Background Of A Dedicated Man
"You have GOT to be on steroids." I hear this so often by people that watch me grow. It used to make me mad and get me sick to my stomach. Now, it's one of the best compliments I can be paid. Lazy people want an excuse to not bust their butt in the gym. Many people don't know how to dedicate their free time to make significant changes in their bodies. If you have been following me you would know i'm a natural athlete for 8 years now. I was a juicer (steroid user) for about a year back in 1995. I've traded the drugs for 4000 calories per day. True mass building gains aren't about how many steriods you can put in your body. It is about hard work, blood, sweat, dedication, persistence, motivation, nutrition, and precise planning.
Click To Enlarge My 2001 Body-For-Life Pics!
Reread this sentence... even doing steroids I couldn't move my weight passed 185lbs. I couldn't get higher than that on juice because I wasn't eating right. I was using steroids as an easy way out. The drugs were an excuse to not really apply myself yet still get pretty good gains in the gym. It's funny when people don't really put forth the effort that it takes to make the HUGE changes they suddenly want to attribute good gym success to drugs. Knowing what I know now I realize just how big of a difference you can make in your physique that will give you drug like effects. Hands down you can pound on the mass like the guys using gear in your gym. Yet, you can do it without the side effects of bad acne, lack of sexual performance, loss of libido, loss of your hair, etc. It's about dedication, not miracle muscle in a bottle.
What The Truly Dedicated Do
So what does it mean to be dedicated? The dedicated drink whey protein at parties that others are pounding beer. That is if we are even at the party. We pass on late nights with friends to watch the game in order to get the 7-10 hours rest needed to make our muscles grow. During the holidays we pack our own foods to the get-togethers and are stared at when we eat the meal. We have such clearly defined goals that we WANT to punish ourselves in the gym and LOVE every bit of sweat and swelling that we create.
There is no magic pill or some special supplement that can make up for hard work and dedication. You may think you are working out hard and really dedicated. The truth is take your current gym intensity and double it while bringing yourself to the verge of overtraining. You need to do those reps to the point where your body is shuttering, your body part is quivering, sweat is pouring almost to the point of blood, the intensity is so strong that you will need to puke. Every exercise should be brought to this point. What happens when you get to that point? You do two more reps, you puke, and keep going. You think you've done it? You haven't even touched your limits. This is the definition of true intensity.
Daily you test your resolve, your dedication. Don't whine, there are no excuse or tricks to get you in the gym or to stay on your program. This isn't suffering it's love. Like love, you have your good days and bad days, but no matter what you keep loving. If you don't truly love what you are doing then you will half-way do this and wonder why nothing you do doesn't work. Plateaus are for people complacient and lazy. The truly dedicated don't have the word plateau in their dictionary. But intensity isn't the only key.
Checklist Of Items To Rate Your Current Program
I will say this, it will take serious dedication and time to get similar results to the roid monsters, but it is possible. Here is the break down of somethings you can add to your routine that will help:
- Supplements without the right food won't do anything for you. Your No. 1 supplement is the food you intake into your body.
- Don't even think about making gains or changing your body before you get your food intake correct.
- Plan everything. You should know what you are doing for the next 12 - 16 weeks and have it all on a piece of paper.
- Without goals your gym visits are for nothing. Your goals should be difficult, but attainable. Please see Tim Barnby's article on SMART Goals on how to set up effective goals.
- Take about 1 to 1 1/2 hours every morning to make the 6-7 meals you will eat through out the day.
- Don't go longer than 3 hours between meals.
- Spend a sunday cooking up and premaking foods for the whole week. This means making lunches and dinners.
Training
- Intensity during a workout is key. Intensity is giving maximum effort 100% of the time while in the gym towards your workout.
- Perceived maximum intensity is NEVER the same as your true physical limit. Your body is capable of much more than your mind allows you to do. Throw "what you THINK" out of the door and push your body past the point of pain.
- Spent 10 minutes prior to entering the gym in slient meditation focusing on your goals and plan for the workout ahead of you.
- Don't miss a gym day NO MATTER WHAT the excuse... NOT ONE.
Supplements
- Supplements without the right food won't do anything for you. Your No. 1 supplement is the food you intake into your body.
- Don't even think about making gains or changing your body before you get your food intake correct.
- After 12-16 weeks of consecutive training take one week off to recharge.
- Give yourself two days off from the gym each week to fully recover.
- Never do the same workouts for longer than 4 consecutive weeks.
- Switch up your workouts to have different exercises after those 4 weeks.
Nurtition
- Eat for what you plan to do, don't eat for what you just did.
- Get 7-10 hours of sleep each night.
- KEEP A JOURNAL of your workouts, your diet, your personal thoughts and feelings, of EVERYTHING. Fortunantely I've created the Body Blog software to help you in this effort.
- Supplements without the right food won't do anything for you. Your No. 1 supplement is the food you intake into your body.
- Don't even think about making gains or changing your body before you get your food intake correct.
- Once you get your diet straight then glutamine, creatine, whey protein and a good multi-vitamin should be the staple of your supplement strategy.
- If your supplements aren't working then go back to your food intake and check that.
- If your food is right then go back to your intensity in the gym.
- If you always do the same thing repeatedly you are going to get the same results.
What Are The MOST IMPORTANT Tips For Making Gains Like A Pro?
After reading those tips i'm sure you can glean what the most important tips are for making those pro like changes in your body. Supplements are garbage without the right food intake and don't expect your body to change much without having a diet inline with your goals. Once I got my diet inline I manged to go from 159lbs at 14% body fat to 210lbs at 9.5% body fat. That is not ONLY a 50lb scale increase, but if you break the numbers down further you see gains like a person on steroids. That is losing about 3lbs in fat and a whopping gain of 54lbs of lean muscle mass in EXACTLY a two year period.
Stay tuned and I will develop a mass building program for the average guy.
Zachary Marcy has a BA degree in Psychology from Georgia State University. He has been involved in the fitness industry since 1990 as a personal trainer, a motivational speaker, and as a life success coach. He now uses his numerous years of experience to continue assisting athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness conscious people internationally. You may email him at zach@zike.net or read his Body Blog at http://www.bodyblog.com//BodyBlogs.asp?id=24.
Thanks,