Yams, Squats, Sleep & Freebies

Question: Coach,
If you had to pick one best carb for lean bulking what would it be?
Jonathan

Answer: Jonathan, this one’s too easy; yams (essentially the exact same as sweet potatoes) win hands down. It’s been argued that the human body hasn’t adapted to eating grains like oats and brown rice. This is debatable and may or may not be true. Some people may have issues with grains, others may not. But I have never known anyone to have a problem with a root vegetable like sweet potatoes or yams. This is the ultimate “clean” carb and should be a staple in any muscle building diet. There is a place for white potatoes immediately after training but most of the time you should be focusing on sweet potatoes. Many of my clients follow a carb rotation diet and sometimes I have them eat nothing but lean protein and sweet potatoes at every meal on their carb days. They always wake up lean, full and vascular the next day. My colleague, nutrition expert, Tom Venuto, is a huge fan of yams and routinely walks around at low single digit body fat percentage.

Question: Hi Jason…

Thanks for sharing all your wealth of information. 2 Quick questions:

1.) Is it possible to lean out without losing weight?

2.) How gentle is Sun Warrior Protein on the stomach?

Thanks a lot….
John Garrozo

Answer: John, it’s possible but that would mean you were gaining muscle at the same time you were losing fat. The more advanced you are the harder this is to do. It’s usually best to pick one goal or the other if you want the fastest results.

Sun Warrior is incredibly easy on the stomach. That is one of the best things about it; no bloating or digestion problems of any sort. It’s one of the many reasons it’s the only protein I use or recommend.

Question: What’s the best way to develop the inner chest?  I feel like that area is lacking compared to the rest of my chest.  My training partner has the same issue.
Enzo

Answer: Put down Flex Magazine.

Question: In your article eliminate the useless crap you have for legs,squat, squat and more squat..

How would you set up the workout….3 sets of 5 reps and then a few sets of high reps??

Free Squat or box squat?

Thanks
Danny Martel

Answer: Danny, it depends on the level of the trainee. Beginners and weak guys would probably squat three times a week for a few sets of 5-8. When they get more experienced we would add some more variety to the loading parameters. Eventually I would reduce the squatting frequency to twice a week, and then once every 5-9 days over the course of a few years. Advanced guys would do heavy sets and high rep sets. Beginners would steer clear of high reps.

Free squats are the exercise of choice but box squats are good for variety.

Question: Hey, I’m finding it hard to get eight hours sleep, six if I’m lucky. With my job and my body clocks all over the place. I have’nt been able to progress these last couple of weeks. Do you think lack of sleep plays a big role in not progressing as my diet and training could’nt be anymore solid. I would appreciate it if you could get back to me as this is the one thing I’m desperate to acheive. Cheers
John Brodie

Answer: John, lack of sleep will kill your progress faster than just about anything else. You will not recover, your testosterone levels will drop, your cortisol will rise, your insulin sensitivity will go to shit and you will just be an absolute mess. Now, six hours isn’t horrible but the reality is that almost no one can make maximal progress on only six hours per night. I would try to get at least one more hour. Go to bed at the same time every day, don’t eat or drink too much at night, keep the lights low during the hour or two before bed, get rid of all electronics from the bedroom (TV, cell phone, radio, iPod, etc.), and keep your room cool (68 degrees is optimal) and as dark as possible.

Question: Hey Jay..another Yes No Question and answer as I know you’re a busy guy…Do you use and/or recommend the TRX?
Doug Willick

Answer: Doug, I love the TRX and we use it a lot at Renegade Gym. My philosophy is to go heavy on the big barbell lifts and then do your assistance work with dumbbells, strongman implements and bodyweight as much as possible. We use it for pushups, flyes, ab work, rows, curls, face pulls, assisted pistol squats, stretching, etc. I highly recommend that everyone get a TRX and add it to their workouts.

Question: Hello Jason,

Could you recommend a similar gym to your Renegade Gym in the Philadelphia area?

Thanks,

Ankit Shah

Answer: Ankit, I don’t know of one, unfortunately but perhaps one of our readers could chime in and help you out.

Question: Hey, I looked over the website that has your book and other muscle building guides on it but I can’ afford the $ 77.00 that it costs to buy your book, is there anyway to get that for free, please send me a message back.
John Bryer

Answer: “You want me to trash your lights? You want me to fucking trash ‘em?! Christ, you’re amateur… Me and you are done professionally, man…”

Kidding, kidding. I just love to reenact the Christian Bale rant. Of course you can have it for free. What size t-shirt do you wear? I will send you a dozen of those as well. And I have an entire collection of Air Jordan 1’s, size ten and a half. If they fit, they’re yours too.  And if you’re really nice, there’s a handjob with your name on it.

Please leave your comments below.

Related posts:

1. Burning Fat While Gaining Strength
2. Front Squats ‘n Stuff
3. High Intensity Training On No Sleep
4. How to Build Muscle with High Rep Leg Training
5. Your Muscle Building and Fat Loss Questions Answered
6. Build Muscle to Burn Fat
7. How to Build Muscle & Lose Fat for the Summer
8. Optimal Program Design For Muscle, Strength & Power
9. Sunday Cheat Meals
10. The Hard Way