Monday, December 19, 2011

Weekly Q & A

You guys have been blowing up regular posts with lots of questions, so I am assuming you have a bunch right now.

Leave a name and a question.  Bullshit is welcome.........

44 comments:

  1. thoughts on the velocity diet? I already know how you feel about biotest, and I feel the same way. I'm planning on running it with cheaper, yet high quality supps.

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  2. Paul, I've been having some tendonitis in my biceps under my shoulder recently. I figure I can use the Safety Bar or Cambered Bar to squat, I have the hand over not under for deadlifting, just have to be smart. Not sure what to do about benching. Floor Pressing, boards and dumbells? What do you think?

    Thanks,
    Jason

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  3. You think Hendo would have any chance at "Bones" Jones? I would love to see that right hand of Hendo's test Jones' jaw.

    Kind of pointless speculation to think about really I guess since Jones is taking all next year off. If they were to meet Hendo would be around 43 I believe.

    - Tim

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  4. Hey Paul,
    What are your opinions on weightlifting shoes for squatting? Do you recommend using them? I have heard that narrow stances benefit from them, but if you have a wider stance, you should stick to chuck's or something low profile. Your thoughts on this or any brands?

    Also, a second question. I am about 6'4", are wide stance squats my only option?

    KDL

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  5. paul - conditioning whilst on a high-frequency lifting schedule such as the type you're starting on? maybe 2-3days low-intensity (longer duration)? geof

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  6. Paul,

    Not a question. You gave me some advice about 6-8 weeks back. I was having serious low back pain from deadlifting/squatting. You prescribed some piriformis stretching. I did that for several weeks, and now I'm good to go! I'll definitely be keeping it as part of the routine.

    I just wanted to stop in and let you know how much I appreciate the help. It saved my training for sure.

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  7. Justin - Too expensive. I like the layout but that's a lot of jack to pay out for some god damn supplements.

    Jason - What is your hand an elbow placement like on the bar when you squat?

    Tim - I like Hendo's chances against Jones. He's got a crazy chin and can't really be rocked. Throw in the fact that he's got mad wrestling skills and I think that has a solid chance against Jones. If he ever connects with that right hand Jones is out.

    KDL - I like the VS shoes. Cheap and solid. I like them for squatting. Lots of tall guys squat Olympic style. You just need to work your technique to figure out where it is your sweets spots are. I don't think there is any right or wrong in that regard for everyone. You just have to figure out what's right for you. Play with all the techniques and see what feels best and most natural. Low bar/high bar/wide/narrow stance, etc.

    Geoff - I'm doing steady state every morning.

    Brandon - That's awesome to hear man. Glad I could help out.

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  8. Would you recommend stiff leg dls starting from the ground like a regular dl?

    -Pete

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  9. Paul - I'm looking for a little direction on the 5x10 groups (incline DB, rows, etc) Should I be doing these as drops and to failure each time (ex. 100,90,80,70,60) or should I be increasing up to a top set on these? If so, what would the progressions be? Should the warmup sets be farily easy, or should I be failing at or near the 10th rep?

    Loving the program, been through it once already and I'm nearly at PB on every lift. Changed my training for sure after years of feeling stale.

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  10. When I squat I've been going thumbless, with my hands in close. About ring/middle finger on the ring. With elbows I try to keep them as forward as possible but I'm guessing they shoot back a bit. And I carry the bar low on my back

    Thanks,
    Jason

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  11. KDL - I'm 6'7" and squat relatively narrow high bar. If you're having trouble hitting depth I'd recommend stretching your glutes - http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/GluteusMaximus/Lying.html - and your adductors - http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/HipAdductors/SeatedGroinFloor.html - and your hip flexors. It's not always your hamstrings that are holding you back.

    Hope it's okay for me to throw my thoughts in there Paul, I figured my own experiences might be helpful.

    Anyway, I had a question myself. I'm about to come off a pretty long layoff and I was thinking about following your "Increase Conditioning - Increase Strength - Increase Muscle" split suggested here - http://www.lift-run-bang.com/2010/03/choosing-right-training-split-for-your.html - but have a few questions.

    My layoff was due to knee problems which I've seen a sports physio about. Apparently I have very dormant glutes. Have you got any suggestions on whether I should modify anything and how to try and bring my glutes up to speed compared to my quads?

    I'm currently walking around an hour a day already so the steady state is a bit redundant. Would making those two steady state sessions into light jogging be too much? Is it just a case of trying it out and seeing how it goes?

    Finally, is there any problem with me throwing a bit more accessory work in there, specifically some stuff for shoulder health e.g. rotator cuff work, facepulls, rear delt flies?

    Sorry if this post is a bit of a wall of text.

    Tom

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  12. Paul, I think I've got a strained TFL. I was squatting two weeks ago, and on my top set had sudden pain in my left hip on the under-side of my hip bone closer to my side than my navel. It's still really tender and tight, and feels sore when I raise my knee.

    It didn't cause me any problems deadlifting, and I got through a bare minimum squat session this week with only mild discomfort (mostly on front squats). I've been using foam rolling, and alternating stretching with single-leg raises, but it's seriously lingering and feels super-tight in the mornings.

    Do you have any experience rehabbing this muscle? Anything I can do that I'm not already?

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  13. Paul-
    Your Chaos and Bang roundtable inspired me to take a look at Jamie's blog and his particular style of training. I see some similarities with your strong-15 in the emphasis on singles at the top end of the intensity scale. I was just wondering about your thoughts on the more obvious differences, especially his immensely high frequency, and (what appears to me to be) emphasis on a greater number big lifts.

    -Chris

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  14. Pete - I start stiff legs from the top. Check my vids.

    Scott - Use some calibration on those. So sometimes do 5 sets of 10 same weight, 5 sets of 10 to a top set, or 5 sets of 10 descending. Play with it depending on how you feel and your mood. Learn to listen to your body a bit.

    Jason - Try Moving your hands out a little wider. Think about holding the bar on your back with your upperback, NOT your arms. So SQUEEZE the upperback into the bar. Don't use the arms to squeeze the bar into the back. If that makes sense. It will also force you to push your chest out hard.

    Tom - LOTS of glute work. REALLY important for you to get the glutes firing. That's a whole lot of muscle back there that can do some big work that you aren't getting involved in your lifting. Dedicate two days to glute work. And I mean lots and lots of barbell hip thrusts and 1 legged glute bridges. Until you can feel your glutes working like fucking mad. Do this for the next 4-6 weeks.

    Nil - Unfortunately (or should I say fortunately?) I don't have any experience with this injury. One of the few. I do a lot of rehabbing on my own so if I were you, I'd read a LOT about what the usual stretching and movements are to get that thing healed up, and go from there. Best of luck and let me know how you are doing.

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  15. Chris - Jamie and I talk about this in Chaos and Bang 2. Which will be out soon.

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  16. Cool. Looking forward to it. Thanks man.
    -Chris

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  17. Achilles tendonitis from running, any advice to get it healed up and back to distance running? Unfortunately the distance running is necessity, it's training for the armed forces.

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  18. Tons and tons of calf raises. Emphasize the negative portion. 1 legged calf raises.

    Start with 50 a day, 5 second negatives with a 5 second stretch. Keep track of it, and increase how many you are doing each day. So try to hit 50 the first day, then 60, 70, 80, etc. Just do them every chance you get.

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  19. Hey Paul, just a throwaway question - you believing in Jones yet? Just kinda busting balls, I know before the Shogun fight you weren't really sold. I agree with your assessment that Hendo could put him out, but I'd still stick w/ Jones in that one (though I would really like to see that fight).
    @Tim - where did you hear that? He said he wants some time off, but definitely not all next year (unless there's an injury I'm unaware of).

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  20. Nope. Not a believer. Machida beat his ass for that first round and looked like it was more of the same until he got cut.

    He has zero power and at 205, there are so many guys that can knock you out that generally if you lack that, you will get snuffed out. I do believe his athleticism and reach will keep the belt in his hands for a little while, but I believe once someone knocks him out that'll be it.

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  21. Hey Paul,
    No questions from me. You gave me some advice for shin splints a couple weeks back and I just wanted to say thanks. Your advice was spot on. I'm now regularly running totally pain free for the first time in years, and my timings improved instantly.
    Blah Blah anyway thanks, dude!

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  22. Right, focus on bringing the glutes up to speed for 4-6 weeks. What other lower body stuff do you reckon I should do during those two sessions or should I just focus entirely on my glutes?

    Tom

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  23. Tom - Just do your regular stuff. Just do this in addition to it.

    Slowfuse - That's great! I know how bad they can suck. Glad I could help out.

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  24. Hey Paul,
    In a past post you said that you believe low reps (2-3) are best to increase strenght in OHP. I've been doing that for the past two years and while i've put about 30 lbs to my press (175), it seems that my shoulders haven't really grown. Do you think they would be better if i upped the volume or should i just keep increasing the weight if shoulder mass is what i'm after?
    Thanks in advance.

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  25. After your standing press, do some seated press for high reps 5-6 sets, 10-12 reps. Do this twice a week.

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  26. Paul if you had to buy a power rack online what would you get? I got a shoestring budget and need something that wont be 20 feet tall and wide. (has to fit in my little tiny garage)

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  27. What would you do you be faster on the big lifts, the weight feels heavy and im pretty slow even at 50% of my 1RM. Ive gotten faster on Squats and Dls after including DB swings in my assistance work, but am still pretty slow and I feel this is holding my 1RM back.

    And one more question, when benching, i lose some of my arch every rep, what do you think i could do to prevent this?

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  28. Pat - I'd just look around dog. Honestly, if I could do it over again, I'd just get some squat stands, and build some blocks, and buy a good ass bench. One that would incline too. But if it's a rack you must get, then check craigslist. That way you can go look at it in person, and usually save quite a few bucks.

    Anonymous - I'm totally not a fan of bands, but if you were interested in getting faster it might be a good place to start.

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  29. Paul, in the raw Bench press cycle, if one is not doing it for a meet, but to increase strength, the 93% rule is to use on the current 1RM max, or on a planed 1RM, what you want to gain in strength on the cycle (like 5-10 lbs more than current max?).
    Thank's.

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  30. use the cycle AS I LAID IT OUT. Irregardless.

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  31. Paul, no access to a hyper machine ( garage gym) any other exercises to use?

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  32. Do good mornings. Just do them with QUALITY.

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  33. Paul - Can you post what you were taking to help lower your blood pressure?
    How does that seem to be working?

    Other than taking salt/sodium out, are there any dietary recommendations you would make?
    I've also upped by steady state cardio.
    Thanks for an awesome blog.

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  34. Just added in some grape seed extract and did steady state like my life depended on it. Once the weight came off the BP dropped back to 120/78 or so.

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  35. Paul:
    What was your bodyweigth when you reached the 300/400/500 bench/squat/dead 1RM level? How much mass had you gained to get to the 400+/600+/650+ strength?
    Thank's

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  36. Now that's an interesting question.....

    Lemme think....

    I didn't squat for the first many years. Didn't deadlift much either.

    Everyone benches a lot early. I remember benching 315 for the first time when I in the 16-17 year old range. So I was probably around 170 pounds or so.

    Deadlifting and squatting for 400 and 500? I think it was around 230 pounds. But a pretty soft 240. If I had to venture I'd say 20+% bodyfat. I was not really "powerlifting" then I was still doing bodybuilding type stuff. I really hadn't learned how to build strength, and I didn't really eat correctly.

    I benched over 400 by the time I was 20-21 and I was 220 then. But I blew out my shoulder several times in football and I just couldn't get everything right in there for years after that without something aching.

    600+ squats and 600+ deads all came at around/between 245-255 pounds but much leaner than in previous years the first time I hit them I believe.

    If I had to guess, I think I probably put on around 60-70 pounds of lean mass from the time I benched 315 to the time I squatted 600+ and pulled 650+.

    Great question Husdon.

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  37. Paul,
    In regards to squats and deads, what are some techniques/equipment I can use to explode up instead of just pushing or pulling the weight.

    Thanks

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  38. Mike - Just a few pointers here, if I am reading you right.

    1. Play with your distance away from the bar. How far away the bar is when you start the pull.

    2. Take a deep breath, ready yourself like someone is going to punch you in the stomach.

    3. Take the slack out of the bar. Pull on the bar like you are pulling 100 pounds off the floor, and hold it in that position.

    4. Once there, break the bar off the floor and then PULL HARD. So as soon as you feel the bar break from the floor, pull that mother fucker with everything you got.

    5. Think about pushing your hips forward as soon as you start pulling. If you do this, you'll just push them forward at the right time.

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  39. Paul,

    I've been training primarily strength work for years and i'd like to spend a few months training with size-gain being my primary focus.

    I've spent enough time on your blog to know that you think bodybuilders are the masters of training for size, and that my training should resemble that of a bodybuilder. This may sound silly but i dont know shit about bodybuilding and have prettymuch avoided it during my training career.

    Can you give some pointers on a split or some general guidelines on frequecy, volume etc. I know most BB'ers train each part 1x/week, which may be less ideal for natural lifters like me. If i'm going to spend the time to do the BB'ing thing, i wanna get the best Bang for my buck.

    Thanks.

    -Joe

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  40. Joe - I hate being a salesman because it's not my thing, but I wrote exactly about this in my e-books, and will cover and answer everything in detail you would want to know.

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  41. Have you ever had any issues with high blood sugar or bad cholesterol? Mine are not horrible (but outside the recommended range) which concerns my doctor. I'm currently bulking so I'm sure that isn't helping and I'm hoping its just temporary since I don't eat like this year round. Thoughts?

    -Andy

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  42. My blood pressure was high earlier this year for the same reasons yours may be. "Bulking". When I got back into the 270's I never felt very good and eventually I found out my BP was in fact high. After the weight came off the BP came down as well.

    MY cholesterol has always been pristine. I attribute that to good genes and quality eating for a long time now.

    I will personally never "bulk" again. Rather I will do my best to stay in sub 10% bodyfat, my lifts be damned.

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  43. Hey Paul:

    What do you think about the idea of doing the Big 15 in the "off season" and the strong 15 6 - 8 weeks before the meet?

    Happy Holidays,

    Matty

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  44. That's exactly what I did before my last meet Matty.

    Happy Holidays to you too dawg.

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