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Trainer of Champions - July 2004 |
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Written by Charles Glass
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Thursday, 26 April 2007 |
I'm bit by the bodybuilding bug and am very consistent about it. I even skipped prom last year just because that was squat night for me! I'm 18 and know a lot about bodybuilding, but I need some advice. Consistency is the key to growing along with a great workout regimen, and the number one most important thing would be the nutrition part of it. Nutrition is the fuel and weightlifting is the spark; without either you can't have a fire, so to speak. I have just been obsessed with eating lately. I started with 5,500 calories a day (and trust me, I count my calories) and now I'm taking in between 5,450 and 5,600 calories each day and I'm not gaining weight! I only weigh 155 pounds at around five percent body fat. What's wrong? Do I have a fast metabolism? I'd say so! I went to the doctor and he said I have no thyroid problems of anything, so it's nothing medical. I'm just a guy who burns calories like cash. Any advice for me?
I don't know if you were joking about skipping your prom because it was leg day, but I hope you were. If any of you young kids reading this think that sounds hardcore and truly dedicated, I would like to throw my two cents in while I have the chance. You are only young once, and big events like a prom only happen once in your life. The gym and the weights aren't going anywhere. For God's sake, don't miss out on memories that will last a lifetime just to lift weights! Now, if you're a big nerd and can't get a date for the prom I guess that's a different story. But I wouldn't want any of you to be 35 years old someday and be bitter that you didn't experience high school to the fullest because you were more concerned with muscles.
I'll get to your question now, but I felt that needed to be said. Okay, first of all, an average of 5,500 calories a day does seem like it should be more than sufficient to allow a 155-pound young man to gain body weight, assuming you are training properly with basic free-weight movements in the eight to 12 rep range and getting stronger on a regular basis. I wish you had been a little clearer with regard to how long you have been eating this much. When you say "lately," that could mean anything from a few days to a few months. I also wish you would have told me how tall you are. There's a big difference between someone who is 155 pounds at 5-5 versus 6-2, and that would have given me a better idea of what type of structure you have.
If you have been eating that amount of food for just a couple of weeks, I would suggest giving it a little more time before you decide you have the world's fastest metabolism. If it's been a month or more, then I would say you have a legitimate concern. What I can tell you that should be of some consolation is that I have seen guys like you before who can eat seemingly massive quantities of food and yet not make any gains on the scale, who were eventually able to make progress in that area and bulk up. While I hate to use the term "hard gainer," it does apply legitimately at times to individuals like you who are able to expend such vast amounts of calories.
My solution for you is some simple math. If 5,500 calories is not sufficient to fuel your gains, then you simply have to eat more. Normally, I don't recommend that bodybuilders eat extremely fatty and calorie-dense foods like pizza, burgers, fries and ice cream, but in your case we will make an exception. At least two of your daily meals should consist of items like this. Next, I would suggest visiting your local GNC or other nutrition store and picking up a big can of weight gainer powder. These weight gain shakes were in vogue about 12 years ago and provided anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 calories in a single serving. They usually had a lot of sugar in them and many bodybuilders gained a lot of body fat from using them. Now, you don't hear much about weight gain shakes, but they are making a comeback as major companies like MuscleTech are coming out with new products of this type.
I would suggest that in addition to four very substantial solid-food meals, you also add in two or three weight-gain shakes a day. Additionally, I would keep one pre-mixed in your refrigerator and drink that sometime in the middle of the night when you get up to use the bathroom. Since you are eating 5,500 calories a day right now and only have five percent body fat, I don't think getting chubby is something you will have to worry about. It may take seven, eight, or perhaps even as much as 10,000 calories a day for you to be able to gain weight. You are definitely one of the most extreme examples I have ever seen in terms of this, but don't despair.
Over the years I have seen guys like you several times and the good news is that eventually your metabolism will slow down and gaining weight will no longer be such a hassle. It might not happen until you are 21-25 years old, but it will happen. The great news is that your type generally puts on pure muscle, as opposed to most of the general population that gains some fat along with any muscle mass. And should you ever decide to compete in bodybuilding, the dieting process will be a breeze. While others suffer through 12 or more weeks of being hungry from the low calories and tired from the cardio, you will probably need no more than three or four weeks of tightening up your diet and minimal, if any, cardio to get shredded to the bone. As you see, there is a very positive aspect to having the metabolism of a racehorse!
I lift four to five days a week and I just changed my reps the last couple of weeks to four to six to try something I've never tried before (my reps are usually eight to 12). I wanted to lift heavy to see if I can put on some size. I'm taking in what feels like a ton of protein with moderate to low carbs. I'm very frustrated to report that my measurements have not changed! My waist is a little smaller, but all my other measurements except for my legs are not changing. My neck has increased, but I don't even work neck. What do I need to adjust first?
I am glad you wrote in with this question, because it gives me the chance to address a quality that is absolutely essential in the success of any bodybuilder- patience! Any new routine needs time to work. Your body's nervous system will adapt to something like higher weights and lower reps within a couple of weeks, but there is a bit of a lag between that process and the actual growth of new muscle tissue. Have you ever heard the phrase "size follows strength?" Listen to that, because you need to take that literally. In nearly every case, you will become stronger before you become any larger.
I have seen guys bring their squats up by 50 pounds in a month and they are usually frustrated because their legs don't look any bigger. But lo and behold, another month or so goes by, and all of a sudden their thighs have expanded and filled out. You see this happen all the time with powerlifters. They will get all their lifts up for a meet, yet still are able to weigh in and compete at their usual weight division. But shortly after the meet, they find themselves gaining muscular body weight and typically, by the time they compete again, they have moved up to the next highest weight class. So be patient and the gains will come.
But hold on a minute, you yourself already said you have made gains! Your legs and neck are larger according to the tape measure. So it would appear those two areas are more predisposed to growth than the rest of your body. It's only a matter of time before you should start seeing gains elsewhere. Of course, I have to say your diet as you described it does not sound conducive to gaining muscle, so I am somewhat surprised you have made any gains. You said you were following a high-protein and moderate to low-carbohydrate type of diet. Let me clarify; your exact words were, "I'm taking in what feels like a ton of protein." Feels like? What's that supposed to mean? To someone who doesn't eat much protein, 100 grams a day might "feel like" a ton of protein. You need to be a lot more specific than that.
Pretty much all the nutritionists associated with bodybuilding are in agreement that a hard-training bodybuilder requires at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight a day and many lean toward 1.5 grams for best results. Thus, if you weigh 150 pounds, for example, you should be consuming 150 to 225 grams of protein a day, evenly divided among five to seven meals. The best sources of this are red meat, fish, chicken, eggs, milk and protein powders. As for your low to moderate carbs, that sounds more like something you would want to follow for fat-loss purposes rather than gaining mass.
Perhaps you are confused and aren't sure which you are trying to do? I can tell you that your efforts at gaining weight will be more successful if you make that your priority. I would minimize cardio and immediately start eating more carbs, to the tune of two to three grams per pound of body weight a day to start with. You may find you need even more than that to support your training and recovery. Those dietary changes along with some patience and time are all you really need.
I was wondering about the proper training split. What body parts should I train together and how many days a week should I train? I am fairly new to lifting and just need some advice. Hope it's no bother.
Answering your question is no bother; why do you think I have this column? I'm here to help those bodybuilders who need guidance and advice, and to share what I have learned over the years. How to structure your training is one of the most common questions I get, and with good reason. How are you supposed to train if you aren't sure what you should be training and how often? The answer is not so simple, however.
There are several factors to consider first. How long have you been training? How well do you recover? And what is your lifestyle like? In your case, we know you are new to weight training. With that in mind, you should gradually break into training on a whole body routine, three days a week while you learn proper form and build a base of strength. Doing this workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday would be a great way to start:
Bench press 2 warm-ups, 3 work sets of 8-12 reps
Barbell row 2 warm-ups, 3 work sets of 8-12 reps
Chin-ups* 3 sets of 8-10 reps
Military press 2 warm-ups, 3 work sets of 8-12 reps
Squats 2 warm-ups, 3 work sets of 12-15 reps
Barbell curl 2 sets of 8-12 reps
Dips 2 sets of 8-12 reps
*Lat pull-downs may be substituted for chin-ups if you are not yet strong enough to perform chin-ups with your body weight.
This will start to build a foundation. After roughly three months on that program you should be ready to start a split routine. There are many different combinations, most based on a two-on, one-off, or a three-on one-off schedule. Let me run down a few of the more common split routines.
Split routine #1 (2-on, 1-off)
Day one: chest and triceps
Day two: back
Day three: OFF
Day four: shoulders and biceps
Day five: legs
Day six: OFF, repeat
Split routine #2 (3-on, 1-off)
Day one: chest, shoulders and triceps
Day two: back and biceps
Day three: legs
Day four: OFF, repeat
Split routine #3 (advanced bodybuilder)
Day one: chest
Day two: back
Day three: OFF
Day four: shoulders
Day five: quads
Day six: arms
Day seven: hams and calves
These are just a couple of splits. You can design your own to better suit your particular schedule and needs. There are a few rules you want to observe for best results. First, you don't ever want to train biceps the day before back, or triceps the day before either chest or shoulders. This is because your arms are always a "weak link" in training the torso muscles as it is- you don't want to exacerbate the problem. Second, most drug-free trainers should limit consecutive training days to two, or at most three, in a row before taking a full day of rest. Even though you might be working different parts of the body, your nervous system still needs to recharge between workouts or burnout and overtraining can easily occur.
Next, as a general rule, the longer you have been training, the more specific your workouts should be. While a beginner is just fine training the whole body at once, an advanced lifter is capable of using a lot more weight and training with greater intensity. Due to this, they are usually better served by training one, or at most two, muscle groups a day. Some pros and top amateurs further break this up with a double split, i.e., training twice a day, but this is not a realistic option for most bodybuilders who work day jobs and have other commitments, such as family.
Lifestyle plays a key role in determining how many days a week you should train. A pro bodybuilder who does this for a living can afford to be in the gym six days a week without interfering with his daily schedule. He can also take naps to further facilitate the recovery process. Compare that to an average guy who may commute an hour each way to work, be at an office for nine hours, and then has to deal with his wife and kids at home. His life is not quite so stress-free and he would probably be better off training no more than four days out of the week. As you can see, there are many factors involved in deciding what to train on which days and how many days a week to lift. Now you should at least have a little better idea of what you need to consider in designing your split.
Five days ago I dislocated my left shoulder. Basically, I took a fall on concrete with someone on top of me and had to go to the hospital to get it popped back in. This is the first time this has happened. I'm 22, and like you, training and bodybuilding have been the passions in my life for years (although not as long as you). I credit it with being the "light at the end of the tunnel" as I was going through my first two years of college without too much direction until it hit me to go into what I loved for a career. I switched my major to sports management and the moment I get my degree I'm going to get certified. Anyway, everyone from the people at the hospital to the orthopedic doctor I saw two days ago stressed the possibility (around 90 percent) that it's going to pop out again. I'm a realist and I strongly believed I would have been ready to, if not win, place well at a local contest within two years. This injury has left me in such a depressed state, I don't know what to do. I don't think the orthopedic doctor really has had much experience working with "athletes," as he just told me to wait two to three weeks until training upper body again (I don't think he was referring to shoulders yet) and to just take it light and slow (common sense) and try to avoid movements like flyes, or going low on bench, anything that puts my shoulder joint rotated back. I would be extremely grateful for any help. It's like I almost want it to pop it again so I can get surgery to tighten things up, though I don't know how much that even helps. I was so proud that I was actually someone who was chasing his dream. I just hope this doesn't screw things up. I just want to be the best I could have been as a bodybuilder.
You hit the nail right on the head when you said that the particular orthopedic specialist you saw had little experience in dealing with athletes. First of all, when he told you not train your upper body for two to three weeks, I think he did mean the entire upper body rather than just the shoulders. At least I hope that's what he meant, because he should be well aware that the shoulders are involved in virtually anything you do for the chest, back, shoulders and even in some arm exercises. I suggest you look around a little and find another orthopedic specialist who has treated athletes, preferably weightlifters and/or bodybuilders.
Now, as for your dislocated shoulder that you fear will pop out again, take a deep breath and get ready to relax, because it's not that big a deal! I have known many bodybuilders who came back from far worse shoulder injuries and went on to win contests. Will your shoulder pop out again? Yes, based on men and women with this type of injury, it's a safe bet that it will. That's why I also suggest that instead of relying completely on an MD for treatment, you find a good local chiropractor, again preferably one who has had many athletes as patients. He can "relocate" the shoulder should it come out of the socket again, and suggest exercises to strengthen the joint and surrounding connective tissues. You do want to take it slow and easy with upper body training for a while, but there is no reason you shouldn't be back to harder, heavier training within a month or two. As long as you use good form and avoid certain movements that put the shoulder in external rotation, such as behind-neck presses and pull-downs, upright rows and bench presses to the neck, you shouldn't have a problem.
As for your wish to have surgery, banish that thought right now. Surgery should always be considered a last resort, as it nearly always results in a significant loss in your range of motion. I have known men who had the operation you are thinking about, and some of them could never raise their arm above shoulder level again. The shoulder joint is a ball and socket joint designed to allow a very large Freedom of movement in many directions. If you put a pin or a screw in there and lock it into a confined pattern, I am sure you will regret it, especially as a bodybuilder. I guarantee you that you would discover once you recovered from the surgery that there were now some exercises you couldn't do at all, and others only in a partial range of motion. Forget surgery, find a good chiropractor and start thinking again about winning your first bodybuilding contest.
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