Q. I am very much interested in achieving overall fitness, and was recently at the gym doing a ballistic stretching routine I knew from my tae kwon do classes. I was then approached by a physical therapist to stay away from it, that I was putting myself in danger, blah, blah, blah. What is the dealeio?

A. Ballistic stretching has unfortunately been given an undeserved bad reputation, thanks to physical therapists and athletic trainers who have frowned upon it, claiming it was a sure way to injure oneself.

If ballistic stretching was so stressful every martial artist who emphasizes kicking in his style (i.e. Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, Savate) would be in a wheelchair. So would every rhythmic gymnast, artistic gymnast, ballet dancer and diver, as ballistic stretching is a staple of their physical preparation. Interestingly enough when the 76ers won the NBA championships in 1986, their strength and conditioning coach was a ballet teacher who used plenty of ballet type movements to teach the basketball players how to use the concept of acceleration and learn to relax the antagonistic muscles.

Dynamic stretching involves fast movements which place muscles under a rapid but very short-lived stretch. Opponents of dynamic stretching will argue that the imposed stretch is too small in terms of time to be beneficial and increase the likelihood of muscle pull. But, what these people fail to understand is that the correlation between dynamic flexibility and static flexibility is quite poor (r= 0.42). In other words, it is possible that someone who barely touch his mid shins in a sit a reach test (static stretch) can kick you in the face (dynamic stretch). In the same way that someone who can go beyond his feet in a sit and reach test can barely kick you in the navel. In the dynamic expression of flexibility, there is more than the ability to relax the muscles and connective tissue, there is also the ability to activate the antagonist muscle to place the muscles in a rapid stretch. So, in our kicking example, you may able to stretch your hamstrings well in slow sit and reach test, but not be able to activate the quadriceps at high speeds to place the hamstrings in a rapid stretch.

There is, however, a correct way to do ballistic stretches: it is called the pendulum method. In this method, you do not try to reach maximal range in the first stretch but rather build up to it. So for example in a warm-up for kick, you would kick at the ankle level for starters, then aim at mid-shin, then knee cap etc. until you reach your maximal kicking height. You would definitely not start with your best impression of a Jean-Claude Van Damme kick.

In my opinion, the only real disadvantage of ballistic stretching is that the gains are very short term, more precisely, you will retain the flexibility gained for only 4 to 6 hours. However, if complemented with other stretching methods like static or P.N.F stretching, the gains will become more long-lasting.

Q. I've been trying to adopt your nutritional techniques that I read in an article you did with Peakhealth. You described this diet as a 25 day start up phase where all (or most) of the carbs came from vegetable sources. I have avoided fruits and kept my protein at roughly 1q/lb bodyweight. I have also incorporated 10-15 fish oil capsules/day. I feel like I have tried every diet known to man and I can't seem to figure out how to lean out. I am 5'10" 208 w/ about 11%-12% BF. My goal would be to get down to roughly 7% BF and I figured I'd try your dietary suggestions.

The problem that I'm encountering is that I can't seem to get all my carb req's from just veggies. I am eating 2 big salads/day and as many green veggies (broccoli, green beans, zucchini) as possible, but I can really feel the fatigue setting in. At 40/30/30 I need to eat roughly 45g of carbs each meal and that alone is almost 2 full bags of broccoli/meal. I can't eat that much. I don't think the training is the problem but rather the diet. I think I haven't been eating enough for years. I have forwarded my diet that I currently doing.

At this point I just can't figure it out. I think I just don't have the educational background to identify the problem. Since I am currently working with the diet you outlined I ask for your help. Note: I have changed the above diet to include all veggies and incorporated fish oil. I know I have muscles under the flab, I just can't see them as much as I want. I need guidance and I know I can make this happen.

Hopefully you can point in the right direction. Your articles and routines have taught me so much up to this point. I am a typical mesomorph, as they say, and if putting on weight was the issue I'd have no problem. I have an incredible appetite, but I'm just doing it wrong.

A. There is a few things can help you readily:

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Increase your protein intake to 2 grams/lb of bodyweight.
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Stay away from meal replacements products containing maltodextrin or glycerin.
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For post-workouts, stick to a high quality protein and 50 grams of glutamine to restore your glycogen stores.
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Every 5th day, you can have a cheat meal. Once your bodyfat is 8% or less then you can have a full cheat day.

By incorporating the given above steps you should lean out fairly quickly. You can also read Mauro Di Pasquale's book the Metabolic Diet which shows you how to customize your carbohydrate requirements.

Q: I am interested in training for Strongman competitions. As these events gain popularity, I'm sure the training will become more clearly defined, but right now I can find no solid information on how one would combine weight room training with the actual event training. How would you mix the two given the high physical demands these events require?

A. The best way to train for those events would be to alternate cycles of general preparatory work with cycles of specific work. A 3 to 2 ratio would probably give you optimal results. Therefore you would 3 weeks of strength work concentrating of basic compound exercises such as squats, chins, deadlifts, presses and of course some grip work.

Then, for two weeks you practice the actual events 4 days a week. Don't be afraid to lose strength when practicing the actual skills of Strongman competitions. In fact you will be surprised to see that your actual weight room lifts will go up once you return for a 3 week stint of more classical strength work.

Q. My bench press poundages has not improved in weeks. My training partner pointed out that I always encounter a sticking at about 2-4 inch's off my chest? Any suggestions to solve my training problem. It is getting very frustrating.

A. Getting stuck in the bottom portion of the bench press is function of two issues: technique and strength ratios. Lets look first at technique.

Velocity of the descent: The best bench pressers in the World have been shown to have slower descent than less qualified lifters, controling the eccentric contraction will permit you to control more efficiently the bar pathway.

The Flaring the Lats Trick: Flaring the lats in the bottom position, as in the front lat spread, allows you to raise the bar 1/2 to 1 inch places at a better mechanical advantage. Practice this trick initially with loads lower than 70% of your one rep maximum, as it requires focused attention.

Second, lets look at strength ratios: If you have a weak start in the bench, you could either have weak pecs or weak serratus anterior muscles or a combination of both. When the given above muscles are weak, you have poor initial acceleration in the concentric range in the bench press. So to overcome your weakness, you want to give these exercises a try:

If you pecs are weak, the best exercises that will to improved bench press performance would be cambered bar bench presses and flat dumbbell presses palms facing each other.

If you serratus anterior is weak it is normally also reflected by a poor performance in the military press exercise. You should be able to military press 70% of your bench press performance. In other words, if you bench press 300 lbs, you should be able to do a seated military press with 210 lbs.

Spending a few weeks specializing on this exercise should remedy the situation. You may also include supine incline front raises as a remedial exercise in your bench press routine.

Incline Front Raises: This exercise will increase the strength of the serratus anterior, which is the main muscle that rotates the scapulae upward and helps you get out of the bottom position. Make sure that the elbows are bent 5-10 degrees to take away the stress on the elbow joints.

Q. I am being trained by a very enthusiastic young college student who is majoring in exercise physiology. His birthday is coming up, I would like to give him something around 50.00 dollars that would further his education. Any suggestions?

A. A very good gift for that price range would be the video by Paul Chek entitled Controversy and Current Concepts of Pulling Exercises. It puts to rest many of the trendy seminar bullshit concepts on upper back training that is creating more business for physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons than the leg extension machines.

Paul Chek provides once and for all sound biomechanical and neurological data on how to properly train the upper back musculature. I would say it is must-view for all personal trainers and strength coaches. Your personal trainer will surely be grateful for this gift. To purchase it contact Paul Chek seminars at 800/552.8789.
Q. I have a very weak back, mainly because I have only used geeky cables (I am pretty pissed that I didn't read your article, "back to the basics", earlier). However, I am not able to do even one wide grip pull-up (very long arms, to high BF, too much geeky back training), not even an eccentric one! I can however, do a couple of close grip chin ups (palms facing me). So here is what I am thinking about doing on my back only day:

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Shoulder width chin-ups doing singles for a total of 20 reps.
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Wide grip pull-ups 4x3 with partner holding my ankles.
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Cable row 8, 6, 4.
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Barbell row 8, 6, 4.

I have to do barbell rows and cable rows because of the program my training partner and I are doing. I have a couple of questions. One - is the chin-up part of the routine ok? And, two - how long a break do you have to take between the singles? (I kinda have to do all my 20 singles when my partner does his 4 sets). BTW, I am natural, on a gaining eating cycle, eating 500 cals above maintenance.

A. Answer to question 1: First, how can you be on a gaining eating cycle while you are also stipulating that you have high bodyfat. I don't know anyone who has ever eaten anything by accident. First things first, get rid of the fat.

Second, no ankle holding bullshit chin-ups. How can you not even perform a single eccentric wide grip pull-up. Did you grow up in Chernobyl? Even Roseanne Barr can do one.

Answer to question 2: I suggest that you do close grip, semi-supinated (palms facing each other) chins, resting 90 seconds between sets.

Q. What would you say, if pressed for time, would be the best triceps exercise?

A. Any of the following three exercises would do the task on putting mass on the triceps:

1. Lying Barbell Triceps Extensions with Chains. Since the triceps have an ascending strength curve, using chains added to the bar will help match the strength curve. Make sure that when the arms are fully extended the chains are about 1 cm from touching the floor.

2. Parallel or V-Bar Dips. Dips are excellent for packing mass on the triceps, look at the triceps development of Olympic gymnasts. Please don't do the dork version : hands behind back, feet and hands on a bench. People who do those normally have an IQ of 5 and it takes 6 to bark.

3. Overhead French Presses. This one is particularly good if your long head of the triceps is lagging. This can be done with a single dumbbell, a rope tied to a low pulley, or you can use an EZ bar.

Q. I am very interested in learning more about building muscle mass. In your opinion, what are the top five authors I can learn from on building mass.

A. I would strongly suggest that you read the works of the following authors listed in alphabetical order.

Mauro Di Pasquale M.D. He is the foremost expert on nutrition and ergogenic aids. I personally refer a lot of my clients to him. His knowledge on building strength is immense, as he is a former World Powerlifting Champion. Consequently, he has written more on nutrition and ergogenic aids, than he has on training methodology. Dr. Di Pasquale can be found pretty much everywhere, and has written for countless publications including a few of his own books (The Metabolic Diet).

Anthony Dittilo. You will find him in old issues of IronMan and current issues of Milo.

Michael Gündill. He has a refreshing look at hypertrophy routines. He can be found in IronMan, and also has valuable insights on nutrition.

William Kraemer. He can be found in Muscular Development. William is excellent at bridging the gap between the lab and the weight room.

Bill Starr. Is a very accomplished powerlifter and Olympic lifter, which is a rare combination. He can be found in IronMan and Muscle Mag International. He was the first author to really explain the need for full squats, and destroy the mythology around it.

Q. I currently train 4 days a week, I do not, however, train on weekends due to the fact that I also enjoy socializing. My question is this - Does getting drunk on the weekends hinder my progress significantly in terms of mass gains? And do you have any suggestions as to how to reduce the damage alcohol drinking does to my weight training efforts? Thanks.

A. There is plenty of scientific evidence which demonstrates that drinking and staying up late will hinder your bodybuilding progress.

First, even if you don't drink, staying up late is harmful to the training process. Studies on circadian cycles show that staying up late on a Friday night will mess your circardian cycles till the next Tuesday. Therefore quality of sleep, which is one the most essential recovery tools for the natural trainer will be impaired.

Second, alcohol to the point of being drunk can severely suppress testosterone. One drink a day is fine, and has been shown to have many health related benefits, such as improving HDL levels. But getting drunk is definitely out of the question. Alcohol in excess will slow down your muscle mass gains by:

1. Interfering with energy production in your accumulation workouts by inhibiting certain enzymes.

2. Again, messing up your sleep patterns. The reduced quantity and quality of sleep will minimize your recovery for the following workout.

3. Decreasing your natural testosterone production, which is one of your main anabolic hormones. A study in Finland has shown that the occasional alcohol binge decreases your natural testosterone production for a period as long as three days.

I have seen many times over, people stuck at a x level of development. After changing their lifestyles, they experience a sudden spurt in growth in muscle mass and training poundages. When a kid is referred to me by a sports agency, and he is on the verge of making the pros, the first thing I insist on is abstinence from alcohol. It is all a matter of priorities. What is most important to you?

In regards to negating some of the negative effects of your partying, loading on a good anti-oxidant blend may help, but will never completely off-set the effects of partying.