Q: I’m very skinny and trying to gain muscle. I’m eating a ton of protein, carbs and have increased my calories, but I don’t have any room to eat fruits and veggies. How important are they to building muscle?

A: Fruits and veggies are essential to any mass-building or cutting diet. Eating green foods signifies new life, regeneration, and is vital for optimum muscle growth, as well as overall health.

I know it can be difficult to fit in three to six servings of green veggies and fruit daily when you’re also consuming large quantities of protein and low-glycemic carbs for muscle building. Fortunately, you can supercharge your body with just what it needs by using convenient “super green food” powdered supplements.

Many of these essential green foods are commonly termed “superfoods” due to their explosive content of phytonutrients, consisting of microalgae, cereal grasses, land plants, fruit, vegetables and seaweed. The term “super green foods” fits many of these quality brands. A couple of compact servings a day provides you with many key vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, carotenoids, antioxidants, essential fatty acids and phytonutrients to help support and control your metabolism for lean muscle building and health. They help decrease bad (LDL) cholesterol levels while maintaining or supporting good (HDL) levels. In addition to supporting digestion of high proteins and carbohydrates, they help to purify your blood, clean the colon and detoxify the liver, working as a full-body antioxidant against free radicals that can damage your DNA.

Eating natural whole-food sources of greens are great, but it’s rarely enough to give you sufficient nutrients. Supercharge your diet by adding concentrated green foods on a regular basis. They will take up almost no room in your stomach and can simply be added to your daily water regimen. When using them regularly and over time, you will begin to feel better, have more energy and see a healthier and more fit you.

Q: I’m 40 years old and weigh 200 lb. My goal is to build some muscle, but my energy is low and my recovery takes days. I started supplementing with Tribulus, but have yet to see results. I wanted to try something natural before taking the prescription of testosterone cream my doctor suggested. Any advice?

A: With any natural supplement you need to give it a little more time to really measure your results. Tribulus is a valuable and effective testosterone enhancer. It’s from the puncture vine known as Tribulus terrestris, and has been used as a general tonic for energy and herbal treatment for impotence. Tribulus works by stimulating the production of luteinizing hormone in the brain, which triggers the testes to increase testosterone production.

By your description, it sounds like you have a condition called “andropause.” For many men over the age of 40, andropause is very common; it’s the male version of menopause.

Men with andropause have a testosterone level under 300ng/ml. A low testosterone level at any age can affect a man’s health and mental outlook, and in time can lead to decreased bone density; loss of muscle mass and strength; mood swings; memory loss; lack of energy; sexual dysfunction; insulin resistance; and increased abdominal fat.

Fortunately, there are many natural and safe herbal products on the market that can help to stimulate and increase your own production of testosterone. They can be used individually or in a combination. Many blends work not only by increasing your own production, but also by managing, regulating and/or reducing other negative hormones in your body, supporting a more anabolic environment for positive health, lean muscle gain and energy. It may be time to stack Tribulus with one of these other natural testosterone boosters.

Recently, Triarco Industries received a U.S. patent (No. 6,277,417) for its trademark ingredient Alphastat MyTosterone, a new natural testosterone enhancement ingredient. The ingredient is a precise composition including astaxanthin and saw palmetto. It’s designed to inhibit the activity of 5-alpha-reductase, the key enzyme attributed to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The precise combination of Alphastat and MyTosterone produced significant changes in serum testosterone, DHT and ES levels.

A recent study divided 42 healthy males, aged 37–70 years, into two groups: The first group received 800 mg of MyTosterone per day and the second group received 2,000 mg per day. Increases in testosterone levels were observed in both groups after just three days. Both younger and older men responded similarly to the treatment.

At the end of the 14-day trial, MyTosterone had increased total testosterone levels in the men by 50%. MyTosterone also decreased bad DHT by 20% and estradiol by 9%.

There were no outward signs of toxicity or adverse reactions. Although more long-term studies need to be done, this is exciting news for men with lower testosterone levels.

Q: I’ve done ab crunches every day for the past few months to lose fat off my stomach and develop a six-pack. As hard as I train, I haven’t changed much. How can I get great abs?

A: Training your abs every day is actually overtraining. Muscle growth takes place between your training sessions, not during them. While it’s important to stimulate your abs, if you’re continually overtraining them, they won’t have time to recuperate, shape and grow.

It takes a combination of weight training, aerobics and a consistent, healthy diet to lose fat and achieve that six-pack.

Perform aerobic exercise 30–45 minutes four or five times a week. You can use a stationary bike, treadmill or stair climber, all of which are very effective at burning extra calories and excess body fat. If possible, perform aerobics first thing in the morning before breakfast. This allows you to use your own body-fat stores for most of your energy requirements. If that’s not possible, do it immediately after your weight-training routine (schedule permitting). It also does not hurt to do moderate aerobics a couple of times per day.

I suggest training your abs every other day with a variety of exercises for your waist area, which includes working your lower back and obliques. This will condition and shape your entire “core” midsection. As you get in better shape, work your way up to 50 reps per set, then add light weights while keeping your volume high. Also, maximize your intensity by doing giant sets (performing one exercise after another with little or no rest in between). Include twists and side bends, which help to make your waist more flexible. The more flexible your midsection, the better your ab ridges will look.

Your food and supplement program is essential in carving in a six-pack. Three moderate healthy meals a day isn’t the best way to reach your goal and lose fat. You are better off eating smaller portions of food six times a day, as more frequent meals stimulate your metabolism to a greater extent, helping you to burn more calories more effectively while also supporting leaner, healthier muscle growth. Eat every two to three hours throughout the day (e.g.,7 a.m., 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m.). Keep your servings at about 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% healthy fats. Again, by eating more often, you will have more energy and fewer cravings, which will support gains in lean muscle while helping you to lose fat. Eating more often helps to convince your body that it’s not going to starve, even though your total daily intake is less than it used to be. When your body enters a starvation-like mode, it begins to store fat and burn muscle first even when you eat the healthiest foods.

Your three additional meals should not be high in calories. Instead, have a protein-rich snack, such as a meal-replacement bar or shake (it’s OK to consume some healthy fats, but keep carbs low).

Remember this simple rule of thumb: To reduce your weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. While you will certainly burn calories from weight training and cardio, to help optimize your fat-burning efforts and energy, I recommend that you consider using a quality thermogenic supplement. Choose a fat-loss product that contains proven ingredients that help promote healthy blood-sugar levels. This provides the body with additional energy to exercise harder while burning more calories effectively.
     

Q: I read in M&B that having higher nitric-oxide levels in the body helps you perform harder in the gym. What does this mean?

A: Having higher nitric-oxide (NO) levels in your body or within skeletal muscle signals cells to open and expand blood flow, which brings more oxygen into muscle cells. It also increases glucose uptake, aiding in protein synthesis while gaining a much greater muscle pump and supporting muscle growth.

A muscle pump is vital to expanding muscle cells while it creates a better chemical environment for improved muscle growth and recovery. Normally, most muscle pumps are short-lasting and do not always stimulate the deepest muscle fibers. To improve your training and performance, increase NO production in skeletal muscle by using supplements that contain alpha-ketoglutarate or L-arginine, a safe and natural amino acid.

There are many effective NO-based products to choose from, and some may also be blended with creatine and other unique muscle-pumping ingredients.

Q: I’m a hardgainer and very lean. To add muscle, how much protein should I take and what type of diet should I be following? Is it best to use whey protein or a blend?

A: The amount of protein a healthy, active person should consume is based primarily on your body weight and physique goal. For instance, a lean person with a fast metabolism (the typical hardgainer) usually needs to consume 1-1.5 g of protein per pound of body weight. If you weight 150 lb, you should consume about 1.25 g of protein per pound, which adds up to a daily total of 195 g. Divide that into five or six small meals, along with quality carbs and healthy fats.

A diet of 45% carbs, 35% protein and 20% fats is a good range for most bodybuilders and athletes to begin reaching the muscle-building target numbers. When building muscle, it’s important to keep your body in a positive nitrogen balance. This is critical for muscle recovery and new growth. When your body lacks amino acids at crucial times (e.g. after training), it goes into a negative nitrogen balance and begins to cannibalize muscle tissue.

Whey alone is an ideal protein source at certain times, particularly after workouts. However, using protein blends throughout the day may have an advantage, since they provide protein with different absorption rates that can keep you at a higher nitrogen balance longer, delivering a more consistent flush of amino acids during long recovery periods.

Various protein sources raise blood amino acids levels at different rates (known as “time release rate”). These can be categorized into three basic groups: fast release, medium release and slow release:

►Fast Release Rapidly increases blood amino acids levels, but amino acid levels also fall rapidly. Source: Whey protein peptide and isolate.

►Medium Release Takes slightly longer to raise blood amino acids levels but also drops slower. Source: Soy protein isolate or milk protein isolate.

►Slow Release Provides a gradual increase and maintains blood amino acid levels for a longer duration of time. Sources: Casein and whole-food protein.

Each of these individual protein sources have unique benefits and work well, but recent studies suggest that blends may actually be more effective in lean muscle building and recovery than any individual protein source.

Dave Hawk is a former Mr. USA and Mr. World, and a consultant, personal trainer and adviser to NFL, NHL, WWE and NASCAR athletes.