Chris:
Tough questions…
-
What do you like MOST about your job?
-
What do you like LEAST about your job?
-
Where would YOU like to see “Testosterone” in 5 years? (No “executive speak”…just what you would like to see…)
Thanks, Chris!
Mufasa
Hey Chris!
How can you increase your max amount of pushups FAST? I used to be able to do around 65, but now, it dropped down into the low 40’s. I’d like to get it up to 100 or more. Currently, what I’m doing it just doing 100 no matter how many sets it takes (it took me 6). Should I keep going about it this way, or is there a better way?
[quote]Julian L. wrote:
As I mentioned, I’m very thin. As for gaining weight I’ve heard 2 drastically different opnions on how easy/hard it is for me to gain, and how fast I can/should do it. Some say “your so thin, and you 17 years old, eat everything and put on 20 lbs in a couple months”. While others say “your bone structure is might, and you don’t seem to have great genetics for gaining muscle, gaining a lot of weight might be impossible or very slow”. What do you think about this situation?
Last question, how many calories should I aim for? Of course I’d rather be lean, but given how skinny I am, I’d except putting on some fat with the muscle if it meant rapid weight gain. I’ve read articles but am never sure if the numbers apply differently to someone my age.
Thank you very much for your time and help,
Julian. [/quote]
- It’s really tough to “diagnose” over the internet. I’ve seen a lot of so-called hardgainers get very muscular though once they started training hard and eating right AND doing both consistently.
The worst ectomorph / skinny bastard / genetically cursed guy I’ve ever met put on 20 lean pounds in just a couple of months training with me. And he was about your weight only 6’4"!
- Hard to give an exact number. Do this: keep a food log and count calories. If you’re not gaining, eat more. Very VERY roughly, I’d say a 17 year old kid who’s tall yet weighs 130 pounds needs at least 2000-2500 cals per day. Shoot for around 200 grams of protein spread over at least 5 meals a day.
[quote]ProjectX wrote:
since i have a serious lack of muscle, would i gain just like a newbie would on a beginners program? OR have i used up my beginner gains by having already exposed my muscles to years of various training?
[/quote]
I’d say you’ve “used up” your beginner gains. But here’s the thing: if you’ve gained a lot of muscle in the past, then you know you can do it again. Also, if you’ve never used a big basic program like the one I described above for a beginner, then you can possibly make better gains than you ever have before.
I know a lot of experienced trainers who gain like crazy when they switch to a good program that targets what they’ve been missing. An example of that would be an “experienced” trainer who never did squats, deadlifts and pull-ups.
Now, it sounds like you have done those things, you just need to be consistent. And perhaps diet is lacking in your case?
Another idea I’m just throwing out, it may not apply to you, is the lack of DRIVE many people have in the gym. Sure, they do a tough, effective program like ABBH but they put no effort into it, they don’t lift the kind of weight they should be lifting, and they basically just go through the motions - never once actually straining and making noise!
Again, that may not apply to you, but I’ve seen this a lot from people who claim to be working hard, then I see them train and realize they’re sleepwalking in the gym and not really pushing themselves.
Just a few ideas. Hard to diagnose lack of gains on the net.
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
Chris:
Tough questions…
-
What do you like MOST about your job?
-
What do you like LEAST about your job?
-
Where would YOU like to see “Testosterone” in 5 years? (No “executive speak”…just what you would like to see…)
Thanks, Chris!
Mufasa[/quote]
- Meeting determined, driven, smart people. I grew up in a redneck town where no one seemed to have any drive or any goals outside of taking over daddy’s farm. The whole town seemed to be, well, very limiting and very ignorant of the outside world. It was almost like thinking and achieving were discouraged. (I was actually called a “Satanist” once for reading about Eastern philosophy.)
When I started working here and meeting the staff, the contributors, and the fans, I was like “Holy cow, there ARE people out there like me!” This is especially true when I get to hang out with the contribs. I feed off their energy and I see opportunity and choices I’d never thought about before. You hang around successful, driven people who are enjoying their jobs and their lives and it rubs off. Hanging around TC, Tim, Chad Waterbury, David Barr etc is just invigorating.
- Parts of it can get tedious, like the actually editing process, but that’s part of the job and doesn’t bug me anymore.
It’s also frustrating not to be able to fix what’s broken. I have to ask the tech guys to do it and they have to get permission from Tim, but Tim is busy and it goes round and round and doesn’t get done fast enough. So, a month later and I still can’t get the word “voting” capitalized in the Polls and Voting section of the site.
But I admit I have a problem working within a team structure. I’d much rather do it myself than explain to someone how to do it and risk them not doing it right. If I were in movies I’d want to be the actor, the cameraman, the director and the key grip! I’ve just got to get over that “If you want it done right, do it yourself” attitude. I actually get in trouble with the boss for not letting other people help out with projects. I want to do it all. (I need Type A personality therapy!)
- I would like to see T-Nation evolve into a multi-media, interactive home for everyone that’s driven to improve themselves. I think we’re on the path. We’re going far beyond an “internet magazine” which if you think about it is a very limiting, short-sited label.
Charles Staley said once that the harder it is to describe your job, then the better off you are. I want T-Nation to be that way. When someone asks what it is, I want it to be hard to answer. “Well, it’s a community, but it also has articles, and then they do this consumer reports thing where you get free workout gear, and then they make and sell supplements so it’s kinda a store-magazine-forum -lab-private club thing…”
[quote]kligor wrote:
Hey Chris!
How can you increase your max amount of pushups FAST? I used to be able to do around 65, but now, it dropped down into the low 40’s. I’d like to get it up to 100 or more. Currently, what I’m doing it just doing 100 no matter how many sets it takes (it took me 6). Should I keep going about it this way, or is there a better way?[/quote]
Do a forum search on the ladder method. This should work for push-ups as well as pull-ups. Also, don’t be afraid to add resistance (bands, weight vest, plates if you have a partner). You may find that after a few weeks of training heavy you’ll be able to knock out more reps when you go back to bodyweight.
Oh yeah, if you’re carrying too much fat, lose it.
Sure, they do a tough, effective program like ABBH but they put no effort into it, they don’t lift the kind of weight they should be lifting, and they basically just go through the motions - never once actually straining and making noise!
Chris, I’ve been straining my brain trying to think up a useful question with respect to where I’m at. You sort of answered it, but I’d like to dig a little deeper.
I work out without a partner or spotter, so I may be in danger of short changing myself with respect to straining enough… or maybe not.
Since I’ve been working out a while I can’t really use soreness as a criteria for judging my effort. Do you have any suggestions on how to measure and ensure appropriate intensity or drive during a workout when you aren’t able to fail on a rep? I don’t want to over train or under train!
For example, if I fail on a squat I’ll by crying for help in my gym and look like more of an ass than I’d like. Same with a bench press. People make fun of those that get stuck and/or dump the weights – and it doesn’t happen often.
Can I use explosive movements to up intensity? Should I reduce weight and blast out a ton of reps from time to time? How do I make sure I’m generating an appropriate training stimulus? I hope this isn’t a dumb question.
Thanks!
[quote]vroom wrote:
For example, if I fail on a squat I’ll by crying for help in my gym and look like more of an ass than I’d like. Same with a bench press. People make fun of those that get stuck and/or dump the weights – and it doesn’t happen often.
Can I use explosive movements to up intensity? Should I reduce weight and blast out a ton of reps from time to time? How do I make sure I’m generating an appropriate training stimulus?
Thanks![/quote]
You’re right, it is difficult to judge “intensity” - and by that I mean effort and not percentage of 1RM as the term is often used. The question becomes, what does training hard actually mean? Does it mean going to failure? Well, that’s okay sometimes but as we’ve all learned it’s not the best method to use all the time.
I think the best thing for you is to use the training method recently repopularized by Chad Waterbury. See his recent articles for details, but here’s a summary:
Forget tempo. Use good form, but don’t lower slowly, just under control. On the concentric or lifting phase of the lift, go HARD and FAST! Power through the concentric - STRAIN! Trust me, a vanilla set of EZ-bar curls becomes a whole new monster with this method. Note that with enough weight you may feel like you’re going hard and fast; the important thing is to try.
Another idea for you is to adopt EDT training and beat the clock. You can find several free EDT articles in the archives.
You know, I used to watch pro-bodybuilder videos and I’d always think, man, their form is horrible! Most of the time it was (and some of that probably came from showing off for the camera), but one thing they all had in common was this straining - powering through the lift.
Sure, their form often fell apart and I think they used too much weight, but we can learn something here - many of them are using the Waterbury method. They learned that it works best for them through trial and error (I doubt they’ve actually read Chad’s work; they just figured it out for themselves.)
Give it a shot!
Hey Chris,
Did I hear a rumor that you guys have an amped-up version of Power Drive in the works?
Any chance we could get conference calls going with some of the contributors and you guys could “raffle” off passes to the calls. Just a thought.
Have a great 4th of July!
Chris,
How much will doing lock-offs (isometric holds at the top of a pull-up) help increase max bodyweight pull-ups when forearm endurance through the top of the pull is the limiting factor?
Thanks,
Ross Hunt
[quote]Ross Hunt wrote:
Chris,
How much will doing lock-offs (isometric holds at the top of a pull-up) help increase max bodyweight pull-ups when forearm endurance through the top of the pull is the limiting factor?
Thanks,
Ross Hunt[/quote]
I don’t know. Try it and find out!
But I think if forearm endurance is the sole limiting factor, then any hang would help, not just in the end position.
Isometric gripper holds may help too. Get a good gripper from Heavysports.com and perform holds in the closed position. Place a quarter between the bottom of the handles. If the quarter falls, stop the timer. Keep a chart and aim to increase time weekly. If it gets too easy, bump up to a stronger gripper.
[quote]kbattis wrote:
Hey Chris,
Did I hear a rumor that you guys have an amped-up version of Power Drive in the works?
Any chance we could get conference calls going with some of the contributors and you guys could “raffle” off passes to the calls. Just a thought.
Have a great 4th of July! [/quote]
-
That’s the rumor!
-
In my experience, not that many people call in. Give away a hundred passes and 10 people call in. Seems like a lot of work for very little return.
Who’s the most interesting person you’ve ever interviewed?
Hey Chris I was wondering if you guys are gonna be at the october SWIS conference in Toronto?? If so how about having one of the T.O cell members do a write up on the conference as one of the articles. A draw for a member of the toronto cell to do a write up would be awesome.
“Can I use explosive movements to up intensity? Should I reduce weight and blast out a ton of reps from time to time? How do I make sure I’m generating an appropriate training stimulus? I hope this isn’t a dumb question.”
Hope Shugs doesn’t mind my cutting in. I have 3 words for you - Iron Woody bands. Buy a pair and attach them to the barbell for squats, benches, whatever.
In response to ShortDave,
We train for Strength
Chris I read your interview about a bigger breakfast and about oatmeal.
I have read elsewhere about eating a basic cereal like Honey Nut Cheerios - on a bulk.
Is there any place for this in the food log for the guy who wants to get to 8 % bf? or do I simply need to stick with cleaner carbs and leave the cereal to the kiddies.
Cowboy Shugs,
You da man! I just wanted to throw that out to ya brother.
One study of dieting and exercising women found that eating more calories at night caused less muscle loss, but no difference in fat loss. Presumably more nutrients were available during the night to avoid muscle breakdown. The women who ate more in the morning did lose more total weight, but the entire difference was because they lost more muscle.
Comments?
Thanks for the help Chris, i really appreciate it. i will take your advice and try it out. as far as straining and making noise though, i’ve blown out a few eardrums and rotator cuffs in my day! thanks again.