Archives for July 2011

6 “Ninja” Tips to Gain Weight Fast Even If You’re a Skinny Guy

Filed Under: Muscle Building Tips 1 Comment

For naturally skinny guys like myself, building muscle and gaining weight can be an uphill battle. Certain body types were not designed to gain weight very easily (hardgainers, naturally skinny guys and those with fast metabolisms)

If you’re having a hard time trying to gain weight and build muscle, IT SUCKS, I know cause I’ve been there.

And since I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through to start seeing results here are 6 tips to gain weight that will help you change your physique and see results fast... even if you’re the skinniest guy in the gym.

Tip #1 - Eat High Protein Snacks Between Meals

Based on the countless emails and questions I get, if you’re not seeing results then odds are you’re not eating enough.

Here’s how to tell if you’re eating enough:

If you’re a skinny guy or a hardgainer and you aren’t constantly nibbling on food and eating every few hours, then you’re NOT eating enough.
If at any point during the day you feel hungry or your stomach feels empty then you’re NOT eating enough.
If you’re trying to gain weight and build muscle and you’re “comfortably” consuming your meals for the day, in other words, it’s not a “challenge” for you to complete all of your meals for the day then you are NOT eating enough.

So the first thing you need to do is increase your caloric intake. Since it takes about 3500 EXTRA to gain 1lb of body mass I usually recommend guys start off by adding an extra 500 calories to they’re daily calorie intake.

The easiest way to do this is to eat high protein snacks between your meals

Here are a few quick High Protein snacks you can consume between meals each day:

Protein bar
Cottage Cheese
Low Sodium Beef Jerky
Nuts
Tuna Fish Sandwich

Tip #2 - Consume Your BIGGEST Meal Within 90 Minutes After Your Workout

This tip will really help you stack on ALOT of muscle. After you workout, a window opens up where your body is PRIME to accept MASSIVE amounts of nutrients and dedicate it to muscle repair and muscle GROWTH.

Think about it, you’ve just unleashed HELL on your muscles, they’re depleted and hungry, plus your BIG DADDY muscle building hormone “Testosterone” is surging through your veins.

If you can feed your hungry and depleted muscles the MASSIVE amounts of nutrients it needs during this window you’ll not only start the recovery process almost IMMEDIATELY but your muscles will reward you by growing bigger and stronger FASTER.

Tip #3 - Limit Your Cardio

Building muscle is all about being in a SURPLUS of calories at the end of the day. So the more cardio you do, the more precious calories you’ll burn / waste.

If you must do cardio because you’re on a team or you play a sport or for whatever reason just keep in mind that you’ll have to consume EVEN MORE calories to make up for all the calories you burned.

Tip #4 - Train Heavy (no less than 6 reps - no more than 12 reps)

You can’t expect to gain weight and build muscle lifting baby weight, it doesn’t work that way. Your muscles need a certain level of stimulation in order to grow bigger.

The ideal rep range for muscle hypertrophy (muscle growth) is 6 - 12 reps.

Here’s an example of what this would look like:

Bench Press

Set 1 - 12 reps
Set 2 - 10 reps
Set 3 - 8 reps
Set 4 - 6 reps

(choosing a weight that allows you to do less than 6 is TOO HEAVY and choosing a weight that allows you to do more than 12 is TOO LIGHT)

Tip #5 - 60 - 90 Second Rest Periods

The key to an “EFFECTIVE” muscle building workout is SHORT but INTENSE. If you stay too long in the gym pumping iron, you’ll be doing more harm than good when it comes to your muscle gains.

So a killer way to keep your workout short but at the same time INTENSE is to shorten your rest periods to 60 - 90 seconds. Which means you should have just enough time to adjust the weights before you’re ready to jump back in and do another set.

In other words, no lolligagging, no joking around with your friends and no taking 5 minute rests between sets, it should be ALL BUSINESS when you start your workout so you can finish as soon as possible.

Tip #6 - Be Consistent

If you really want to gain weight and build muscle you have to be consistent. You have to eat when you’re supposed, train when you’re supposed and rest when you’re supposed to.

Think of your body like “onion”.

Every time you go to the gym, murder your muscles, eat massive amounts of calories (at the right times) and allow your muscles to recover and grow bigger, you’re adding a new “layer” of muscle to your body.

The more you repeat this process, the more layers you’ll build, the bigger you’ll become and the faster your body will go through this process. But if you skip meals, and skip your workouts the less “layers” you’ll build and less gains you’ll see.

Unfortunately I can’t teach you everything when it comes to building muscle in this article but if you follow these 6 Killer tips to Gain Weight you WILL see results.

If you want a Proven Muscle Building Workout Plan and Muscle Building Meal Plan that can help you Gain 10 lbs in 1 Month then claim your copy of the 30 Day Build Muscle Challenge Training Guide.

Are You STILL Making These Bone-Head Mistakes?

Filed Under: Misc. Leave a Comment

Alright, so I revealed to you the #1 reason you're not building muscle, and why 90% of all you're hard work is going down the drain.

Now I'm going to share with you 2 more "Bone - Head" Mistakes most guys make when they're trying to build muscle.

Don't feel bad if you've fell victim to some of these mistakes because the truth is I did too. I've made TONS of "Bone - Head" mistakes and by sharing what I've learned with you I can at least help save one guy the pain, agony, frustration, and wasted time and energy on doing the WRONG THINGS.

The truth is, I made these mistakes because no one told me to look out for this stuff. And I'm pretty certain if you're not getting the results you want, no one has shared these mistakes with you either.... Until now!

"Bone - Head" Mistake #1: Horrible Form

It never fails, every time I go to the gym I see guys who do not practice good form. These guys usually don't last long in the gym for a number of reasons. First, by not practicing good form you're working out other muscles than the one you should be focusing on.

I've seen guys do exercises like bicep curls and their form is so bad that they're actually working out their shoulders and back more than they're working out there biceps.

Which do you think would give you better results?

1- Dumbbell Curls w/ Proper Form: Targets your biceps 100%
2- Dumbbell Curls w/ “Bad” Form: Targets your biceps 65%, your shoulders 25%, your back 10%

Obviously #1!

But most guys who are not seeing the results they want do #2 and wonder why their muscles aren’t growing.

Example of “Horrible” Form

DON’T BE THIS GUY!!!

Your muscles need a certain level of contraction in order to stimulate muscle growth. By not practicing proper form and good technique you're not giving your muscles that same level of contraction that it needs to grow.

Second, you increase your risk of injury. By not practicing proper form and good technique for every exercise you really run the risk of hurting yourself.

For certain exercises, it’s critical to perform the exercise properly like squats, deadlifts and shoulder presses for example, because if you don't you're literally an inch or two away from severely injuring yourself (trust me, I know of a few guys who have).

There are two main reasons why guys who do not practice good form don't last too long in the gym.

The first reason is because they bust their butt in the gym for weeks if not months and wonder why they aren't seeing any results and if they do see results, they're few and far between, because their form is so bad.

And the other reason is because they've literally injured themselves to the point where they don't feel comfortable going to the gym again or worse… they’re physically unable to.

So if you've been going to the gym for some time now and haven't seen the results you wanted. You may fall into this category of not using proper form and proper technique with your exercises.

You need to use proper form and proper technique on EVERY exercise during EVERY rep to get results.

"Bone - Head Mistake" #2: Following Advice from Someone Who's Not Like You

When it comes to building muscle every one's body is different. With that said there are some guys who naturally build muscle fast and some guys who have to work a little harder at it (like you and me).

One of the quickest ways to get frustrated and sabotage your results is to follow the advice of someone who is not like you or doesn’t know how your body works.

Take for example, Kobe Bryant, and Shaq. Can you imagine Shaq taking advice on how to play the game from Kobe? Can you imagine Shaq trying to make moves, shoot threes, and dribble the ball like Kobe?

As a basketball fan that would be a “frightening” thought.

Well the same goes for following advice from guys who “naturally” build lots of muscle. You can't expect to do the same things they do and see results, because it's just not going to happen.

This was one of my big mistakes. Growing up, I used to follow the advice of family members and friends who all they had to do was sneeze to build muscle and wonder why I couldn't see results.

So if you're a skinny, or you naturally struggle at building muscle and gaining weight it's crucial to your success that you follow advice from former skinny guys and guys whose body’s naturally struggle to build muscle because they know how your body works and they know what it responds to, and what kind of stimulation it needs to build muscle.

I fell for these mistakes BIG TIME when I was starting out and I know you're probably falling victim to these as well. And let me tell you... IT STINKS to bust your butt in the gym, buy all these weight gainers and protein supplements and "magic" muscle pills, powders and potions and watch all your hard work and MONEY go down the drain.

And that's why I created the 30 Day Build Muscle Challenge Training Guide. This guide will give you EVERYTHING you need to see results FAST and Gain 10lbs in 1 Month.

This training guide reveals 11 top muscle building mistakes that are ZAPPING your muscle gains away and you you probably have NO IDEA what's going on.

Your 30 Day Build Muscle Challenge Training Guide even comes with a Free 30 Day Meal Plan & 30 Day "Fast Results" Workout Plan.... which means there's no guess work, just follow the plan and BAM instant results.

I really want you to start getting the results you deserve, which is why I decided to give this training guide + the 30 day Meal Plan + the 30 Day "FAST RESULTS" Workout Plan FREE OF CHARGE.

So if you’re not getting the results you want and you know your falling victim to 1 or more of these "bone - head" mistakes then you owe it to yourself to claim your FREE 30 Day Build Muscle Challenge Training Guide while you still have the chance.

[CLOSED]
Sorry You're Too Late

You might be kicking yourself later if you don’t.

Train hard,

Rich

Building Muscle Without Supplements

Filed Under: Supplements Leave a Comment

Can you really build muscle and get huge without supplements?

Yes you can!!!

If you think otherwise, either you've fallen for the hype that these supplement companies are selling you or you really don't understand the significant role whole foods have on the body.

Why whole foods are actually better than supplements? for starters whole foods are packed with nutrients, and unlike supplements whole foods aren't packed with preservatives and weird "man made" chemicals.

Plus don't forget your body was designed to break down whole foods (foods that are created by nature).

Reminder: You DON'T NEED Supplements to Build Muscle

Supplements are only "essential" at certain throughout the day when it's impractical to consume whole foods.

For example: right after your workout - Consuming Whey Protein is way more effective (will hit your muscles faster) then eating 6 - 10 eggs, or downing 5 tall glasses of milk right after your workout.

(you’d probably puke if you had to down all of that RIGHT after a workout)

Supplements are also ideal as a "Meal Backup" - an emergency meal alternative you can consume or quickly down when you're not able to have a "real" meal.

So please remember: “You DON’T NEED Supplements to Build Muscle”

Yes supplements make things alot more convenient but you don't NEED them to build muscle.

In fact, if you don't believe me. I highly recommend you try my 30 Day Build Muscle Challenge without taking supplements and if you follow it to the "T" I guarantee you'll see results, and it’ll literally open your eyes to the true power of what a proper muscle building diet can do.

So stop thinking supplements is the key to building muscle because it's not! I used to think this way, and trust me I've seen far better results when I focused on following a proper muscle building diet rather than what's the next super duper supplement coming out.

The truth is, as great as you may think supplements are they can't “replace” a proper muscle building diet.

So put this article down and start chowing down on some proper muscle building food.