Q&A: October 2021

Danny: Do you recommend anything to help relieve pain or inflammation experienced during injuries? I’m taking Swanson’s curcumin, fish oil and occasionally cissus, but haven’t taken any standard anti inflammatories like ibuprofen or naproxen.

Andrew: So, I think you are already doing a lot of the right things with the curcumin and fish oil. One thing I would recommend adding is the Granite Joint Care at two caps a day. This product provides:

• Curcumin C3 Complex which is a patented form of curcumin as a natural anti-inflammatory and antioxidant
• Boswellia Serrata Extract which impedes inflammatory effects at the cellular level.
• UC-2 Undenatured type 2 collagen to increase joint comfort and function
• Hyaluronic Acid providing lubrication for the joints.

I would stay away from the non-steroidal anti-inflammatories which can damage the stomach lining and have an effect on the liver.

In terms of acute injuries or even nagging ones like tendonitis, I like BPC 157. During an acute phase, I like 1 mg a day and then for maintenance, 250 mcg daily or most days.

TJ: I have several bottles of LBA’s, should I incorporate them in between meals or with the meals? What are your thoughts on canned tuna or the tuna steaks in the little pouches? Appreciate the help and thanks in advance. Have a good weekend.

Andrew: it wont hurt to take them added to meals or in between meals, but I would just add an extra ounce of protein to your meals.

Tuna is a fine and inexpensive source for protein. Oddly, the canned stuff is a little healthier with lower levels of mercury than the pouched albacore tuna.

Brendan: Question on the stir fry veggies and the salad with veggies you added to my meal plan, what veggies do you normally put together? Where do you suggest getting the free range organic eggs?

Andrew: I like to incorporate things like spinach, spring mix and then add in chopped peppers (color is good- red, yellow and orange for enhanced micronutrients), mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers.

For the eggs, ideally a farmer is best but you want to try and get cage free eggs if shopping in the store. The yolk should be a robust orange/yellow color. The more orange it is the better. The yolk should also be very firm and not just fall apart when you crack it.

Larry: I noticed that you prescribe a lot of rowing movements in your back workouts. We always hear that a trainee should do rows for back thickness and pull down / pullover type movements for back width. What are your thoughts on this?

Andrew: I like a 2:1 ratio of rows to pulldown movements. At times, I like to do all row movements and no pulldowns. The main thing to consider is what on your back needs the most development. The lats, the spinal erectors, the traps and middle back… and then pick your exercises accordingly.

Dan: I’ve been feeling great on the diet, I’ve been holding at around the same bodyfat which is awesome because its no fun being fat haha. I have been feeling really hungry at night though, any little snacks you like? I’ve been grabbing apples and almonds but I was wondering if you had any other ideas? Also do you have any knee prehab exercises you like? I have been having a little patello-femoral pain during my squatting sessions. Thanks for the help!

Andrew: I would look at pulling some calories from earlier in the day and replacing them at night. Look at where you are training as well. If your last meal of the night is your post training meal, this meal should be higher in carbohydrates with a mix of complex and simple.

You can also add in a fiberous meal like a salad to the final meal of the night.

For the knee, its important to identify what is wrong. I find a lot of joint problems come from just getting into the gym and not warming up properly. For example, my leg day starts with 5 minutes of glute and hip flexor foam rolling. Then I move into the 90/90 stretch for a minute each side. Finally, I do 2-3 sets of walking lunges focusing on perfect form. Sets of 6-8, varying the stride length usually do it.

Stay away from using knee wraps when training. I would also get some voodoo floss and youtube how to use it.

Joe: In addition to the lemon Juice in warm water, can I add in Himalaya liver care and TP milk Thistle and NAC? I was thinking of adding the Liver care and milk thistle 1 cap each 2x a day, but I am a little unclear on the NAC. I see some people taking it post workout some taking it pre-workout. I was thinking 1/2 teaspoon (roughly 2 grams) post workout. I really want to use this diet to not only get lean but also really healthy.

Andrew: I like the Himalayan Liv52 DS taken before bed. I have been recommending this one for years and there are articles on pubmed on its effectiveness. I also like a product called Morphoprime from Morphogennutition.com which has among other things, NAC and ALA, both great for liver health. I also like the injectable glutathione for liver detox at 200 mg a day when needed.

Joe: What are your feelings on using other hot cereals interchangeably with the oats as long as the carb number is the same. Things like oat bran, steel cut outs, 10 grain, grits, etc?

Andrew: no problem with this at all.

Sam: Quick, yet somewhat profound question. As a guy who has a family, but who also is very passionate about bodybuilding and health would like your thoughts. I find that while certain people are supportive, there are plenty of people who dislike the habit or sport, and feel that it either affects free time, or social occasions, and have other negative associations. Did you just luck out and have an understanding family, or did it take some time to get people to understand where you’re coming from?

For example my Dad is cool with it, Mom is fairly ok, but my girlfriend probably thinks its nuts haha.

Andrew: I truly believe that we are a collection of the people we surround ourselves with. Having other like-minded, passionate people can help propel your success as you can do the same for them.

Now, in terms of family, it’s important to aknowledge how selfish the sport can be at times, especially during a prep phase. The best thing to do here is to be honest and keep communication going. Understand that you are going to have more on your plate when prepping and be sure to make it up to your family afterwards and throughout the offseason. Talk to those that you love and let them know that you are a little tired but will be there for the activities you are missing when in the thick of it. Sometimes though, you just need to suck it up and attend functions because it’s important to be there for them. Just bring your Tupperware. One final thing- I think it’s important to be supportive of your partner or family in the activities they are interested in as well and just because they might not be putting themselves on display, make sure you are “there” for them when they need it.

James: What kind of recovery strategies do you like after a brutal leg workout, the 1.5 squats you had me do are killers.

Andrew: it all starts with nutrition and particularly the intra and post workout. I recommend incorporating some cluster dextrin and essential amino acids during training and then make sure you are eating enough protein and carbs post training.

Next, make sure you are staying moving. Rest is important, but I always found that movement, like short walks made them feel so much better than avoiding all movement.

Evan: Taking your current split, exercise selection, volume/intensity progression, and other factors, how would you work with someone that needed to bring up specific bodyparts? For instance, if someone’s weakness was shoulders, how would you address that in your splits?

Andrew: often pulling some volume away from the strongest bodyparts and adding it to the weaker bodyparts is the way to go. Having a higher frequency program for the weaker bodypart can help. For example, if the delts were weak this would be a way to tackle the problem:
Day 1 – legs
Day 2 – chest/rear delt and side delts
Day 3 – off
Day 4 – back, rear delts
Day 5 – off
Day 6 – arms, side delts
Day 7 – off

So you are adding extra volume to the delts with extra exericses on the other bodypart days.

The bigger thing to focus on is the exercise selection and the mind muscle connection to the tissue you are trying to grow. If you are not getting a good pump in the tissue, it’s safe to say that you are not hitting the target muscle as effectively as you could. I would break the movements down, trying to really focus on the muscles intended action. Look at rep speed, especially the eccentric phase. Sometimes, you find certain exercises just aren’t effective for you.

Bill: I just have a question on motivation. What do you do to keep yourself motivated day in and day out in the gym? I find it difficult lately to stay motivated and give it my all in the gym. My best workouts are when I’m loaded up on caffeine, aka my motivator.

Andrew: simple… if I don’t feel like training, I don’t go- this might be for a few days or a week or two even. Or I might drop training back to 3 days a week only. Eventualy I really want to go again because I love training, but the point is, I would rather take 3 hard ball-busting sessions over 5 so-so sessions just to say I got it in.

Another thing to do is find a reliable training partner. Healthy competition can bring out the best in you, even when you feel like crap.