Dave Draper’s Musclebuilding Q&A

In your vast experience, is there a secret app for the shoulder to really build a “case of steel” around my tendons so that my shoulder will exceed my current demands without risk of injury?

No, not really.

• Resist heavy weights and poor, compromised form
• Bench presses are very risky and the source of many shoulder problems — You can add press-behind-necks and upright rows to the list
• Rather, choose dumbbell presses in various degrees of incline — safer and better musclebuilders
• Eat right and rest a lot
• Warm up big time

You’d love the book Never Let Go by Dan John.

Lift, live, learn and grow… Godspeed… DD

When I work out, after a brief warm-up, I do squats, deadlifts and bench presses first, because that is when I have the most energy. Would you do something else first, or is that okay?

That works, you lucky dog. I can’t do any of those lifts anymore without major modifications.

Actually and honestly, I prefer to mix up my training and exercises to accommodate my aging muscles and structure. Check out this recent IOL Newsletter for a list of favorite exercises and how I incorporate them.

Also, scan any of the last year’s IOL weeklies for hints and tips and styles related to my most recent and lovable training methodologies.

dd

Did you ever think of incorporating Bombers concerns relating to working out on a level where we face reality: The old bombers will not give up we just fade into the sunset with dumbbells at our side and yes, a glass of  bomber blend, vanilla. Just like the old west.

I hear you loud and clear…

I reference our limitations due to aging all the time — have been for past couple of years — without getting dark and despairing. Nipping at the achy, shrinking, gray-headed subject matter is better for my relatively broad readership than full-on pondering.

We all get it, we all regret it, we all fight like cornered pit bulls. Letting go is hard to do.

Train right, eat right, rest and sleep right and think right… guts, commonsense, hopefulness, gratefulness and humility…

We’re still crazy after all these years… God loves us… DD

I am a 19-year-old bodybuilder training for an upcoming power meet, and have been training for five years. My training partner and I have been training to failure for about three months. Here is the sets and reps we train with: 1st set-12 reps (warm up), 2nd set-10 reps,  3rd set-8 reps, 4th set-6 reps. What are your thoughts?

This has been my favorite rep scheme (adding a fifth set of 4) since I was your age (like 50 years ago). I like the weight and rep variation for interest and the power, mass, density and shape building qualities they provide.

For your power training, you’re ready to rearrange the reps to  include triples, doubles and one-rep maximums. How you should do this is every lifter’s personal journey and I suggest you seek some advice from masters like Rickey Dale Crain or Lou Simmons… folks like them.

You’re on your merry way. Be alert, be wise, be daring and be safe. There are injuries out there and you do not — I repeat  — you do not want them.

Bombs away… Dave            <<<Godspeed>>>

I am 67, with osteoarthritis in the knees. I discontinued squats, and in my home gym I don’t have a leg press or calf raise. Will there be no harm doing squats, leg press, deadlift or standing calf raise, or can you suggest an alternative?

I, at 68 and with leg-limiting stenosis issues, have decided my best plan for my future fitness and mobility is to train the legs to walk well, prevent muscle deterioration and not injure or overtrain them. My suggestions include walking a lot, varying the pace from steady, long-distance plods to swift short-distance stints. Include stairs and hills in your sessions and wear a weighted knapsack as your desire and ability allow.

You are the best (and only) one to determine the program for your needs, wants and goals… a mix and match adventure for the wise and willing.

I have taken to farmer walks with 50-pound kettlebells up and down a sufficient grade for 10 sets of 40 to 50 paces. I do this twice a week to complement my twice weekly weighted workouts for the upper body. I think I’m onto something for my particular problem. Leg presses and squats were causing my knees to swell and ache. The farmer walks are, thus far, a welcome event and appear to have improved my balance and gait.

For more direct thigh and core work, you might try standing at the end of a flat bench and half-squatting till your butt taps the bench top. Focused and formed reps count most. When ready, grab a pair of dumbbells and apply the good old-fashioned rules of weight training. High reps, low reps, a few or a lot of sets… your knees will speak to you plainly and help you determine a program.

A popular exercise since Hercules Unchained is the one-leg calf raise off a block holding a dumbbell in the hand matching the leg. Go…

We have enough here to keep us busy, growing and going and going and going… God speed… Dave

When performing deadlifts what rep set scheme do you prefer to use? Are deadlifts meant to be performed heavy weight low reps, or treated like any other exercise?

Treat them like any other exercise till you gain familiarity, build a sound foundation, develop good form and get the irrepressible urge to go heavy. Then be careful. I’m not a reputable powerlifter.

Rickey Dale Crain’s is a site you might check out.

Never Quit… Dave

I am 62 years old and have been trying to do standing overhead presses with an Olympic bar (very light weight) and it puts tremendous pressure on my middle back and makes it feel sprained. What would be the best alternative if I can’t do the standing overhead press?   I tried an inclined press (60 degrees) from a seat to support my back and there is no problem. Is that a suitable substitute for the overhead press?  Would doing overhead presses on a Smith Machine sitting on a bench be a better alternative than the inclined presses, or do you know of a better exercise to work the shoulders?

Time to rely on the support of a utility bench or incline. I don’t agree with the incline barbell press (shoulders run for cover), but I love all degrees of dumbbell inclines, including 75 degrees. I do steep incline front presses with on the Smith machine and do a nasty abbreviated version of a seated press behind necks when no one is looking. It hurts good.

I sure do enjoy standing one-arm dumbbell lateral raises while holding on to an upright for support. I start light for clean reps and work my way up the rack till I’m hefting some heavier weight (still in the kid’s department) in what could pass for one-arm cleans.

Feels good… lots of core… wide-range of grooves for tattered delts… be careful… I try… we press on… DD

I have been reading your rants for several years now and they are certainly enjoyable and always informative. One question, for a fellow like yourself who consumes a ton of tuna, do you consider it safe? I like the taste, but I have always heard about heavy metals. Somebody once told me your own consumption of tunafish has contributed to your seeming mental instability. Do you think this is true? 

I eat the can and all…

My mental instability, despite extensive psychotherapy, shock treatments and lobotomies, is still considered a mystery…

Note: Put to rest fears of mercury and heavy metals in your tuna… Mercury in tuna.

See gourmet canned tuna link: Dave’s Albacore Tuna.

The very best…

God loves us… Still crazy after all these years… Dave

Long story short, I have been dieting for the past 10 weeks and it was going great! I was actually seeing my abdominal muscles clearly for the first time ever. Veins were showing everywhere and I actually look bigger! So anyway, I put myself into a bad situation at a BBQ this weekend. I think you know where this is going. It all started with one little cheeseburger and my mind thinking of every little excuse to try and justify why I should cheat for one single meal after the past 10 weeks of clean eating, cardio and heavy training. All downhill from there…. Can you help me get back on track?

I suspect having written down all your manners of screwing up has been a relief — sorta like a confession — and you’ve learned a big lesson: Never Again.

We all do this, more or less, on occasion and we pay the price: cuss ourselves, doubt ourselves, grumble and eventually recover stronger than ever by putting in the time at the gym and away from the refrigerator and cookie jar. Live ‘n Learn, as they say…

Do some jogs and sprints on your off days. Don’t flog yourself. Don’t lose muscle or joy by losing too much weight too fast or expecting too much too soon. Carry on the good fight with all your might… and new found wisdom.

Go… Godspeed… DD

I am 56 years old, love lifting and am in good shape… get out of my comfort zone and push to the next level by going heavier, etc.  Any words of encouragement or advice?

Review advice and listen to yourself. What do you want, what do you need, what should you do? Comfort zones can be a drawback when you’re 20 and 30 and 40, but when you’re 56, maybe the comfort zone means wise and grateful, injury-free and joyful.

Note: The risk of injury increases with age as does the time it takes to heal. How many times do we say, “I shoulda known better,” as we crawl from under a loaded bar that tore a shoulder?

Words from a 68-year-old bomber with no regrets. Push it with care and a prayer. Focus on form and muscle-engagement, pace and considerable (non-threatening max) exertion.

Press on and on, by God… Dave

Confused say, “He who races pickup, blows gasket and bends fender swiftly.”

I am just wondering if there is more muscle recruitment involved in barbell bench pressing, and if I will be missing something if I do dumbbell presses instead. Also, I think in the past when I have gotten shoulder pain, it was when I tried to do too low reps. Maybe keeping the reps between 8 and 12 would help eliminate that?

You’re in good hands with the dumbbells. There’s more and safer muscle recruitment with the dumbbells — you need to engage different muscles of the body to position the weights for pressing. You require more muscle to control the individual dumbbells, and with practice you are able to modify the tracking of the dumbbells to accommodate your specific needs. Not so with a bar.

Using higher reps is thoughtful. Build strength and muscle and familiarity with the mechanics over time. What’s the rush, right? Warming up is super important with all exercises.

You have plenty of time to investigate six reps and doubles and singles when you decide the time is right.

Don’t be afraid, but be safe.

Dave

At first I was going to write to ask you to make a video of this:

my cunning musculo-cardio, quasi-aerobic training technique, the chair pull… I grasp a pair of 35-pound kettlebells and I’m off… . As I plod, big grin on my kisser, a cheapo plastic deckchair, attached to my waistband by a 10-foot cord… .”

But the more I think about the possibilities, the more I think no video could measure up to the image you created in my head!!  As usual, the way you write, even about dragging cheap plastic deck chairs down and up your driveway, has inspired me again. Thanks for that!

You’re welcome. Thanks for writing and thanking…

I have foregone the chair-pull and instead do a 40-pace loop up and down an agreeable grade, starting and ending at the above cheapo deck chair.

Dragging the thing was a nuisance. Did 10 sets of 40 paces yesterday… felt good then — feel good today.

We’re in there… Godspeed… Dave

Do you have any tips or exercises to relieve elbow pain that feels like it’s right in the joint? Thoughts on the wide chins? Or upright rows?

The solutions are as numerous and complicated as the problems… need assessment…

Warm up, be aware of proper form, allow plenty of time for recovery.

I have an elbow wrap I use regularly for the past years that allows me to go heavier and get more reps. Hint: I devised it out of a knee wrap cut in half, a loop sewn on one end to slip onto my arm and fixed with Velcro at the right places at the other end as a fastener.

Elbows take a load from every direction as we insist on making our muscles grow. Pressing, dips, triceps extension. Whatever exercises hurt, modify them or go lighter for reps or dump them for a while or for good. A modern and tuned physical therapist has answers (repair and prevention), but they need to know and assess the problem.

Dump the uprights (bad for shoulders and elbows) and abbreviate the full extension on chins, maybe the width… try it for awhile. Use overhead pulley pulldowns as an alternate…

Godspeed… DD

I am 67-yr-old training regularly with one-minute rest between sets. I’ve read 90-seconds rest is required for people in their 60s.  Do I have to rest 90 seconds between set to get better results? Have I to finish the workout in 30 minutes, or can I work out for an hour and still be in the limits of growth hormone? Can I do aerobic exercise in the morning with an empty stomach even without taking protein diet to protect my muscle from burning along with fat? What is the fat percentage in boiled chicken breast, and how can I remove the fat in chicken breast or meat?

In my opinion you are being far too critical of your training pace. Train according to your ability, will and desire. Train with form and focus and 80-percent maximum exertion while being careful of risk of injury. Forget the clock.

Have a suitable protein drink and do your aerobic in the morning as you please, followed by your weight workout.

Worry and fuss less. Apply commonsense and instinct and awareness and less intellect and study. Eat plenty of EFAs and no fried food and do your best to trim fats from animal foods… quit counting this and that and train hard, be consistent and be happy.

Training will set you free… Be strong… Godspeed… Dave

I am a retired engineer, 67 years old, and have been doing workouts for four years with few breaks. I changed my lifestyle completely. But I could not reduce fat below 18% and can’t grow muscles. Will you guide me?

I cannot add to what you are already doing. You’re training hard and eating right and living, I suspect, a healthy and positive lifestyle. There comes a time when the best we can do with our weight training efforts — and it is a lot — is prevent muscle loss, maintain strength and reasonable flexibility and contribute to our mental and physical health.

Our improvements are more than skin deep. Without the workouts and the striving and the reaching we would diminish. Our time with the iron is our refuge and our disciplines in our eating and living are major contributions to a long and wholesome life.

I can suggest this exercise or that, but I’m sure you’re already doing them.

You might view our forum… or join in… a smart and friendly bunch.

Go… God’s Might… Dave

I’m starting my 3rd combat tour here in Afghanistan and have some time to devote to physical fitness. I was wondering if there was any training advise tailored more to a soldier’s requirements than just bodybuilding. A soldier’s physical fitness test is currently graded by how many pushups and situps we can do in two minutes and then how fast we can complete a two-mile run. Being in tune with the bodybuilding and performance community as you are, can you direct me to a program that is more in line with performing this test as well as possible?

Two links to view to get you started: Nate Morrison’s Alpine Tactical and our Police and Fire Testing fitness overview page.

To enhance your performance as a runner, I  suggest you run regularly, including sprints and hills and stairs. Time your two-mile runs on occasion and seek to improve your numbers. Don’t flog yourself.

Same for pushups. Practice them every other day to avoid overtraining, and apply x sets of  y reps (perhaps 5 sets of 80-percent-max reps) to build muscle and power and technique. Once weekly go for a set of max reps. Modify my set-rep and weekly max according to your own abilities and common sense.

All basic bodybuilding (I prefer the idea of musclebuilding) exercises are effective in increasing muscle and strength.

God Bless America and our amazing military… Big Thanks for your sacrifice and service… Dave

Having been infected with the disease requiring the need for iron more than 30 years ago, I have come to a crossroad. I was recently diagnosed with PV (polythycemia vera) and mitrial regurutation, and have been told by my hematologist “no more weight lifting.” I’m awaiting my visit to the cardiologist to see if I need to have surgery. Silly me, I thought the shortness of breath and chest pains were just a sign of an older guy still being able to hold his own. I ask no medical advice of you, only that if you have the time, can you answer me this? I’m a deeply spiritual person and have prayed over this, yet I have no clear answer. I feel I have to give up a part of who I am. If it is necessary, is there really life without lifting?

Absolutely. Health and family first. There’s a path…

But Still.

Ask more than one doctor, more like 10, if you can you do a little curling and pulling and pushing… any is better than none for the BMS — body, mind, spirit.

I would find the elimination of resistance exercise less distressing if I wasn’t the actor behind the curtain of davedraper.com and had an image and rep to putz with. Drop the bodyweight, seek yoga-type meditation and performance in my own zone of refuge. Gee, sounds like fun, especially when it’s life-sparing. Any viable reason (excuse) not to clink, clank, clunk.

I face a similar dilemma, being a small wreck for the past three years. I push too hard (child’s play) and it concerns me. Thank God I have the keyboard and find expression and fulfillment in writing. Thankfully, I have God (Jesus), who cares for all my problems.

A quickie google search tells me exercise with PV is limited to mild performance, such as walking. Once you’re certain the iron is out of the picture, then you walk and watch your diet and adjust, which includes seeking another avenue of expression.

I understand there’s a lot more to Yoga than we ironheads realize.

Time, common sense, creativity, encouragement, gratefulness, guts and moving ahead… Look to the reality and joy and promise in the wife and kids and the horizons… God loves us… DD

What’s the best meal for recovering after a real strenuous workout? For example, I find that after a tough leg workout, I get fatigued and listless for two or three days afterward, even though I immediately follow my workout with a protein drink and, a half-hour later, a 12-ounce steak sided with brown rice. Should I be eating anything else? For the record, I’m 56 and have been working out fairly seriously for 20 years.

Hard leg workouts knock the energy and wind out of young men and gorillas, and 56 is not exactly a young man. Lots of major muscle in action.

Your food intake sounds smart and desirable and sufficient.

More energy-supplying, nutrient-high carbs surrounding leg days might be a good idea… some aerobic for conditioning on off-days might help. Back off occasionally, modifying intensity or sets or reps or weight when you feel low. You’re good, son, and going strong

We press on… Godspeed… Dave

Question: per your weekly article, how come incline benches are bad, but incline dumbbells aren’t?  Also, remember that Moses was 80 years old when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt..so you’re still a kid at 68.

The bar is fixed, a rigid handle causing stress in the hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders and associated muscle regions and their insertions as they try to respond to the natural tracking of the pressing action. The dumbbells allow the needed freedom of movement, eliminating the injury-producing strain and malfunction.

Plus, the individual resistance of the free-groove seeking dumbbells demands greater control and permits specific control, advancing the building and forming of healthy muscle and might. Huh?

Or, as they used to say in the old YMCA boiler room gyms, lift and shut up…

Gee, he’s getting cranky in his old age…

The desert life and manna soup and the nearness to camels is extraordinarily wholesome. And I understand the water springing from the rock was high in minerals and had life-enhancing qualities.

Godspeed… Dave