9 truths about gaining muscle

In the last 20 years I have done hundreds of videos on muscle building. With the advantage of hindsight, here I distill all that down to nine simple things.

1. The workout you do consistently because you love it is far superior to the “best workout” that you never do. People who start working out often get analysis-paralysis reading forums, magazine articles, and asking gym-rats … “what is the best workout plan?”. The more information they gather, the more confused they get because the experts cannot agree on anything and hot fake-natty social media stars make it seem so incredibly easy. The big problem is that many trainers seem to have no compunction about lying to make money. Their advice is designed to sell workout programs, supplements, meal plans, or simply to make money thru views. The second problem is that the “best workout plan” varies depending on how you define “best” but few trainers bother to discuss this for fear of losing views/sales. Is the goal overall health? Is it performance improvement for a particular sport? Is it to gain strength? Is it to gain muscle mass? What is your tolerance for risk? The more gains you want, the more risk of getting injured. The third and biggest problem is that it does not matter what is the “best” workout program! Why? Because you will not like it or it will injure you! The real question is not “what is the best workout program?” but rather “What workout program will I love?” If you love it, you will do it consistently and get results. If you find it too boring, too difficult then you will skip workouts all the time. It does not matter what the experts say, find a workout plan you love but dont marry it. Remember that when you stop loving it, find another workout plan, sport, or activity. Working out is something that is part of your lifestyle that you love doing, not a chore to be done like cleaning toilets.

2. You are not a hardgainer. You are normal but fake natties have given you unrealistic expectations. First, “natty” is slang for “natural” if you have not heard this term before and people who use the term are claiming to be free of performance enhancing drugs. Many people these days use PEDs to build much more muscle than is possible naturally and to do it faster than is possible naturally. Many “natty” young men with amazing muscular and ripped physiques appear to have built them quickly which gets them lots of money thru views, product sponsorships, workout program sales, and supplement kickbacks. There are so many of these amazing young men out there that it leaves all the normal people thinking they are “hard gainers” when the truth is, they are just comparing themselves to people who PED users. Remember, there are two reasons that so many young amazing physiques deceive everyone on social media - either because they are lying to make money or because they are naive. Fake natties convince themselves they are natural with very twisted definitions like these:

   1. “SARMS is not a steroid, therefore its natural”.

   2. “Testosterone is natural because the body makes it”.

   3. “Pro-hormone supplements are natural because you can buy them at GNC”.

   Just remember this, there is another name for “hard-gainer” its called a natural lifter.

3. Time management skills are critical for bodybuilding, start with 7 habits of highly effective people. Unless you are a pro bodybuilder with a six figure sponsorship who gets paid to lift weights all day long, every minute counts. Health, strength, and gaining muscle mass is not just gym time and cardio time but also sleeping, meal planning, shopping and cooking. If you have a full time job or are a full time student, the only way you will have enough time for health and fitness is if you manage your time extremely well. Check out a free copy of a time management book like “7 habits of highly effective people” from your library. For virtually every time management program out there, everything boils down to “Do the most important stuff first!”. Lets say you have 2 hours for fitness each day, how are you going to allocate that? Ice baths, sports massage, and stretching can all be healthy but do you really have time? There are only 24hrs in a day so remember the 80/20 rule and stick to the basics. To gain muscle, workout hard, eat clean, and prioritize sleep.

4. There are shortcuts to *looking* fit but no shortcuts to BEING fit. Fitness is a lifestyle. People often confuse looking muscular and ripped with being healthy. You can take all kinds of performance enhancing drugs to quickly get huge and ripped BUT that makes you less healthy, not more healthy. True, lasting fitness and health comes from putting in sweat-hours doing cardio to slowly improve your whole cardiovascular system and lifting weights to slowly get stronger.

5. Supplements are a total waste of money – EAT REAL FOOD. Real food is not only healthier for you but its cheaper as well. Want a great pre-workout beverage? Drink coffee! Want a great post-workout shake? Get out your blender and make your own! Protein powders are no better for muscle building than real food, they just have a longer shelf life. Chicken, fish, beef are all excellent forms of protein. If you are a vegetarian then egg whites and nonfat greek yogurt are just as good or better than any protein powder. If you are a vegan then legumes are your friend.

6. If you have trouble staying motivated then your goals are wrong. If you just want huge biceps to get dates then your motivation will last about a month. If you are going to the gym because your wife wants you to, you will last about a week. How do you stay motivated? Easy! Lift weights for YOURSELF, nobody else. Lift weights because its fun. Lift weights because it makes you feel good. Lift weights because it helps you blow off steam and lower your stress levels. Lift weights because you like the challenge of constantly trying to improve.

7. Free old-school workout plans available for free on the internet are just as good or better than expensive workout plans sold by “professionals”. Buying a custom workout program from anyone is a waste of money, period. For strength training start with “Starting Strength” designed by Mark Rippetoe or the “5x5” program. For bodybuilding:

   1. Beginner: Full body workout done three times a week - XOXOXOO

   2. Intermediate: Upper body, lower body, rest day - repeat. Four workouts every week. - XXOXXOO

   3. Advanced: Push, pull, legs, rest - repeat. Six workouts every 8 days. XXXOXXXO

8. Being weak and fat are two totally independent problems you can solve simultaneously. One of the most common questions for people starting in fitness is if they should lose the fat first then start lifting weights or if they should start lifting weights then cut. Neither! Do both at once! Come up with a meal plan at a 25% caloric deficit and start your workout program. A newbie lifter’s muscle gain is not hindered at all by a 25% caloric deficit as long as its got enough protein and minimally processed foods.

9. Dont compare yourself to others. It doesnt matter how muscular your workout partner is, how much they can lift, or how long they have been working out. All that matters is that you lift as much as you can with good form, use a good, standard workout plan, eat clean, and get plenty of rest - there is nothing else you can do. Comparing your progress to others will demotivate you and get you injured because you lift more than you should.