Dave Draper’s Musclebuilding Q&A

I left the gym seeing no effect and having no fun. I feel a little betrayed by the fitness magazines. Do you have any suggestions for getting back to the gym. HIT training, maybe?

You’re right; the magazines are written to sell merchandise, and not necessarily to train and educate. This unhappy fact becomes evident to most everyone real quick and it is a painful betrayal, as you say.

There is nothing new in 50 years, no great breakthrough in nutrition or exercise. It’s hard and consistent basic training, smart eating and the inner strength that grows as the muscles grow, set by set, rep by rep, workout after workout.

There’s joy in the iron and its magnetism.

HIT is for mistreated pit bulls… Stick to davedraper.com, go through it slowly and surely, never quit.

Go… Godspeed… Dave

I’ve been doing a lot of incline dumbbell presses and flys for upper chest. Seems like the inside of my pecs have developed, but not the connection between shoulder and chest. Should I start with barbells and a wider grip?

This is a common trouble spot and its origin is often the builder’s genetic skeletal-muscular structure, or blueprint. We do our best with what we have.

How about cable crossovers, single- or double-arm, and direct resistance to the area you desire by hand-body position? Perform with a light-to-moderate weight with concentration and isolation in the movement, or with a heavier, more aggressive thrusting action for fuller muscle engagement (3 to 4 sets x 12, 10, 8, 6 reps).

Front lateral raises with similar focusing will throw in a dab of muscular flesh in the wanting area.

Got guts? Military presses or standing presses (bar or dumbbell) build a lot of good stuff in the shoulder-upper pec areas. Cleans and presses go a giant step further. Do them for three weeks on and a week off (substitute with some other fav movement) for a season or two.

Throw in dips on your arm days, for tris and other related muscles, including delt-pec tie-in.

Barbell benches and inclines are my last choice… shoulder danger zone.

Remember: You can’t force muscle growth. Forcing is murder on the overused, highly-unstable shoulder region. Be highly persuasive, but be nice…

Go… Godspeed… Dave

Since I successfully kicked that killer booze out of my life (thanks for your advice and praise the Lord), I figure I might as well tighten up the food program with healthy choices and lower the calories with portion control.  This might be a goofy question, but is all protein the same? Is DRINKING skim milk with Bomber Blend as good as EATING steak or tuna???

Proteins are not all the same: Poultry, fish, red meat, dairy, etc., all have different amino acid compositions, all good and all providing various system-building services. Other ingredients — vitamins and minerals, fats, hormones, enzymes — in the different sources of protein make them more or less valuable for this or that purpose.

Red meat I consider the best muscle builder, and it also creates bulk, more energy, B-complex. Fish is best for lean muscle growth, great Omega-3 oil  — Poultry in between, and dairy great for muscle growth, bulk and D. Eggs are a super source of amino acid variation.

Solid food spends more time in the digestive system and tends to serve mass building needs, while drinks are convenient, nourishing and energizing, but by themselves are not sufficient to build muscle and a sound body.

Bomber Blend is the best in the world and can serve you healthfully as a meal replacement in your quest to lose fat pounds. It’s also a nourishing and handy breakfast and pre- and post-workout meal.

As to the value of drinking a protein shake vs eating whole protein food, an overweight person would be wise to serve himself smaller portions of steak and replace a meal with a Bomber Blend drink in his daily menu.

A musclebuilding lightweight would be wise to eat the steak and down a Bomber Blend couple of hours later, and another one before lights out.

Hallelujah on the bye bye booze blues… Godspeed… Draper

I am having biceps surgery on Thursday… Any advice and/or direction you can offer would very much be appreciated. I had my right rotator cuff (with some biceps tearing) repaired about 2.5 years ago; it’s come back really well, good and strong.  I am hoping for the same with this.

Tough one,  and I don’t have any advice that’s worthwhile.

My mumbling mouthful: Biceps repairs are iffy cuz there’s no dense, sinewy tissue to sew together or connect, as I understand it from my biceps surgery and surgeon 10 years ago.

I think injuries, as we muscleheads and strength athletes know them, are in the hands of the injured. Commonsense, mind- and emotion-, as well as, body-control, sensibleness, patience, rest and nutrition, and slow introduction of partial movements associated with the injured area.

Focus and finesse, muscle action without resistance, and, in time, light weight and long warm ups, more focus and finesse and onward in reps and range of motion and another hint of additional weight/resistance.
Time goes by; you live, you learn and grow, you restore, you adapt and compensate. The beat goes on.
Continue to be strong and courageous… God’s mercy and might… Dave

Do you really personally autograph your books? I’ve got a copy of Brother/Sister and I like the inscription. I’m 54… it seems hard to get my body to change shape… also, I have a lot of aches and pains, except when I’m liftin. Any insight?

Not since we hired the monkey — I’ll let Chacha know… she’ll flip out. She’s clever, but can’t draw worth a darn.
I’m being a wiseguy… isn’t it a shame when we have cause to believe someone else is faking my autograph? It’s not you, dear iron-worker, but the tin-heads who cause our distrust. Thanks for your support and kind words.

Everything I know is in the book you refer to. The important thing is consistency in your efforts — sensibly hard weight training, right eating and a smart lifestyle (high hopes, low stress). One has a turkey neck and and another’s is that of a chicken. Happens, dagnabit.

Throw in some 15 minutes of aerobic activity on off weight training days and try to hit the muscles directly or indirectly twice a week in three to four workouts. No superman stuff ‘cuz injuries hide in the extra heavy weights (weights get extra heavy fast after 50).

Shape comes in time (time flies fast after 50, but there’s no hurry), as bodyfat drops and muscle mass and density develop. Count on it… And don’t count the calories and percentages. They’re a drag… wing it.

Unless we hit pain killers and anti-inflammation meds, prescribed or over-the-counter, and neither a good idea, we face the inevitable APOAs (Aches and Pains of Old Age).  I take Omega-3s and Body Ammo and vitamin D. You might want to see a doc and check your hormone balance for solutions.
Go… Godspeed… Dave

 I’m 57 and my arthritis and left knee replacement keep me from exercising as I did 10-15 years ago, and as I did in the Army before that.  Is there a way I can still lift weights and not kill my arthritic joints?

Our Old Guy Blues club is getting bigger by the minute.

I suggest you start by adding plenty of Omega-3 oils and a combo of the joint building and protecting ingredients, chondroitin and glucosamine, to your menu. Body Ammo is top quality, my choice for nearly 10 years.

These are a must for the lifter loading his joints and attachments and muscles regularly. A well-balanced diet high in protein and lots of fresh, living food is absolutely important. Add water and rest in abundance, and less stress (water’s the EZ part).

Each day, as you sensibly persist to train, you learn how to establish and finesse the exercises that work, modify the grooves and improvise and invent movements to accommodate you and your limitations. Pain necessitates invention and improvisation. The creativity of ouch…

I use wraps here and there (elbow, wrist, knee) regularly. I warm up a lot in each grouchy exercise and put the wraps on and take them off with each set of exercise where needed. Helps get another worthy percentage of resistance while protecting the area and diminishing the pain.

Warm up lots — Moderate — And by all means, enjoy Bomber Blend – the best protein in the world.

Train hard and always… God’s Might… Dave

I currently weight train at home 3 times a day each of 15 minutes duration, doing this rather than training for one session of say 45 minutes I’m able to use heavier weights/resistance per exercise. Working on the premise that the greater the resistance used the greater the muscle growth stimulation, it could be reasoned that multiple sessions would be superior than a single session. However, is this really the case?

Why not?

Give the methodology full rein till you run into troubles — not enough repair time, too schedule consuming, any of various overloads, tedious, confusing — and make appropriate alterations to fix the shortcomings.

Or, go back to conventional training with extended training understanding and  apply the technique when you get the urge or when suitable.

Go… Live, lift, learn, grow… Dave

I am 59 years young and still love working out. I have been blessed with good health except my mid back is giving me a lot of problems. I have pain radiating from the left side of my spine and going up to my neck. What do you think about spinal manipulation for this condition?

A good chiropractor could serve you well. Sometimes a simple manipulation can do wonders, especially if we understand the cause of the misplacement and attend its correction.

Laree writes frequently about hip-mobility and Feldenkrais treatment as a healer in the disorder you describe as we get older and subject ourselves to more and more misuse — bad habits of posture or repetitive action.

Check her past missives on joint mobility in the archived blog.

Go… Godspeed… Dave

I am just starting to feel my 47-year-old body before and after workouts and am now struggling with shoulder pain after I do bench presses and some lateral raises. I am now about 2 weeks of not doing anything for my chest to hopefully stave off the pain in my shoulders, and the lateral raises have been stopped as well. When you say you do the raises one at a time, do you still use the same amount of weight on each side?

Drop the bench press for a while (or for good) and try dumbbell presses at various degrees of incline (the lower, the more pec — the higher, the more deltoid). Better muscle engagement, less joint aggravation.

One-arm laterals (sidearm) are done while holding a post for body stability and raising the weight in a groove (sideways to forward) that pleases you, starting with a light weight to warm up and assess the action. With each successive set, increase the weight or the reps per set to suit your preferences (4-5 sets in the 6-to-12 range). As you become familiar with the movement, you can go heavier and use more body thrust, even approaching a one-arm-dumbbell clean-like motion. The exercise can get serious.

Use the same weight on both sides unless you’re involved in an critical rehab program.

Be sensible always.

Godspeed… Dave

I am a 55-year-old unemployed, overweight, out of condition bodybuilder who is attempting to get himself back in shape after a sharp wake-up call when I was told I might have inherited my family’s predisposition towards diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. In an attempt to do this I’m working out at home a few times a week, trying to eat more healthily and use suitable protein supplements to augment my efforts.  After about two months, I’ve already seen a noticeable improvement in my blood pressure and my general feeling of well being, and my weight has come down about 20 pounds. How long will it take before I should expect to see some positive results in terms of an improved MUSCULAR physique? I don’t have much by way of equipment other than a barbell with about 40Lbs of weights on it and right now feel uncomfortable about going to a gym.

I commend you for grasping your problems and giving them a good shake. The progress you’ve made thus far is lifesaving.

Though you may see little muscular development to date, be certain improvement in muscle growth, strength and health are underway. As you lift and learn and persist, the muscle becomes evident. We don’t look too closely at a flower bud, as it will never bloom before our eyes.

Your lack of basic exercise equipment will limit the completeness and pace of your muscular development. Pushups and dips — two popular freehand exercises — engage the chest, shoulder, back, triceps and core muscles.

Consider a selection of dumbbells, or think Kettlebells, to expand your exercise and development capacity. Snoop out a nearby glitz-free gym and buy a single workout… you might find it adventuresome.

Brother Dave

My biceps are kinda drag’n, so I’m gonna work ‘em exclusively and let the triceps get their work from presses, etc. I’m trying straight-bar curls, seated DB curls, incline DB curls as a giant set for 5 sets. Any other ideas?

Don’t burn out or tear up the bis. Your scheme is good for a short shot, but excessive for the muscle and the head over time. They get their dose of training, and overtraining once we add pulling for the back.

My favs are standing barbell curls and seated dumbbell alternate curls, very low (20-degree) incline curls and thumbs-up curls… 6, 8, 10 range, 4 set minimum… bring in wrist curls once a week, higher reps. Now 67, I train bis once a week with lots of pulling the rest of the week.

The older I get, the more I mix up exercises from workout to workout. Strategies change swiftly as one ages. Getting bigger becomes less of a target. Getting up and to the gym is the bullseye.

Have fun, be aware, press on always… Dave

I am a vegetarian. Can you tell me what all to eat and at what intervals to get in motion with my workouts? I can eat egg whites.

Eat lots of eggs and don’t freak over the yellows. Cholesterol is not the killer modern medicine would have us believe. Milk products (milk-based protein powders) would serve you well in building muscle and might. Eat every three hours from rising in the AM to sleep in the PM. Eat lots of fresh, raw vegetable as you do. Beans, nuts and legumes provide some protein, your main musclebuilding ingredient.

Vegetarians are at risk of getting too little protein, especially those participating in heavy athletics. Of course, good nutrition can be done; it just takes more attention and dedication to do it well as a vegetarian.

Drink lots of water…

There are no secrets, no buried information. Genetics play a large roll in one’s development. Vitamins and minerals, protein, hard and sensible and steady exercise, a healthy lifestyle, plenty of rest, limited stress and a genuinely hopeful attitude are other major contributors to fitness success.

Go… Godspeed… Dave