Muscle Building Tips

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

Bulking Up SUCKS!!!

Filed Under: Diet and Nutrition, Muscle Building Tips Leave a Comment

Hey guys,

Today I'm going to break down something very BIG when it comes to building muscle and gaining weight. And it's the "Good", the "Bad" and the Ugly when it comes to "Bulking" up.

Specifically I'm talking about the "Bulking" Technique. If you don't know what that is, in simple terms it's when your diet and training are both focused on MAXIMUM muscle gain and a large part of this has to do with consuming very large amounts of calories each day.

Now there's a good side to this, a bad side to this and an UGLY side to this (as you'll soon see). And in the next few minutes you'll know if it's for you and if it isn't what other route you can take to reach your muscle building goals.

Here are some pics from my most recent transformation using the Bulking Technique:

Even though the "bulking" technique is an effective way to build muscle it's not for everyone. So if you're thinking about "bulking" then there's some key things you need to know FIRST to see if it's right for you.

The Good Side of Bulking

It's a Proven Method to Build (LOTS Of) Muscle

As I said before the "bulking" technique is an effective way to build muscle. It's been used by many top pro bodybuilders and fitness professionals for YEARS. And because this technique uses the approach of MASSIVE calorie intake I feel that the bulking technique is great for:

"hardgainers"
skinny guys
ectomorphs
guys with fast metabolisms
basically anyone who naturally struggles with building muscle.

The reason why I say this is because the bulking technique helps you build muscle and gain weight no matter how stubborn your "genetics" are.

It's also fairly simple to follow and very focused. Aside from eating the wrong things at the wrong times, you can "almost" eat whatever you want, as long it it provides the right amount of carbs, proteins, and fats.

And probably one of the main benefits of the bulking technique especially for newbies trying this out for the first time is that results are seen rather quickly compared to other muscle building strategies.

The Bad Side of Bulking

You WILL Experience Fat Gains

Probably the biggest down side to Bulking is that, if done correctly you WILL see fat gains. Since you're essentially "over eating" (consuming more calories then your body burns) on a daily basis then should expect to see some fat gains.

May Be BAD For Your Health

Bulking, can actually be bad for your health. For starters when you "Bulk" it's typical to decrease the amount of cardio you do, so you can dedicate more calories to muscle growth. Second, it's typical for things like your cholesterol and blood pressure to increase due to fact that you're experiencing extra muscle and fat gains and doing less and less cardio. And it's for these reasons why Bulking is meant to be a short term strategy for fast muscle gains. That's why most bodybuilders only "bulk" for a few weeks or at most a few months in their off season and then take more conservative approaches to reach their goals.

Since fat gains go hand in hand with bulking it's best to start a "bulking" phase when you're at a low body fat. (Trust me on this one) If you can't even see the outline of your abs then you'll need to drop some body fat first BEFORE you start a "bulking" phase.

Due to the fat gains that you'll experience, this technique is also not ideal for those who want to keep their waist line small and their body fat % down while they're building muscle.

The UGLY Side of Bulking

Unwanted Fat Gains

If done incorrectly you can put on ALOT of unwanted body fat using the "bulking" technique (Which you'll soon see).

And going with that, the more body fat you have, the longer it takes to "cut" the fat and shed those "pudge" pounds. Trust me, if you thought building muscle was hard, going on a cutting diet for months in my opinion is 10x worse.

True story...

So when I first set out to transform my body the first technique I learned was the "bulking" technique. Following a meal plan and workout plan designed to build MAXIMUM muscle gains just made the most sense for me at the time, especially for someone like me who seemed "allergic" to building muscle at the time.

After about 4 - 5 months I gained ALOT of muscle, but also ALOT of fat (which as you know is somewhat expected but in large part was due to some KEY mistakes (which i'll touch on shortly)

Even though this "initial" transformation was over 2 years ago I didn't realize how much fat I actually put on during that "bulking" phase until I looked at a picture of myself this summer after my six pack challenge with my sister.

(Keep in mind that fat gains are expected when you use the "bulking" technique but the MONSTROUS FAT GAIN I experienced was due to ALOT of mistakes on my part.)

Here's what happpens when you Bulk up the WRONG WAY:

My First Transformation: Me at (184 lbs) and 4 Months Later (226 lbs)

So here are a few Key Mistakes I made that lead to those fat gains:

Didn't Do the Recommended Cardio

Remember how I said you have to "limit" your cardio when you're bulking. Well I took that a little too far and virtually ELIMINATED cardio from my workout plan, which is a BIG NO NO when you're bulking up PERIOD (unless you're actually underweight with a low body fat and even then that's only for your first few weeks).

First I'm not gonna lie, I was lazy. I kept saying I'll do cardio next time (for months). Not only is this bad for your heart and your entire cardiovascular system but its also bad for your fat gains. Since I was consuming SO MANY CALORIES each day, that 20 - 25 minutes of cardio per workout was CRUCIAL to keeping my fat gains to a minimum.

I can go on and on about the excuses I made, but let's just say live and learn. And FYI, cardio is essential even when "bulking".

Ate ALOT of Things I Shouldn't

Since I was under the impression "the more calories I consume the better" I basically ate whatever I wanted, when I wanted. I remember eating things like pasta, yogurt, ravioli and nuggets at crazy hours in night (hey, I was a college student alright 🙂 )

Now that I think about it, my cholesterol must've been through the roof with all the packaged and pre-made stuff I was eating (they're usually jam-packed with sodium). And what made it even worse was the fact that I was eating this stuff at all the wrong times. So multiply these daily bad eating habits throughout 4 - 5 months and BAM you get MASSIVE Fat Gains.

So as you can see Bulking has some good things about it, some bad things about it and some UGLY things about it. But overall I do believe that this is still a very highly effective way to build muscle, especially if you're a naturally skinny guy like me and you natuarlly struggle building muscle.

Who Is "Bulking" Really For???

If you're:

a hardgainer / skinny guy / ectomorph
a person who has a fast metabolism
don't mind gaining some extra fat to build ALOT of muscle
a person who naturally struggles with building muscle
a beginner to intermediate weight lifter

then I'd say the "bulking" technique might be your best way to go. The best program I've seen (and actually used) that'll teach you how to bulk up with the "bulking" technique (the right way) is the No Nonsense Muscle Building Program, if you fall into the category above then I highly recommend you give it a shot.

But if you:

already have a low body fat and have a six pack
want to keep your waist line where it's at while building muscle
want lean musle gains without the fat

then I'd say the "bulking" technique isn't for you. If you fall into the category of wanting to build lean muscle without the fat then I highly recommend you give The Somanabolic Muscle Maximizer program a try, everything about this program (from the workout plans, meal pleans, post workout shakes, etc) is designed to help you build muscle with virtually no fat gain.

Ok guys, that's my rant for today. I hope this helped. Let me know what you think about the bulking technique by leaving a comment below.

Train hard,