This
is a story of how I personally went from 192
pounds to 217 pounds in bodyweight in only 7
days. Learn the killer techniques I used to
accomplish this mind-blowing weight gain.
It started as
a challenge to myself. If I took all the knowledge
I had about weight gain and put it to work all
at once, how much weight could I add to myself
in one week? What would my upper limit be?
I had some vacation
time coming up where I could do nothing but
eat, sleep and train so I decided to do it.
Time to FIGHT
for some serious weight gain!
This is
my story...
I knew
from the start that this weight gain certainly wouldn't
be all muscle. In fact, it's impossible to gain that
much weight in muscle in only one week (unless you're
a baby elephant!).
I was going
to gain a combination of muscle, water and most likely
some fat as well. That rapid of a weight gain, however,
was going to force a lot of nutrients into my muscles
quickly, resulting in some permanent muscle gains.
To start my maximal weight gain challenge, I first
had to set myself up for it by dieting down.
Why diet
down to gain weight?
Your body
adapts most rapidly to extreme changes in environment.
I knew I wanted to gain weight quickly, therefore
I had to first subject myself to a restricted-calorie
diet. When I would reverse my goals and begin to feed
myself again, my body would react by rapidly sucking
up every available calorie and holding onto it.
To further
set myself up, the diet I went on was a two-week carbohydrate-restricted
plan, much like the Atkins Diet. For two weeks, I
ate less than 30 grams of carbs per day, sticking
to meats, eggs, cheese and vegetables.
This cleared
out all the glycogen I had stored in my body as well
as reducing the amount of water I was carrying (water
attaches itself to carbs in your body - when you clear
out the carbs, several pounds or more of water will
be flushed out with it).
It was
kind of like squeezing out a sponge - you can fit
more water into a sponge that's been squeezed totally
dry than a sponge that's already moist.
It's important
to note that I didn't restrict my water intake at
all. That will give you exactly the wrong effect.
If you restrict your water intake while dieting, your
body will actually hold onto more water. If you give
your body plenty of water, it will have no reason
to hold onto every drop you give it and will flush
it out regularly.
For
training during this phase, I did three high-intensity
cardio sessions per week for about 20 minutes
each. This cardio was extremely tough and designed
to burn as many calories as possible as quickly
as possible. This would make my body extremely
hungry for nutrients and ready to absorb as
much as possible.
I
did high-volume, high-rep weight training (12
to 15 reps per set), 6 sessions per week with
very short rest periods to further set up this
effect.
After
2 weeks of this training and dieting, I was
ready to start my weight gain.
On Saturday evening, after my final training session
for the week, I weighed in at 192 pounds.
On Sunday
morning, I woke up and immediately took my first serving
of creatine and glutamine. My focus on this day was
to eat as much as possible, load up on creatine and
glutamine and drink as much water as possible. Both
of these supplements are excellent for forcing water
into the muscles.
Taking
creatine alone can result in a 5 to 10 pound increase
in weight over the loading phase of 5 days. To further
maximize this effect, I had been off creatine for
3 months prior to this.
I took
4 servings of creatine and glutamine this day, along
with eating as much as I could (for example, eggs,
oatmeal, meats, potatoes, fruits, rice, etc.) and
drinking buckets of water. I would continue loading
creatine for the next 4 days, taking glutamine only
after each workout from then on rather than with my
creatine loading. I would start my weight training
program on Monday. I was going to be doing a very
demanding program, doing 12 total-body training sessions
over the next 6 days.
My theory
with doing multiple total-body training sessions is
this: every single bodypart was going to get as much
breakdown and stimulation as possible to maximize
the amount of nutrients being taken up over my whole
body.
I would
do more sets for the larger parts like chest, back
and thighs and fewer sets for the other smaller parts.
Every part would get worked twice a day for six
days straight.
This type
of training is not appropriate for a long-term program
as it would rapidly lead to overtraining in a matter
of weeks. This was a one-week shot for me and I was
putting everything into it.
After
taking my creatine, I made breakfast, which
consisted of 10 eggs and a bowl of oatmeal that
would feed a family of 4. For flavor, I mixed
in some fruit yogurt. To gain weight effectively,
you really need to eat big.
I
got to the gym for my first session that day
and weighed myself. I had gained 10 pounds in
the first day. Not a bad start! All that eating,
drinking water and supplementation was paying
off. My body was extremely primed for gaining.
My
training session lasted about 45 minutes, during
which I worked every bodypart. After the workout,
I immediately took a mixture of whey protein
(40 grams), creatine (5 grams), glutamine (10
grams) and Tang (sugary powdered drink mix)
as well as some vitamins and minerals (multi-vitamin,
calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, and an anti-oxidant).
It's critical
to provide your body with nutrients and raw materials
to rebuild with as quickly as possible after training
otherwise your body will just be breaking itself down.
I got home
and set to work making lunch, which consisted of 2
large chicken breasts and a big bucket of spaghetti
and meat sauce. Several hours later, I had a couple
of cans of tuna, a sandwich and some ice cream. Please
note, these meals are just samples of what I ate and
not specifically what you should eat.
All
during the day and evening, I was constantly drinking
water.
When I
say constantly, I mean I got up every 10 to 15 minutes
and drank a full glass of water over the course of
the whole day. I was very well-hydrated, which is
extremely important for weight gain. If your muscles
don't have enough water, they simply can't grow.
My evening
training session was also a total-body workout. At
this point, my body was so flooded with carbs and
water from having come off a low-carb diet, everything
I did was giving my muscles an incredible pump. I
was focusing on heavy weights for sets of 6 to 10
reps during my sessions and stretching out thoroughly
after.
After the
workout, I had another supplement and vitamin mix
then went home. I had 4 eggs and a bowl of cereal
for a post-workout meal, then a protein shake right
before bed. I mixed up a protein shake and set it
beside my bed so if, in the middle of the night, I
woke up, I could drink a protein shake. This would
provide extra calories and protein and reduce the
amount of time I went without food during the night.
And believe
me, with the amount of water I was drinking during
the day and during my training, waking up during the
night was a given!
I repeated
this type of schedule over the next days, continuing
with my creatine loading, food loading and water loading.
By
the end of the second day, I had gained 15 pounds
of bodyweight. By the end of the third day, I was
up 18 pounds.
When I
finished my creatine loading after the fifth day,
I began taking a protein shake first thing in the
morning instead. Taking protein immediately upon waking
is the best way to start the day. It instantly reverses
the catabolic state your body is in after fasting
during sleep.
My training
was going well and my body was sucking up everything
I was putting into it. My strength gains were rapid
and my fat gains were actually quite minimal. I was
in the home stretch now. On Saturday afternoon, I
went over to a friend's house and had a huge meal
of Shepherd's Pie, which is basically a big pile of
ground beef, potatoes and corn. Great weight gain
food.
I went to the gym that night for my final training
session of my weight gain week and tipped the scales
at 217 pounds.
In only
one week, to give you an idea of the amazing strength
and size gains I got, I was able to increase the amount
of weight I could bench press for 8 reps by 30 pounds
and I had added a full inch to my arms.
The best
part is, this rapid weight gain was excellent for
stretching the fascia of my muscles, giving them more
room to grow, leading to permanent gains in muscle
size and potential muscle size.
Using all
the knowledge and techniques (and appetite) for weight
gain at my disposal, I had gained 25 pounds of bodyweight
in only one week!
How
This Applies to the Muscle Explosion Program:
The
principles I described in the article and the
experience I had with it actually formed much
of the foundation for my nutritional approach
in the Muscle
Explosion book.
It
starts with a low-carb phase followed by massive
eating and repeated heavy training sessions
to really force the body to pile on the weight.
I've
found this "nutritional slingshot"
to be absolutely extraordinary for putting muscle
on the body very quickly, even it hardgainers.
For those who AREN'T hardgainers, the results
can be downright AMAZING.
Learn how Muscle
Explosion can help you SHATTER your "genetic"
limitations by changing and improving your physiology
through scientifically-based (and somewhat insane)
strategic training and eating.
