• FAT: How is it measured?
• What is an aerobic exercise?
• What is an anaerobic exercise?
• How to get over a plateau?
• Should I use a lifting belt?
• Will aerobics hurt growth?
• Should I train if I'm sick?
• Free Weights vs Machines?

• How to get a washboard stomach? or How can I get rid of the FAT around my ANY BODY PART?
• What things should I know before starting a training program?
• What should my heart rate be to lose FAT?
• How long should I work out to burn FAT?
• What's a warm-up and cool-down?
• What's a suggested beginner weight routine?
• Should I train a muscle if it's sore?
• What are the best ways to lose weight?
• What are the best ways to gain weight?
• Do I count the weight of the bar?
• How should I breathe while lifting?
• Should I eat before or after training?
• Is more protein necessary for weight training?
• I'm not getting any bigger. What can I do?
• Is there a table for doing X pounds for Y reps?
• What are Fat burners and Stacking?
• What exercises should I avoid?
• What's High Intensity training (HIT)? or What can be done to work the muscle further?
• What type of routine should I use when lifting weights?
• Is the order in which muscles are worked important?
• Periodization/cycling what is it?
• What's the best exercise to do and when is the best time to workout?
• Shin splints: what is it and how to get rid of them.
• Will muscle turn into FAT?
• What are Plyometrics? or How can I jump higher?
• I don't want to be HUGE. Should I still lift weights?
• If I'm doing both aerobic exercise and weight training, which one should be done first?
• How does form affect the muscles that are worked?
• Supplements (Chromium Picolinate, Met-Rx, Vanadyl Sulfate, Cybergenics, etc.), do they work?
• How much protein is in an egg?

Body FAT (BF) is usually given as a percentage of total weight. If a 100lb person has 10% body FAT, that person has 10lbs of FAT and 90 pounds of lean body mass (LBM) (water, muscle, bone, etc). There are 3500 calories in 1 pound of FAT. Body FAT is usually tested in 4 different ways.

Hydrostatic weighing (Immersion): Weight is taken while under the water and it is used to find your %BF.

Pros: Thought to be the most reliable.

Cons: A lot of equipment is needed, usually found at most Universities. Time consuming and sort of a hassle. What you eat the day before, or before the test, can affect the accuracy.

Infrared: Infrared light is used to determine your body FAT.

Pros: Fast.

Cons: Not very reliable.

Impedance: The %BF is calculated by measuring the impedance between certain areas of the body, usually between the fingers and the toes.

Pros: Fast.

Cons: Not very reliable.

Pinch test: Calipers are used to measure skin fold thickness.

Pros: Thought to be very reliable. The more places tested the more accurate the results. Most gyms have a caliper.

Cons: May be embarrassing to have someone pinch your FAT. If the person is inexperienced the results may be very inaccurate.

Here is a simple formula for estimating your bodyfat (in pounds). I think it was published in the a book with a title like The YMCA Guide to Physical Fitness Assessment.

For men: Bodyfat = -98.42 + 4.15*waist - .082*bodyweight,
For women: Bodyfat = -76.76 + 4.15*waist - .082*bodyweight,

Where "waist" is your waist measurement in inches, and "bodyweight" is your total body weight in pounds. Divide your bodyfat by your total weight to get your bodyfat percentage.

Regardless of which test you use, record the %BF and have it tested after a few months, using the same method and person, if possible, to make sure what you're doing is having the right effect. If involved in resistance training your weight should go up or stay the same while your BF goes down. (An increase in LBM is a good thing).

For men < 15% is considered athletic, 25 being about average. For women < 22% is considered athletic, 30 being about average.

Repeat after me "You can't spot reduce!". Men generally store FAT around their waist, while women generally keep it around their hips. There is no exercise, magical cream (yet), plastic wrap procedure, or anything else other than liposuction, that will remove FAT from a certain area. That's usually the first place it builds up and it's the last place it will depart.

The best way to get and keep a washboard stomach, or shapely hips, is by following a low FAT diet and doing plenty of aerobics. Crunches, or side leg raises, while strengthening and building the muscles, will not make them appear through the layer of FAT between them and the skin. Get rid of the FAT and the abs will should show up and/or the hips will become firm and trim.

Heart Rate (HR) is the number of times the heart beats per minute. This is usually taken by pressing on the front, left side of the neck, or the inner wrist, and counting the number of beats in a certain time. i.e. If you counted 10 beats, starting at zero, in 10 seconds your HR would be 60 (10*60 sec(1min)/10). When doing an aerobic work out your Max Heart Rate (MHR) needs to be determined. Your MHR is defined as 220-Your Age. A 20-Year old's MHR would be 200, while a 50-Year old's would be 170. While performing aerobic exercise your HR should stay in the range of MHR*.50 to MHR*.80. This is your Training Zone. So a 20-year old should keep their HR between 100 and 160. Keeping the HR above this zone will not provide additional aerobic benefit, in fact, it may provide no aerobic benefit at all. For best results, aerobic and FAT burning, keep your HR in the aerobic zone for at least 12 minutes. The longer and more frequently you do this the more improvement you'll see.

An aerobic work out should last at least 12 minutes, not counting warm up or cool down, only the amount of time your HR is within your Training Zone. The longer and more frequently you do this the sooner you'll see an improvement (Less Fat..).

Why 12 minutes? According to Covert Baily this is the amount of time needed for the body to start producing FAT burning enzymes. It does level off, but the idea is that you want to get your body to use FAT for energy. After 12 minutes you start to burn fat at a higher rate.

After 5-10 minutes the percentage of FATs burned rises while the percentage of carbohydrates drops. The fact is, after 30 minutes of running, the body burns a higher percentage of FAT.

At rest the body is burning 65%-80% fat 20-35% glycogen. The body does this to conserve glycogen. It takes much less oxegen to burn glycogen than fat (fatty acids). That is why the preferred fuel (from the bodies standpoint not yours) for heavy exercise is glycogen. And then the body will replace the glycogen by further food intake or burning fat later on. The brain requires glycogen (cannot burn fatty acids) so if you are burning glycogen long enough (The 12 minutes) the body realizes that it is going to run out of glycogen if things keep going and starts to shift over to burning fatty acids to spare the glycogen.

What are the best ways to lose weight?

Don't be so concerned about how much you weigh. Instead be concerned about how much of that weight is FAT. You want the weight loss to be caused by losing FAT, not muscle or water.

To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you take in. To do it efficiently and to make sure it stays off the following three steps should be taken and should become part of your every day life.

Start an aerobic program. The activity should be something that you like doing, and look forward to doing. The activity doesn't need to be an aerobics class. Instead it could be walking, biking, inline/ice skating, dancing, etc. Anything that will elevate your HR and keep it around your Training Zone for at least 12 minutes. Remember, the longer the better.

Modify what you eat. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, chicken, rice, potatoes, etc. Read the labels. 1g FAT = 9 calories (to make the math a little easier round that up to 10 calories) 1g protein or carbohydrates = 4 calories. Don't be fooled by "95% FAT free"! Look carefully at how many calories come from FAT. i.e. if something has 120 calories, which is pretty low, but it has 9 g FAT and 5 g protein and 5 g carbohydrates, almost 70% of that product is FAT. Try to eliminate the FAT that you eat. There is FAT in virtually everything so shooting for a 0% FAT diet will probably put you in the 10%-20%, just because not everything is FAT free, and you do need some FAT in your diet. Simply switching the obvious foods will make a big difference, such as, skim instead of whole milk, chicken instead of hamburger, bagels instead of croissants, etc. Also eating small meals more frequently during the day will raise your metabolism and keep you from getting that "I'm starving" feeling.

Resistance Training: To build muscle that will, in turn, help burn calories throughout the day. A simple weight program where you slowly add weight and perform basic exercises every other day, such as, Squats, Bench Press, Pull-downs, and Military Presses are enough for most people.

General hints on Weight Loss: Don't go on starvation diets. This will slow down your metabolism and may actually make you FATter.

Don't take products such as SlimFast. Drinking SlimFast may work in the beginning, but you need to modify your eating habits for a lifetime.

Don't buy anything that looks like a gimmick. The Thighmaster, Fat burning pills, some portable thing-a-ma-jig. Spend the money on good food and save it for your new clothes you'll need in a couple of months.

Get your BF% calculated and check it every other month.

Forget about the scale and buy a full length mirror. Standing in front of it nude will tell you much more than the scale will. "A picture is worth a thousand words"

Whatever you do HAVE FUN! If you start on some horrible (grapefruit) diet, a month later you're going to hate it and, more than likely, end up putting on more FAT.

I know everyone will say "I wish I had to gain weight..." but gaining weight (LBM) is a goal for a lot of people.

To gain weight you need to consume more calories than you burn up. To do it efficiently, and to make the weight muscle, not FAT, you'll need to start a weight training program. You want the weight to be muscle, not FAT. To do this you'll need to slowly increase your caloric intake, usually by eating another meal during the day or by using a weight gain supplement. Make sure the food is protein and carbohydrates and not FAT. Give it time. 10-15 pounds of muscle in a year is pretty good.

Aerobic means oxygen. Your muscles are working in an oxygen rich state. After 12 minutes it causes your body to produce FAT-burning enzymes.

According to Covert Baily, an aerobic exercise is one that fits the following four requirements.

Is steady, nonstop. Lasts twelve minutes minimum. Has a comfortable pace. Uses the muscles of the lower body.

An easy way to measure if your training too hard/fast is a simple talk test. If you can't carry on a conversation without huffing and puffing for breath you need to slow down. If you can carry on a conversation without stopping every now and then for a breath then you need to go a little faster. You have to be doing some work. Your heart rate and your breathing needs to be elevated.

Examples: walking/running, cycling, rowing, stair climbing, dancing.

Anaerobic means lack of oxygen. Your muscles are working in an oxygen deprived state. This causes your body to produce sugar-burning enzymes. You are expending energy faster than your body can replace it by metabolizing oxygen.

An anaerobic exercise is any activity that fails to meet the above 4 requirements. An aerobic activity can become anaerobic if the heart rate is elevated above the training zone for a long period of time. Any start/stop activities would qualify. Examples: tennis, football, sprinting, skiing, weight training.

A person beginning a training program needs to realize a few things before they begin. First, changes don't happen overnight. You have to think about where you want to be a year or two from now and slowly achieve minor goals. Putting on muscle, or taking off FAT should be done slowly and correctly for best results. Second, if you want to become more healthy you'll probably need to alter your lifestyle for your lifetime. Many people take up aerobics or weight training, lose/gain a few pounds and quit. Months later they're back where they were. Third, you need to be informed. There are plenty of books and magazines to help get you started. Ask a lot of questions and experiment with different exercises and/or activities. Last, not everyone has the genetics to have 20" arms or to run a sub 4 minute mile. Don't get discouraged about what you don't have. Improve on what you do have.

A warm-up is an activity that gets your muscles "warmed up". Usually a 5 minute bike ride at a steady comfortable pace, or a brisk 5 minute walk, is enough. Most people like to go until they "break a sweat". A cool-down is just the opposite. You want to gradually slow the body down. This is usually done by biking/walking at a fairly fast pace and gradually slowing down over a few minutes. Stretching also makes up a part of the cool down.

Beginners, as well as advanced, should stick to the basic exercises. Basic is not meant as -beginner- but as an exercise that uses a lot of muscles. Rest is very important. During the actual weight training the muscle is broken down, it grows/rebuilds while it's resting, usually taking 48-96 hours. So a program should also have "days off". A beginner should also exercise the whole body. Beginners also need to find the correct weight to use. Generally the weight should be heavy enough so you can do 10 reps, with the last couple being pretty tough. If you can do 11 then raise the weight slightly. You should keep a log and write down the sets and poundages you used. Slowly up the weight when you can do at least 10 reps (work set). Don't get all wrapped up in how much weight you can do. Focus on good form and think about that muscle doing the work. Weight and strength will come with time. Okay, here's a basic beginner exercise program, it is by no means "the" only program, it's just meant as a guideline:

Done every other day, then 2 days off. (typically M-W-F, weekend off)

1. Warm-up: 5-10 minutes
2. Squats: 2 sets of progressive warm-ups. 1 work set
3. Deadlifts: 2 sets of progressive warm-ups. 1 work set
4. Bench Press: 2 sets of progressive warm-ups. 1 work set
5. Pull-ups/downs: 2 sets of progressive warm-ups. 1 work set
6. Abs
7. Cool down & stretching: 5-10 minutes.

All of this should take < 60 minutes. The log book may look something like this, the weights are just made up (YMMV):

1. Squats: 100x10 (thats 100 pounds for 10 reps)
2. Deadlifts: 50x10
3. Bench: 45x10
4. Pull downs: 40x10
5. Abs: 10 crunches

After 1 month of this you should add another set to your work out. The log may look something like this:

1. Squats: 130x10 130x10
2. Deadlifts: 65x10 65x10
3. Bench: 45x10 60x10
4. Pull downs: 40x10 60x10
5. Abs: 20 crunches

After 1 month of this (month 3) you may add another set to your work out and stay with this for 3 months then take a week off and add exercises as needed. The idea is to slowly add weight(1-5 lbs) per week and do the same number of reps as you did before. If you can't do that weight then try it again next week. If you still can't do it the next week, then you've hit a temporary plateau.

Plateaus are when you become "stuck" at lifting a certain weight for weeks and you can't seem to get past it. Here are a few ways to get through a plateau.

1. Take a week off. Give your body a chance to rest.
2. Cycle your training and change your exercises.
3. Work on the "weak link". i.e. Your triceps could limit your bench.
4. Shock the muscles.
5. Stripping (explained in other parts of the FAQ)
6. Negatives (explained in other parts of the FAQ)
7. 10 sets of 10 using a light weight.

Have your training partner put on the weights using a lot of 10-lbs and 5-lbs so you don't know what you're lifting just by glancing at the weights. It should be around your normal weight. It might be because of a mental block.

No. If your legs are sore from squatting and today is bench day, that's okay. But if your legs are still sore from the last leg work out, take at least another day off. Rest is when the muscle grows.

Yes. If you're training for maximum muscle mass, aerobics will slow down muscle growth.

Yes. Normal Olympic barbells are 45 pounds. EZ-Curl bars are around 20. It's for your own purposes, so you don't have to, but when you start talking weights you should know that most people include the weight of the bar. In some cases, such as, Leg Press or various other machines, just record the weight you add. Be careful when going to other gyms, their platform/sled may weigh a lot more than yours.

Usually exhale on the contraction of the muscle. It's the part of the exercise that occurs when you're working against gravity.

In most cases a lifting belt is not needed. Using a belt all the time actually weakens the abdominals and the lower back, by making them work less. Weight belts are suggested when doing max squats or heavy lifting above the head.

When training you should work out on an empty stomach, or close to it. You want the blood to be available for your muscles, not tied up digesting food. You want to eat within 90 minutes after a work out.

MM2000 suggests riding the stationary bike at the end of your work out for about 10 minutes and slowly drink apple juice during your ride.

Post workout snacks should be simple carbs with a little protein. Orange Juice and some yogurt or a banana would be a good snack.

Keep the protein intake at 12-15% of total calories. If you can't gain muscle mass on this kind of protein intake, you may have a genetic requirement for more protein than what the average bodybuilder would need. Another factor is the stage of your training. If you are just starting out, you will need more protein. But as you reach plateau, your protein intake should be cut back(0.8 to 1.0 grams per kg of body weight).

Muscle is just like FAT cells, once you have reached the genetic max for protein in muscle cells or FAT in adipose cells no additional amount of protein or carbohydrate will get these cells to become bigger. Dr. Lemon at Kent State recommends that during the growth phase, protein intake be kept in the 1.5 to 2.0 grams per kg body weight range but even with this kind of protein intake, Dr. Lemon says that your protein intake as a percent of total calories should still be kept in the 12 to 15% range. This advice is for the natural bodybuilders. Using steroids and/or growth hormone stimulators decreases your protein requirement for muscle development(this is probably why the Russians cut back on their protein intake once they started using their little tricks).

There are basically four things to look at. First, you may be over training. Try taking a week off and when you come back take it easy for a few weeks and evaluate your work out. Second, eat, eat, eat! You'll never get bigger if you don't give your body the resources to rebuild itself. Make sure the food you're eating is nutritious. Third, your body may be used to doing the same thing every work out. Try changing your exercises. Finally, you may be hitting your genetic peak. Not everyone can have 20" arms. Basically, taking a break, eating more and changing your work out should help when you hit a growth plateau.

This was posted on misc.fitness a while ago.

Fat burners are described as something that will either burn more FAT, than normal, or inhibit FAT from being created. Caffeine could be considered a FAT burner, since it raises the heart rate causing the body to burn more calories, but it's affects on burning FAT are minimal.

Stacking refers to taking more than one drug at a time to get more of an effect. Taking caffeine, ephedrine, and aspirin at the same time will produce a greater effect than the total if taken separatly.

According to the study, the stack that proved to be the most effective is 20mg ephedrine / 200mg caffeine. They also suggest adding 300mg of aspirin to further enhance the thermogenic effect.

The stack should be taken 3 times a day to optimize the "FAT-burning" effect. The study says the side effects, insomnia, jitterness, etc. are only temporary.

The study also surmises that the stack may also inhibit the body's ability to form FAT as well as burn it.

The "optimal" synergistic effect of caffeine and ephedrine is reported in numerous muscle mags (for want of more reliable sources) as 1mg ephedrine to 10 mg caffeine. A dose of 20 mg of ephedrine with 200 mg of caffeine is used in the studies. A product containing these two compounds in this ratio (but not the only product, just the only one I know off hand) is TwinLab's RIPPED FUEL. It is also HUGELY expensive. [CORRECTION: RIPPED FUEL's proportions of ephedrine to caffeine is 20mg to 100mg.

A less expensive route is to buy ephedrine (either in pills or drops) and use coffee as your caffeine source. The problem with this is that the amount of caffeine in coffee varies with the type of coffee how it is brewed. A bench-mark I use is 1 cup of coffee = 100mg caffeine.

If you are really interested in the thermogenic combinations, adding an aspirin to the mix increases the effect, and naringenin (found in grapefruit and grapefruit juice) prolongs the caffeine effect. Theophyllin (sp?) in tea is reported to be thermogenic as well, although caffeine levels in tea vary more than do those in coffee. Chinese green tea supposedly contains ephedrine and caffeine although I have yet to find anything that shows what the levels of each are.

Thermogenesis is the conversion of fat and food to produce heat, and not chemical energy (ATP). When thermogenic effects are stated, it implies that the substance or substances encourage the body to increase metabolic rate in the production of heat. This generally results in an increase in body temperature (of at most 2 degrees, from what I've read, although I don't recall if those were fahrenheit degrees or Celsius degrees). This corresponds to an increased utilization of calories and as a result, fat loss.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ABOVE STACK MAY BE DANGEROUS FOR SOME PEOPLE! PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART/LUNG PROBLEMS, ETC. SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM SUCH PRODUCTS. IF YOU NOTICE ANY PROBLEMS, DISCONTINUE USE AND SEE YOUR DOCTOR IMMEDIATELY!

Lifting straps are worn around the wrist and wrapped tightly around the bar. They are usually made out of a heavy cloth and have an open loop at one end, so a loop may be made and your hand placed through it. This allow you to lift more weight than your grip can handle. Usually done while working the back, such as deadlifts, various rows, pull-[ups/downs], and sometimes curls. Treat these similar to lifting belts. Use them as a lifting aid for your heavy sets. Do plenty of lighter sets to help improve your grip and forearm strength.

Generally if the sickness is above the neck, it's alright to exercise (sinus, headache, sore throat, etc). Just take it easy and respect others who aren't sick by wiping off the bar or handlebars when finished and by washing your hands frequently if your sickness is contagious. It might also be a good time to take a few days off to let your body recuperate, getting sick might be a sign of overtraining.

There will always be an argument as to which one is better. Free weights work more muscles, indirectly, for stability and balance and they allow a free range of motion. Machines isolate muscles better and are more safe, since you can't drop a bar on you or get pinned under a bar on your final rep, and you don't need a spotter. Most people who train use both, or whatever type is available. A lot can also be accomplished by doing exercises with neither, such as, push-ups, pull-ups, one-legged squats, lunges, etc. Each exercise or piece of equipment hits the muscles at a slightly different angle. Experiment to find what works for you. A good way to use free weights and machines is by doing an exercise, using the free weights, then go directly to a machine and work the muscle further. This way the muscle can be worked to failure with less risk of injury and you'll probably work the muscle harder knowing that you're not going to get stuck under the bar.

Any exercise can cause an injury when done improperly. To keep it safe go slow, don't bounce, and don't cheat. The only exercise that are generally not advised are the following:

1. Full sit-ups, do crunches instead.
2. Upright Rows, may cause shoulder problems/pain.
3. Deep pullovers, may cause shoulder problems/pain.

If you feel any pain during any exercise STOP!

High Intensity training is using various methods to further stress the muscle, to cause more growth. The following are some common methods. These should be used sparingly to shock the muscles or to help you get over a plateau. Allow for adequate warm-up and rest and go to positive failure on each set.

Forced Reps: After positive failure is reached spotters assist you in doing a couple of more reps.

Partials: Doing a movement through a small range of motion. Usually used to strengthen the weak part of a lift. Also commonly seen when the person is using too much weight and can't do the full movement.

Negatives: Using a weight that's above your max and only perform the negative portion (The part of the activity where the weight is moving with gravity). Spotters lift the weight through the positive area and you do the negatives.

Stripping: Doing a set to failure then the spotters remove some weight and you do a few more reps to failure. This can continue for many reps.

Burns: After positive failure occurs, continue doing mini-reps (a few inches of movement) to keep stress on the muscles.

Super Set: To further fatigue a muscle an isolation movement is followed immediately by a basic movement. i.e. Flyes followed by doing a Bench press.

Tri Set: Similar to Super Sets only three exercises are used instead of two.

21's: Do half of the movement for 7 reps, then do the other half for 7 reps then do 7 full reps. i.e. Barbell curl: Curl from arms straight to 90-degrees for 7 reps. Then curl from 90-degrees to arms perpendicular to floor for 7 reps. Then do 7 full reps. This is done non-stop and considered 1 set.

MODIFIED HIGH INTENSITY SETS

The so-called "High Intensity Training" method championed by Mike Mentzer, Arthur Jones and Ellington Darden calls for a reduced number of sets and a reduced workout frequency. The reduced number of sets (down to only one work set in some versions of the method) and greater recovery time allows the trainee to work each set to failure.

The article claims that many HIT trainees have not made the gains claimed by HIT advocates and that this failure can be attributed to three reasons:

1. insufficient warmup
2. too heavy weights
3. over-emphasis on forced reps and negative reps

The Modified High Intensity Training method (or MHIT) aims to solve these problems by restructuring the sets by:

1. incorporating proper warmup into the single set using 65-70% of the 1 rep max weight
2. expand the single set to 15 reps with the first half done super-slow and the second half done explosively

This keeps the weights safely low, incorporates a warmup and exhausts both slow and fast-twitch fibres. So a single MHIT set follows the following pattern: There is no rest between phase 1 and 2.

WE recommend a three day per week workout on a two-way split as follows:

1. Monday: chest, back, legs
2. Wednesday: shoulders, arms
3. Friday: whole body

There are many routines that people use. The "best" one is the one that fits your schedule and gives you adequate rest. There are many variables to each routine, how often, how much rest, what exercises, when to cycle, etc. All of these are very different for everyone. Experiment, try them all, make up your own, find what works for you and stick with it.

Here are a few common ways to split up your work out.

1. Upper body/Lower body: Work the muscles above your waist on one day, then work the muscles below your waist on the next work out.
2. Push/Pull: Work the opposing muscle groups on the same work out. Triceps & Biceps, Quads & Hamstrings, Chest & Back. Or work only those muscles that "push" on one day and the muscles that "pull" on another.
3. 3(or 4)-on-1(or 2)-off: Working the different muscles every day, the "on" days, until the whole body is worked, then taking a day or two off.
   
   i.e.

• Day 1: Back and Biceps.
• Day 2: Legs & Calves
• Day 3: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
• Day 4: OFF
• Day 5: OFF or Day 1

Or

• Day 1: Back and Traps
• Day 2: Chest, Shoulders
• Day 3: Triceps & Biceps
• Day 4: Legs & Calves
• Day 5: OFF
• Day 6: OFF or Day 1

Work one body part in the morning and another in the evening. M-W-F: Working out every other day, then take the weekend off. Work different body parts on on Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday taking Wednesday and the weekend off. Work a different body part every day, take at least 2 days off then start again. Give larger muscle groups (Legs, back, chest) more days off, and hit the smaller muscles, since they recover faster, more often. Alternate between light weight(12-15 reps) and High weight 6-8 rep days.
i.e.

• Day 1: Back and Biceps (Heavy)
• Day 2: Legs & Calves (Light)
• Day 3: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps (Heavy)
• Day 4: OFF
• Day 1: Back and Biceps (Light)
• Day 2: Legs & Calves (Heavy)
• Day 3: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps (Light)
• Day 4: OFF

YES! The muscles should be work from largest to smallest. If you already have enough size in most of the large muscles then work your weakest body part first. The muscles should be worked in this order: quads, chest, back, hamstrings, shoulders, calves, triceps, biceps, forearms/wrists, abs.

Why? To get the most gains the large muscles have to be worked hard enough to promote growth. If, for example, you worked your triceps to failure then tried to bench press, to work the chest, your triceps would be worn out before your chest worked hard enough to grow.

Avoid working abs and then doing Squats. The abs are a very important link in doing squats, they shouldn't be tired before doing squats. If triceps are worked before the chest make sure to lower the weight when working the chest.

Cycling is where you cycle the training of your muscles to keep them growing. You train them for a certain period then switch or rest. Here are two common ways to use periodization:

10-rep cycle: I'm not sure of the "official" name I just tagged it with this title. When performing this type of cycle you never do more than 10-reps per set, and only 2 work sets. To start, you need to know your 10-rep/MAX weight for the exercises you're going to perform. That is at what weight do you hit positive failure at around the 10th rep. Write this weight down and figure out 80%, 90%, 95% of that weight, for each exercise. To begin the cycle start out at doing only 80% of your maximum 10-rep weight for 10-reps. This should be a very easy work out. At the next work out use 90%, then 95%, then 100% at your fourth work out, which should be about 3-4 weeks after the cycle is started. If you work out more than once per week then gradually add weight during the week, keeping pace with the above outline. When you hit your previous 100% weight you should be able to add a little more weight at next week's work out. Keep adding a small amount of weight, 1-2 lbs, per work out until you can't do 10-reps for 2 weeks in a row. When that happens your muscles are no longer getting stronger. Take a week off. Then start at 80% of your new max. Another CYCLE is to cycle both the reps and weight over ~12 weeks. The following is from "GETTING STRONGER". 

The best exercise to do is whatever exercise you enjoy. Most people like variety and will run one day and play basketball the next day. Find an activity that you enjoy and stick with it.

The best time to work out is, again, whatever time of day you like. Some people are morning people and they usually have no problem with going to the gym at 0600, others like to workout at night. What time of day you workout isn't important, what's important is how you're working out and if you're getting enough nutrients and rest.

Shin splints is....condition that can result from muscle imbalance. They are characterized by generalized pain in front of the lower leg and are particularly common in runners and running backs.... The most common cause is a muscle imbalance where the calf muscles--which pull the forefoot down--overpower the shin muscles--which pull the forefoot up. As the athlete continues to train, the calf muscle usually becomes proportionately much stronger than the shin muscles.

The treatment for shin splints is to strengthen the weaker muscles (shins) and stretch the stronger muscles (calves).

To strengthen the shins, run up stairs. To stretch the calves,...(do stretching exercises for the calves, et. the wall push-ups)'' *end of excerpts.

In my experience, I have found that stretching is the real key to avoiding shin-splints. I believe there's a book with stretches by Bob Anderson that you may want to check. Also, back issues of running magazines sometimes have helpful information. Basically, I do the standard "lean on the wall stretch" and a stretch by standing flat-footed on one leg and bending at the knee to stretch the achilles. I then top these off with a few toe raises (no weights!) before I head out to run... If you're having trouble, I'd recommend stretching 2-3 times a day until you get over the problem. Start slowly!

Also, you probably should avoid hills and extremely hard surfaces until the situation improves. I've known several people who've had shin splints and gotten over them by stretching. (Of course, you should be careful in case the shin splints are the result of a more severe problem...)

Try picking up marbles with your toes and holding onto them for a few seconds.

While recovering from shin splints, it may help to use a wedge in the heel of your shoes. By raising the heel, you are reducing the pull on the muscles and tendons on the front.

Stand on the stairs with your heels out over the edge. Lower your heels as far as they will go without undue discomfort, and hold for 15 seconds. Slowly raise yourself up on your toes. Repeat 5 million times.

If you can, rig something with either surgical tubing or a large rubberband. For example: put the tubing around one of the back legs of your desk in some sort of a loop. Reach under the tubing with your toes, with your heel as a pivot pull the tubing toward you. This will work the muscle in the front of the shins. Repeat 6 million times. It's easier than the stair exercise.

Run on different terrain, preferably grass. It'll absorb the shock.

This normally affects knees, but it might affect shins. Don't run on the same side of the road all of the time. It is sloped left or right to let the water run off. Running on the same slope for long periods of time will cause adverse effects to the ankles, shins...etc.... If you are running on a track, alternate your direction of travel, as the lean when you are going around the corners is at least as bad as the crown slope of a road. This is especially true of small indoor tracks.

For strengthening the front muscles: Make a training weight by tying a strip of cloth to a pop bottle. Sit on the kitchen counter top, hang the bottle from your toes, and raise it up and down by flexing your ankle. The weight can be adjusted by adding water or sand to the bottle.

Scatter a few chunks of 2x4 around the house where you tend to stand, say kitchen and bathroom. Now every time you are at the stove or at the bathroom (in front of either fixture) stand on the 2x4 and rest your heels on the floor. One in front of the TV and used during every commercial will either stretch you, or stop you from watching TV.

Shin splints - Usually refers to damage of the connective tissue on the front of the lower leg (tibialis anterior).

Shin splints usually are caused by putting weight/stress/shock on the ball of the foot. Causes include poor shoes (not much shock absorption), changes in surface, lack of stretching before and after exercise, rapid increase in intensity and duration. When walking or running make an effort to do this heel to toe. Heel comes down first, then let the toe come down. On the steps, you are probably flat footed.

Basically do dorsal flexion (toe raises w/heel flat on ground). This can be done sitting or standing with or without weight on the top of your foot. This will strengthen the muscle. To stretch this muscle you need to do plantar flexion (point your toes). This should be done before and after the exercise. I sometimes stand with my heel on a step, and point my toes down as far as I can.

There is another disorder called Anterior Compartment Syndrome. This is severe persistent pain in the shin area caused by build up of pressure in the connective tissue and fascia. This is probably what you've heard referred to as shin splints. I don't know of any exercise that makes shin splints heal faster (but maybe there is). I think they just get better with time.

Will muscle turn into FAT?

No! They are two different things. Will an apple turn into an orange? The muscle, if not used, will become smaller and FAT deposits may appear over and within the muscle, but the muscle doesn't change into FAT.

Well, plyometrics are basically a form of modified power training. However, generally speaking, only body weight is used due to the high impact nature of this technique. Similar power training, plyometrics emphasizes speed of movement over anything else (well, perhaps not safety). The goal is to "teach" your muscles to respond quickly and powerfully. Also, some feel that plyometrics may improve neural pathways and improve muscle fiber recruitment over time. This makes it useful as well for athletes who don't necessarily need power but desire improved strength (i.e. power lifters and body-builders). So, what exactly is plyometrics.

Well, before I get into the actual description of plyometrics and how to incorporate them into a work out routine, let me bore you with some physiology. Plyometrics relies on one of the basic facts of muscular physiology: a pre-stretched muscle is capable of generating more force. Basically, if two conditions are met during the performance of plyometrics, greater force output can be realized. The two conditions are this:

The muscle must be pre-stretched prior to the concentric movement. This pre-stretch must occur immediately prior to the concentric movement or nothing happens

Actually, you've probably all done this if you've even jumped. Think about it, when you jump what do you do right before leaving the ground? You take a slight prep by bending your legs so that you can jump further or higher. Well, this prep movement satisfies the above two conditions. This is why high jumpers do a quick knee flexion before jumping and basketball players do the same thing, so that they can go higher easier. Ok, enough physiology.

Although plyometrics can be used for essentially any muscle, it is probably most frequently performed for the legs as most athletes require the majority in their legs. Probably the most basic plyometric exercise is depth jumps. Very basically, you stand on top of a box, chair or table and jump to the ground off of it. You should absorb some of the impact by bending your knees (which fulfills requirement 1) and then immediately jump as high as possible (which fulfills requirement 2). This can be performed for several repetitions. As you can imagine, the limit to plyometric exercises is really determined by one's imagination. Plyometric push-ups are very possible by exploding the body off the floor, absorbing the impact with the hands, lowering the body slightly and then exploding again in rapid succession. Also, there are several books available which outline various plyometric exercises for various muscles.

However, understand that there is a high injury potential as this type of exercise is extremely high intensity. Generally, box height on depth jumping should be kept between eight and sixteen inches (1) to minimize risk potential. Also, due to it's high intensity nature, plyometrics should probably only be performed at limited times during the year (preferably during the power phase if you are following periodization) and no more than once a week to avoid injury. Also, due to the high stress that will be felt on the connecting tissues (ligaments and tendons), at least six months or more of basic weight training should be performed before incorporating plyometrics into any routine.

YES! For most people, adding muscle is very difficult. Hard work, eating right, and having the right genetics are all needed to get the bodybuilder look. It also takes years, and most often a lot of steroids, to put on the kind of mass that you see in magazines. If you find yourself getting more muscle than you'd like, then you can stop training and they will shrink, due to lack of work. You can use weights, or progressive resistance, to make you stronger, faster and more explosive, as well as making yourself look the way you want. If you want bigger arms it's possible to train your arms and they'll become larger. Looking like a bodybuilder takes extreme determination and the right gene pool, it isn't something that "just happens". It is also important to note that most athletes use weights to improve their strength and their performance, and don't end up looking like a bodybuilder, even though they train very hard.

If you want to add muscle and lose FAT during the same workout you should do the weight training first. Why? First of all you'll have more energy, which usually results in a more productive weight training workout. Second, there is a time span of about 60 minutes, after starting the workout, where Growth Hormone levels are slightly higher than normal. You want to take advantage of that by making the workout not last more than 60 minutes. Weight training first may hamper the aerobic exercise because your tired, but you raise your chances of building muscle, which will burn more FAT in the long run. A better way would be to do them on different days and allowing yourself adequate rest between weight training sessions.

How does form affect the muscles that are worked?

Parillo argues in the interview that what some people take to be genetic differences between two trainees, who do the same exercise but gain different results, may in fact be the result of differing exercise form. Small differences in the execution of the exercise can stress entirely different muscles or parts of muscles.

Supplements (Chromium Picolinate, Met-Rx, Vanadyl Sulfate, Cybergenics, etc. ), Do they work?

Supplements don't have any anabolic affect. They may provide extra protein or calories, but they won't build muscle for you. Those ads sure do look nice don't they? Look carefully at them. The before picture is low light, gut hanging out, bad pose, and usually no tan. In the "after" picture they're sucking in the gut, doing a descent pose, good light, oiled skin, and are usually very tan. All of that is done to make them appear larger and more defined. Supplements may have a psychological affect, which could easily make you work harder and gain muscle, but it's not the product that's making you gain muscle, it's the extra work you're doing.

The bodybuilders are getting paid very well for saying that a certain product made them who they are. The fact is that they are approached well after they win a few contests and after they are already huge. The only supplement that works is anabolic steroids, which won't be discussed in this document.

Use supplements only if you're having trouble eating a well balanced diet or are trying to increase your calories or protein intake. Don't buy them with the thought that they will suddenly pack 10 pounds of muscle on your body, they won't! Your money would be better spent on a hiring a good trainer or on buying better food. If you are going to buy a supplement, Twinlab has a good reputation for high quality products. Don't buy any Weider product. Many of their products have been tested and found to be very low quality.

What do some supplements really do?

Boron: Research found incidence of impotence & infertility in males. Increase absorption of Calcium & Magnesium, which stimulates alertness in the brain. No anabolic effect.

Vanadyl Sulfate: Increase glucose transport into muscles. Muscles will appear larger in approx. 80% of the people who use it. Once it is discontinued, the muscles go back to normal. It should be cycled, and it could be used to give you an advantage for a contest. Order it from Sports Pharma. No anabolic effect.

Chromium Picolinate:Insulin boosting action. Will provide energy for people with low blood sugar. No anabolic effect.

Cybergenics: Good, detailed training program, the supplements provide no anabolic effect.

Met-Rx: Good when used as a meal replacement. Expensive. No anabolic effect.

If you're looking for mail order places here are some recommended 1-800 numbers. Most, if not all, offer a catalog and very cheap prices.

How much protein is in an egg?

The egg is the most complete souce of protein.

EGG	White	Yolk
Protein	3g	3g
Fat	None	5g
Calories	15	60

• What are lifting straps?