Ask M&F: 7 Burning Questions Answered

1. Get the Answers You Need

Getting the results you seek isn’t always as simple as reading a couple magazines and online forums. Sometimes you need answers to specific questions, and that’s where we come in. Our readers submitted their most burning questions and we asked the experts to get you the most reliable answers. Here are some of your most recent inquiries along with detailed responses to help you get the best training results possible. If you have a question you’d like us to answer, shoot us an email at ask@muscleandfitness.com.

2. Training With Tattoos

Q: What will happen to my tattoo when I start adding size? 

—MATT G., BOSTON, MA A: The tattoo will increase in overall size as the skin increases in size, essentially because your skin is stretching and expanding to cover the increased muscle size underneath. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily going to distort the image of the tattoo; in fact, it likely would not distort the image. —DAVID CANGELLO, M.D., is a clinical assistant professor of plastic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical College. SEE ALSO: Anatomy of a Fart

3. Deload Dilemma

Q: How often should I include a deload day in my training program? 

—DAN B., CENTENNIAL, CO A: It all depends on the intensity—meaning the load you’re working with—and the amount of volume in your program. As you increase your training load and decrease your volume (which is part of a solid program), you’re putting more stress on your central nervous system. Deloads are really, really important to help your central nervous system reset itself. Depending on the type of training that you’re doing, a true deload should happen every fourth to sixth week, where loads are at 40% to 50% of your typical training weight. Quick Tip: Every four to six weeks is standard, but listen to your body. It’s OK to pencil in a deload day if you’re overly sore or fatigued. —MICHAEL GEREMIA is an N.A.S.M., C.P.T., C.E.S. certified personal trainer. SEE ALSO: Deload to Reload for Long-Term Muscle Gains

4. Post-Workout Nibbles

Q: Is eating fruit post-workout beneficial? 

—NED K., NORWALK, CT A: Fruit helps restore your glycogen, but doesn’t do much for protein resynthesis. So it’s important to pair the fruit with some protein, about 20 grams. —LESLIE BONCI, R.D., is the sports dietitian for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, and Kansas City Chiefs; and the owner of Active Eating Advice by Leslie. SEE ALSO: The Best Fruit for Bodybuilding

5. Myostatin Myths

Q: I read the recent M&F story on myostatin and would love it if there was a supplement that reduces it. But wouldn’t anything you ingest be destroyed by stomach acids before it reached the bloodstream? 

—MIKE T., EL PASO, TX A: First, myostatin is a very important regulatory protein that is highly conserved in all vertebrates. It is one of the molecules that has been carried forward in evolution to play an important signaling roll, and it is connected to what is called the TGF beta class of molecules. TGF beta is transforming growth-factor beta. That is a class of molecules that is responsible for controlling much of the biology of inflammation, repair, defense, etc. Myostatin plays an important role that has this additional effect of suppressing the recruitment of satellite stem cells from muscle, to divide and repopulate muscle. As to your question about an oral myostatin blocker being destroyed in the gut: that is complete fiction. Many believe that all proteins are broken down and denatured during digestion. That is a fallacy because the vast majority of your immune system resides in the gut…in the walls of the intestines. The fact is that the majority of proteins, especially proteins of certain configurations, survive digestion; they make it through. Some proteins survive even better than other nutrients. I’ve come up with what we call a proteolipid complex. It’s lipids and proteins— hundreds of them—that are found in egg yolks, and much of that material survives digestion in an active form, and gets absorbed. If protein didn’t survive digestion, there would not be food allergies. When you have a food allergy, you’re allergic to large peptides. Moreover, if all proteins and all lipids were denatured, how would bacteria survive transit and take up residence in the lower intestines? Anybody who says that these proteins can’t be absorbed is wrong. The pharma industry has played with absorption and bioavailability in a variety of ways. Just as a pharmaceutical company creates what’s called an enteric coating to help get a pill through the stomach, certain things, like egg yolks, have their own kind of intrinsic enteric coating, and it’s with this that the proteins make it all the way through. And just like a bacterial cell, it has a cell wall, and that cell wall allows it to survive digestion. The ability to modulate myostatin activity using a convenient, orally active dietary supplement formulated into a variety of products provides a powerful tool for those seeking to maximize the health and performance of their skeletal muscle. —ROBERT HARIRI, M.D., PH.D., is chairman of MYOS RENS. For more on his formulation, Rē Muscle Health, go to remusclehealth.com 

6. Training Time-Off

Q: I took some time off from training and now I’m cramping up badly. What am I doing wrong? 

—EUGENE W., DAYTON, OH A: Chances are you’re going too intense too soon. It’s a common problem. We don’t train, and then we try to go back to training at the same intensity or volume as before, and we get cramped up. Try starting out with 50% or 60% of where you left off and you probably won’t cramp up as much.Quick Tip: Start light, check your ego at the door, and listen to your body. Everyone will return to “normal” at a different rate. —MICHAEL GEREMIA SEE ALSO: The Starter’s Guide Workout Program

7. Legal Lingo

Q: Can I sue my gym if I get injured using their equipment but signed a waiver not making them liable?

—PETER C., ROCKVILLE, MD A: In most states, you can’t sue if you get hurt even if the gym’s management or employees were negligent. But some states say waivers are unenforceable. You can bring a claim against the trainer or the gym if it was their fault. Most gym waivers cover their employees but not always trainers, who are contractors. You can also look into making a claim against the gym equipment manufacturer. It always has to be someone else’s fault, though, not just that you got hurt. List of states where waivers are not enforceable: CaliforniaNew JerseyConnecticutWisconsinDelaware—ADAM BLANK is a partner at Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin & Kuriansky LLP in Stamford, CT. 

8. Dealing With Blisters

Q: I get blisters on my feet when I run more than a few miles. How do I prevent this? 

—STEVE H., TUCSON, AZ A: Get new, different, or better accommodating footwear (a snug shoe), because blister formation occurs if there’s too much friction between the skin and some external source. A cheap, quick fix, however, is to put a bandage or Band-Aid over the affected area to minimize the rubbing and friction. But again, if there’s going to be trauma, you’re going to cause a blister and there’s kind of no way around that. —DAVID BANK, M.D., is an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.