Mark,

I'm 1 year into training (if you count 6 months of P90x). I'm finding that using increased load for progressive overload is easier for some body parts than others. I do a body part split routine currently and I can do this load strategy well for back, chest and legs, but I have difficulty increasing loads of 5 lbs on smaller parts like arms and shoulders. Is this a common problem? Should I incorporate other forms of progressive overload? Do certain body parts respond better to those forms than others?

Hey Marc,

I've heard that it becomes harder to put on mass as you get larger and more muscular over time, but to what extent is this true? I'm 21 now and have been lifting/bodybuilding since I was about 17. I'm 5"9.5 and started out around 165lbs lean and got up to 195lbs lean within the first 3 years. In the last year I've only managed to put on about 2-3lbs of solid muscle, but my diet and training hasn't gotten any worse - if anything it's gotten better. Am I simply hitting a natural plateau? Or should I be expecting slower muscle growth like this going forward? 

Thanks for answering my question.

I've been reading x protein is good for fat loss and y is good for muscle gain, and z is good for meal replacement etc etc. My questions is does it really matter what type of protein you supplement with for any goal your aiming for?

here lately my arms have been falling asleep while sleeping, I wake up in the middle of the night and notice it and stretch to get blood flowing. I meet my calories for my cut and hit the gym 4-5x a week. Any reason why this may be happening and if so any supps to help or food?

hey Marc, I want to try different flavors of your whey protein. just afraid to spend the money and end up not liking it. is there any way you can get it to when we order one of your mts whey protein, that we could pick another flavor in a one serving sample pack?

Does it matter how many carbs for the day I take in pre-workout? For example, is having about 30-40g of carbs sufficient before I workout and then eating all the rest of my carbs for the day afterward? Or should I eat at least half of my daily intake of carbs for the day before working out? What is suggested? 

What movements would you recommend to help prevent a lower back injury from squats and deadlifts? About 5 years ago I pulled my back (lower right part of my back to be specific) during a bent over row. Fast forward a few years, pulled the same muscle performing deadlifts, fast forward to today, did it when i was coming up from a squat. Just before I squated today, I performed Marc's pillar prep like I do every day for the past few months. This was also while warming up at a weight of 225. I also don't want to become dependent on a belt.

Do you have any tips on how to get rid of and prevent stretch marks from lifting?