Bodybuilding and Supplements Blog AskChuckHow

Bodybuilding Advice - Lose fat and gain muscle

2008-10-13T10:40:00.006-04:00

Question:

I am 21 years old now, soon to be 22. When I graduated high school, I never lifted and I weighed 230 lbs and knew I had to lose weight. I watched what I ate and got down to 205 lbs. I started lifting with my mom's boyfriend my freshman year of college. We benched every third day of the week and that is the only exercise we would do. I eventually got my one rep max up to 275 and felt pretty good about that. I put on some weight, but felt it was mostly due to starting to lift. In my sophomore and junior years in college I began doing other exercises other than just benching, incorporating some arms and back into my workouts. For probably about 6 months to a year now, I have been lifting full body workouts (with the exception of legs because I was focused more on upper body strength). I also have used some cardio in the past to help me shed off some body fat. My mom and her boyfriend are avid runners so they are the reasons behind getting me to do some cardio. I am 195 lbs. now at 5'8", so I still have some more body fat I'd love to lose, especially those "love handles", and I really want to bulk up like a bodybuilder as well.

I read your web page and it is very interesting and put together very nicely, but I'd like to ask you some more questions if you had time to respond. I am now a senior in college and serious about weightlifting. I watch documentaries on bodybuilders such as Kevin Levrone and Arnold and just wish I could look like them. I know they used steroids and all of that, but I want to do it naturally like you did.

My first question is regarding the supplements, protein in particular. I have used so many supplements throughout my college career and I know there is no miracle pill. Results come from hard work in the gym. One supplement I have used consistently, however, is whey protein. Currently, I buy the EAS 5 lb. bags at Sam's Club since the price is hard to beat ($30). Within that protein, there are the BCAA's, Glutamine, etc. Is this a good whey protein to be using, or do you recommend something else? Also, how many grams of protein should I be taking in a day? I have read so many different things saying if you weigh 195 lbs, like I do, take in 195 g. of protein. Is this true or do I need more to bulk up? I have read not to take more than 30-60 g. of protein into your system in one serving. I have also taken several pre-workout supplements such as nitric oxide and post-workout supplements such as creatine. I recently ordered the BSN stack consisting of N.O. Explode, Nitrix, and Cell-Mass. I don't know if you are familiar with them or not, but if you are, what do you think of them?

Basically, they are just nitric oxide and creatine supplementation. I read your bodybuilding supplement list and I was curious on a few things. Do you take all of those pills separately and where do you order your supplements from? There are quite a number of different supplements on that list and it must cost more than a couple bucks. My next question is about the training routine. As I mentioned earlier, I used to max out on my bench at 275. However, that was when I was a freshman in college, only lifted chest (bench press), and weighed 225 lbs. I lost weight since then b/c I have been heavy all of my life and didn't want to be heavy anymore. I continued to lift but noticed since I only weighed 195 lbs, I couldn't bench press as much as when I weighed 225 lbs, that was common sense. But I get frustrated when I don't do well on my bench press. Currently at 195 lbs, I can usually bench press 205 for 8 reps, 215 for 6 reps, and 225 for 4 reps. I haven't tried a one rep max in quite some time because I a more focused on bodybuilding than power lifting.

I have attached a document showing my weekly workout routine. I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide me with feedback on my routine. Please feel free to tweak whatever you want and inform me of exercises I should be doing that I am not, or exercises I am doing but just wasting my time with. Am I doing too many sets or too few sets? I lift Mondays through Fridays and take the weekends off. Is that too much or too little? As I stated earlier, I would love to bulk up like a bodybuilder and lose some of my belly fat to get cut and ripped. I just want the best, most efficient way of doing this. Do I need to incorporate cardio into my workouts? When I do cardio, I notice I start to lose strength, and again I get frustrated when I hit the weight room. I would be absolutely thrilled with advice you could give me on any of the issues.

Answer:

I didn't get the document attachment you mentioned in your message, but I can answer your questions and make suggestions based on the rest of your message.

1) You are young and will be able to recover from heavy weight training sessions more quickly than an older individual, as long as you have adequate rest and adequate nutrition. Your diet plays a really big role in bodybuilding and determining the correct nutritional plan should be your number one priority right now. Training will be your number two priority.

2) You should focus on whole foods and use supplements as an addition immediately after a workout. You weigh 195 lbs but would like to get leaner and gain muscle as much as possible, right? The best way to do that is to increase the frequency of your meals to at least 5-6 times per day. Each meal should have approximately 40-50 grams of protein, 50 grams of complex carbohydrates, and some beneficial fats (safflower oil is good - I pour a tablespoon on at least 2 or 3 of my meals throughout the day). Healthy fats will improve your ability to build muscle and will assist with burning body fat. Here is a sample diet plan, you may have seen it on my website:
http://www.supplementdealer.com/gain-muscle-not-fat.html

Note: The three mid-day meals should have a little of the safflower oil on them (about a tablespoon).

You'll notice that the only supplements on this diet plan are taken immediately post-workout. That's when you could take the creatine products you recently purchased. I take creatine after my workouts, but I make my own drink using this combination:
http://knol.google.com/k/chuck-wansor/post-workout-bodybuilding/2dvwjy0aln8dz/3#

Use whey protein and a serving of cell-mass right after your workout for a totally natural strength boost.

3) Your training sessions should include all major muscle groups and include compound free weight exercises. Compound exercises include bench presses, squats, bent-over rows, etc. Use exercises that use many body parts at once. You should definitely be utilizing the squat (be sure to read up on proper form for this exercise and be wary of knee and back health). The squat will assist in building strength (including your upper body) and burning fat. It does this by causing a whole body stress response that has been shown to improve your overall results - not just your lower body.

Here are the exercises you should focus on: military/shoulder press, dips, barbell squat, lunges, chin-ups, pull-downs, deadlifts, rows,and bench presses including both incline and flat bench presses (you can add decline later - focus on incline and flat for now). It is fine to add ancillary exercises but use the compound exercises as your base.

Use 3-4 sets of 8 reps for the compound exercises. You don't need to do any sets with repetitions less than 6-8 right now since your main focus is building mass while you are losing fat. Don't worry, you will gain strength too.

I would recommend 4 weight workouts per week in the afternoon if possible, with an arrangement something like this:

Day 1 chest/triceps
Day 2 off
Day 3 back/biceps
Day 4 legs (quads/hams/glutes)
Day 5 shoulders/calves
Day 6 off
Day 7 off

I would recommend cardiovascular exercise 3 times per week the first thing in the morning on an empty stomach after drinking 16 to 24oz of water to prevent dehydration. When performed at this time, you burn much more body fat that at any other time in the day because your body has already turned on your fat burning processes caused by your fast during the time you have slept.

Do 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise and push yourself as hard as you do with the weights. Avoid doing the cardio right before or after your weight training sessions. You have already discovered that this can affect your strength and recovery which will limit your ability to maximize muscle growth.

Use HIT cardio for now. High Intensity cardio or HIT for short, has been proven in many studies to be more effective in burning body fat than traditional, less intense, cardio. The reason for this is that HIT elevates your metabolism for a long period of time during the day. That means more fat burning. Basically, perform short bursts of "sprinting" combined with periods of a slower pace. Be sure to spend the first 5 minutes or so warming up. Then maybe do 10-15 sets of 20 seconds hard and 40 seconds slow. Cool off at a slower pace for the last few minutes.

4) Now -to address your specific questions:

(EAS whey protein) Is this a good whey protein to be using, or do you recommend something else?

Yes, it's good. But as stated earlier I would use it primarily right after a workout because whey protein is rapidly absorbed and available for the muscles but it does not provide a long slow release of amino acids like many whole foods do.

Also, how many grams of protein should I be taking in a day?

Shoot for 200 grams. Five (or more) meals with 40-50 grams of protein each.

I have read so many different things saying if you weigh 195 lbs,
like I do, take in 195 g. of protein. Is this true or do I need more to bulk up?

I don't like the term "bulk up" because it tends to imply that you will be adding a large amount of both lean and non-lean weight which I don't recommend. It is true that you will need more protein than a typical person because of the type of training you are performing. I would tend to agree that a gram per pound of body weight is a good place to start, but everyone is different. I certainly don't see any need to go insane with your protein intake but as long as the meals are frequent and contain 40-50 grams of protein each you should do well.

I recently ordered the BSN stack consisting of N.O. Explode, Nitrix, and Cell-Mass. I don't know if you are familiar with them or not, but if you are, what do you think of them?

BSN is a good brand and I am familiar with these supplements. I hope you didn't spend too much on this though. In the future, you can find ways of using the "bare minimum" supplements that actually work for you. Usually, I would recommend trying one product at a time to determine which product is actually giving you the best results. Keeping that in mind, some supplement stacks work best when combined. Often, the cost of these stacks may outweigh the actual long term benefits. A good nutrition and training regimen combined with a few basic supplements is probably all you need right now.

Do you take all of those pills separately and where do you order your supplements from?

You are referring to my list here:
http://knol.google.com/k/chuck-wansor/natural-bodybuilding-supplementation/2dvwjy0aln8dz/2#

In the morning, I take all the pills at once. They are pretty cheap actually. The post workout supplements I only take on workout days and are cheap compared to prepackaged post-workout products. You could likely get by with just a good multi and a good post-workout drink at this point - depending on your budget. You don't need to purchase a ton of expensive supplements to look and feel great.

I get my supplements at a number of places online.
The drop-down boxes on the right hand side of my website http://www.supplementdealer.com/ will direct you to a merchant with really good prices. Another one to check out is http://www.dpsnutrition.com/.

Generally, when I get ready to place an order, I enter the identical order on each website without actually completing the order and go with the cheapest (after shipping is added).

Am I doing too many sets or too few sets?

2-3 sets per exercise with a maximum of 2-3 exercises works well for me. Try that first, then you can add sets if you are not progressing well. Use a log to track your workouts. That's the only way to tell if you are making any progress and to keep a record of what does and does not work for you. Everyone is different so you must learn your body.

I lift Mondays through Fridays and take the weekends off. Is that too much or too little?

Don't forget that not only does your musculoskeletal body system need to recover, but so does your neurological system. Generally, 5 days of high intensity training right in a row could be too much. Try the workout frequency outlined earlier in this response.

Do I need to incorporate cardio into my workouts?

For your goals you need to do some morning cardio as I outlined earlier in this response. Don't try to combine that with your weight training sessions. Keep them separated for now. See how that works. Remember, you are trying to build muscle mass which will be somewhat limited if you do cardio right before or immediately after exercise. With your particular goals in mind, I would recommend early morning cardio. That's how many bodybuilders get ready for a show.

I hope I answered everything. Let me know if you have more questions and please keep me posted on your progress.

Make Your Supplements

2008-10-04T10:10:00.007-04:00

Make Your Supplements

Capping your own supplements can save you big bucks. I find it easy to do and not very time consuming. You can combine ingredients to make you own "super-mix". Outlined below, I will show you how to make capsules using the size "0" gelatin capsules.

Capping Supplies needed:

The capping kit:

Complete Capping Kit for size "0" capsules

Each kit contains a Cap-m-quik machine with tamper and 1000 empty gelatin capsules. Weigh out your powders on your favorite scale and start saving $$ by capping your own supplements.

Cost: about $20.00

The 'cutting powder':

Dextrose 2lb. (Now Foods)

Dextrose (also known as glucose) is a monosaccharide or simple sugar that is about 20% less sweet compared to cane sugar. It is derived entirely from corn, is low-cost, and contains no fructose or lactose. It makes a great filler for caps!

Cost: about $3.00

The active ingredient(s):
I've used DHEA powder but you could use a number of different powdered products, singularly or in combination.

Next comes the math:

Each "0" capsules holds about 400mg

You will make 50 capsules at a time, so you will use 50x400mg=20,000mg of powder or 20grams

You must figure out your dose. If you want 50mg per capsules, multiple 50mg by 50 capsules, which equals 2,500mg of DHEA

20,000mg total will fit in the caps, so you will need 17,500mg of dextrose/filler and 2,500mg of DHEA -or other ingredient(s)

Measure out on a scale, if possible. I don't recommend "ball-parking" it.

Mix the DHEA - or other ingredient(s) - and glucose powder toghether

Shake vigourously for a few minutes to mix the ingredients thoroughly into the filler!

Set this aside while you prepare the capping machine

Prep the capping machine:

Place the top plate onto the bottom plate and make sure the "spacers" are turned so that there is a gap between the top plate and the bottom plate.

Carefully open the empty gelatin capsules and place the long ends into each hole of the top plate

Once all 50 holes have an empty halve of gelatin capsule, you can begin to sprinkle the mixture onto the top plate.

The mixture will start to fill up the empty halves of capsules.

I use an index card to direct the powder evenly to each of the holes.

Use your tamper to compress the powder into the holes (and make room for any powder that remains on top of the top plate.

Once all of the powder is tamped into the capsules and no loose powder remains on the top plate, turn the "spacers" so that the top plate falls down directly on top of the bottom plate.

This will allow room for you to place the short ends of the gelatin capsules back onto the now-filled capsules.

Press down with adequate force so the top half of the capsules sit securely on the bottom half.

Once all the capsules have their tops securely in place, you can turn the machine upside down and allow the completed capsules to fall out.

Some capsules may remain stuck in their holes and you may need to manually pluck them out.

Congratulations! You just made 50 capsules of your own supplements. It might seem like a lot of work at first, but once you get the hang of it, you may find that you actually enjoy the process.

Congrats to Dan Crevak! What a transformation!

2008-09-18T19:28:00.005-04:00

Congratulations to Dan Crevak who recently competed for the first time in the Natural Steel Bodybuilding Championship held in Pittsburgh, PA on September 6th, 2008. He made an amazing transformation. Check out those abs!

Dan is an all natural athlete and has never used any steroids or performance enhancing drugs. He is currently attending college full time and completed his contest preparation during busy times at college!

Dan will be competing in both power lifting and bodybuilding in the future and should be proud of his accomplishments!

Here is Dan's "Before" photo:

Here are some photos from the day of his contest:

Please join me in congratulating Dan ON A GREAT JOB!

Post Workout Bodybuilding Supplementation

2008-09-07T10:17:00.005-04:00

Post Workout Supplements

Immediately after an intense weight training session, your body is "primed" to accept amino acids and carbohydrates back into the cells. Your cells have become depleted and damaged by your training and they need to repair, rebuild, and grow so that they can adapt to the new stressors you have applied to them.

You can read all over the internet about the so-called "window of opportunity" that happens 15 to 60 minutes after weight training, during which you can super-saturate your body with nutrients and speed up recovery.

I believe the window of opportunity occurs within 30 minutes after the end of the weight
training session. That is presuming that you have trained your body hard enough to cause an adequate stress response.

Many people make the mistake of using whole foods after a workout for recovery, but I disagree with that notion. Whole foods simply take too long to digest and don't allow vital nutrients to become available to the muscles in a timely fashion. I recommend a very fast acting post work-out drink for greatest recovery potential.

So, what exactly do I put into my body after my workout? Well, here is the recipe I have derived from many years of experimentation:

My post workout nutrition

2 cups of water mixed with a "no calorie" flavored drink mix powder

30-50g Whey Protein (Chocolate works for me!)

50-75g Dextrose

5g Glutamine

5g Creatine

300mg Alpha Lipoic Acid

Some people/trainers may disagree with the amount of protein and carbohydrates that should be consumed post-workout and they may recommend a particular ratio of carbohydrate to protein. I find the above ration works well for me. I recover very rapidly with this mix. I notice less soreness the day after weight training and greater strength increases on subsequent weight training workouts.

I use the whey protein concentrate because it is very rapidly digested and amino acids are quickly delivered to the blood stream. I use the dextrose rather than some other sugar because dextrose causes a very strong insulin response. The alpha-lipoic acid assists with the whole response. The glutamine and creatine assist with recovery and strength gains.

Please keep in mind that this is just what works for me!

You may get absolutely no results from a drink like this. (Or you may get the best gains of your life!) Also, a drink like this may not even be recommended depending on your overall health and any diseases you may have.

Please check with your doctor before trying anything like this.

The dextrose really does cause a huge insulin response in most people and should only ever be used right after a workout by healthy individuals.

I recommend much more slow-digesting carbohydrates and whole foods for the all other meals consumed throughout the day. This "high-octane" mix described above is only for after my "blast-off" workouts!

Natural Bodybuilding & Supplements Blog

2008-08-26T15:38:00.009-04:00

Bodybuilding and Nutrition

I have been weight lifting for over 20 years. I have competed in both powerlifting and natural bodybuilding for a long time and have sometimes done great and other times not-so-great. During that time, I gained a ton of knowledge that I would love to share.

This blog contains some information that I've collected over the years that I find to be incredibly helpful for natural bodybuilders and powerlifters. I have drawn upon my past experiences and education in Clinical Dietetics and Nutrition as well as my ongoing passion to learn more about health, nutrition, longevity, and bodybuilding. My main goal is to provide free information that may help you in your quest of health and fitness.

OK... Let's get started!

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Top Supplement Picks

How did I decide that these were the top ten supplements? Well, through research and experience. Please note that I feel these supplements are best for me. It's not possible to make the statement that these are the best for everyone. Age, gender, body habitus, health, diseases, stressors, and a zillion other factors play a role in dictating what is "good " for one person but not "good" for another. Beleive it or not, I feel that much of the nutrition needed for a sedentary, low-stressed person can be accomodated by adhering to a simple, but wise, meal plan. Ask any nutritionist or dietician. Many of them could write a diet plan for you that would cover all your nutritional bases.

How am I different? Well, I subject myself to a huge amount of stress through intense weight training. Also, I cannot be sure to always have accessability to a meal when my body needs it the most. I have always felt that "post-workout" is the best time to slam some additional nutrients into my system.

Of course, I cannot replace the advice you can get from your doctor or your registered dietician.

Keep in mind, these are only the best supplement picks for me!

Whey Protein Powder
Whey protein is derived from milk. It is fast digesting and highly bioavailable. Because it is fast acting, it has many qualities that make it superior to most other protein sources, especially for the athlete. Taken after a workout, it is absorbed quickly and available to your muscles for protein synthesis. It also provides an easy way to meet my high protein needs.

Creatine
It works. Period. Creatine supplementation combined with strength training has been shown to cause dramatic improvements in muscle size and strength. Creatine is found in many foods including red meat, but you would have to eat a very large amounts of these foods to get the benefits achieved through supplementation with creatine powder.

Glutamine
I use this every day, all year long! L-glutamine plays a very important role in protein metabolism, and it is a very important nutrient for body builders. When supplemented, it may help body builders with recovery by helping to repair the muscle breakdown that occurs. By supplementing glutamine (a non-essential or conditionally essential amino acid), other tissues that need glutamine will not rob the glutamine stored in the muscle cells.

Vitamin C
Great antioxidant. Vitamin C is required for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body. It is necessary to form collagen, an important protein used to make skin, scar tissue, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. Vitamin C is essential for the healing of wounds, and for the repair and maintenance of cartilage, bones, and teeth. Sound like it might help an athlete that is continually breaking down tissue throguh intense training?

Vitamin E
Another great antioxidant. Vitamin E is an another antioxidant that protects body tissue from damage caused by unstable substances called free radicals. Free radicals can harm cells, tissues, and organs. They are believed to lay a role in certain conditions associated with aging. Vitamin E is also important in the formation of red blood cells.

Fish Oil
Huge amount of health benefits. Evidence from multiple studies support the recommendation to increase your intake of dietary fish or fish oil supplements to lower triglycerides, reduce the risk of death, heart attack, dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, and strokes in people with known cardiovascular disease. It slows the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques and lowers blood pressure slightly.

Glucosamine / Chondroitin
My joints feel great on this stuff. These are natural compounds that are found in healthy cartilage. Glucosamine sulfate is a normal constituent of glycoaminoglycans in cartilage matrix and synovial fluid. Available evidence from randomized trials supports the use of glucosamine sulfate in the treatment of osteoarthritis. It is believed that it provides benefit in the synovial fluid by strengthening cartilage.

Calcium-Magnesium-Zinc
Minerals can be depleted during intense training. Calcium helps maintain the strength of our bones, carries electrical charge during muscle contraction, has intracellular regulator funcrions, and acts as a cofactor for extracellular enzymes and regulatory proteins. Calcium is present in variable amounts in all the foods and water we consume, although the main sources are dairy products and vegetables. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant cation in the body, with 60% in the bone and 40% distributed equally between muscle and non-muscular soft tissue. Magnesium has an important role in at least 300 fundamental enzymatic reactions, including the initiation of fatty acid oxidation (fat burning). In addition, it functions in the activation of amino acids and synthesis and degradation of DNA and has a key role in neurotransmission and immune function. Zinc is an essential trace mineral. It has structural, enzymatic and regulatory roles. Demands on all these minerals are increased during stress and training.

DHEA
Anti-aging, can be converted in body into important hormones. DHEA(dehydroepiandrosterone) is an hormone made in your human body, and secreted by the adrenal gland. It serves as precursor to male and female sex hormones (androgens and estrogens). DHEA levels in the body begin to decrease after age 30, and are reported to be low in some people with certain diseases and in the critically ill. DHEA may be most helpful to supplement when you're over 30.

Alpha Lipoic Acid
Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a chemical that is similar to a vitamin. It is an antioxidant. High levels of blood glucose are one cause of oxidative stress. ALA supplements are marketed as tablets or capsules. ALA may be beneficial because of its antioxidant activity, especially when taken with glucose or sugary foods.

Hope you find this helpful!

Please add any supplements you find essential for your particular goals. Let's all learn together!

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