Lift Often to Get Rid of Soreness

James,
I am currently following your Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph routine and was wondering if you could talk about soreness. The routine has a 1 day on, 1 day off layout. My question is: If I am still sore after a rest day, should I still lift? Should I only lift the muscle groups that are not sore? Did I strain my muscles too hard on the previous training day?

Thanks,
Joe

My Answer: Soreness is a normal thing that you will eventually get used to. Normally people get sore, because:

1) They haven't worked out before.
2) They haven't worked out for a long time.
3) They did a new exercise.

People think that soreness equates to damage, but in reality, the soreness occurs in part because the lactic acid created from training leaves behind waste by-products which "tickle" your nerves. The only way to get rid of these waste by-products is to train again, clearing them out by pumping blood into the sore muscles.

If you stick to the same program with the same exercises, over time, you will be less and less sore until you are no longer sore.

Bottom line is you should stick to the program, and train on the scheduled days, even if you are sore. It is important, however, that you can distinguish soreness that normally occurs from exercise and sharp pains from an actual injury.


Hi James. I am an ectomorph. I am 19 and a freshman in college. I have always been disappointed with how I looked and how fast my metabolism was. I thought it was some sort of disorder because of how small my body is. I am embarrassed to say that my weight fluctuates in between 109 and 116.

I have just recently started to try to eat more and gotten into lifting weights and trying to gain weight and put on muscle. I am a very busy person, so I find it hard to eat 5-6 times a day. I am never THAT hungry anyways. I read somewhere that ectomorphs can actually lose some of the weight they gained earlier in the day when they go to bed. Is there any truth in that?

I don't have any training program, but I would like to choose one. I eat fast food more than anything, because I work at a fast-food restaurant, and I wanted to put on weight. But I can eat all of the fast-food I want, and I won't gain a single pound. Either my body doesn't digest it or my metabolism is just ridiculously fast. Maybe I am not eating as healthy as I should be. Could you possibly point me in the right direction that I need to take? Any books or articles that could help me gain some weight? I have always hated being the small guy.

Thank you
-Kevin


My Answer: Books or articles on how to gain weight? Oh... I don't know... How about MY book which compiles a bunch of my articles on how to build muscle: Strength and Physique, The Articles.

There are a lot of guys at your age who are skinny, but can eat a lot of food without gaining a pound. This is very common.

Now if you don't have an appetite, then that is a problem. You must have a voracious appetite in order to eat a lot of calories. You can create an appetite by training very hard. This means heavy free weights on compound exercises. Hypertrophy Training for the Ectomorph will work well in this regard.

You have to push yourself in your training. If you don't train intensely, then your body has no use for the extra calories you're ingesting. One of the signs that you pushed yourself to the limit at a workout is when you become extremely hungry a few hours later. That's a sign that your body wants all sorts of protein, carbs and calories to build muscle.

If you can't eat 5-6 smaller meals, then just go for 4-5 larger meals. Meal frequency doesn't matter as much as total daily caloric intake. So eat a big breakfast (lots of eggs!), big lunch and big dinner and fit in a small snack somewhere. If you're finding it hard to eat, then your small snack should include an apple, since the fruit's acidity will stimulate your appetite.

You work at a fast food restaurant, so get the highest calorie meals (the restaurant should have nutritional charts), but substitute water for soft drinks.

Prolonging Muscular Tension Through Compound Sets

Hi James, I love your book Neo-Classical Bodybuilding, although I'm still early on in the routine. I have a question concerning the Insulin/T Workout on page 32. The Arms Superset specifies "lying dumbbell curls to seated dumbbell curls (12-15 total reps)."

Do you mean to say lying curls OR seated curls, or is this a compound technique in which you sit up and then curl?

Let me know! For now I'm just going to do a seated curl and then the diamond pushups.

Thank you!
Nico


My Answer: Yes it is a compound set where you perform 7 reps of lying dumbbell curls and then immediately sit up and do another 7 reps of seated dumbbell curls with the same weight. Seven is the target number, but if you can perform more reps on either exercise, then keep going.

With compound sets you want to minimize any rest in-between exercises. To do this, you can use the same weight but move your body position to alter the force curve. So a pair of dumbbells might feel somewhat heavy during lying dumbbell curls, but once you move your torso into an upright position, the dumbbells will feel lighter.

Here's another example of a biceps compound set where you alter the force curve by moving your body position:

Don't Delude Yourself About Your Exercise Performance

I just finished reading your article Hypertrophy Training For The Ectomorph and found it quite helpful. I have been trying numerous regimens from Bodybuilding.com but nothing seems to work. I have been at 160-170 pounds since high school (I am now a junior in college). I am most definitely going to try the 10-8-6-15 approach after reading the article.

I had one question however: What weight should I be using for each set? Should I be aiming for failure on each and use a different weight for each? Or a comfortable weight where I can complete all sets at the same weight? Any and all insight you can give me would be much appreciated.

Thank You!
Jake C.


My Answer: Start off with your 10 rep max and increase the weight by small increments from set to set. No more than 5-10 pound increments. On your 15 rep set, you should drop the weight down to your 15 rep max. Your 10 rep max is your base weight, the weight that determines the poundages for the subsequent sets. So try to increase your base weight by small increments (again, no more than 5-10 pounds) from workout to workout.

You should train to failure on each set, but the set should end when your form breaks down. In other words, failure occurs when you cannot complete A FULL RANGE OF MOTION AT CONSTANT SPEED. If you start doing half reps, or if the speed of your reps slows down (like you're stuck in mid rep), or if you can't lift in a straight line, then you know you are reaching muscular failure and you should stop the set right then and there.

I cannot tell you how many times I've seen guys half press 135 pounds on the bench press. Partials have their place (I go over this technique in Tactics and Strategies), but a lot of guys partial press or partial squat to "show off" their supposedly heavy weights. They do partial reps to delude themselves. It's like the kid who thinks he knows how to ride a bike, but he's been riding around with training wheels the whole time.

Cardio on the Complete Strength Athlete Program

Hi, I would like to know: how often should I do cardio on your workout on Bodybuilding.com called Become A Complete Athlete?

Thank you!
- Julien


My Answer: If you want to incorporate cardio into the Complete Strength Athlete program, then I would suggest 2 cardio sessions a week, preferably as separate workouts. If you've read my previous blog posts, then you should know that I recommend sprint intervals. Twenty to thirty minute max.

Increasing Muscular Endurance for Police Training

Are all four workouts from the Wingspan article done on the same day or separate?

-C. Ayotte


My Answer: Four workouts means four separate days.

I'm currently training to become a police officer for the Calgary Police Department in Alberta, Canada. I had just read your article at Bodybuilding.com for police training, and I was going to start using the workout as my workout routine.

However, being a motorcycle mechanic right now, I have invested very little time in fitness. I have always eaten healthy though and can lift a motorcycle motor (60-80 lbs.) if needed. I'm coming up on my last year of apprenticeship for motorcycle mechanics, after which I wish to try the police recruitment tests. Since I have not really worked out at all, do you still recommend the workout described in the article? I'm looking at some of the squat lifts labelled expert and the guys doing them in the pictures are using more weight than I could possibly handle right now. Should I use a lighter weight or should I do a different exercise until I am capable of doing that one (i.e. Front Squats)?

Do you recommend an entirely different workout for me, since I am just starting? I really have no cardio. I can jog for 6 minutes max before I am tired and have to rest by walking. What would be the best way to increase this? I would not be able to chase anyone down like that. I have also been doing weight training. Nothing too intensive, but I always try to workout all parts of my body in a given week. I also try to jog for 20 minutes every second day as well.

I am currently taking a protein supplement (Whey Protein Isolate), since I know I'm not getting enough protein in my diet. I'm 190 lbs. and 5'10", medium build. Are there any other supplements you would recommend?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm giving myself a year before I try the police tests, and I'd like to be in the best condition I can be in. I also plan to keep fitness in my life and never quit. Being a police officer is something I have always wanted to be and is a very intense goal of mine, and I'm willing to do everything I need to do in order to achieve it.

Thank you very much in advance,
-Brandon


P.S. I just found out you had written books, and I am currently purchasing them from Amazon.


My Answer: Well, first I commend you on pursuing law enforcement as career. When you're preparing for police physical conditioning, then you have to differentiate between training for the fitness tests and the academy and training for street patrol. The article Return to Copland is meant for the patrol officer who has some years of weight training under his belt. So I don't recommend using the workout, especially since you haven't kept up your workouts.

I would suggest you find out the requirements for Calgary PD's physical abilities exam. From what I understand, it is an obstacle course with a dummy drag: Calgary Police Physical Abilities Requirement. The only way to prepare for the course is to simulate the conditions of the course and practice, practice, practice. Some departments offer practice runs for applicants, so if Calgary PD offers those, then I suggest you take advantage of them.

Once you're in the academy, then you should find out what the physical abilities exam is to graduate. Academies usually require a lot of running, so I suggest you do a lot of running. Do sprint intervals and hill sprints, which will improve your conditioning.

As far as performance supplementation, I'm partial to beta-alanine, which increases muscular endurance.

A Few Tips To Help You With Your Front Squat

Getting Ripped for 2012

I was googling programs on how to get ripped. I have been going to the gym on and off for three years and have tried several supplements such as Ripped Hardcore, Animal Cuts and protein shakes to mention a few. I have also tried eating 6 small meals a day. It could be that I am doing something wrong. Could you give me any advice?

Kind Regards,
Sakhile D.


My Answer: I was at the gym the other day, and it seemed a lot more crowded than usual. Then I realized that everybody was sticking to their New Year's resolutions. Normally people start off exercising consistently at the beginning of the year, but then they lose focus and next thing you know by mid April they saying to themselves, "I want to lose this gut for the summer."

Anyway Sakhile, I have no idea what you're doing wrong, because I have no idea how you're training and what you're eating. People lose focus in their training and dieting because of 2 things:

1) They don't know what specifically to do to achieve their goals.
2) They don't know how to measure their progress.

Getting ripped is a combination of diet and exercise (duh!), but what kind of diet and exercise? In Volume One and Volume Four I go over diet, but I'll summarize it in 3 words: NO WHITE CARBS. That means no sugar and no starches.

As far as exercise, in Volume One I go over 7 different strength training strategies for fat loss. All 7 strategies have these 2 common factors: low rest and high reps.

Those are the specifics of fat loss, but what are the metrics of fat loss? Obviously you have a scale and you should notice your pants getting looser. But you should monitor your food intake and your macronutrient breakdown. Go to Fitday.com and open up a free account. Log in your meals daily and it will show you your ratios of protein, fat and carb intake. Like I said, low carb intake is the key.

A lot of people think it's a hassle logging your food intake, but if you don't have an idea what you're eating, then you're not going to know what you're doing wrong. If you can't do something as simple as reading the nutrition facts, then what makes you think you can overcome millions of years of evolutionary biology by working out three hours a week?

TRX Chest Compound Sets

JAMES!!!!

First off just a huge thank you. Working out is a challenge and fun and at times got me wanting even more! The only question is after 13 weeks of density, volume and frequency training, I am choosing to focus on a chest specialization. How long do I follow that? And how many days a week do I train? My problem area is my center upper chest right before the clavicle.

Thanks,
D


My Answer: Glad you like the workouts from Neo-Classical Bodybuilding. The chest specialization program should be done for three weeks. As you can see in the chart, it is a four day a week program.

If you're looking to build up the upper chest, then you should focus on shallow incline presses (20 to 30 degree incline). If you have access to TRX straps, then try chest flyes followed immediately by chest press: