Let me spell it for you: E-A-T. What? That’s not a secret? You already knew this? Possible. But a wise man named Stephen Covey once said “Knowing and not doing it is not knowing”…or something like that. And it couldn’t be more true. For all of those of you out there who are trying to add muscle mass to their frame and have a hard time doing it, this tip applies to you. And please do me a favor and stop thinking you’re so special and that the problem must be something else because you think you’re eating enough. I don’t know you, but if you’re not gaining muscle, you’re not eating enough. Period. Stop blaming your fast metabolism, your genetics or anything else for that matter. You’re not eating enough!
Yeah, yeah, you have a fast metabolism…now go eat a sandwich
I’ve heard it so many times: “…but I eat all the time; it would be impossible for me to eat more than that. I’m sure that’s not the reason why I’m not gaining weight.” Eat more. You are not special; your metabolism is not preventing you from gaining muscle; your genetics is not limiting you. You’re not eating enough, plain and simple. Eat more and I’ll guarantee you you’re going to put on some weight, and way faster than you think. I’ve actually witnessed gains as fast as 6-8 pounds a month with clients and athletes who really make a dedicated effort of taking in large amounts of quality foods. And no, none of them were on performance enhancing drugs. Stop being jealous and making excuses for yourself. Just eat more!
Mandatory sandwich eating for everyone!
The truth is that there are in fact many factors to account for that are responsible for increasing muscle mass. Things like: an appopriate training program, the intensity you put in your training, the quantity and quality of your sleep, the amount of time allowed for recovery, your stress level, your genetics and your testosterone levels are all important factors that contribute to gains in muscle mass. But don’t think you’re so special that it might be one of these things that really is limiting your progress.
Simply, put it this way: if you are lifting on a regular basis and you are eating more calories than what you burn in a day, you will gain muscle. Guaranteed.
Enough said. Now, go eat!
P.S. Do me a favor and send this information to all the hard gainers around you.
Don’t forget to sign up for my FREE newsletter! I will also send you 3 bonuses on performance training for sports!
I’ve written in the past about what the biggest secret to gaining weight was: EATING MORE. The so-called hard gainers out there who blame their genetics and are trying to find the magical training program out there to gain muscle mass. There is no secret. But there are ways that are more effective than others. Eating whole natural foods and eating more of it, and following a well designed training program like Show and Go from my colleague Eric Cressey will definitely get you where you want to be.
I just finished the last phase of Show and Go along with the whole Endeavor staff, and I must say that I’m really pleased with the results. I established new PRs (personal records) for my front squat and my bench press, along with packing on 11 pounds (8-9 of which is lean muscle) over 4 months! And honestly, gaining weight was not even my first goal going into the program; my main goal was to gain strength. But I did eat a lot during those 4 months, so the weight and muscle gain was expected.
Here’s a sample 1-day diet record of what I was usually eating in a day:
Breakfast:
- 8 eggs omelet with onions, peppers, spinach and organic sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 Ezekiel bread toasts with organic butter
- 2 clementines, 1 kiwi fruit and 3oz of pomegranate juice
Post Training:
- Smoothie w/ 1.5 cup of organic whole milk, 1 scoop of protein, 1 banana, 4 strawberries, 1 T.spoon flax seeds, 1 T.spoon cacao nibs, 2 T.spoon natural peanut butter and 1/2 cup of oats
16oz of plain whole fat organic yogurt, 1 scoop of protein powder, handful of cashews, 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup granola mix
Dinner:
3/4 pound of pork chops breaded w/ quinoa flakes
2 cups of green beans cooked in organic butter
Pork, quinoa and green beans
I don’t know exactly how many calories it represents, but if I had to guess I would say close to 4,000. And yes I do realize that it’s a lot of food in one day; and it’s also almost all whole natural foods (nothing pre-packaged or overly processed). I went from 220 to 231 pounds in 4 months eating pretty much like that everyday. My goal is not to show off, but rather to make “hardgainers” realize what does eating A LOT of food actually means.
It’s really easy to make excuses, but a lot harder to cook food, plan ahead for all your meals for the day and actually eat that much food. Combine those strategies with a good, no-nonsense training program like Show and Go and you won’t have to complain about not gaining weight anymore.
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This year marks the first time in probably over 10 years that I finished all my holiday shopping more than 2 days before Christmas! Hopefully you did too! But if you still have gifts to buy to people around you who are either athletes, a coaches or just fitness enthusiasts, here’s a couple of ideas that you might want to consider.
This might be the perfect gift for anyone who doesn’t have access to a good coach or trainer, or anyone who doesn’t want to spend hours writing his own programs and going through trial and error to find what works. Eric Cressey has done an outstanding job with this product, and he’s basically eliminating the guessing work one needs to go through when building his own training programs. Show and Go is a proven system that has been put to the test by many before Eric actually launched the product. It provides you with 16 weeks of programs that guarantee you the results you’re looking for. The whole Endeavor staff has been on the Show and Go system for the last 10 weeks, and we’ve ALL made tremendous gains in both size and strength! Click HERE to get your copy now!
This is a great gift idea for anyone involved in hockey training; whether it’s for a player or a coach, a membership to HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com is a gift that will help them get better. Some of the brightest minds in hockey training are behind that website; names like Mike Boyle (Boston University), Sean Skahan (Anaheim Ducks), Mike Potenza (San Jose Sharks), Darryl Nelson (USA Hockey) and Endeavor’s own Kevin Neeld are all contributing to the website to help develop better hockey players. For less than 10$/month (less than 100$/year if you pay all at once), a membership to this site will guide any hockey player in the right direction when it comes to his training. What’s even cooler is that you have the option of signing up and getting a 30 day trial for only $1! If you’re not satisfied with the content (which won’t happen trust me!) you can just cancel you subscription. Click HERE to get the 30 day trial.
With the new year coming up, for all these people making fat loss related resolutions, the Precision Nutrition System is definitely the ideal present to guide them through their lifestyle and nutritional changes that will lead them to their results. The Precision Nutrition System includes everything you need to help you make necessary changes in your eating habits in order to get results; everything from cookbooks to online support through the Precision Nutrition website, everything is included. The price is currently down from $147 to $97 for the whole system, so order now!
So if you need a last minute gift for the athlete or fitness enthusiast in your life, one of these should be a perfect fit.
On a side note, as I’ve mentioned last week I’m working on a couple different projects. One of them is related to my website and my readers; stay tuned next week for a special announcement as well as a thank you gift for my readers who have been following my work!
It’s been a little while since I’ve done a random thougths post, and since I have a couple interesting things to share with you I figured now would be a good time!
1. All the Endeavor staff is on Eric Cressey’s Show and Go program right now and the progress we’ve all made since starting the program 6 weeks ago has been phenomenal! I hit PRs on the trap bar deadlift and the front squat and I also added 5 pounds of muscle since starting! And all the Endeavor staff has made similar progress. Eric actually gave us some love in his blog this past Tuesday in that regard; CHECK IT OUT HERE. Eric has done an incredible job with Show and Go and the results speak for themselves. If you haven’t already, I strongly suggest you get it. You are provided with 16 weeks of programs to get bigger, stronger all while reducing your risk of injuries and imporving your posture. How much better can it get? Eric also provides you with videos for every single exercise in the Show and Go programs. Get your copy of Show HERE.
2. I really like to learn new exercises and stretches as it adds variety to your training, and most of the time these new exercises and stretches will feel totally different than any other thing you’ve been doing. This is why I like the wall adductor stretch so much…probably my new favorite one!
I will admit that the position is a little suspicious, but the benefits you get from it are totally worth it! Give it a try, and make sure you keep your butt as close to the wall as possible and keep your knees straight.
3. Last week, I celebrated my first Thanksgiving by eating a lot of food and watching football all day! That holiday also marked the return of a couple of our hockey players who took the opportunity to get a couple of training sessions in at Endeavor while they were back home for Thanksgiving. While conditioning the guys on the slideboard with Phil Collins blaring on the stereo, it just reminded me how much of a good time this past summer was.
I can’t wait for next summer!
4. Last week I was talking with one of my friends in Montreal who was telling me about some knee problem he’s had for a while. He also told me that he saw a professional who recommended he gets some orthotics because his feet were the problem. After getting the orthotics, his pain magically disappeared. But within 2 months though, his knee pain came back to bother him. I was trying to explain to him that his feet probably weren’t the problem and that someone needed to look at him with a more global perspective than just looking at the feet. He agreed to go see anyone I would refer him to, but he also insisted on the fact that the professional he saw put him through different tests for his feet and that there was clearly a problem there. And he also said something like: “the guy’s gotta know his stuff he’s worked with professional sport teams in the past”. As I’ve said before, and as I’ll say again, I don’t care if you work with pro athletes, you still can suck at what you do. That doesn’t mean you’re good; it only means you have good contacts and you’re good at selling yourself. But I digress. After contacting an athletic trainer I used to work with in Montreal and explaining her the situation without letting her know what I thought about the situation, here was her reply:”Orthotics might help in the acute phase, but in the long run they are crutches most of the time and they probably won’t correct your real problem. You need to look at the global picture and not focus only on the knees and feet, and assess everything from the hips down.” I couldn’t have agreed more. It’s really great to see people in the field who really get it. And more than anything else, it also highlights the importance of having a good network of professionals around you.
Let me spell it for you: E-A-T. What? That’s not a secret? You already knew this? Possible. But a wise man named Stephen Covey once said “Knowing and not doing it is not knowing”…or something like that. And it couldn’t be more true. For all of those of you out there who are trying to add muscle mass to their frame and have a hard time doing it, this tip applies to you. And please do me a favor and stop thinking you’re so special and that the problem must be something else because you think you’re eating enough. I don’t know you, but if you’re not gaining muscle, you’re not eating enough. Period. Stop blaming your fast metabolism, your genetics or anything else for that matter. You’re not eating enough!
Yeah, yeah, you have a fast metabolism…now go eat a sandwich
I’ve heard it so many times: “…but I eat all the time; it would be impossible for me to eat more than that. I’m sure that’s not the reason why I’m not gaining weight.” Eat more. You are not special; your metabolism is not preventing you from gaining muscle; your genetics is not limiting you. You’re not eating enough, plain and simple. Eat more and I’ll guarantee you you’re going to put on some weight, and way faster than you think. I’ve actually witnessed gains as fast as 6-8 pounds a month with clients and athletes who really make a dedicated effort of taking in large amounts of quality foods. And no, none of them were on performance enhancing drugs. Stop being jealous and making excuses for yourself. Just eat more!
Mandatory sandwich eating for everyone!
The truth is that there are in fact many factors to account for that are responsible for increasing muscle mass. Things like: an appopriate training program, the intensity you put in your training, the quantity and quality of your sleep, the amount of time allowed for recovery, your stress level, your genetics and your testosterone levels are all important factors that contribute to gains in muscle mass. But don’t think you’re so special that it might be one of these things that really is limiting your progress.
Simply, put it this way: if you are lifting on a regular basis and you are eating more calories than what you burn in a day, you will gain muscle. Guaranteed.
Enough said. Now, go eat!
P.S. Do me a favor and send this information to all the hard gainers around you.
