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My Secret Weapon Revealed

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A few days ago I posted pics of my 2010 - 2011 transformation. If you missed it, here’s the  *Shocking* before and after pics, that have made ALOT of people’s jaw drop.

RECAP: If you could remember I gained 42lbs in 4 months which occurred back in 2009’ish. But going into 2010, I lost it!!! And the pics on this page are of my 2nd transformation I underwent after that DRAMATIC drop in weight from 2010 - 2011.

Then (175 - 180lbs) and NOW (217 lbs)

Unfortunately I don’t remember EXACTLY how much I weighed back in Feb ‘09, so I had to GUESS-TIMATE. (I know! I’m still kicking myself too, because that would’ve have been some good information to know comparing the “OLD” Rich to the “NEW” Rich)

But in all honesty even though that 2nd transformation was challenging and I did have to put ALOT of effort into it, building muscle almost became a joke this second time around.

Why?

Because of my SECRET WEAPON

So what is my secret weapon?

Is it.....

- The latest and greatest protein supplement? ... NOPE
- The hottest TV gizmo on the infomercials? ... NOPE AGAIN
- Special “Weight Gain” pills you see on the Internet? ... NOT EVEN CLOSE

The truth is My Secret Weapon isn’t a “WHAT”....... but rather a “WHO”

That’s right my secret weapon is a “Person”.

Yep, the reason why building muscle is almost like a joke to me now is because of my Training Partner / Weight Lifting Coach / Dietitian / Personal Trainer / Friend  named Jimmy.

My Secret Weapon: Jimmy

Current Height: 5' 7"

Current Weight: 184 lbs

A few quick facts about Jimmy:

1 - Jimmy is probably one of the biggest Mets fans I know.

2 - He LOVES craft beer (Jimmy can’t stand main stream beer AKA “nasty” beer (i.e. - Bud, Coors, etc) with a PASSION).

3 - He’s also a Certified Trainer

4 - And lastly he’s a BEAST when it comes to working out and putting on muscle. (I tell him, he’s like the Jackie Chan of building muscle)

How I Met Jimmy:

Back when I was 226 lbs about 2 years ago (after my 1st transformation) I used to see Jimmy in the gym, working out with some of his friends, who were BEASTS in their own right, but we never used to say anything to one another because we were too busy attacking our workouts in the gym.

So, last year (after I lost all the muscle) I moved into a new house off campus with my friend and a bunch of other guys and coincidentally that’s where Jimmy lived.

When I first moved into the house and saw Jimmy the first thing I said was “Hey, I know you, you used to workout at the gym on campus?” He looked at me up and down and said “Nooooo, I don’t think so, you don’t look familiar”. Then I told him that I used to be much bigger back then but I lost all the weight.

He looked at me up and down again. And then his eyes almost POPPED out of his eye sockets when he realized that the weakling that he was looking at (my before pic) was that 226lb guy he used to see in the gym a few months ago.

All he kept saying was “Dude, what the *&%$ happened, you used to be huge?”

Once, OK.
Twice.... Alright
After hearing him repeat it a 3rd time I was like “OK, I get it!!!!” After that moment it finally HIT ME just how skinny I had gotten.

Well after that encounter, I told Jimmy that I was looking to get back to 226 lbs and he told me he was actually looking for a new workout partner, and in all honesty ever since that day the way I go about putting on muscle has NEVER been the same.

Throughout my transformation Jimmy has been a God Send. It’s like he has some kind of muscle building encyclopedia implanted inside his brain.

Jimmy’s helped me:

- Push myself further than I knew I could go
- Correct my form on virtually every exercise
- Build my under developed body parts
- Learn variations to tons of exercises that help build muscle.

I’ve learned things on all aspects of muscle building from Jimmy like:

- Dieting : What to eat, when to eat, what to avoid, how often to eat, pre workout nutrition, post workout nutrition.... (the list goes on)

- Exercise: What exercises put on the most muscle, how many reps you should be doing, how your form should be so you’re not wasting your time, which exercises are ESSENTIAL for each muscle group.... (the list goes on)

- Supplements: What supplements you NEED, which ones you don’t, what to look for when you’re buying supplements, what to avoid, which ones are a waste of money … (the list goes on)

- Cardio: How much cardio to do when you’re building muscle, how much is too much, what type of cardio you should be doing, which type of cardio will eat away at your muscles (the list goes on)

It’s MIND BOGGLING the WEALTH of knowledge I learned from Jimmy over these past few months.

So if you’re an impatient person like me, I’m pretty sure you’re like “Ok that’s nice Rich but WHO CARES??”

Well the reason I’m telling you this is because I have some AWESOME news.

When Jimmy found out, that one of the reasons I was busting my butt so hard was because I wanted to teach others how to do it (partially because when I first started out I didn’t have anyone to teach me) he was somewhat intrigued.

Then when I told him, I was running a blog with a few thousand subscribers, he became little more interested but for some reason he still didn’t feel like joining me.

Well, to make a long story short, it took some arm twisting, some name calling (ALOT of name calling actually) and a probably a case of some GOOD craft beer for Christmas but WE GOT JIMMY.

Even though, I called Jimmy ALOT of “sissy-girlie” names to get him to join in, I think its when he realized that he used to be a “REALLY” skinny guy himself and how hard it was for him years ago to find the right information and the right people willing to share it, that made him get AMPED UP to help this movement..... of Changing the lives of naturally skinny guys like us by training, inspiring, and motivating them to transform their bodies and boost inner confidence...... I call it: THE BUILD MUSCLE CHALLENGE (sound familiar? - more on this "movement" that later).

Right now I want you to do yourself a favor and read Jimmy’s quick bio. I’m certain you’ll find a few things in common with Jimmy. See what mistakes he’s made, how he overcame them because odds are they’re probably the same mistakes you’re making right now.


Click here to read Jimmy’s quick bio

Once you read it, you’ll come to see why I like Jimmy so much. And it’s because he’s a tell it like it is, kinda guy. If you’re slacking, he’ll let you know, if you’re not putting in the effort he’ll let you know, if you’re wasting his time..... he’ll definitely let you know.

So here’s how you’re going to benefit from all this in a BIG BIG WAY.

I told Jimmy that I get tons of emails on a weekly basis from guys telling me about all the things they’re doing and want to know why they can’t gain weight.

I MEAN, I GET ALOT OF THESE EMAILS.

Which is 100% ok, because it shows me that you guys are still fighting and making an effort to reach your goals. It also showed me that there’s ALOT of questions out there that you guys NEED answered. And since you don’t know the answers to these BURNING questions, it’s almost like an invisible MOUNTAIN that you can’t quite see, but you know it’s there blocking you from getting the results you want.

So me and Jimmy talked it over and one of the things we’re gonna be adding each week is a “What Am I Doing Wrong???” segment.

This is where YOU tell us EVERYTHING you’re doing, what your meals look like, how often your eating, what your workouts are like, how often you workout, your daily activity level.... etc. and we’ll break down EVERYTHING you’re doing wrong and most importantly we’ll give you an Action Plan on what you NEED to do to start seeing results fast.

When we sat down and hashed this out we knew we came up with something that is going to help ALOT of guys start seeing results almost immediately.

What’s cool about this is each week, we’ll post your questions and our responses on the blog so not only can you guys learn from us but you’ll see what’s holding other guys back (so you can learn from each other as well), which is what this entire community is about.

If you’d like to find out what your doing wrong and why you aren’t building muscle and gaining weight and you want us to answer your most burning questions when it comes to building muscle and give you a STEP BY STEP action plan on what you NEED to be doing to start seeing results FAST then click on the link below to fill out our quick “What Am I Doing Wrong?” questionnaire:


Click Here to fill out your "What Am I Doing Wrong???" Questionnaire ASAP

IMPORTANT: Please don’t wait to fill out your “What Am I Doing Wrong?” questionnaire..... WHY?

1 - Because I have over 6000 subscribers on my mailing list, who just received the same message you just received who are probably filling out the form right now as we speak.

2 - Jimmy and I are EXTREMELY busy, Jimmy’s a Grad student working on his PhD and I’m a full time student and have a part time job in between classes which means realistically it can be a while for us to get to your questionnaire if you wait too long to fill it out.

Trust me you’re going to be kicking yourself if you don’t take action now.

So with that, all I can say is 2011 is gonna be a FUN FUN RIDE. Let’s start it off strong.

Til next time,

Rich

P.S. - Don’t wait to fill out your quick “What the heck am I doing wrong?” questionnaire. This can literally be EXACTLY what you need to break through whatever obstacle you may be facing right now. Over 6000 guys just like you are going to see this message and Jimmy and I are SUPER busy, so don’t let someone else take your spot.

Click Here to fill out your "What Am I Doing
Wrong???" Questionnaire ASAP.

P.P.S. - If you haven’t done so already, do yourself a favor and read Jimmy’s story. See what mistakes he made, how he overcame them (they may be the same mistakes you’re going through right now).


Click here to read Jimmy’s quick bio

Hardgainer Workout Tips: The Truth About Bodyweight Exercises And Gym Exercises

Filed Under: Hardgainer Tips 1 Comment

Hey guys,

Got another awesome question from a fellow hardgainer named Irving.

In today's newsletter I'm going to answer Irving's burning question which reveals the "TRUTH" about home exercises and gym exercises and what you NEED to know about each if you want to build the most amount of muscle in the least amount of time.

So here's the "Killer" question that sparked today's newsletter post:

In this week's newsletter I'm going to be talking about workout intensity.

========================================================

yo my dude that was a good video about all of the good foods to eat .. I am 5'8, 126lbs but i want to get up to about 145lbs. Ive been eating a lot of the foods you mentioned, and i been eating like 4 or 5 times a day.

I have also been doin a lot of pushups. do you think the pushups will help in adding muscle or what other excersises should i do ? iight man thx

========================================================

First off, let me just say thanks for sending me this great question Irving. And the truth is if I would have found the answer to this question years ago I pretty sure I wouldn't have struggled to see results for YEARS on end.

What I'm about to discuss today maybe the missing link to why you haven't seen the results you've been looking for, so pay close attention.

I remember when I was in high school and I was what my friend called "crack head skinny", yeah it was BAD. And I remember doing A TON of different things  to try to "get big", "bulk up" - you name it.

And one of the things I did was do a "GAZILLION" push ups in the morning and another "GAZILLION" push ups at night thinking that was all I needed to get bigger.

You wanna know how bad it really was???

I even remember lifting gallon jugs of water like dumbbells thinking "as long as I'm lifting something 'kinda' heavy" I'll get big.

WRONG!!!

It was the fact that I was doing workouts like these mixed with my poor high school eating habits that were the true cause of me not seeing the results I wanted.

And Irving, it's great that you're eating 4 - 5 times a day, that means that you "get" the nutrition part of the equation, now lets work on the "workout part" of it.

The Name Of The Game Is INTENSITY

One big misconception that I suffered from and you're probably suffering from is that "as long as the work your muscle to exhaustion (i.e. doing a ton of pushups, etc) you'll get huge".

Yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine and he was telling me about a website that shows you all the different exercises you could do at home to replace gym exercises.

Here's a lesson I learned the hard way:

If you're trying to add a significant amount of muscle and you're a "naturally skinny guy" you're going to need access to a gym or AT LEAST a home gym (i.e. - a BowFlex, etc)

Why?

Because the INTENSITY you get from doing a max set of pushups is WAYYYYY different from a MAX set on a bench press at 150 lbs.

Don't get me wrong, you can add muscle with pushups and other body weight exercises. But if your ultimate goal is to build a significant amount of muscle especially if you want to build it in a short period of time "calisthenics" or "body weight exercises" will only get you so far.

These exercises alone will only get you by in the "beginning".

So if you're just beginning to workout and train and you're following a muscle building diet which it seems like you already are Iriving, you will build muscle doing body weight exercises like pushups, pullups, dips etc.

Over Time These Exercises Won't Be Enough If You Want To Build A Significant Amount Of Muscle

And here's why...

See your body has primarily two types of muscle fibers. Fast twitch muscle fibers and slow twitch muscle fibers. Slow twitch muscle fibers are used for more endurance type exercises like "marathon running for example" and fast twitch muscle fibers are used for strength and power type exercises (like power lifting, and sprinting for example)

Every muscle group in your body (i.e. - your legs, your back, your biceps, your triceps, your shoulders) all consist of BOTH of these muscle fibers.

One key note to keep in mind about these two types of muscle fibers is that your fast twitch (strength and power) muscle fibers have the ability to grow MUCH larger than your slow twitch (endurance) muscle fibers can.

So when you think slow twitch muscles, picture a long distance marathon runner. And when you think fast twitch muscle picture a body builder like Arnold in his prime. Yes the difference in size that each of these muscles can grow are that staggering.

See, when you keep doing pushups or dips and all these other body weight exercises, instead of increasing the weight, which requires more strength and power (fast twitch muscle) to complete the exercise your body will switch and begin using your slow twich (endurance) muscle fibers to complete the exercise.

Why?

Because for endurance type activities your slow twitch muscle fibers are way more efficient. The problem is that your slow twitch muscle fibers even though great for endurance activites lack strength and power. That's where your fast twitch muscle fibers come in.

They can deliver more strength and power when you need it than your slow twitch muscle fibers but they fatigue very easily which is why your body uses your slow twitch muscle fibers for longer more drawn out activities.

So depending on the exercise your body will engage which ever muscle fibers it feels will help it get through the exercise more efficiently.

So when you do pushups or any of these other "home" exercises you're not increasing the weight over time, you're simply training your body to do MORE pushups then last time. Which means over time your pushups will be seen as an endurance activity, which means your body will engage more of your "slow twitch "muscle fibers to complete it.

Compare that to performing a bench press where your goal is to pick a weight that allows you to do no more then 8 reps. Everytime you're able to hit those 8 reps instead of doing more reps (endurance: slow twitch) you add more weight (strength and power: fast twitch) til you hit those 8 reps again and then you repeat the process.

So that's why you NEED access to a gym or a home gym if you want to build the most amount of muscle in the least amount of time. This is especially true if you're a hardgainer or "naturally skinny guy" like myself.

To answer your next question Irving, would make for a rather long blog post. But in short if you want a detailed list of exercises to do to build the MOST amount of muscle in the least amount of time I highly recommend you get my DVD casestudy.

Inside I offer a 2 week workout plan designed to build muscle FAST no matter what your experience level.

If you'd like to ask me a question leave a comment below or shoot me an email at Richard [at] buildmusclechallenge.com and I'll try my best to answer your question ASAP.

Please keep in mind I get TONS of emails and messages, so it may take a while for me to get to your specific question.

Only if you're interested, if you get your DVD Casestudy and Step By Step Action Plan when I release it I'm going to provide you with a 30 min. 1-on-1 coaching session FREE of charge so that I can answer ALL of your *BURNING* questions, see what you're doing wrong and create a game plan for you so you can start seeing results IMMEDIATELY.

If you're interested and would rather hop on the phone with me for a 1-on-1 coaching session rather than wait for me to get to your question via email which takes rather long due to my BUSY schedule then click the link below and sign up for my DVD Casestudy waiting list so you'll be first to know once it's available so you can grab one of the limited spots available.

Click here to sign up for my DVD Waiting List

Don't forget to leave your comment below letting me know what you thought of today's newsletter and if you have any additional questions.

Take care and til next time,

Rich

 

 

 

 

Why You NEED to Eat More AND Workout to Build Muscle And Gain Weight

Filed Under: Hardgainer Tips Leave a Comment

Hey guys,

In this week's newsletter I decided to answer another "KILLER" question that I got from one of your fellow subscribers.

Today's newsletter will reveal why you NEED to workout if you're trying to gain weight and build muscle.

So here's the "Killer" question that sparked today's newsletter post:

=========================================

hello I watch your video and it really helped but I still have one question. Can I still gain weight eating eggs if I don't exercise?

thank you,

Navid...(Nick name I'll use for our friend)

=========================================

I know it's a rather short question but there is a BIG problem assoicated with it.

After reading this question I realized that our friend Navid.. isn't familiar with the muslce building formula and the crucial role exercising plays when you're trying to build muscle (especially if you're a naturally skinny guy or hard gainer.

And I realized if one of my subscribers had this question then AT LEAST 20 others or more, possibly even you had this question in some way shape or form.

So before I get into the meat and potatoes of WHY exercising is so darn important even though it's something alot of guys don't want to do either because they're not used to working out, they find the idea of being "the skinny guy" in the gym intimidating (trust me I've been there), or they're just too lazy, I want to go over my muscle building formula first and foremost.

Everything I do to build muscle and everything i teach comes from this formula so it's VERY, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

Here's my muscle building formula:

Proper Nutrition + Proper Workouts + Proper Recovery = MASSIVE MUSCLE GAINS

Yes, you need ALL 3 components to get to the end of the equation (Massive Muscle Gains). If one is missing, it won't work. Trust me on this one, you need them ALL to get the results you want.

So now that you know the formula, let's dive in to why you NEED to workout in order to build muscle.

First, I want you to notice what's at the beginning of the equation, "Proper Nutrition". Proper Nutrition is important and you should look to start with your nutrition plan which includes what  foods to eat, when to eat it and how often to eat it before you move onto the other components.

Proper Nutrition is a whole other section in itself and would take way too long to explain why it's SOOO important to building muscle as well. But for the sake of this newsletter I'm going to put Proper Nutrition in the simplest terms as possible.

In order to build muscle you need to consume more calories than your body burns. So let's say your body burns 2,000 calories just to get through the day, you're going to want to consume MORE than 2,000 calories EACH day if you want to build muscle (somewhere between 2,500 - 3,000 calories would be a good range to shoot for).

So in short, if you want to build muscle you'll have to consume EXTRA calories daily. (there's much more to take into consideration but this is the simplest way to explain it)

So now that you know the role nutrition plays, here's why you NEED to workout if you want to build muscle.

It's real simple actually.

Your workouts tell your body what to do with all those extra calories you're consuming.

See when you workout (the right way) you're literally wearing, tearing and damaging your muscles to the point where your body says "Holy crap I better make these muscles stronger" so that the next time your muscles are exposed to such stress it can handle it better and get through it without getting damaged so much.

Read my previous post for my Tornado and House example to understand how your workouts effect your body.

http://buildmusclechallenge.com/50/need-help-gaining-weight/

What if you don't work out and you consume extra calories each day?

The simple answer is:

A) It'll get rid of it / speed up your metabolism and burn it off

B) Convert it into fat

C) Convert some of it into muscle

It really depends on your genetics and where most of those calories come from (i.e. junk food like "chips and soda" or whole foods like "whole grains and lean meats") that'll dictate what your body does with those extra calories IF you don't workout.

If you're a naturrally skinny guy odds are your body WILL NOT convert those extra calories to muscle UNLESS you tell it to through properly designed workouts.

If you're a naturally skinny guy then odds are your body will get rid of those extra calories or in most cases convert it to fat. That's why some skinny guys get that "skinny - fat " look. It's basically a skinny guy with a pot belly or beer belly type stomach.

And I know ALOT of guys who suffer from this.

So if you plan on building muscle as a naturally skinny PLEASE do proper workouts along with consuming extra calories each day to get the results you want. Because if you don't tell your body what to do with those extra calories you're consuming, it's just going to pick one on it's own. And just to let you know, building muscle is at the end of your body's "To Do" list.

I hope this post helps our friend Navid and anyone else who had this question at one point in time as well.

If you'd like to ask me a question leave a comment below or shoot me an email at Richard [at] buildmusclechallenge.com and I'll try my best to answer your question ASAP.

Please keep in mind I get TONS of emails and messages, so it may take a while for me to get to your specific question.

Only if you're interested, if you get your DVD Casestudy and Step By Step Action Plan when I release it I'm going to provide you with a 30 min. 1-on-1 coaching session FREE of charge so that I can answer ALL of your *BURNING* questions, see what you're doing wrong and create a game plan for you so you can start seeing results IMMEDIATELY.

If you're interested and would rather hop on the phone with me for a 1-on-1 coaching session rather than wait for me to get to your question via email which takes rather long due to my BUSY schedule then click the link below and sign up for my DVD Casestudy waiting list so you'll be first to know once it's available so you can grab one of the limited spots available.

Click here to sign up for my DVD Waiting List

Don't forget to leave your comment below letting me know what you thought of today's newsletter and if you have any additional questions.

Take care and til next time,

Rich

 

 

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