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Hardgainer Project X Review

I just got a copy of Jeff Anderson's latest publication, Hardgainer Project X (HPX) and it's fantastic.

Jeff (aka “The Muscle Nerd”) lays a solid foundation for the reasons behind a hardgainer's difficulty on putting on weight. It all starts with our horrible genetics. In fact, there are 7 broad reasons why some folks are hardgainers and others are not. They range from having a fast metabolism to favoring catabolic hormone dominance to poor neuro-muscular communication. Additionally, we hardgainers suffer from an over-abundance of slow twitch muscle fibers, reduced ability to synthesize protein, our recovery times are horrible, and we have an acidic system.

All of these things add up to contribute to ZERO gains for us.

But Jeff quickly lays all the “bad stuff” aside and shows us EXACTLY what we need to do in the gym, with our diets, and precisely what we need to take in terms of supplements. Anderson shares my skepticism of the food supplement industry, but another thing we share is our desire to get results – and both he and I have found awesome supplements that will help you get to where you want to go in terms of muscle size, strength, and appearance.

In HPX, Jeff takes on the “conventional wisdom” of the so-called “fitness industry” and tears down myths, calling out the BS like nobody's business.

He's also come up with a unique variation on the traditional drop-set. It's a novel concept that is not popular yet amongst the “experts,” but I predict it will become more and more popular as people, especially hardgainers, discover its efficacy.

Finally, Jeff has uncovered some new techniques that will help both nutritionally and in your workouts. He's very inventive.

All in all, I found Jeff's HPX system to be right on par with his other publications: They're effective, innovative, easy-to-implement and understand, and fun and easy to read. I read the entire course in a couple of hours (and I'm a very slow reader); I'm now ready to tackle the program with full force.

I highly recommend giving Hardgainer Project X a serious trial (there is an 8-week 100% money-back guarantee).

1

Gallon of Milk a Day

Got milk?

Got milk?

Aspiring weight trainers and bodybuilders want to get big fast, and one of the best programs for doing so is the “Gallon of Milk a Day” plan, coupled with some heavy lifting.

When you want to get big really fast, there is no substitute for lots of calories. In fact, you need to add 500-1,000 calories per day if you want to gain weight. And really, the more the better. If you find yourself getting fat (it will show up in the belly first), you can back off a little or do some cardio work.

The GOMAD diet, as it's commonly called, has been around for decades. It continues to be used because it works!

It's very simple to follow, too.

  1. Go to the store
  2. Buy a gallon of milk
  3. Drink it in one day, preferably over the entire course of the day!

That's it!

Lots of folks who have used the Gallon of Milk a Day program have reported that they've achieved great success with it. It is recommended that you ease into the program; start off by drinking 1/8 to a 1/4 of a gallon a day at first to see how your body responds to it.

Obviously, if you're allergic to milk or dairy products, this is NOT the system for you. Additionally, if you're lactose-intolerant, tread lightly here.

Remember, the whole idea about bodybuilding is to achieve a heightened fitness and health level. Don't destroy your health by eating food that doesn't agree with you.

By the way, this eating program works great with the hardgainer program I put together.

It's also a great start if you're a beginning bodybuilder.

Build Mass Without Side Effects

ronnie-coleman-mass-monster

by Anonymous

Question: I am very lean and my body weight is very low compared to my height. So please guide me to increase my body mass safely without any side effects.

Answer: You are certainly not the first – nor will you be the last – person to experience this issue!

My standard answer is if you are not gaining weight, then you aren't eating enough. It is a simple math problem.

Building muscle is a little different. You have to actually exercise by overloading your muscles and then letting them rebuild so that they are bigger and stronger than before.

But putting on weight is simply a math problem:

Eat more calories than you burn.

It really is that simple. Now, I know. It's extremely difficult to eat a lot of food for a lot of people; I used to be the same way. I used to eat so much that I literally puked it all out. It was absolutely horrible!

You will need a good protein supplement, preferably made of whey concentrate. Prograde makes the best on the market, so you may as well pick some up right now.

Eat 6 or more times a day, including plenty of protein and fat from eggs, milk, beef, fish, fowl, and nuts. Make sure you eat a lot of green vegetables and fresh fruits, too.

For short periods of time (3 to 6 weeks), you can eat up to a dozen eggs and a gallon of milk per day. Don't start off with this volume, though — build up to it!

Get in the gym no more than 3 days a week and exercise using only compound movements like squats, deadlifts, chinups, bench presses, rows, and overhead presses. 3 sets of 6-10 reps.

Don't do any abdominal work and rest as much as possible. Sleep at least 8 hours a night. More if you can. Take a nap after lunch, too.

The trick is getting your metabolism to slow down, stimulating muscle growth, and eating as much as you can to effect the weight and muscle gains that you so desperately desire.

It IS do-able. I put on over 60 pounds in one year using those methods above.

You can get more details by getting my Hardgainer Manifesto course.


Image credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Ronnie_Coleman_8_x_Mr_Olympia_-_2009_-_7.png

4

Bodybuilding for Beginners

beginning bodybuilding

Everybody starts at the beginning

Bodybuilding for beginners is where you start your muscle-building future. You'll want to start out with the right exercises, the right diet, and the right recovery programs.

Muscles grow as a result of overloading them, feeding them, and letting them recuperate, so that they grow stronger and bigger over time. You need all three components (exercise, nutrition, and rest) to make any gains. Two out of three is not good enough.

It is at this stage where you learn the basics of bodybuilding.

Bodybuilding Basics

First things first! You want to hit the weights, and I don't blame you. Just don't forget about the other two pillars (and don't forget about mindset – which won't be a problem when you're starting out but it will when you hit your first sticking point).

Exercises

In your first month, these are the exercises you want to do (just watch, don't necessarily listen to the recommendations):

Lift on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or every other day. This gives your muscles time to recover, adapt, and grow.

On your rest days, do your normal thing. If you like to run, run. If you ride a bike, ride a bike. On your workout days, try to just lift weights.

Of course, this may be a bit impractical. If you're on a high school football team, you will practice every day. There's no getting around that.

However, this makes it all the more important to really do nothing on your off days (like Saturday and Sunday).

Your body and mind need the rest. There is a strong central nervous system (CNS) response to weight training.

After one month, add one set to each exercise and stick with that for 3 months. Add weight when you can, in the smallest increments possible.

In many cases, beginning bodybuilders find that they can add weight every single workout to almost every exercise. If you can – great. If you can't, that's great, too.

Everybody gains strength at different rates. Consistency at this point is king.

Diet

My experience tells me that eating a “normal” diet is best, supplemented as needed with in-between meal snacks. Stick to wholesome, whole foods. Organic when possible.

Eat a variety of foods, like beef, chicken, eggs, milk, and fish for your protein sources. Grains, vegetables, and fruits for your carbs. You needn't worry much about fats, as if you cover the protein category, you most likely won't be lacking in fat intake.

Do not, however, try to go on a low- or no-fat diet, even if you're overweight. That's a really bad idea. Once you begin limiting your fat intake, your body goes into survival mode and begins hoarding the fat you do eat. Worse yet, it begins conserving your body fat.

The results are often counter to your objective – you gain fat.

To summarize: Eat 3 meals a day with 2 or 3 snacks in between. If you feel hungry, eat more often. If you can't eat that often, do the best you can. If time isn't on your side, mix up a meal replacement shake (MetRx is great) in the morning and carry it without you throughout the day.

At this point, supplements aren't really necessary, outside of a good protein supplement (like the aforementioned MetRx – pick it up at Trader Joe's) and multi-vitamin/mineral tablet.

Rest & Recovery

This is one of those very “iffy” areas. Everybody – and every body – has different needs when it comes to rest and recovery.

So these are general guidelines:

  • Get 7-9 hours of sleep
  • Rest as much as you can when you're not working out, unless you're overweight
    • In that case, do some steady-state cardio on off days
  • Don't do any “extra” weight training – stick to the guidelines above
  • If you feel like you're tired all the time, get more rest – you will find a way (take a nap)

 

Body Weight Exercises Can Be Super Effective

Football great Herschel Walker speaks to the Class of 2016 during Basic Cadet Training in the U.S. Air Force Academy's Jacks Valley in Colorado Springs, Colo. July 17, 2012. Walker spent time talking to the Class of 2016 about resiliency, his own personal struggles in life and encouraged the cadets to reach out and seek help if they need it.

Football great Herschel Walker speaks to the Class of 2016 during Basic Cadet Training in the U.S. Air Force Academy's Jacks Valley in Colorado Springs, Colo. July 17, 2012. Walker spent time talking to the Class of 2016 about resiliency, his own personal struggles in life and encouraged the cadets to reach out and seek help if they need it.

I LOVE body weight exercises! I like “weighted” body weight exercises, even better!

More precisely, I love exercises that don't require much — if any — in the way of equipment. You can do body weight exercises anywhere: At home, in an apartment, at the beach, in a hotel room.

Some of the best athletes in the world use body weight exercises in their exercise regimens. Herschel Walker, for example, is known for doing hundreds of sit-ups and push-ups a day (up to 2000) and look at him!

Push-ups are one of the best upper body builders known to man. As you gain strength and endurance in the shoulders, chest, and arms (they're great for the core, too, by the way), you can either elevate your feet on steps or a chair, use simple push-up bars, or add a weighted vest so that you can push more weight.

And I don't care who you are or what you say, sit-ups and crunches build core strength like nobody's business. They are not bad for your back (if you're healthy), either.

Pull-ups, or chin-ups, build upper body strength and bulk, too, especially in the lats, shoulders, and arms. You can do these at any park you can find. You can also buy doorway pull-up bars for very little money. Again, as you gain strength and endurance, you can add a weighted vest to give you more resistance.

Body weight squats are a little more difficult to do. Oh, you can squat with just your body weight but you need to do a LOT of reps to get any kind of burn. And you'll improve your endurance but your strength will not increase by much after the first couple weeks of body weight squatting.

However, after you gain enough strength to do 50 body weight squats, try doing some “pistol squats”. These are one-legged squats, where, at first, you do them while supporting yourself by holding onto a bar and then eventually, as your coordination gets better, you can do them without holding onto anything.

The venerable “sissy squat” is also a great body weight exercise that really works the quads. You do these by rising up on your toes and forming a straight line that does not bend, all the way from the knees to the head. As you “squat” down, your body is forming a “V” that is getting more and more “shrunk”. Here's a video showing exactly how to do a sissy squat:


Image credit: Licensed for re-use – https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Flickr_-_DVIDSHUB_-_Herschel_Walker_visit_with_USAFA_Class_of_2016_Basic_Cadet_Training_(Image_4_of_17).jpg

bodybuilder guy

Want Faster Results?

Look, I know how hard it is to build muscle. Trust me when I tell you it took me 20+ years to figure it out. But once I did--BAM!--muscle appeared almost overnight. Give me your email address and I'll send you the keys.