Questions for Shelby Starnes to answer in Q & A articles

[Joe Black]

Hi,

I would like to welcome Shelby to the Wannabebig. Shelby is a successful National-level Bodybuilder & Powerlifter and is quickly becoming known as one of the top diet and bodybuilding prep coaches

We just published an interview with Shelby (Recreational Bodybuilder to Competitive Bodybuilder - An Interview with Shelby Starnes) and he will be regularly contributing to Wannabebig in the form of Q & A articles.

If you would like to submit a question for Shelby to answer, please do so in this thread. Shelby will then be reviewing the questions here and selecting some to answer in future Q & A articles.

[Irish Pilot]

Shelby:

Im ~45 weeks out from my first comp. While I do have the competitive spirit, my goal is primarily to prove to myself what Im capable of and present my absolute best on stage having left nothing behind.

For a first timer that has a good handle on diet and a good progressive routine, how would you determine how many weeks out the trainee would begin contest prep dieting?

Thank you!

[cphafner]

Great job on getting Shelby here. I worked with Shelby this past fall on an offseason plan and was quite happy. I'm going to read the Q&A!

Just read the article, so now my question. I believe you are a fan on cardio in the AM. As a person who hates mornings, is morning cardio necessary or is it acceptable to do evening cardio when prepping. Also, do you prefer fasted cardio or getting some food in first.

[Cmanuel]

Shelby,

What protein sources do you recommend for vegetarians?? I may try to set up a carb cycling diet for my GF based on macros listed in some of your e-books, but my GF is vegetarian so meat is out.

[StLRPh]

Shelby,

What protein sources do you recommend for vegetarians?? I may try to set up a carb cycling diet for my GF based on macros listed in some of your e-books, but my GF is vegetarian so meat is out.

Shelby answered this at Elite:

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=91911&tid=

[Cmanuel]

Shelby answered this at Elite:

http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=91911&tid=

She's a strict vegetarian so that doesn't really answer my question...

[cphafner]

Well since noone else is going to take advantage of this, I'll post another one.

Shelby, do you change your food choices as you get closer to the show?

[Off Road]

I have some generic questions...I already e-mailed a couple of them.

Is there an optimum bodyfat percentage for muscle growth?

Is it possible to gain muscle and loose fat past the beginner stages? What is the best way to accomplish this?

Authors like McRoberts, Kubik, Christey, and Liestner calim that a guy can reach 90% of his muscular potential by using a basic abreviated routine focussing on compound exercises and progression in strength. Do you agree with this?

Why do you think bodybuilding has not become more "mainstream" since it's glory days in the 80s? It used to be that everybody knew Arnold, Lou, Frank, and others, but today it's not as popular. What needs to change?

[LuNa]

I have noticed with some amazing transformations, that some people not loose as much weight as their before and after pictures would suggest. Would this mean they have gained muscle or that they have lost fat without a big loss in muscle and fluids?

[john o]

Shelby,

What are some of the best choices for a powerlifter wanting to maintain weight/strength but recomposition to less bodyfat? It's difficult to get adequate caloric intake to maintain my weight (242) while eating clean.

[twm]

Diet question.. realistically speaking, if one is not dieting for a competition, how important is segregating PF and PC meals? does it really matter if you just want to hover around 10-12%? what about when attempting to reduce BF?

[vdizenzo]

Shelby, do you agree with Justin, that consistently making better food choices is a good approach for someone in th 20+bf% to get down into the teens. That of course coupled with weight training and conditioning.

Great to have you here. I'm a big fan.

Video

[J.C.]

Shelby, what are your thoughts on salt, and its place in the diet of someone who trains?

I know we are all told to keep an eye on sodium but if you drink more water and sweat through exercise then I guess you'd need more salt than the average person.

I also heard that sodium plays an important role in transporting nutrients and therefore if trying to gain mass you should add more salt to your food, and balance it by drinking more water.

I'm not sure what to make of all this, and how important or unhealthy salt actually is so I'm asking an expert!

[blackmetal]

Hi Shelby, I'm just curious if you have some insight on how to cut without losing muscle mass.

Over the summer I did lots of cardio, some yoga, and ate less overall while eliminating alcohol and junk. My end result was that I lost 15 pounds, approximately 7 pounds of fat and 8 pounds of muscle (according to the digital scale that I own).

This past winter I endeavored to regain that lost muscle mass, and I've gained 4 pounds of muscle and 6 pounds of fat. I'm eating healthier now than before my cut (I make sure to eat vegetables every day).

I'm ready to do a cut again, and I would prefer not to lose any of the 4 pounds of muscle that I gained. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Will

[View 1]

Shelby,

You are known for your nutrition knowledge, but something that I have not seen you do an article on is your views on training? What are your views ( generally speaking ) on training for size and what would you change for a fat loss stage?