Sohan

Glutamine is the most common free amino acid in the bloodstream, and it is non-essential, which means your body can create what it needs. It has many purported benefits as a supplement, from greater intestinal function to enhanced muscle hypertrophy (growth). Most resources I have read suggest that its efficacy is still undetermined, though, so I would probably save my money and instead buy a good quality whey protein supplement. Unless you're a juiced up competitive bodybuilder, you'd likely not notice much difference anyway. With respect, Sohan

Your neck often is strengthened indirectly through other movements, particularly multiple joint exercises like squats and power cleans. You can specifically train your neck with plate raises, shrugs, bridges, etc, but for most people it's probably not necessary. I have done plate raises with up to 45 lb plates and found the results quite satisfactory. However, I enjoy having a more symmetrical look to my physique now, and since I'm not a competitive athlete in a grappling sport, it's not really worth the time to train them. Plus, I enjoy wearing 17 1/2 necks on dress shirts again. With respect, Sohan

Not sure I understand your question. Are you looking for ways to lose bodyfat? OK, here are some bare essentials: *Exercise aerobically 5x week, 30-60 minutes per session. *Lift weights 3x per week. 8-10 reps for 3 sets per exercise with 1 minute rest between sets. *Eat moderate fat, protein and carbohydrates in a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables. Consume 11x your bodyweight in lbs for daily calories for fat loss. (ie 170 lbs = 1870 calories/day) *Drink 6-8 glasses of water per day. *Sleep 8 hours per night at least. *Always eat breakfast, then eat every 3-4 hours throughout the day in small meals. *Manage your stress levels. Stress raises levels of cortisol, which causes you to gain bodyfat. Start with that--those are the basics. A good trainer and nutritionist can help you with specifics for your individual needs. With respect, Sohan

Your neck has a natural curvature to it, so it will never be "straight", and overcorrecting it may cause some pain. Also, if you have had bad posture and are trying to correct it too quickly, you may strain the muscles supporting your neck which can also cause discomfort. And yes, bridges can cause pain if done incorrectly. They're a risky exercise even if performed the way they are intended. Get a good grappling coach to show you the correct form if you haven't already, and don't forget to do some front plate raises for the sternocleidomastoid and some shrugs to maintain muscle balance. With respect, Sohan

I actually own shoes that are older than some of them! With respect, Sohan

Welcome! With respect, Sohan

Depends on the exercise intensity. An exercise that you can only do 3-8 reps causes more protein degradation in the muscles than an exercise that you can do 15-30 reps or more with. That's why you can run every day, but you can only do quality bench pressing up to twice per week. The running "reps" (of which most people perform more than 1200-1500 per mile run) are not nearly as damaging as the bench press reps on the muscle fibers. Therefore, rest between workouts is dependent on the intensity of the exercise session. If you can only do 8 or 10 pushups, its best to do them no sooner than every other day at most. As you can do more and more reps, they break your muscle proteins down at a lower rate and you can do them more frequently. With respect, Sohan

My last day of school was May 5th. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984. With respect, Sohan

Invite someone you know who possesses this attitude to one of your classes. Change the world's opinion one person at a time. But it's certainly not worth fretting over. With respect, Sohan

I find that my martial arts training has made me an all-around much improved athlete. I was a decent athlete in school when I boxed, swam, and powerlifted, but I became even more of an athlete when I began taking traditional martial arts because of the balance, coordination, and ability to generate power I derived from it. Boxing was a wonderful experience, but I never used my hips as effectively as I do in the asian martial arts--maybe that's more the coaching than the art, because in Muay Thai we have really focused on hip power as well. Today, at nearly 40, I am as fit as most 20 year olds, but it is more than just muscle and strength. I can apply my muscle more effectively, and I have gained a heightened kinesthetic sense of where each part of my body is and what it needs to do at a given moment. Also, my reflexes and my peripheral senses are much sharper as well. My brother is 5 years younger than me, and was a much better athlete than I as a teen, but today, bless him, I run circles around the kid in all sports--and I credit this to my traditional MA training. With respect, Sohan

Great article! With your permission, I'd like to distribute it to my class--with full credit to you. With respect, Sohan

Id say medium pace..if you do em too fast you lose the tension the exercise places on your muscles...and of course you lose the effect of the exercise. No you don't. If you do them fast, you work fast twitch muscle fibers. If you do them slow, you work slow twitch muscle fibers. Aodhan As I understand it, for most fit people, pushing up your body weight, is a muscle endurance building exercise. Whether you do the push-ups fast or slow, you're still training the slow twitch muscle fibers. The conventional method for developing fast twitch muscle fiber is by doing heavy weight and reduced number of reps. Plyometric pushups are fantastic for building punching power and developing fast twitch fibers. Start in upper position, bend the elbows slightly and push so that your hands leave the floor. Drop all the way down until you are an inch off the floor and immediately reverse direction powerfully. You can repeat the process with or without a pause in between--if no pause, just press powerfully from the floor until your hands come off the ground like before. This is similar to clapping pushups, which I don't do unless I have a very non-slip surface. The reversing from eccentric movement to concentric is key. Just pushing up forcefully from a dead stop doesn't provide the full benefit of the exercise. Really helps my bench press, too. With respect, Sohan

This guy blows me away. Hope you enjoy it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoD78foaZ4o&search=van%20halen With respect, Sohan

I thought Bridget Jones was actually kind of cute and charming. My wife thinks she's a twit. With respect, Sohan

You're welcome. It's my pleasure. With respect, Sohan

Split routines are better than total body programs because you can recover more effectively from each workout. Are you only doing cardio once per week? You need 3x to see any real gains in aerobic capacity. Forearms should be trained on arms day, and give yourself an extra day between back and arms. I assume on your pecs day you are training bench press, dumbbell press, etc. Are you doing any shoulder training? With respect, Sohan

If you want to keep the weight off long-term, as an athlete low-carb is likely not the way to go. You need carbohydrate for energy and most low-carb diets just don't provide for sufficient glycogen replenishment. Watch your calories and keep your meals balanced, eating 4-5 small meals a day. Don't eat more frequently or you may actually stimulate your hunger--eating frequently is how many bodybuilders help themselves get used to eating larger quantities of food. A true athlete's diet has sufficient fat, protein, and carbohydrate plus vitamins and minerals for good health. If you really need to lose bodyfat (not just weight), do it through eating correctly AND add some aerobic exercise and strength training. With respect, Sohan

In our school we perform a training method called the Seven Ways of Kata. You perform the kata seven times with a different emphasis each time: *breathing-focus on controlled breathing on each move. *kiai-kiai whenever you feel the urge. *eye contact-make eye contact with your imagined opponent. *power-all moves with power. *speed-all moves with speed and quickness. *pauses-take more pronounced pauses between moves. *fighting combinations-combine moves to create series within the kata, as opposed to a flat rythmic performance. With respect, Sohan

Be wary of instructors that push their credentials as "Hall of Fame" martial artists. There are many different Halls of Fame out there, and many aren't worth two cents. It's like the old skit with Jim Carrey where he announces to his class that he is a "World Champion"---the term doesn't mean much unless you know more about the organization the person is connected to. And as a newbie, you likely won't know the difference. "World Champions" and "Hall of Famers" are a dime a dozen. Try a few classes at a given school and then go with your gut instinct. If you feel comfortable and safe, and sense that the school is genuinely interested in your progress, then you're probably right. With respect, Sohan

Do interval training on the bike. Warmup 5 minutes, then do 3 minutes at 85%, 2 minutes at 90%, then 1 minute at 95%, with 2 minutes easy cycling in between. Repeat this at least once with a 5 minute cooldown at the end. Try variations of this on the cycle, stairclimber, eliptical, etc., and it should help. I mountain bike at high intensity more than I run nowadays, which is much like interval training, and I keep my resting HR around 48-50 BPM. Try to get both shorter sessions of interval training and longer less intense sessions into your weekly training schedule. Also, if you need a break after warmup, you're either warming up too intensely, not breathing correctly, or just in really poor condition. Try some cross training with different modes of aerobic work, and don't be afraid to throw some higher intensity work in. You need each type of workout, intense sessions and longer sessions, to achieve optimal aerobic fitness---though for MA the intervals will probably do you more good right now. With respect, Sohan

That's an idea! How about karateheartsforum.com?? We could specialize in the marital-martial arts.... With respect, Sohan

Your workout regimen has made your abdominal muscles more tolerant of lactic acid and less prone to inflammation, therefore you don't get "sore" or even likely much of a burn. It's par for the course as you get better at ab work. Try higher reps, much slower reps with fuller contractions, peak holds, reps on a machine, etc, anything different and more intense from your normal routine to break out of that rut. With respect, Sohan

I think it's wonderful that you are expressing yourself in your art. Forget whether it's good or not in the eyes of others and instead work on whether you like it first---while continuing to learn from other artists and their styles. With respect, Sohan

Bienvenue! With respect, Sohan

Guiness, nasty??? You speak ill of the nectar of the gods.... With respect, Sohan