Dave Draper’s Musclebuilding Q&A

I do four sets for each exercise and each day is normally about an hour and fifteen minutes of continuous work. I feel good and eat fairly well, but I seem to have reached a plateau. I regularly measure key body areas and I have not seen any improvements over the past couple of months. Am I being unrealistic, and should I be happy to maintain my current muscularity?

Points one, two and three:

• I have a plateau a minute….
• Stop measuring…
• You may be unrealistic, but better that than being doubtful…

You’re on the right track to strive on. Helps you to maintain. Just be careful not to injure yourself. We’re all different — general health, past abuse and overuse, genetics. I was bombing till 65 when genetic heart problem loomed. Detours Ahead! You might very well race past me and wave… We hope and pray for the best, by God Almighty.

Be bold and stray from the norm. Lift, live, learn and grow…

I do my biceps on leg day and my triceps on chest day. I’ve read mixed opinions on this and would like yours.

I’m not crazy about separating bis and tris. I’ve trained to build muscle by good feeling and fun, though it mostly hurts and is a tedious drag. Thus, shoulders and arms, the tank top muscles, always fit nicely together. You push, you pull  and you curl, you extend and you pump.

And, too, the large areas of the back and front torso are a perfect match, pushing and pulling the chest and back muscles to make them big and strong.

And legs are legs are legs, of course… ooph!

Try that three-day combo as a plateau-breaking change of pace and approach. Dare to superset and dig a whole new way to excite your workouts.

> Shoulders and arms

> Chest and back

> Legs and core

With focus and form and confidence, we press on… Godspeed… Dave

Hi Dave, I just wanted to ask you how long my workout sessions should last when the goal is size and strength. Appreciate it.

This varies from one hour a day three times a week to two hours a day five times a week, depending on at least a dozen different factors:

• Goals — how much and quality of mass;
• Commitment — training style-performance-discipline;
• Hereditary basics — metabolism and structure and genetics;
• Nutrient ingestion — menu quantity and quality;
• Will and willingness;
• Age and health and condition and intelligence and so on.

Train hard, eat right, be strong and be happy. I could tell you to add plenty of lean red meat to your daily menu, and quality peanut butter and bananas to your shake, and a meal of tuna and water to your existing diet, and cottage cheese and plenty of raw fresh fruit and vegetables regularly and, by all means, enjoy Bomber Blend — the best protein in the world.

Creatine helps (Anabol Naturals for purity and absorption)

Dave

I’ve been buying new muscle magazines, cannot get enough of the lifestyle I guess. Lately I’ve been training for strength but am trying to keep tabs on my physique also. I’m working on my abs before my actual workout. I do one set: 12 reps of multiple exercises hitting every different angle possible. Is this ok for an ab routine and if not what’s an efficient way of reaching my goal of getting a solid and RIPPED core? On my leg days I do just quads and hams, and was wondering on splitting the two with just a “quad day” and a “hams day” or do it sporadically for a hypertrophy shock. Another question: How often before it’s too much for abs and calves?

I’d begin with dumping the magazine habit… Check out the pics for interest, perhaps, but forget the rockin’ information. Remember, the pros have advanced nutritional and usually chemical mechanisms.

Some guys are born with abs, some guys work a lifetime to get them and they develop a poor imitation. There is no answer to the riddle, but hard work, trial and further trial. You’re doing okay. Choose a few favorite movements each workout and raise the reps per set to the burning range… leg raises, rope tucks, hanging leg raises, core work.

One of the secrets to prominent abs is a lean-body diet, which can be a sacrifice too large to make when full-on muscle- and power-building.

Unless I misunderstand your routine, I don’t think you can achieve what you want in 30 to 45 minutes in the gym four days a week.

Why bother splitting your leg training? I really think you’re reading too much pro-lifter b.s. and relying less on your instinct and commonsense and inner drive.

Most big-calf lifters, like the ab guys, are born with them: Thank you, Mother; Thank you, Father. Hard to overtrain those rascals. You can try.

Train hard, eat right, be strong, be happy… Godspeed… Dave

I’m over 60 and am planning to enter a bodybuilding contest. I’d like to know why the legs lose size first and is there anything I  can do about it.

I hear what you say and know what you mean, and I don’t have a physiological or technical answer. Body’s natural selection for survival, perhaps… or twitch of muscle fiber or the hooded guy lurking in the corner…

Old age does its thing despite our efforts to fight the good fight with lifestyle, weight training and right eating. I was good till age 65 (squatting 450) when circulation in the legs went south and the heart gave me grief. I lost 15 pounds in 30 months, most notably in the thighs. I had to give up squats, the legs’ dream exercise, and deadlifts, both powerful systemic (whole body) exercises. I’ve noted similar situations in other big guys as age crawls upon the scene.

Do your best at what you are able to do. Squat if you can — best for mass and power. Eat your protein (red meat, if you will) and limit aerobics to HIIT style and/or in-gym well-paced training (supersetting without compromising weight used). Be nice to your wife and kids and dog. Never quit…

Godspeed… Dave

I’m trying to get down to 210-215 and I weigh 245 now. I have been training fairly heavy (for me at 52), but take it down a notch every second workout. Should I try circuit training?  I trust your advice and I will follow it to the letter.

You want to drop 30 pounds. There’s no way you can do this without sensible dietary, training and attitude changes and time and commitment. Sounds scary, but it’s not. Dropping the bodyweight, which is substantial, at age 52, which isn’t exactly young, also means losing overall size, muscle mass and power. But for the fat loss (darn blubber), these can be reluctant sacrifices. Be ready to accept them.

You’ll need to review your training and prepare to train hard, amp the pace and include supersets, putting less emphasis on power and more on form and focus and exercise execution. Consider aerobic activity — stationary bike — on off days, or whenever.

The diet is simple, but important, and must be applied unwaveringly.

I find a 50/25/25 balance in protein, value-high carbs and fats the best for the conditioning musclebuilder.

Smaller meals (5 or 6 feedings) more frequently from breakfast till evening meal with lots of water, sound and basic supplementation. Lean red meats, poultry and fish are the key lean muscle builders. Lots of raw vegetables and just enough fruit serve the body’s health and performance and EFAs, and non-greasy fats add to body energy and function.

Very basically, your training intensity plus your ingestion quality and quantity determines the rate of incline or decline in your weight and muscle-fat ratio. You and your instincts and commonsense and determination are in control. You do the managing of the above fundamentals. This takes trial and attention and pursuit, the individual musclebuilder’s game. Have fun.

Oh, yeah. Be good, get plenty of rest, drink Bomber Blend, take your Super Spectrim vitamin/mineral, and consider Ageless Growth Formula. These comprise my basic supplementation needs.

Go… Godspeed… Dave

How hard has it been for you to see your body go thru the transformations that are out of our control (even though we struggle in the gym and with diet and supps) and keep a positive attitude about yourself?

I endure the pain as I have all the rest— with fear and trembling and God’s grace and mercy. I share the aging blues with those who understand and will listen (we jest), I note with relief and grief how much worse things can be (think paraplegic), I enjoy the riches and blessings I have (thanks big, God) and know these are the least of them — the best are yet to come (eternity with God Almighty) and then I sit with Laree and we are as the evening consumes us. Tomorrow I’ll fight the good fight again… and throw in some sets and reps and curls and presses, good chow and a groan and a moan and a laugh out loud.

Life is good… very good.
Dave

In terms of taking a layoff, how often do you think one should set down the iron and for how long?

Depends on a bunch of factors — your training intensity, training frequency, exercises performed,lifestyle, recuperative ability, age, health, stress, condition and such.

Once a week when I was young, twice a week till I 60, three times a week when I didn’t care. Now when I need to, 1 day on, two off works.

A lay-off of more than a week only when it’s important — injury, health, vacation, obligations, urge.

dd

Super setting and tri-setting movements gives me a tremendous pump, but obviously with no rest between movements in a given tri-set, I can’t use as much weight as I can when doing straight sets.  If I’m after maximum size, should I stick to straight sets where I can use more weight per movement or does it matter to the muscle?

I practice both single-set and superset methodologies. Make your strength choices accordingly.

Supersets and multi sets need not be performed with super speed. Slow down between sets, moving like a powerful locomotive switching individual cars at a rail yard, not the Pennsylvania express en route to Chicago. You can accomplish mass and power and shape and hardness over time.

Give yourself time to practice, learn, adjust to, assess and respond to various approaches. They en total work well, work best. You’ll see…

Blast on… focused and sure… Dave