Weight Gaining Tips

Sometimes I get asked for weight gaining tips--guys asking me how to put on mass. 

There are a couple of  things I would recommend for gaining healthy weight:

Weight Training:

First and foremost, I would recommend you start training with weights about three to four times a week.  You want healthy muscle mass, so there are no short-cuts here: get to the gym!  But there are certain types of routines that are better for those who want to gain weight.  You need a routine which focuses on basic, compound movements such as the deadlift, squat, and bench press.  Don't waste your time on cable cross-overs, etc.  You may do that once you are an advanced lifter, but for now you are interested in gaining weight.  Work on the big lifts and you will get big.

Diet:

For putting on muscle I would recommend eating about a gram of protein per pound of body weight daily.  A 160 lb guy, for example, would need to be eating around 160 grams of protein per day.  A high protein diet will give your body what it needs to gain weight and build muscle.  Then you'll need to shoot for a positive calorie balance--consuming more calories than you are burning.  A good starting place would be about 17 calories per lb of body weight daily.  The same 160 lb man may need to eat 2,700 calories (or more to gain weight).  Keep track of this--you may be surprised at how few calories you are actually eating.

What about supplements and weight gaining powders?  Well, they really aren't that important.  It's fine to take creatine and maybe one or two protein shakes a day.  But most of your protein and calories should be coming from "real" food--eating big is the key to getting big and gaining weight.  And remember this tip: most bodybuilding supplements are a complete waste of money (you can subscribe and read my e-reports for more details).  

If you are serious about transforming your physique I'd recommend learning from someone who has already done it.  This is why I recommend Vince Delmonte's No Nonsense Muscle Building.  He transformed his body from a scrawny long distance runner to a muscular fitness model champion.  Just CLICK HERE to check out his program.

Vince Delmonte's Remarkable Transformation

Muscle Building Exercises

Let's talk about the best muscle building exercises.  Imagine you could chose ten exercises/movements to build the most muscle in the least amount of time--only ten.  Think you could choose?  Well, I'm going to post another article by Jason Ferruggia (creator of Muscle Gaining Secrets) and give you his choices for the top ten exercises to pack on the muscle mass.

Top Ten Muscle Building Exercises
By Jason Ferruggia

1) Deadlift- Not many weight training exercises work as many muscle groups and build muscle as fast as the deadlift. The neck, traps, upper, middle, and lower back, glutes, hamstrings, quads, biceps, forearms, and abs are all utilized in the deadlift. No other exercise is a better test of overall body power. While uninformed people always ask, "how much can you bench," the question they really should ask is, "how much can you deadlift?" A deadlift is the most basic exercise anyone can do. Bending down and picking a weight up off the floor is the one weight training exercise that mimics everyday real life situations. Most people will rarely find themselves on their back needing to push a heavyweight off their chest but everyone has to bend down and pick things up. If you could only do one exercise to build muscle this would be the one to do.

The Squat

2) Squat- The squat has been known for years as the "king of all muscle building exercises" and for good reason. I'm not talking about sissy boy half squats either; I'm talking about real below parallel, full squats. If you don't at least break parallel it's not a squat. Like deadlifts, squats involve an enormous amount of muscle mass and stimulate the release of anabolic hormones such as testosterone. This is great for building muscle fast. The squat is probably the most revered exercise among serious lifters and the power rack is considered our sacred ground. If you ever want to develop any kind of real lower body strength and build muscle fast, you have no choice but to squat.

3) Chin up- Not many exercises will build muscle in the upper body like chin ups. Known as the upper body squat, chins stimulate nearly every muscle from the traps down to the abdominals. Any exercise that allows you to move your body through space as opposed to moving a weight or fixed implement around you has a much higher degree of neuromuscular activation, and therefore a much greater potential to elicit gains in size and strength. Look at the development of male gymnasts and you will see for yourself what years of chin ups and dips can do for the upper body. If you want to build muscle fast, be sure to include chin ups in your weight training program.

4) Parallel Bar Dip- A close second to chin ups as one of the best upper body exercises for building muscle fast, and for all the same reasons. If you want big arms you had better include dips in your training program. No other weight training exercise will add slabs of muscle to the triceps as effectively as dips. A huge chest and enormous pair of front delts are also a pleasant side effect that comes with regularly performing this outstanding muscle building exercise.


5) Hang Clean & Push Press- A total body muscle building exercise which hits the calves, hamstrings, glutes, quads, lower and upper back, traps, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and forearms. Although it is, by definition, an Olympic lift, it can be done in more of a strict manner to really target the traps, upper back, and shoulders. When done in this manner, it is not performed solely with the intention of developing explosive speed like most Olympic lifts are performed. Doing the clean and push press in this manner is a form of power bodybuilding and will really blow up the traps and shoulders. If you could only pick one weight training exercise for building muscle, this might be the one. It’s a shame you don’t see this in more bodybuilding programs.

6) Bench Press- This is one of the three powerlifting exercises and along with Military Presses, is the greatest of all pressing movements for building muscle in the upper body. When looking at the effectiveness of an exercise, the questions to be asked are what will allow the lifter to use the most weight and what exercise involves the most muscle mass. The bench press meets both of these prerequisites and besides being incredibly effective as a muscle building exercise, it is one of the best measures of upper body power.

7) Military Press- Also known as the front press, this was once considered the number one measure of upper body power and was the premier muscle building exercise for the upper body. In the old days of strength training most people didn't even do bench presses; every weight training exercise was done standing up. Bench pressing was looked down upon as a show lift and real men only did overhead presses to build muscle. Bench pressing took over with the development of powerlifting and bodybuilding and the military press took a back seat. It is still however, a great measure of upper body power and should be done by anyone interested in building an impressive set of shoulders and building overall muscle mass throughout the upper body. Even though some uninformed doctors will have you believe that overhead pressing can be dangerous, old time strong men argue that there would not be as many shoulder injuries as there are today if the military press had remained the upper body weight training exercise of choice. Equally effective variations of the military press include the push press, push jerk and split jerk.

8) Bent Over Rows- When it comes to building muscle in the upper back and lats, bent over rows are hard to beat. This weight training exercise can be performed many different ways; palms up, palms down, wide grip, close grip, to the abdomen, to the sternum, with an ez bar or with a straight bar. However you do them, nothing will develop thickness in the back like rows will, and anyone who has been involved with bodybuilding for a while will tell you there is nothing more impressive than a well developed back, muscular back.

9) Good Mornings- Although they are a rarely performed weight training exercise by a large majority of bodybuilders, good mornings remain one of the staples of a good size and strength gaining program. Powerlifters seem to be the only ones who know about the muscle building properties of this outstanding exercise. The reason this muscle building exercise is often avoided is that good mornings are brutally hard work. But that hard work brings huge rewards. Good mornings will build muscle fast and pack tons of size on your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings. They are also one of the best weight training exercises to help improve your squat and deadlift, which is the main reason they are a mainstay in powerlifting.

10) Pushup- Yes, you read that right, I said pushups are one of the best weight training exercises to build muscle fast. For a beginner pushups are the absolute best muscle building exercise to do for the pecs, delts, and triceps. However, as you make progress and get stronger pushups become too easy and are usually forgotten about. That is a huge mistake. There are several varieties of pushups that can be used by intermediate and advanced lifters such as elevated pushups on pushup handles, dumbbells, or chairs. Pushups can also be done on gymnastic rings hanging from chains and suspended a foot or so above the ground to make them even more challenging. When either of these versions of this awesome muscle building exercise becomes too easy you can have a partner hold weight on your back, use a weighted vest or even drape heavy chains across your back. If you are looking for more variety, Hindu pushups are another great version of this exercise and can sometimes humble even the strongest of men.

So there you have it, the best weight training exercises for building muscle fast. All the food and supplements and drugs in the world are worthless if you train like a Nancy boy. Machines and isolation movements are as effective as running on a treadmill when it comes to getting big and strong. Stick with the weight training exercises above; make them a staple in your training, and start saving up for a new wardrobe. Its time to build muscle fast!

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit Muscle Gaining Secrets.


You can read my review of Ferruggia's program here:
Muscle Gaining Secrets Review

Squat Workout

Here's a squat workout I did last night.  Keep in mind this is not really a beginner routine--I would recommend it only for those who have been training for a while and have developed good form, etc.  This routine designed to hit all the fiber types in the legs/quads (fast twitch and slow twitch).

Here goes:

*Warm up and work your way up to a set of 5-6 reps.

*Ad some weight and knock out another set of 4-5 reps.

*Now it is time for your high rep set.  Drop the weight and do a set of about fifteen reps.

*One more: drop the weight again and go for a set of 20-25 reps.

I'm assuming a more intermediate/advanced trainee would know how much weight to use for the before-mentioned sets. 

You'll rest between all of these sets (including your warm-up sets) as you normally would (maybe 2-3 minutes between sets). 

I did this last night and had a great workout. 

This squat workout was inspired by an article I posted a while back: Build Muscle with High Reps (the article was originally written by Jason Ferruggia, creator of Muscle Gaining Secrets.

Rest Between Sets

How much time should you rest between your sets?  It depends on your goals.

If you are trying to build as much muscle as possible, then you'll want to get plenty of rest in between sets.  Think about it: for maximum strength and muscle building you'll want to lift as much weight as possible, as many times as possible.  You probably can't do that if you are, for example, only resting 30 seconds between sets.  So you'll  need to rest 1-3 minutes between sets if building muscle mass is your #1 goal.  

But other goals may mean less rest.  Let's say I'm training for some type of athletic even--MMA, for example.  In that case I would want to adjust my rest periods to more closely match what would happen in the ring.  Shorter rest periods are also useful if you are trying to work on my cardiovascular conditioning. 

You can see this difference in some of the programs I promote on my blog.  Muscle Gaining Secrets, for example, tends to prescribe 90-150 second rest periods--this is primarily a mass building program.  Triple Threat Muscle (3XM), on the other hand was designed with athletes in mind and tends to use 90 second rest periods (I learned how badly out of shape I was the first time I tried it).  Both of these programs come from the same creator, but were designed with slightly different purposes in mind.

One final note:  I would highly recommend you keep track of your rest time between sets, even if you are training for mass.  Doing this will keep the tempo up and help you stay focused.  Some guys just spend way too much time sitting around.  Life is too short for that--train hard and go home.

Jefferson Squats (Video Demos)

Want to try some variation in your leg/glute training? Check out the Jefferson Squat:

Arnold and Friends

Here's another vintage shot of Arnold and Franco. 

Beginner Wheelchair Workout (Rich Knapp)

Rich Knapp created this video in response to a question on Facebook.  Someone was asking how you could start training if you are in a wheelchair.

If you want more information you can also go to the wheelchair bodybuilders group forum.

Thanks, Rich, for continuing to be an inspiration!

What to Eat to Gain Muscle

What should you eat in order to gain muscle? It’s pretty simple. A muscle-building diet should include two things:

1. Adequate Protein
About a gram of protein per lb of body weight is what you’ll see recommended my most trainers. In other words, a 180 lb man would need to ingest around 180 grams of protein per day. I would recommend you vary your diet and get your protein from various sources: milk, eggs, chicken, fish, beef, etc.

Protein shakes (like Optimum whey protein) can help here, but be sure most of your protein is coming from “real” food.


2. Adequate Calories
Maintenance level calories are usually around 14-16 calories per lb of body weight (that would be about 2,700 calories a day for the before-mentioned 180 lb man). How much higher do you need to go to gain muscle? It really depends. “Hardgainers” (skinny types) often need to go much higher than maintenance level to make gains. Others will respond with more modest calorie increases.

One final thing: let’s talk about meal frequency. I’ve yet to find any solid evidence that eating six times a day/every three hours is necessary for building muscle (I’ll write more on this at some point in the future). Having said that, I think you’ll have an easier time getting adequate nutrition if you eat more than the standard three meals a day. You’ll probably do better with four or five “feeds” (including protein shakes) a day, but don’t fret too much over this. Just be sure you are getting adequate protein and calories and you should see results.


Putting it all together:

1. Start by getting the recommended 1 gram of protein per 1 lb of body weight spread out over your meals.

2. The other calories will come from carbohydrates or fats. You will need to see what works best for you. High carbohydrates and high calories may be needed for the “hardgainers.” Others will get better results from modest calorie increases and lower carbohydrate ratios.

3. You’ll probably find it easier to spread your caloric intake over four or five meals.

No-Nonsense Muscle Building

NOTE:  If you are interested in gaining muscle I'd recommend investing in a good program like Vince Delmonte's  No Nonsense Muscle Building.

Trap Muscle: Building Big Traps

Here's another great article by Jason Ferruggia on building the trapezius muscles, also know as "trap muscles" or "traps." As Jason says, you can get some pretty impressive traps without doing a lot of isolation work on them (I rarely do direct trap work such as shrugs).  But there are certain circumstances in which more direct training is called for.  Ferruggia explains this very well:

How to Build Big Traps by Jason Ferruggia

When it comes to the question of how to build big traps the discussion starts and finishes with deadlifts. This incredible mass builder will pack huge slabs of beef on your traps faster than just about any other exercise there is. Just look at powerlifters and you will see that there is simply no way to avoid building huge traps when you do a lot of deadlifts.

While the deadlift is the king of trap building exercises, an argument could be made that Olympic lifts are equally as effective. I would tend to agree if not for the fact that Olympic lifts are harder to teach and learn than deadlifts are, which moves them down to second on the list. Everyone can do at least a partial range deadlift properly. Not everyone can clean or snatch properly.

Finally, you have shrugs. While it seems like a very simple and straight forward movement there is actually a great deal of confusion over how to build big traps with shrugs. Nobody seems to be able to agree on how they should be done. On one hand you have the camp that says you need to go as heavy as possible and do partial reps, just heaving the weight up. Then there’s the camp that says you need to go light and get a full range of motion, trying to get your shoulders as close to touching your ears as possible and hold it there for a second.

Who is right and who is wrong?

They both are.

To understand where the answer truly lies lets again take a look at the athletes with the biggest traps: power lifters and Olympic lifters

Powerlifters have huge traps because of all the deadlifts they do. Deadlifts are heavy, period. There is no shrugging movement at all, in fact. Olympic lifters lift relatively lighter weights explosively and with a range of motion that does indeed have them bringing their traps to their ears.

Looking at these two groups, what does this tell us about shrugs and the proper way to do them?

Quite simply, what it tells us is that the best way to get huge traps is to deadlift and Olympic lift. Bottom line.

BUT… what if you can not do either of those exercises due to back or shoulder problems or just want more variety in your trap training routine? Then you have no choice but to shrug. Traps are the most important, intimidating and impressive bodypart there is and you can’t walk around with none.

So then, exactly how do you do shrugs and which camp is right? They both are. Sometimes you should go heavy for low reps, cheat the weight up and don’t worry about getting an extreme contraction at the top. Then on another day of the week go lighter for higher reps with a complete range of motion and exaggerated contraction and hold at the top.

Another option is to do both variations in one workout. You could start with a lighter weight, doing 10-12 reps, bringing your shoulders as high as they can go. With each set add more weight and work your way down to the point where you can only get five partial reps with a little cheat at the end. You could start with the heavier sets first and lighten them as you go.

Deadlifts and Olympic lifts should always be your first answer to the question of how to build big traps. But sometimes and in certain situations, shrugs can be very effective as well. Just make sure to go straight up and down and don’t roll your shoulders forwards and backwards; that’s for nitwits who don’t have a full understanding of how gravity works.

Be relentless,

Jason Ferruggia

Muscle Gaining Secrets

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He is the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more How to Build Muscle Fast tips, check out Muscle Gaining Secrets.

Wheelchair Bodybuilding: Gene Bergeron

I've got another treat for you guys!  Bodybuilder Gene Bergeron has taken the time to answer some of my questions.  I know you'll be inspired by this interview:

Kevin: OK, first things first: why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself--your age, profession, and your life outside of the gym.

Gene: My name is Gene Bergeron, and I was born in 1970. I was a pro wrestler until I was injured in a match in 1997. Now I am an advocate for those with spinal cord injuries. Outside of the gym I enjoy Nascar, rodeos, MMA, and of course, wrestling.

Kevin: How did you get involved with bodybuilding?

Gene: Back in high school I got into lifting. I followed bodybuilding by reading all the magazines.  I was asked to compete in wheelchair bodybuilding in 2007.

Kevin: Tell us a little bit about your training: favorite exercises, number of times you go to the gym, etc.

Gene: I love them all.  Depending on the season I train 4-6 times a week. Having no hand grip and doing everything in my chair is a bit different than the way some others would train. Basic rule of thumb for training: chest/tri's back/bi's shoulders/traps abs/cardio. I mix it up every few weeks.


Kevin: How many contests have you competed in and how did you do?

A Couple of Gene's Trophies

Gene: I've done three competitions in the NPC WHEELCHAIR USA.
In 2008 1st novice and 2nd masters.
2099 3rd lightweight and 2nd masters
2010 3rd lightweight and 1st masters

Kevin: Do you think wheelchair bodybuilding is growing as a sport?

Gene: Yes and no. I've seen new competitors but older ones stop. The division seems a little too broad--not clearly defined by an organization.

Kevin: What are your future plans as a bodybuilder and a person?

Gene: I want to become a pro in the sport.  I want to be a great husband and father for my family.  Hopefully I'll inspire others  along my journey.

Kevin: Anything else you would like to share?

Gene:  Always remember things could be worse.  Never give up on yourself!  Be yourself and stay true to who you are.


Kevin: Thanks again for your time, Gene.  I know this interview will inspire my readers.  Speaking of which, I feel like going to the gym!

Gain Fast Muscle

Training Picture of Reuben Bajada, Creator of the Permanent Muscle program

OK, let's say you are wanting to gain muscle in the fastest time possible.  Here are a few bits of advice I would give you:

*First and foremost, ignore most of the stuff you read in bodybuilding magazines.  As I've said many times, most bodybuilding magazines are just glorified pamphlets for supplement companies.  The routines for steroid using bodybuilders probably won't help you, either.

*You should be training about 3 to 4 times a week using mostly compound exercises (such as deadlift, squat, ect).  Compound exercises are going to help you gain muscle much more quickly than isolation movements (curls, etc).  Isolation movements do have their place, but your routine should be built upon exercises involving several muscles at once.  Training 6 days a week like the pros is not the best for a natural, genetically average trainee.

*Your diet should have about a gram of protein per lb of body weight.  Then you should be eating a minimum of 16-17 calories per lb of body weight daily if you are a "hardgainer" (skinny type).  Some have to get their calories even higher to gain muscle.

*Now let's talk about supplements.  Creatine monohydrate, whey protein, and a generic multivitamin are good choices.  But I would not bother with most of the other stuff out there.  NOTE: CLICK HERE to Subscribe to my email list and you'll get my supplement review and fat burner review e-reports (subscription and e-reports are 100% free: no spam and no strings attached).

Permanent Muscle

I'd recommend Reuben Bajada's Permanent Muscle if you want a complete training manual.  It's packed with information, making it a great value. 

You can check out my review of permanent muscle here: Permanent Muscle Review

Arnold Schwarzenegger Training (Video)

Here's a pretty good video--a compilation of pictures and video footage.

Weight Repetitions

What is the proper weight and repetitions to use to gain size and strength?  Here's another guest post by Reuben Bajada, creator of the Permanent Muscle Program.  He clarifies some common misconceptions about weights/reps.

How Many Reps & How Much Weight Should I Be Using? 
by Rueben Bajada

This topic is so intensely disputed in the weight training arena that I thought I would clear everything up for you and put you on the right path to brilliant results.


Let's first take a good look at the common beliefs out there for the ideal rep range. There are 3 major beliefs depending on the results you are trying to achieve;

Common Belief 1) Mass Gains

Bajada Demonstrating the French Press

Heavy weights - 4-6 repetitions per exercise

Common Belief 2) Strength Gains

Medium weights - 8-12 repetitions per exercise

Common Belief 3) Toning / Cutting / Fat Loss

Lighter weights - 16+ repetitions per exercise

So how familiar are those rep ranges to you? You might be using something similar yourself at the moment, but now I want to take this time to review each common belief and actually show you the truth behind creating the most effective workouts for you.

Where are people going wrong?

The first thing that must be mentioned is that each and every time you walk in the gym you need to cause your muscles something called 'microtrauma' which is when your muscle fibers are damaged due to forcing resistance against them.

Growth happens during recovery when the process of protein synthesis occurs to repair those 'micro torn' muscle fibers into a stronger and larger state.

So when you are training for mass gains, strength gains or even fat loss your number 1 priority is to cause as much microtrauma as physically possible before your muscles fatigue and eventually fail.

So what rep range is ideal for building muscle?

I want you to totally forget about rep ranges from now on and start concentrating on 2 factors;

1) Isolating the targeted muscle group

This is important during every set because it ensures that the targeted muscle group is the actual muscle group doing the majority of the work. Try grabbing the heaviest set of dumbbells in your gym and lifting for a set of standing dumbbell curls. How many reps did you manage to get out? 2, maybe 3 on each arm? Now grab a pair of dumbbells half that weight and see if you can complete any reps. Wow, you managed to complete a full set of 8 each arm, what that's telling you is that the ultra heavy set really had no impact on fatiguing your biceps to the point they need to grow beacause you were able to complete a full set with the correct weight immediately after.

Use a weight that allows for maximum muscular isolation/stimulation on all repetitions.

2) Lift with good form using the heaviest possible resistance

Understand that; the heavier the weight you use, the larger the surface area of a muscle is recruited to move it.

Each muscle in your body is made of inter-connecting muscle fibers, now think about the size of your pecs and quadriceps, they are huge muscles that span both the width of your torso and upper legs respectivly. Your goal when training them is to recruit as many of those muscle fibers as possible during each set and exercise.

Perfecting each and every set...

Let's say for example sake that your pecs are made up of 1000 muscle fibers.

If you had a 1RM (1 repetition maximum) of 220lbs (100kg) on your bench press that would indicate that all 1000 of those muscle fibers would have been used in that 1 repetition.

That would be effective in one sense but a waste in another because you only applied 1 reps amount of tension on those muscle fibers (around 3 seconds), NOT causing effective muscle fiber fatigue.

Let's say you dropped the weight lifted to 175lbs (80kg) and managed to get out 6 repetitions at this weight before your muscles failed.

This would be much more beneficial to you because those 1000 muscle fibers were again all recruited (due to reaching muscle failure) and you applied 6 reps of tension to the muscle (around 20 seconds)

How I can make your workouts even better...

In the following example you have taken your muscles to the point needed for them to grow (microtrauma), I also call this point your muscles 'stim point' (point on maximum stimulation).

Over 96% of all people in the gym will in fact never actually get their muscles to this point during a workout, so it SHOULDN'T be taken for granted but SHOULD be capitalised on!

I recommend further maintaining this point of maximum stimulation by performing a simple drop set or static set directly after your muscles fail for the first time.

Imagine your muscles work on a capacity scale of 0-100.

When your muscles are at rest (sleeping), let's say they are running at around 5 capacity.

When a muscle completely fails due to resistance training it is obviously at a capacity level of 100.

It is at level 100 that you want to be at MOST OFTEN during a workout.

When you recover between sets, your muscles glycogen/creatine/ATP stores begin to resupply and in as a little as a minute your muscles can recover back to around level 40 before your next set.

The KEY is to maintain high capacity levels (> 80) for as long as possible.

Lifting a heavy set like the example above to failure puts you at level 100, then moving directly into another lighter set straight after (lifting to failure again) maintains that high capacity level for the double the amount of time than lifting for just 1 heavy set on it's own!


Putting it all together.

I honestly hope I didn't lose anyone there, it is a fairly complex topic to discuss in text but I get asked this all the time and like always I wanted to set the record straight.

So forget about sticking to the same reps every single set.

Listen to your muscles and let them make the big decisions.

Concentrate on isolation, recruiting a large surface area of a muscle and maintaining the point of maximum stimulation for as long as possible.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author.

Reuben Bajada is known around the world elite results based coach and trainer. He is a renowned strength & conditioning coach, personal trainer and sports performance nutritionist who offers his time, knowledge and training advice to anybody ready to commit to both improving the way they look and perform.

He is the author and mind behind 2010's most popular muscle building program; Permanent Muscle which guarantees to build real muscle, on real people, real fast.

NOTE:
You can read my review of Bajada's program here:
Permanent Muscle Review

Dumbbell Skull Crusher

Here's a video demonstrating the dumbbell skull crusher (for the triceps).

Get Big Legs

Here's another great article from Jason Ferruggia on building big legs by using the king of all exercises--the squat. 


By Jason Ferruggia

Tom Platz and his favorite exercise

If you have been around the Iron Game for a while, there is one name that comes instantly to mind when people discuss leg training. That name is Tom Platz. “The Golden Eagle” is widely regarded as having the most massively muscular legs in the history of bodybuilding. His thighs measured a whopping 35 inches and were shredded to the bone. Tom’s muscle building program that created those unforgettable wheels revolved around one exercise and one exercise only; the barbell squat. If you want to add some serious mass to your legs you had better familiarize yourself with this exercise in a hurry.

Since the quads typically have a very wide variance of muscle fiber types you can use a great range of reps in your quest to build pillar sized legs. Often times, Tom and other lifters with notoriously huge legs, would go as high as fifty reps per set on squats. When I was young and painfully skinny, high rep squats were one of the most effective discoveries I ever made and helped me and my brother pack on size faster than anything we had ever tried to date. The old 20 rep squat programs from the golden era of the Iron Game made a massive man of many a skinny boy. For over 15 years I have used high rep squats with hundreds of clients, and without fail they have always gained enormous amounts of size and strength; not to mention several inches of raw mass on their thighs.

Although high rep squatting leads to massive and rapid gains, I usually recommend starting with a few heavy sets in the 4-8 range first. Sometimes I even add in a set of 10-15 after the heavy sets, and finally finish with one all out set of 20 (and sometimes 30-50). When you use this rep scheme you ensure that you hit all fiber types and stimulate the greatest amount of muscle growth possible.

Another note that needs to be added here is that high rep squats shouldn’t be done until you have mastered squat technique with several months of low rep training. You need to build the strength, coordination, endurance and stability needed to safely complete picture perfect low rep sets of squats first before you can move on to the high rep sets.

Beginners should squat three times per week, intermediates twice and advanced lifters should probably only squat once every 5-10 days, depending on a variety of factors and how much running and other extra curricular activities you participate in.

When putting together your muscle building program, be sure that squats are the focus of your lower body training; if not the only thing you do. Once you have mastered “the king of all exercises” you can then begin to think about adding in stuff like lunges, step ups and glute ham raises. Until then, and until you have gained significant size and strength from a steady diet of squats, I expect you to be spending a lot of time in the power rack.

Muscle Gaining Secrets

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit Muscle Gaining Secrets.

Body Transformation: Jim Davis

Jim Davis and I have been friends on Facebook for quite some time.  I didn't realize how remarkable his transformation was until I started browsing through some of his old pictures.  He graciously agreed to do an interview for Strongandfit.net and share his inspirational story:

*Jim, first of all I'd like to thank you for taking time to do this interview with me.  Please give my readers a brief introduction of yourself:  your background, career, family, etc.

Brief?  I'm 56!  How can it be brief?  I'm currently divorced since 2005, engaged to be married again by next spring, and a marketing editor for a major online retailer.  I spend my whole day staring at computer screens, editing other peoples' writing,

I'm a long-time lover of the weights, and started training in 1968, when I was 14.  My initial education with the iron happened with Earl Clark, who was the 1958 NABBA Mr. Universe, and who owned a gym in my home town.  He taught me how to train, how to eat, and how to grow.  I had been a wrestler all through high-school,  I entered my one and only previous contest in 1972, and came in second in a field of three teens in a small, local contest down in San Diego County, California.  I was hooked.

Then the Army happened.

I broke both legs three weeks into basic training -- shattered both tibia.  I recovered from that, then suffered a torque-injury to my lower back in advanced training a few months later, which laid me up AGAIN.  I went back to the weights over and above the Army's program after each of these.  Then when stationed in Germany, I was in a jeep accident which screwed up my back even worse.

When I left the Army, I was granted 10% service-connected disability for my back problems, but it was much worse than that.  It was the beginning of a deterioration that went on for the next 30 years.

I kept trying to go back to the gym, but the limitations to the back and the pain kept getting worse and worse.  Chiropractic would help for a time, and even acupuncture, but the slide kept going.  I was involved in medieval martial arts for a long time -- combat in full armor -- but by 2001, I couldn't do that any more at all. I just couldn't keep my conditioning or take the pain of fighting in 80+ pounds of plate armor.

*You have undergone and incredible transformation.  Please tell us a little bit about the former Jim Davis--your condition before you started training. 

By 2000, the Veterans Administration had rated me as 60% disabled for my problems.

In 2002, I had the first of several injuries and slowly ground me down.  I fell in the garage, and in reaching out for support, hyperextended my left arm, and the elbow struck the corner of a chest, separating my biceps tendon from my elbow right at the insertion.  The surgery to repair it, unfortunately, left me with damage to the extensor nerves to the left hand. I was originally told by the VA that I had less than a 30% chance of getting full function of my hand back.  Thanks to my massage therapist and acupuncturist, I was able to do somewhat better.  Six months of therapy mostly solved the problem, but then I had to worry about therapy to the biceps, which had by now developed severe adhesions.

In August of 2003, I had surgery on my left shoulder to reduce arthritic overgrowth to the acromion and glenoid process, beginning another long recovery process.  Originally, the VA Physical Therapist told me I wouldn't get full range of motion back, but five sessions with an Active Release Therapy practitioner proved -that- one wrong.

Just as I recovered from that, I was hiking in March of 2004, and suddenly, both my legs went out from under me, and I slid down a long hillside on my knees, ripping my right quad off at the tendon, and tearing up the left pretty badly, but not off completely.  MORE months of therapy followed.  I was in the gym on crutches, though, trying hard to keep going.  It was in March of 2005, though, when we discovered what actually had happened, due to a nerve conduction study.  I was losing the transmission from my spine to the extensor muscle in my legs, and they were no longer getting any work or any signal TO work, and I was slowly losing all control of my legs.

The VA doctors (the only source I had at the time, told me they couldn't fix it, and it was just going to get worse.  By the end of 2005, I was on a cane constantly, in pain on standing more than even a minute, and couldn't climb stairs or even get up a curb without help.

I landed a full-time job in September of 2006 (I'd been doing freelance and contract work before that, which is why I had no insurance), and once the benefits kicked in started looking for a real neurosurgeon.  Finally in summer, 2007, I found one.  After three different surgeons told me there was nothing that could be done, Dr. Mesiwala, of the California Center for Neuroscience and Spine, looked at the issues and said "Sure, we can fix that".

So, three years ago July 30th, I entered the hospital for the repair.

*What was it that finally made you decide to change?

Well I knew I had to lose weight -- I was 303 when I entered the hospital.  I got really scared when they came in to give me insulin on the morning of the surgery.  I said "I'm not diabetic!"  The nurse said "Yes, you are. Your fasting blood sugar was 237 this morning."  I managed to get down 20 lbs. over the next 11 months before the doctor finally told me I could go back to the gym in late June of 2008.  He said "your low back is now probably stronger than the rest of you!" I was 283 and 34% bodyfat.

So I got back to it.  I'd dropped to 266 and 29% by October, when I met Tom "Ragingmuscle" Fuller and the Animal Barbell Club.  He offered to take care of my training and diet plan.  By Christmas I was 247 and 24%, and by March, when I went to my first Animal Pak "Cage" at the Arnold Fitness Festival, I was 229 and 20%.

In July, I entered Animal's "Iron Contest" and was one of eight guys chosen nationwide to see how much muscle we could add in 14 weeks.  I went from 228 on July 14 to 254 on October 14, and of that, 20 lbs. of it was lean muscle mass, measured by hydrostatic weighins.  I beat 7 other guys, the OLDEST of whom was 14 years younger than me.  

Having done that, I realized I could do almost anything I put my mind to, and asked Tom if I should set my sights on a contest.  He said, "Yes," and suggested the Los Angeles Bodybuilding Championships, on July 24, 2010.  We didn't make any immediate changes, but made a plan to begin the cut and prep in February.

I was 254 at 18%.  By the contest this past Saturday, I was 206 at 8%

Jim hits the stage at 8% body fat.

*How has your life changed since getting in shape?

Well, I get a lot more interest from the ladies . . . and some guys .  I'm getting lots of requests for help with diet and training -- even though I have no certifications or professional credentials.  The first time I saw my regular VA doctor after dropping from 266 to 228, he came into the room, looked up and said "Oh, I'm sorry.  I was looking for Mr. Davis." I spoke up, and his jaw dropped.

Physically, I feel MUCH better.  I've had some other medical issues in recent months, many of which are related to aging and old pre-fitness problems -- kidney stones, diverticulitis and even over-proliferation of blood cells, and finally shingles, just three weeks before the contest, but my health overall is great, and the doctor has told me my overall condition has allowed me to deal with the other issues much better.

Even people at my job have noticed, and the number of people who tell me I'm an inspiration is rather daunting.  I just did this because _I_ wanted to, and had for years.

*Please tell us a little bit about your diet and training (routine, favorite exercises, etc).

I follow a four-day split normally, that changes a little between bulking and cutting.  During mass season, I work an arm day Monday, Legs Tuesday, Delts and Chest on Thursday, and Back and Traps on Friday, with Calves stuck in in various places.  Abs get worked 2-3 days a week, and more as I approach a show, certainly.  If you'd ever told me that my favorite day would be back day BEFORE my surgery, I'd have told you that you were crazy.

I love Rack Deadlifts.  Thanks to a foot of titanium cage in my back, I can't really do floor deads well, but I LOVE rack deads, and have worked up to 455.

I enjoy almost any back exercise, which I find really ironic.

I've even started to enjoy legs again.  I had lost most of the muscle in my legs due to nerve impingement, so that's been a long road back.  I first got under the squat bar again in April of '09, using a huge 95 lbs. counting the bar.  I'd worked up to 315 for 13 before I started cutting, so we'll see how kind of mass I can add in the next few months.  I do have to concentrated on my chest, which is relatively weak -- my best bench press has only been 265, and I need a lot more mass up there to show well on stage, so that's going to be a major concentration in the next months.

I'm going to be determined not to put on too much fat, though -- I never want to get above 15% bodyfat again, and would like to stay at 12% or under.  I -like- having abs again.

 

*Tell us a little more about the recent competition.

I just competed last week, at the Los Angeles Bodybuilding Championships on July 24th, where I came in 4th in the Over 50s, and 5th in the Novice Heavyweights.

The experience was  . . . intense.  (I can expand on that if you want . . . a lot.  I diaried the whole thing on the Animal Forum.)

*What are your plans for the future?

I want to take some time to add some more mass, and then hope to hit the stage again late next year.  I'll be moving to Kentucky this fall, and hope to get into their NPC community.

*Thanks again for your time, Jim--you are an inspiration to all of us.  

What did I say about that "inspiration" thing?

But, you're more than welcome.  I'm happy to share!

Build Muscle with High Reps

Can high reps help you to build muscle or should you always stick with a lower rep range? 

Jason Ferruggia (creator of the Muscle Gaining Secrets program) answers this question in the following article:

How to Build Muscle with High Reps (by Jason Ferruggia).

Although I am not a fan of high reps on most exercises for most lifters, there are actually times when I do recommend them. So if you want to learn how to build muscle with high reps, then read on.

When you are more advanced and have developed a respectable level of strength, high reps can actually be a great tool for stimulating new muscle growth. The reason I don’t recommend high reps to beginners is because they don’t have the strength, coordination or stabilization to maintain perfect form throughout a long duration set and are likely to get injured. Also, when you are a weak beginner, it is very difficult to use a great deal of weight for more than eight reps on any given exercise.

The heavy weights for high reps concept only works with a few muscle groups and exercises and shouldn’t be used all the time. Also, the high rep set should always follow a heavy set. Therefore you would do a set of 5-8 first and then follow it up with a set of 15-20 reps.

Compound lower body exercises such as squats and leg presses are phenomenal muscle builders when done for high reps with heavy weights. My favorite set and reps scheme that I use with myself and all my advanced clients on leg days is one or two heavy set of 4-8 reps on some kind of squat followed by a high rep death set of 12-20 reps. If your legs don’t grow from that they never will.

Deadlifts are also great when done for high reps but you need to be careful to keep your back perfectly arched throughout. I recommend keeping the reps at twelve or lower on deadlifts to be safe. Rack deadlifts are a little bit safer and easier to maintain perfect form on so you may be able to push the reps to 15 on these.

Another great exercise to do high reps with is a one arm dumbbell row done with a slight cheat. I am a big fan of this exercise and am constantly trying to set new PR’s at certain rep ranges. When you can row a 130 pound dumbbell for twenty reps you will be far bigger and stronger than just about everyone else in your gym.

Whatever compound, multi joint exercise you can use a heavy weight with for high reps will be effective; just be sure that you have been training properly for at least two or three years and are quite strong before trying this. And when I say strong, I mean that you can bench press at least 1.5 times your body weight, you can squat double body weight and can deadlift 2.5 times your body weight (or at least be in the ballpark of those numbers).

High rep contests can always be fun with training partners also. Whenever I train with a friend or old training partner that I haven’t seen in a while I always like to have a heavy weight challenge and then a high rep challenge to finish the workout. We usually pick a weight that we know we can do at least 12-15 reps with and in the heat of competition end up doing nearly twice that number. For example we may choose the heaviest dumbbells the gym has for a set of one arm dumbbell rows and do anywhere from 15-30 reps for one all out, gut busting set. It’s a blast and really brings out the best in you. Not to mention that it helps pack on insane amounts of size.

Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit Muscle Gaining Secrets.

Alcohol and Muscle Building

Check out this article on the effects of alcohol on muscle building:

How does alcohol affect building muscle?
--by Reuben Bajada, creator of the Permanent Muscle program.

Whether you're a student, businessman, crane driver or rock star, many of us love helping ourselves to a few drinks every now and then. The fact is, a drinking culture is engrained into our society, it has become second nature to bring a few drinks to the party or have a few beers while watching the footy on the weekend.

If your one of the billions who enjoy the odd beverage, I've written this post for you!



What affect can alcohol have?

Alcohol to you and me is any drink containing 'ethanol', commonly found in the form of beer, wine or spirits.

We all know that alcohol can cause slurred speech, clumsiness and slow reaction times but does the consumption of alcohol have a direct impact on building muscle or is all the bad just washed away after a good sleep and feed the following morning?

Sorry to say it but alcohol has a very negative impact on some of the most important processes for changing the way your body looks.

Let's start with the big bad basics...

The catabolic affect

As I have mentioned many times over the last few months, one of the keys to getting lightning fast results is maintaining your body in an 'anabolic' state for as long as possible each and every day. This means your body is in 'tissue/muscle building' mode during times of rest and recovery. Alcohol on the other hand is completely opposite, it has a 'catabolic' affect on your body which instigates the process of 'tissue/muscle burning' once it enters the body and while it is filtered out.

Fat, fat and a little more fat

You might have heard that drinking beer makes you fat, well sorry old pal, it's not necessarily the beer that's the main problem. Raw alcohol (ethanol) has 7 calories of energy per 1g of liquid, this means that for 1 beer, 1 glass of wine or 1 shot of liquor you're getting approximately 12g of pure alcohol.

I'm no saint believe me, but I myself and lots of others have been known to enjoy a night with 20+ drinks under their belt.

20 beers = 240g of alcohol = 1680 calories of energy!

Now that's just the alcohol, add another few thousand for the carbs in the beer, your mixer when drinking spirits, the kebab you smashed down while stumbling round to find a taxi and your fun night out just turned into a fat filled nightmare!

So as you can see, alcohol equals lots of extra energy, but the most worrying thing is that alcohol isn't like other beneficial nutrients, it's most similar to FAT and can actually transforms proteins (amino acids) into fat cells, storing them as just that.

Pissin' like a racehorse!

That's right, alcohol is a 'diuretic' which means it actually increases your rate of urination. What does this mean? Well for starters, every time you use the toilet valuable vitamins and minerals are being flushed away too, which ultimately need to be replaced. Increased urination on a night out, means increased chances of dehydration due to an imbalance in water entering the body compared to the amount going out.

Once dehydration kicks in its impacts can last several days (hangover).

Dehydration = less BLOOD to a muscle during a workout = less OXYGEN and NUTRIENTS in that muscle = drastically reduced physical performance.

Banged up immune system

You might not think this is very serious but alcohol's affect on almost every major organ causes our body's natural immunities to practically switch off an take a holiday! This will increase your susceptibility to infections caused by viral and bacterial pathogens, meaning if someone is sick around you (consider the many public places people drink) you have a much greater chance of getting really sick too.

I hate being sick, it's one of those things I dread when I wake up with a sore throat in the morning. How many days of training will I miss? How will I maintain my eating plan?

Catching some form of common virus is often pretty hard to stop, but where is the sense in increasing those chances regularly by drinking a little too much, a little too often.

The impact on your muscle building hormones...

When you look at a bodybuilder or athlete that 'claims' to be completely natural and you think to yourself that there is NO WAY KNOWN that they got that way without performance enhancing drugs, it is most often due to the athletes success at manipulating their natural supply of anabolic hormones with a correct approach to their diet, training and recovery.

*Insulin
*Growth Hormone
*Testosterone
*IGF-1

The above 4 hormones are absolutely instrumental in building muscle mass and maintaining low levels of body fat. The consumption of alcohol has been proven to REDUCE the production and release of testosterone and growth hormone immediately once absorbed, lasting several days later.


Alcohol increases the production of cortisol

For those in the know, cortisol is one of those hormones we want to stay away from!

Cortisol has the opposite effect of the above 4 hormones and is the primary 'catabolic' hormone in our body. It's main roles include;

*Reduces GH and testosterone output

*Stops protein synthesis in its tracks

*Halts tissue growth

With alcohol's ability to increase cortisol levels by upwards of 150% in 4 hours, not much more needs to be said.

So what can YOU do?

In order of effectiveness, here is some tips I recommend for you;

1) Limit or stop of your alcohol consumption during intense periods of training.

Be serious with yourself, you wouldn't be in this position if you didn't want quality results, those results come from making a commitment to a routine for an extended period of time. Ideally, staying completely off the drink for an 8-12 week period during your program would be most beneficial, but if that's simple not possible and that is totally understandable, try your best to limit your consumption to as little as possible.

2) Don't go crazy!

It's often not the alcohol itself that causes the problems, but the amount we drink. In fact beer and red wine in small doses can be very beneficial to your health with its high levels of antioxidants to protect and watch over our cells.


3) Drink the clear stuff at the same time

No I'm not talking about vodka! Try and drink a full glass of water with every 3 glasses of beer, wine or spirits. That's not too much to ask is it? Also, before putting your head down for the night, drink at least 500ml (16 fl oz) of water and keep some next to you for when you wake up.

4) Eat before a drinking session and not straight after

This is important as eating before drinking can help alcohol's absorption and control its effects. Eating after, not only increases the amount of calories in your body which need to be processed but puts excess pressure on your metabolism causing a much larger amount of food to be converted into fat stores rather than glycogen (energy) or amino acids (protein).

5) Drinking is not an excuse to miss a workout

Just because you woke up in someone else's bed with your eyebrows shaved off, doesn't mean your muscle building goals should fly out the window! Alcohol is known to depress your nervous system, which reduces the connection quality between your brain and your muscle. Trust me, your explosiveness and overall strength will be pretty ordinary a day or two after a heavy night, so save a multi station circuit training session for days like this. This will raise your heart rate and allow you to maintain it there for 20-30 minutes, helping to flush the body of its toxins and return it to near peak physical condition.

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About the author.

Reuben Bajada is known around the world elite results based coach and trainer. He is a renowned strength & conditioning coach, personal trainer and sports performance nutritionist who offers his time, knowledge and training advice to anybody ready to commit to both improving the way they look and perform.

He is the author and mind behind 2010's most popular muscle building program; Permanent Muscle which guarantees to build real muscle, on real people, real fast.

Kevin's Note: you can check out my review of permanent muscle here: Permanent Muscle Review

Permanent Muscle Program Review

A review of Reuben Bajada's Permanent Muscle Program. 

I was skeptical when Reuben Bajada contacted me about reviewing his program. After all, the last company to contact me ended up having a slight backfire--instead of promoting their product I wrote a negative review. But I told Reuben to send a copy to me and agreed to check it out.

It’s taken me a while to review the Permanent Muscle program because there is a lot of information (almost 800 pages worth). I’ll give this one a “thumbs up” and explain why in this review.

So here goes—let’s talk about what you get when you order Permanent Muscle:

The Permanent Muscle program consists of 10 Modules/Chapters. I’ll give you a quick summary:

Module 1: Are you a contender or a pretender?

This is more of an introduction. Bajada encourages his readers to learn what really works in terms of training. He exposes 15 lies that are prevalent in the fitness industry.

Module 2: Setting Goals Forms the Backbone of Success

Bajada introduces a “6 stage success template.” As the name implies, this chapter is all about challenging yourself with high (but realistic) goals.

Module 3: Creating An Unstoppable Training Mentality!
 
The author challenges the reader to treat his/her body as a “machine.” You would expect a car to run optimally with the best fuel and maintenance. The human body works the same way—treat it well and you’ll get the best results.

Module 4: Uncovering The Facts Behind Nutritional Supplements

I agree with most of the things written in the Permanent Muscle supplements review: we both agree that most of the bodybuilding supplements out there are crap (he’s one of the few guys I’ve seen that, like me, doesn’t buy into “nitric oxide boosters”).

I did find a few of areas of disagreement here:

Thermogenics: Reuben is somewhat negative about thermogenics supplements. I think the ECA stack is helpful if used properly.

Prohormones: We both agree that prohormones should be avoided, but for different reasons. Reuben believes they were banned for safety concerns. I believe prohormones never produced the promised gains in the first place, and were banned because most lawmakers are idiots (even steroids were banned for purely political reasons, not medical ones).

Bajada and I also disagree about the efficacy of creatine ethyl ester.   I think CEE is worthless (see: my review of creatine ethyl ester). He believes it is effective in some cases.  We’ve discussed it through email and I understand where he’s coming from. Regardless, I would never recommend CEE—especially when you consider the cost. You can read and just make up your own mind on that one.  He and I would both recommend creatine monohydrate as the more proven, cost-effective supplement. 

Module 5: Harnessing Your Almighty Hormones!

Muscle-building hormones are covered here, such as testosterone, growth hormone, insulin, etc. Bajada explains how to maximize each hormone. He encourages low sugar intake and adequate sleep, for example, to maximize growth hormone production.

Module 6: The Muscles Of The Perfect Human Machine

This is, in my opinion, one of the most impressive chapters/modules. There are highlighted pictures, before/after pictures, and descriptions of the best way to train each muscle group. This particular module really makes Permanent Muscle stand out from other programs I’ve review.

Module 7: Permanent Muscles Ultimate Exercise Database

This module has over 420 photos of Reuben Bajada performing the exercises you’ll be doing in the training program. Note: there’s really no reason to try to read through this section—it is best to use it as a reference once you start the training program.

Module 8: Filling Your Stomach With Total Nutrition

The Permanent Muscle nutrition plan is called the “fuel plan”—designed to give your body the proper nutrition to grow muscle. Calories are discussed as well as macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats). He also explains how to estimate your caloric needs.

Module 9: Permanent Muscles Custom Meal Plans

This module contains nutritional information on the best muscle-building foods. Bajada then explains how to plan your meals.

Module 10: 28 Week - Permanent Muscle Workout Program

This, of course, is the actual workout program. It is broken up into three sections:

Phase 1: ESP—Establish Strength and Power (3 weeks)
Phase 2: Permanent Muscle Construction
Phase 3: Absolute Resistance and Volume

The program looks well designed and I think it would work well for a beginner trainee looking to put on muscle. The trainee would simply refer to the Permanent Muscle Exercise Database to see how to do the exercises.

My Conclusion:

Permanent Muscle is a complete, well-designed course on how to build muscle. I believe it would be a good investment, especially for relatively new trainees trying to learn how to build size and strength. 
CLICK HERE if you'd like to check it out (please use my links if you decide to try it--you'll be supporting and honest voice in the fitness industry--I only promote products I believe to be worthwhile).

One final thing—all the modules come as one, massive document. It took me a little while to get used to this since other programs are often broken up into several files (pdf and video files). But it wasn’t hard to navigate once I got the hang of it.

How to Gain Weight with One Exercise

What is the single most important exercise for building muscle and gaining weight? Jason Ferruggia answers that question. A lot of guys just waste too much time on isolation exercises when there's a better way to pack on the mass.


How to Gain Weight with One Exercise
By Jason Ferruggia

When people ask me how to gain weight the first thing I ask them is if they do deadlifts. If you are trying to get big but aren’t including deadlifts in your program you are simply wasting your time. There is simply no more effective exercise than the deadlift

From your neck to your calves, nearly every muscle in your body gets activated and receives a powerful growth stimulus from deadlifts

Not only is the deadlift the most effective mass building exercise there is but it is also the most basic and has the greatest carryover to the real world. There aren’t many times in life where you would lie down on your back and press a weight overhead like you would during a bench press. But hardly a day goes by when you don’t bend down and pick something up off the floor. And that is what you do when you deadlift. So it trains you for real life situations and helps to prevent the oh-so-common lower back problems that plague hundreds of thousands of adults

But the bottom line for all skinny guys and aspiring mass monsters is that if you want to know how to gain weight, you gotta learn how to deadlift

Although the deadlift works the entire body from head to toe, it is especially effective at building huge traps, upper back muscles, spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings and forearms. Plenty of puffed up bodybuilders have the big pecs and biceps but a deadlifter stands out from the crowd, looking powerful and intimidating with the mountainous traps and thick, ruggedly muscled upper and lower back

To perform a proper deadlift, stand directly over the bar with your shins nearly touching it and feet approximately 8-14 inches apart. Squat down by breaking at the hips and pushing your glutes back. Keep your back tightly arched, chest up and head in line with your spine. Your upper body should be at a 45 degree angle in relation to the ground. Grab the bar with a vice grip and begin to pull up and back. As the bar passes your knees, drive your hips forward powerfully, push your chest out and pull your shoulders back to lockout the weight

When you lower the weight, be sure to begin by pushing your glutes back before you squat down. After the bar clears you knees, squat down while maintaining a tight arch in your lower back, allow the weights to touch the floor and repeat

Remember- a lot of deadlifts lead to huge, muscular physiques. If there was only one thing I could teach you about how to gain weight that would be it. Now get to the gym and start pulling some big weights.


Jason Ferruggia is a world famous fitness expert who is renowned for his ability to help people build muscle as fast as humanly possible. He has trained thousands of clients during his 14 years as a professional fitness coach, including more than 500 athletes from over 20 different sports. Jason has written hundreds of articles for numerous top rated training magazines and websites and has authored four fitness books. He is also the head training adviser for Men’s Fitness Magazine where he also has his own monthly column dedicated to muscle building. For more great muscle building information, please visit Muscle Gaining Secrets.



Note: You can read my review of this program here: Muscle Gaining Secrets Review.