The 15 Top Muscle Building Questions Answered

Here is a recording of one of our last monthly support call Q&A on building muscle with guest Nick Nilsson.

So who’s Nick Nilsson? He’s been weight training for more than 18 years, been a personal trainer for 11 years, a professional fitness writer for 8 years (published in Men’s Fitness, Reps Magazine, Muscle & Fitness and on hundreds of websites) and I’ve got a degree in Physical Education, covering advanced biomechanics, physiology and kinesiology.

AND he’s published 9 weight training books (I’ve listed the ones mentioned in the call below and here is the main page of his site if you want to download any of them: Fitness-Ebooks.com):
“The Best Abdominal Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of”
“The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of”
“The Best Arm Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of”
“Metabolic Surge - Rapid Fat Loss”
“Muscle Explosion - 28 Days to Maximum Mass”
“Gluteus to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!”

1.Why are magazines like muscle and fitness dead wrong about how to train, and about nutrition?

2.What is the best muscle building routine or tip you’ve come up with for calves?

3.I need to build more muscle in my butt and lean out my thighs to proportion. What’s the best way to do that?

4.Being thin, how can I gain mass quickly? I have tried about everything.

5.What are you opinions on using whey protein?

6.What do you feel would be a workable plan to gain lean dense muscle with strength, while not gaining fat while being a busy working dad?

7.I work out 3 times a week. I have been increasing my weight every other month but I am not seeing any gains my arm and chest size have not increase. The only thing growing is the size of my stomach. I am 45 y/o man and not sure what else to do. I have done cross fit and a few boot camps and no results. What am I doing wrong

8.I want to lose weight but also tone/sculpt my body so my muscles will be more defined after I lose the weight. I have read alot about the subject and 50% say working out with high reps and low weight will tone the body and 50% say you have to use low reps and heavy weight to tone, that high and low doesn’t do squat. Do you happen to know the honest and truthful answer to this? It’s very confusing when you read 2 different answers . Now I’m questioning my own workout and wondering if I’m just wasting time. I do 8 to 12 reps with a moderate weight.

9.What keeps your stomach from tightening up?

10.I am 40 years old, 5′7″ and weigh 194 pounds. I work out 5 days per week. I do cardio every day for 30 minutes to 1 hour. I weight train 3- 5 days per week for anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on energy level. I lift fairly heavy weight for a “girl.” I eat on average 1600 calories per day, no soda, no “white” food, no butter. I drink about 100 oz of water per day. I have lost 3 lbs since 5/20. What am I doing wrong? Should I be adding more cardio and less weights or vice versa? I feel stuck. Although my clothes are looser, it is discouraging when I don’t see the results on the scale.

11.Im 23 11stone about 5ft8 to 5ft9 and am looking to build a lean muscle but not to much like overly muscler im currentley doing the tobey magurie workout he did in spider man 3 this is found at www.askmen.com but i,ve modified it a bit and fit it in to 3 days so i can do it twice a week. I do some hit cardio training like warmup for 5 mins the intensley jump rope for 30 seconds then rest for 1min30 seconds then reapet that 6 times then run at full pace down my road and back up then rest for 2 mins then reapeat once more. I do that 3 times a week So what do u think any advice would be helpfull thank you. Im not sure on how much of what foods i should eat like i know your supposed to eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of body weight but im not sure about carbs and fats so help with that would be great thank you.

13.Ok, so here’s my question. I’m 5′8 and about 140lbs. I started weight lifting directly after basketball season ended this past year. I’m training hard for this next season since I’m moving to a new area where there is more competition. I’m doing a jump program. I’m also doing a lifting program and a conditioning program that the weight room coach at the school helped me out with. I’ll also be spending about an hour to two hours in the gym practicing various basketball drills everyday as well. Now I know that I have to eat 1-1.2 grams of protein per pound but how many carbohydrates and fats and everything else should I eat? I’m really determined to be a starter this season so I’m willing to do anything. If you could help me out, that’d be great. Thanks

14.I was wondering if the same bodyweight exercise should be repeated every day or only after a 24 hour rest? The exercise is never taken to failure so I’m thinking that recovery time need not be a full 24 hour period? Thoughts?

15.My goal is to put on some lean muscle and drop down between 6%-8% body fat. I am 5′7″ and weigh 147 lbs. All of my fat is around my stomach and on my hips. I also seem to have a round face and want a chiseled face with a distinct jaw line. My routine so far has been 3 days of weight training and working two muscle groups per session; e.g. chest & back……shoulders, lats & traps……biceps & triceps. I also do 3 days of morning interval cardio on an empty stomach and always make sure to burn at least 200 calories in 20 minutes. My diet in my opinion is clean; I eat between 2,000 - 1,750 daily of chicken, turkey, tuna, fruits, vegetables, rice cakes, yogurt, oats and also drink 2 or 3 protein shakes per day….morning shake, mid-afternoon shake and post workout shake. I have been doing this routine for about 2 months and see some results, however I thought by now I’d have my body fat% quite a bit lower by now and look very lean. How can I get rid of the belly, hip and under the chin fat?…..Am I doing something wrong? Please advise. Thanks.

And the bonus shin splint question….

I really hope if u could help me out in my problem…. i had recently gained 4 kgs making my total weight 74kgs. so i started doing interval cardio for 20mins at morning, which really helped me out as it helped me loose 1kg in 1 week… but the problem was that i got shin spints as i was running after a very long time. now i cannot run or even jog as it is very painful when i do. i had a complete rest for 3 weeks, but still the pain hasnt gone.how do i get rid of this pain ???? is there any other exercises for fat burning, so that i can use as a compensate for the cardio that i do at the mornings ?

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Bodyweight Exercises - The Flying Curl, Pike Presses And Fire Beetles

Had a couple of questions submitted to me via the support email about exercises in the Commando Cardio Bodyweight Program. So far, it’s just been a couple of exercises that were confusing people. So I just did a couple of mini videos and spliced them together to explain a little better.

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Balancing Training And Recovery Video

Thought I would do an intro video on how to strike a good balance between training hard and rest periods. This has become a big issue in my own life as well as those people that take my boot camps in addition to having intense recreational hobbies as well.

Here is the main areas you want to pay attention to and after you watch the video, please leave further questions in the comments below. I’ll collect them and do either a full video or downloadable mp3 for everyone with the answers. Talk to you soon and thankyou for being a member.

The resource you have requested is available only to Ray's Insider Coaching and Support members.

If you are not a member, what are you waiting for? Check out how you can "Get in the Best Shape of Your Life... Guaranteed!" Right Here