x20, 1x15, 1x10, 1x8
Machine Squats 4x8
Leg Press 1x15, 1x12, 1x10, 1x8
Romanian Deadlift 1x10, 1x6, 1x4
Calf Raise 5x15

Day 2
Single leg squats 3x5 (each leg) warm up
superset with Jump squats 3x8
Barbell Squats 4x10
Leg Press 3x8
Dumbell Step-up 3x15 (each side)
Romanian Deadlift 3x10
Calf Raise 5x15

I try to mix up the number of reps per exercise each week to get the
benefits of both strength training and body building. Please let me
know if I am on the right track here. Any advice you could provide
would be much appreciated.

All the best from Australia!


A: Hey Chris - And hello to all the M&F fans in Australia. You seem to be on the right track with your  leg training. However, if you find that your hams are behind in development then there are a few isolation exercises you can do for them despite your gym not having a leg curl. You can do leg curls from a low cable pulley by using an ankle strap. You can also do lying leg curls on a decline bench by placing a dumbbell between your feet.  And another way to do leg curls is with strength bands.

Q: Hey Jim,
im 16 years old 5'9 AND 130 pounds. my sport that i play is wrestling.
i have put on some pounds from workoing out at school. i am going to
start taking
protein to help me get bigger. i was wondering which is a good protein
for the season so
that i wont gain and have to switch weight classes?
and for the off season which is better fot gaining weight and mass,
syntha 6 ot ON's 100% whey gold starndard.
or other protein brands.
thank u for ur time

A: Hey Chad - I would go with the ON 100% during the season and BSN's Syntha 6 for the off-season.

Q: Hey Jim,
   I am a long time reader of Muscle and fitness. You guys are very
informative in new routines, diets and supplements. I also use other
web sites to do research on these same subjects. The one question i
have always had and cant seem to find an is to is, What kind of effects
can chewing tobacco or "Dip" have against building muscle???? I know
all the obvious health risks involved but i have been a long time
dipper. I have tried to quit a couple times but like most tobacco users
find it kinda hard. Do you have any ideas that can help that doesnt
involve use of any patches or special gums????

                        Thanks
                                   Chad

A: Hi Chad - Not that I am suggesting that anyone start using dip or smoking, but there is some evidence that nicotine in tobacco can actually help to build muscle and drop body fat. There is no research that I am aware of looking at the effects of dipping on muscle, but I do know that smoking has been shown to reduce muscle recovery after workouts, which could hinder muscle growth.

Q: Jim,
I'm 21 and have been lifting for several years now, but I've
stepped up the intensity in the past 5 months when I started reading
M&F and listening to your advice, both have helped enormously.  That
being said, about 3-4 weeks ago after working my chest my left
shoulder(specifically in the region under my anterior and lateral
deltoid) has been experiencing pain on and off to the point where I
have trouble overloading the muscles in my upper body because of it and
I also can't sleep on that shoulder at night.  I?ve heard of people
developing the dreaded ?bencher's shoulder? but I?ve always been
careful to maintain proper elbow/arm position and not come down too
far. Reading about your back problem reminded me of how frustrating it
is not to be able to workout and I figured you would understand. I was
wondering if there is any advice you could give me to maybe re-hab my
shoulder a bit and what I might have injured?

Thanks,
Justin

A: Hey Justin - I can't diagnose you here, so I suggest that if this problem is really bothering you that you make an appointment with an orthopedist immediately to find out what you have injured and get you on the right rack to healing.

Q: Hi jim  I'm 50 years old and an avid volleyball playerand ,I received
an injury to my neck causing it to be fused between c4-c7. As a result
I loss use of my left shoulder and received muscle atrophy to my left
arm. I'm working hard to repair the muscle I was hoping for advice on
supplements- food that could help rebuild the damaged nerve and make
the muscle strong again. Any other advaice would be appreciated   Thank
you in advance Ron W


A: Hi Ron - Yes, there is some evidence that three supplements may help with nerve regeneration. Octacosanol, betaine (trimethylglycine) and SAMe.  You can try about 1250 mg of betaine with your pre and postworkout shakes. For octacosanol, take1,000-10,000 mcg (1-10 mg) 1-2 times a day with meals. On workout days, take one dose about two-four hours before training. Do not exceed 20,000 mcg (20 mg) per day. Wheat-germ oil provides approximately 1,000 mcg (1 mg) of octacosanol per tablespoon. And for SAMe (S-Adenosyl-Methionine) take 200-400 mg twice a day between meals.

Q: Doc,

Over the past few months i have noticed a gradual decrease in strength
and an increase in muscles soreness. I have also had an increase in
forearm pain and joint pain. I have also begun to gradually lose weight
which is not what i am trying to do. i was wondering if i was suffering
from over trainining? i work out 4-5 days a week for about 1 hr 30 min
a day. and do chest/tris mondays along with some ab work and sprints.
tue is back/bis and i hit the bag after lifting. wed is legs and abs.
thur is shoulders abs and forearms and i hit the bag after lifting. fri
is bis/tris and sat and sun are off days. in each lift i have about 25
sets of an average of 10 reps per set. i usually do 80% chest/back and
20% bis/tris to make up the 25 sets. My diet has not decreased over
this time period, and has actually improved so i do not think that is
the issue. do you feel that i am overtrained? if so how much time
should i take off and what can i do to decrease my workload but stil be
able to hit each muscle group monday-thursday?

A: Hi Jordan - Your workouts don't seem to be too much. However, with all of the other stresses in life it may be adding up and causing overtraining. You certainly have the symptoms. I would suggest that you take a week off from training with weights, but remain fairly active with walking, bicycling, swimming, and sports. See how you feel after this week. If most of the symptoms have gone then get back in the gym, but start off slow, doing 3 sets per exercise and about 3-4 exercises per muscle group with reps in the 15-20 range. Only train each muscle group once per week. Then, if that weeks goes well, get back to your training plan. However, just to be safe, I would also suggest that you make an appointment with your general practitioner just to make sure that there is nothing else that is causing these symptoms. Please let me know how it all goes.