by Scott York

“Because of the Internet, right now it is literally faster and easier to become wealthy than at any other time in history.

Even better, it doesn’t matter what the economy is doing.

Fact is, I’m living proof because I was homeless at one time and lived in poverty for over ten years.

Now I have a brand new Rolls…

And will be moving into a mansion…

As you can imagine, everywhere I go I’m asked…

“How did you do it?”

The above is an excerpt from a recent email (Oct 2008)that I received from my friend and business partner, Joe Vitale (www.mrfire.com).

Joe goes on in this email but what I want you to take notice of is that Joe just bought a $350,000 dollar 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom.

Joe is in the process of buying a multimillion dollar mansion here in Austin, Texas

He’s refusing to take part in the so called economic downturn.

He’s following his passion (copywriting, book writing, marketing, speaking) and he’s using technology (the internet) to reach millions of new customers around the planet!

He has created a win-win (and he doesn’t know how to build a website!).

His new customers discover his products (The Attractor Factor, The Secret and others) and he is getting to help and profit from his new customer base.

Notice that I said he is getting to “HELP AND profit”.

Product creation (DVD’s, eBooks, training manuals, seminars) are about HELPING others whether it be via entertainment like FitnessandFigureReality.com with Monica Brant or whether it be how to improve one’s physical health through the eBook that you create).

The second ingredient to creating your business empire is understanding and using technology!

Joe is creating his business empire by CREATING products that he is passionate about!

And as a result of this – he is designing his own life.

There is an incredible amount of opportunity out there for those of you in the fitness industry – namely bodybuilders, fitness and figure enthusiasts.

In this program, my aim is to improve your awareness of all of the amazing money making opportunities that there are in the bodybuilding, fitness and figure industry.

I will help you “leapfrog” the current sad state that most bodybuilders, fitness and figure enthusiasts fall into when trying to make money in this industry….

I wish I had access to the information that I’m about to give you – much sooner!

I’ve created over 47 fitness related DVD’s and counting (including the ground breaking DVD of the month called BodyBuildersReality.com with Lee Priest as well as FitnessandFigureReality.com with Monica Brant).

I’ve also created fitness eBooks, fitness boot camps, held how to make money in the fitness industry seminars – most recently in August 2008 at the Steve Reeves Fitness and Film Festival near San Diego, California with my friend and business partner, Dr Joe Vitale and have helped others grow their fitness businesses via telephone consultations.

I keep hearing the same questions from people in the bodybuilding, fitness and figure industry.

“Scott, how do you make money in this industry?”

So I sat down recently and downloaded my brain onto a 60 minute audio CD about how you can quickly create your own mini business empire in the bodybuilding, fitness and figure industry!

Discover how to:

· Follow your bodybuilding, fitness or figure passion and make passive income – forever!

· Build your financial empire, just as you’ve built your physique!

· Quickly go from zero sellable products to 3, 5 or more!

· Create your first product and start selling it in less than a week!

· Give your “built in audience” what they want!

· Work less, make more money!

· And much more!

Shawn LeBrun is the owner and operator of Shawn LeBrun Fitness.com, an online fitness training and publishing company. His latest book is the 99-page Simple Steps to Get Huge and Shredded: A 12-Week Program for Achieving Physical Excellence.

Despite the title, this book seems to be geared toward people who are looking to weight training not to get “huge and shredded” but rather to lose fat and gain muscle, period. As a bodybuilding book, therefore, the program earns about two out of five stars.

And although it is aimed at the beginning lifter, there does not seem to be quite enough information to completely educate the user on how to do exercises, safely, and so on. Of course, quality does not always equal quantity, so the fact that it has only 99 pages instead of the more usual 200+ isn’t a flaw on the face of it, but when you dig into the book you do find that quite a bit of absolutely essential information is left out. Of course, there are plenty of bonuses that fill in some of the gaps, but they too are rather generic in subject.

Weight Training Program

Shawn provides you with a detailed twelve week program, and so each chapter first presents the exercise sets for that week – broken down into exactly how many reps you should do, as for example:

Flat bench press with straight bar:

1 easy warmup set of 10 reps

1 slightly heavier set for 6 reps

1 even heavier set for 3 reps

2 heavy sets for 3-6 reps (want to reach failure in this range)

Each workout has you exercise only one major group of muscles at a time, of course, thus chest and triceps one day, legs, shoulders and abs after a day off, backs and biceps after the next day off. In between, on your days off, he has you doing cardio.

While he mentions a bit about intensity, he doesn’t discuss tempo, the importance of proper form, and so on. If you’re an experienced bodybuilder you don’t need that kind of information, of course, but this book seems to be aimed at the beginner, and thus there is not enough information included.

Because of the way this book is designed, it’s rather difficult to fully appreciate Shawn’s program. Each week/chapter has a new workout, and interspersed among the workout lists is advice (indeed, chapters 8 through 11 focus on specific muscle groups – arms, legs, etc.) but he just makes it really difficult to get a handle on everything. It’s necessary to read the entire book through a couple of times to absorb everything, which is really too much mind-work to have to do.

Cardio

It is in the Week 3 chapter that Shawn discusses cardio. Now, most advocates of body building to get huge, dismiss cardio, as it “strips muscle” rather than helps you build muscle. Shawn doesn’t mention this aspect of cardio, but merely emphasizes its “fat-burning” aspects. But from the aspect of over-all health, cardio is essential, as far as I’m concerned, so I have no problem with his advice here.

Diet and Nutrition

Dieting for muscle gain and fat loss gets covered in brief sections in both Weeks 3 and Week 4 chapters, which is a bit irritating. I’d prefer all of nutrition and dieting to be covered in a single chapter. Shawn discusses diet and nutrition as thoroughly as he can in the space he’s allotted himself, and there’s some good information here. He advises you to eat 4 – 6 meals a day…but his reasons for advising this is strictly to keep your appetite under control, rather than the “real” reason, which is that because you’re working to build muscle mass its your muscles that you have to feed every 2 to 3 hours! Shawn doesn’t discuss this concept.

Supplements

In Week 7/Chapter 7, Shawn discusses supplements. There are too many supplements on the market, and most of them don’t do what they claim. Every legitimate body building manual will tell you this, and Shawn is no different. He then proceeds to discuss the supplements that are effective – meal replacements (shakes), protein, creatine, glutamine and so on.

Bonuses

The bonuses are not much to write home about. There’s an ebook, All Star Personal Trainers’ Secrets, which is a “compilation of all-time favorite articles from some of the top fitness writers and personal trainers.” He lists no names of who is included.

Then there’s Bodybuilding Recipes, which is valuable, as it gives you dozens of great muscle-gaining and fat-loss recipes.

A bonus I’m not too sure about is “Supplement Prizes.” Your name is entered in a drawing every week, and if your name is chosen, you’re awarded $100 worth of supplements of your choice. Some bonus!

More valuable bonuses includes access to videos demonstrating how to perform over 300 exercises, access to a nutrition database, and a free year’s subscription to his newsletter.

Complaints

Oh, there are so many!

It’s really a bare-bones ebook, with no professional gloss at all. (No headers, no footers, no page numbers). There’s a table of contents, but of course, no page numbers there, either. Also, the TOC seems too detailed in some ways, and not detailed enough in others. Chapter headings are not hot-linked to the chapters themselves, so you have to click and click and click to get where you want to go.

Since it’s an ebook, the amount of pages being taken up is not a concern, yet there’s no page break between chapters/weeks, which would have been nice, both esthetically and as an ease-of-use feature.

The information is divided awkwardly between the 12 chapters. Put all the workout routines and information at the end of the book, and all the info on cardio, diet and nutrition, and so on, at the front of the book.

Conclusion

To be blunt, this book is not really recommended.

Shawn offers quite a bit of material on his website – but really, that site is just as disorganized, as well. He may know his stuff, but if its not presented in an orderly and effective way…it’s best to steer clear of it.
Click Here To Get To Simple Steps To Get Shredded

Being prepared for the future is the smartest way to do business. If you are a body builder, fitness or figure enthusiast or competitor, you have all the more reason to ensure that you have more than one source of passive income.

Why should you slog 40 hours a week or more when you can easily leverage your time and make money even when you are not working?

Today one of the best ways to make money in fitness is by using technology. It is mandatory to have a website if you have any intention of creating multiple streams of income and some bodybuilders, fitness and figure enthusiasts have already realized the importance of this. After all, what if there arose a situation when you are not able to work at what you do?

For instance, one of my sons has strep throat, an ear infection, and swimmers ear right now. Rather than worry about taking off from work (asking permission) and using vacation or, worse, losing hours I take him to the Doctor.

When I return, chances are I’ve made money from one of my 15 (and growing) different projects.

And it is all hands off.

Unfortunately, very few body builders, fitness and figure pros, though, enjoy passive income through their websites. Instead they make a weak attempt at selling pictures, autographs and other low dollar items. What they should be doing is creating automatic monthly income through bodybuilding and fitness information products in the form of DVDs, CDs, ebooks, training manuals, membership sites, etc. where they pack in valuable training tips and other useful information.

Perhaps you are familiar with “Heavy Duty”. Dorian Yates used a variation of it in his training as does current pro, Mark Dugsdale.

Without going too much into the details of the Heavy Duty training program, I want to point out that it was an extremely popular program and profitable business for Mike Mentzer in the 70’s and beyond to the tune of 6 figures a month at its peak.

6 figures a month!

And there was no internet at that time! It was all done by magazines and mail order! Imagine how much more Mike might have made with the help of the internet!

Now granted, Mike Mentzer was a very prolific professional bodybuilder with magazine contacts to help him advertise his heavy duty program. But that was then.

With the arrival of the internet, it doesn’t matter who you are, or how well known IF you have the blueprint and the knowledge of how to use technology to promote yourself and your product.

MikeMentzer.com is online now and still active and his business partners are still doing business with the program, Heavy Duty.

There are also Heavy Duty shirts, DVD’s, cd’s, phone consultations, books and more!

We (you and I) can use this blueprint and, with the help of technology, create our own bodybuilding, fitness or figure based business!

Whether it is part time or full time.

I know, because I have already done it!

Today, my only job is working within the bodybuilding and fitness industry following my passion.

The rest of my time, I’m a dad and a husband.

One of my favorite quotes is: “There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.” — Christopher Darlington Morley

Information products are not only easy to create, but also have a whole lot of benefits. So long as you have some bodybuilding or fitness expertise, you can put together the information in the form of an ebook, CD or DVD and offer it to your customers and website visitors. What is more, if you don’t have any writing skills, you can always outsource the job – talk into a voice recorder and have it transcribed and rewritten by a professional. It does not cost much to create considering the amount of money you will make in passive income.

FFR Season 3

Once you’ve created your information product, there are plenty of ways you can promote and market it to set up your recurring income. If all this sounds overwhelming, you will be amazed to find that it is not difficult to learn how to make money in figure.

Scott York can show you how to use technology to come up with your own information products. At his website www.howtomakemoneyinfitness.com you can invest in the step-by-step guide that will take you into a world of profits where you can make money in bodybuilding, figure and fitness. This guide is in convenient CD form, so that you can listen to it anywhere you want – when you drive your car, or when you work at your computer, or even when you are doing other things.

For those who are not yet aware, Scott York is a marketing expert in bodybuilding, fitness and figure who associates with the big names in bodybuilding, fitness and figure like Monica Brant, Adela Garcia and Lee Priest.

BBR1

So the wise thing is to think smart right now and learn how to make money through recurring income in bodybuilding and fitness. Why not realize your dream of early retirement so that you too can enjoy more time doing the things you always wanted to do?

For more information, please visit www.howtomakemoneyinfitness.com.

By Will Brink

Every culture has its myths and bodybuilding is no exception. Like most myths, most are nine parts fantasy and one part truth, though of course, some myths have no truth to them at all. I have spent much of my career attempting to expose myths surrounding bodybuilding and topics that relate to it, such as drugs, nutrition and supplementation etc.

For example, one of my more popular articles that was published “back in the day” in Muscle Media was entitled “Nutritional myths that won’t die” which focused on myths surrounding protein and athletes. Classics such as “athletes don’t need additional protein” and “high protein diets are bad for you” as well as others were covered and debunked.

This article, however, is not about one topic or myth, but random myths that float around and never seem to die. It’s intended to be tongue-in-cheek to be sure, but it’s still a serious attempt to combat various myths that have little or no truth behind them. Some of these myths are generated inside the bodybuilding community and some are generated outside the community, by the general public and or medical community. These are in no particular order, so let’s start with a classic:

Myth #1: “Your muscles will turn to fat the soon as you stop working out – Tissue Alchemy BS”

This is a classic used by those looking for excuses for why they have not started an exercise program and resent those that have. My own mother used to say that to me as a kid when I joined a gym at 14. There is no physiological mechanism by which muscles magically convert to fat when one stops working out for some reason. What happens, however, is that many of the gains in muscle mass will be lost from the lack of stimulation. It’s not exactly earth-shattering news that people who don’t exercise and eat above maintenance calories get fat. So what you have is often a loss of muscle and an increase in body fat due to lack of exercise coupled with excess calories. The next time you see someone who used to be buffed but is now fat, it’s not because his or her muscles some how converted to fat. They are fat for the same reason millions of others are fat: too many calories, not enough activity.

Regardless, what if it were true? That is, is the fear of this mysterious muscles to fat conversion a reason to not start a weight training program? If you stop brushing your teeth, the result is (drum roll) cavities, but that’s not a legitimate reason to never start brushing your teeth! I have gained and lost many pounds of muscle over my life time, and have worked with countless people in all phases of their life, and I have yet to see any muscles convert to fat, this myth of tissue alchemy needs to die now. I have however seen plenty of people who stopped working out and got fat.

Myth #2: “Pros eat ‘clean’ all year round”

This myth can be blamed squarely on the bodybuilding publications who want the readers to think their heroes eat low fat healthy “clean” foods year round. This has often led to newbie types attempting to get all the calories they require for growth from baked chicken, rice, and vegetables. Of course getting – say – 4000 plus calories (or more) from such foods is virtually impossible. This reality often leaves the newbie confused and depressed because he’s not making any appreciable gains attempting to stuff himself to death with foods that are low in calories. It’s very difficult to get 4000, 5000, or even 6000 calories a day from chicken and rice. Now for the reality: off-season I have sat across the table from many a pro eating cheeseburgers, pizza, and apple pie. I know one pro who used to pull over anytime he saw a Taco Bell. Big people require plenty of calories and calorie-dense foods are the only way to get them. As the late, great Dan Duchaine once said regarding off-season eating for growth: “don’t feel bad you ate a cheeseburger, feel bad you didn’t eat three!”

Now I can’t comment on every pro’s diet as I don’t know them all, and I am sure some of them have cleaner diets then others off-season. However, make no mistake: the articles you read about what pros eat off-season and what they really eat are often two different things.

As sort of an ancillary myth, most pros will carry more body fat than they claim off-season when trying to gain new muscle mass. Telling people they eat at Taco Bell and are above single-digit body fat levels does not sell magazines or supplements, so it pays to perpetuate the myth that they are hard as nails all year (with a few exceptions) and always eat “clean”.

Myth #3: “Bodybuilders are not strong”

Only people who have never stepped into a gym make such stupid statements. Strength varies greatly person to person of course, but some bodybuilders are very strong with 800lb squats and 500lb bench presses not uncommon. I have seen people using weight that had to be seen to be believed: 600lb front squats for reps, incline bench presses with 500lbs for reps, and seated presses with 400lbs for reps, etc. No, not all bodybuilders are nearly that strong, but any bodybuilder worth his salt is still considerably stronger then the average person. Some bodybuilders compete in both power lifting and bodybuilding and often do well in both. Yes, some bodybuilders are not as strong as they look, but some are much stronger then they look, and some are crazy strong.

Myth #4: “Bodybuilders can’t fight”

I’m not going to give much space to this myth other then to say bodybuilders are like everyone else: some are tough SOB’s and some are cream puffs with most somewhere in the middle. No different then the general public. I have seen a few of the tough SOB variety in action. Conversely, I was at a gym-sponsored cookout some years ago where this huge bodybuilder decided to hassle this guy half his size. Problem was, the guy happened to be the state kick boxing champion and proceeded to beat the snot out of the bodybuilder in front of a few hundred people. The lesson here is: don’t judge a book by its cover, and don’t get into fights!

Myth #5: “Bodybuilders are all gay”

As with the last myth, this one does not warrant much space. It’s my experience the bodybuilding community is gay as often as the general public. No more, no less, and how much muscle a person has does not seem to affect the rate one way or another. It’s a stupid myth that should be put to rest for good.

Myth #6: “Anyone can look like a pro bodybuilder if they take enough drugs”

If this were true, people in gyms all over the world would look like pro bodybuilders. The major difference between a high level bodybuilder and everyone else is their genetics, the one thing they have no control over. Yes, drug use is a fact of life in bodybuilding and many other sports, and yes, nutrition and training play a role; but if you don’t have the genes for it, all the steroids in the world won’t get you anywhere near to looking like the people you see in the magazines. Unfortunately, every gym has those people using doses of drugs higher than many pros and still look like crap. Make no mistake: drugs work and clearly add an advantage to athletes who use them, but the difference between them and you is that they chose the right parents!

Myth #7: “Bodybuilders are all Narcissistic”

Well OK, this one has a ring of truth to it. Truth be known, bodybuilders can be some of the most narcissistic people you will ever meet, but they are not all that way. Some are humble, down-to-Earth people, but let’s be honest, some narcissism is par for the course in bodybuilding. Nuff said there…

Myth #8: “Bodybuilders have small penises and they try to make up for that with big muscles”

How many times have we heard this dumb myth? Clearly, this one is directed at the male bodybuilders. Truth be known, I have not seen that many bodybuilders’ manly muscle missiles, but it’s been my impression they tend to be like every other man in that dept. Some are big, some small, while most are in the middle or “normal.” One caveat, however, is that a big guy with a normal-sized member will look smaller then a skinny guy with a normal sized member. It’s all in the proportions.

Myth #9: “Steroids don’t work”

If you believe that one you are dumber then dirt. No response to this myth required from me! There’s a bunch of steroid-related myths I could list, but this is not a steroid article, so I won’t bother.

Myth #10: “I don’t want to lift weights because I don’t want to get huge”

This one tends to be uttered by women, but I have heard men say it also on occasion. It’s a pitiful excuse for not exercising. As discussed above, very few people have the genetics to achieve even above normal levels of muscle mass, much less get “huge.” 99.9% of you reading this will be lucky to put on some muscle, and even that will take years of hard work. It’s not like anyone ever woke up one day bulging with muscles they didn’t expect. And if you are one of those rare people who put on muscle relatively easily? Lucky you!

Well there you have it; the major myths in bodybuilding (hopefully) debunked. Those were the ones I’ve seen/heard most frequently. If you think I missed one, feel free to let me know and perhaps I can add it to this article at some point. I don’t want to see anyone turned off to the great endeavor that is bodybuilding. Like all sports or life styles, bodybuilding has its dark side. However, bodybuilding can be a very healthy, productive, and fun way of life that pays major dividends, so don’t avoid it ‘cause of myths and disinformation.

See you in the gym!
About the Author – William D. Brink

Will Brink has over 15 years experience as a respected author, columnist and consultant, to the supplement, fitness, bodybuilding, and weight loss industry and has been extensively published.Will graduated from Harvard University with a concentration in the natural sciences, and is a consultant to major supplement, dairy, and pharmaceutical companies.

His often ground breaking articles can be found in publications such as Lets Live, Muscle Media 2000, MuscleMag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness, Inside Karate, Exercise For Men Only, Body International, Power, Oxygen, Penthouse, Women’s World and The Townsend Letter For Doctors.

Will was a former high level trainer with a rep for getting Olympic athletes, bodybuilders and fitness stars into shape and has gained a reputation for being a no “BS” industry insider who’s not afraid to reveal the lies and hype found in the fat loss , muscle building & supplement industry.

He has been co author of several studies relating to sports nutrition and health found in peer reviewed academic journals, as well as having commentary published in JAMA. William has been invited to lecture on the benefits of weight training and nutrition at conventions and symposiums around the U.S. and Canada, and has appeared on numerous radio and television programs.

He is the author, of Bodybuilding Revealed which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass drug free and Fat Loss Revealed. which reveals exactly how to get lean , ripped and healthy completely naturally. Both e-books come with access to his private forums and numerous tools to aid you in either endevour.

Find out more at Bodybuilding Revealed or Fat Loss Revealed.

Bodybuilding Revealed covers so much material that it took two people to write it – Will Brink (nutritionist guru and prolific writer for muscle mags) and Charles Poliquin (strength training coach for several successful Olympians).

At over 600 pages, this ebook covers every single aspect of bodybuilding that you can imagine. And just to show that you can do it too, several profiles of successful “every-man” and “every-woman” are included as well, just to show that if you have the will and the desire, you too can achieve your ambition.

Of course there’s more to Bodybuilding Revealed than the Ebook – the members area gives you access to discussion forums, an exercise database, meal planners, and so on.

Training Section

The training sections in Bodybuilding Revealed are divided into two parts. Will goes through his program for beginner and intermediate body builders. The last hundred pages of the book are turned over to Charles Poliquin who lays out routines for the advanced body builder.

Many body building books suffer from poor writing. The information is there – but it’s poorly presented. Not so with Will’s work – he’s been a writer for decades and it shows.

Will starts out this section by getting beginners up to speed, pointing out that one of the key mistakes beginners make is to jump right in with weights appropriate only to those who have already put in many weeks of hard core training, and thus burn out quickly.

He provides a 3-day workout routine, and a 4-day routine for the intermediate builder. Each exercise is thoroughly described. If you don’t quite grasp the description, you’re able to check the videos online to see how its done. (That’s one of the nice things about this ebook – each section has hotlinks to an appropriate part of Will’s website, so you don’t need to bother typing in URLs.).

Experienced body builders can skip right to Poliquin’s section, “Individualization of Mass Building Programs.” Once you know what you’re supposed to be doing, and why, and have spent at least 12 weeks getting to the right levels, you can progress to the more detailed and extensive workouts that Polinquin gives you. He also points out 19 “principles” that will make achieving your goals a lot easier. (These principles, by the way, should be read and applied by beginners as well as experienced body builders.).

Cardio

Many body builders scoff at cardio. It doesn’t help you build muscle, they say, it strips it away. Will is of that camp, but he does agree that, properly used, cardio helps you get shredded, and he explains exactly how to utilize its principles in his chapter called simply, Cardio.

Dieting and Nutrition

So important are diet and nutrition that Will devotes the first four chapters of his book to it. This is because nutrition is one of Will’s great areas of expertise.

And because of his expertise, you know you can trust all the information Will gives you. And since he’s a good writer, you can also understand all the principles he articulates.

Will discusses and explains several nutrition principles, for example the Glycemic Index and the thermic effect of food. Yes he uses technical terms but it’s all explained easily for you to understand and appreciate. He lists foods to embrace and foods to avoid, and even includes a discussion on “omnivore” vs “vegetarian” diets. Thankfully – the omnivorous diet wins!

He also shows you how to “construct” your own muscle-building diet, although he ends up making things easier for you by including meal plans, recipes and shopping tips in the bonus material included with the book.

Supplements

Will also devotes an entire chapter to the question of supplements. As with most of the top bodybuilders, Will knows that most supplements are a waste of time. He provides you with an alphabetical guide to all the supplements on the market today – he tells you what they do and what they don’t do, and thus points you clearly to the proper ones to consume (the top of the pyramid, so to speak.)

So detailed is Will’s book that it has a couple of appendices that most books don’t have room for – a detailed glossary of bodybuilding jargon and slang, and a list of the “top-100 mass gaining foods” – from proteins in meat, poultry and fish, to fats from nuts, seeds and oils, to carbohydrates in legumes, grains and vegetables.

Bonuses

I mentioned the Members Only Area at the beginning of this review, which provides you access to discussion forums, an online database of exercises, and so on.

What other bonuses are there? Quite a few. You get access to a meal planner, a diet planner, and a food database – which lists the calories, fat, cholesterol, carbs, fiber and protein in a wide variety of foods – including fast food places like KFC and Pizza Hut!

If you decide to upgrade to the Deluxe edition (and why should you not, considering how little all this great stuff costs you) you’ll receive several ebooks written by Dr. Evan R. Peck – Injuries Avoidance & How To Deal With Them, Misconceptions & Muscle Soreness and Overcoming Training Plateaus. (And who hasn’t had to overcome a training plateau or injury)

Complaints

Will’s table of contents is very detailed, which I like, and the chapter headings are hotlinked to bring you right to the chapter itself. However, once there, you have to click through page after page to find what you’re looking for. It would be nice if the TOC had page numbers. You’d still have to do some clicking once you got to the right chapter, but at least you’d know what page you were clicking to.

Conclusion

At over 600 pages, Will’s book outlines just about the most detailed bodybuilding principles and workout programs that you can find. Forums for people to share bodybuilding tips or just chill are de rigeur these days with practically any program, but Will’s forum has moderators knowledgeable about the program to provide detailed and informed information. Will has assembled quite a few key authors to help make this book indispensable for novice to experienced alike.

By Sean Nalewanyj
Natural Bodybuilding Expert & Best-Selling Fitness Author
www.MuscleGainTruth.com

Bobby finishes a hard, focused set of barbell squats and re-racks the weight. His legs are wobbly, his heart is racing and he feels light headed as he takes a big swig from his water bottle. He looks down at his watch and presses the “start” button to begin counting down backwards from 2 minutes.

Bobby read that 2 minutes is the ideal rest time between sets in the gym, and he wants to get it exact. Once that watch beeps at the 2 minute mark, he’ll be back in the squat rack to perform another set.

He stands up tall and paces around trying to catch his breath in preparation for his next battle with the weights.

*Beep*

2 minutes is up. His legs still feel weak, his heart still beats frantically and he doesn’t quite feel 100%, but that watch beeped and that means his time is up. He must perform his next set regardless of how he feels.

He unracks the weight and squats down. His legs still burn and he wishes that he could have had more time to prepare for this set. He puts forth a mediocre effort, re-racks the bar, and sets his watch for another 2 minutes.

Bobby, just like a ton of other aspiring lifters in the gym, is making a deadly, critical mistake.

By having a set rest interval between sets, he is forcing his body to train at an effort level that is far less than his maximum potential and is severely sacrificing the amount of muscle growth he can ultimately stimulate because of this.

Muscles grow because of an adaptive response to stress. You lift X amount of weight for Y number of reps, and your body adapts to this level of stress. In order to see continual gains in muscle size, you must continually force X and Y to higher and higher levels.

In other words, building muscle is all about progression in both weight and reps. It is about lifting as much weight as you possibly can for the greatest number of reps that you possibly can (within a given rep range of course) and then continually striving to improve.

Because of this, you must always go into every single set of every single workout at your maximum strength potential. By sacrificing the amount of weight you can lift, you sacrifice the amount of muscle you can build. And there is no worse way to make this sacrifice than by not providing your body with enough rest between sets.

Throw out your stopwatch and forget about looking at the clock.

You should only begin your next set when you feel that you can perform it with 100% of your strength potential. A stopwatch cannot tell you when that time has arrived; only you can by listening to your body and relying on your own instincts.

The set rest period theory is also highly flawed because it does not take into account the fact that certain exercises tax the body much more heavily than others and therefore require more rest between them.

A deadlift and a tricep pressdown aren’t exactly in the same boat here. After a heavy set of deadlifts to failure I’ll usually be resting for at least 5 minutes, often even more. A set of tricep pressdowns is obviously not as taxing and may only require a rest period of 2.5 minutes for me to feel fully recovered.

Go on your instincts and only perform your next set when you feel that you can do so with 100% of your strength. Implementing just this one training technique can have a drastic effect on your muscle size and strength gains.

What about proper rep ranges? Workout length? Exercise selection and layout? For more details on proper workout structure make sure to visit www.MuscleGainTruth.com. Most people are dead-wrong in the way that they perform their workouts, and I can help you to clear up the confusion once and for all.

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked “social reject”, Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned natural bodybuilding and fat loss expert, best-selling fitness author, and creator of the wildly popular online muscle building program, “The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System”. Learn how to build muscle and gain weight in just 24 minutes a day by visiting: www.MuscleGainTruth.com.

Sean is also the owner and operator of the web’s premier muscle building and fat loss support community, currently accepting new members at www.FitnessInnerCircle.com.

By Sean Nalewanyj
Natural Bodybuilding Expert & Best-Selling Fitness Author
www.MuscleGainTruth.com

It can’t really be that simple, can it?

With the endless articles, fancy techniques, contradictory debates, special breakthrough methods and lineups of self-proclaimed “muscle building gurus” all claiming to hold the secrets to massive growth in minimum time…

It can’t ALL be pointing to this one ultimate truth, can it?

Yes, there are many subtleties and details that make up a winning muscle building workout plan… But the simple fact of the matter is that consistently adding more weight to the bar over time REALLY IS the bottom line goal of any effective training routine.

Take all of the most basic compound exercises (such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows, chin-ups, dips and overhead presses), focus on increasing your poundages as quickly as possible… and that ALONE will yield the greatest muscle building effect from your entire workout plan possible.

Add a good 150 pounds to your deadlift, 125 pounds to your squat and 100 pounds to your bench press, and I guarantee that as long as your nutrition plan is properly in place, you’ll come back significantly bigger, thicker and more muscular than you’ve ever been in your entire life.

But “they” don’t want to admit it…

All of the other “experts” out there don’t want to tell you that lifting heavier weights is the key to dramatic progress. It’s either because they simply don’t know it themselves, or because they’d rather sell you some gimmicky approach based on a new “revolutionary discovery” to put more money in their pockets.

They’d rather have you prancing around the gym like a ballerina… carefully balancing yourself on a swiss ball… performing ridiculous “innovative” exercises… super-setting from lift to lift… “feeling the burn”… focusing on isolation movements… and making use of all kinds of other inefficient methods rather than simply having you place your focus on the core heartbeat that makes any intelligently structured bodybuilding program tick…

And that core heartbeat is consistent progression in weight and reps.

It always has been, and it always will be.

The bottom line is simple…

1) Stimulate an adaptive response from the muscles by training intensely with basic compound exercises.

2) Recover.

3) Do it again, but with greater resistance or additional repetitions.

If you are able to do this week in and week out and are continually coming back to the gym stronger than you were before, you are on the right path. If your strength is stagnant and you aren’t able to progress every single week, you are on the wrong path.

Let me ask you…

How often do you see a guy with skinny legs squatting 400 pounds?

How often do you see a trainee with an unimpressive back and shoulders deadlifting 500 pounds?

What about a lifter with an under-developed chest and triceps cleanly bench pressing 300 pounds?

Almost never.

And why?

It’s because size and strength ARE directly related, and because the bodybuilder who is moving the largest amounts of weight in proper form (and with an effective nutrition plan) will almost always be the biggest guy at the gym.

It’s really that simple.

Yes, there are plenty of other details to implement into your plan if you want the greatest results possible… but when it comes to your workouts at the gym, consistently lifting heavier weights must always be your primary goal.

If you want hype, fluff and filler, then be my guest and follow some fancy “breakthrough” workout plan illogically slapped together by some no-name “expert” without a clue…

But if you want serious, explosive, no B.S muscle building results that will thicken up your entire body and turn you into a powerful mass of muscle as quickly and efficiently as possible, then get back to basics.

Begin performing all of the most basic and challenging compound exercises… execute them with a high level of intensity… write down what you do each week… and place 100% of your focus on “beating the logbook” from workout to workout by adding more weight to the bar and performing more reps.

If you’re able to do this consistently from workout to workout, that powerful and muscular body will be yours before you know it.

If you want to learn the exact step-by-step details of structuring an optimal muscle building workout plan, go ahead and visit www.MuscleGainTruth.com for details. You can instantly download my highly popular natural bodybuilding program, “The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System” and can also subscribe to my free 8-part muscle building email course.

About The Author

Once an awkward, pencil-necked “social reject”, Sean Nalewanyj is now a renowned natural bodybuilding and fat loss expert, best-selling fitness author, and creator of the wildly popular online muscle building program, “The Muscle Gain Truth No-Fail System”. Learn how to build muscle and gain weight in just 24 minutes a day by visiting: www.MuscleGainTruth.com.

Sean is also the owner and operator of the web’s premier muscle building and fat loss support community, currently accepting new members at www.FitnessInnerCircle.com.

By Vince DelMonte

While some individuals are strictly interested in obtaining muscle for aesthetics, for most people, this isn’t an interest. Instead, you’re more interested in knowing what health benefits weight lifting will have for you…

Far too many people overlook the many health and fitness benefits that weight training has to offer, and because of this, experience problems down the road with their body such as decreased bone density, a slowed metabolic rate, increased stress levels and other negative consequences that are associated with constant stress.

Increased Bone Density

Weight lifting, being one of the best weight bearing exercises you can do, will increase your bone density and help ward off osteoporosis or stress fractures in the future.

Many people think running is the best exercise for increasing bone density, but this isn’t necessarily true. If the truth is told, running actually promotes muscle breakdown in the body, while weight lifting, being an anabolic process, helps to promote the building of tissues.

Therefore, weight lifting is going to be much better at preserving your bone mass, not to mention it’s far less impact than going for an hour run.

Decreased Frequency of Injuries

When you strength train, not only are your muscles going to get stronger, but you’ll also work the ligaments and tendons that are connecting bones, muscles, and other tissues, thus reducing the chance they become injured when participating in other physical activities.

If you’ve ever been injured, you know just how frustrating this can be. In about 80% of all injury cases, the injury is a direct result of a tendon, ligament, or muscle not being strong enough when a stressful force is applied.

Since weight training will really hit all those deep tendons and ligaments, it’s the best injury prevention out there.

Reduction of Health Related Risks

Numerous studies have demonstrated that regular weight training can have a positive effect on health by showing reductions in the rate of insulin resistance, blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
If you couple a solid weight training program then with a well-thought out diet, you’ll be putting your best foot forward at warding off these chronic problems

Prevention of Fat Gain

The more you weight lift, the higher your metabolism will be, thus the more food you can eat while maintaining your weight. If that isn’t good news for your future and the fight against body fat, I’m not sure what is.

Now, with all of this said, one big problem many people run into is the thinking pattern that using a muscle building program will make you big and bulky.

This is most certainly not the case.

Let’s look at an analogy to gain an understanding of this.

Pretend you have two teams and each are going to try and build a house using the exact same building technique.

One team is given 10,000 bricks to construct this house, and the second team is given only 1,000 bricks.

Who’s going to build the bigger house?

The choice should be obvious – team one since they have more bricks to build it with.
Now, think of those bricks as being the calories you put into your body. Unless you’re supplying enough calories, you aren’t going to build really big muscles. This is precisely what makes bodybuilders look like bodybuilders.

It’s not just about the way they train, but more about the way they eat (if you’ve ever had a teenage son in the growing process in your house, you likely know just how much food must be consumed when growing at rapid rates).

Whether it’s growing in height during puberty or trying to build bigger muscles later on, calories must be supplied for this growth process to take place.

You can’t build a house out of nothing. Likewise, you can workout all you want, but if those building blocks – in the form of amino acids, carbohydrates, and dietary fats are not there, you aren’t going to see too much muscle growth.

So, don’t get caught thinking that just because you add weight lifting to your workouts, you’re going to develop large bulky muscles. If you control your diet, this simply will not happen.
So, hopefully it is clear now that just because you’re weight lifting, it does not mean you will end up with bulky muscles as a result. Many people make this incorrect assumption – but it really is the diet that makes all the difference in how this weight lifting will shape your body.
When you make the decision to work with me using my 6-Pack Ab Quest program, I’ll take you through the weight lifting and ab techniques that will provide maximum results with minimal effort on your part (why spend more time in the gym than you have to?), as well as provide you with meal plans that are custom designed to ensure you get the best results from your training without the muscle bulk – in fact, the plans are formulated to help you shed the fat so you look leaner and more defined.

Not choosing to include weight training as part of your current workout program is without-a-doubt the biggest mistake you could make as far as your long-term health and fitness level is concerned. Don’t let this exercise pass you by any longer.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

By Vince DelMonte

The title of this article is a little ironic, isn’t it? Since when did skinny guys have a hard time getting a six-pack? Are not all skinny guys like 2.1% body fat and less than 150 pounds soaking wet? Why in the world would a skinny guy need an article on how to get a six-pack? Isn’t that why skinny guys are afraid to bulk up – because they are paranoid about losing their treasured abdominals? I asked the same thing until this question almost earned it’s own email account!

The volume of interest I receive from skinny guys who wish to build their mid-sections is more than enough evidence to disprove the false reality of, “I should be able to ’see’ my abs if I have low body fat.” I’m sure you know of a friend who is completely scrawny, yet, without a shirt, on he has zero abdominal definition! To me, that would be salt on an open wound.

Abdominals Are A Muscle, Too!

You want your arms to be bigger, your shoulders to be broader and your chest to be fuller, correct? And what is the solution to making these muscle groups increase in size? High intensity weight training, overload, consistency and a healthy surplus of calories. Starting to sound familiar?

The same goes for your abdominals. Your abdominals are a muscle group that requires the same formula and attention and are not any different. For some reason many consider abdominals to be a ’special’ body part that requires a different set of rules and a completely different formula for training. Abdominals were not given a ’secret code’ to crack. To get thick, dense abs – those ones that ‘pop’ out – you must train them with intensity and overload. Here are some practical tips you can apply to your program so that you can be the ‘man’ or ‘gal’ at your gym with a ripped and muscular six-pack!

Prioritize By Sequence

If your abs are your worse body part, then why do you keep training them last, at the end of your workout? Which muscles groups will receive the highest priority when you train? The ones done at the start of your workout or the ones done at the end of the workout? Of course, the ones done at the start of the workout while you have the most energy and focus. If abdominals are the muscle group you wish to prioritize, then don’t be afraid to disagree with the ‘experts’ who say “Never train your abdominals first because you’ll weaken your core muscles for the rest of your workout…”. I completely disagree with this and often reply, “Show me the evidence.” The typical response is “Nobody does abdominals first…”. That is pure BS. This just supports the notion that many people who work out don’t ever question what they hear or do. They want to be spoon fed answers and follow the trends of others without thinking for themselves. I ALWAYS train abdominals first in a workout if they need the highest attention.

Prioritize By Frequency

What’s going to receive better results? A muscle group that is trained one time a week or two times a week (assuming you are recovered prior to the second workout commencing)? Of course, the muscle that is trained 2x a week. The more stimulus on a muscle, the more growth. That is why professional athletes are professional athletes. They have conditioned their bodies to such a high amount of stress that they are able to train more frequently.

How often you train your abdominals is based on the inverse relationship of intensity and volume. The harder you train your abs, the more rest they need. The less intense you train your abs, the more frequently you can train them! If your goal is rehab or injury prevention, then you will be able to train them often with more frequent and lower loads. If your goal is to make your abs more muscular and dense, then a higher load and less frequency would be ideal. If your goal is maintenance, then a medium load and frequency would be ideal. Refer to this table:
Purpose Frequency Intensity Volume Reps
Injury Prevention 5-7x a week Low 1-4 sets 20-30
Hypertrophy 4x a week High 6-12 sets 8-12
Maintenance 2-3x a week Medium 3-6 sets 10-20

If building a sexy six-pack is on your ‘to do’ list for 2008, then start training abdominals 2-4x a week. I will teach you in a moment how to split your abdominals up into two different days based on movement.

Divide Your Abdominals Into Two Separate Workouts

To train your abdominals safely and effectively you must know the basic movement patterns of your abs and train them within all sub-categories:

• Truck Flexion (upper abs)
• Hip Flexion (lower abs)
• Rotation (obliques)
• Lateral Flexion (obliques)

The majority of books and articles you have read revolve the bulk of the ab exercises around trunk flexion that is better known as ‘upper ab’ exercises. A full sit up is a perfect example of this.

Bill Starr in his 1976 classic ‘The Strongest Shall Survive’ wrote that the abdominals “…can be strengthened in a wide variety of ways. Sit-ups of all types, leg raises, truck rotation movements all involve the abdominal muscles to a different degree…”

I wouldn’t be surprised if the abdominal program you are following right now is based on one movement – trunk flexion. I am guessing that your primary goal is actually to have a well-defined and sculpted six-pack, so I have provided a sample abdominal program to break it up into a four day program:
A B C D
Trunk Flexion Rotation Trunk Flexion Rotation
Hip Flexion Lateral Flexion Hip Flexion Lateral Flexion

Even though you are training each movement twice per week, you will perform different exercises for each workout.

Use A Variety Of Functional Exercises

The Top 3 Hip Flexion Exercises:

1. Lying Hip Raise
2. Incline Hip Raise
3. Hanging Hip Raise

The Top 3 Trunk Flexion Exercises:

1. Swiss Ball Crunch
2. Weighted Swiss Ball CruncH
3. Weighted Cable Crunches

The Top 3 Rotation Exercises:

1. Russian Twist
2. Weighted Russian Twist
3. Weighted Cable Crossover

The Top 3 Lateral Flexion Exercises:

1. Lateral Flexion on back extension machine
2. Lateral Flexion with medicine ball over head
3. Lateral Flexion with medicine ball and twist

Each of these exercises progresses from basic to intermediate to advanced. I suggest you master the first exercise of each before commencing to the next.

Conclusion

You now have all the tools and resources you require to start building a set of eye-popping abdominals. Customize your own abdominal workout and post it in the Article Comments Forum for others to compare and learn from.

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

He specializes in teaching skinny guys how to build muscle and gain weight quickly without drugs, supplements and training less than before.

By Vince DelMonte

Could you teach me how to gain muscle fast? Could you teach me how to pack on an extra ten to fifteen pounds of muscle mass before my next vacation? Could you help me get ready for my first bodybuilding or fitness model competition? Could you help you look like someone who actually lifts weights? Could you help me build a body that turns heads and demands respect?

As a skinny guy muscle building expert, I get approached these questions daily in my office. Every single hard gainer I consult with wants to know how to gain muscle fast and how to do safely and effectively.

Hard gainers, please listen up! There is hope for you. I am happy to say that learning how to gain muscle fast is not as hard as some would make you believe but it also not as easy as you might think. But you must be prepared to train smarter and not harder. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about wimping out during your workouts. I am referring to the big picture of training more intelligently.

Here is some of the most popular advice I give to the hard gainer when he wishes to gain muscle fast.

1. Never Perform More Than 10 Reps.

If you are lifting weights beyond 10 reps than you are emphasizing your slow-twitch muscle fibers which have the smallest opportunity for muscle growth. You are a hard gainer and you need recruit the maximal amount of muscle fibers in every set. Always choose your weights knowing that a 11th rep is forbidden and trespassing into ’skinny land.’

If you really want to gain muscle fast than get your mind into heavy lifting mode. Every single set and every single exercise. Keep the weights heavy and never more than 10 reps. Approach every workout knowing that you are going to be venturing into new territory and waging war on your skinny genetics. I recommend these workouts with a workout partner so you can eliminate any safetey issues, not slack off and push your limits every inch of the way.

2. Reduce Your Workout Time

Perform more work in less time and you have increased your work capacity. Work refers to the number of sets, reps and poundage within your workout. Who is fitter? The guy who can do 4 sets of 185 pounds bench press with 30 second rest or the guy who can do 4 sets of 185 pound bench press with 90 second rest? The one who can do the same amout of work in less time. Guess who is more muscular? The one who has a higher work capacity.

Next time you enter the gym, try to complete your current workout in less time. Take shorter rests. Move from one exercise to the next much quicker. Don’t be surprised if you feel out of shape! This is one of the easiest tips you can take away to increase your muscle density and take your fitness to a new level. Be prepared to humble yourself and get out of your comfort zone.

3. Do Only One Exercise Per Muscle Group

Only one? Yes, only one, unless you want to buy into the notion that you must mutilate a muscle for over an hour to get any growth out of it. Consider this typical day in the gym. Today is your chest day. Your first exercise is bench press. You perform your first set with 185 lbs, second set with 205 lbs, third set with 225 lbs and fourth set with 245 lbs.

Assuming this is your max weight for the desired number of reps, is it not safe to say that you have used the maximal number of muscle fibers? Your goal is to simple spark your muscles into growth. Not exhaust them to death. Once they experience a unknown assalut (stimulus), your body will be forced to adapt and create new muscle to prevent future assaults! Therefore, your take home lesson is this: Once you have out performed your last workout, it is time to move onto the next exercise.

4. Do No More Than 3-5 Sets Per Muscle Group

I question a hard gainers workout intensity if they must do more than 3-5 sets per muscle group. Now if you are using anabolic steroids or have muscle friendly genes than you can safely dismiss this advice. Remember, learning how to gain muscle fast for the hard gainer requires following a new set of rules.

Consider the first 1-2 sets at 85% maximal effort. The third set at 95% maximal effort and the fourth (and sometimes fifth) set at 100% maximal effort. It is only this last all out set that contributes to the greatest muscle growth. Anything over and above this last go till you blow set simply exhausts the muscle beyond reason and delays your recovery ability to hit the muscle again. It is this last set that you should perform at least 1-2 extra reps or 5-10 extra pounds than last workout. Mission accomplished. You have sparked your muscles into growth. Time to move on.

5. Increase Your Strength 5% Every Two Weeks

One of the biggest mistakes I see hard gainers make in the gym is not track there progress. They return week-after-week to simply reherse the same workouts with the absense of progress. How do you expect to gain muscle fast if you continue to lift the same weights each workout? Your body is designed to tolerate stress. Assault it and let it get bigger. Assault it and let it get bigger. It’s a simple concept.

So your take home message is to aim for a minimum of 5% strength increase every two weeks. You might progress a little quicker with larger muscle groups like back and legs versus smaller muscles like biceps and triceps. Just think, in six months from now, you will be over twice as strong as you are now! I would actually recommend writing down your strength goals for six months from now and than work backwords. If you are currently dead lifting 135 lbs, aim to be deadlifting 270 lbs over the next few months!

Conclusion

I know these five tips were not your typical Muscle and Fitness 101 advice and not your typical generic bodybuilding advice. I learned a long time ago to question everything you read and hear. Learn for yourself by doing and not by talking about it. As a skinny guy once myself, 149 lbs to be exact, I defeated my skinny genetics and learned how to gain muscle fast by not following the herd and training smarter and not harder Will you?

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About the Author:

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com

He specializes in teaching skinny guys how to build muscle and gain weight quickly without drugs, supplements and training less than before.