are not saying anything different or bringing anything new. They are repackaging the same old material you’ve heard a million times already in a sexier way or with a new hook. And they don’t always practice what they teach. They have a lukewarm passion for fitness but a burning passion for profits and cashing in on people’s fears and insecurities. I’m here to do something about that. My goal is to be your go-to resource when it comes to building muscle without the foolishness or fearmongering. If someone pulled the plug on the Internet tomorrow, you would still find me in the gym grinding away.
4. I Don’t Just Learn from the Internet; I Rub Shoulders with Real Experts
Warning: the majority of the information you read online is bad information. If you’re constantly adopting your strategies from things you learned from headlines and fitness marketing, you’ll always struggle. I want to help you avoid “shiny object syndrome” and keep you focused on easy-to-understand and quick-to-implement advice that works.
5. I Cut Straight to the Chase . . . No-Nonsense Style
I wanted to write a book that gives you advice you can follow right now and see a result right after you apply it. I included the word “no-nonsense” in the subtitle of my book, so I’d have to live up to it. A fitness book should contain clear marching orders with no fluff. It should inspire and motivate. It should help you believe in your ability. It should be easy to toss in your gym bag and bring with you to workouts.
So, here’s to your new ripped and muscular physique and becoming the next Biggest Gained!
Train HARD, train SMARTER, build FASTER, and, after 30 weeks, send me your before-and-after photos, so I can celebrate with you, and I would be honored to share your story on my social media platforms.
“Nothing in business or life is more expensive than bad information.”
—GARY HALBERT
Muscle Misinformation: The Five Muscle-Building Enemies You Must Avoid
The muscle and fitness industry is full of more lies, myths, and total B.S. than nearly any industry on the planet. Some good information is getting through, but in most magazines, social media venues, and mainstream media, the information is flat-out wrong.
While there are plenty of charlatans and scammers out there, I don’t believe the majority of fitness “gurus” are intentionally lying. They are repeating lies they believe to be true. Overwhelmed with information overload, the fitness industry is becoming a case of the blind following the blind.
My duty and mission is to bust industry myths and deliver to you the most direct and efficient way to build muscle—without the nonsense or foolishness.
Let’s get started.
Naysayers—How to Deal with Them
When I started bodybuilding, my father caught me checking myself out in the mirror, admiring my newfound muscles while taking mental “selfies,” and he questioned me, “What are you doing? Are you in love with yourself? What is this sport?”
He walked away shaking his head. I felt embarrassed.
I love my father. I trust him. I respect him, and he has always encouraged me. If I’d been inclined to give up on my goal due to anyone’s opinion, my father’s would have been it.
Rather than interpret his skepticism as a reason to stop, I used it to remind myself that my building muscle needed to have a bigger purpose than just looking good. I took the gift and kept going. Naysayers come in many forms, and often there’s a grain of truth in what they say. Your job is to take the useful part of the message and discard the rest.
Some naysayers are just ignorant. Do not believe anyone who tells you that you can only have an average body. Average results come out of average knowledge and average effort. They are not destiny.
To add 30 pounds of muscle you must first obtain your own 100 percent commitment. Do not allow naysayers in any form to dissuade you. Instead, turn their doubt into your determination. Let their ignorance ignite your passion. Turn their ridicule into your resolve.
Know in your heart that you are doing the right things. Do not waste any energy arguing or trying to convince. The results show soon enough. Let your muscular body do the talking. When naysayers see the change in you, they will either shut up or tell everyone they always knew you could do it.
Bodybuilding Magazines—Why I Tossed Mine in the Garbage
Fashion magazines exist to sell clothes and makeup. Advertisers hire gorgeous models, airbrush the photos so they look flawless, and then use the perfected images to sell their wares. Bodybuilding magazines are similar in that they exist to sell supplements. Advertisers use photographs of shredded models with huge muscles, and every month they tell you that your dream body is locked up inside some liquid, powder, or pill.
Don’t buy it. Aside from the very few exceptions that I’ll share with you, every new supplement is made with the same crap that the last supplement had. If a bodybuilding magazine spent all two hundred pages of one issue teaching you how to properly eat and weight train, then you wouldn’t have the desire to buy any supplements. Supplement sellers would stop buying ad space, and the magazine would be out of business.
And that’s just what it is—a business. While they inspire millions, bodybuilding magazines also mislead millions. They aren’t going to tell you the truth—that drugs combined with exceptional genetics are responsible for these guys’ massive size. Just like the fashion model will say, “It’s the mascara,” the featured hulks will claim their results came from supplements because they’re being paid to promote them.
Most of the routines recommended in these magazines would kill an adult gorilla. The workouts involve so much volume, even if you can do them for a while, it’s not sustainable. It’s like asking a beginning runner to sprint a marathon, five times a week. If you’re not taking steroids, the advice in these articles will cause overtraining, injuries, or illness, and lots of wasted time, and you should avoid them.
Personal Trainers Who Are More About Sales Than Size
You shouldn’t pump iron without expert guidance, but finding a good trainer can be a real challenge. In the fitness world, it’s pretty easy to become an “overnight expert’’—take your shirt off, show your abs, start a YouTube channel, and you’re in business. It’s one thing to change your own physique, but helping others requires another skill-set. The best trainers have one aim—and it’s not to cause you the most pain, make you sore, or chew your ear off and waste your time. It is to get you to your goal optimally and safely with nonstop progress.
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