Weight Workout Question and Answers
Flight-Plight
Grab-Bag
October 7, 2003
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Well, girls and boys, guess what time of year it is? It’s question and answer time! Aren’t you happy? Do you remember how much fun we had last summer, when we gathered around our brightly colored garbage pail and mixed up all the emails from around the world. I can hardly wait to dig in and pull out a handful of really neat questions from our wonderful readers, invent some far-fetched answers and add them to our IronOnLine newsletter so everyone can read them.
It’s good to ask questions. That’s how you learn. And I learn, too, because I have to stop and think and wonder. And then I have to put the answers into words that everyone can understand.
Do you remember last summer we had very nice questions?
Q)
Why are weights so heavy?
A) So nobody steals them.
Q)
Why are weights round?
A) So you can roll them if you can’t lift them.
Q)
Why don’t they make wooden weights? My uncle is a carpenter.
A) We want to save trees and it takes one tree to make one weight. My uncle
was a plumber.
Q)
Why do they call the little bars dumbbells?
A) Because stupid-bells sounds ridiculous.
Q)
How can I get the scratchy rough stuff off the part of the bar
where I grab it? It hurts my hands.
A) Use a nail file or sandpaper, or cover it with duct tape like I do.
Q)
Why do weight lifters do the same exercises over and over again?
I get tired.
A) So they don’t forget how to do them. I get tired, too.
And bored.
Wow! Now they’re some nifty, fun emails for you. Wow!
Bombers, are you ready? Let’s dig in and see what we can find today.
Q)
I’m a 51-year-old female, 5'4" and 118 lbs. I’m recovering
from a lifelong eating disorder; my lowest weight was 55 lbs as an adult and
I usually hovered around 70-85. Emaciated. I am also a runner, though I’m
limiting my miles as I have recently taken up weight lifting.
I need suggestions on how to add healthy foods to my diet, while trying not to gain fat weight. I tend to save most of my eating for the nighttime. I eat protein bars and soy protein powder. Dinner usually consists of chicken and during the day if I eat an egg white I’m pretty lucky. What do I do?
A)
You have both a frightening and inspiring story to tell. 60-70 pounds at 5'
4'' is absolutely gloomy, whereas 118 is close to “just right.” An
amazing rebirth, job well done.
Considering the advantage of lifting weights you can add five pounds of vital muscle by slowly increasing your food intake throughout the day over a period of time. Let’s look at some ideas:
1) I'd be sure to eat a breakfast meal to begin your day to assure you of energy and muscle-building ingredients during early exertion. Without this practice it is certain your body will seek its own precious muscle as fuel and this is neither smart nor necessary. Here’s where many trainees turn to a protein shake for its convenience, energizing nutrient value and easy-to-take-when-you’re-not-hungry appeal. I'd add a top-quality vitamin and mineral as well.
2) Recognize the fact that you must eat throughout the day for your health and strength and muscle repair, and prepare yourself for regular feedings at the most opportune times; that is, when you are willing and able or when feeding is most efficacious. Discipline, courage and good sense must become your faithful companions as you seek added muscle and might.
3) Add essential fatty acids (EFAs) to your diet for cardiovascular health, cellular repair, joint durability, weight gain and energy. Add fish to your diet for protein and the valuable oils they contain. Think tuna in pop-top cans.
4) No junk or sugar, of course, but gain your carbs from life-giving fresh fruit and vegetables, particularly of the cruciferous variety. They are valuable sources of vitamins, minerals, phyto-nutrients and roughage.
5) Adding a top-quality whey protein powder to your menu will enhance your health and well being and contribute to your efforts to gain solid body weight. I highly recommend milk casein and whey over soy for efficiency and absorbability and health. Bomber Blend is a supreme choice.
6) If eating red meat is not off limits, consider eating steak throughout the week for weight gain and training aggression. Most strength and endurance athletes agree that red meat is the best muscle and strength builder for the aspiring athlete. You can worry less about the fat in red meat than you have been told over the past decade by uneducated mimicking sources.
7) Working with free weights is part of the prescription for gaining high-performance muscle mass, bone density, hormonal balance and improved metabolism. It will serve you well in your sports and recreation and add years of joy and independence to your life. The barbells and dumbbells are good ‘n tough, and the training is fun and fulfilling. See davedraper.com for tips, hints, motivation and routines that are enjoyable and profitable for you.
8) Great muscle-building snack combinations or meals: cottage cheese and tuna, cottage cheese and favorite fruit, yogurt and nuts and dried fruits, cream and premium raw fertile eggs ala Rocky (you sound strong and spirited), canned tuna sprinkled with lemon or salsa, sardines and water (why the crossed eyes and scrunched up face?), Bomber Blend protein shakes with banana and peanut butter and occasional protein bars.
9) As a runner, more carbs should be consumed to accommodate long arduous runs. As a 51-year-old muscle builder with weight gaining goals, I'd do enough running for the heart and lungs and save the rest of you for the wonders of weight training.
Did I mention deadlifts and squats?
Q)
I am a world champion powerlifter who is training his 13-year-old son. I know
what to do for myself and wish I knew more so I could safely and wisely
teach my guy… foods and stuff. I come from the old school, retired
after the 1990 World’s and kind of got out of the loop with protein
and vitamins and workout methods.
My
boy is about two years behind his age because the doctors say his
bones are still so far apart. He is extremely strong for his 13
years and 90 pounds. Anything you can do would be greatly appreciated.
A)
It'll make all the difference in the world if you can persuade your guy to
eat 5 to 6 meals regularly throughout the day from breakfast to a pre-bedtime
high-protein snack:
~breakfast
is a must
~mid-morning snack… no junk for the wise
~high protein lunch is mandatory
~pre-workout protein energizer is absolutely necessary
~high protein dinner… no growing youngster should go without it
~pre-bedtime protein snack helps those who help themselves
In a nutshell: protein from meat, fish, poultry and eggs and dairy products plus carbs from fresh vegetables (especially cruciferous) and fruit and added fat from an essential fatty acid supplements and vitamins and minerals from a high-quality multiple. Keep him away from sugar and junk food. Killer! This diet is for you and all your loved ones. Whey protein is great in a shake with milk, a banana and ice as one or two of those six suggested meals (breakfast or pre-workout meal or bedtime meal).
Don't
encourage heavy weight training on bench or any particular movement
at this stage of his life, as it will likely provoke damage to
joints and discouragement to the spirits. Give him tough training
with intensity and form to enhance his structure and his understanding
of smart training.
The old school is the good school. There are good routines listed on davedraper.com
for building the young, ever-ready body, or check out Brother Iron Sister Steel
at your library, your local bookstore or our online store. Full of tips, hints
and motivation for all ages... kids and their dads.
Remember, the secret is stick-to-it-tiveness.
Q)
Last week I placed third in Novice and Open in my first bodybuilding show.
You really helped in the motivation department and I wanted to thank you!
I'm thinking of competing again in the spring and need to add some good
mass over the fall/winter. Any tips?
A)
Good for you. You said you'd do it and you did it.
Looking for mass over fall and winter is, as you know, more of a menu alteration and head adjustment than a training change. The increase in muscle mass is best gained by eating more of the quality foods you consume now. I'm a high-protein, low-carb trainer. Red meat is the king of muscle builders and my carbs come from milk products, lots of salads and cruciferous vegetables, a few pieces of fruit, some nuts and not much grain. Protein drinks come in handy, low-fat milk, banana, 2 raw fertile eggs and double scoops of my favorite protein powder.
Sometimes gaining the mass is not as much a problem as letting go of the trim waist, abdominal and body definition. The mass in the arms and shoulders is cool and the strength increase a great advantage for building more muscle, but the overall body smoothness is hard to accept. Accept it, embrace it, and know the muscles are growing and the system is delighted and you'll get back to the cuts when the time is right. They will be there after the seasons of the tough, energized training, the increase in food consumption and muscle mass engender. The difference will be the muscles upon which the definition is applied will be larger, fuller and denser.
As you make the adjustments to the fading contest symmetry and muscularity, bring on the squats, heavy dumbbells, deadlifts with your aim on some personal power. Slow your training pace from 70-mph to 55. Keep your relative volume up in general, yet drop the reps to include doubles and singles on favorite movements once or twice a month. I always feel comfortable recommending supersets providing you are in no race, and offering 12, 10, 8, 6, 6 reps schemes with intensity in 4 or 5 of the 5 sets. Don’t kill yourself, but don’t treat yourself like a pet, either.
Since I haven’t spent time with you, what’s-your-name, I can only offer a hint or a feel of what you might do in the months ahead. The point is to make the most of the added weight, training with furor and visualizing size, mass, density and shape. Come springtime you’ll be cutting back on the chow and pounds, adjusting to a limited food intake and the loss of power and mass. You’ll be training with finesse and increased pace, reluctant to let the strength go, but amazed at how much stronger you are than the year before.
Be strong and grow...
Q)
My buddy and I are former lifters who just turned 60. We want to get back into
it and he claims that you can’t bulk up after age 50. Is this true?
A)
The joys and benefits of training continue, the advances slow down, but they
do not cease. I'm smarter, stronger in some places, growing in others and
letting go here and there. The worse thing to do is submit to someone's
generalization that progress stops. Let's push that iron with thoughtful
intensity, eat right and see where it takes us.
I recommend you aim to train with the weights three alternate days a week and, as you find it agreeable, throw in some cycling for 15 minutes on the off days. This is a healthy plan, sufficiently ambitious for strong-minded returning lifters and will prove extraordinarily rewarding as you resume regularity and self-inspired intensity.
Last thing you want to do when revisiting the weights after a long layoff is 1) assume an exercise scheme that is not fun and desirable -- short life span, 2) choose one that is too hard and heavy -- injury and disappointment, 3) expect too much, too soon from your training -- déjà vu all over again (Yogi Berra), 4) exercise without complementing your efforts with smart eating -- high protein, low sugar, frequent feeding, sufficient portions, 5) Doubt the possibilities of weight training after 39 or so, or fail to recall the great fulfillment from the iron and steel engagement, 6) quit.
Some horses live to be a galloping 30, while some mope around the pasture at 15 looking for the water and shade, oats and a bale of hay. Meet you at the track and we’ll jump some hurdles.
Enough about horses and oats, bombers, it’s time to put on the helmet and goggles and fly into the sunset if this edition of the IronOnLine newsletter is going to be delivered to the good ole’ gang on time.
On the wings of an eagle… Dave Draper
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