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Question:

I’m a 16, male, have been lifting for about 2 years, i weight about 160lbs and my wrestling season just got over. Before wrestling, started I had about 12% body fat, then I dropped about 8lbs for wrestling. Anyway, I will be a junior in high school next year and I started varsity as a sophomore at linebacker. I hope to play college football at a linebacker, but I need to gain some weight, and I was wondering: -What is the best way to gain a lot of muscle fast? -What muscle will give you best success on the field? -Which ones to work on the most, and are there any supplement’s you would recommend?

Now I feel where you’re coming from because I was in a similar situation in high school. My primary sport was baseball, and it was the sport I wanted to focus on. But, I wrestled from the 6^th grade through my sophomore year in because I liked the sport and the competition. Read the rest of Gain Fast Muscle for football: What to do, what to eat?

Technorati Tags: audio, diet, exercise philosophy, exercise selection, football, hypertrophy, Nutrition, Performance, strength training, supplements, wrestling

Question:

I’m a high school football player and have a potential college career. i want to burn fat and gain muscle. how do i do this. should i take protein shakes concidering i workout 5 days a week. or should i just do tons of cardio. etc. any advice is welcomed. also if i pack on 5 pounds i dont care. as long as its good weight. how do i go about this and would protein shakes help?

Answer:

Before I answer your question I’m going to get a couple of thoughts out of my system.

First of all, if your goal is to play football at the next level, your only concerns should be what you should do in order to get there. One thing I can say without even knowing you is that one of your goals in training is to get stronger (if not, it should be). I’ll assume this is what you mean by gaining muscle, so you’re on the right track here.

As far as losing fat, be careful. Are you looking to lose fat in order to look good for the ladies? Or do you have a weight issue that can hinder your performance on the field? Make sure that if you’re trying to lose any fat, it’s the latter reason.

I’m not sure what your position is, but if you’re a lineman of some type, forget about the 6 pack! Really. Look at your favorite linemen in the NFL. If you get them to take their jerseys off, I guarantee you won’t see any rippling abs. Why not? Because it’s all about PERFORMANCE.

Trust me, I wasn’t in high school all that long ago, and I have to admit that I wanted my mirror muscles to show - chest, abs, and biceps were all that really mattered at times.. But wouldn’t you rather to have the body that allows you to DOMINATE on the field? That’s what’ll really impress the ladies…

Anyway..

If you’re at a skill position, that ripped type of physique is more realistic and should come along with proper training and nutrition, so don’t worry too much about it if you’re a wideout, corner, or even a safety - it’ll come.

Now about your training regimen and nutrition..

Training Regimen

Every time you do something in your training regimen, you need to ask yourself the following question:

“Is this going to make me a better football player?”

Is doing “tons of cardio” going to make you a better football player? Since football is an anaerobic sport (I think the average play is around 7 seconds or so), then the answer is NO. Why train your body like a marathon runner? It makes no sense. You want to be able to perform explosive, powerful movements for short periods of time - And then be able to repeat it over and over throughout the course of the game. So this is how you should train!

Explode. Rest. Explode Rest. Explode Rest… You get the point..

If you find a high level football player running in any 5K races or jogging on the treadmill, let me know, and I’ll give you 20 bucks (it can’t be a kicker).

Right now, you should be just beginning your off season for football. If you’re not playing any other sports, the off season is the perfect time to get stronger, as you don’t have to worry about any grueling practices or important games - It’s your chance to put in your work and show up to practice next summer with a new body.

If you work hard in the off season, you should have build so much muscle, there won’t be much room for fat on your body.

But..

If you still have too much body fat at the end of the day, the problem isn’t in your training–you may want to look at your nutrition–are you eating junk?? If so, stop it.

Nutrition

You are on the right track in knowing that protein is important to build muscle. Before worrying about a protein shake or supplement, make sure you’re eating healthy, staying away from soft drinks, eating vegetables, and including a source of protein in every meal. If you’re already doing all this, a protein supplement can help in that it’s an easy way to fuel your body between meals.

Say you’re between meals, and don’t really have time to cook up a chicken breast or cook up some ground beef. Now’s when a shake comes in handy as it allows you to supply your body with the protein it needs between meals.

It’s not that using the powder is better than eating real food (it’s not). The reason to use the powder is that it’s fast and convenient. It’s a way to get your 40-60 grams in without having to cook up 7 complete meals every day.

If you train hard and eat well consistently, you’ll have a true advantage over your competition.

I hope this information helps, and I wish you the best of luck in your career!

Technorati Tags: fat loss, football training, Nutrition, Performance, sport specific training, strength training, training-philosophy

Question:

Doug, I am 23 years old and 5 feet tall and getting married 11/7/2009. I used to play hard core softball which kept me in great shape of weighing 135-145 depending on what i was doing for weight lifting. Now, I work fulltime and seem to not be motivated like i should be. Please let me know what would be the best way nutritonally and physically to lose the 25+ lbs by next September (dress fitting begins) and KEEP IT OFF. Hope to hear from you soon, thank you!

Answer:

Congrats on the wedding. With well over a year until your important date, you have plenty of time to lose this weight. As I’ve said before on here, there are two important components to fat loss–nutrition and exercise.

You already know you have to make a change in order to see results. So what do you change?

Nutrition

Well, you didn’t give me much information on what you’re doing with nutrition, but for starters, sit down and pinpoint certain aspects of your nutrition that you could correct IMMEDIATELY and improve your diet.

Do you drink soda, pop, or juice? If so, simply stop it.

Do you eat sweets? If so, stop it-eat fruit instead. Peaches and strawberries are sweet!

Do you go long periods of time without eating and then gorge? If so, pack healthy snacks (nuts, fruit, meat) so you don’t get too hungry. Plan ahead.

Is there anything else that you know you do wrong that you can fix? Eat chips? Replace with veggies. Can’t help snacking on junk at home? Don’t buy junk.

Simple, but very important.

You’d be surprised at how making one crucial change can add up over a long period of time. Just eliminating the really bad habits can easy drop you a few pounds without you having to do any real work. The hard part is making yourself stick to it. For this, you just have to get tough on yourself–find a way to not eat the crap that doesn’t contribute to your health.

Once you’ve gotten rid of all the blatantly terrible habits you may have, check out Precision Nutrition and sign up for the free E-mail course. You’ll learn a lot in the 7 days and it will change the way you view your own nutrition.

Exercise

You mentioned that since your softball days ended and your working days began, you’ve come to struggle with your weight. What this shows is how important it is to exercise with the right frequency. Remember going to softball practice 5 days a week? You probably didn’t think much of it then, but that’s one thing that kept you from gaining fat.

So I’m going to recommend you get back to your old ways and commit to 5 days of exercise per week. Depending on how busy you are in your pre/post work responsibilities, you may have to budget your time. Sit down with your schedule and look for 30 minute-60 minute slots where you are free and can commit to exercise. And if there’s no time, you should consider making time–investing in yourself an hour a day shouldn’t be too much to ask–your health is worth it, right?!

Enough lecturing..

With your 5 days, I recommend three of the days be spent doing total body strength training-spaced out evenly throughout the week–like Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Make sure your program includes total body movements, circuits, and incomplete rest periods– preferably with reps in the 12-20 range. Seeking out a good personal trainer with experience in designing programs geared toward fat loss may be a worthwhile investment.

Along with your strength training, commit to doing energy work or cardio two days a week–preferably some form of interval training–like Tuesday, Thursday.

These are some ideas to get you started. Remember that it’s not a question of whether you can lose the weight and keep it off. It’s more a matter of taking the attitude:

“I am going to lose the weight and get to my goal in time for my wedding no matter what.”

I find the no matter what part to be extremely powerful in going after any goals in life.

Technorati Tags: exercise-frequency, fat loss, how to eat healthy, Nutrition, Program Design

Question:

I am professional dancer and I have recently change my eating and exercising habits and dropped 20 lbs. I do 40 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning 5 days a week and I do the ab wheel every night and some push ups pull ups and dips 3x a week. I still have a little bit of fat around my lower abdominal area. I know diet is 80% of the battle and I eat fruits and vegetables everyday along with lean protein and a little bit of carbs. Are there any little tricks I can do to lose the last little bit of fat? Otherwise I am quite happy with my body… Thanks Doug!

Congrats on your weight loss and getting a body you’re happy with. And props for addressing the major issues like exercise and nutrition and for realizing their importance before worrying yourself with the smaller details.

Here is what I noticed you’re doing right:

• Nutrition–eating lean protein, fruits, and vegetables every day-keeping carbs to a minimum.
• Exercise
  • Frequency- This is how many times per week you exercise. I haven’t stressed this very much on this blog, but frequency is crucial. You’ve built a lifestyle that incorporates exercise so you can get your work in 5+ days a week–way to go!
  • Strength Training- You’re doing 3 days/week of some sort of strength work with your dips, pushups, and pull-ups.
  • Cardio- You’re also incorporating cardio 5 days per week (though I recommend interval training).
  • Core-Training-Keep it up with the pushups and ab wheel exercises.
• Mindset–You realize the importance of nutrition and consistent exercise, are not looking for shortcuts, and you’re obviously willing to put in the necessary work.

That being said, there is one thing I noticed from what you told me about your program that jumped out at me.

Where’s the lower body strength training?!!!!!

Ya know, for your ass and legs—You missed a few BIG muscles here.

Remember, you want to build muscle so that your body burns fat more efficiently. And believe me-if you’re not yet incorporating resistance training with your lower body, you still have a lot of room to grow.

I know you’re doing cardio (and a lot of it), but you’d be better off replacing 20 minutes of cardio with some squat, deadlift, and lunge variations on your three strength training days. This will allow you to keep the ball rolling with your results.

This will ensure that every part of your body will be constantly in a state of building new muscle and burning Calories, (which is what you want in order to lose that last bit of fat.)

So go do some squats and let me know how it goes!!!

Technorati Tags: ab roller, abs, calories, cardio, Core Training, fat loss, lower-body-training, meal frequency, Nutrition, Program Design, strength training, weight loss

I just read a great post over on Mike Robertson’s blog, titled Metabolic Momentum.

Have you ever noticed that there are some people who are in great shape and have low body fat, but don’t exactly strike you as perfect eaters?

I know I have..

You may see someone who likely has a six pack out at a sports bar having beer and wings on the weekend.. or munching on a few fries. Heck, I know some people with great physiques who seem to have a terrible sweet tooth on occasion.

So what’s the difference between this person and the person who is frustrated and fed up, having troubling reaching their goals, even when they try to eat healthy?

The answer (or at least part of the answer), as Mike pointed out, is that the fit person has Metabolic Momentum working in their favor.

What do I mean by this?

While you may see someone with a killer body treating themselves to something sweet or greasy on the weekend, what you may not see is that they have been disciplined in their eating for a decent period of time before this “cheat meal”. They are exercising and working their butt off in their training sessions and are consistently eating high quality foods–and often enough to keep that metabolism churning like a madman.

Their metabolism is at such a high level from having a healthy routine of exercise and proper nutrition, that a couple of fries or wings isn’t that big a deal–their body has become a super calorie-burning machine and sure as heck won’t be stopped by a couple of pieces of fried grease.

It’s because of MOMENTUM..

Think about when you ride a bicycle.

If you start off from a stop, you have to pedal really hard in order to get the bike moving. As you keep pedaling hard and putting in the necessary work, the bike begins to move faster and pedaling gets easier until you’re at a relatively high speed.

So what would happen if you came across a small incline in the road that lasted a few yards?

Well if you had enough momentum, it wouldn’t be that big a deal–you’ll coast up the hill, not have to pedal much harder, and keep moving relatively quickly and easily once you’re over.

The same principle applies when burning Calories. You’ve worked hard all week, have eaten the right foods with the right frequency, and you have been busting your hump during the week at the gym.

With all that momentum you’ve built up, do you really think a couple of chicken wings and a beer is gonna slow you down?

Hell no.

So ask yourself a question. When I eat garbage, is it the norm? If it is, you need to stop it.

Your thought process should go something like this: “I know this is not a great thing to put in my body, but I can get away with it because it’s not something I eat very often and I know I’ll get back on track with my diet right away.”

So get on track with your diet, and get your hard exercise in during the week.

Start building yourself some momentum!

Technorati Tags: Discipline, fat loss, meal frequency, metabolic-momentum, metabolism, Momentum, Nutrition

Question:

I have a skinny 6 pack when I flex but when i’m not flexing im just skinny. I need to lose weight to get the 6 pack to show normally. How many calories should I eat a day? How much should I run on the treadmill for ? How many crunches should I do?

Well, it’s good that you have your goal. You’re on the right track in knowing that you need to lose body fat (not necessarily weight) in order for your abs to show.

There are two major components to changing your body composition–Nutrition and Exercise

Nutrition

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First, the number of Calories you eat per day is just one factor that will affect your rate of fat loss. The answer to your question about how many Calories to eat per day depends on a few factors including your age, gender, and current level of activity–this could range from 1800 for an older sedentary female to about 4,000 or more for a young male powerlifter. More than likely, you fall somewhere in the middle, and to determine this number, your best bet would be to seek the help of a registered dietitian.

What I can tell you is that in order to get a six pack, an important factor is where your Calories are coming from. They should be coming from fruits, vegetables (think brocolli, carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes, etc.), lean meat (think chicken breasts, lean ground beef, salmon), and healthy fats and oils (walnuts, olive oil, fish oil).

Follow these basic guidelines:

• Replace all juices, sodas, or any Calorie-containing beverages with water and tea, and even coffee (black). Yes, skim milk is a calorie-containing beverage.

• Eat more frequent meals (~6x a day)–when you eat these meals, eat for the purpose of preventing hunger long enough to last you until your next meal.

-Save your high carbohydrate starchy meals like oatmeal, bread, and pasta for hours following your workout sessions.

Exercise

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Running on the treadmill is one way to burn calories, but isn’t the most effective way of burning fat. A total body strength training program where you perform total body movements like squats, bench presses, rows, deadlifts, and stepups 3 days a week would be the quickest first step to fat loss.

As for core work, I’m not a big fan of crunches, but that’s a different post entirely. You actually don’t need to do as much ab work as you think. Five minutes three to four days a week will probably be fine–again, your focus should be on total body exercise and nutrition. I’m not saying neglect your ab work–it’s important–just not the determining factors in getting your 6 pack!

Conclusion

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If you follow the above nutrition guidelines with a total body strength training program, you should start to see those abs showing in no time. The key is consistency. If you slip up on one meal or miss a workout, no big deal–just get back on track when it comes time for your next feeding opportunity or exercise session.

I hope this answers your question and as will always be the case on this blog, your questions and comments are encouraged.

Technorati Tags: Core Training, fat loss, foods, get a 6 pack, Nutrition