Dave Draper’s Musclebuilding Q&A

In my combination of martial arts and weight training, probably overdoing both, at what point does the pain degenerate into more pain and eventual injury? And are there specialized workouts for psychos like me who actually enjoy lifting weights seven days week?

Soon, real soon. You need to fix your head, your body, your goals, your priorities, your realities…

Nothing personal, we’re all nuts and we all need to do the same things: Live, lift, practice you art, learn and grow and be happy. The weights and martial arts are big contributors. They can also be great detractors… too much, like anything, can break you.

The body needs rest, the mind needs space, emotions need relief, creativity needs room, dog needs kibbles, kitty needs petting, baby needs shoes.

Part of your discipline and growth is to take a day off. Try one. Try two. Real whackos are afraid to. No other interests… insecure… think they’ll slide backwards or fail, or be forced to face responsibilities and/or themselves.

There are ways of balancing your training endeavors… your best friends are common sense and instinct. Only you know which is most important — iron or martial arts — to you. Blend them sensibly: alternate days, 3 iron and 3 art, or 2 iron/4 art, or 2 art/4 iron. Trial and error and experiment and experience. I hope you’re young.

dd

1) My torso completely dwarfs my arms, giving me a bad side view. I need to supersize my arms. I’ve been doing for my triceps: 2 compound exercises like close grip bench & one exercise each for all 3 heads as heavy as I can. For biceps, 2 compound exercise, 1 for peak, one for outer arm. I’ve been following this routine  over a year now. This I do twice a week. But there’s no improvement in size AT ALL. My arms seem to have frozen at 14 inches. Do hourly swimming sessions 4 times a week thin the  arms? Or can it be my diet? 2) I can see & feel a six pack in my mid section when I tighten it, but when I leave it relaxed, my belly looks big, especially from the side view, and it sorta hangs down. What should I do to improve it?

Probably not diet if it is protein-high and full of good and fresh stuff  — veggies and clean carbs and EFAs.

You’re as fit as a fiddle, but want the body of a bass. Your problem is the healthy, but contradictory, swimming regimen. You can do both and life is good, but you will not excel at both at once. Opposing musclebuilding activity; volume swimming naturally encourages the body to be efficiently strong and buoyant, hence, streamlined musculature, less muscle bulk and more internal fat and surface fat.

Life is full of compromises…

As a swimmer you have well-developed diaphragm muscles from proper and dutiful breathing. And in the watery environment, your associated abdominal and breathing muscles are left to properly distend as you inhale and exhale. That, plus the swimmer’s buoyancy factor, might be a hard to overcome problem. Due to structure and genetic factors, not everyone can achieve the desirable six-pack.

My thoughts… press on… God’s strength… DD

I’ve read that a lot of bodybuilders of your time would do, say, bench press with five sets with reps of 12, 10, 8, 8, 6.  On the 12, 10, 8, 8, 6   should only the last two sets be a 100-percent effort? I am confused on how to interpret this particular workout.

There is a a specific incremental weight-increase methodology I  applied years ago for about a month before I grew sick of the fussing. I forgot it intentionally. I always use the above rep-scheme, but with the will to get the last rep with form and appreciation, and seeking the 90-percent-max range of output, plus or minus.

Each day has its own devils and angels — pain and injury factors, high or low spirits and energy and wellness, enthusiasm and drive or lack thereof; desire, encouragement or disappointment. These affect — vary — output big time.

I ramp up for each workout and take the weight and reps to that 90-percent place with most every set. The first set of, say, 12 is a warm up, yet high performance.

Choppy answer. I trust my training thrust, and find love for training compromised when bound too closely to watching numbers.

Roll…flow… Godspeed…   Dave

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

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

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

I’ve got a couple of questions about training.  The first one is a bit of background on the inspirational photo of you doing front squats with 3 plates each side—what was your typical set and rep scheme with that weight?  You make it look easy in the picture! The next question is related: On compound movements like the squat and deadlift, do you think you can make good gains in strength and muscle stopping short of momentary failure, something in the region of stopping at the eighth rep, when you could probably make about nine to ten at the ragged edge?

Can’t remember about the squat photo. That was a heavy set.

It went something like this:

135 warm up x10 reps, 185 x 8, 225 x 6-8 reps, 275 x 4-6, 315 x 1,2 or 3

About pushing on the heavy movement, I’d stop short most of the time. You’ll last longer, though it’s tough to hold back sometimes… then, again, it’s tough to push it all the time. Hit heavy days or sets when you get the urge and feel healthy.

dd

I know you’re not a medical doctor, but I reckon you’ve got Doctorates in bodybuilding and weight lifting, so I wanted to ask you this:  If I go real heavy on barbell curls or dumbbell shrugs, it feels like something is swollen in my upper inner right arm, in the armpit region.  Have you ever experienced this or have any educated guess on what it might be?  It only happens on those two exercises, and only if I go heavy (a weight I can only handle for 4-6 reps). Semper Fidelis…

Gee, by now your biceps are healed, and your guns are the size of cannons.

I don’t know what your problem is, but it sounds like an overwhelmed biceps insertion. Heavy weights and low reps present awesome eccentric or negative action. Gotta warm up, work out with care and persuasion and know that moderate weight with focused intensity can be as affective in building muscle as heavy weight… and safer and smarter.

Yeah, tell that to a Marine fighting terrorists in Afghanistan.

God bless you and your buds and know I’m one of millions of big fans across this great country. I pray for you all regularly.

Handle with care. Never quit… Dave

This question has been on my mind for a long time.  Would a person develop the most real strength doing straight bench presses or doing dumbbell bench presses?  It seems to me dumbbell pressing is a lot more difficult.  What do you think?

Go dumbbells. It’s safer and healthier for shoulders, more effective muscle- and strength-builder, more variation in action for movement relief, muscle shaping and funzo.

Drawback: They don’t come in a convenient overhead rack.

Plus-factor: The lifter has to put them in place with alacrity, agility, finesse and might. This is good for the system and core and associated muscles.

The best dumbbells come in pairs… Godspeed… DD

Most bodybuilders never really varied their workouts much whether they were volume trainers or HIT trainers. They might tweak a program with being more instinctive or amp it up when contest time was around the corner, but you knew roughly what they were going to do when they came to the gym. Few ever logged a training program, the question is to you: Did you logged workouts and did you have a program that you stuck with by and large?

I logged for a short period during one winter while training at the Muscle Beach dungeon, 8-10 weeks — mid-’60s. It had its purpose and value then. Ever since, I’ve followed more or less some version of the scheme I enjoyed then. Today my workout it’s a skeleton of what it was years ago, but it has the same taste and smell and silhouette.

Hey! Wait! I think it’s my shadow.

I don’t remember any bodybuilders with noticeable muscle ever logging their workouts. A few might have made notes at home. Guys who did log overtly looked like students, trained like students and disappeared before the ink dried.

Powerlifters scribbled away on pads as they reached for their chalk and inhaler, and for them logging works quite well, some might say mandatory even.
We press on, never alone… Dave

I am getting serious about training again. I’m not even 60 and the last few weeks I’ve actually gotten weaker, which is a little down-heartening. Benching 320 was fairly easy and now I’m maxed out at just over 300. I’m working out two days a week and thought maybe I should back off a little. I’ve lost eight pounds as well in the last two weeks.

Twice a week is barely enough for healthy muscle building, but your weight loss can account for drop in strength.

I dare not encourage you to seek your goal in heavy bench pressing. You’ll almost surely incur a shoulder injury and an renewed introduction to training disappointment. Who needs it at 60?

Who needs it at 17?

Train hard, train with spirit, train with joy and high hopes and good health, but don’t train with an injury, or the risk of one.

Heavy benches and seeking singles and max weight are notorious for rotator damage. Go visit the dumbbell rack and build healthy muscle safer and faster.

dd

I am a 43-year-old female who has been weight training with a partner for a few months, four days a week. There seems to be some question about the amount of weight I can lift comfortably and keep good form…  I am wondering if it is better to go lighter with good form and more reps, or should I push myself and go heavier?

Here’s where you come in: Your decision.
If your goal is to grow muscle mass, this methodology is often necessary (my experience). You’re seeking hypertrophy and it’s expensive. The tough overload and a degree of compromise in form should be approached carefully during segments of your workouts, either daily or throughout a schedule of workouts. You’re taking it to the edge.

The goal to be healthy, fit and lean and to enjoy injury-free training without ogles of muscle and might is best sought by hardy training minus a lot of risky muscle and joint overload and training intensity.

The method one chooses usually matches their personality. I was driven and chose MO #1. 50 years later I’m driven and have driven for a long time, and I like both methods 1 and 2 . Number two is more appropriate and sensible, yet on a good day I’ll push it with all my remaining might. Be aware, beware, have fun, live long and free…

Go… Godspeed… Dave

What is your opinion on children lifting weights? Is 12 years old too young for a structured routine with cardio and resistance training? I know unsupervised or heavy lifting are not options and maybe benching or squatting could impact the growth plate of a bone.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

You sound like a sensible adult, with commonsense and compassion and an eager child within.

Cut ‘em loose after you show ‘em the ropes, unless any one of them is a wild and crazy monster-child.

Hope this link helps: IronOnline Youth Training Archive

Go… Godspeed… Dave

Just received your book today, can’t wait to start reading it!  Was just wondering if you have any tips on increasing chin-up and push-up reps?  My husband said just keep doing them and I’ll get better, but I don’t feel I am getting anywhere!  What weight-based exercises should I be doing, if any?

Practice your chins — over-grip, under-grip — regularly and sensibly, knowing over-practicing can be counterproductive, stressing and boring. They’ll come along as you continue to train overall, gain muscle, lose unwanted bodyweight and get stronger.

All pulling exercises will contribute to your chinning strength: barbell and dumbbell curls of all sorts, pulldowns, seated and bent-over rows.

You might particularly enjoy and benefit from close-grip pulldowns that simulate the hanging chin. Adjust the weight to gain the full extension and contraction of the chin, perform burning and pumping and satisfy reps and fully engage the muscles involved. Bingo, presto, wa-la — you’re knocking out real, live freehand chins like nothin’.

Same with pushing exercises and push-ups — dumbbell presses on flat bench and all inclines (better than bar), triceps work. Have fun, struggle and strive…

Go… Godspeed… Dave

Steroids as we know makes a positive difference to an athlete’s ability to recover. Many doubt that Reg Park took them, so my question is, if Reg didn’t take, can a natural athelete really train deadlift three times per week as he claimed to do as a beginner?

I strongly doubt Reg took anything beyond naturally healthy, musclebuilding foods and pure water and fresh air…

Maybe he exaggerated and the deadlifting was only twice a week… that doesn’t mean it was necessarily a good idea. Reg insisted and persisted and resisted and is listed among the top two physiques in the solar system, alongside Steve Reeves. Gee… how the heck did he do that…?

Remember, Reg was Reg, one of a kind from the head to the toes, from the genes to the mind.

Dave

I need that more rugged dense trap muscle… Do you think a trap bar will help?

Save your money. The trap bar is good if you have a structural problem deadlifting with a straight bar. If not, it will not provide the advantages you’re seeking.

The basic trap-builders include barbell shrugs, farmer walks, dumbbell shrugs, cleans — with a mix of reps and heavy weight. Don’t roll the shoulders when shrugging — injury risk.

Big traps cannot always be achieved if genetic structuring is not cooperative.

Push that iron… Godspeed… Dave

I have a stress fracture of the ulna in my left arm. I did chest and tris last night and got thru 95% of my workout, but when my forearms started aching I stopped. I don’t understand how or why this happened. When I first injured my forearm I finished that evenings workout with ez bar preacher curls  and did them slow with no pain. Anyway, what rep program do you suggest?

I used progressive rep and poundage routines during my earlier years of training, but found reliance on my instincts to apply exertion and power more productive and less rigid and commanding.

My sets and reps depend more on feeling than numbers and vary more or less from workout to workout. Though the darn ego is ever-present, more often than not the lighter weights with thoughtful performance are more satisfying (pump and burn and execution), effective and safer than the heavier weights.

Going heavier might not be the wise way to go at this stage of the game. That doesn’t mean you can’t go tougher.
The origins of injuries are more mysterious to me as I gain experience — go figure.

dd

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’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