The Truth About Building Muscle: Get Bigger Without Steroids

Detailed Table of Contents –Training section

Introduction

About this book

Getting the most from this book

Dedication

Why an e-book?

Why I wrote this book

Be careful

Cautions and warnings

Benefits of strength training

Improved physical performance and appearance

Metabolic efficiency

Decreased risk of injury

Choosing a gym

Environment and surroundings

Equipment evaluation

Location and hours

Cleanliness

Knowledgeable staff

Warming up

Seven big reasons to warm up properly

Stretching

Improved physical performance and decreased risk of injury

Increased blood and nutrients to tissues

Reduced risk of low back pain

Reduced muscle soreness and improved posture

Improved muscle coordination

Enhanced enjoyment of physical activities

Weightlifting myths

Myth #1 Big muscles slow you down.

Myth #2 Muscle just turns to fat later.

Myth #3 You need to shock your muscles into growth.

Myth #4 You need high reps for definition and low reps for mass.

Myth #5 New muscle gains are lost after 48 hours.

Myth #6 For best results, you need to train 'instinctively'.

Anatomy of a rep

The basics

PHASE ONE: The concentric contraction

Closing the gap

PHASE TWO: The transition

Stuck in the middle?

PHASE THREE: The eccentric contraction

Letting It down slow

One final rep

Factors affecting strength

Type of muscle fiber

Age

Gender

Limb and muscle length

Point of tendon insertion

Other important factors

My way of working out

For example, look at what I do

Ultra intensity training (UIT) background

The basis of high intensity training

The other UIT conditions for growth

UIT conclusion

Light vs. heavy training

The invisible line

You can't train heavy all the time

A shift towards quicker results

One real benefit of light training

Shock your muscles, how absurd!

Instinctive training debunked

How to use the best mass builders

Deadlifts

Squats

Basic movements and exercises

Free weights vs. machines

Advantages vs. disadvantages of free weights vs. machines

Body parts explained

How often to train

Training frequency

Training efficiency

More bang for the buck

Less wear and tear

More time outside the gym

Intensity

Rest

Environment

Music

Energy boosters

Endurance

Attire

Progression

Form

To strap or not to strap

Sets

Repetitions

Duration

Rest between sets

Keep a simple training journal

Training past failure

Forced reps

Drop sets

Negative reps

Negative resistance reps

Negatives can be positive

Cheat reps

Cheating, the good kind

Rest-pause

Twenty-ones

Giant sets

Supersets

How to build more muscle in less time with supersets

Pre-exhaust

One last note

Going past full range of motion failure

Strongest range partials

What percentage of range must you use to get results?

Descending sets

Static holds

Half reps

Fascial stretching

The solution is stretching

Expand the Fascia for Muscular Size and Shape

Applying the principles

Frequency and recovery

Muscular separation

Detailed Table of Contents – Nutrition section

The building blocks

Why you need good nutrition

Motivation builds the foundation of good eating habits

Three important keys to understanding effective nutrition

Protein, your #1 priority

How much protein should I eat to build muscle?

Good protein sources

The danger of eating too much protein

Carbohydrates, the energy you need

Starchy carbohydrates, stay away from them

Choose the right carbs at the right time

Fats, they aren't all bad

Reducing fat in your diet

10 tips to reduce fat

Why eating fat makes us fat

What is the best ratio of macronutrtients?

Meals; how many per day should I eat?

Calculate the amount of protein, carbs, and fat in food

Determining your maintenance level

Another way to determine your maintenance level

Blood sugar and insulin

Fast vs. slow burning carbs

Insulin to the rescue

How does insulin work?

What the body does and why

Why is insulin so important to me?

Keeping your receptors happy and productive

Insulin summary

Your body composition

Build muscle

Eating to build muscle mass

The bulking up strategy for packing on muscle

How do you know that you're losing muscle?

Lose fat

Eating to lose body fat

There's no substitute for hard work when losing fat

Can I build muscle and lose fat at the same time?

Getting shredded and keeping mass

Fat-burning mode: learn to love it

The top 8 fitness success formulas

1. Listen to your body

2. Control your portions

3. Slow down!

4. Substitute smarter

5. What are you drinking?

6. Get your butt in gear

7. Join your kids

8. Build muscle!

Work with your metabolism

Dealing with a slow metabolism

Mental strategies for dealing with a slow metabolism

Dealing with a fast metabolism

Importance of post workout nutrition

Invest your time wisely

Remodeling the post-workout period

You have to feed your hungry muscles

Whole food vs. nutritional supplements

Liquid meals taste good and are getting better

Liquid meals have a fast absorption profile

Liquid meals take advantage of the window of opportunity

Liquid meals are better for nutrient targeting

Keep your diet super simple

Be consistent, always

Countless benefits to having good nutrition habits

The importance of drinking plenty of water

Having cheat days in your diet without guilt

Eating out

Power up your breakfast

During your sleep time

Alcohol and training

Beer data

Training + nutrition = mass, sample diet

Understanding food labels

1. Check the List of Ingredients

2. Pay Attention to Total Fat and Saturated Fat

3. Figure out the Percentage of Calories from Fat

Food label terms, what they really mean

10 biggest nutritional mistakes

1. Eating too much

2. Eating too little

3. Insufficient protein

4. Failing to cook for yourself

5. Not keeping a nutrition log

6. Too much fat & sugar

7. Not drinking enough water

8. Lacking positive nitrogen balance

9. Lacking food balance in meals

10. Ignoring supplementation

10 tips for eating well despite your busy schedule

Supplements

Protein shakes; these have to be your best friend

Total nutrition or complete meal replacement protein

Pure protein powder

Let's also talk about protein bars

Whey protein

Creatine: More than a sports nutrition supplement

What is creatine?

How does creatine work?

How to get the best gains from creatine

Creatine conclusion

Glutamine, the best amino acid

Growth hormone

What is it and where does it come from?

What does it do and how can it help a bodybuilder?

All about green tea

Bodybuilding and fitness uses

All about other teas

Qualities of tea

Green tea summary

Ephedrine = a dangerous drug??

Ephedrine = death?

Hype and misinformation you need to know about

Vitamins and minerals

The lowdown on antioxidants

The metabolic process

Vitamin A

Beta carotene

Vitamin C

Vitamin E

ALA

Pycnogenol and grapeseed extract

A listing of the best ones for you

Vitamin A (carotene)

Vitamin B1 (thiamine)

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

Vitamin B3 (niacin)

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)

Biotin

Folic acid

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

Vitamin D

Vitamin E

Vitamin K

Minerals to maintain in your diet

Calcium

Chromium

Copper

Iodine

Iron

Magnesium

Manganese

Phosphorous

Potassium

Selenium

Sodium

Zinc

Don't shy away from salt, it can help you

The dangers of excess body fat

Reducing body fat reduces disease risk

Gaining fat happens to us naturally

Healthy eating and fitness are the best defenses against being fat

Turning fat into muscle myth

Look for motivation and inspiration

Set new and bigger goals

Read, study and learn

Do you have the power to change?

19 get moving motivators

Detailed Table of Contents – Recovery section

Recuperate and grow

How to accelerate growth and recovery

How it all works

Krebs cycle

The solution

How much rest and sleep is needed?

Sleep, rest and 24-hour nitrogen retention

Sleep - serious stuff for bodybuilders

Why can't I sleep?

Schedule daily naps - this one is my favorite

The growth process

Three steps to growth

Stress and adaptation

Local recovery vs. systemic recovery; there is a difference

Vacation from training = great recovery

Avoid unnecessary stress

No partying, at least cut down a little

Allow almost nothing to prevent a workout

Choose your friends (and lovers) wisely

How relaxation can help you

Set Visualization

Getting your oxygen flowing

Take a week off to stimulate future growth

Lifting for life

Getting adjusted

Plateaus and stickling points

Breaking through training plateaus

Three things that will bust any plateau

1. Take time off

2. Space your workouts farther apart

3. Do heavy leg training

Do whatever you can to avoid injury

Muscle soreness

Pain during or just after a workout

Muscle cramps

Injury

Tendonitis and bursitis, they don't just happen to tennis players

When you're injured

Ice vs. heat

Ice

Heat

11 tips to prevent injury in the gym

Avoid these exercises to avoid injury

Upright rows

Behind-the-neck pull downs

Behind-the-neck shoulder press

Stiff-legged deadlifts

The sit-up

Stretch marks

What is chiropractic care and how can it help me?

The benefits of massage therapy

The origin of the pain

What can massage therapy do for you?

Why you should get regular massages

10 must-haves in bodybuilding

1. Dedication

2. Patience

3. Good form

4. Goals

5. Motivation

6. Healthy diet / nutrition

7. Stay natural

8. Rest

9. Learn

10. Enjoy it

Top 10 keys to physical progress

1. Consistency

2. Positive attitude

3. Eat smart

4. Taking supplements

5. Kill your darlings

6. Don't neglect cardio

7. Listen to your body

8. Keep track of yourself

9. Remain open to new ideas

10. Understand the big picture

12 ways to boost gains with less time

1. Cut the chit-chat

2. Have a plan of attack

3. Cut breaks down

4. Cut rest time between sets

5. Use supersets and drop sets

6. Avoid redundant exercises

7. Train at off-peak hours

8. Use more machines

9. Use less wraps and straps

10. Train on a near-empty stomach

11. Focus, focus, focus

12. Split up the body into more days

Tips for every muscle from head to toe

5 super muscle builders

Experiment No. 1: Focus your thoughts for growth

Experiment No. 2: Forcefully push beyond your outer limits

Experiment No. 3: Go medieval for tremendous traps

Experiment No. 4: Feed your lust for more plates

Experiment No. 5: Reach the peak and hold it

Are there any secrets?

Let's clear things up first

No secrets, just proven principles

Midnight protein shakes

Make research and education a priority

Don't skimp on your bodybuilding budget

Are you overtraining or undertraining?

Overtraining, what a bad word

Exercise - how much do you really need?

The one set case

The bare minimum

Genetics can be your best friend or your worst enemy

8 biological energy systems

1 thru 8 are:

1. ATP

2. Phosphagen system

3. Glycogen-lactic acid system

4. Fatty acids

5. Muscle glycogen

6. Liver glycogen

7. Blood sugar

8. Protein

Your main energy system - ATP

The best anaerobic energy system for training

The best aerobic energy system for training

Which is better, aerobics or anerobics?

Detailed Table of Contents – Mental muscle section

Mental muscle power

A look at the human mind

Can you see thoughts?

What happens within your body everyday

Mind over matter

One step at a time

How the mind builds the body

Mental strength

Mental tools

Transforming barriers into boosters

Everything in moderation

Have a life

Bodybuilding is just another way of living

Use your rest and recovery time wisely

Building the mind of a champion

Pre-workout mental priming

Pure mental isolation and focus

Cultivating and applying the pain barrier breakthrough

Developing mind/muscle communication

Determine and connect with your performance workout emotion

Recite a.m. personal power affirmations

Set specific outcomes for every set, and each workout

Embracing the push it to the limit and beyond attitude

Deep mental relaxation to promote sound, restful sleep

The ideal motivation principle

Embracing the resolve toward completion

Independent belief, look within yourself

What you think is what you'll get

Avoid negative thinking

Hypnotism is a very powerful tool

See yourself win; a look at sports

Imagery and self-confidence

Pumping mental iron

Throughout history

Using imagery to overcome obstacles

The psycho-neuromuscular theory

Symbolic learning theory

Sensory awareness

Develop vividness

Controllability

Other ways to teach imagery

The power of visualization

Focus and visualization

Get focused

The problems that affect your focus

The solutions to these problems

Other tricks and ideas

Maintaining focus in the gym

Broken limitations

Finding your motivation

Getting started

Genetic limitations

Motivators such as goals really help

Short term goals

Take pictures

Advice

Get motivated

Incentive: The mother of motivation

Steps to goal attainment

Your emotional state

Fear & self-esteem

Fear of failure

Fear of injury

Fear of success

Other situations involving fear of success

Discipline

What is discipline?

Training with discipline

Concentration

Be an example

6 keys to successful bodybuilding

Composing a vision

10 benefits of reviewing your vision daily

You are forced to create a plan when creating a vision

You will work in a more direct manner

Visions allow you to make the right decisions, daily

You become accountable for your actions

The challenging times that you have will become easier

Visions make you find ways to meet your goals

You find ways to overcome difficult challenges

People become valuable assets to you

Visions allow you to realize what you have accomplished

You will enjoy striving for your goals

Goal setting 101

Bodybuilding goal checklist

Making dreams a reality and setting goals

10 Steps to setting and attaining goals

Define a specific goal

Goal setting conclusion

Blueprint your success

Go slow at first

Write it down, write it down, write it down

Small goals = big gains

Visualize and be positive

Establish a time frame

Get a training partner

Reward yourself

Blueprint conclusion

Weak mind = weak body

How to think more positively

What to do for maintenance

What does this have to do with the I can, I can't feeling

Your inner dialogue

Positive lifting

What to do

Say what?

Thinking like Bruce Lee

Mechanics of doing it

Top 10 reasons to never quit!

10. Swimsuit season

9. Some people expect you to quit

8. Friends think they are better than you

7. Being strong

6. Feeling good about yourself

5. Feel good when you run into old friends

4. Succeed in other areas of life

3. Have the dream life you always wanted

2. Going to the gym is fun

1. The opposite sex, what else is there to say?

Do you have a contradictory mindset?

Logical fundamentals

The body

The scientific method

Logical fundamentals summary

The balancing act

Why change

Finding balance, the importance of self-improvement

Are you one of these people?

Have the power to change

How I changed my fate

How to be a bodybuilder

Make weightlifting fun

Workout with friends or family

Expect plateaus

Don't get down

Set goals in all areas of your life

Just do it

Conclusion

Keep volume low and intensity high

Train briefly and infrequently

Train for strength

Use an appropriate repetition range

Focus on the major muscle groups

Use proper training style and technique

Emphasize recovery more than you think you should

Eat well and often

Combine machines and free weights

Keep a daily workout record

Diet to obtain muscular definition and low body fat

Questions and answers

Terms and definitions

Introduction

About this book

Hello and welcome! Thanks for purchasing my new e-book. It's loaded with revolutionary proven knowledge and techniques that will allow you to quickly and efficiently transform your body to whatever level of fitness and muscularity you desire. You can do muscle toning or firming or conditioning for a sport or even adding 20, 40, 60 pounds of new, hard muscle to your frame. All without drugs and without spending a fortune on nutritional supplements and without wasting your time in the gym.

You see, a while ago my 25-year-old friend told me was getting into lifting weights at the gym and he wanted to know what I thought he should be doing in the gym to maximize his results. He knew that I wrote books on the subject, performed research on trainees from 16 to 82 years of age, measured the results every step of the way and synthesized them into full workouts and specialization workouts. He knew all that and more but he didn't want to read that much, he just wanted his best friend to tell him the core knowledge from all those books and all that research. The best of the best without any preamble, padding myself on the back or self-serving BS about how smart I was compared to others. So I gave it to him. Nothing more; nothing less.

That made me realize I really could condense what I've learned developing new data, feedback from customers, and experience from personal consultations. Everything into a book that I could make available to anyone in the world via the Internet.

And that's what you have right now. The best information garnered from years of research in real world testing. I urge you to read every word of it. The knowledge you need is in these pages and is laid out in a concise format and I don't repeat the same things over and over. That is with the exception of safety. Safety is the most important piece of information you can get out of this book. With that said I wouldn't dwell on it too much.

Getting the most from this book

If you are like most guys, you're tempted to turn to the chapters on workouts and dive right into your workouts with those killer techniques and principles. That's because most muscle heads see bodybuilding as merely hoisting weights up-and-down, over and over, slowly increasing the weight, under some misguided concept of this is what builds muscle. These are the guys who are always on the lookout for the magic routine that has eluded them for so long. Don't make that mistake!

Now I know you're not going to like to hear this, but read this manual all the way through before beginning your program. I want you to get on the gym floor in the quickest time possible but I want you to be armed with the advanced knowledge needed to put that time to good use. If you skip a chapter thinking you already know everything needed to know about that training factor, you could be setting yourself up for a big disappointment. But don't worry I'll be there every step of the way.

We will be covering a lot of information in this book. Information that is anything but common knowledge even among the professional bodybuilders who rely on anabolic steroids for their massive gains. Well, there you have it. I've sufficiently warned you of the dangers of skipping ahead in this book and I've given you a couple of extra emphasis tools to make sure you get the most important details from all information I have jammed into these pages.

Also, you will notice a couple of inches of open space at the bottom of each page; I did this for a reason. I want you to write down and highlight the most important parts for you. This open space is for your notes. By reading and writing the ideas that really connect with you, you will be able to absorb and use those points without even being aware of it. Print out this book and write all over it; I want you to squeeze every benefit out of the huge amount of information within these pages.

Two other tools you will see throughout this book that will help you understand the key points are The Doctor Says dialog box and the Doctor's Prescription dialog box. Look for boxes like these as you are reading:

These 2 dialog boxes will help you get the most important information first. Also use them as a guideline for writing your own notes at the bottom of each page. After you have read this book you can skim through it later and read only the dialog boxes and your personal notes to re-connect with all the information contained in this book. I have found this technique to be very valuable to me when I want to skim a book I have already read and review the key points.

So here's what I want you to do now. If you have already been busting your ass in the gym training three to four days or more per week. Take a week off! You'll understand why later, but for now just plan on using that week to review this manual and fully prepare for your fiery return. If you're relatively new to bodybuilding, or it has been awhile since you've been in the gym, take the next week to introduce your body to what it's about to experience. In order to avoid overloading your body to the point of shutdown it's wise to begin a light exercise routine to prepare your muscles, joints and ligaments for the upcoming barrage. You don't want to go all out to the point you can barely move the next day. That would defeat the whole purpose of the first couple weeks of this program. Besides if you're looking for is an intense workout session, the real workout is coming up.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to every bodybuilder and athlete who has an acquiring rational mind; to every person who can throw off the chains of comfortable habit and unproven premises and move into new direction that is guided by reason and observational evidence, no matter where that direction takes him; to every person to try something immediately and thinks How can I make this better? To every person who is unafraid to challenge the false beliefs of the herd and lead others out of the cave and into the light.

In the world of bodybuilding it is these people with these genetics who are truly the greatest champions of the human race. To these people not just in the science of human strength but also in every science we all owe our enormous gratitude.

Why an e-book?

Some people ask me why I wrote this as an e-book. I could have written the draft of this book and taken to a mainstream book publisher, but there are a few reasons why I self-published this as an e-book and they all benefit you.

Freedom of content: E-books can contain links to related material, special pages or even built-in programs. Also big publishing companies don't like controversy. They don't like writers being too blunt about certain topics. They prefer to re-edit or re-word certain things. With an e-book, which I both write and publish, I conclude whatever content I want to include. Which leads me to....

Freedom of style: Any writer does better when he uses his own voice. For example, in a mainstream publication I would have to say, many professional bodybuilders use dangerous drugs to augment their muscular development. But in my own e-book I can say, "pro bodybuilding is filled with unbridled use of every type of drug imaginable.

Steroids represent less than 10 percent of what drugs bodybuilders actually use today. The full truth is that they use up to 20 prescription drugs at the same time and 1000% of the recommended safe dose. They take drugs intended for diabetes, cancer, dwarfism, pain, bloating, cardiology, hematology, impotence; the list goes on and on.

Athletes and regular folks are dropping dead every year and the huge meltdown is coming because the real health effects (tumors, heart failure, kidney failure, etc) appear to take at least fifteen years to show up. Soon we'll be hearing about the failing health of the great names of bodybuilding from the '80s and '90s, if you haven't heard already." Try finding that kind of plain talk in a nice mainstream book. I'm sure you won't find it especially if the author puts down supplements anyway since that's where the real cash cow is in bodybuilding.

Freedom from templates: Mainstream publishers have a formula they have to follow. It is just the realities of the book business. Right now is the larger book format (9 x 11) with approximately 220 pages; it is all about shelf space in the bookstores and perceived value. So a new e-book with about 120 pages loaded with new ideas that's guaranteed to put 40 pounds of muscle on you doesn't have a prayer of getting into print, but a 220 page book showing women doing workouts with 3 pound dumbbells gets in every bookstore and featured every woman's magazine.

The perception of what is valuable is very different from what really has value in the gym. An e-book format allows me to get right to the point without adding a bunch of filler, such as lots and lots of pictures that you have already seen, to get the book up to 220 pages.

The amount of information packed into this e-book took 17 years to determine and compile. It can unlock the greatest muscle growth you've ever experienced. When Einstein writes E=MC² on a piece of paper, it doesn't take a many pages but that knowledge can unlock enormous power.

Freedom of marketing: Digital content and the Internet is the wave of the future in publishing. When a mainstream book is published it gets an initial marketing push by the publisher and then it's all done. E-books can be promoted by links, banners, affiliate programs, and word of mouse that keep it in front of bodybuilders every day. Why should you care about that? The financial success of this e-book fuels the next one and that brings you more useful research information instead of the crap that's available in many books. As you can see in the bookstores, mainstream publishers say the same thing day after day, year after year.

Freedom of access: Less than 5% of the world's population lives in America. It can be pretty difficult and expensive to get an American book delivered to Turkey. But an e-book can be delivered around the world without extra costs and you can be reading it 20 seconds after you buy it.

And I'm not talking hypothetically here; this e-book not only sold copies in the United States and Canada, it also sold in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, Denmark, Malaysia, China, Japan, Belarus, American Samoa and the Netherlands. All in the first 60 days!

Like the bodybuilders in the above countries around the world you're about to discover this e-book is absolutely loaded with useful information you can apply in your next workout. You're literally minutes away from the most productive workouts of your life.

Why I wrote this book

First let me explain why I wrote this book, I'll phrase it into a short story were I'm sure you can identify with the main character.

Let me introduce you to Average Joe. Joe is very typical of the bodybuilders trying to pack on muscle in today's gyms. Determined to look like the huge guys in the magazines, he signed up for his membership at the local gym, buys his weightlifting gloves and belt and all the other essential tools for packing on the pounds, and begins his quest.

At the gym he follows the lead of all the other muscle heads and begins bench pressing, curling, and squatting the most weight he can. Like the other misinformed Joes, he thinks that working harder and harder, steadily increasing the weight on the bar will force his body into growth beyond his wildest dreams. He makes some gains; enough to keep pushing on but soon finds himself stagnated.

Not seeing any more strength or size development Joe decides to go to the next level. He looks around the gym for the biggest iron pumping consultant he can find that also looks friendly enough to talk to. That guy is The Juice. Joe approaches Juice to inquire about the secrets to his bodybuilding. Juice tells Joe everything he knows about what exercises to choose, how much weight to use, what to eat and what super supplements to use.

Joe sets out again following everything Juice tells him; positive he now has the missing links to maximum growth. Some of what Juice told Joe was enough to move him out of his plateau temporarily. Within a few weeks he finds his strength and size stalemated again.

Frustrated Joe decides to turn to the experts. He goes to the local bookstore and picks up every bodybuilding magazine they have and begins his research. Obviously with arms and legs the size of telephone poles and a chest the size of 2 Webster's dictionaries, anything these pros have to say must be gospel. Then there all the ads for the top-secret supplement discoveries promising you God-like powers from all the latest scientific research.

Confused and frustrated Joe spent a small fortune on supplements and is back in the gym. He is loaded with tips from all the pros and has so many secret potions running through his veins that he can be declared off-limits as a toxic waste dump! He makes a small gain, only to find it wither away as he hits the wall. The wall is the place that all beginning and novice bodybuilders hit when they realize that building muscle is a whole lot harder than those hulking professionals in the magazines make it look.

Now comes the moment of truth. Here are the facts.

Fact: All those pro bodybuilders trying to coax you to purchase the next wave of natural supplements guaranteeing massive growth, got that big not from the natural supplements they are marketing but rather by pumping massive quantities of anabolic steroids into their veins.

Fact: The killer pre-contest and mass building routines those pros let you in on are enough to throw any bodybuilder into chronic overtraining without the aid of a serious dose of dangerous growth hormone and steroids. Or make you sick from a depressed immune system or seriously injure yourself.

Fact: The bodybuilding supplement market is a multi-multi-million dollar industry that is supported by well-intentioned serious seekers of muscle and fitness such as yourself, fall prey to the ads and articles designed for one thing, to take your hard earned money.

Fact: Supplement manufacturers and gym owners all follow the six-month rule of marketing. Basically six months is how long research has shown it takes the average seeker of strength to join a gym, purchase the supplements they're convinced they need, reach the wall where they see no more gains, get frustrated, and quit their workout program.

Fact: Those same bodybuilding magazines that projected air of objectivity actually own many of the supplements they're advertising and are recommending in their magazines.

Here are some of the worst offenders:

Flex Weider Supplements

Muscle & Fitness Weider Supplements

MuscleMag Muscle Tech

Muscular Development Twinlab

Muscle Media EAS

These companies weren't stupid. They realized early on that they could sell you a magazine full of great looking perfectly sculpted columns of muscle to make you feel puny and weak; then offer you ad after ad of expensive supplements with pumped up scientific claims to milk you for even more of your dough.

Be careful

Caution: This program involves a systemic progression of muscular overload that leads to lifting extremely heavy weights. As a result, a proper warm-up of muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints is mandatory at beginning of every workout.

Warning: As this is a very intense program, it requires both a thorough knowledge of proper exercise form and a base level of strength fitness. Although exercise is very beneficial, the potential does exist for injury, especially if the trainee is not in good physical condition. As always consult with your physician before beginning any program of progressive weight training or exercise. If you feel any strain or pain when you start exercising, stop immediately and consult your physician.

Benefits of strength training

Strength training is exercise that uses resistance (for example, weights) to strengthen and condition the musculoskeletal system, improving muscle tone and endurance. Strength-training is used as a general term synonymous with other common terms: weightlifting and resistance training. Physiologically, the benefits of consistent strength training include an increase in muscle size and tone, increased muscle strength, and increases in tendon, bone, and ligament strength. Strength training has also been shown to improve psychological health as well, by increasing self-esteem, confidence and self-worth.

These improvements have a great influence on our physical performance, metabolic efficiency, physical appearance and risk of injury. I'll go into each of these aspects in detail, outlining some very exciting benefits of a good strength-training program that most people overlook or don't realize.

Improved physical performance and appearance

One important result of strength training is increased physical performance. Muscles quite literally utilize energy to produce movement, functioning as the engine or powerhouse of the body. Strength training increases the muscles' size, strength, and endurance, which contribute to improvements in our work, our favorite sports and hobbies, and our general day-to-day activities.

Another benefit of a good strength-training program is its effect on our overall appearance and body composition, which can directly influence self-esteem, self-worth, and level of confidence. Take, for example, a 170-pound man who has 20 percent body fat—34 pounds of fat weight and 136 pounds of lean body weight (muscle, bones, organs, water, etc.) By beginning an effective strength-training program, he replaces five pounds of fat with five pounds of muscle. He still weighs 170 pounds, but he is now 17 percent fat—with 29 pounds of fat weight and 141 pounds of lean body weight. Although his body weight remains the same, his strength, muscle tone, and metabolism have improved, giving him a firmer, fit appearance.

Both our physical appearance and our physical performance can be improved by muscle gain or hampered by muscle loss. Research indicates that unless we strength train regularly; we lose more than one-half pound of muscle every year of our lives after age 25. Unless we implement a safe and effective strength-training program, our muscles gradually decrease in size and strength in the process called atrophy.

Strength training is therefore important for preventing the muscle loss that normally accompanies the aging process. A common misconception is that as we get older, it is normal to stop being active and to start using aides like canes and wheelchairs. Many people think we have no choice; they think this is normal. I plan on being very healthy and fit into my 80's and beyond. Unless God has other plans, I fully believe I will see my 100th Birthday. You too should aim for this type of lifelong fitness.

There is absolutely no reason why all of us can't be physically, mentally, socially, and sexually active, living a healthy vibrant life until the very day we die! The reason many elderly people rely on aides and become slower and fatter is simply that over the years their muscles are decreasing, so their physical performance and metabolism also decrease, becoming less efficient. They just accept it instead of doing something about it; don't let this happen to you!

Metabolic efficiency

That one-half pound of muscle loss every year after age 25 produces a one-half percent reduction in basal metabolic rate (BMR) every year. A reduction in BMR means that our bodies are less able to use the food we consume as energy—thus more gets stored as body fat. Everyone has an individual basal metabolic rate. Basal metabolic rate refers to the energy used by our body at rest to maintain normal body functions.

Our muscles have high-energy requirements. Even when we are sleeping, our muscles use more than 25 percent of our energy (calories). When you implement the principles of effective strength training, and if you are consistent in your program, you will achieve an increase in lean muscle mass throughout your body and increase your basal metabolic rate. In other words, you can actually condition your metabolism to work better and more efficiently even when you are at rest. An increase in muscle tissue causes an increase in metabolic rate, and a decrease in muscle tissue causes a decrease in metabolic rate.

Once again: adults who are not on a safe, effective strength-training program will experience an annual half-pound loss of muscle and half-percent reduction in metabolic rate unless they begin some form of strength training. The gradual decrease in muscle and basal metabolic rate is related to the increase in body fat that most people gain as they get older if they do not strength train. With a decrease in muscle, less energy is used for daily metabolic function, so calories previously necessary to perform the activities of daily living now end up stored as fat.

You can see that anyone interested in decreasing body fat percentage, their risk of disease, and increasing physical performance and appearance, should be strength training to help condition their metabolism.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when starting a weight-management program is not including a strength-training program with their cardiovascular exercise and low-fat eating regimen. This is unfortunate because when we cut calories without exercise, we can lose muscle as well as fat.

Many do not choose to do strength training because 1) they mistakenly think they are going to make their body big and bulky, and 2) they do not realize how beneficial and important strength training is in a weight-management program. Whether it is strength, endurance, muscle size or muscle tone (or a combination) you desire, all are very realistic and obtainable.

Decreased risk of injury

Our muscles also function as shock absorbers and serve as important balancing agents throughout our body. Well-conditioned muscles help to lessen the repetitive landing forces in weight-bearing activities such as jogging or playing basketball. Well-balanced muscles reduce the risk of injuries that result when a muscle is weaker than its opposing muscle group. For example, jogging places more stress on the hamstrings and calves than it does on the quadriceps, creating a muscle imbalance that often leads to knee injuries; so it is very important that runners be on a good strength-training program that includes training the quadriceps as well as the hamstrings and calves.

To reduce the risk of unbalanced muscle development, you should make sure that when you are training a specific muscle group, the opposing muscle groups are being trained as well (though not on the same day). For example, if you are doing strength training exercises for your chest, you should include back exercises in your program as well. This is an obvious point since while on my program you will be working your whole body over the course of a week.

By now you have probably realized that weightlifting should be an important part of your exercise routine. Weightlifting provides many important benefits that cannot be achieved by any other exercise or activity. When you begin achieving great results, the excitement and fun you experience will make the change well worth the effort. Action creates motivation! Good luck, I hope you enjoy all the wonderful benefits of an effective strength-training program.

Choosing a gym

Choosing the right gym that will ensure your continued and overall progress is almost as important as finding a lifelong companion that will be with you through all the good times and all the bad times as well. Throughout my years of training, I have always made finding the right workout facility one of my highest priorities. Why? Because finding the right gym or health club for you will guarantee your success or failure in reaching your intended fitness goals. An environment conducive to your development may accelerate your gains ten-fold. An environment that is detrimental to your success, will eventually lead to definite loss in interest and motivation.

I equate this to finding the right companion because it can be viewed as an investment in your future. Making the right decision to invest in the gym of your dreams can be a very stressful decision to make. You really won't know until you actually start to live there whether the decision you made is going to be a lasting relationship. No matter what decision you make, there will inevitably be things that you won't like and things you will love about it.

The key is having or finding more things to love than to dislike in your gym or health club of choice since no gym will be perfect. If you do find the perfect gym, don't tell everyone your great secret (except for me of course). Finding the things that you love will happen naturally in some cases. Others will develop with time and patience. Your fortitude and dedication will enable you to find and discover the things most important and building the relationship that will be necessary to achieve and drive you towards your ultimate success. Failure to be open to changes and resistance to becoming flexible to change, can and will eventually lead to your discontent and disenchantment with being there and investing time trying to build a solid foundation. Doesn't this all sound like a relationship and things that could make or break one? That is the very reason that I was inspired to write this book. I have realized how similar the two are in many ways. In this section, I intend to list some of the things that should be considered when trying to find the right place for achieving fitness results!

Environment and surroundings

This to me is crucial in determining whether the day to day trips to the gym will be something to look forward to or something to avoid or find reason to avoid. As in a solid relationship, how that relationship with a gym develops will depend on the surroundings that foster its development. Having other motivated and inspired members, will sometimes inspire and or motivate you to be there and to make sure you make it there. Just as a married couple should attempt to surround themselves with other married people who are in happy, successful relationships. As a married couple, there is great value in surrounding yourselves with those that have succeeded through the trials and tribulations of the day to day experience, the same is necessary in a gym or health club atmosphere.

Surrounding yourself with others who have achieved success will help to inspire you to also succeed. When deciding if a gym or health club is right, it is important to spend a week or even two, before joining, working out there at different times. Try morning and evening workouts to get a feel for the type of atmosphere a gym has. This will provide much of the necessary exposure you will need to enable you to get a feel for the atmosphere and decide if it is right for you. Some gyms or health clubs provide or facilitate a highly social atmosphere. This type of atmosphere is important for those who see a workout as a social or networking experience. This is okay for those with less competitive goals. A bodybuilder, however, will probably prefer a less social atmosphere since timing and intensity are key elements to success. However, it is important to realize that this type of gym should not be discounted immediately by a bodybuilder.

As I mentioned previously, it could be that the early morning atmosphere might be conducive for a bodybuilder while the evening environment may be more attractive to a person having more social aspirations. The only way to know for certain is to experience it firsthand.

Equipment evaluation

Evaluating the type of equipment at the gym is like appreciating all the qualities that you desire in a companion. You might prefer a gym having more free weights than machines just like you prefer a companion that is tall or short. A great place to begin, again, is to actually workout at the potential gym. This will allow you to know how well the equipment fits into your overall development plan. Things that will help you determine this are:

1) Is there enough variety of equipment for different workouts?

2) Is the equipment sturdy and well maintained?

3) Is there enough of the popular equipment such that I can get to it during your workout? (I.e. bench press, cable pulley etc.)

4) Do the cardio classes fit into my planned schedule?

I equate this to being similar to taking a person on a date to help determine if they might become a future companion of choice. You most likely would not make that determination before several dates or conversations. Deciding on a gym should include a small degree of the same type of investigation. Also with equipment evaluation, it is critical to consider the scope of equipment that is provided. A bodybuilder may require free weights, machines, cardio equipment (i.e. stair climber, indoor track, heavy bag etc.) in order to be successful at reaching their required potential. Some gyms may be lacking in one or more and sometimes all of these areas. This is all dependent on your overall goal and should be considered in light of what that might be.

Location and hours

Location of a gym is a convenience that should have a major impact on your choice of the right gym. Again, as in finding the right companion, it is often required that a person of interest be within driving distance. Developing the foundation of a good relationship requires a lot of time and care. This is especially important during the early stages of a relationship. The same holds true for finding the right gym. In the early stages of developing your relationship with the gym, it is important to find a gym with a convenient location and hours that facilitate your hectic schedule.

An optimal location is one that falls between work and home. This makes it easier to train before or after work without using the old, It's too far out of the way and I'm running late excuse. It is also great to find a gym having multiple locations in the area. This way, you can have alternatives and it can provide more variety in terms of atmosphere and equipment. I find that, with four different gym alternatives, I can force a necessary change in my workout routine by simply deciding