Question:

I have been bodybuilding for about a year now, and really seem to be getting into it quite a while. It is amazing to find out how big the bodybuilding base is when you are actually getting to be a part of it. I had a few questions. The Mr. universe or Arnold qualifiers is it there lives to do that?

Having a job and kids and family seems too much for competitors. If you want to look like that, is it more than dedication ….you eat breath sleep bodybuilding!

I have come realize that most supplements are a scam, and eating is so hard at college, especially clean and frequently.

My genetics seem to be at a disadvantage too.

- Jake S.

Answer:

Quit worrying about genetics, supplements and how hard it will be and make small changes over the course of a year to ensure that things become a routine.

I receive all types of replies from skinny guys, women, older guys who give me a LAUNDRY list of why they can’t do something but they really want to look like such and such a fitness pro or model.

You can’t.

If you can’t train like a pro, eat like a pro and be dedicated like a pro, you can’t be a pro.  If you enjoy swimming but can only give 2 hours a week maximum and sometimes have to skip your workouts to pick up the kids, you won’t be the next Michael Phelps contender.

That doesn’t mean you can’t look awesome!

These guys don’t have to live/breath/eat bodybuilding but I’ll tell you what they do.

1) Consistency
2) Dedication
3) Determination
4) Over many years

They don’t skip meals. They don’t skip workouts. They are determined to make it work thru preparation and hardwork.  They don’t make excuses.  They overcome injuries and obstacles that would sideline the average person and keep pushing forward.  They hit a roadblock and work to get over or around it.

In the case of Usain Bolt and the Men’s 200m Semi-finals, the guy doesn’t even think about times, precise meal planning, he just does it.  He wants to win so he simply runs faster than anybody else.

They don’t worry about the supplement of the month. Most of them are either on steroids among other things or just use the basics like creatine and protein.

All these other things are for the confused guys who are looking for the answer in a bottle while the professional already know the answers.  Hard work equals great results.

Hard work over a period of time will beat out any dude who trains half-assed or inconsistently or uses some supplement of the month in hopes that he’ll look like a pro but have to put in less work.

Eating at college is hard!

In fact, I just all but skipped out on that. I just ate my 3 meals a day and worked out when I could. My goal in college was to get in and get out with a degree. Looking huge and ripped wasn’t even on my mind. I just exercised and kept active and didn’t concern myself with that.

I could have but it would have been very difficult and required a ton of planning and buying food. I didn’t have the room, the time or the will to eat 5-6 times a day when I was in school. It just wasn’t my priority.

If you want it to be, then you’ll just make it work. You’ll buy food. You’ll get a small fridge. You’ll prep meals and carry them to class because that’s what guys do in college when they need meals and are always on the go.

My tips would be to first figure out what you want and then start making small changes to make it happen.

Make things routine.

For example, take a look at your breakfast.

Is it perfect?

If not, how can you make it so. What can you do every single day to have the best darn bodybuilding breakfast on campus. If not, then you can’t possibly have a lifestyle if you can’t make a simple change to your breakfast.

Then look at your training. How can you make it consistent. 4 or 5 days a week in addition to classes? No breaks for finals. NO breaks to get hammered on Friday night. You can’t get to 10% body fat and look ripped when you get ripped right? Some guys can but most guys can’t.

Focus on what you can do and less on what you can’t.

Start small. Make your breakfast the best. If you can’t even do that for 2 weeks, then don’t bother making a significant lifestyle change as you won’t be able to keep the pace.

But you don’t have to live, breathe and eat this stuff to be a superstar. With some hardwork, consistency and dedication, you can kick butt!

Popularity: 17% [?]

If you want to be notified the next time I write something, sign up for email alerts or subscribe to my RSS feed so you don't miss out on real, muscle building & fat burning tips from Marc David! Thanks for reading.

Question:

The waist to hip ratio or WHI doesn’t seem to be any better of a predictor than the BMI because neither one takes into lean body mass.  How good of a predictor can this measurement actually be when it only takes into account fat in one area of the body, not the overall body fat percentage?

Answer:

The WHR ratio was designed in or around 1993 as a replacement for an indication of health for the BMI.  Many health professionals including myself don’t find the BMI or the WHR to be useful as a sole indicator of health.

While it can be useful in some aspects, body composition is much more accurate and a better determination of overall health as you have pointed out.

In more recent years, the WHR has taken fire for being not such a good indicator of overall health either!

(more…)

Popularity: 8% [?]

Who’s going to take up the banner for the baby boomers and exercise for older adults?

Question:

This is sent in a positive tone, not mad.

When are one you famous internet fitness folks going to get smart and start a page just for fat loss and muscle gain for us baby boomers? We have our own special needs that are not the same as a 20 something. Like starting to take care of ourselves after being long time office rats. Our kids are going, we have money and time and are active.

*  how to progressively lift without hurting ourselves
*  how to build muscle even with hormone deficient bodies
*  nutrition for the over 50, including supplements beyond multivitamins
*  health conditions like diabetes to consider when lifting and changing your eating
(I’m a type 2 diabetic an needed to lose weight first before concentrating on muscle gain)

I changed my life by using protein power and weight training but it has been a laborious task sifting through all the available information to get what  fits my needs at 51.

(more…)

Popularity: 11% [?]

Question:

Marc,

I’ve read through a lot of your material but one thing is still unclear;

How do you fit all of the following in 1 hour?

1. general warm up (5 mins cardio)
2. stretching (5 mins)
3. warm up sets of each exercise
4. cool down exercise
5. 12 set workout routine

The best I’m doing is 90 minutes in order to include all of the above. I can’t figure out how to get this under 1 hour.

Mike

Answer:

Mike,

1. my general warm up is about the same (5 minutes of light cardio)
2. 1-3 warm up sets for the first exercise for that muscle group
3. working sets (45 minutes that incorporates supersets)
4. cool down to get the blood flow regulated again (5 minutes)
5. stretching (5 minutes) 

I use a lot of supersets during my weight resistance to get more work done in less time.  I don’t stretch before hitting the weights as numerous studies have not shown any benefit to doing so in terms of injury prevention.  Doing it after is most beneficial. 

When a muscle is warmed up, there’s no need to do additional warm up exercises for that same group just because you switched the exercise.  Unless it’s vastly different. 

For example, even if I were almost done with legs, I would still do a warm up for stiff legged deadlifts because the move is unique. 

If I were doing chest and I warmed up with incline dumbbells, upon moving to the Swiss ball bench press, I would not warm up.  I would go for a working set. 

Overall, I have been able to keep my working time about 60 minutes give or take using the above setup. 

When people talk about keeping workouts short for focus and energy reasons, they are referring to your working set time.  I know some programs mention total gym time but if you are serious about building muscle, you will probably end up doing more volume, which makes the 60 minute recommendation, more focused on the actual weight resistance time. 

Your 90 minutes isn’t that bad.  I think if you tweak your situation a bit,  you can eliminate some unnecessary warm ups and stretching that may give you 15 minutes back.

Related Reading: 5 Ways to Cut Your Workout Time

Marc

MP3 File

Popularity: 7% [?]

Question:

Without surgery is there anyway to get rid of gynecomastia? I’ve had it since I was 14. It’s really starting to bug me. It’s embarrassing!

(more…)

Popularity: 11% [?]

“DON’T Even Think
About Buying Tom
Or Jeff’s Bodybuilding Products
Until You Read This Foolproof Review”

Chances are you’ve run across one of these two mugs on the Internet somewhere. Maybe a sales page, a review or a forum. These guys have two excellent programs but with all the “review” sites, you NEVER get the full scoop.

You are about to learn what Burn the Fat is… What Optimum Anabolics isn’t… why Tom sets the stardard… Why Jeff will build you slabs of muscle… And if I actually used these programs before I wrote this post. I gotta tell you that from the slew of “fitness” reviews I’ve seen, the guys behind the scenes doing the reviews never tried the program.Let me share with you stuff you can’t find elsewhere. But first.. what started this match up?

(more…)

Popularity: 6% [?]

Question:

Hi Marc,

I’ve been following the Body for Life program and seeing some great results. As you probably know, this entails eating 6 meals a day, much as you have promoted in your podcasts.My concern is eating too many “engineered” foods and it’s effect on your digestive system.

(more…)

Popularity: 7% [?]

Just 10 years ago, you could have made the argument that there was too little information when it came to building muscle.  In this day and age, you can do the exact opposite.  There’s an information overload and many times having too much information is as bad as having too little.  In my last newsletter, instead of taking just one question, I opted to take some of the more frequently asked questions when it comes to building muscle. 

Staying focused on a goal was always the hardest thing for me to do.  Once I buckled down and learned about just one aspect of bodybuidling, the doors swung opened and all I can describe the sensation as is “fresh.”

In the last 22 hours, I’ve counted over 14 e-mails on the subject of gaining weight.  It’s obvious to me that so many are still struggling to find the answers. 

In a few 3 minutes you’ll learn:

• where you should focus your time - training or nutrition?
• the big supplement secret and why you must avoid falling prey to glossy ads
• what’s the biggest mistake I made when I tried to gain weight (more…)

  Popularity: 5% [?]

  No tag for this post.