Poliquin answers your questions

workouts
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How can I get forearms that even Popeye would admire? Work them frequently‚ the forearms can handle a lot of work. Also work on your grip, which can be trained daily. Don't let pencil-neck geeks tell you that it will lead you to overtraining. If that were true, garage mechanics would be extinct.
 
Are there any ways to boost my bench press instantly? Increasing the weight you can bench press is an obsession among most men. Here are two neurological tricks that can help you drive more weight up when you bench press. First, pretend you are trying to pull the bar apart‚ rip it in the middle, as you press. This has been shown to increase the electrical activity in the triceps and you can actually lift more weight. Second, when the weight feels heavy, drive the back of your head into the bench. This activates a reflex that will allow you to lift as much as five per cent more weight.

I am struggling with motivation. What do you suggest? A great idea to boost motivation is to go see a competition that matches your goal. Want to get stronger? Go watch a powerlifting competition. Need more explosiveness? Watch a weightlifting competition. Your calves have the hypertrophy levels of a parrot? Go watch a bodybuilding show. YouTube can provide inspiration, but nothing beats live competition and the energy surrounding it to get you fired up.
 
Are whole eggs OK or should I stick to egg whites only? Only dorks ditch the yolks. You see the diets in the muscle magazines, they always list egg whites and oatmeal with raisins in their bullshit breakfasts. A guy training needs whole eggs. The studies that showed that eating eggs raised cholesterol were done by the cereal industry and didn't differentiate between types of cholesterol, so those studies are invalid. Eggs can raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the good one. The only caveat is that you can become allergic if you eat two or three every day. Stop eating eggs for six weeks, and the allergy will disappear.

If you've got a question you want Charles Poliquin to answer, send it to us at mfexperts@dennis.co.uk, and don't forget to take advantage of our great Men's Fitness subscription offer – five issues for £5. You can also download digital versions of the mag here.

Joe Warner
Former editor of Men’s Fitness UK

Joe Warner is a highly experienced journalist and editor who began working in fitness media in 2008. He has featured on the cover of Men’s Fitness UK twice and has co-authored Amazon best-sellers including 12-Week Body Plan. He was the editor of Men’s Fitness UK magazine between 2016 and 2019, when that title shared a website with Coach.