Why I Don't Drink Milk

Dear BBQ, 

I stopped drinking milk a while ago based on the idea that the ratio of sugar to protein did not justify drinking the stuff. Famous fitness expert Shaun T speaks out against all dairy pretty much every day based on the fact that pretty much everyone is lactose intolerant to a degree. This article pretty much sums up my position on the drink that has been overrated for centuries. We are not baby cows... there is no reason to drink milk. I've also found that almond milk tastes way better with cereal than cow milk. 

Got milk? Nope! 

Ryan

The Squat

I heard squatting is bad for your knees? Is this reason enough to stop squatting?


Dear BBQ,

     You are correct, if done with improper form, squatting can wreck your knees. However to say that this should diswade you from squatting is a total myth. There is nothing you can do for your body that is better than some heavy sets of squats; assuming you don't have injuries that will be activated by said squats. This article here talks about some of the dangers of squatting and how to prevent them.

     Keep in mind that although when we talk about squatting we usually are referring to the back squat, there are many other options available as are talked about in this article. I should mention that I do disagree with the form they recommend on the back squat though. It is popular to only squat to parallel, but that is only half a squat. If you are going to say that you squat you should be doing at least 3/4 squats (down past parallel), if not full squats (down till you are sitting on your ankles). Don't full squat too much weight though as it can put some nasty leverage on your knees.

     In short, whether you want to build size, get toned, or just be a normal person who can do much more practically awesome stuff than your average Joe, you must squat. Another good article on squatting took a poll of bodybuilders across the nation and just over 50% dedicate an entire day to just doing squats. For me I'm doing a three day rotation and day to is entirely devoted to squatting and support exercises such as kettlebell swings (video) and cable pull-through.

Basically... Squat.


Ryan

The Deadlift

Should I deadlift, or is it better to do iso exercises? 

     If the squat is the king of the exercises, the deadlift is the Holy Roman Emperor... It makes grown men cry just thinking about it, and has been equated to surgery without anesthesia.  I've never found a more painful but effective exercise than the deadlift. Its perfect. Pick up a heavy bar off the floor. Gotta love it! 

     Let me put it this way... If isometric exercises are a 3 on a scale of usefulness, deadlifts would be a 29.9. It therefore reduces your time spent training because instead of 10 exercises you only do 1. Plus I'm of the opinion that there is nothing better for you than lifting heavy things off the floor. 

     Naturally you must do it right or you will have more problems than just hernias... Here are some useful tips for how to not injure yourself. 

1. Don't bend your back. (Unless you are fond of crippling pain and suffering)

2. Don't use straps. Seriously... If you can't grab the weight you have no business picking it up. Plus this greatly reduces the chance of hernias because it takes more time to work up to super heavy weights. 

3. Don't wear a belt! (Usually.) Unless you are gonna be lifting a seriously large amount of mass you shouldn't use a belt. I know 17 years ago EVERYONE wore them, but its actually been shown that a belt lessens the strain on the abdominal muscles (duh) which causes greater need for a belt later, and its a spiral of death. 

4. Get ready to cry. 

Ryan

Shoulder training

Dear BBQ,

Everyone wants bigger shoulders, right? 

In the quest for shoulder size many people hit just about every type of inclined and vertical press that you could imagine. The only problem with that approach is you end up looking like a neanderthal with huge front delts and pathetic rear delts. Plus that approach doesn't train the traps which are currently my favorite muscle. 

Don't get me wrong, pressing is good, in fact I did 15 sets of presses this morning, but its important to stay balanced. *cue in awesome music* Say "hey" to the snatch grip high pull! 

In set up and motion range the SGHP is similar to the inclined row, but instead of slowly going up and down you jerk the weight up and catch it on the way down. Technically this is an Olympic lift so its not meant to be high rep, the most would be around 5 reps, but it will destroy your traps and deltoids like none other. Drop-set it and prepare to cry in agony, or superset it with a medium weight inclined row (shoot for 8-10 reps) and you can practically see your shoulders growing. 

This would be incomplete without mention of the face pull as well. This exercise targets rear delts exclusively. Start by facing a high cable with a set of ropes attached, grab the ropes and squat back as if sitting in a chair, but DON'T ACTUALLY SIT IN A CHAIR THAT WOULD RUIN THE WHOLE POINT. ;) 

Slowly pull toward your face, keeping the elbows up, till your hands are near your ears. 

Release back slowly.

This can also be done just pulling to your chest, but in my experience its usually necessary to anchor yourself to prevent sliding across the floor because so much weight would be used. 

Its hard to envision an exercise based on words alone so just google it and watch a video about the face-pull if you are confused. Or ask me to demonstrate.  

Ryan

To X or not to X

Should I do P90X or just stick to lifting weights?

Dear BBQ,

Technically P90X includes some weight lifting, it just also has many other aspects. But is it the best option for fitness? 

The answer to that question really depends on your definition of fitness and what your goals are. If you want to be "cut" and trim but not necessarily very big it can be the perfect program, provided you switch things up occasionally, however if you want any serious size then you have to spend some bonding time with heavy bar bells and a bench/squatting rack. 

I did my time as a P90Xer and in those 3 months I saw great improvements, but then I took the principles from working out P90X style (no rest, fast sets) and used that with compound lifts to great effect. P90X does have some weak spots, such as the enormous amount of light ab work and no heavy work, plus it forget about the traps, and your chest will never get big using only push-ups.

My advice is this: 

1. Find a good regular routine that you can do consistently and hits the whole body.

2. Do said routine until plateau out.

3. Do P90X.

4. Go back to the real heavy weights and repeat.

Rest

How much time in the gym should be spent resting between sets? How much time should be spent sleeping outside the gym?

Dear BBQ,

Good questions, as you know rest is one of the four key components in an effective lifting regime (the other three being fuel intake, consistency, and intensity) and it is the most easy, but excepting consistency its the most often done wrong. 

How much rest should you get in the gym? 

As little time as possible. 

Seriously, its hard to find time and often you spend only an hour in the gym each day leaving 23 hours to rest up. You don't need to rest in the gym. 

My philosophy is that the time it takes to change weight or machines is more than enough rest time. I basically workout with one big drop set (a drop set is where you immediately drop the weight and start the "drop set" or next set with no rest. This allows you to work every layer of your muscles). Super sets (to "superset" exercises A and B you do sets in the following order: A,B,A,B, etc with no rest) also work well. Currently I superset my lifting with sixty seconds of cardio which keeps the heart rate up and makes you wish you were never born. Sometimes for a break I switch the cardio for another weighted exercise. Once I actually did six sets of three types of pull-ups and six sets of straight arm pull downs (total of 24 sets) in under 10 minutes. I recommend that for emotional therapy... 

How many sets should you do each day? Well, obviously it varies but I do at least 24 and often up to 48. I usually hit 2-3 body parts per day so thats about 8-10 sets per muscle group. It takes me about an hour and 15 minutes using cardio supersets and maybe 50 minutes with just double weight sets. 

Ok so what about rest outside of the gym? 

Sleep is key. Sleep at LEAST 7 hours a night (unless you are a teenager, then you should be sleeping 8-9 hours minimum). Your muscles grow when you sleep, not when you actually are lifting. Make sure to get slow digesting protein (like casein) before bed too. 

Power naps are golden too. Technically they should be between 15-25 minutes (or more than 3 hours) to prevent that awful feeling of death and tiredness that comes from napping sometimes. 

Ryan

Comparisons

Dear BBQ,

Its not a good idea to compare yourself to other people. Whether in the gym or in life, or the Christian walk. 

There will always be someone better, faster, stronger, harder, more dedicated, or more perfect than you, so constantly comparing yourself to them will cause depression. 

The fact is its not a bad idea to watch people who are older and better training to see what they do and how they lift, but don't worry if the other guy had bigger guns. Contentment is one of the keys to happiness, and its impossible to be content while judging how good you are  based on other's achievements, even if you are the best and biggest in your gym you will always be worried about losing that status. Just don't go there. 

Determine your fitness based on your past self, compare yourself to you a week ago, or a year ago, or ten years ago. Strive to improve always, but measure success by your personal achievements, whether or not everyone else has achieved bigger and better things. Be excited when you run that mile for the first time since 8th grade, when you deadlift or squat your weight for the first time ever, or when you make it up that mountain (literal or figurative). 

Ryan