test online, but even a degree in exercise physiology does not mean the trainer knows how to help you gain size. Most teach exercise and give nutrition advice designed to help the general public improve overall fitness. They do not deliver specialized knowledge on how to gain massive amounts of muscle.
Working for a gym or having years of experience doesn’t guarantee your trainer knows what he’s doing either. Most gyms survive not on memberships but by selling personal training packages, and a lot of them hire novice trainers to do it. If you go to your local big-box gym and look, you’re more likely to meet a great salesperson than a kick-ass trainer.
Know what to look for and which questions to ask. Do a demo session or two. Ask about the last certification or seminar they invested in. Ask who mentors them. Make sure the trainer has his or her own coach and stays up-to-date on the latest science. I instantly disqualify potential trainers who don’t have their own coach. It sounds harsh, but this one rule will help you rule out average trainers.
Only keep a trainer who comes to the session with the attitude that for every minute that he’s not delivering value, that’s a dollar back to you. If they show up 15 minutes late, that should be a $15 discount on the session. If they’re rambling about nothing for 10 minutes, that’s $10 off!
Look for someone with a solid track record who has helped others achieve the results you want. Ask to see their success stories. Look at or talk to their other clients. If your prospective mentor doesn’t have a track record of success helping people achieve goals identical to yours, then you’ve dodged a bullet. Move on.
“Superhumans” and the Juiced-Up Bodybuilder
Eight-time Mr. Olympia champion Jay Cutler bench-pressed 315 pounds the first time he lifted weights.1 Rumor has it that Arnold ripped out his own umbilical cord. Some people were born to develop massive size and strength. If at age sixteen you looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was sixteen, you wouldn’t need this book to gain size. The genetically gifted can lift more. They don’t get as sore. They recover faster. So, yeah, they have an unfair advantage.
For you to try to follow their regimen to get their results is ridiculous. It’s like a poor man taking wealth-building advice from a guy who inherited a fortune. Even though he has the money, he doesn’t know how to go from broke to wealthy. His methods don’t apply.
The juiced-up bodybuilder is also your enemy, and if he’s lying about taking steroids, it’s worse. When you follow the advice of these “fake naturals” or “fake nattys” and fail to get great results, it can strip you of your motivation. Problem is, almost everyone who takes steroids hides it, making you believe it’s the “hard training,” “clean diet,” and “new breakthrough program” that forced that muscle growth. “B.S.,” I say. If a fitness guru is taking steroids, he should at least be honest about it so people can see the whole picture.
The next time you find yourself sitting on the couch late at night watching an infomercial for fitness equipment or a quick-fix nutritional product, drop and give me 20 pushups—one-handed—while repeating, “I’m not a sucker . . . I’m not a sucker . . . “ That ought to wake you up out of your stupor before you get your credit card and buy a $1,000 coatrack. Whether or not it’s you, I bet you know someone with a massive “fitness” contraption that has become the world’s most expensive clothesline, because thousands of people buy this crap.
A good sign of how well a product is selling is how long the ads run.2 No advertiser would keep running an ad unless it sold a lot of product. Good marketing can get people to buy all kinds of things, but let’s face it, if you think any fitness model built his body using a vibrating dumbbell, you’re dreaming. These guys got buff with hours in the gym and hard work, so keep your ass off the couch and your hand off the remote. You can build mega muscle mass without spending a ton of money on equipment or supplements. If you have some money to put into this quest, spend it on high-quality food, a decent gym membership, and a solid coach.
How to Lose the Top Five B.S. Excuses for Not Gaining Muscle
So many people ask me how to build muscle, and I tell them—I belong to a gym, eat healthy, stay consistent, educate myself, and take a few select supplements. Next they unload an earful of excuses, excuses, excuses. I am so sick and tired of hearing excuses! I have zero sympathy for people who make excuses. All it means is they haven’t taken responsibility for their lives.
Your life today is the result of choices you made before. You can take responsibility for everything you have in life, or you can choose to blame others and outside forces. I have found that the results you achieve in and out of the gym rarely exceed your willingness to stop making excuses and start taking personal responsibility for everything you have, do, and are at this moment and every moment to come. Next up are the typical excuses and how to overcome them.
Your life today is the result of choices you made before.
You can take responsibility for everything you have in life, or you can choose to blame others and outside forces.
Cut the “I Don’t Have Great Genetics” Crap
Most people think they are limited by their genetic potential. Really, you’re limited by your lifestyle potential. You don’t need great genetics. You do need to train hard, eat right, be consistent, and excel in all the lifestyle areas you can control.
Your genes don’t determine what you can or can’t do. They express how your body responds to what you do. I’ve helped scores of men and women who thought they were genetically destined to be skinny or fat achieve their goals just by fixing a few things they were doing wrong.
It’s true that guys with great genetics can afford to make more mistakes in training and nutrition strategies, and they may still get bigger faster than most.
Your genes don’t determine what you can or can’t do.
They express how your body responds to what you do.
If you build muscle a little slower, the added time it takes to get there is irrelevant. It might take one guy one year and take you two years. Big deal.
If you’re afraid you can’t build the body you want and maintain it, throw those fears out. The only people who can’t build muscle have a terminal disease.
If, like me, you were born with the genetics to be a skinny guy, you’re not doomed to remain skinny. But you need to be more scientific and strategic. I’m going to teach you to do what’s necessary. Nothing more. Nothing less.
One more thing I want you to experience: satisfaction. Nothing is more satisfying than overcoming a legitimate obstacle and reaching your goal. Your transformation will inspire others, so the next skinny guy will say, “Holy cow, he did it!
