It may have helped you in the past, but what I'm saying is that there is a risk associated with it, that I am not comfortable with you doing. The cons of the risk outweigh the benefits.

This is way too broad and short of a question.

To not get "gassed" requires you working on your cardio but in a certain way. You should be training by doing non-stop sprints until failure for about 30 mins each day. That means sprint for as long as you can until you HAVE to stop. Keep walking after the sprint until you recover and then do it again for as long as possible, and keep repeating the process for around 30 minutes.

In addition to this, you can train long distance cardio, so a jog, for as many miles as possible while keeping the jog around an 8 minute mile. If you have to slow down and walk, that's fine, but start jogging right back up again.


You should train these on opposite days, but 6 days a week (3 days of each).



As far as strength routines go, the 5x5 is the best for overall STRENGTH which would benefit you

http://forums.d2jsp.org/topic.php?t=21269614&f=60&p=345300636
5x5 plan

well of course pull ups or lat pulldowns will both increase your lat thickness and thus increases your upper body width for v-taper...that is definitely true.

No that is not true...however I don't recommend you take "pre-workout" supplements at all. Most of them are total crap and simply a ton of caffeine, beta alanine, and artificial sweeteners/colors/flavors. You are overpaying for junk


Stick to pure caffeine powder (500mg worth) pre-workout or 2-3 cups of black coffee.

You can also pop some beta a if you really like the tingling feeling - although this has nothing to do with increased performance.


edit:


however as with anything foreign to the body, including caffeine, it is best to cycle it on and off to avoid damage to the body. You should never use a caffeine routine for more than a few months at a time before taking a week or two weeks off.

This post was edited by SKCRaynor on Oct 26 2011 10:38am

SKCRaynor,

I have a question about stretching: How important is it to stretch after working out? Is the stretch I get while doing the exercises enough? My muscles don't feel really tight (besides the pump), but I never see anyone stretching. Will gain more strength and size by taking 5-10 minutes to stretch after working out? Or should I stretch in between sets? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you for your time, and thank you for everything you do for us

stretching between sets is optimal.

I recommend between each set and exercise that you stretch in order to fully expand and microtear the muscles as well as improving ROM

Raynor,

I'm having a bit of an argument in a separate forum about something, and now I'm left confused myself.

I was under the understanding that when bench pressing, generally one should bring their elbows down to just below a 90-degree angle position; not too far below though. This would generally be the stopping position for one with a developed chest (they'd touch their chest at that point). I recommended that for someone with an underdeveloped chest, overly long arms, or in some sort of beginning stages, that bringing the bar down to the chest and back up can actually be detrimental (creating a greater propensity for injury) in the case that their elbows go far below a 90 degree angle.

What's your opinion on this matter?

This post was edited by Canadian_Man on Oct 26 2011 04:54pm

do you have an HIIT workout, or does the above just work.

I think that beginners should bring the bar all the way down to just below nipple line, but with a considerable back arch. This will teach proper bench press technique. Even though they are going slightly below 90 degrees, I wouldn't worry about it too much especially with lower weight for beginners.