Weight training for jumping sports…Competitive running and Max Endurance Formula™…A Fiber list…Lame shoulders

Nutritional Hype…Stacking supplements…Exercise machines… Advanced Lipotropic Formula™…Why Romanian Deadlifts suck!

Iron Vic Steele,

I recently got turned on to your column and was struck by the fact that a lot of what you say really goes against what is being said in the big wide world of bodybuilding. For example – the Parrillo Products generally seem a little bit antiquated. If you look at any muscle magazine you see a lot of really exciting products that do a lot of cool stuff. By comparison, Parrillo claims seem to be pretty tame. Are you guys purposefully stuck in the 1970s? How come you don’t have these modern products that provide really rad results? Is your stuff mainly for old people? 

                          Todd, San Francisco

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Parrillo Bars™ explained…Fascia stretching?…Strength, MMA and weight classes…

Hey Vic,

It seems Parrillo has a lot of different types and kinds of bars – it’s all pretty confusing. How are Sport Nutrition Bars™ different from Protein Bars™ or Energy Bars™ or Protein Chew Bars™ or High Protein Low Net Carb Bars™? I have been using the Energy Bars™ exclusively and mainly because I love the taste of Graham Cracker. Am I missing out? I am trying to shed about 15 pounds of body fat while hanging on to my considerable muscle. I have built a lot of mass over the years.

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Why fruit is a No-No…Water intake…Lifting straps… After a workout: food or supplements? Pro-Carb™ rules!

Vic,

I am having a tough time getting down below 14% body fat and I suspect part of the problem might be the fruit I am eating. I remember that John Parrillo advises to cut out fruit but I have always resisted that because I really love fruit and for my entire life everyone, from medical doctors to fitness trainers, have been telling me that fruit is healthy and good for me. I have stopped eating refined food and saturated fat; my diet is really clean other that a lot of fruit. I suspect that you are going to tell me to ditch the fruit – what is the reasoning?

Ronald, Florida

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Parrillo protein blitz…PBN pros and cons… Desert island supplement…10%

IRON VIC SPEAKS by IRON VIC STEELE

Dear Mr. Steele,

I want to start using protein powder on a regular basis. I have used commercial protein powders in the past with no real results to speak of. I have gotten serious about training and cardio over the past year and I am determined to add some muscle: my goal is to enter a Figure Competition in late 2011. I am in good condition and want to get into great condition. My goal is to take a Parrillo Hi-Protein™ shake twice a day. I weigh 120 pounds and want to add 5 pounds of lean muscle without screwing up my current 13% body fat percentile – am I expecting too much?

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Amino Acids clarified..Cardio Variety…Pro-Carb Rocks!

Vic,

What’s the latest word on using the various Parrillo Amino Acids? It is all a little confusing in that you have Ultimate Amino^™, Muscle Amino^™, Liver Amino^™, Enhanced GH^™ – all look worth trying. My goal is to kick my training and strength and physique up to the next level and I want to try using amino supplements. I have read a lot of good stuff about how amino acid supplementation can make a huge difference, particularly if the athlete picks the right amino combination and if the amino acids are made by a legit firm like Parrillo. I would appreciate some suggestions as to how best to get started.

Roger, West by-God Virginia

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Pick and choose..Iron Sacrilege: curls using the squat rack…

Help! I really like the Parrillo approach towards training and use the Parrillo system in my lifting – I work up to atop set of 1-3 repetitions then pyramid back down and hit high rep sets using a lot of forced reps and dropsets. When I do cardio I like the Parrillo approach and I go hard enough to break a good sweat. I don’t likethe Parrillo nutritional approach as it’s too strict. What’s wrong with having a cheat day or two or three? I likebeer a couple times a week. What do you mean ‘no off season?’ I use my own nutritional system and a couplenights a week I eat pizza and drink beer. I might not look all that great, but I have a lot of fun. My approachis much more realistic and while I might be overweight and might never win (or even enter) a bodybuildingcompetition, I am strong and happy and not a food Nazi!

Karl, San Francisco

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IRON VIC SPEAKS by IRON VIC STEELE

Rep speed…Branched-chain amino acids…Forearm training…Adding size for football

Mr. Vic,

Is there any advantage to doing reps really slow? I see a trainer at our gym putting his clients through ‘all machine’ lifting sessions. He has his clients perform the exercises really slowly – like five seconds for the raising and five seconds to lower a weight. Is this some new thing? I had never really thought about rep speed before I saw this guy train his clients. BTW – this trainer is long and lean and really doesn’t have much muscle when compared to a real bodybuilder. So is slow motion weight training the new thing? I know that the fact that he uses machines all the time goes against your philosophy. I hope you have time to answer this letter as I am genuinely curious and would like to try it if you think there is any validity to slow-motion reps.

Mark, Maryland

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Iron Vic Steele

Vic Steele,

I had some science geek at the gym tell me that if you take too much protein you can destroy your kidneys. He also said that if you eat pure protein for five straight days it causes something called “rabbit starvation.” A person can actually starve if all they eat is pure protein. This same guy also says that 30-40 grams of protein is all anyone can digest at a sitting and any protein in excess of 40 grams is pissed or excreted. Is this correct? It sounds a little too smug to be true. This genius says that when I drink my usual double serving of Parrillo Optimized Whey™ I am pissing away half my money. Physically this dude looks like Pee-Wee Herman. Still, he is a PhD and I thought I should run all this stuff by you – am I peeing away

money??

Slightly confused, San Diego

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Carbs and the pump, leg press precision, best time to train etc.

Vic,

Some big name bodybuilders train at my gym. I overheard one of them tell his training partner pretty deep into a chest workout that, “I’m going to bag it now – I’m losing my pump.” What did he mean? Why did he quit training? Is it important for an intermediate bodybuilder like myself to only train when I can get a pump? If that is so, is there anything that I can do to avoid losing my pump, or to prolong the pump?

Jack, NYC

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