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Hardgainer Workout Tips: The Truth About Bodyweight Exercises And Gym Exercises

Filed Under: Hardgainer Tips 1 Comment

Hey guys,

Got another awesome question from a fellow hardgainer named Irving.

In today's newsletter I'm going to answer Irving's burning question which reveals the "TRUTH" about home exercises and gym exercises and what you NEED to know about each if you want to build the most amount of muscle in the least amount of time.

So here's the "Killer" question that sparked today's newsletter post:

In this week's newsletter I'm going to be talking about workout intensity.

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yo my dude that was a good video about all of the good foods to eat .. I am 5'8, 126lbs but i want to get up to about 145lbs. Ive been eating a lot of the foods you mentioned, and i been eating like 4 or 5 times a day.

I have also been doin a lot of pushups. do you think the pushups will help in adding muscle or what other excersises should i do ? iight man thx

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First off, let me just say thanks for sending me this great question Irving. And the truth is if I would have found the answer to this question years ago I pretty sure I wouldn't have struggled to see results for YEARS on end.

What I'm about to discuss today maybe the missing link to why you haven't seen the results you've been looking for, so pay close attention.

I remember when I was in high school and I was what my friend called "crack head skinny", yeah it was BAD. And I remember doing A TON of different things  to try to "get big", "bulk up" - you name it.

And one of the things I did was do a "GAZILLION" push ups in the morning and another "GAZILLION" push ups at night thinking that was all I needed to get bigger.

You wanna know how bad it really was???

I even remember lifting gallon jugs of water like dumbbells thinking "as long as I'm lifting something 'kinda' heavy" I'll get big.

WRONG!!!

It was the fact that I was doing workouts like these mixed with my poor high school eating habits that were the true cause of me not seeing the results I wanted.

And Irving, it's great that you're eating 4 - 5 times a day, that means that you "get" the nutrition part of the equation, now lets work on the "workout part" of it.

The Name Of The Game Is INTENSITY

One big misconception that I suffered from and you're probably suffering from is that "as long as the work your muscle to exhaustion (i.e. doing a ton of pushups, etc) you'll get huge".

Yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine and he was telling me about a website that shows you all the different exercises you could do at home to replace gym exercises.

Here's a lesson I learned the hard way:

If you're trying to add a significant amount of muscle and you're a "naturally skinny guy" you're going to need access to a gym or AT LEAST a home gym (i.e. - a BowFlex, etc)

Why?

Because the INTENSITY you get from doing a max set of pushups is WAYYYYY different from a MAX set on a bench press at 150 lbs.

Don't get me wrong, you can add muscle with pushups and other body weight exercises. But if your ultimate goal is to build a significant amount of muscle especially if you want to build it in a short period of time "calisthenics" or "body weight exercises" will only get you so far.

These exercises alone will only get you by in the "beginning".

So if you're just beginning to workout and train and you're following a muscle building diet which it seems like you already are Iriving, you will build muscle doing body weight exercises like pushups, pullups, dips etc.

Over Time These Exercises Won't Be Enough If You Want To Build A Significant Amount Of Muscle

And here's why...

See your body has primarily two types of muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscle fibers and slow twitch muscle fibers. Slow twitch muscle fibers are used for more endurance type exercises like "marathon running for example" and fast twitch muscle fibers are used for strength and power type exercises (like power lifting, and sprinting for example)

Every muscle group in your body (i.e. - your legs, your back, your biceps, your triceps, your shoulders) all consist of BOTH of these muscle fibers.

One key note to keep in mind about these two types of muscle fibers is that your fast twitch (strength and power) muscle fibers have the ability to grow MUCH larger than your slow twitch (endurance) muscle fibers can.

So when you think slow twitch muscles, picture a long distance marathon runner. And when you think fast twitch muscle picture a body builder like Arnold in his prime. Yes the difference in size that each of these muscles can grow are that staggering.

See, when you keep doing pushups or dips and all these other body weight exercises, instead of increasing the weight, which requires more strength and power (fast twitch muscle) to complete the exercise your body will switch and begin using your slow twich (endurance) muscle fibers to complete the exercise.

Why?

Because for endurance type activities your slow twitch muscle fibers are way more efficient. The problem is that your slow twitch muscle fibers even though great for endurance activites lack strength and power. That's where your fast twitch muscle fibers come in.

They can deliver more strength and power when you need it than your slow twitch muscle fibers but they fatigue very easily which is why your body uses your slow twitch muscle fibers for longer more drawn out activities.

So depending on the exercise your body will engage which ever muscle fibers it feels will help it get through the exercise more efficiently.

So when you do pushups or any of these other "home" exercises you're not increasing the weight over time, you're simply training your body to do MORE pushups then last time. Which means over time your pushups will be seen as an endurance activity, which means your body will engage more of your "slow twitch "muscle fibers to complete it.

Compare that to performing a bench press where your goal is to pick a weight that allows you to do no more then 8 reps. Everytime you're able to hit those 8 reps instead of doing more reps (endurance: slow twitch) you add more weight (strength and power: fast twitch) til you hit those 8 reps again and then you repeat the process.

So that's why you NEED access to a gym or a home gym if you want to build the most amount of muscle in the least amount of time. This is especially true if you're a hardgainer or "naturally skinny guy" like myself.

To answer your next question Irving, would make for a rather long blog post. But in short if you want a detailed list of exercises to do to build the MOST amount of muscle in the least amount of time I highly recommend you get my DVD casestudy.

Inside I offer a 2 week workout plan designed to build muscle FAST no matter what your experience level.

If you'd like to ask me a question leave a comment below or shoot me an email at Richard [at] buildmusclechallenge.com and I'll try my best to answer your question ASAP.

Please keep in mind I get TONS of emails and messages, so it may take a while for me to get to your specific question.

Only if you're interested, if you get your DVD Casestudy and Step By Step Action Plan when I release it I'm going to provide you with a 30 min. 1-on-1 coaching session FREE of charge so that I can answer ALL of your *BURNING* questions, see what you're doing wrong and create a game plan for you so you can start seeing results IMMEDIATELY.

If you're interested and would rather hop on the phone with me for a 1-on-1 coaching session rather than wait for me to get to your question via email which takes rather long due to my BUSY schedule then click the link below and sign up for my DVD Casestudy waiting list so you'll be first to know once it's available so you can grab one of the limited spots available.

Click here to sign up for my DVD Waiting List

Don't forget to leave your comment below letting me know what you thought of today's newsletter and if you have any additional questions.

Take care and til next time,

Rich

 

 

 

 

Why You NEED to Eat More AND Workout to Build Muscle And Gain Weight

Filed Under: Hardgainer Tips Leave a Comment

Hey guys,

In this week's newsletter I decided to answer another "KILLER" question that I got from one of your fellow subscribers.

Today's newsletter will reveal why you NEED to workout if you're trying to gain weight and build muscle.

So here's the "Killer" question that sparked today's newsletter post:

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hello I watch your video and it really helped but I still have one question. Can I still gain weight eating eggs if I don't exercise?

thank you,

Navid...(Nick name I'll use for our friend)

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I know it's a rather short question but there is a BIG problem assoicated with it.

After reading this question I realized that our friend Navid.. isn't familiar with the muslce building formula and the crucial role exercising plays when you're trying to build muscle (especially if you're a naturally skinny guy or hard gainer.

And I realized if one of my subscribers had this question then AT LEAST 20 others or more, possibly even you had this question in some way shape or form.

So before I get into the meat and potatoes of WHY exercising is so darn important even though it's something alot of guys don't want to do either because they're not used to working out, they find the idea of being "the skinny guy" in the gym intimidating (trust me I've been there), or they're just too lazy, I want to go over my muscle building formula first and foremost.

Everything I do to build muscle and everything i teach comes from this formula so it's VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

Here's my muscle building formula:

Proper Nutrition + Proper Workouts + Proper Recovery = MASSIVE MUSCLE GAINS

Yes, you need ALL 3 components to get to the end of the equation (Massive Muscle Gains). If one is missing, it won't work. Trust me on this one, you need them ALL to get the results you want.

So now that you know the formula, let's dive in to why you NEED to workout in order to build muscle.

First, I want you to notice what's at the beginning of the equation, "Proper Nutrition". Proper Nutrition is important and you should look to start with your nutrition plan which includes what  foods to eat, when to eat it and how often to eat it before you move onto the other components.

Proper Nutrition is a whole other section in itself and would take way too long to explain why it's SOOO important to building muscle as well. But for the sake of this newsletter I'm going to put Proper Nutrition in the simplest terms as possible.

In order to build muscle you need to consume more calories than your body burns. So let's say your body burns 2,000 calories just to get through the day, you're going to want to consume MORE than 2,000 calories EACH day if you want to build muscle (somewhere between 2,500 - 3,000 calories would be a good range to shoot for).

So in short, if you want to build muscle you'll have to consume EXTRA calories daily. (there's much more to take into consideration but this is the simplest way to explain it)

So now that you know the role nutrition plays, here's why you NEED to workout if you want to build muscle.

It's real simple actually.

Your workouts tell your body what to do with all those extra calories you're consuming.

See when you workout (the right way) you're literally wearing, tearing and damaging your muscles to the point where your body says "Holy crap I better make these muscles stronger" so that the next time your muscles are exposed to such stress it can handle it better and get through it without getting damaged so much.

Read my previous post for my Tornado and House example to understand how your workouts effect your body.

http://buildmusclechallenge.com/50/need-help-gaining-weight/

What if you don't work out and you consume extra calories each day?

The simple answer is:

A) It'll get rid of it / speed up your metabolism and burn it off

B) Convert it into fat

C) Convert some of it into muscle

It really depends on your genetics and where most of those calories come from (i.e. junk food like "chips and soda" or whole foods like "whole grains and lean meats") that'll dictate what your body does with those extra calories IF you don't workout.

If you're a naturrally skinny guy odds are your body WILL NOT convert those extra calories to muscle UNLESS you tell it to through properly designed workouts.

If you're a naturally skinny guy then odds are your body will get rid of those extra calories or in most cases convert it to fat. That's why some skinny guys get that "skinny - fat " look. It's basically a skinny guy with a pot belly or beer belly type stomach.

And I know ALOT of guys who suffer from this.

So if you plan on building muscle as a naturally skinny PLEASE do proper workouts along with consuming extra calories each day to get the results you want. Because if you don't tell your body what to do with those extra calories you're consuming, it's just going to pick one on it's own. And just to let you know, building muscle is at the end of your body's "To Do" list.

I hope this post helps our friend Navid and anyone else who had this question at one point in time as well.

If you'd like to ask me a question leave a comment below or shoot me an email at Richard [at] buildmusclechallenge.com and I'll try my best to answer your question ASAP.

Please keep in mind I get TONS of emails and messages, so it may take a while for me to get to your specific question.

Only if you're interested, if you get your DVD Casestudy and Step By Step Action Plan when I release it I'm going to provide you with a 30 min. 1-on-1 coaching session FREE of charge so that I can answer ALL of your *BURNING* questions, see what you're doing wrong and create a game plan for you so you can start seeing results IMMEDIATELY.

If you're interested and would rather hop on the phone with me for a 1-on-1 coaching session rather than wait for me to get to your question via email which takes rather long due to my BUSY schedule then click the link below and sign up for my DVD Casestudy waiting list so you'll be first to know once it's available so you can grab one of the limited spots available.

Click here to sign up for my DVD Waiting List

Don't forget to leave your comment below letting me know what you thought of today's newsletter and if you have any additional questions.

Take care and til next time,

Rich

 

 

The Shocking Truth About Cardio For Skinny Guys

Filed Under: Hardgainer Tips 2 Comments

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The Build Muscle Challenge DVD Casestudy Will Available Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 12pm EST

If you want a head start before the other (over 5,400) guys who all ITCHING to get this information and the chance for me to personally coach them then be sure to sign up for my DVD Waiting List. Trust me, if you hesitate someone else WILL take your spot AND your DVD.

Click here to sign up for my DVD Waiting List

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What’s up guys,

Today I’m going to talk about that dreaded word that most skinny guys are told to stay away from like the plague, and it’s “Cardio”

I just got a great question from a guy named Pedro telling me that he’s been reading a lot of articles on the topic of cardio and now he’s confused.

Well today I’m going to break the myth of Cardio once and for all, because I know it’s an issue that most skinny guys go through at some point in time.

What I reveal in today’s blog post may *SHOCK* you, so read with caution. Here’s his question:

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Hi Rich. First I really want to thank you for all your work
and videos to help skinny guys to build muscle (I'm 70.6kg 1.79 height) the
videos have great tips! I'm actually on video #6 "workout fundamentals" and
looks great, but I just have a question at this point, since I don't know if you
may talk about this in a future video, and is about cardio. I'm on a "dance"
class from Monday to Thursday (practically 1hr cardio) just after my gym routine
(GYM is MON to SAT 1:30 to 2 hrs, I'm on my 2nd week).

I have read several articles that says cardio is BAD for
skinny guys who are trying to build muscle, however I also have some fat that
would like to take away and I'm getting very confused with this info and at the
end I don't know what to do, I just know I want to get muscle. So my question
goes to "can I continue with my 1hr cardio after the GYM? or do I have to stay
away from it?" I'm eating at least five times in the day. Thank you again for
your videos, I'm having a close watch to your info since you have been in the
same place I'm.

Take care.

Pedro

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First let me say thanks for the question Pedro. There’s so much (conflicting) information when it comes to cardio that it’s no surprised that you got confused. Trust me, this topic got my head going off in circles when I first started out as well so I know how you feel.

I actually go over this topic in A LOT more detail in my DVD Casestudy and Step by Step Guide but I’ll give you some pointers to help you out with your dilemma.

First and foremost here’s the TRUTH when it comes to cardio and building muscle for us skinny guys.

If you want to gain the MOST amount of muscle in the LEAST amount of time then YES you will have to LIMIT your cardio. Why? Well it’s simple. The reason why you’re skinny is primarily because your metabolism is
faster than most people’s. Which means you burn more calories throughout the day than other people

Since at the end of the day you have to be in a SURPLUS of calories (you have to consume more calories than your body burns) the more cardio you do or any other activity for that matter (i.e. – basketball, wrestling, tennis) or in your case even dance class will BURN those extra calories rather than use them to build muscle.

Here’s an example of this to help illustrate what I’m talking about a little further:

Let’s say your body naturally burns 2,000 calories each day WITHOUT cardio.

Now let’s say you wanted to build muscle so you decided to consume 2,500 calories each day to get bigger.

So at the end of the day you’d be at a SURPLUS of 500 (2,500 – 2,000) extra calories. THIS SCENARIO = MUSCLE GAIN

FYI – It takes 3,500 extra calories to gain 1 lb of new body mass. So 500 extra calories a day equals 3,500 extra calories each week which 1 lb weight gain in 1 week.

Now lets add cardio to the mix (again I’m just making these numbers up to show you what I’m talking about)

Let’s say your body naturally burns 2,000 calories each day WITHOUT cardio.

Now let’s say you wanted to build muscle so you decided to consume 2,500 calories each day to get bigger.

Now let’s add the cost of 1 hr of cardio to your daily routine and let’s say 1 hr. of cardio burns 500 calories.

Now let’s do the math,

At the end of the day you’d break even with the calories which means 0 (2,500 – 2,500) extra calories which equals NO MUSCLE GAIN.

Now there are two options for you at this point.

  1. Limit or even eliminate your cardio. The least amount of cardio you do, the less amount of calories you burn a day. The least amount of “Calories You Burn” the easier it’ll be to build muscle.
  2. Increase your calorie intake – If cardio (ie – your dance class) is a necessity or something you can’t eliminate or even limit then your second option is to increase your calorie intake by consuming more calories each day.

It’s definitely do-able but of  the two options eliminating the cardio is the easiest which is why so many people say to stay away from all unnecessary cardio. Which is good in theory but it just isn’t practical for those who are obligated to do activities such as (dance, football, basketball, track, swimming, dance, etc) And if you fall into this category then you NEED to increase your calorie intake if you want to build muscle while still having cardio and similar activities a part of your daily life.

So to answer your question Pedro,“can I continue with my 1hr cardio after the GYM?” is, it’s entirely up to you.

If you can eliminate it or even limit the amount of cardio / dance you do then great. But if you’d rather do the
cardio regularly (by keep going to your dance class) then you’re going to have to increase your calorie intake. I think a good option would be to limit your cardio as much as possible (if you can’t eliminate it) and consume a little bit
more each day, that way you don’t have to increase your calorie intake by that much to still build muscle.

As for you wanting to burn the fat with your cardio, there are windows throughout the day where you can actually do cardio while you’re bulking up that burn the most amount of fat while leaving the extra calories you
consume virtually untouched so you can dedicate them to your muscle gains rather than burning them.

But in the interest of time (that’ll really take some time to explain) I’ll try to tackle that issue in the another blog post. But I do reveal these windows in detail and even more about cardio in my Build Muscle Challenge Step by Step Action Plan Guide which is only being offered to those who get their DVD Casestudy.

I guess now would be a good time to mention that I’ve decided to release my DVD Casestudy again.

Mark this day on your calendars because the last time I released it they were gone like (**fingers snapping**) THAT!!!

On Tuesday - August 18, 2009 at 12pm EST I’m opening up the doors again and releasing my Build Muscle Challenge DVD Casestudy.

And one of the bonuses I’m not even sure if I’m ever going to do again for getting my DVD Casestudy AND Step by Step Action Plan Guide is going to be a 30 min 1-on-1 coaching session with ME.

Just imagine what it would be like if you can tell the person who gained over 40lbs in 4 months what your biggest hang ups are and have me personally create a game plan for you to see results fast right then and there. This can honestly be the missing link you need to FINALLY start seeing the results you’ve always been looking for.

But I can only coach so many people at a time which means I have to limit this bonus to the 1st 10 people and see how it goes. Which means I may NEVER EVER do this again if it gets to hectic with my schedule. So as you can imagine the demand for this is going to be EXTREMELY high.

So if you want a head start before the other (over 5,400) guys who all want this information and the chance for me to personally coach them then be sure to sign up for my DVD Waiting List.

Because if you hesitate, trust me either one of my over 650 Youtube subscribers or one of my more than 2,000 email subscribers or even one of the 2,855 visitors that came to my site this month will take your spot without thinking twice.


Click here to sign up for my DVD Waiting List

Til next time,

Rich

 

 

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