Muscle Clinic - Vol 4
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From David's Mailbag.... Physical Culture expert, David Gentle responds to a series of questions sent in by our readers on a variety of topics including weight training, bodybuilding, nutrition and wellness.
QUESTION. I am currently in the process of trying to cut up, get more definition and achieve some weight loss. I have restricted my diet and quickened up my training pace. My real problem is that I get really hungry in between meals .. (and get mighty miserable and "irritable") Any suggestions for overcoming this temporary hunger?
ANSWER. Try drinking more water to help fill the stomach and stave off some of the hunger pains, this will keep you from adding calories. Also drink coffee especially black with no sugar of course, as it dulls the appetite and its stimulant effect is useful for raising the metabolism and help burn off fat. Do not however go overboard with the coffee, keep it for when you are really hungry. whilst you are reducing, save your highest calorie meals of the week for those training days. Eating some energy foods three hours or so before your workouts will enable you to get the best from your workouts.
Rich Farmer - one of the hardest trainers in the business.
QUESTION. I have had the bad luck to sustain a slight shoulder injury, but I naturally wish to continue training. I get almost guilty if I lose a couple of workouts. How should I approach this problem?
ANSWER. First thing is to find out just what injury you have actually sustained. Visit your doctor or a qualified physio/sports medic. If it's not too bad as you say, you can train "around" the injury. This will help to maintain muscle tone and blood supply to the shoulder area, the increased blood flow will aid the healing process. Keeping the area cool with ice before and after training may help to reduce pain and any inflammation.
When you re-commence using the exercises that caused the pain, keep the resistance to a real low/light point, and then gradually build up again. But you will need to be patient, and do not rush progress. Simply go through the range of movements with very light weights until you no longer feel pain.
high fat, low sex ...."Too much fatty food may lower male sex drive, say American researchers. A study conducted at the University of Utah, suggests that a high fat diet curbs the production of the hormone testosterone which fuels the male sex drive. The testosterone levels of eight men who were given fatty milk shakes dropped by 30 per cent four hours afterwards."
little and often......"Eating a little and often of wholesome food is the best way to keep the system well nourished and morale high. You could describe the body as a finely tuned violin. Slacken or make taut the strings and the instrument loses tone."
QUESTION. I am an Arnold fan and think with all the movies he has made he deserves an Oscar. How does he feel. Is he disappointed with his film career?
ANSWER. We asked him. He replied "I am a businessman. I am interested, say in a movie making money, I am not hung up on what they call artistic films. Besides, there are lots of great looking men who are all competing for the same parts. I've made my mark by being unique, unique name, unique accent and unique physique." (with acknowledgements to Terry O'Neill).
QUESTION. How many people take supplements, not just weight trainers?
ANSWER. Surveys show that an estimated 12 million people visit natural medicine practitioners each year and that more than 30 percent of the population take nutrient supplements. Supplements also have an excellent safety record, "At least 1200 times safer than drugs" says the American Association of Poison Control Centres which monitor drug safety date, "and probably tens of thousands of times safer. Prescribed medications on the other hand have an appalling safety record with around 1.5 million Americans landing up in hospital every year as a result of misprescribed medicines handed out by doctors in whose hands, it is suggested we put our precious nutrient supplements. (reference 'Health Now). An estimated 140,000 people die each year from pharmaceutical drugs which are initially supposed to cure the patient of the original illness. In contrast, there are no fatalities from vitamin and minerals supplements in the U.K. and one which did become a mini statistic in the USA was subsequently found to be erroneously reported, a mistake in the data."
QUESTION. Briefly, would it help me to "cure" my cramp after exercise, if I took Magnesium?
ANSWER. Briefly, yes it would help (as would warming up and tapering off, plus massage) A shortage of magnesium so common in those who don't eat fruit or vegetables regularly - often results in muscle cramps, as the muscles are unable to relax. Vit E - 500 Lu. - 1000 Lu. per day is also useful.
QUESTION. I am really just a beginner and don't have a lot of time to spare working out as I have a large family and need to work a lot of overtime to keep up with money problems etc. But what I wanted to ask was what is the best overall back exercise I can include in my short workout?
ANSWER. You have a choice between lat. pull downs using cables or pulleys, a superb exercise with plenty of variety allowed via hand spacing and pulling down either behind or in front of the neck, or barbell or dumbell rowing. The latter will build muscle mass through the full length of the latissimus dorsi muscles (Iats) and also bring into play the spinal erectors as they have to act as stabilizers when the torso is in the bent over position. With barbell rowing use a wide hand space for wide lats. Using dumbbells also allows for plenty of full stretching, but make sure the back muscles do the work and not momentum, i.e. don't cheat, use a controlled style and concentrate upon the muscles involved and good luck with the large family. Some day, they may subsidize your gym fees.
The sensation of the Word Games Dona Olivera
QUESTION. Can you advise me what sort of supplements to take to get 'cut up' for a forthcoming contest? Can you be specific?
ANSWER. For extreme muscularity, increase your intake of Vit B6, choline, inositol, pantothenic acid methionine, and PABA (paraminobenzoic acid) these are all lipotropic agents. Find the exact details from the suppliers of the supplements.
QUESTION. I drink a fair amount of alcohol. Will it hinder my progress? I find it helps to relax me, and drink more on weekends.
ANSWER. Alcohol will deplete your energy by tapping your vitamins, especially Vit B; it also is an added form of calories and will smooth you out. Avoid it if possible.
QUESTION. I was interested to read the letter about suffering headaches through physical exertion. I occasionally suffer from spells of this, lasting for several weeks, but neither a doctor nor optician can find anything wrong with me. I tried taking paracetamol before training, which worked, but I got a few minor injuries as I couldn't feel any pain during training. Consequently I didn't know when I was hurting myself.
However I have hit upon a solution that seems to work wonders for me anyway. I simply rub DEEP HEAT into the back of my neck about 1/2 hour before training. Sounds simple!!! I haven't had a headache since. I hope other sufferers find the tip useful. Keep up the good work.
ANSWER. What can I say, except it is nice to have such sensible and helpful readers. I personally also used to suffer from after training headaches, and found that if I rubbed embrocation like DEEP HEA T into the lower part of my right shoulder blade, I also avoided further pain. It's simple and works.
QUESTION. I am employed in heavy manual work. Rather than 3 total body workouts per week could 2 intense upper body weight sessions e.g. Monday and Thursday along with a lower body session, say Wednesday, be used to any effect? My legs also receive other exercise. Would welcome any advice. P.S. Three total workouts leave a stale feeling, but 2 or 3 a week is the only practical training time available.
ANSWER. Thanks for the brief and to the point letter, and the brief reply is YES, I do believe that the system of training you mention will work for you. After all it will still work out evenly if you simply ALTERNATE training upper and lower body workouts forgetting all about weeks and days. Just train upper body one workout, lower body the next session, and repeat even though the actual number of sessions in seven days is just three.
QUESTION. My training partner reads a lot about nutrition and said to me that I should cut out all fat from my diet. Surely we need fat in our daily diet for health reasons?
ANSWER. You are correct. Naturally I don't advise a lot of fat, but you do require some. You need for health reasons both saturated fat via dairy products and also unsaturated fats from vegetable oils. The ratio of fat required is three to one of saturated fat. Fat is required for storing energy, for supportive structure and aids chemical reactions. If you are on a low calorie diet, the body is forced to use up its fat stores. The maxim to use is aim for natural foods and balance in your diet, without excess.
QUESTION. Could you tell me whether it is possible to combine long distance running with bodybuilding? I enjoy running very much but friends have advised me that it is impossible to build muscle mass as I hope to, if I continue to burn it off as they put it through running. I am just under 5ft 11 ins tall and weigh 11 1/2 stone with a slim build although I eat like a horse. I don't particularly want to get much bigger, but I do want to improve my strength. At the moment I can only bench press about 100 Ibs maximum for example. Does my desire for greater strength mean that I will have to cut the running down? My favourite athlete by the way is DALEY THOMPSON a man of some strength and a good runner to boot.
ANSWER. DALEY THOMPSON is a man in a million as his Olympic victories prove ... I have to agree with your 'friends' and say if you continue to indulge in LONG distance running, then your gains in strength or muscle mass will be very little, the sports of running and strength are diametrically opposed to each other, and you really have to choose the one dearest to your heart. For strength one has to train hard and long, on low reps and high sets, lots of poundage, increase the weights as and when able, and when not lifting rest, rest and rest. If you simply wish for a better physique, then its O.K. for some normal short distance running or the like, as athletic pursuits can add to the aesthetic beauty of the body.
QUESTION. Is it possible to combine YOGA with my training i.e. practise some YOGA on non weight training days?
ANSWER. Unlike the former question reo running, I do believe that YOGA has benefits in the general training routines of bodybuilders because of its many positive factors. Let a Doctor give you the answer. ALISON LEAK from the BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL says. "Those who practise yoga and gradually acquire increased flexibility are less likely to run the risk of dislocations, recurrent effusions and premature osteoarthrosis. The controlled respiration in yoga is in itself a way of relaxing and concentration on breathing can very effectively empty the mind of the problems of everyday living. The combination of meditation, breathing exercises and muscle relaxation can help to control hypertension. "
QUESTION. This may sound a silly question, but every time I do sit ups, I get a very sore tail bone, lasting for days, and this is putting me off my abdominal training. Any ideas?
ANSWER. Yes stop doing sit ups, try leg or knee raises whilst supporting yourself in or on the parallel bars as if ready to practise vertical dips. You can also do leg raises or again knee raises often called frog kicks while hanging from a chinning bar.
QUESTION. What cures stretch marks? I have them around the top of my pecs and deltoids and to be honest they look awful... all silver streaks, real scars.
ANSWER. Once you've got them, then ... you've got 'em. Pregnant ladies know more about this than I, rubbing in some creams may help PREVENT them, use any emulsifying fats to help keep the skin pliant. See your local chemist (or MOTHER-CARE!)
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