I remember the days when I was a kid, looking at the magazines and reading all the articles.

The author would mention that you really need to take in enough quality protein to grow.

And that, a good quality protein powder would really help.

Good advice.

But there was a problem with it.

First, I was just a kid who had no idea what a good protein powder was.

And second unlike today where you can go to one of the more popular bodybuilding sites and ask for help, there was no one around to ask.

So today I am going lay out one brand of protein that I have used and still use to this day.

And this is Optimum Nutrition’s 100% Whey Gold Standard protein powder.

Now, right up front I want to point out a few things.

First, I am not being paid by Optimum to say this, I just feel their protein is of good quality and is priced right.

Are there other places that I buy from, sure?

As I stated just recently, I love Dave Drapers Bomber Blend.

However, the one thing about Optimum is that they are available just about anywhere.

Second, you get what you pay for.

Third, they have tons of flavors, for me personally I like the double rich chocolate flavor and surprisingly I like this one better than their milk chocolate flavor, because I am usually a milk chocolate kind of guy.

CONCLUSION

I know this is a short post today, but I just wanted to give the young man or woman who has just started out on their bodybuilding journey a reliable source of protein.

Some will say that I left out various companies.

And I will admit that I have.

But again, I am trying to give the beginner a good quality brand that they can trust.

Once they become familiar with the bodybuilding landscape, they can decide for themselves when/if they want to try a different brand for their protein powder.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

KEEP FIT

In this installment of If I Could Begin Again I want to talk about something that I feel EVERY beginning bodybuilder should do.

And that is.

Getting stronger.

I wish when I first started out I read more of Bill Starr’s articles because he always writes about getting stronger.

Yes, I know he talks about getting stronger for sports, but getting stronger for bodybuilding is a very good thing as well.

Why?

Well, let’s just say you can bench one hundred pounds for a solid twelve reps.

Over the course of a couple of months you move your bench up to one hundred and fifty pounds for a hard set of three reps.

When you drop back to say one hundred and thirty pounds and can do solid sets of eight reps, you force you body to grow.

So indirectly, by getting stronger you helped yourself get bigger.

SOME COMMENTS

While I was as committed a bodybuilder as anyone, I was all over the map with no set plan of attack.

Had I focused on getting stronger on the basics like dead lifts, overhead presses, barbell bent over rows, and the like I would have been way ahead of the curve.

And this is another reason I like Bill Starr’s articles because he focuses on getting stronger on the basic lifts.

Which is really the only way for you to get bigger.

Yes, if you want to get bigger arms, getting a bigger bench and a bigger bent over row (along with gaining bodyweight) will do you more good than endless sets of curls and triceps work.

NUTRITION

Yes, while working on getting stronger on the basics is great and is what every beginning bodybuilder should be doing; there is something else they should be doing at the same time.

Eating.

And by eating I mean just good old fashioned food.

Not one of those exotic supplements you see in the magazines.

Yes, a good can of protein powder is nice, but it is not necessary.

The reason I say this is because, a lot of raw beginners are very skinny and in their quest to get bigger they may kill themselves in the gym, but eat very little.

The above is not a very good combo for gaining mass.

I know there are multiple reasons for beginners not eating enough but I think the main reason is fear of getting fat.

Yes, the fact is if you want to gain some weight you are going to have to accept the fact that you will put on some body fat.

I want to make one thing clear about the above statement, I am not advocating pigging out and bulking up by like thirty pounds.

No.

That approach may work for the pros but is simply not realistic for the average trainer.

What I am saying is that for the young man who is in his teens or early twenties and has a hard time gaining weight putting on a few pounds of body fat is not a bad thing.

Eat plenty of good food like, chicken breasts, lean beef, turkey, for protein, with the goal of getting in one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Add in good carbs like sweet potatoes, yams, whole grain breads (find ones that contain at least five-grams of fiber per slice) and plenty of vegetables of all kinds.

Round it out with plenty of healthy fats like natural peanut butter, nuts, seeds and fatty fish like sardines and you will be fine.

And sure the occasional trip to your favorite fast food place is O.K.

If you start to see too much fat coming on add-in a half-hour of aerobics three times per week.

If this does not stem the tide, cut back on your carb sources, or if you’ve been hitting the fast food too much cut that back.

But keep the protein and fat the same.

TRAINING

Combine the above eating habits with a solid training program that focuses on the basic lifts like, deadlifts, squats, overhead presses with dumbbells, bent over rows, chins, etc. and you will be fine.

A six month cycle of working on the basics will do any beginning bodybuilder a world of good.

Stick with the tried-and-true five-sets-of-five program (5×5).

That’s five sets for five reps per set for a total of twenty-five reps.

Then when you switch back to a more traditional bodybuilding style routine and higher reps, (like eight to twelve) you will find that you are a lot stronger than you were before.

And chances are this will result in you using more weight for the same number of reps as you were before, which chances are, will lead to increased muscle gains.

CONCLUSION

Getting stronger on the basics is one of the things that I wish I would have done when I was just starting out.

So please if you are a beginner or know someone who is, show them this post, so they don’t make the same mistake I did.

Until Next Time

TRAIN HARD

With another Friday comes another Random Thoughts Of The Week post, and this week on want to touch on two topics.

First up, I noticed that www.bodybuilding.com has a question up regarding fruit and if it is a good post-workout meal.

I think fruit makes a great post workout meal, but on two conditions.

First, you must combine some protein with your fruit of choice for it to truly be a good post workout choice.

And second, I think that for anyone who is in off-season mode and is bulking fruit does make a good choice post-workout.

Or if you happen to be one of those guys or gals that has an ultra-fast metabolism, fruit would be a good choice.

But if you are trying to lean out for summer, going with the fruit could hinder your fat loss.

So if you are looking to get extra lean, I would avoid fruit post workout and stick with a straight weight isolate shake or even a mixed blend type of protein.

As-far-as what kind of fruit to choose post workout, if you are into eating fruit post-workout.

I would have to go with bananas as they digest very easily and they are pretty portable although if I had my choice and could have any kind of fruit, I think I would go with strawberries.

Topic number two for the week is courtesy of www.getbig.com, they have a question regarding who has he best delts in bodybuilding history.

I think there are two ways you can look at this question, first are you looking at it as who has the widest shoulders or who has the best delts.

There have been guys on the pro stage over the years that have had some massive delts but I think I would have to go with Kevin Levrone.

Lastly, I would like to bring something up about Jay Cutler.

There are guys out there with more Mr. Olympia’s than Jay has, but where do you think Jay stands right now.

If he never wins it again, do you think him coming back and winning the Mr. Olympia, after losing it, as the defending champion, gives him the edge over all the other Mr. Olympia’s in history.

For my money, I have to give Jay credit, the guy could have retired and said heck with this, I have two Mr. Olympia’s to my name, and I proved that I was the best.

But no, he came back this year and gabbed yet another title.

That’s all for this week.

Until Next Friday

KEEP TRAINING

Welcome to the first in what I hope will be a long series, If I Could Begin Again.

As I have blogged about before, we did some crazy workouts when we were young and if I am to be totally truthful, not so young.

And while we had fun, recovering from some of those workouts was not something we’d like to do again.

So this is going to be my first IF I COULD BEGIN AGAIN post.

Preventing injuries by not doing any crazy stuff in the gym.

I will go back to something I posted about before,

I got it in my head that I was going to do twenty-rep squats.

And for anyone who doesn’t know what a twenty rep squat routine is let me explain.

For twenty rep squats, at least as I understand it, you pick a weight that you can only do for ten reps and get twenty with it.

This is achieved by taking as many deep breaths as needed between reps.

So for example, when you get to rep say thirteen you would take a couple of deep breaths and do a rep, then take more deep breaths and do one more and continue on until you were finished with all twenty reps.

Naturally, by the time you are done you are wiped out.

However, the real beauty of twenty-rep squats is the indirect effect it has on your whole body, plus in my opinion the rib cage stretching effects of all the deep breathing.

Anyway, I got it into my head that I was going to do twenty-rep squats, but of course, I couldn’t do just one set of twenty I had to do three.

This resulted in a VERY bad thigh muscle pull and in truth I was lucky that I did not tear my thigh.

Or there was another time when I did something like three-hundred reps of up-right rows—non-stop.

Now, I did not know it at the time, but up-right rows really are not so good for your rotator cuffs, but that explains why my shoulders never felt that good for a while after.

SOME COMMENTS

As cool as it may be to show off for your friends at the gym or basement gym, trust me, you will be the one to pay for it.

Either by having an ache and pain that lasts for years or an injury and requires surgery and rehab, just to get back where you were.

So, one thing I would do differently if I could go back would be to avoid all of the stupid stuff I did.

It would have saved me a lot of time healing up from injuries.

Yes, it will be difficult, when all your buddies are egging you on, but trust me, when your workout is over, and you leave the gym healthy and raring to go, for your next workout…

You will be smiling and not worrying about your injury.

Until Next Time

TAKE CARE

I was thinking the other day about all of the crazy things that I did when I started out in bodybuilding.

Of course, you have to understand that I was young and full of energy and unlike today, there was no internet and no online forums where I could go ask a question and, probably get an answer very quickly.

As I have blogged about before I wouldn’t trade those days for anything, however, I realize that not everyone wants to go through the same process I did so…

I’ve decided to start a IF I COULD BEGIN AGAIN category on the blog, in which I will talk about the things that I wish I would have done when I was starting out, and would do now if I had the chance to go back and start again, knowing what I know now.

Of course, I realize that I probably wouldn’t do anything differently, but hey, I figure if I even help one young man or woman achieve their goals in bodybuilding, maybe just a bit faster, then that would be nice.

So please keep an eye out for it and please feel free to leave comments with your own suggestions.

Until Next Time

KEEP HAVING FUN

O.K.

I will be honest

I don’t trust many, so-called experts, and I’d be the first to tell you to do your research before you trust anyone, including me.

So what exactly do I mean by The True Value Of Experts?

I’ll give you an example.

One of the guys I trust for training advice is Charles Poliquin.

When Charles talks I listen.

Why?

Because, I’ve read a ton of his stuff over the years and like his approach.

So what exactly does this mean?

Well, if Charles recommends something, like a book for instance, I know it is going to be good.

And this to me is The True Value Of Experts

Sometimes we think too much, always worrying if we made the right decision.

And as a consequence we bounce from program to program never really giving any one of them a chance.

But.

If someone you respect says, give this a try and make sure you stick with it for six weeks you will be more inclined to do just that—because they are the expert and they said so.

You will be less inclined to think about it for a month before trying it—chances are you will just try it—and stick with it, instead of bouncing to another program in a week.

And probably make gains.

Whereas if one of your buddies recommends something, you may try it, for a while, and then start to wonder if there is something that you are missing.

And off you will go on the hunt for the perfect program—again.

SOME POINTS

O.K.

Fine.

Let’s say that I’ve made my point, but you might be thinking, how in the world do I go about finding an expert to trust.

To be honest I really cannot tell you how to do that, only to say that the way I did it was to read and read and read.

And gradually as I grew older, I began to put things together and learn who to trust in bodybuilding along with what supplements were worth the money.

I urge you to do the same, read and always keep reading and learning.

Plus experiment and see if what you’ve read works in the real world.

This is a big point, book learning is great, but does the advice really translate into more muscle or strength?

If it does not, move on, and keep trying various things

Also, don’t be afraid to disagree with an expert—especially if you try something he/she recommended and it didn’t work for you.

Of course, this does not mean the advice was bad, just that maybe it just was not right for you—but this is something you will need to figure out for yourself, does this person really know anything at all or was the advice or idea just not for you.

CONCLUSION

The value an expert can give you goes beyond his/her training advice.

His/her value also shows itself in the confidence that you have in this particular person.

The confidence to accept the advice/guidance and trust in it enough to follow it—truly follow it and not worry if you are missing something—

Because you know, deep down, the advice works.

Until Next Time

ALWAYS WORK

Just recently, I’ve been reading about high intensity training—well actually I have read about it for years, but seeing as how I just read about it again, I figured I’d give you my opinion on it.

High intensity training, the way I understand it, involves doing a couple of progressively heavier warm-up sets and then one all-out work set.

Yes, you actually only do one work set, but the set is taken to failure.

The high intensity style of training is brutal, but it works, however, there are many problems with it.

The fact that it is brutally hard, now there is nothing wrong with hard work, to the contrary you must work hard if you want to succeed in anything not just bodybuilding.

However, to me there is just too much of a chance for burn-out.

Every time you go workout, it has to be all out—how long is this going to last, a week maybe two.

Of course, I can hear people saying, well then you could just take a week off every couple of weeks to help your body recover.

Bingo.

Great concept, except for one thing.

You still go back to the same all-out training style and for my money; mentally this is going to get old really quick.

Sure every four to six weeks you COULD switch over to a more traditional bodybuilding style routine, where you do eight to twelve reps per set for multiple sets, all the while leaving something in the hole—meaning you don’t go to failure.

Sounds good right?

Wrong.

The way the high intensity people lay-it-out, (at least in my opinion) high intensity training is really the only way to make gains.

Wrong.

Tons of muscle has been built over the years using every single idea around.

Some professional bodybuilders have used high intensity training successfully—but to me this just compounds the problem.

Most professional bodybuilders have genetics that are so far ahead of most people it isn’t even funny.

They can use the above high intensity training and grow, because they have the genetics for it.

SOME COMMENTS

So where does that leave someone with average genetics, or even below average genetics—are you sunk?

No.

High intensity training works, as does every-other form of training, but only for a few weeks.

So if you want to give high intensity training a shot, do so but only for a few weeks, and keep a VERY close eye on how you are feeling.

So if you start feeling burned out, ie; loss of appetite, no desire to train, and lifts start falling off, stop using high intensity and take a week off of all training.

If this happens to you only after a week or so, then I would advise you to take a close look at everything, your sleep habits, your eating habits, everything.

If you are doing everything right and are still not going good on high intensity training, then simply stop it, and know that you gave it a shot and it just did not work out for you.

On-the-other-hand, if you are still feeling good after four weeks of high intensity training—stop it and go back to your regular bodybuilding style workouts, knowing that you can come back to high intensity training a few times a year, when you want to change things up.

SOMEMORE COMMENTS

If you decide to try high intensity training, there are three things that you MUST do.

First, warm up very well before your all out set.
And second, make sure you are getting at least six hours of sleep per night; however, eight would be better.

Plus, make sure your eating is spot on, no missing meals.

Make sure you are taking in plenty of protein to help with muscle growth and repair.

CONCLUSION

High intensity training, to me, is just like any other method, it works, but only for so long, and then you need to make a change.

If you’re up for a challenge give high intensity training a go.

Just don’t fall into the trap of believing it is the only way to train.

Until Next Time

KEEP MOTIVATED

One sports figure that I really admire is Tiger Woods, to be honest I don’t admire him because he is a golfer I admire him because of the way he plays.

Let me explain.

I think Tiger has pretty much nailed it down so that even if he were to retire today he would go down as one of the greatest golfers in history.

Plus he has enough money to live the rest of his life the way he wants to.

But, he still wants to win more tournaments, get more trophies.

Wouldn’t you think it would be easy for him to wake up and say, well, I’ve done enough I really don’t need to do much more.

But he doesn’t, and that is what separates him for all the others.

Same goes for training, yes, you just gained ten pounds—six months ago.

Of course after an all out training blitz you do need a break, but not six months.

Or are you simply living off you past gains, and not really motivated anymore to train as hard as you need in order to make another ten pound weight gain.

To illustrate what I am talking about, I want to bring something up that I read by Ron Harris in the current issue of Iron Man Magazine.

He said that he got put through a biceps workout by six time Mr. O Dorian Yates and he realized that he really wasn’t putting out as much effort as he thought he was, in his own training.

Sorry Mr. Harris if I missed quoted you a bit, but I was writing the above from memory.

SOME POINTS

The thing to remember is, are you really putting in a great workout, or are you satisfied with just going through the motions.

Another thing to consider is your eating and sleeping habits.

What I mean by this is, if you are chronically tired from lack of sleep or really do not take in enough quality calories to make gains, you may think you are training hard, but the reality of the situation is that you probably are not.
So make sure you have all your bases covered, as it is easy especially for veteran lifters to think that they have it all under control, when if fact they have been slipping up little by little, like staying up later than they used to, or missing meals.

All the while thinking that they are doing everything right, but wondering why their gains have slowed.

CONCLUSION

The next time you find yourself loafing between sets; re commit yourself to working at a quicker pace and really giving it your all—on every rep and every set.

Same goes for your eating habits.

Examine them and make sure you are really getting in six to eight quality meals per day or have you been slipping up and have been too tired to get those last couple of meals in.

Over time those kinds of things can make the difference between making gains and making none or losing fat and losing none.

It doesn’t take much to get into the groove again, and one other thing you can try is sitting back one day and thinking back to why you got into this sport of bodybuilding in the first place—not to mention flipping through an old muscle magazine as this can bring the memories flooding back, and along with it your old zeal and excitement for training.

Until Next Time

KEEP WORKING

Just like well developed shoulders, I feel that one reason a well developed set of upper pecs is so impressive is that, well you really do not see too many people that have upper pecs that are well developed.

To me this can be attributed to one thing, the flat bench press.

While it is true that some genetically gifted bodybuilders can develop very balanced (meaning all areas of the chest, from lower to inner to outer to upper to all areas in between) chest development from just doing flat benches, most of us, myself included, see more in the way of middle and lower pec development from doing flat benches.

Of course, some people see very little growth at all in their pecs from benching, with most of the growth coming in the form of well developed triceps and front delts—and while muscle growth is muscle growth, most people want chest growth for their benching efforts, not growth in the aforementioned body parts.

ENTER THE INCLINE PRESS

Do you know what exercise was the number one choice for most people looking to build up their upper bodies’ back-in-the-day? (the 50’s and 60’s)

If you guessed the flat bench press—you must step to the back of the line.

However, if you guessed the over head press with a barbell—go to the front of the class you are correct.

O.K.

You might be thinking, what does the over head press have to do with building a massive chest, after all I thought it was primarily a shoulder exercise.

You are correct, it is, however, just like the over head press fell out of favor, another exercise, that never quite reached a high level of use—ranks as a better over-all upper body—and chest builder than the flat bench.

The exercise I am referring to is the incline press done with a barbell or dumbbells.

Why?

Truthfully it comes down to a number of things: First, unlike the flat bench, the incline press requires stricter form which helps prevent injuries. Second, it works those all important upper pecs, which ranks up there with the most neglected of body parts. Third, the incline press carries over far greater on the athletic field than does the flat bench press.

SOME POINTS

The incline press done with either a barbell or dumbbells is a great way to build your upper chest—however please don’t be overly concerned with how much weight you can lift, especially if you haven’t tried this exercise before.

Always remember, your goal as a bodybuilder is to work your muscles (in this case the upper pecs) hard enough so that they must grow—NOT to see how much weight you can get from point A to point B.

Also, if you have any shoulder discomfort from using a barbell, try giving dumbbells a go.

THE ROUTINE

In the beginning stick with the tried-and-true 5 x 5 program (that’s five sets of five reps per set, for a total of twenty five reps) and really learn or re learn how to do the lift properly.

After you’ve got the form down—then you can worry about changing rep schemes and adding weight.

One point, the incline press requires stricter form that the flat bench, so you might have to swallow your ego a bit and go down in weight more than you’d like—but remember your muscles don’t know how much weight is on the bar.

A TIP

Lower the barbell or dumbbells slowly to your chest and then pause for a couple of seconds before pressing the bar or dumbbells back up.

You want your upper chest taking the brunt of the work, not other muscles.

NUTRITION BASICS

As good as the incline barbell or dumbbell press is for building the upper pecs not much will come from all your hard work if you are not eating correctly.

If you are looking to gain mass—combine the above exercise with other big lifts like squats, dead lifts, and bent over rows, etc.—make sure your are getting one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (so if you weigh one hundred and fifty pounds you would take in one hundred and fifty grams of protein) from sources like, lean beef, chicken, turkey, and eggs.

Up next are plenty of high quality carbs like oatmeal (preferably steel cut oats) brown rice, yams, and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Along with this take in good fats from fatty fish like sardines, nuts, seeds and a good quality fish oil supplement.

A WORD ON POST WORKOUT NUTRITION

You see ads all over the magazines touting amazing sounding products.

However, lets cut the baloney, while some of those products are great, tons of quality muscle has been built over the years with nothing but good old fashioned hard work and good quality food.

No secret ingredients, no hype.

So please if you can’t afford those expensive post-workout (or any supplements for that matter) supplements don’t worry about it, just take in a good quality meal like white meat chicken and white rice after your workout (as you don’t want to much fat and fiber in your post workout meal as this will slow absorption) and you will be fine.

CONCLUSION

Honestly, I know if you give the incline barbell or dumbbell press an honest try, not only will you be well on your way to building another part of your X Frame Physique—

You might have to buy new shirts to make room for all of your new chest size!

Until Next Time

NEVER QUIT

For my money the best thing you can be when you go out to drop your hard earned money on something is—educated.

And that is EXACTLY what you will be—if you buy Bodybuilding Revealed—the next time you go out to drop big bucks on a supplement.

Why?

Simple.

In Bodybuilding Revealed Will Brink lays out everything you need to know about supplements—everything from Whey Protein to HMB.

Plus if you have a question all you have to do is visit Will’s private members only forum—which you get access to when you purchase Bodybuilding Revealed—and ask a question and either Will himself or one of his very educated moderators will answer your question.

And you know what—this feature alone will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars per year on supplements because you’ll KNOW which ones are worth the money and which ones are pure garbage.

Honesty, if Will only provided this feature the book would be worth its weight in gold, but no, Will covers training with just as much zest and zeal as he did supplements.

Will hits it straight on covering everything from whole body programs to the classic three day split to four day splits as well.

Honestly, there is one section during the training chapter that I am glad Will talks about and this is—keeping detailed records—doing so is vital and really can make a difference in your progress.

Another thing that separates Bodybuilding Revealed from the amateur books out there written by so-called experts is the way Will put Bodybuilding Revealed together.

I’ve read hundreds of e-books and I can’t remember very many that were set up the way Will’s book is.

The side bar on the left gives you quick one click access to any chapter of the book—want to re-read that section on nutrition—simply click—saves you time by putting the information you want right at your finger tips.

Plus throughout the book there are links to Will’s forum—so for example if you are reading about whey protein ( Will’s information on whey protein is excellent I might add) you can simply click the link provided and it will take you directly to the members area so you can discuss this topic with other members of Will’s forum—or ask a question.

Again, this is just another little extra that sets Will’s book apart from the rest.

Will Brink’s Bodybuilding Revealed is a soup to nuts affair—everything and anything YOU need to improve your body is here.

From nutrition to cardio—Will covers everything you need to not only make informed buying decisions but, to also make informed choices about how to train and eat to make your body the best it can be.

Bodybuilding Revealed gets my highest recommendation for anyone who wants to learn how to burn fat, build muscle, and totally reshape their body using the power of solid nutrition, training and good honest supplements.

Note: Please if you do nothing else if you know anyone (but young men and women in particular) who want to start bodybuilding please buy them a copy of this book—so they can get started the right way—

Before they get brainwashed by all of the fancy ads and goofball information that is out there.

I wish I had access to this when I started training over twenty years ago!

Great job Will!

For more information on Will’s

Fantastic book—CLICK HERE.