Why vitamins and minerals are important:

During strenuous physical activity, an enormous amount of vitamins and minerals are depleted from our bodies.
Making sure our bodies have enough vitamins and minerals helps maintain and improve proper health.
Failure to maintain healthy vitamin and mineral levels can lead to hindered performance in the gym, slowing down growth, and in severe cases, also lead to other health problems.

Now for the top 10 vitamins. I found an excellent website that listed these in great detail. Saving you some reading time, I took the most important pieces of information from that article as well as listed the best natural food sources which contain these vitamins.

10. Cobalamin (vitamin B12)

Carbohydrate metabolism and maintenance of nervous system tissue (spinal cord, nerves that carry signals from the brain to muscle tissue).
The stimulation of muscles via the nerve cells is a critical step in the contraction, coordination, and growth of muscles.
B12 is only available from foods of animal origin (beef, chicken, fish, pork, etc.)

9. Biotin

Critical in amino acid metabolism and production of energy from many sources.
Bodybuilders who eat raw egg whites gain a substance called Advin, which blocks biotin absorption.
Sources of biotin include: egg yolk, liver, kidney, pancreas, milk, soya, and barley.

8. Riboflavin (vitamin B2)

Involved in 3 main processes: 1) Glucose metabolism, 2) Oxidation of fatty acids, and 3) The shuttling of Hydrogen through the Krebs cycle (also known as the citric acid cycle where certain molecules are broken down into energy in the form of ATP).
For bodybuilding purposes, riboflavin is related to protein metabolism. There is a strong relationship between lean body mass and dietary riboflavin.
Foods rich in riboflavin: liver, almonds, soy nuts, shellfish, milk and other dairy products, and eggs.

7. Vitamin A

Vitamin A helps with vision.
Important in the synthesis of protein (muscle growth!!!).
Involved in the production of Glycogen (the body?s form of energy for high intensity activities).
Very important for contest preparation.

6. Vitamin E

Used in protection of cell membranes since it is a powerful antioxidant.
Recuperation and growth of muscle cells is dependant on healthy cell membranes.
Vegetable oils, nuts, green leafy vegetables, and fortified cereals are the most common food sources of vitamin E.

5. Niacin (vitamin B3)

Involved in nearly 60 metabolic processes related to energy production.
Nicotine acid, a form of Niacin, causes vasodilatation which can help competitors looks more vascular on stage. Large doses of Nicotine acid drastically impairs the body?s ability to mobilize and burn fat.
Dietary sources include: turkey meat (the body uses the amino acid tryptophan to create Niacin), dairy products, poultry, fish, lean meats, nuts, and eggs.

4. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is necessary in the absorption of Calcium and Phosphorus. If adequate stores of Calcium are not available in the muscle, full and hard muscular contractions will not be achieved.
Quick, powerful muscular contractions are provided by Phosphorus. Phosphorus is also required for the synthesis of ATP.
Dietary sources: No-fat or low fat MILK.

3. Thiamine (vitamin B1)

Required for protein metabolism and growth.
Involved in the formation of hemoglobin which is a protein found in red blood cells that transports oxygen to working muscles in the body.
Oxygen transportation becomes increasingly more important to athletic performance as intensity and duration of exercise increase.
As the amount of exercise, intensity, and duration of exercise increase, the more thiamine is needed.
Dietary sources: Green peas, Spinach, Liver, Beef, Pork, Navy beans, Nuts, Pinto beans, Bananas, Soybeans, Goji berries, Whole-grain and Enriched Cereals, Breads, Yeast,the aleurone layer of unpolished rice, and Legumes.

2. Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)

The only vitamin directly tied to protein intake. The greater protein consumption, the greater amount of vitamin B6 you need.
Vitamin B6 makes it possible for protein metabolism, growth and carbohydrate utilization to take place.
Dietary sources: Avocados, nuts, liver, chicken, fish, green beans, field salad, wheat germ, nutritional yeast, sea vegetables, and bananas are particularly good food sources.

1. Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)

Enhances recovery and growth in muscle cells. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant.
Involved in the formation of Collagen, the primary constituent in connective tissue (connective tissue holds your bones and muscles together). As you lift heavier weights, you put more stress on your structure. If your connective tissue is not as strong as it should be you have a much higher risk of injury.
Helps in the absorption of Iron. With an Iron deficiency, the amount of oxygen that gets bonded to hemoglobin in the blood decreases and muscular performance is greatly reduced.
Diffuses very rapidly in water. Since a muscle cell is mostly water, the more muscular an athlete becomes, the more vitamin C disperses and the lower the concentration of this critical substance becomes in body tissues. So vitamin C requirements are greatly increased for bodybuilders.
Finally: Vitamin C assists in the formation and release of steroid hormones, including the anabolic hormone testosterone.
Dietary sources: The largest sources of vitamin C are present in citrus fruits and fruit juices.

Well there you have it, the 10 most important vitamins for a bodybuilder. If you are a bodybuilder, you should be eating a lot anyways, especially as much of the above foods listed as possible, so getting all of these vitamins in your diet shouldn?t be problem. However, if you feel your diet needs some help there are many multivitamins which you can supplement along with your meals, but it?s always better to get your vitamins from natural sources. You may however, want to consider in investing in a simple vitamin C supplement based purely on how important it is in the bodybuilding world.

Lastly, note how many times milk or dairy is listed as a primary food source of the above vitamins. Three or four glasses of milk a day will definitely be of good use by your body. If you are lactose intolerant, you may want to consider purchasing lactose free milk which is exactly the same as regular milk but with the added ingredient lactase, which neutralizes the lactose.

Until next time, lift hard, heavy, and don?t forget to EAT!!!

Top 3 Multi-Vitamins

1. Optimum Opti-Men (Click Image Below)

2. Universal Animal Pak (Click Image Below)

3. AST MultiPro (Click Image Below)

Bodybuilding & body shaping are built on three factors:

1. Nutrition
2. Consistent and Intense Exercise
3. Rest

If you leave out any of those 3, your gains will be minimal.

Nutrition is the most important factor, and sadly most people neglect that part of it. I did for years when I started. The majority of people focus only on weight training. Although weight training is a large component of adding musculature, better than average nutrition is extremely important as well. First, we’ll talk about exercise.

Exercise

By going to the gym frequently, and training your muscles to the point of “momentary muscular failure”, you create microscopic tearing in the muscle tissue and this stimulates them to grow, strengthen and improve. You want to hit failure at some point between the 8th and 12th rep.

If you’re using a weight that you can do 15 reps on before failing, the weight is too light. If you can barely get 6 reps before failing, the weight may be too heavy. As your muscles get stronger, you can add more weight to keep you in the 8-12 range.

Frequently you can switch your routine so you do heavier weight with fewer repetitions, but make sure your form stays strict. Consistency is also very important. Weight training gains are analogous to pushing a car up a hill. If you stop, the car starts to roll back. Muscles only grow and improve if they’re constantly stressed. When the stress stops, or stays the same, they stop improving or even shrink. Change your routine frequently, but don’t take too much time off from the gym. At

most a week or two if possible.

Here’s a website with great information about muscle groups and the exercises that train them:

• http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

Nutrition

Now that you’ve stressed your muscles in the gym, you have to provide them with quality building materials to repair. This is where the nutrition comes in. Building muscle is like building a house. The food you eat are the bricks and mortar for building the house. If you plan out your meals in advance, eating every 2-3 hours while you’re awake, and carefully monitoring your protein, carbohydrate and fat intake, you can maximize your muscle growth without gaining noticeable bodyfat. You’ve heard the saying “you are what you eat”. What would you rather build your house with,concrete or Play-Doh?

Here are some websites that you may find useful regarding nutrition:

• http://www.nutritiondata.com/ – Nutritional information about everything!
• http://home.howstuffworks.com/diet.htm/printable
• http://www.extreme-athlete.com/buildingmuscle.htm
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/stella9.htm – Bodybuilder’s grocery list
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/stella8.htm – Building a Healthy Body on a Small Budget

Creating a meal plan isn’t as difficult as it seems from the outset. To set up a meal plan here’s what you have to think about:

1. Make a list of foods you regularly eat (including your favorite foods). Depending on your goals (gaining weight or losing weight), you may have to remove some of those “favorite” items (or reduce their quantity) when compiling your meal plan.
2. Make a list of foods you wouldn’t mind eating if it meant you’d be getting better nutrition. (ie. vegetables)
3. Write down the times you normally eat.
4. Write down the times you’d like to ideally eat (i.e. every 2 hours). Sometimes it’s difficult to time a meal exactly, so give yourself a 30 minute window on either end.
5. Calculate how much money you have to budget for food per week.
6. Divide that number by 7 (# of days in the week) and then divide that by how many meals you eat per day. For me, each meal I eat costs a maximum of $3.00. Some meals are significantly less than that because I prepare them myself. Therefore, it all balances out if I go out to dinner once a week and spend close to $7-10 on one meal.  If your budget is tight, here are some tips on how you can get the most for your money.
7. Once you have all your lists together, plan out which foods you’ll eat tomorrow, and at which times. Make sure you time your pre-workout meal for 1 hour before your workout, and your post-workout meal for immediately after your workout. Planning out your meals may require that you cook your meals the night before to take with you to work/school, or perhaps you can have a meal replacement bar instead (especially when you don’t have the opportunity to sit down and have a full meal; examples of which are meetings, and between classes).
8. Once you have your meals planned out, calculate the serving sizes you’re planning to have, and visit http://www.nutritiondata.com to figure out the macronutrient and caloric values of each meal.
9. Purchase a scale to measure your food (a digital one is best). Depending on the brand, they cost $14-30 at Target (or any other kitchen supply store). This is so that you can accurately measure out your serving sizes.
10. After totaling your calories, if you find you’re coming up short, you can either add a meal, or increase some of your serving sizes. If you find you’re taking in too many calories, or too much of one thing (like fats), remove one meal, or cut your serving sizes for one or two meals.

Those guidelines should give you an idea of how you can plan out your own meal plan so that you’re consistent, and you have variety.

Rest

Lastly is rest. The “builders of your house” need time to make the repairs. Not only do you have to allow at least 48-72 hours between sessions where you train the same muscle groups, but you should do your best to get a good 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. Your body starts releasing growth hormone about 2 hours after you go to sleep. This prompts the body’s systems to repair themselves. The more you sleep, the more work can be done. You ever wonder why teenagers sleep so much? It’s because their bodies are growing, and the body knows it needs that “down time” to repair systems and grow. Sleep can be a powerful resource.

Getting Organized

To help you organize all this, make sure you keep two journals. One for your nutrition, the other for your workouts. A simple spiral notebook will do (however if you want to be fancy, you can use a spreadsheet program on your computer). In the nutrition log, you’ll keep track of the meals you eat, the times you eat them, how many grams of protein, carbs and fats each meal had, and by doing that you’ll be able to know at a glance how many calories you’re taking in and you can adjust it accordingly if you’re planning to gain, or lose weight. The other journal will help you keep track of your workouts, poundage, exercises, # of reps per exercise, muscle groups trained, etc. This will allow you to see how you’re progressing and help you avoid plateauing or having stagnant workouts.

Here’s an example of what I’ve done. I have a profile on http://www.fitprofile.com and it allows me to keep track of my meals and it adds my daily totals so that I can stay on track.

• http://www.fitprofile.com/profile.asp?id=43

During my current “bulking” phase I’m taking in between 3000 and 3500 calories per day, and I’ve added an L-Arginine/L-Lysine supplement to my list of often used supplements.

1. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/un/argine.html – L-Arginine/L-Lysine
2. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/flax.html – Flaxseed Oil
3. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/met/food.html – Big100 Meal Replacement Bars
4. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/mt/mesobars.html – Mesotech Meal Replacement Bars
5. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/whey.html – Optimum Whey Protein Powder
6. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/bc.html – Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)
7. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/glutamine.html – L-Glutamine
8. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/zma.html – Zinc Monomethionine Aspartate
9. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/opt/crea.html – Creatine Monohydrate
10. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/now/dex.html – Dextrose

Including a high quality multivitamin/multimineral supplement each day.

1. http://www.quixtar.com/products/product.aspx?itemno=A4300

Another resource that will help get you started is an article series written by Matt Danielsonwhich goes into more detail regarding the concepts I’ve mentioned above. Matt is a professional personal trainer and he writes articles routinely for bodybuilding.com. His articles are particularly great for beginners or bodybuilders who’ve been away from the gym for a while or might be plateauing and trying to get a new routine going:

• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/matt88.htm – Beginner’s Bodybuilding Program
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/matt89.htm – Intermediate Bodybuilding Program
• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/matt90.htm – Advanced Bodybuilding Program

• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/printworklog.htm – Bodybuilding.com’s Free Printable (and customizable) Workout Log

Here’s also a link to a Resting Metabolic Rate Calculator so that you can determine what your maintenance caloric intake should be:

• http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calrmr.htm

Anywho, I hope all this helps. Keep on working hard. Remember, if you’re like I am and are thin, we skinny guys can get big too! We just have to work a lot harder at it.

Success is easy to find. It’s down the street from Discipline and around the corner from Consistency.

Reprinted with permission from James “Skippy” Albury.

You can E-Mail him Here.

Or visit his website Here. (http://fitness.podarco.com)

The next ingredient for successful muscle gain is intensity. Now intensity doesn’t mean curling 20 lb dumbells as fast and long as you can, and neither does it mean to slap on too much weight onto the bench and arching your back. Intensity means to put on heavy weight that you can pump out  good reps with strict form. Get a spotter to help you with a few extra reps if you need to.

In any routine, it is important to train to failure. As you progress through the following weight lifting routine, you will start getting stronger as time goes by. The weight that you use should make the last 2 or 3 reps ofeach set extremely difficult and often times should almost result in failure.

Weight Lifting Routine Example 1

Now the following basic routine to build muscle, shown below, will require you to train 3 times a week on nonconsecutive days such as Monday, Wednesday and friday. Alternative Workout A and B each week as you will work the entire body 3 times during every 2 week period.

WORKOUT A

WORKOUT 2

Weight Lifting Routine Examle 2

Another option that is great to build muscle would be the “split routine” in where you split the body parts into seperate days. As you can see, the routines for Monday and Thursday are for your chest and shoulders whereas the routines for Tuesday and Friday is for your legs and back.

MONDAY AND THURSDAY

TUESDAY AND FRIDAY

Final Notes

Remember to keep your reps range for muscular growth on 6 to 10, per set and to check your body weight at the beginning of the first week and monitor your calorie intake to adjust it depending your needs.

Do not forget that if you want to gain muscle mass, you MUST increase the weight every week or so. If you do not, your muscles will adapt to the resistance and WILL NOT grow.

No Progress = No Gain.

TRAIN HARD AND BE SAFE!

Article: Weight Lifting Routines To Build Muscle

If you’d like to do an HST program, take note of the following:

• All maxes should be established before doing the first cycle.

• There is a compulsory increase in weight each workout. This adheres to the principle of progressive overload.

• Assign your max weights to the final workout of each two-week block.

• Repetitions will lessen every 2 weeks in the following order: 15 reps for two weeks; 10 reps for 2 weeks; 5 reps for two weeks; then carry on with your 5-rep max for two weeks or begin two weeks of negatives. The reduction in reps accommodates the increased loads.

• Sets will be restricted to 1-2 per exercise.

• Each muscle group should be loaded 3 times per week.

• HST is done on three non-consecutive days per week. Rest is important, so do only light cardio on your rest days.

• Finish each workout using designated weights even if muscles are a little sore from previous workout.

• A one-week interval of strategic de-conditioning should be taken following each 6-8 week cycle, during which no training should be performed. Strategic de-conditioning  is very important for long-term growth.

• The whole workout can be split into a morning and afternoon session.

Example HST Routines

A popular approach is to select alternating exercises that are performed every other workout day. For example:

One example of a full-body routine that includes alternating exercises is:

A. Squat
Leg Curl
Inc. Bench Press
Chins
Rear Delts
Shrugs
Curls
Triceps Extensions
Calf Raise

B. Leg Press
Leg Curl
Dips
Rows
Rear Delts
Shrugs
Curls
Triceps Extensions
Calf Raise

In this routine, Squats are alternated with Leg Presses while Inclined Bench Presses are alternated with Dips, and Chins are alternated with Rows.

Exercises can be performed with an Upper/Lower body split two or three times each week. Using the full-body routine given above, one might split the upper- and lower-body exercises as follows:

A. Inc. Bench Press
Wide Grip Pulls
Dips
One-Arm Rows
Inc. Hammer Curls
Lying Triceps Ext.

B. Squat
Leg Curl
Shrugs
Ab Crunches

The Upper routine is performed every other day, and the Lower routine is performed on the intervening days, as shown in the following table.

Another very popular technique is the AM/PM routine. With the AM/PM routine, you workout both in the morning and in the evening. This enables you to either split up your upper- and lower-body work or double your volume by doing full-body work twice. The following table illustrates a typical Upper/Lower body split performed on an AM/PM routine.

Of course, other types of routines and splits are entirely possible. For instance, some may prefer to use a four day split routine, while others may prefer using a six day split routine. These more traditional split routines are certainly an option so long as one keeps in mind that higher frequency is a fundamental principle of HST. Optimally, the whole body is worked 2-3 times each week.

When you choose your exercises, remember to keep things simple. There’s no need to go crazy and then burn out. Try to avoid choosing so many isolation exercises that you?re in the gym for two hours every workout. The objective is to hit the entire body with a reasonable volume without taking much longer than about 45-60 minutes per workout.

As odd as it may seem, I can’t really say that I started weight training for any specific reason.  Some people start because they got picked on in school, some people knew a friend who trained, some people began for a sport.  There are many reasons why people start weight training, but I can’t think of mine.  When I try to think of a definite reason, I draw a blank.  To me, training was in my blood from the start, which I find to be pretty fascinating.

I can remember lifting weights in my room as a teenager with my best friend Blake.  Weight training entered my life through these workouts.  We had a multipurpose machine which consisted of a bench press, leg extension, leg curl, and lat pulldown.  I remember the sand filled brown plastic weight plates that we’d load onto the skinny barbell.  Our barbell was a hand me down from my uncle and would bend under a mere 100 pounds of those sand filled plates.  There are certain memories that stand out to me, as there always are when a person thinks about their past.  I remember thinking how impressive it was to see that barbell loaded up and bending.  Even more impressive was the fact that I could bench press that bar full of weights!  Bending the bar was a sign of strength and power.  The rush from lifting and stressing my body was something I loved from the start.  Lifting weights was painful, but for some reason it was a pain that I enjoyed.  The work was addicting and the benefits were enticing.  I kept weight training high on my priority list, which hasn’t changed since those first rookie workouts.

As I performed those beginning workouts, I had no method to my madness.  I also had no idea that I was walking the path to discover my true passion for the gym and that my methods of training would evolve into a guide for others to follow and learn from.

My first four years of training were misguided and without direction.  I had no plan, and I regret that to this day.  I view those first four years as wasted time and effort!  If I could change my initial years of training, I would go back and search out an experienced mentor as to avoid any wasted time and effort.  Learning from experience is very helpful in any area of life.

The six years to follow were different.  My training evolved through research, trial and error, and consistency paired with dedication.  My nutritional habits completely changed.  I was eating with purpose and reason.  I made it a point to start consuming protein with every meal.  I made lists of power foods and went to the grocery store with a plan.  I had a full size refrigerator in my apartment bedroom during college!

I became entrenched in the gym and discovered it to be my true passion in life.  It had become my personal mission to reach my goal of obtaining a muscular 200 pound physique; a far cry from my 135 pound starting point.  I paid my dues and put in my time.  I spent countless hours enduring pain and stress under the iron learning which lifts provided the best growth stimulus.  I discovered the manner in which to perform those lifts for long term progression and how to piece them together to form a fully functioning training routine.

I was in it to win it, and still am today.  You see, when you find your passion, you never lose focus of it.  You try and learn everything about it and you eventually want to pass that knowledge on to others who are developing or already possess your identical passion.  You search for those who share your passion and do everything you can to help them, which is where I’m at and what I do today.

What inspired you to create the GST program?

I turned my passion into a career, which I highly recommend doing, and with my wife Jessica, founded 2020 Wellness.  Through 2020, I have had the opportunity to change lives by helping clients reach their training goals.

Of course, by training hundreds of clients, I’ve had the opportunity to test out my routine on people other than myself.  This is very important, because I discovered that clients responded very well to numerous variations of my routine.  These clients ranged in age from 14 to 80 years old and consisted of both males and females.

My routine worked, and I named it Growth Stimulus Training, or GST.   Up until late 2009, GST was simply a series of client logs, thoughts in my head, and scattered notes.  I was using the program on myself and my clients, but I was the only person on the planet who truly knew the program inside and out.  The more and more I used GST, the more and more I realized that this was a program that was worth writing a book about.

After my realization, I actually underwent a minor outpatient surgery, which kept me on the couch and out of the gym for a couple of weeks.  It was during this mandatory resting period that I wrote Growth Stimulus Training.  GST is my most prized creation to date, and I firmly believe I’ve devised something special with this program.

Who would you recommend the program to?

In order to use GST successfully, the participant needs to know how to properly perform every lift in their program.  Clearly, this is a stipulation for every program, but I feel it is doubly important for using GST.  GST calls for the use of heavy loads, which means that experience with lift form and technique is very important.  There are rep ranges throughout GST that will help the participant improve their form and technique, but when the heavy work presents itself, being prepared is essential.

When it comes to the benefits of GST, it should be known that GST has a larger focus on growing in size than it does on reaching peak strength potential.  GST is made for the individual who is looking for increased hypertrophy along with steady strength increases.  The planned progression of the core lifts ensures strength progression, while the hypertrophy inducing supplement lift rep/set/intensity schemes and AMRAP core sets bring on the size.  The laid out scheduling options ensure proper recovery, which is essential for growth to take place.  As long as size is a priority, and the participant is not looking to prepare for a powerlifting meet, GST is a program they should consider putting to work for them.

There are many hidden benefits to GST that are only realized through using the program and really getting to know the program.  Many participants have learned that GST adapts to you as an individual within 2-3 months of use.

Being that GST is so adaptable in terms of loading options, exercise selection, set numbers, rep numbers, the addition of higher frequency weak point training, and scheduling options, it is suitable for the beginner, novice, and advanced trainee who possesses the goals I previously mentioned.  That’s the thing with GST, it is so versatile, yet the core concepts of the program remain the same as it changes and morphs for each individual.  I’ve personally seen GST work for all levels of participants.

Click here to view the GST page of Gainweightspot

Do you have plans to release any further training programs like you have done with GST?

Yes, I have a compliment program to GST that I call Linear Leadup.  This program is based around linear progressing, full body workouts and is able to be completed before or after GST.  One can actually rotate between GST and Linear Leadup for the rest of their training career if they choose to, which is what I do myself.  The great thing about writing the two programs is the fact that I could make sure that they feed off of each other, all while being effective programs if used on their own as well.  This is a very nice perk for anyone who is interested in a full training system, not jumping from random program to random program.

Say a beginner wants to start with Linear Leadup; at the end of their linear experience, they will have all of the information and experience necessary to perfectly transition into GST.  Say an advanced trainee is nearing the end of their GST cycle; they will also have the necessary information to carry their training directly into a Linear Leadup program.  Linear Leadup will provide progression for beginners and advanced trainees, which is one very beneficial aspect of the program.  The program structure and concepts are simple and basic, which we all know works very well for the beginner.  It is also no secret that the most advanced guys out there can always benefit from a ‘back to the basics’ approach every now and then.

I have begun working on the Linear Leadup book, and expect to have it available to the public during the summer of 2011.   I also plan to give all my GST eBook customers a very sweet deal on Linear Leadup as a sign of my appreciation for their support.

What is your favorite body part to train?

Calves are set highest on my pedestal of favorite body parts to train.  I enjoy training my calves because I have changed them so much through countless pain filled sets of seated calf raises, standing calf raises, leg press calf raises, and donkey calf raises.  I have small joints and high muscle insertion points, so body parts like forearms and calves just don’t come naturally for me.  The fact that I have changed them so much from my early days is why they are my favorite body part to train.  If someone asks me to train calves with them, I’m in!

And which one is your least favorite?

I have never been a big fan of performing overhead pressing movements, as well as other shoulder focused movements.  I know they are important, and I do perform them, but I don’t look forward to it.  Needless to say, my shoulders are a strong point of my physique, being broad and round.

The fact that I don’t see my shoulders as a priority could definitely be an underlying reason why they are my least favorite body part to train.  I am exactly the same way with my biceps.  They are a second strong point of mine, and I haven’t continuously trained them directly in years.  I’m more driven to train the muscles that I see as lacking, which I think is pretty common.

That being said, it is still important for beginners to realize that just because they don’t like training a certain body part or body parts, it is still necessary to do so.  Keep your training program well rounded and you’ll see the best overall physique in the end.  I definitely wish I would’ve trained my entire body from the start, as it would’ve saved me many hours of playing catch with my lagging parts.

What’s your favorite supplement to use?

I’m very basic when it comes to supplement usage.  I’d have to say the most important supplement for me is my whey protein.  This supplement helps me hit my protein requirements every day, makes it simple and convenient to get in a quality protein source, and is also the most cost effective protein source around.  I eat many meals away from home, so a convenient protein source is key for me.

I said whey is my most important supplement, but my favorite supplement would have to be my preworkout stimulant type supplements.  These supplements have led to some of the best workouts of my life, and they are supplements that I feel instantly after consuming them.  They have more of a fun factor than whey, and that is what makes them my favorite.  I really enjoy slamming a preworkout drink, putting my headphones on, letting the drink and the music hype me up on my way to the gym, and steam rolling through a workout!  I live for hard and heavy workouts, and preworkout drinks power me through them.

What activities do you like to do when you aren’t in the gym?

I am a husband to my wife Jess, and a father of two young children, Ali and Jameson.  As well as being a part my family, I am a passionate fitness professional who is interested in building a very large presence in the fitness world.

I’m actually in the gym performing my own workouts no more than 5-6 hours per week.  I’m to the point where I walk in, know just what I’m going to do, do it, and walk out.  Being efficient and on a specific program really gives me the ability stay in the shape I want to stay in while not having to live at the gym.

If I’m not personally training my local clients or working on programs or answering questions for my online clients and eBook customers you will find me taking care of business at home.  I roll around on the floor with Ali and James quite a bit, as I prefer to be physically active with them rather than watch movies or TV with them.  They are still very young, both being under 3 years old, so plenty of our family time is spent close to home.

Jess and I like to get our time in together as well by hitting nearby restaurants for some alone time.  We are the type of couple that would rather eat our food at the bar than sit at a quiet table, so we like the more upbeat sports bar type restaurants.  Jess and I are both into working out and eating well, which keeps us feeling young.  One other thing that we love to do together is hit the gym, but the question asked me what I do outside of the gym, not in it.

I’m not sure we’ll ever be the couple taking a quiet and reserved type of vacation.  We’d much rather be adventurous and active when we get the chance.

When I find some time for myself, I’ll most likely try to get in a few hours of sleep or spend time monitoring my major GST forum thread.  I try to do those things when I can, and people who post in my thread know that I stay right on top of it.  Staying loyal to the posters in my GST thread is important to me, as it sets me apart from other program creators.  I’m there with my trainees day in and day out.  There is a true sense of belonging to something as a GST participant, which is one of the reasons it is growing and spreading so quickly.  GST isn’t just a book to read or a workout to perform.  GST is a growing network of people with the same underlying passion for improving themselves through weight training.

When it really comes down to it, my life is a mixture of family and fitness.  I hope that never changes.

Thanks for the answers Ryan, any last words?

I really just want people to know that they can contact me and ask me their training questions any time they’d like.  I don’t have to know you personally in order to help you.  When I see a reasonable question in my inbox, I answer it.  I don’t see the question as a waste of time.  I see it as an opportunity to change someone’s life by guiding them and improving their training experience.

I didn’t choose this career randomly.  I chose this career because I am passionate about training and helping others who have that same passion.  If someone is serious enough to take the time to ask me the question, I recognize that and treat them accordingly.

What are my last words?  If you have a question you want answered, make the move and ask me!  You can get in touch with me at ryan@2020-wellnes.com or you can also find me on many forums as username 2020Wellness.

Reprinted with pression from Ryan Miller and wheyforward.com

Want to ask Ryan a question?

Click here to view the GST section of our Forums.

Now:
I am now at around 11-11.5st (156lb) and recently i started a new diet of 4000kl clean, and told myself i will go to the gym everyday after work no matter what and i will get up and eat in the morn and all my meals i have planned. Lets see how that goes, i am to bulk up and become stronger until i reach around 190lb.

126lb Pic:

At the time this pic was taken i was on holiday and my friend use to say that cos i was so skinny my elbows looked minging due to them being alot wider then my upper and lower arm. From then i have always looked at that area and it was horrible being so boney!

Most Recent Pics 156lb:

No longer boney and very happy with how i look, from here i wish to gain lean mass slowly until i eventually weigh 190lb.

Workout Split:
Day 1 – Back and Calves
Day 2 – Chest and Abs
Day 3 – Legs and Calves
Day 4 – Shoulders and Traps
Day 5 – Arms and Abs

Diet:
Cals – 3600 to 4000 Clean
Protein – 240g Approx
Carbs – 400g Approx
Fat – 110g Approx

Supps:
Whey Protein
Glutamine
Multi-Vitamin

Goal:
To gain lean mass and get to my 1st goal of 168lb and increase strength on daily basis! Eventually reach 190lb with 9% bf.

SuperSet

Supersets are two or more exercises performed in a row without stopping.  For extra intensity, you can even do three exercises without stopping known as tri-sets.  It takes a while to build up the endurance necessary to do a lot of supersets, but this kind of conditioning develops in time if you keep working at it.  You can use supersets to train two different body parts-Bench Presses combined with Chins, for example-or you can do a number of exercises in a row for the same body part.  You will be surprised how a muscle which seems to be totally fatigued will still have a lot of strength remaining if you demand that it perform a slightly different movement.  To do this, however, you need to start with the most difficult movement, with each succeeding exercise slightly less demanding-Bent-Over Rows, Seated Cable Rows, and One-Arm Rows are a good combination.  Personally, I have always liked to use supersets to train opposite body parts simultaneously-chest and back, for example.  This gives you a tremendous pump as you perform the alternating pushing and pulling movements, yet gives each muscle group involved the minimum chance to rest and recuperate.  Other good parts to perform supersets on are the triceps.  I like to do skull busters supersetted with close grip bench presses.

Provided by Scooby1961

DropSet

When I was first learning about bodybuilding training it was obvious to me that when you come to the end of a set and seemingly cannot do another repetition, that doesn’t necessarily mean the muscles involved are totally fatigued, only that they are too tired to lift that amount of weight.  If a plate or two is removed, you can do more repetitions.  Take another plate off, and you can keep going even longer.  Each time you do this, you are forcing the muscles to recruit more muscle fiber.  This training principle is called the Stripping Method.  You should never use the Stripping Method at the beginning of an exercise when you are fresh and strong, but only for your last set.  Since the changes in weight must be made quickly so that the muscles don’t have time to recuperate, it helps to have a workout partner ready to slip plates off the bar or move the pin in a machine weight stack.  For example, you might do Bench Presses with the heaviest weight on the bar you can handle for six reps.  Say that weight is 300 pounds.  After you have failed, your partner would quickly strip off weight so that you could do more reps with 250 pounds.  I don’t recommend going too low, however, unless you are training for maximum definition, because you won’t grow by handling weights that are too light.  Many bodybuilders use this principle in a different way by working their way down a dumbbell rack as they do more sets of an exercise and get more and more tired.

Drop sets are another of my favorite ways to shock the body. It involves doing an exercise with say a set of dumbbells, putting them down, picking up the next lighter weight, and doing another set without stopping.  This is actually a dumbbell variation of the Stripping Method.  For example, I would do Dumbbell Presses starting with 100-pound weights and going to failure, then immediately setting them down and continuing with 90-pound dumbbells.  My muscles were too tired at this point to press 100 pounds, but the remaining unused fiber could still lift the slightly lighter weight.  Again, when the 90-pound weights got too heavy, I would go down to the 80s, then the 70s, and so on. Each time I went down the rack I reached a little deeper into the available muscle tissue to shock and innervate the muscle more thoroughly.  There are a number of ways of varying this technique; for example, using the dumbbells on a rest/pause basis-doing the exercise until exhausted, putting down the weights for ten seconds, then forcing out additional reps-or working your way up the rack as high as you can, then back down, doing fewer reps with the heavier weights and more reps with the lighter ones.  Another good exercise to use drop sets on is the leg extension machine.  I sometimes do triple drop sets on this exercise.  I would start by doing a set of 10 on leg extensions with 130 lbs. then immediately drop the weight to 110 lbs. and do another set of 10 then immediately drop the weight to 90 lbs. and rep out as many as I can.  You can bet that this will kick your ass.  Try it if you don’t believe me.  You will be sore for at least 3 days to the bone after doing this one.

Provided by Scott Herman Fitness

I got a girlfriend that complained that I was too skinny and said her plan was to get me fat. Well her plan was pretty much successful and I developed a very large “gut”. I hated the fact that nothing in my body was fat like face, arms, or legs but simply just my stomach. Looking down I could not see my feet due to the fact that my stomach stuck out so far. I began to be self-conscious about myself and wanted to change my life around. I explained to my girlfriend my plans and she rebelled against the fact of me spending time at the gym so I left her. I did strictly cardio for almost one year because of my obsession of wanting to loose my gut. I did loose my gut but then another problem arises, I was still too skinny. At that point I began lifting weights and changing my diet with the goal of gaining weight(muscle weight) while trying to keep fat percentage low.

For about the first month I went in there just tossing weight around without really knowing what I was doing, I was a virgin to lifting weights. Even though I really didn’t know what I was doing at that point, something really sparked up inside of me and I immediately go hooked on the iron lifestyle. I owe everything I know to bodybuilding.com, I don’t know what I would of without them. I started spending tons of time reading and really educating myself on all aspects of the sport like training, supplements and most important nutrition.

After Pictures

My nutrition is not 100% like I would like it to be but I try to eat as much as possible, as healthy as possible. I pretty much just follow the food pyramid. For my grains I try to stick with whole wheat breads, cereals, pastas and cant forget oatmeal. Fruits and vegetables, I don’t eat as much as I should but I definitely eat them every chance their available. As far as dairy products I try to stick with whole milk, cheese, yogurt. I try to stick with lean meats like tuna, chicken breast and turkey breast. Other things that are a big part of my diet are eggs, peanut butter, almonds. As far as nutrition supplements I take whey protein during the day, casein protein at night and protein bars in between meals to try to keep my body in an anabolic mode.

I train 6 days a week. Monday-Chest, Tuesday-Back, Wednesday-Legs, abs, Thursday-Shoulders, Friday-Arms, Saturday-Legs, abs. It has been a excruciating and difficult journey to get were I am today, but I have loved every single minute of it. One thing that I’m proud of is the fact that since day 1, even when people and friends made fun of me I always gave it my all and have been dedicated to this lifestyle. Working out is meditation for me in a way, it helps me release anger, bring inner peace and develop my self confidence . I began weighing 175lbs. and as of 10/17/2010 I weighed 210lbs.

Warm-Up and Stretch

This is the first step that anybody should take before going under the weights. It is simple, easy and great for injury prevention. Your muscles and joints become a lot more vulnerable if you do not properly warm up and stretch before working out. As you loosen up your muscles by stretching and even lubricate your joints by warming up, the chance of injury or long-term harm is greatly reduced. In addition, stretching between sets flushes out lactic acid and byproducts while bringing in fresh nutrients, thus aiding your strength for your next set. Finally, even the post-stretching slightly helps you recover faster between workouts. It makes no sense not to!

Controlled Reps

A lot of people tend to think weight lifting for size gains is a process in which to get as much weight up as possible regardless of form. I often see people bouncing the weight off their chest and arching their backs so heavily that everyone around them knows they are lifting too heavy for their own good. Sometimes, we just have to take a blow to our ego and accept that we have to do a little less. The most important thing is form – which includes mind-muscle connection and slow controlled reps to squeeze the muscle and to ensure that your muscles are doing the work, not the momentum. So that means no bouncing and no jerking if you want to seriously prevent injuries and even improve your muscle gains.

Recovery

This is an important part of any bodybuilding process that is often overlooked by overzealous newbies. Many lifting injuries occur over a long period of time as problems build up over months or even possibly years. By not allowing a joint to rest, pushing it constantly over months, will make injury all the more likely. By listening to your body and giving it time to rest and recover after a long period of intense workouts, you’re doing yourself a favor. For long term success, you have to realize that you are a human being and you do need to take a break. So if you’re elbows are aching, or knees feel funny, take a week off – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

Now someone may say, “Steve, isn’t self-discipline something that is already understood? Is there really a need to write about it?” Judging from the number of people I’ve encountered who say they would like to exercise and diet but they “Just can’t”, it would appear that plenty of people out there need to put some self-discipline into practice!

Disciplining onesself is simply a matter of choosing behavior which will result in success rather than choosing to do whatever seems most gratifying at the time. While some people have developed a high level of self-discipline, others struggle with it. If you have problems with disciplining yourself, don’t fall to pieces over it because you can master yourself and take control of your life. In fact the results may surprise you and others around you as well! It is entirely possible. I was once very undisciplined until I determined that I was going to overcome it.

Unlike genetics, which can dictate a person’s bodybuilding potential to some extent, self-discipline isn’t something we are born with – it is learned and perfected over time.  Just as a bodybuilder gets stronger over time through regular resistance training, so also self-discipline improves as it is put into continual and consistent practice over time.

So what can we do to improve our self-discipline? First of all, it is important realize that undisciplined behavior can have disastrous repercussions, leading to missed opportunities and regret. We all must make many small, seemingly insignificant decisions each and every day. Yet these little decisions, made over time, shape our lives. Where we are in life at this moment is the product of numerous past decisions we have made.  Our actions begin with a choice made in the mind. Now more than ever it is essential to utilize self-discipline because the clock is ticking.

In addition to understanding the consequences of not following after disciplined behavior, it also starts with an intense, burning desire to reach a goal you have set for yourself. After all, what would be the point of trying to accomplish something if you didn’t really want it? Napoleon Hill, who many years ago wrote the book Think and Grow Rich, once said that ”Desire is the starting point of all achievement – not a hope, not a wish – but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything.” If you want to pursue bodybuilding badly enough, you will learn to do what it takes to get there. Decide you have had enough of the vicious circle created by undisciplined living.

There is another word which is not too well liked, which is willpower. Contrary to what some may say, willpower does work and is a very effective and important concept. It’s simply a matter of choosing to dismiss instant self-gratification and instead doing that thing which propels a person toward their goal.  This gets easier with time, but can be very rough at first. As we make ourselves do the things that really need to get done, in time willpower will become more automatic and not so burdensome. The choice to exercise behaviors that will build and shape our lives must be made each and every day. Am I going to eat clean food today, or will I eat junk? It’s a daily choice, and no matter what your bodybuilding goal, clean dieting is a must.

Get rid of the “I can’t do this, I can’t do that” mentality. It’s really just a convenient excuse people use to avoid something that requires effort and dedication. What they really mean is that they don’t want to attempt something because it might be a troublesome task. Sure, we all like to make excuses at times, but there is no benefit to us in that. Don’t look for quick fixes and easy answers as so many people do. They don’t exist!

Prepare yourself mentally ahead of time. Know exactly what you must do before you do it. Make a list of tasks to be accomplished each day. Have you prepared your bodybuilding diet foods in advance? Do you have the next day’s training routine ready to go?

Another way to aid self-discipline is to seek out people who will hold us accountable for improving our lives. Connect with bodybuilders at the gym and online who will expect to see results from you. If you fail, be honest about it. We all stumble back into our old ways at times. Falling backwards should not be condoned, but it does happen. Just get up, get back on the road, and move on.

Self-discipline is entirely worthwhile although it may not seem to be so. The rewards can be tremendous. Keep these rewards in mind and never let them out of your sight! When people observe your disciplined behavior, some will compliment you, but others will be envious of your success. You just know you have set yourself apart from the crowd!

Don’t hesitate to learn to take control of your mind and discipline yourself. It can be done. Don’t give up when you fail. Keep at it. Take hold of self-discipline and master your life!

By Steve Haymond
Gainweightspot.com Contributing Writer
Steve may be contacted at Stevehaymond@lavabit.com

I first went to a gym in 2006. As with all new trainees, I walked in and had no idea what I was doing. Looking back on that day now, I think I trained for about 3 hours – half of this time was spent using every machine possible, the other half I was doing bicep curls. When I got home that day, I started researching a little bit about how to train properly, and prepared for my next session.

Despite my new found love for lifting weights, I still wasn’t growing. I was confused yet again, thinking that as soon as I started lifting weights I’d turn in to the hulk. This is when I started to learn about nutrition. Every day after school I would go home and research everything I could about bodybuilding. Still to this day I’m always reading and expanding my knowledge, you can never learn too much.

It wasn’t until 2008 that I started to take things seriously. I ate like an animal, trained 3 times a week and began to grow. Pasta, pizza, vegetables, steak, and chicken – I ate it all, and LOTS of it. I liked the feeling of filling myself with nutrient dense foods that my body was able to use. People soon started to notice that I was gaining size, and began giving me compliments.

Current Picture:

I continued this way until March 2009. This is when I suddenly realised that I had gotten fat. I was up to 140lbs so I decided to cut down. After losing 20lbs I soon found that I didn’t really have that much muscle at all, and was just a slightly heavier version of my former self. I quickly ditched the dieting; deciding that if I wanted to gain some serious weight I needed to eat like my life depended on it. The day after my 18th birthday in 2009, my journey to getting bigger was well underway.

This was my general meal plan, day in and day out:
Breakfast – 4 eggs, 1 cup of oats, 1 banana, 250ml milk
Snack – 200g chicken breast, 1 cup rice
Pre-Workout – 200g lean beef, 400g sweet potato
Post-Workout – protein shake, 300ml of milk, 1/3 cup of oats, 100g blueberries
Dinner – 2 cans tuna, 1/3 cup of rice, 200g mixed veggies
Snack – 100g kangaroo mince, 100g mixed veggies
Pre-Bed – 200g greek yoghurt, 50g blueberries

This lasted about 8 months. I didn’t miss a meal and definitely didn’t miss a workout. The compliments I was getting from people were incredible, and the gains I was seeing changed my life. It wasn’t long before I realised my love for bodybuilding, and set my sights on competing.

I ballooned up 160lbs at about 18% body fat, which was heavier than I had ever been. After dieting down again for 22 weeks, I took to the stage for the first time. The morning of my show I weighed in at 141lbs with around 5% body fat. All in all since the start of my journey, I had managed to gain 31lbs of pure, lean muscle, while also slashing 12% off my body fat!

A typical training week for me looked like this:
Monday – Chest/Abs
Tuesday – Back
Wednesday – Off
Thursday – Chest/Quads
Friday – Arms/Shoulders/Abs
Saturday – Legs
Sunday – Off

I always have been a proponent on training as heavy and intense as possible. My training stayed the same during my bulking and cutting phases as I believe that what built the muscle in the first place is what was going to maintain it. I tend to keep a fairly low volume, usually in and out of the gym in under 40 minutes; however my intensity is always through the roof, taking every set to failure. Dropsets, supersets, rest pause – I do all of it, every workout. One thing I found helped most was altering your rep cadence. Using strict negatives and controlling the weight causes far more micro trauma to the muscle tissue. For this reason, the eccentric (lowering) phase of a movement usually goes for about 8 seconds, and I always focus on getting a good squeeze at the top.

Supplements are just that – supplements. They are never meant to replace a healthy diet. I only ever take fish oil, creatine and a multivitamin. I don’t consider whey a supplement as it is more of a meal replacement, and I barely ever use it. Whole foods will always benefit you more than any powder or pill.

If you have a goal, you can achieve it. Be persistent, be patient, keep focused, and don’t ever let someone lead you astray from where you want to go. The best way to build a house is to lay down the foundations, one brick at a time.