There's a saying that goes, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Well, I also have a saying that goes hell hath no fury like a bad case of food poisoning. That's what I just battled last week. For those of you who've been there, I don't need to explain it. For those who haven't, pray that you never will.  Not only could I not hold even a glass of water in my body, let alone an ounce of protein, but the severe dehydration made me weak and delirious. In the end I lost over 20 pounds in just a couple of days. While most of it was water, I still have to wonder how much was muscle due to the three days of fasting. In fact, my appetite has still not returned and am having difficulty getting in enough protein each day. On the bright side, I did drop almost every last ounce of body fat from my body! You got to look on the bright side. And besides, after a few weeks of proper nutrition and training, all that lost muscle will find it's way back on my body. I want to send a sincere thank you to all my friends that sent me well wishes on facebook, Twitter and email! You're kind and sometimes funny words helped me weather the storm and made me smile. Thank you all!

Getting back to the title of this blog entry, Hell Hath No Fury, it has more to do with than just my lousy week. It happens to be the name of the band that is now featured in the M&F Raw! video series. If you've watched M&F Raw! #48 - Burn Notice, then you likely noticed that the music in Raw! Has gotten much harder and much better. That's all thanks to LA-based band, Hell Hath No Fury, which is composed of Leah Collery on guitar and vocals, Shawn McPherson on bass and Dan Welby on drums. They were kind enough to provide the hardcore music that M&F Raw! needs. Check out the band and their energy-pumping music by clicking on the Hell Hath No Fury logo on the M&F Raw! Page or by going to www.hellhathnofury.net. If the music on their debut EP, "Uprise" doesn't get you psyched up to lift, then you must be dead!

Alright, let's answer some long awaited questions. Again, I apologize for not being able to get to everyone questions. For those of you who would like to get an answer from me sooner than later, I encourage you to post your question on my facebook page by clicking here. Facebook makes it much easier for me to reply within a few hours or a couple of days at most.

Q: Hi Doc
How safe is Creatine for Teens or should they wait.
I like the Con-Cret.
Thanks again
Manny

A: Hi Manny - research confirms that creatine is very safe for teens. Remember that creatine is a naturally ocurring compound found in meat like beef, fish and chicken.

Q: Hey again Jim! Just got my hands on some beta-alanine, made by
Pro-source. I was wondering if the tingling sensations and the flushing
of the skin were normal in all brands of beta-alanine??? It doesn't
hurt, but it does feel funny. Thanks!!

A: Hey DJ - yes, that is normal with beta-alanine... it' s known as parathesia and is caused by beta-alanine binding to nerve receptors.

Q: Hey Dr. Stoppani!! I want you to know that the Showtime combination you
created has been paying HUGE dividends in my physique... and I'm only
1/2 way through!! Wanted to thank you!
I have a couple questions for you - I am not noticing much detail and
separation from my shoulders and my chest. Do you have any tips on how
I can achieve this separation? Also, I have the same issue with
separation from my shoulders and my biceps on the side of the arm.
Once again, Thanks for all of your work!

A: Hi FH - the separation you are talking about comes from a combination of developing the muscle fibers in those areas of the muscle and being lean. So keep on leaning out, but also make sure to work those specific muscle fibers. For the chest/delt separation you need to develop the upper/outer pecs and the front delta. So be sure to do plenty of incline flues and flat flues, getting a full stretch in the bottom position. Also be sure to do plenty of incline bench presses and dumbbell presses. For the front delts be sure to do plenty of barbell presses to the front and front dumbbell raises.  For the delt/ biceps separation you need to develop the lower part of your delts. For this, do machine and cable lateral raises. Also try an exercise Arnold made popular the lying dummbbell lateral raise.

Q: Hi Dr.Stoppani,

Thank u very much for your reply in your last post.I will start cutting
my carbs immediately.

Regarding your advise to take creatin & beta alanine,could u recommend
some brands of
product? The Gnc outlet in my country only carry creatin by
Muscletech,(which has very high carbs+calories),n Gnc Pro Performance
creatin monohydrate n creatin plus(which contains
Taurine+Glutamine).Cant find beta alanine on its own here.Other option
is by Horleys(product from New Zealand) which contains 5g creatin+ 1.6g
beta alanine.Anything sounds good to u? If not,I do travel to Australia
quite often.Perhaps I can find something more suitable there.I know Con
cret is highly recommended,how about beta alanine?which brand?Pls
recommend some options.Thanks.

(2)Any difference if I buy/take creatine n beta alanine individually or
a product like Horley which contains both in one?

(3)As u recommended to lose the fat first,should I consider fat
burners?My body fat is 19% n bulk of my fat is around my waist.My
arms,legs are pretty lean.If I do take fat burners,would it make my
arms n legs even thinner?I wouldnt want to look like a stick!...lol..

(4)To increase my protein intake,is there any harm in taking a protein
shake every 3 hours?

Thanks for your time.Your kind assistance is very much appreciated!!!


A: Hi Jessel - You'll do fine taking the Horley's brand Beta xtreme combo of creatine beta-alanine. The fat burners will not make your arms and legs skinny unless they are carrying a large amount of fat. And yes, you should consider taking a protein shake every 3 hours. There's no harm in that.

Q: Hello Jim,

I am Sergio from Ukraine. Thanks a lot for M&F Raw videos. I've watched
one about Biceps Ladder recently. This is really a good multi-joined
exercise. I guess I know one more. Let me know if I am right. I am
talking about reversed grip pull-ups for biceps workout. It's also
multi-joined and one can use weights to make it more difficult when
body weight is not enough. Maybe you'll make one of the next M&F Raw
videos about it. I also wanted to ask you to please make M&F Raw about
neck workout, looking at your neck I am sure you have a lot of things
to tell us :-)

Thanks!

A: Hey Sergio - Yes, the reverse-grip pull-up is a multijoint exercise that involves the biceps. However, you will find that if done properly, the lats take over so much that you don't really feel it in the biceps, unlike the biceps ladder where the biceps are the primary muscle and do the majority of the work.

As far as neck training goes I don't do much direct neck work other than getting my head and neck wrenched on when grappling. :)  But I do like the head harness. It's one of the best ways to train your neck. I do a bit of trap work and you can expect to see some M&F Raw! videos on that.

Q: Hi Dr. Stoppani,

Iam fifteen, and was on the football team.  Now that our season is
over, I am back in the weight room and I have lost a lot of strength on
my major lifts (bench, squat and deadlift).  The team uses a 6 sets of
6 reps method of training and I have gained a bit of muscle as well as
dropping some excess fat.  I weigh 130lbs now and I play defensive
back, so by next season I want to be around 150lbs, but I am more
concerened with strength.  What is your advice for gaining strength
especially on the big lifts.

Second question: I have been reading a bit about BCAAs and I watched
your M&F RAW episode (it was very helpful, thank you) but I wasn't sure
if I should take BCAAs, and if I do, how Amino Armour would be as a
supplement, seeing as I don't really want to take creatine. 

To recap my ramblings: What is your advice on gaining strength and what
would you recommend for taking BCAAs.

Thank you so much

Michael

A: Hey Michael - The 6 x 6 training is an effective method for gaining strength. But there's a saying that goes, "Everything works, nothing works forever." That means that as effective that a program (like 6 x 6) is, it won't keep worlking forever as your muscles will adapt to it. That means you should try something different for a few weeks or months and then go back to the 6x6. I suggest you check out the 531 program by Bob Fitzgerald in the February issue of M&F, which is on newsstand now. I also suggest that if you really want to gain strength, that you reconsider taking creatine as well s beta-alanine, in addition to BCAAs. Amino Armor is a good supplement since it provides 5 grams of BCAAs per dose.

Q:
hey jim,
enjoying all of your videos on M&F Raw!!!!
i had a question regarding a bedtime shake. i am debating between two
they are either the Dymatize Elite whey and casein blend or the optimum
nutrition 100% casein and if you have something better in mind that
would be great?
also do you know of a good whey protein shake?
thanks a lot
kunal

A: Hi kunal - Personally, my two favorite brands of protein powders are Optimum and Dymatize. For nighttime shakes you'll be good to go with either Dymatize's Elite 12 Hour or their Elite Casein, or Optimum's 100% Casein. For whey protein you could go with Dymatize's Elite Whey or Optimum's 100 % Whey.

Q: Yo Dr. Jim- just got through using the triceps ladder for the past 3
weeks and my tris are HUGE!!! thanks!
Now I am focusing on compound setting my tris for the next 3 weeks. I
want to start with heavy close-grip bench presses with heavy weight for
3-6 reps followed immediately by barbell lying triceps extensions. I
was wondering since i was training the presses heavy and low reps if it
was a good idea to do the extensions right after??? don't I need to
rest 3-5 minutes after the presses? Or should I just get the 3-5
minutes rest right after the extensions? I'm lost! Thanks man!

A: Hey Juilian - if you want to do true compound sets (which are supersets for the same muscle group) then rest after the extensions. Also, to switch it up try doing this compound set in a pre-exhaust fashion, which means you do the extensions first and then imeediately go into presses with the same weight. You can read more about this by clicking this link, which will take you to my online article on the subject at the http://www.flexonline.com/triceps_bodybuilding/training/199 Magazine website.

Q: Mr./Dr. Stoppani,
I have a bone to pick with you sir. None of your advice has ever worked
for me. I have read several of your articles and watch your Raw videos
every chance I get and yet I see no results from anything you say...
except when I was cutting and saw the video for the HIIT training, ok
that worked pretty good. But then there was the advice when I sent you
an E-mail regarding my non growing Bi's and you said to wait for the
Biceps ladder video, well that didn't....... all right my arms were so
pumped & trashed after that workout that I couldn't put my shirt on.
Well I still had a question about creatine, because I've never seen
results using monohydrate before so even though I didn't want to, I
tried Con-Crete and I guess that's the best creatine I've ever used,
I'll never even try another brand this stuff works so good. Oh wait,
yeah your videos don't really help either because I know Bands are for
sissies and they don't work, so after I ordered my set of M&F Strength
Bands, I immedietly worked them into my daily routine, Man what a burn
those things rule they work extrem.......I mean they're ok.... I guess.
So besides the Raw videos, your advice here and all your articles in
the magazines there's nothing more to say. I had a couple questions to
ask but I'm afraid you'll answer in the same manner as before, with
good sound advice backed by scientific facts that almost always without
question work. Thank you sir for taking your time to help us out here
in the world with our questions. You truely provide a valuable service
to us.
THANK YOU,
Farell

p.s. keep the Raw videos coming I incorproate most of those videos into
my routine.

A: Hey Farrell! Thanks for giving me a good laugh! Nice, I love it! And thank you so much for all your support.

Q: Hey Jim,  love watching the Raw videos and reading your blog.  Just
wanted to ask a quick question about post-workout supplementation.  I
currently take about 40-45 grams of protein and 5g of creating in my
postworkout shake.  I was just wondering what the best source of carbs
would be to take, whether it was just a suggested supplement powder I
could combine with my shake or a food source.  Thanks.

A: Hi Josh - The best carbs to take after workouts is Vitargo, which is a powdered carb supplement that digests about twice as fast as most sugars. If you don't want to spend the money on Vitargo, you can go with gummy bears or simply table sugar in your shake.

Q: Dear Dr. Jim,
I thank you for your effort into creating M&F Raw. I am on the website
checking for regular updates on your blog and the raw videos.  It has
helped my workouts beyond measure. I have been working out on and off
but been really serious about it for the last 8 months. I have started
working out with the ShowTime Programme. One thing I find interesting
is the HIIT and Power cardio programmes you mentioned in the raw
videos, it keeps thing interesting

Everyone seems to have their own opinion on supplement dosages and
timings so I have come to you hoping you would be able to help me out.
After watching the raw video #4 your supplements seems to be solid,
only thing I get confused about is the timing and dosage and whether I
can mix them up. I have started on the supplementation James ?the lab
rat? Grage has posted on his blog which you sent him prior to him
starting the 4 week Showtime programme.

1.    In the raw video #9, you mention the benefits of Creatine. Can I
mix it with the pre and post shake mix. Current Pre workout shake is
20g whey (Soy causes a lot of distress) 2g glutamine, and about 5g BCAA
it?s the same for the post workout except I add casein protein (1 cup
low fat milk). About 30 mins before this shake I use green tea and
Carnitine. Is there a particular time to use the creatine or can I mix
it up with the pre and post workout shakes.

 2.    In raw video #10, you mention the benefits of beta Alanine How
can I mix it with the above? Or is there a particular time I should be
taking it?

3.    In Raw video #9 you take a whole list of stuff. This is a stab in
the dark, but could you please tell me how you take Grape seed extract,
CLA, Vitamin E, CQ10 enzyme, and when I could take it and if I can mix
them up.

 I am currently into week one of the Showtime programme from the
(Muscle and fitness trainer) but I notice James Grange uses the one in
the muscle and fitness magazine, I have been to some of the stores here
but they have run out of copies. Could you please let me know I could
get a copy of the workout in the muscle and fitness magazine. Also, we
don?t have access to the strength bands out here. You do talk very
highly of their benefits and was wondering if I could get a set I am
willing to pay whatever it costs.

 I do know your swamped with tons of emails and any advice would be
much appreciated

 A big fan
Nick

A: Hi Nick - Glad you're enjoying the Showtime plan. Regarding your questions:

1) Yes, you can take creatine with your pre and postworkout shake. I'll have an M&F Raw! video on Workout Nutrition 101 that will cover all of these details. Expect that sometime in the next week.

2) Beta-alanine is the same with creatine - take it with your pre and postworkout shake.

3) Take 100-500 mg grape seed extract in the morning and about 30 minutes before workouts. Take 400-800 IU of vitamin E with breakfast. Take 2-3 g CLA with breakfast, lunch and dinner. And take 100-200 mg of CoQ10  with breakfast and about 30 minutes before workouts.

For the Showtime workout, go to my website www.jimstoppani.com and shoot me an email. Also, to get the bands, you can go to the manufacturers website at www.bodylastics.com and get the Terrell Owens bands. They are very similar to the M&F bands set.

Q: Hey Jim,

I just had a quick question about the supplements I take.  I am on MRI
Pros Nos, NO2 Black, MRI CE2, MRI N30, BCAA, and Beta- Alanine.  I just
had a question about the CE2 and N30.  I was wondering if you have any
information on it.  I am not sure if it is worth taking or if I should
just stay with the other supplements.  If you have any information it
would be helpful. 
Thank You,
Kyle

A: Hey Kyle - Both CE2 and N30 are supposed to work fairly well. But the question is how do they work for you. After all, that's all that matters. If you've given them a couple of months and you haven't noticed much, then maybe it's time to try a new formula.

Q: Hey Jim!

Quick question. I have been following the showtime diet that Lab Rat is
doing and I was wondering if the post workout meal of Whey, Gatorade,
and Gummy Bears will stop the fat loss that I started during the
intense workout because of the insulin spike it will create. Right now
I have been taking cytogainer after my workouts because I figured I
would be able to burn fat better but it hasn't been working so i'm
thinking of going for the gummy bears, carbless whey, and gatorade.
Appreciate all you do man.

A: Cam - Yeah, yo might want to drop the Cytogainer and go with the whey and gummy bears or Gatorade. The spike in insulin after you lift is the one time it will not cause fat gain. However, if you are still having trouble dropping fat, you may have to drop the carbs here as well.

Q: Ciao dottor JIm!
Is it necessary to have a rest day between training days in order to
promote muscle growth?
Thank you so much for all of your greatest advices!
Michele

A: Hey Michele - you do not need a full rest day between workouts if you alter the body parts you train. For example, if you train c hest and triceps on Monday, you can train back and biceps on Tuesday.

Q: Hey dr

You can also put me down for a "yay".
I also want to thank you for helping me out so much-- thanks to your
help I restarted training after a while of not training  and started
taking supplements like creatine, and gained 6.4 pounds and lost inches
in my abdomen in one month, to name one form of progress. Thanks again,
you have really changed my outlook on feeling and looking great.

By the way, you are impacting SO many others-- in just my gym I see
everybody doing your routines and overhear them saying how much "Dr
Jim's tips" have made them get in shape. (And they are definitely in
shape!) on part of everyone, I say Thank You!

A: Hi David  - glad to hear about your progress! That is awesome. And I am glad to hear that the tips are helping others in your gym as well. Tell them all I say "Hi!"