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By
Phil Stevens |
| Its that time again,
Time for me to share some true gems of knowledge and some real
wieners. It’s never dull when you take answering hundreds
of emails and phone calls from people all over the globe. |
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Subject: Cutting
Calories
Question: I am 23 year old
and weight 150 pounds, 5'6 tall. I want to lose 1-2 pound daily
(specially my belly fat). How many calories should i burn daily
and how many calories should I intake daily?
Louis
Answer: Louis - thats
very hard to say as everyone if different. No matter which of the
hundreds of equations you use to figure it out you will have to
adjust for YOU. No cookie cuter math equation is real life.
That said a good starting point for
you to adjust from would be 1650 calories of good foods. Couple
that with some walking and three sessions of resistance training
a week for an hour or so with BIG compound moves out of machines
and see what turns out.
The number one thing I would do however,
prior to ever having anyone cut calories, would be to just take
baby steps and nail a solid diet of real food, protein, fats and
carbs from real food. Get going on a solid training schedule they
can live with LONG TERM. That alone will have 99% of the world making
great progress without having to stoop to the level of stressing
over diet and counting calories, and calories burnt. If you don’t
have a solid foundation of habits built then putting up walls and
hanging picture will just fail and not be long lived as the house
itself will fall down.
Phil
Subject: Twitching
Muscles
Question: I noticed my muscles
(all over) have been very tired with little activity, fatigued and
even last few weeks have been twitching alot (not spasm)....in legs
,ribs ,calves,arms etc. I am a vegetarian and rarely eat diary so
just about vegan...could you tell me if youve heard of this before
and what you think or recommend me getting more of? i try to eat
well rounded but im a picky...does this mean im lacking in a specific
nutrient? Any advice or help would be most appreciated.
sincerely, Marvin
ANSWER: Marvin-
The first thing I would do is get
water in you. You sound possibly dehydrated. Likely very low on
sodium and potassium as well. Maybe iron since your not eating one
of the most important food groups man evolved to eat and led to
us being at the top of the food chain. Things that move make noise
and taste good, Meats, fish, poultry, dairy etc.. But if your getting
plenty of nuts then you could be getting enough iron and I wouldnt
over due it on the iron. You dont want iron in excess. I would however
give Large consideration to going BACK to your instincts and being
at least a bit carnivorous.
Id look at the water, upping your
salt intake and possibly potassium as well. Likely your overall
calories are low to leading to your being sore and weak.
Phil
Subject: Getting
a 6 Pack
Question: Hello Phil!! OK so
here is my story... I am 17 years old 6 foot tall and currently
i weight about 162. I was at about 200 pounds but i lost it all
in about 3 months... but i lost it a bit too fast because when i
lost the weight i lost muscle with it. And I want to know the best
direction to get a 6pack!! Everyone says " all you need to
do is lose the fat " and well Ive done that... i cant get much
skinnier... when i stand up... and try to pinch the fat on my stomach
there's virtually none... and maybe some skin i can pinch but that's
it. So I was thinking could the reason I don't have a 6pack be due
to the fact that i lost muscle during my weight loss? Should i focus
on building up muscle in my abs... or focus on what everyone else
says " just lose more fat they will show " sorry for the
long question, but hopefully you can answer. thanks !!
Carl
ANSWER:
NO!!!!!!!!!! Carl DONT lose more weight!
My man your 6 foot tall and a nothing 162lbs. They only thing you
have left is some skin bones organs and water, and that’s if
your lucky. I’ve been there, you lose more weight you’ll
simply be dead, just a skeleton.
You need to get a good relationship
with eating more, training hard with BIG compound moves, and add
full body muscle to see your abs. Yes you have to have low fat but
you need muscle to show before you can, well, show it. Your trying
to unveil something you don’t have it’s a common mistake
now a days.
Start training under heavy loads,
squats, deadlifts, various presses and pulls and eat and gain weight.
Phil
Subject: Toning
Question: Hi Phil,
Hope you don't mind me asking you
this question as its on behalf of my girlfriend who is 28, 5ft 5ins
and is trying to get fitter. We're going running together as well
as going to the gym to do some weights and use the sauna and steam
room etc but it was from a weights perspective I wanted to ask a
question. Hannah wants to do toning in particular and I've given
her exercises to do all with free weight dumb bells as she can do
those at home too but if she wants to tone is it more the number
you do rather than reps? Like 40 arm curls of the same weight or
something instead of different reps of different weights?
Hannah wants to tone more than anything
else and in particular wants to get more toned arms as well, what
exercises and how many times will she need to do to see a big difference?
Any info you can provide would be
greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Tom
Answer: Tom-
There is so much misconception and
bad information out there about women and weights. Like doing weights
with light weight and high reps to tone etc.. Fact is your girlfriend
needs to train like a human, like a man, or any women she sees in
great shape. Heavy and hard to get toned. What makes a man Big,
makes women hot and toned. Look at various athletic women, women
who play beach volleyball, women in the olympics, sprinters, basketball
players, figure models.
I’ve trained and trained with
many a hard working female athlete and they train HEAVY and hard,
with BIG compound moves like squats and deadlifts, bench, and overhead
presses, rows and chins. If your girl wants to get toned. Have a
nice money maker to shake around and for you to grab hold of she
needs to have muscle. Muscle is what creates tone. She wont get
HUGE. For one its not in her genetics as a female, generally, and
you have to Eat a LOT to get huge. If she aint eating for it she
cant possibly get HUGE and blocky even with exogenous hormones introduced.
Get her on a basic plan with free
weights and BIG compounds that burn a LOT of energy and use a LOT
of muscle like the ones I listed and some others like lunges, cleans,
sprints, push ups, box jumps etc etc. The list is endless. Limit
the machine work to nothing and the small moves like curls and crunches
to 10% or less of the training and she will see results. A good
plan is three times a week, work Hard, aim to progress. Make this
a lifestyle and stick to it, you cant just get in shape stop and
expect to stay that way. Its not like a new paint job on a car that
you can get done and polish it real quick every few months. Every
week every day you have to want and enjoy working at it. Stick to
it forever find an activity you enjoy.
Phil
Subject: Supplementing
Question: Phil,
I'm 19 years old and still fairly
new to the gym, my high school P.E. classes didn't frequent the
weight room, and I'm not exactly the biggest guy in town.
I have always been on the thin side,
but recently I have begun to fill out. I joined the gym, and work
out about twice a week. I try to do more, but just can't find the
time right now. I circuit train through the equipment and try to
work everything in a half hour session or so, spend some time working
my abs from several different exercises including the crunch machines,
regular crunches, the roman chair leg lifts, and the oblique twist.
I feel and look better than I ever
have, but I am still not happy. I read in the magazines about fitness
supplements, and enhancers, and I'm confused. I used to buy whey
protein powder, but have been told that it really has no effect.
Can you tell me a little bit more
about supplements? Do I really need to supplement to look like the
magazine guys?
Any advice you can offer would be
greatly appreciated
Thank you,
James
Answer: James-
NO, you have no business using any
supplement right now aside from a protein powder which is just really
easy food, an easy and great way to get your needed protein. What
you lack is a good training plan and dedication. You need that for
a few years prior to ever thinking about supplements that may give
you that last 2% edge.
Get off the machines, try and dedicate
three days a week to training hard with free weight exercises, BIG
compound moves that will actually build a substantial amount of
muscle, strength, flexibility and power. Stick to it for a few years
and you will see awesome progress.
Less crunches and more squats and
presses = progress
Phil
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
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I hesitate to do
the free weights, like I said, i have been on the thin side,
and I do get embarrassed in the gym when I see the guys lifting
so much and I struggle with half of that. Trying to build
myself up and keeping that mindset is difficult for me too.
Do you have advice
for dealing with this? I know it's pretty silly but I am afraid
of what the bigger guys think when I walk up and pick up a
20, when they're pumping a 50 like nobody's business
Answer:
James-
“The best
way to suck at something is never do it” The Wombat circa
2009
My advice for your
situation GET OVER IT and get in there NOW. I was the weak
guy once and I just jumped in and did it. You will earn the
respect of any real lifter not by how much you lift, but by
how hard you work. Keep at it, keep trying, and soon any real
lifter will be the first person to lend a hand once they see
you are committed and deserve spending precious time on.
I am a 700+ pound
deadlifter and I train with men and women who cant lift 80
lbs from the floor. I also train with men who can do more
then I. Its not what you lift but that you bring the mind
set, the dedication and drive.
Phil
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About The Author
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Coach Phil Stevens is an accomplished
strength athlete with considerable experience in both powerlifting
and strongman competition. Phil is the 2007 APA World Champion
in the 242-pound class (total). He currently holds the APF
275-pound class raw National bench, squat, deadlift, and total
records. Phil’s marquis lift was his 700-pound raw deadlift,
performed on February 14, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phil has been ranked in the
“Top 10” in the deadlift Nationally across all powerlifting
federations, and in addition to his coaching duties at Staley
Training Systems, he also serves as the Arizona State Chair
for the North American Highlander Association, as well as
the founder of Lift For Hope, an annual strength-competition
with proceeds donated to Charity (www.Lift4Hope.org).
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