Underground Muscle Growth Technique: INTENTIONS

Filed Under: Excercise, Muscle Building Tips 1 Comment

Hey guys,

I just had to share an underground video I just checked out explaining a pretty cool muscle growth technique called: "INTENTIONS"

A little while ago Jimmy (my training partner) once told me his philosophy when it came to building muscle. He said "Rich, think of your muscles as being a wet sponge. And with every exercise you do it's like squeezing that sponge out. So with that being said in order to build muscle the goal of your workout should be to squeeze ALL THE WATER you possibly can out of that sponge when you're in the gym"

What Jimmy was talking about was putting the maximum amount of TENSION on your muscles during each exercise.

FACT: The only way to build muscle is to create the greatest amount of "tension" or torque in a muscle within a given period of time.

Putting the "maximum" amount of tension your muscles is tough. And if you don't know what you're doing or how to do it then your results will suffer.

In fact if you have a lagging or "stubborn" body part then this might be the answer you're looking for because the video below explains not only why you have lagging body but also how to fix it... with an "underground muscle growth technique called INTENTIONS.

Ben Pakulski Explaining INTENTIONS

The guy in the video is Ben "Pacman" Pakulski (an IFBB Pro Body Builder). I was actually on my way to attend a fitness seminar to meet him as well as a few other Pro Fitness Models and learn some tricks of the trade.

Unfortunately, my trip was scheduled on the same weekend of Hurricane Irene and I had to cancel. But I was so eager to go that I was literally 2 seconds away from hopping in my car to try and outrun the storm just so I could attend the seminar (fortunately my sister and cousin helped talk me out of it)

But that's how much I respect Ben Pakulski and the body building advice he gives.

Ben actually has a free ebook called: 5 Tricks to Double Your Gains

I've read it, and I highly recommend you check it out. Make sure you read:

Page 10: Being Obsessed with...
and Page 24: Not Understanding Muscle...

Because those two sections definitely gave some "AH HA" moments on things that I going to apply the next time I go to the gym. And I have a feeling those will help you out the most as well.

Click Here to Download Ben Pakulski's 5 Tricks to Immediately Double Your Gains

Til next time,

Rich

Why You Need to Workout Your Legs to Build Muscle

Filed Under: Excercise, Muscle Building Tips Leave a Comment

Squats Type 2 -close legs - Smala knäböj, Strength Training (Styrketräning)

photo credit: Ulf Liljankoski

Today, we’re gonna be talking about the most important, yet most neglected body part in all of weight training: the legs.

This topic is so important that I feel the need to dedicate an entire article to just convincing you that training legs, and training them hard, is a MUST.

I could go on and on about why having big legs is not only good for your physique, but will also help you push past weight plateaus that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to.

However, seeing as we don’t have all day and you most likely don’t want to be reading 10 pages of ranting and raving, I’m going to list a couple of the top reasons for training legs and talk about each of them in a bit of detail. So without further ado:

You want to train legs because:

You don’t want chicken legs
Your legs support the rest of your body
Training legs increases Testosterone (Your BIG DADDY Muscle Building Hormone)
Leg strength is a major part of every compound exercise

So let’s dive right in and talk about number 1 on the list.

Reason #1: You're NOT BIG Without BIG LEGS

I can’t even count the number of times I go to a gym and see a bunch of guys working on chest, back, biceps, triceps, etc.

And they walk around, thinking their big and tough… except they’re all wearing pants… and when the AC blows… you can tell they’ve never trained legs a day in their life.

You think you’re big without big legs? You’re not. Your legs are LITERALLY HALF YOUR BODY.

So no matter how much you can bench, no matter how many pounds you can curl, no one is impressed if you have stick-figure legs.

Reason #2: Your Legs Support the Rest of Your Body

As a wise man once told me, your legs have to support all of your body weight. So if you’re legs aren’t big and strong, it’s going to be hard for your body to pack on mass. Your base just won’t be strong enough to support it. Makes sense right?

Reason #3: More TESTOSTERONE!!!

When someone tells me that they’ve hit a plateau and either they can’t gain weight or they’ve hit a sticking point in their bench press or deadlift, or what-have-you, the first thing I ask them is if they squat. Squatting regularly will increase your testosterone, making it:

1) more likely for you to get stronger
2) more likely for you to gain weight

And if you’re reading this right now, you don’t need any more than the two reasons listed above to start hitting the rack.

Reason #4: You Need Your Legs More Than You Think!

Finally, your legs are an essential part of every compound exercise that you do. And as we’ve learned previously, compound exercises are the best way to not only get stronger, but also to build more muscle and gain more weight.

Some food for thought: When you bench, you’re always told to keep a stable base and put your legs firmly and in a comfortable position on the floor.

Why is that? (because you drive with your legs even when you’re working your chest… that’s why its called a COMPOUND exercise).

Again, when you deadlift, why is it that you’re told to drive through your heels? (the power is primarily coming from your legs).

And finally, when you clean and press, why do you explode with your legs on the clean portion, squat down a bit, and then drive again with your legs in a fluid motion on the press portion? (because your legs generate the most power here).

"Be a Man...WORKOUT YOUR LEGS"

You can thank me later.

Until next time,

Jim

Are You Lifting Too Much Weight In The Gym?

Filed Under: Excercise 11 Comments

Wassup guys,

Today I have to get this off my chest because I don't want any of you guys to be like some of the guys I've seen at my gym.

You know the guys I'm talking about.

The guys who look brand spanking new to gym, barely look like they work out, and they're the ones who go and grab more weight than you do for an exercise.

I've seen this a number of times at the gym so far, and now that the weather is getting better, I'm starting to see these "guys" more and more often.

And after what happened to me yesterday I said "Enough is Enough".

So here's the story:

Yesterday, I was working on my "Pull" exercises as part of this strength training program I'm on, when this guy I've never seen before in the gym asks me to spot him.

(Note: I have been going to the gym the same time everyday for the past YEAR AND A HALF. Which means, if I haven't seen you there at that time before.... you haven't been going to the gym)

So of course I spot him on his exercise, which was Incline Dumb Bell Presses.

Problem #1: When I went over to give this guy a hand, I saw he was about to do this exercise with 70lbs Dumbbells.

Now I've been on a strength training program for the past 9 weeks or so and I "just" graduated to doing Incline DB Presses with 80 lbs Dumbbells. And this guy who looks like he barely works out, is about to do this with 70 lbs. That's a problem!

Problem #2: He asked me to help him lift the weight off his chest on the VERY FIRST REP.

Ok, it's one thing to give someone a "lift", like helping them unrack the Barbell if they're doing Bench Presses. and then it's something completely different to have someone lift the weight off your chest because the weight is too heavy for you to do so under you own power.

Problem #3: He was only going "half way" down.

I imagine you guys can picture how this exercise is done. It's pretty simple, you bring the weight down to your chest and you push up.

Since the weight was too heavy for the guy he was only able to go halfway down (if that) if he would have gone any further than there would have been an accident on our hands.

Problem #4: I gave him some advice and he didn't take it.

As helpful as I am, I'm somewhat reluctant to give advice to those who did not ask for it. Because in all honesty, most guys don't want to hear it.

They just want to do what they "think" they saw in a magazine one time and they'll be fine. But I saw that if this guy continues doing what he's doing, he's not only going to waste his time, he's seriously going to hurt himself or someone else (by picking a weight he can't fully control)

So, after his set I told him, "I think you're using too much weight for this exercise. You need to be able to go down all the way and feel a good stretch at the bottom" He looks at me and says "Ok, I think I'll try 60lbs next time".

First off, I think 60lbs would still be to heavy for this guy and second, he didn't even drop the weight he went back and did his 70lbs "whatevers" because those definitely wasn't Incline DB Presses he was doing.

Once I saw that he didn't take my advice, I told myself "That's the last time I spot that guy". And it's not to be mean or anything, hey it's a free country, if he wants to train improperly and waste his time at the gym so be it. But I refuse to let him waste my time as well.

Lesson of Today's Story:

3 Ways to Tell If You're Using Too Much Weight

1. If You Need Help Getting It Up

- If you need help lifting the weight from the starting position (i.e. off your chest) for the very first rep, then you're using too much weight.

2. If You're Struggling To Get AT LEAST 6 Reps On A Given Weight

- Remember, if you're goal is to build muscle then you should be doing 6 - 10 reps "roughly" each set. If you can't do AT LEAST 6 reps then you're using too much weight

3. If You Can't Keep Proper Form Using A Given Weight

- FORM IS EVERYTHING, if you can't keep proper form then you're wasting your time and you seriously put yourself at risk of getting injured on certain exercises.

Later on me and Jimmy will be posting some videos on how to do exercises with "proper form" so you guys know how to do these exercises with proper form and technique.

This is a REALLY IMPORTANT lesson you need to learn so I'm gonna take a page out of Jimmy's Workout commandments:

Work out your body, NOT YOUR EGO!

- This means PERFECT YOUR FORM FIRST, ADD WEIGHT LATER. I’d rather have perfect form and lift moderate weight on an exercise than lift a ludicrous amount of weight with terrible form.

I'll admit it, I was on of these guys myself. And it's EXACTLY what Jimmy said, I was working out my Ego rather than my body. In my eyes I didn't want to look like a "weakling" in the gym.

I had to learn some of my lessons the hard way, but it ultimately took getting advice from guys who had success building muscle and transforming their bodies to turn everything around for me. (Similar to what I'm doing with you guys right now).

So if you're one of these guys (or think) you're one of these guys who are using too much weight in the gym..... STOP IT!!!

You're only hurting yourself and killing your results in the long run.

Ok, I'm through venting, thanks for listening guys.

I hope you enjoyed today's lesson / rant.