| | Strength & Fitness
With Marty Gallagher
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, June 03, 2003; Noon ET Are you trying to lose weight, build muscle, get stronger or excel in a given sport? Maybe you're just hoping to slow the aging process, which exercise and good health habits can surely help accomplish. But male or female, young or old -- where do you start and what do you do? And if you're already an experienced exerciser or athlete, how do you fight your way off a plateau or avoid going stale? Over the past 20 years, Gallagher has written more than 200 articles for such magazines as "Muscle and Fitness," "Flex" and "Powerlifting USA." He has interviewed hundreds of the world's top athletes, quizzing them on the training tactics they used to succeed. Gallagher, a World Powerlifting Champion and fitness expert, takes your questions about every fitness topic under the sun. A transcript follows. Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
| Marty Gallagher: Hello and good afternoon,
I seem to be swamped lately with diet-related questions and suppose this is because swim suit season is upon us. I keep stressing (to the point of repeating myself like a senile geezer) that first issue to get your arms around when beginning a new diet is 'gross calories.' Unless you whittle down how much you eat, the sheer amount, unless you burn up more calories than you consume on a daily basis, your fat-reduction effort will remain an exercise in futility.
It seems folks want to jump ahead of themselves and worry about food content and nutritional supplementation but they are missing the boat: even if you eat nothing but low fat foods, even if you take every nutritional supplement known to man, if you eat too much food and ingest too many calories you are going to overwhelm the body's ability to process calories and the excess is going to end up in body fat storage compartments located around the body.
Once you reduce the calories to right around the 'break even' point, cleaning up the food selection, adding exercise and taking supplements can make a real difference. Particularly when you substitute protein and fiber calories (4-calories per gram) for saturated fat (9-calories per gram). Saturated fat is so damn dense that you can literally eat twice the volume of food and pay the same caloric price.
Again, if your caloric breakeven point is say, 3,000 calories per day, and you eat 4,500, regardless if the 4,500 is derived entirely from from boiled skinless chicken breast and salad greens, you will remain fat!
Food for thought... ________________________________________________ The Long Road to Fitness, Washington, D.C.: You talk a lot about "eating clean". Other than the obvious avoiding junk food and sugary stuff, what does this really mean? Marty Gallagher: Well that's a dang good start!
Read my intro - switching saturated fat calories for protein calories is a good idea - the main thing is gross caloric intake! ________________________________________________ Madison, Wisc.: Sir, How do you define "maximum" as in my "maximum" in benching is 300 lbs? Is it how much you can bench after doing a warm-up set or how much you can do right off the bat? Thanks. Marty Gallagher: You should always warm up thoroughly before attempting a work set much less a 1-rep max...hitting a record weight without adequate warm up is asking for trouble and you risk a trip to the emergency room. ________________________________________________ Damascus, Md.: I've seen a couple of references lately to reverse grip bench press. Is this a valid arrow in the quiver? How does it differ from regular bench in the muscles it hits? Marty Gallagher: Damascus? You are not part of the secret Damascus Muscle Cult are you? I've heard of this secret neighborhood society where year round this coven drinks homemade brew, does miscellaneous feats of strength and cooks small dead animals over blazing fires...very primative...I'd exhaust all the flat and incline bench variations before fooling with reverse grip - it is more than a little dangerous and should be left to advanced trainees with competent spotters. Valid but scary. ________________________________________________ Arlington, Va.: On the other hand, a lot of people cut calories far too drastically and wind up not making any headway at all. Marty Gallagher: Well no kidding! Is this not obvious? ________________________________________________ Washington, D.C.: Hi, I just entered my height and body build (medium size) into an online mechanism and it told me what my healthy weight should be. Are these things reliable? For example, it said 5 feet 5 and medium build is 134 pounds. Thanks. Marty Gallagher: Height to weight ratios are blended averages for 'normal' people and make no allowance for body fat. A professional football wide receiver could be a super specimen, a genetic marvel with the endurance of a locomotive and the strength of a grizzly (at 5-11 and 210 bwt) yet the chart would indicate him to be over weight. Conversely a 5'10" 160-pound man could be dramatically unhealthy, skinny-fat with a 36-inch waist and come out as the winner in the chart comparison. ________________________________________________ Chantilly, Va: Marty, Does the body process 'clean' calories faster than others? Marty Gallagher: A lot of experts think so and empirical data gleaned from professional bodybuilders supports the contention but I suspect each food is handled at a different rate by different people. Yours is a little too broad an assertion though some foods are no doubt processed faster and more efficiently than others...
More important is to not overwhelm the body with too much food at any one feeding. ________________________________________________ Memphis, Tenn.: Hi coach, I've been trying to do stiff legged deadlifts for my hamstrings, but it still feels like my back is doing most of the work. Any idea what I may be doing wrong and how I can isolate my hamstrings? Thanks Marty Gallagher: 1. radically reduce the poundage: if the poundage is even slightly heavy the erectors are triggered to help.
2. slow the rep speed dramatically
3. arch the back from tailbone to neck - get arches and stay arched throughout
4. DO NOT rise up unless the hamstrings power the ascent - you can feel them in real time when you do this correctly and successfully - it's there, you have slow it down, lighten it up, and FEEL the rep through every single inch. ________________________________________________ Richmond, Va.: At what angle, relevant to being flat, should the bench be declined for (1) doing presses and flies (to work chest and not shoulders) and (2) decline crunches? Thank you very much. Marty Gallagher: The question is fuzzy - I will say this: very, very few elite iron athletes bother doing decline ANYTHING - declines are more than a little redundant. Plus they are the most dangerous exercise to do without a spotter. If you get pinned under a heavy decline barbell bench, you have a problem. ________________________________________________ Springfield, Va.: There is a martial arts guy on Northern Virginia local access TV whose physical appearance is not imposing whatsoever. It's obvious from his work that he is amazingly strong and quick. Why don't muscles "build-up" and show on martial artists like him? Marty Gallagher: Agility, speed, reflexes, explosiveness and endurance are athletic attributes not visible. Who knows why certain athletes lack muscle mass? ________________________________________________ Chantilly, Va: Marty, I know you shouldn't eat anything significant after a certain time, like eight p.m., but what can you do to fill the 'hungry spot' in your stomach ? Would it be OK to drink a protein shake at that hour versus anything else ? Marty Gallagher: You make a statement without providing any reference - the advice you suggest would be appropriate for someone looking to shed body fat. I assume that's what you mean - a low carb, low fat protein shake is a fine way to curb hunger without upsetting the diet apple cart. I like a massive salad with low fat dressing. ________________________________________________ Arlington, Va.: Hi - I'm a male, 5'11", 142 lbs. I'm skinny but I'm hardly at 8 percent body fat. For the past 10 weeks I've been trying to lose some fat for the summer, but it's damn stubborn -- in your opinion, would I be better off working on putting on muscle now or should I stay the course? Marty Gallagher: Why would a man weighing 140 at 5-11 with 8% body fat try and lose fat - at a true 8% (which I doubt) you wouldn't have any visible fat to lose.
At a true 8% you would have no fat in the pec area, clean cut delts, thigh quad muscle would be visible individually when you flexed, veins would be visible on forearms, upper arms and leading into the delts, you would have a complete ab 6-pac plus jewel-like serratus and intercostals. Your obliques would be fat free. How do you know you are 8%? ________________________________________________ Arlington, Va.: Hey Marty, I am looking for a suggestion ... I just completed a reverse periodization cycle ... I did the heavy stuff first, then the 15 reps sets, finally the 25 reps sets. I had great results, really kept track of gains and walked out of the gym dead tired. I am now able to lift a lot more weight for many more reps. Now I am not sure what to do next. I am liking the leaning out phase, but sick of the 25 reps. Any suggestions for continuing the gains, but changing the program? should I go back to 15's, then to 5's again? Thanks again.
Marty Gallagher: Periodization works great going both directions...
1. strength athletes will go from light poundage to heavy over the course of the 'cycle', looking to peak power and size going into camp or an event.
2. bodybuilders will start off heavy in poundage and body weight and then over time reduce body fat while increasing reps and overall training volume.
Though polar opposites, both approaches are valid and often alternated to create maximum training contrast year around. ________________________________________________ Re: protein shake: 10-4 on the protein shake idea. Only costs what I would have spent on about 10 bags of nacho flavor Doritos. Better for ya too. Marty Gallagher: My protein shake has equals the protein content in 10 egg whites! (33-grams) And I don't have to separate the yolks from the whites and cook it - plus, with zero fat or sugar and only 3-grams of carbs, this is nearly the perfect supplement for my purposes. ________________________________________________ Re: 5'11", 142 lbs.: Tell him to put a few pounds of muscle on that rack. Marty Gallagher: I wonder if it was on the level? ________________________________________________ Arlington, Va.: You misunderstood me -- I wrote that I'm HARDLY at 8 percent -- more like 12, I reckon. I was hoping to get down to 10 percent for the summer, but I've plateaued completely and was wondering if it wouldn't be a better idea to do an about face and try to put some muscle on. Marty Gallagher: Bud - you need some muscle BAD!
write me with what equipment you have available and your current workout routine - seriously, I'd quit worrying about lean and lithe and concentrate on adding some muscle to that frame. ________________________________________________ Oxford, UK: Hi Marty, I've been lifting for several years and find your advice extremely useful for revamping my routine from time to time. My question: I'm looking to change up my deltoid workout. For the past five months I've been doing military press, lateral and forward raises, and dumbbell raises (seated, lifting straight in the air). I'd like to shake up my routine, so what would you suggest for a balanced delt workout? And how can I best target the front deltoids? Thanks! Marty Gallagher: I can tell you what a lot of the Iron Elite do for shoulders - periodically stop training them.
Shoulders get an awful lot of indirect work from flat bench, incline bench, pulls and deads and rows and shrugs(rear delts) and often top athletes will continue to train as normal but drop shoulder training altogether for 4-weeks. Often this allows over-worked, over-trained delts to rest and recover.
When you add back in direct shoulder work after 4-weeks of rest, the revitalized, refreshed deltoids set all kinds of new rep and poundage records. ________________________________________________ Washington, D.C.: What would be a reasonable body fat percentage for a woman to shoot for in terms of fitness (not aiming to compete or anything)? Marty Gallagher: Depends on a lot of things: age, degree of fitness, height, weight, current body fat percentile...there is no one single number that is the fitness body fat percentile gold standard. ________________________________________________ Re: tall and skinny: He didn't plateau, he bottomed out! Marty Gallagher: I want to put him on a power program with lots of calories and pack on about 20-pounds of muscle - then he'll blow some minds! Plus it is so much fun...lift, eat, rest, grow. ________________________________________________ Columbia, Md: I am getting married in 13 days and would like to lose 14 pounds for the big day. I currently exercise by walking to the mail box and walking to do errands. I have a foot pedal under my desk at work also. My diet is pretty clean. Salads and fish sandwiches from McDonalds. What else can I do on such short notice. Female 6' 135 lbs. Marty Gallagher: Way too late for that!
Just relax and enjoy yourself - if you go on some crazed crash diet you will turn yourself into a physical and psychological basket case! As if you didn't have enough stress already - the last thing you need is to slash calories. I need at least 4-weeks to make an impact. He'll love you regardless so (he better!) don't get mental over this. ________________________________________________ D.C.: Marty, What's a good protein mix that doesn't require a blender? Something that mixes well with water or milk and tastes decent. The ones I've tried either taste like chemicals or don't mix well at all. Thanks! Marty Gallagher: There are plenty around that mix effortlessly!
Write my e-mail for my brand: MGSO@supernet.com ________________________________________________ Food for Thought: Marty, How many calories in that? Marty Gallagher: What? ________________________________________________ Clifton, Va.: I have been doing aerobic exercise for years but I haven't been religious about doing resistance training nor following a great diet. I had a body fat test done a couple of weeks ago and to my horror, I was at 30 percent body fat. So, I realized it was time to get my act together and I signed up with a personal trainer. I am doing a whole body workout 3 days a week and am doing cardio 3-4 times a week at an hour a pop. I'm also getting the diet under control. My question, how fast can I reasonably expect to loose body fat and what is a reasonable goal? I am 40-year-old female, 5'5", and weigh 145 pounds. Thanks for any insight. Marty Gallagher: You need to read my intro to today's show.
All that exercise is meaningless if your gross calories are out of whack! ________________________________________________ Re: Columbia bride to be: Marty, I didn't know you performed miracles too! Marty Gallagher: No - actually I told her I was incapable of performing physical miracles on such short notice. ________________________________________________ Marty Gallagher: I have to go now - if you have a question left today check for the answer at the end of next week's get-together.
If you had a question leftover from last week - check it out!
5-27-03 Questions
Re: Jogging with a CD player: Doesn't it have to be a MAC? Depends on what kind of MP3 player you buy. There are players that will work with just about any kind of computer.
MARTY GALLAGHER: Thanks for the heads up…
Hi Marty, love your input every week. I'm 23 and been lifting weights for 8 years. My weight has fluctuated from 155 when I began to 180 (freshman 15-20) to 138 (pledging). Currently I am 5'8'', 150 and been hovering there for two years. I work out more consistently and harder now than ever. I've tried creatine, protein, and glutamine, but can't budge. I know I don't get enough grams of protein 1-1.5 per pound, but seriously what can I do? Low reps and high weights and low weights high reps, nothing works. I can't get stronger or bigger.
MARTY GALLAGHER: Seriously, you need to start eating more on a regular basis. If you continue to eat the same amount of calories there is no physiological way that you can grow significantly bigger. How can you? If the body is not in a calorie-plus state there is no raw fuel available to feed muscle growth. Low reps and big poundage only work to stimulate growth if extra calories are present.
Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Marty, Your answer was just the information I was looking for. As far as arm and leg presses go, I know I am now getting a better exercise. What freeweights are good for exercises that tend to stretch the muscles like leg extensions?
MARTY GALLAGHER: I have no clue what you’re talking about. Can you be more specific?
Alexandria, Va.: Hi Marty, I've been lifting off and on for about 15 years ( I am 30 now). I do mostly multijoint powerlifting moves. Back in the day when I was about 135 lbs ( I weigh 167 now - 5' 8" - small boned.) I used to be able to squat 315 lbs. 10x wearing a belt and tightly wrapped knees (without them I would break in pieces). Now my knees ache most of the time. How do you feel about wrapping knees for squatting? Also, bent knee/seated calf raise -- necessity for great looking calves? Thanx Marty!
MARTY GALLAGHER: I never wrap my knees unless I’m preparing for a competition. I don’t understand the calf question. If your knees ache you need to change some things.
Seattle, Wash. Follow-up on multi-rep, multi-sets. So if you're going for lighter-weight, higher-rep sets to strip weight, how should you set an exercise in terms of weight/number of sets/number of reps? (In my case, male, 39, intermediate-level lifter)
MARTY GALLAGHER: Am I just dense today – that is an incredibly convoluted question and I have no idea what it is you’re asking. If you are using multiple work sets with static poundage – regardless of rep range – take a warm-up or two before tackling the top sets. You’ll need a little more rest between sets as you get deeper into the work sets. Once you can make the proscribed number of reps for all the work sets, boost the poundage and start the procedure all over.
St. Paul, Minn.: Marty, what does the target heart rate on the machine tell me? Am I supposed to keep to this number (not easy when I'm running)? I am consistently about 10-12 beats per minute above what the treadmill tells me my rate should be. Does this mean I am no longer getting cardio benefits? I am very new to working out and want to get more stamina. Is doing cardio work even the right way to do this?
MARTY GALLAGHER: Age-related heart rate maximum allows us to assign an intensity value to aerobic activity. Most experts recommend you conduct the cardio session at between 65-85% of age-related HR maximum, depending on degree of fitness.
Studio City, Calif.: You've said that we should not overuse or over-workout muscles, hence workout the chest once a week. But how then can we do ab exercises (situps, crunches) everyday? Also can we run everyday and on top of that do leg exercises (squat, deadlift) once a week?
MARTY GALLAGHER: Hey sometimes I work a muscle once a week and sometimes I work a muscle twice a week – I suggest once a week muscle training is certain situations and twice (or even three times) a week under different sets of circumstance. Cardio exercise and progressive resistance exercise are two entirely different things. Frequency depends on strength levels: a weak beginner can train a muscle up to three times a week and still recover from one session to another while a really strong person using big poundage needs longer to heal. Leg and back muscles need more recuperative time than the smaller muscles of the torso front torso. Calves, forearms and abdominal can be trained more often and with higher reps.
Severn, Md.: Hello Marty -- I've just moved into 20 rep sets for the next couple of weeks (just finished 5 weeks of 10 rep sets). Do you do all of the sets with 20 reps or only the top set with 20? Also, I'm assuming that you drop the weight for 20 rep sets ... how far do you drop it? For example, if I'm benching 40, 60, and 75 (I'm a girl) for 10 rep sets should I drop the weight to 20, 40 and 60 for 20 rep sets? Thanks for your wisdom and patience!
MARTY GALLAGHER: Only the top set. Save your available energy for the all-out 20-rep top set of each exercise. Many trainees make the mistake of blowing available energy on relatively meaningless warm-up sets. Everyone has different ratios between rep ranges. You will need to determine 20-rep poundage – how about knocking 30% off your 10-rep best poundage as possible starting point?
Fairfax, Va.: Coach, You recommend doing chins to build huge lats, correct? Are chins the same as reverse grip pullups? I've been doing 5 sets. I usually get 12 reps my first set, I can then muscle 10,8,6,and 6 reps in the following sets. Do you see any reason to change my approach? Thanks.
MARTY GALLAGHER: A chin has the palms facing the face while pull-ups have the palms face forward. Regardless if it’s a chin or pull, you’ll need to experiment with different width grips. As soon as the results start to fade, change things.
Maryland: OK Marty, I need you to reassure me on this one. I'm a 34-year-old male, 5'5" 175 lbs. and have been a dedicated weightlifter for 20 years. At what point in my life as I get older can I expect to stop making gains in muscle mass? I lift hard 4x a week, about an hour each time, a different body part each day (that is, a different workout each day of the week).
MARTY GALLAGHER: You’ve got another ten years so quit worrying about not making gains and start making some. You’re way too young to be worrying about when the effects of old age kick in.
Woodbridge, Va.: Can you really work abs without a carido component to your workout? What is the best way (what kid of sets) to structure a crunches workout?
MARTY GALLAGHER: I don’t do crunches; I don’t do a whole lot of direct abdominal work. I get a lot of ab stimulation from deadlifts – a reverse sitt-up when you examine it – I suppose you could work abs two to three times a week for 15-20 minutes. Make sure you switch things up on a periodic basis.
Downtown D.C.: I have worked out my entire life, but just got back into a regular routine again about a month ago. I am just under five feet tall and weigh about 110 lbs. I am trying to balance the cardio and lifting, but I am having a problem with my upper arms. I trained as a gymnast for years when I was younger, which helped me develop some pretty large biceps. As I got older and stopped lifting and focusing on my arms so much the muscle got smaller, which I kind of liked since I want slim toned arms. However, now that I am lifting again (8 lb. free weights, nothing big)I am noticing that my biceps are getting large and not so much thin and toned. Is this just a result of the way I am built or is there something I should change?
MARTY GALLAGHER: Why not quit worrying so much about overdeveloping a single small muscle. Write me about how I can help you grow lagging muscles not how to stifle growth in what you perceive as over-development in one tiny muscle. Please ask me how to improve.
Washington, D.C.: Hey Marty! I'm following up with you from my question last week. I am the 24-year-old F, 21-22 percent BF who's looking to lean out. I have been using weights off and on for the past year and a half and have access to a gym Tues-Fri, during my lunch hour. Could you please devise a weights program for me on these days? If possible, I'd like to do both cardio and weights during lunch. If not, I can do cardio after work.
MARTY GALLAGHER: I need to know more: what have you been doing? Do you know how to squat, bench press, row, do overhead presses and do you know what tricep pushdowns are? How about seated dumbbell curls, chins and deadlifts? Are you asking me to devise a weight program to be done in street clothes in 30-minutes? How much time – exactly – are we talking about? 30-minutes? 45? 60?
Washington, D.C.: Marty, After a bulk up phase, I'm nearing the end of a fairly successful eight week lean out phase ... Male 6'2" who went from 212 lbs. to 201 lbs. I don't want to lean out too much so I plan to pick up the eating. I'd also like to change my workout regime from a 2-day split twice a week to working out each body part once a week. Here is my 2-day weight lifting split regime:
day 1 - chest, shoulders
day 2 - back , biceps, triceps
day 3 - off
day 4 - repeat day 1
day 5 - repeat day 2
day 6 - off
day 7 – off
I haven't done my legs over the past 8 weeks as I have increased my cardio. What do you recommend? Should I add more exercises each day since each body part will be trained once a week?
MARTY GALLAGHER: I would suggest you start weight training legs and if that requires cutting back on the cardio so be it. I would do it as follows:
Day 1 – legs (quads, hams, calves)
Day 2 – chest, triceps
Day 3 – off
Day 4 – back, biceps
Day 5 – shoulders, abs
Hit the cardio on your off days (three to pick from) and look to concentrate on 5-8 rep sets. If you get stronger in the core movements you will add muscle size. Are you consuming a protein shake after weight training?
Arlington, Va: Marty, I am confused about how much exercise I should be doing to lose weight. I have heard that we are supposed to do at least 30 minutes most days of the week. But lately I've been reading that in order to lose weight, you have to do more than 30 minutes, because 30 minutes is just for fitness and maintenance. I have heard that for weight loss I should be working at least an hour. Is that true? To give you some specs, I'm a female about 15 pounds over a healthy weight and am trying to lose just that much. I've got shinsplints so running isn't an option, but have taken to using a stationary bike for cardio and fat reduction. Also, in regards to muscle vs. fat, is it true that muscle weighs more than fat or muscle is more dense than fat? Thanks, Marty!
MARTY GALLAGHER: Look – forget all that stuff…you need to lift weights 2-3 times a week. You need to do cardio 3-5 times a week, and most importantly you need to eat fewer calories. You need to eat fewer calories than you burn off on a daily basis. No matter how much exercise you do it can all be easily undone by over-eating. Muscle is denser than fat.
________________________________________________ washingtonpost.com: That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion. © Copyright 2003 The Washington Post Company | 
