Ade Rai is Indonesia's most famous bodybuilder and a passionate advocate of good nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. As a big man with a lot to say, he enjoys going against stereotypes.

Every second week he will be offering professional advice through this column.

Dear Ade,

I read your column in The Jakarta Post and would like to ask you a few questions about the problems that I am facing.

I am 39 years old and 167 cm. I started weight training and food management about two years ago. When I started, my weight was 66 kg, with a size 34 pants; my body fat was around 26 percent. Now my weight is 64 kg but my pants have dropped to size 29. Lately my body fat is around 13.5 percent, my muscle mass is around 44 percent and my BMR around 1,500.

My current weekly timetable consists of weight training 3-4 times and cardio (30 minutes, 1-2 times). I eat 4-5 times a day. My diet typically consists of: protein shake with instant oatmeal (breakfast); peanut butter sandwich (snack); gado-gado with brown rice (lunch); strawberry sandwich (snack); protein shake with oatmeal (right after training); salad + salmon or beef + olive oil (dinner); a glass of wine or protein shake (before bed)

But I feel I am no longer progressing. My shoulders are one area that needs to bulk up more, because I had a shoulder injury. I don't want to get really big.

How do I progress more? How can I cut my body fat to around 10 percent without sacrificing muscle mass?

Gunawan

Hi Pak Gunawan,

Thank you for coming to me with your questions. Congratulations on your progress. You have shown that a better, healthier body can be achieved at any age, as long as you put in the effort to deserve it.

You are right in wanting to increase your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and muscle mass, because your muscle mass or rather lean body mass determines the rate of your metabolism. The only way to increase your basal metabolic rate (the amount of calories you burn at rest) would be to increase your lean body mass.

You seem to contradict yourself in saying you want to increase your muscle mass but don't want to get really big. I guess you would like to get a little bigger than you are now, but not to the extent that you look too buff.

So the answer to your first question initially lies in achieving a higher level of lean body mass. To do so, first you need to increase the intensity of your resistance training. The key determinant of intensity in resistance training is LOAD - the amount of pounds or kilos that you are able to move throughout the working sets with a full range of motion. In simple terms, you need to increase the amount of weight you lift - but without sacrificing good form and proper technique. There are some intensity techniques that you may want to explore with the help of your personal trainer.

Second, you need to increase your protein intake. From your dietary layout, you seem to be quite sufficient in carbohydrates but lacking in protein. Try to add more lean protein into your diet. Fish, egg whites, soy products (tempeh, tofu and soy milk), chicken/turkey breast, lean beef and low-fat dairy products are the way to go. Just make sure you have some form of protein in every meal.

Finally, your shoulder problems. The shoulder is one area of the body that fitness enthusiasts seem injure most often. The shoulder joint is a ball-socket joint complex that allows you to move in different directions. I see so many people working the shoulder muscles with little consideration of bodily rules such as limitations of the shoulder joints, hence improper postures, techniques, range of motion, and or tempo come into play at the same time, and by having way too much weight.

It would take me a whole day just to explain about exercising your shoulder muscles properly. You should get your shoulders examined. You need to know how severe your injury is and how you should go about healing it before thinking of putting your joints under more pressure.

Best of luck with your healing process and muscle-gain endeavor. Hope your progress will continue upon applying the tips outlined here.

Hi Ade Rai, I am pleased with your explanation about your stance against the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports. You have set the right example for young aspiring athletes to follow. I would like to know what you have been up to lately? I find that most athletes who have stopped competing or are past their glory days go on to assume coaching roles at the sports governing body they used to be under. I have heard about your entrepreneurial ventures. Would you like to share some of them here? And while we are at it, how do you maximize muscle gain naturally?

A. Martin.

Jakarta

Hi Mr. Martin,

Thank you for your kind words. Let me answer your question about maximizing muscle gain naturally first. Bodybuilding is the highest application of fitness lifestyle, which involves physical exercise, food intake management and rest in proper balance and harmony. This means I have to apply them to myself constantly. Luckily for me, despite the lack of information at the time I came up through the competitive ranks, my natural and instinctive approach led me to some of the most effective muscle-gain strategies.

My competitive nature and passion for sport helped me endure the most grueling bodybuilding trials, hence have given me a reputation for discipline. For me, it is only natural that someone who works hard gets what he or she deserves. So, there is nothing really extraordinary in what I have done. Anybody who did what I did would have got the same results.

As for my activities after my competitive days, simply put - I am still learning. Although most of my business and professional activities are related to fitness, I face a unique challenge. I have to learn and adopt many new concepts about investments and business, this time without relying much on instinct. However, I still need to invest as much intensity and desire for success in all the new things that I have just learned.

Currently I am focusing on building my fitness brands, the Klub Ade Rai fitness network and RAI Institute fitness academy. The Klub Ade Rai fitness network is a fitness center franchise business that welcomes any potential investors in a profitable fitness establishment. The RAI Institute fitness academy is an avenue for me to promote fitness education to trainers and instructors, as well as general fitness mind-sets through various media and events.

I also get requests to talk at various corporations in an effort to build health awareness for employees through the health encouragement program. Anyone interested in contacting me about Klub Ade Rai or RAI Institute, kindly forward your enquiries to

aderaimanagement@yahoo.com.

I would like to thank you all for your questions and kind words. Please keep them coming to my inbox at ask_aderai@yahoo.com.I appreciate them all

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