It takes a lot of work to get the body pictured above. He tells us how he does it, and if you are as dedicated as he is, maybe you too can pull it off.

Did he have a trainer?
Yes he used Hugh Jackman’s trainer who helped to train Hugh during X-Men.

His workout.
He says that a year ago he was 240 pounds and would always squat and bench as heavy as he could. Now what he needed to do was carve and sculpt the clay that he had already made.

He does a six day a week program with two workouts per day. He does the cardio in the morning, then he does weight training later in the day.

He starts his day doing cardio on an empty stomach. He does 45 minutes of cardio, not at break neck speed but at a good, even fat-burning heart rate of 125-155 beats per minute.
After that he enjoys breakfast which usually consists of oatmeal, or maybe an egg white omelet with some sausage, and he adds a couple of scoops of whey protein to water to wash it all down with.

He does way too many things to keep it mixed up so I will not post it all here. Muscle confusion equals progress, he says. Intensity, Variety, and Brutality. He does high reps with little to no rest. One example he gives us is that say he is doing Chest and Biceps day. He  will do a set of presses, do a set of flyes, and immediately do a drop set for biceps.

He’ll do 15 reps of each exercise for 4 sets. alternating between wide and close grip flyes with no rest in between. Then he will move onto doing incline bench and throw in some rope curls, before moving on to machine curls. He only weight trains for 1 hour then he is done.

ABP: Always Be Pumping.
When he is on the road shooting True Blood, he does circuit style resistance training in his trailer. He uses 25 pound hand weights, a push up stand where he pumps out 500-600 push-ups of varying grips, a Bosu ball and elastic bands for biceps. If he’s shooting a scene shirtless, he takes weights to the set and performs reps in between takes.

Diet is key

He is big on the low carbohydrate lifestyle. The only carbs he eats is the oatmeal in the morning after his cardio workout. Other than that, no breads, no sugars, no carbs throughout the rest of the day. “Its really all about getting in good clean forms of protein and fibrous vegetables” he says. He does eat fruit, but protein is the bulk of his diet, whether its salmon or good clean buffalo meat, that’s his favorite. He also eats lots of egg whites and whey protein throughout the day.

This is why I do not have a body like his. I can not be that strict on my diet. I do not have the will power. Maybe some of you out there can. If you can, gemme one more rep!

Stay pumped!

From time to time I like to find a real life true success story from in the gym and post it on the website. For about a year now I have watched this young guy get thicker and thicker in the gym. It has not quite been a year since I first met him yet, but in the short time I have gotten to know him, he has really shown some improvement in the gym.

Here is his story…

My name is Mason Colby Palazzolo, I born on September 1, 1990 in Grenada, Ms. I was born normal until I was 5 months old. I was really sick so my parents rushed me to the hospital and see the doctor. He recommend medicine that I needed to cure my sickness however, he gave me the wrong medicine and it has caused my hearing loss (side effects of the medicine). My Parents were very angry at him and wanted to sue him, so in the court..he had to pay the fine of $42,000. Since I was three years old, its been very difficult to talk, because I can not hear anything. My parents wanted to find something to help me to hear again. So, we headed to Memphis, TN. They have surgery operation for deaf people. Now, after the surgery..I have a machine called Cochlear Implant, its where they put a magnet inside of my head and I have this machine to wear on my head thats stuck to the magnet to hear. I was really blessed that I have great parents to help me hear again. I really love them to death. With the cochlear implant that I wear everyday, I slowly build my speech and hearing every day of my life.

In my high school years, it was very difficult to make friends. People make fun of my hearing, speech….etc. It lowers my self esteem, but I had to do my best to finish 4 years of school. When I graduated, I was very happy because I didn’t have to go through that again! After I was done with high school, I had nothing to do. I had no friends, no job….I was a really lazy person. I stayed at home all day long to play videos games, watch TV..etc. It really makes me angry a lot. I saw my classmates at high school, they really have great life, jobs, pretty girlfriends….its just really makes me so mad because those classmate used to make fun of me. So, I found a gym, Snap fitness in my local town because I wanted to release my anger.

When I worked out at my gym, I had no idea what to do. I had no previous experience to build muscle, exercise…etc. There owner of the gym helped me out. He taught me how to lift, how to eat right, and everything I needed to know. After I learned about gym and researching, I was completed addicted to the gym, because I always have anger issues and the gym helps me focus my anger on the weights. I watched my body grow rapidly every day. I was very happy. It has helped build my self esteem. I was always mad before I started working out at the gym but after I started  working out in the gym, I became a happier person. It really is amazing feeling you get from a goot workout at the gym.

Since I am an ectomorph (a.k.a hard gainers) my metabolism went through the roof, I could eat everything I can find and not gain on muscle, weight or fat. Before I joined the gym, I weighed around 119-121 LBS at the age of 18-19. I had a lot of people tell me I should go eat some more meat or put some meat in your bones! Well, honestly, I love meat. I eat it everyday. In fact, I eat it a lot, I just cant gain weight from it! It was my cursed metabolism takes over. Some people said I am blessed to have fast metabolism but I do not like it because I cant gain muscle and it was very hard. Since, I have fast metabolism. The personal trainer at my local gym told me that I should focus on compound exercise only, like the squat, dead-lifts, bench press…etc. no machine weights or smith machines. I focused on 8-10 reps of 3-4 sets really HEAVY. So, in that way I could gain more muscle mass.

It was very hard but it was well worth it. My diet is very balanced. My diet is in high in protein, high in carbs, moderate fats. I eat every 2-3 hrs to satisfy my hunger, to keep my energy up high, so I can work out very hard. After 5-7 months of working out hard with successful diet. I have gained 22 lbs! Went from 121 to 144 lbs in just only 7 months! i was very surprised because i though i would be 121 for rest of my life lol. Some people thought I was on the juice (steroids), just because I gained muscle rapidly. This doesn’t always mean that you are on steroids. It just takes a lot of dedication, hard work, will power, and patience.

I am also pretty short, 5’7-5’8 tall. So being short actually helps get muscle faster. I might have good genetics but who knows? I was very happy with the results I got and am still getting! Its helped my get self esteem back! I made great friends, had girlfriends and even a job! I love gym, its my passion. It changed my life. If u have similar problems like I have, you should do what I did. I guaranteed you will love it.

DIET

Meal 1: Pro/Carb 8:00am
8 Egg Whites, 1 Scoop Of Whey Protein, 1 cup oatmeal
50g protein / 54g carbs / 5g fat

Meal 2: Pro/Fat 10:00am
Lean Ground Beef, 50g Cottage Cheese, green veggies
35g protein / 2g carbs / 20g fat

Meal 3: Pro/Carb 12:00pm
2 x Chicken Breast, 1 and a half cup Brown Rice
42g protein / 84g carbs / 3g Fat

Meal 4: Pro/Fat 2:00pm
2 Medium Cans of Tuna , Veggies
28g protein / 6g carbs / 10g Fat

Meal 5: PPWO 5.00pm
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, ½ cup Brown Rice (Measured Uncooked)
24g protein / 70g carbs / 3g fat

Workout: 7:00pm

Meal 6: PWO Right After Training
2 Scoops Whey Protein / 80g of Dextrose
45g protein / 80g carbs / 0g fat

Meal 7: Pro/Fat 8-8:15pm
Lean Protein of your choice, 2 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
24g protein / 5g carbs / 18g fat

Meal 8: Before Bed 10:00pm
3 Scoops of Casein Protein, 1.5 Tbsp. Flax Seed Oil
60g protein / 3g carbs / 21g Fat

Before Picture.

After Picture

Good job Mase! One More Rep! Stay focused and keep reaching your goals.

If you have a success story and would like it to be published on this site to help motivate other, please contact us.

I see it all the time, guys grunting and killing themselves and for what? I can understand breaking new personal records and pushing through boundaries, but seriously guys and gals, whats the point in lifting weight that you cant handle?

Please, for everyone’s sake including your own. Leave your ego at in the car, hell leave it at home.
Lift WITHIN your means never beyond it. That’s how you get hurt.

If you care not to heed my warning, you could end up like this douche bag.

BEFORE

AFTER

I’ll take reps over weight any day.

Here is a new five day workout routine that’s meant to add bulk and strength.
Remember to go heavy as you can for the reps given.

Don’t get all Wizard Sleeve on me and lift a few reps past what you are supposed too.
When it says 8 reps, I want you to lift some HEAVY WEIGHT so that the 8th rep is a HARD ONE.

Lets do this for a month and maybe a month and a half and they we will change it up and do something that will lean us out for summer.

Enjoy.

Monday

• Incline Flyes 3×20
• Incline Barbell Press 4×8
• Incline Dumbbell  4×8
• Bench Press 4×10
• Flyes Machine 5×8

Tuesday

• Lat Pull downs 4×15
• Dumbbell Rows 5×10
• Reverse Grip Pull downs 4×10
• Wide Grip Row Machine 4×8
• Cable Rows 3×10

Wednesday

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press 5×8
• Lateral Raises 4×10
• Front Raises 3×12
• Upright Rows 4×8
• Shrugs Barbell 4×10
• Reverse Flyes 4×8

Thursday

• Leg Extension 4×15
• Leg Curls 4×12
• Leg Press 5×15
• Deadlift 3×12
• Lunges stationary 4×12
• Calf Raises 4×15

Friday

• Barbell Curls wide grip 5×10
• Tricep Rope Pressdown 5×10
• Hammer Curls 4×12 or Concentration Curls
• Close Grip Bench 4×12
• Preacher Curls 4×8
• Dips 4×10
• Machine Curls 1×20
• Straight Bar Tricep Press down 1×20
• Wrist Curls 4×15

2002 Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic Winner

When I turned pro in 1996, I weighed 248 pounds. In 1998, I was 260. In 2000, I was 265. In 2001, was 267; and when I won the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic this year, I was 270. I’ve said it a thousand times: The secret to my success is consistency, and the secret to my consistent improvement is a harnessed but aggressive pursuit of mass and a healthy acceptance of time.

It’s all right to be impatient, but you need to realize that quality mass does not come overnight. Quick mass might, but quick mass doesn’t win contests, because it hasn’t been forged into place and anchored deep in bones by the cold-steel hammer of decisive training. There is a lot of braggadocio these days from bodybuilders who are proud of their “insane intensity” when they train. The winners, however, are invariably seasoned pros who take charge of their bodies, encouraging them onward, rather than punishing them masochistically for not responding to demands.

Your body has its own rules for growth, and those rules are the parameters for getting the most out of your training. Try imposing your own rules, and your body will refuse to respond; cooperate with your body’s rules, and your body will respond in kind. Thankfully, I intuited this early in my career, and, ever since, my body and I have been able to negotiate a set of rules for keeping me balanced at the peak of my potential.

Rule 1

EAT BIG

To grow, you need to eat more calories than your body uses. My rule of thumb is one to one-and-a-half grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day and two-and-a-half to three grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight per day. Start with that, then fine-tune it to your individual requirements as you go. Keep saturated fats to a minimum, eat as much quality and variety as possible, and drink at least two gallons of water per day. This is to keep your metabolism elevated, an especially important consideration when you’re consuming this much food.

Rule 2

TRAIN HEAVY

Train at 70-80% of the maximum weight you’re capable of handling effectively for six reps almost to failure. This is bodybuilding, not powerlifting; do not train so heavy that you reach total failure at two reps. My goal with every set is to help the muscle empty itself of its existing glycogen, so that can push more glycogen into the muscle in its place, without taking the muscle to failure or damaging tissue. With every set, leave the muscle room to recuperate and grow.

Rule 3

STICK TO BASICS

Meat-and-potatoes exercises make you grow best, and that means bench presses for chest, squats for quads, deadlifts for back, shoulder presses for shoulders, barbell curls for biceps, close-grip bench presses for triceps and stiff-leg deadlifts for hamstrings; i.e., all of the compound exercises that people hate to do. By involving muscle groups ancillary to the target bodypart, synergistic growth of adjacent muscles is stimulated, as well. This, in turn, accelerates your strength gains, which, in turn, translates into even more muscle growth; round and round we go, in an ever-faster upward spiral of mass gains.

Rule 4

SIX TO 10 REPETITIONS

Pick a weight you can control for six to 10 repetitions, executing each rep to its fullest contraction. Avoid excessive sloppiness in your training, but at the same time, use enough force, in the form of body thrust and explosiveness, to exhaust the muscle and break down the tissue. What I tend to do in a Jay Cutler routine is warm up by pyramiding the sets for my first one or two exercises. As I continue to move through the successive exercises in my workout, I will start with the heaviest weight and stay with it through all of the sets. For range of motion, I compromise: I don’t lock out, but I get a full contraction. No half reps.

Rule 5

A MINUTE TO A MINUTE-AND-A-HALF REST BETWEEN SETS

When training for a show, I rest only 30 to 45 seconds between sets, but when I’m trying to 3 add mass during the offseason, I rest twice as long: a minute to a minute and a half. This gives me just enough recuperation time to catch my breath and allow my heart rate to return to normal. Most important, I want to have maximum strength to perform every set to its fullest potential. At the same time, a minute and a half is not so much of a delay that I will lose the pump I built from the preceding set.

Rule 6

NO MORE THAN 12 SETS PER RODYPART

If you’re not getting the job done in 12 sets, after training heavy and resting only a minute to a minute and a half, you are doing something wrong. Most likely, you’re not training with enough intensity. Conversely, if you trained intensely with your first 12 sets, you’ll be entering the region of muscle waste if you try for more. As for myself, I like four exercises per body part, with three sets per exercise.

Rule 7

AT LEAST EIGHT HOURS OF SLEEP PER NIGHT

You grow when you’re out of the gym, not in it, and you grow even more when you sleep. That’s when your body slows down, and its natural stores of growth hormone are released. Without enough sleep and recuperation, your body will have to struggle, and you won’t be able to add weight. I get at least eight hours of sleep at night, but I also get in two additional hours of naptime every day, preferably an hour after a workout and another hour cumulatively after meals. In other words, I get 10 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.

Rule 8

LIMIT OTHER PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES

Calories burned for other physical activities are not available for training, thereby limiting your growth cycle. I get a lot of questions from construction workers and athletes, for example, who complain about not being able to maintain weight; likewise, those who do a lot of walking and running, and people who live in hot climates. In such cases, I suggest eating every hour to hour and a half, breaking down the meals to half-size and having 10 to 12 meals a day, to help avoid a calorie deficit.

Rule 9

TRAIN A BODYPART ONCE EVERY FIVE TO SEVEN DAYS

Avoid overtraining at all costs. For an average person, recovery time is assumed to be 48 hours for a bodypart, but for a heavy-lifting bodybuilder trying to add mass, it’s much longer. Even that protraction is modified by your work schedule, family obligations and other activities. Ronnie Coleman trains every bodypart twice a week, but not everybody can do that. Your individual case will take some experimenting on your part. For me, it works out to be five to seven days. None of this is written in stone, but those are safe numbers that have worked for me, illustrating the vast differences among us.

Rule 10

NO OFF-SEASON CARDIO

I like to emphasize that training to your fullest ability burns more calories than any specific cardiovascular workout; conversely, cardiovascular workouts, if performed to a beneficial level, burn muscle mass, so I suggest that bodybuilding and cardiovascular training should not be mixed. It’s healthy to be cardiovascularly fit, but if you lift weights with sufficient intensity to substantially boost your heart rate, that’s enough. Train with very heavy compound movements and moderate reps, and you not only tap into glycogen reserves and fat storage, but you force yourself to breathe deeper than you would in a standard cardio workout. A healthy heart is one that is responsive to dramatic demands on its rate differentials. Bodybuilding conditions the heart to handle those sudden jumps; cardio training does not. Even for a contest, I tend not to do a lot of cardio, yet I hear some guys do as much as two hours a day. They’re burning more than glycogen and fat; they’re burning muscle.

Rule 11

CONSISTENCY

The one word you’ll hear me utter more than any other is “consistency,” but if you expect to make major gains in mass, it becomes more than a flip term or even a rule. It’s a philosophy that perfuses every aspect of a bodybuilding life. You need to eat consistently, train consistently and keep yourself consistently motivated. Fight every impulse to subordinate your workouts to rationalizations and temptations. After work, do not go home before you go to the gym. The refrigerator, couch and television are powerfully seductive. Also ignore hunger pangs at that time of day; do not stop at a drive-through burger joint, but go directly to the gym. If your training partner fails to show, don’t use that as an excuse to go home. Plow through your workout by yourself, and take pride that you have more guts than he does. Guts and consistency drive you toward your goals.

“The big 11: my 11 rules for building mass and power”. Flex. FindArticles.com. 13 Jan, 2010.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group

Bodybuilding actually started in 11th century India and spread all over Europe during the time of the gladiating Romans. Now before we go right on to the basic starters in bodybuilding, let me first tell how bodybuilding came to America in the first place. So you’ve decided to try out American bodybuilding.

Okay, enough with history. Let’s go to the real issue. There is actually no such thing as American bodybuilding or European bodybuilding for that matter. Unless, you take into consideration the region in which the bodybuilding program is being undertaken, in which case, there is very much an American bodybuilding sport.

There are quite a million things to consider before undergoing American bodybuilding. But first thing’s first. Set your American bodybuilding goals. Whether it is to build mass, tighten up your midsection, slim down, or strengthen up your biceps, these are all possible in a good American bodybuilding program.

So the first thing to do before you undertake an American bodybuilding program is to get a physician’s release. This is especially important if you are over the age of 40 or have had a previous injury or physical impairment. In setting your American bodybuilding goals, be realistic and adapt a positive attitude. Do not aim for 250 lbs in one week if you currently have 115 lbs stacked up. Assess your current condition and determine where you want to be in three months, one year, or five years’ time.

Give the American bodybuilding program you have adapted at least three months before dumping it for something better. The reason for this is it takes about that time for your body to adjust to the modifications being imposed by your American bodybuilding regimen.

Now before getting into any sort of American bodybuilding program it is important to know how your exercise program works and why it’s going to be effective. For body part training in American bodybuilding, specific muscle groups are trained at a time. Every muscle group, such as biceps, triceps, and quadriceps, should be trained to prevent muscle imbalance and injury.

For beginners in American bodybuilding, compound exercises are recommended. What makes compound exercises good is that it allows movement in two or more joints, thus allowing more muscle input. In American bodybuilding, especially when dealing with weights, you might want to go light at first to get a feel on how your muscle moves. There are countless other ways to consider when starting American bodybuilding but the ones stated above should get far enough.

Contraction Rep Dips – Perform a common dip using a flat bench. On the up movement only come up 3/4 of the way.  You will feel a contraction in the triceps at the 3/4 mark.  Do 3 sets of 15 using your usual weight resistance.

Pull over Skulls – Perform a common pullover with your arms bent at a 45 degree angle.  On the up movement extend your arms doing a triceps extension. Repeat this motion in a fluid and controlled manner for 3 sets of 12 with about 30% less of your usual triceps extension workout weight. You should feel a wonderful burn and you will definitely see the pump.

*Be careful not to bash you head on the downward movement.

Tricep curls – This is a modified version of tricep kickbacks. Take your usual workout weighted dumbells used for kickbacks, Take a bent over row position and then lean forward at a 30 to 45 degree angle.  This forces your Triceps to stay in resistance mode, similar to Preacher Curls for the biceps, while performing kickbacks.  Do 3 sets of 10-12.  Your triceps will feel like your biceps.  This one really plays tricks on the muscles.

Guess what, you are done with the Tri’s!

Your rest periods should be kept between 30-45 Secs. And do like the Austrian Oak and keep flexing the Tri’s between sets so as not to let them fully rest until you are done.

Have a good workout!

However if you are shorter, say around 5’8″-5’10″ you can actually “look” just as big with less muscle gains. A guy who’s 5’9″ 215lbs looks every bit as big as a guy who’s 6’2″ 240 in
terms of muscle bulk. So the taller you are the more time it is going to take. The good thing is when you do it without steroids the muscle you gain is really yours, so you keep most of it when and if you stop lifting. Another cool thing is you will get a lot stronger and harder before you really start growing. So you will FEEL great before you actually LOOK great.

One other factor, it also depends on a son’s body type. There are 3 basic ones:

Endomorph:
Naturally bulky frame, usually with a lot of both body fat and muscle. These guys usually can put on both muscle AND fat at a rate that is faster than 7lbs/year.

Ectomorph:
Naturally thin. Low body fat, Also known as “Hard gainers”. Without steroids, to put on 7lbs of muscle in a year is really good. On a positive note, because hard gainers usually
will have naturally low body fat, any shred of muscle they gain will show. So ectomorphs can “look” as though they weigh a lot more.

Finally, Mesomorphs:
These guys are the gifted one when it comes to gaining muscle. Usually they are naturally muscular with low body fat. If you are an endomorph or have some endo in your genetic pool, you can definitely pack on more than 7lbs of muscle  year….as long as you are keeping up on your nutrition which is another story.

Note: It is rare that a son is 100% of any of these body types. There is usually a mix with one type being dominate.

Many articles relating to exercise and nutrition are written that address what “to do” to achieve your fitness goals.
Rarely does an article talk about what NOT to do to achieve success. The goal of this article is to introduce you to some common mistakes that are made when working out.

Don’t bounce!
Bouncing the bar off your chest, bouncing out of the bottom position of a squat, or similar actions serves no purpose in helping you get stronger, more developed or lean. Two things do occur; you pump up your ego and you increase your chance for injury. There is a high amount of stress placed on the connective tissue when momentum is used rather than your muscles. Strive to have control and good form, rather than CHEATING to get the weight up!

Don’t round your back!
When lifting, a rounded back increases the likelihood of strains and sprains in your lower back and shoulder region.  Keeping your shoulders back and your lower back in a neutral/arched position serves to keep your spine in alignment and acts as a natural weight belt.

Don’t let your heels come up when squatting, leg pressing or lunging!
When the heels are raised or not in contact with the floor undue stress is placed on the ligaments of the knee joint and emphasis is lost on the posterior portion of your legs/glutes.

Don’t do your cardio before your weights!
A five-minute warm-up is fine, but doing cardio first depletes the energy you need to lift weights (glycogen).
When you lift weights your body needs glycogen for fuel.
If this fuel is depleted because of cardio done just prior, your body will burn your hard earned muscle tissue for fuel! Done in the opposite order, you will
maximize fat burning and minimize muscle wasting.

Try this for a great pre workout drink!
N.O. Plasmacore Fruit Punch Flavor Drink Mix

This type of nutrition program you should follow to gain some good muscular body weight. Nutrition is very important, a lot of my trainees don’t make good  gains until they start eating a very large amount of protein along with the correct supplements, it makes a big difference.

Breakfast
meat 1/4 lb
3 eggs
2 slices wheat toast
milk or protein drink

Snack
cottage cheese 1/4 lb
fruit
milk or protein drink

Lunch
Tuna Sandwich (6 oz tuna)
cottage cheese 1/4 lb
salad
milk or protein drink

Snack
cheese sandwich 2 oz cheese
milk or protein drink

Dinner
Chicken 8 oz
baked potato
cooked vegetable
salad
milk or protein drink

Snack
2 eggs hardboiled
fruit
milk or protein drink