WARNING: This eBook is for your personal use only.
You may NOT Give Away, Share, Or Resell This
Intellectual Property In Any Way.
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2012 – Christian Baker
All rights are reserved. You may not distribute this eBook in any way. You may not
sell it, or reprint any part of it without written consent from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Disclaimer
The advice given in this eBook is just that: advice.
The author takes no responsibility for the actions taken by individuals as a result of reading this eBook.
If you have any concerns regarding your health, please consult your doctor before making any changes to your nutrition, exercise, or lifestyle plan.
Don’t do anything stupid; I’m here to help you become superhuman, not dead.
Dedication:
I would like to dedicate this eBook to my brother Michael: Thanks for forcing me into the gym when I was 16 and introducing me to a whole new world of possibility; thanks to you I am now closer to superhuman.
I also dedicate this eBook to everyone out there who has ever enjoyed weight training in any way, shape, or form, and to those of you out there who, like me, not only want to look awesome but also be healthy on the inside and train until age 100 and beyond!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-‐ Introduction and Definition ……….. 5
-‐ The Seven Pre Workout Secrets that will help you train like a beast, recover
like a pro, and unleash your inner superhuman:
1. Wake The Fuck Up: How to sleep effectively for maximum energy levels and faster recovery from training ……… 9
2. Drink Up Buddy: How staying hydrated can make all the difference ……… 15
3. Hungry Like The Wolf: Sports nutrition for maximum performance ……… 19
4. You Wanna Get High? Key supplements to use for achieving maximum results and preventing burnout ………... 36
5. Unleash The Beast: Managing your training load and training schedule for
maximum results and minimum down time ……… 60
6. Train Your Mind Before You Train Your Body: How a strong mindset and goal setting can make you unstoppable ……… 66
7. The Biggest Pre Workout Secret: Pre Workout Cycling ………... 74
-‐ Your Game Plan: How to take the lessons you’ve learned and apply them to your life and your situation ……… 77
-‐ Don’t Be A Stranger: Stay in touch and stay on track ……….. 86
Introduction and Definition: What exactly is this
eBook about?
Let me start with a story:
I took my first pre workout supplement in 2009 and, like most people; the first one I ever took was good old “No-‐Xplode.” The first time I took it I felt like I could lift 1,000 pounds and I would actually get angry at the barbell if it wouldn’t let me complete any more reps. I felt like an animal unleashed into the wild after years of captivity and celibacy, and my workouts had become insanely intense.
Then one day the one scoop just didn’t cut it anymore, so I took two and felt awesome all over again.
And then came three. And then came…The Crash.
I thought to myself “oh it’s totally the product’s fault and not mine, all I have to do now is just get a stronger product and I’ll be all good!”
So I took the next latest and greatest product, which at that time was “N.O. Shotgun.” Again I was high off one scoop and was kicking ass all over again.
Then came two scoops.
And then one day I distinctly remember taking one scoop and loading another one into my shaker, which I was sipping on throughout my 10-‐minute drive to the gym.
When I arrived at the gym and parked my car, I immediately plonked my head down onto my steering wheel and began to have a nap.
WTF!?
Had my drink been spiked? Was the label legit?
Unfortunately, no one was trying to take advantage of me and yes, the label on the product was legit and there was apparently plenty of caffeine in my system.
At the time I had no idea what was happening to me, but, thankfully, being in the health and fitness industry I’m always surrounded by geniuses.
So I asked über naturopath, nutritionist, friend, and advisor Lenche (pronounced: Lench-‐ ay) to help fix me up.
When I walked into my store to meet her, I didn’t even have to open my mouth before she said, loud and clear: “You’ve got adrenal exhaustion.”
“Sounds great, but what the hell is making me so damn tired?” – I asked, completely ignorant of the fact that she had just 100% accurately defined my problem without even having to do so much as look me in my tired eyes.
“Adrenal exhaustion” – she replied.
“And WTF is that?” – I politely yet impatiently asked.
She then went on to explain some really juicy facts, causes, and methods to solve the problem, all of which I will explain in this eBook, plus more.
My friends: I have been there, I have been burnt out to the point of napping in my car outside the gym, I have woken up tired every morning and gone to bed wired every night, and I have returned triumphant and can now train harder than ever without burning out. So take my hand (or bicep) and let me walk you through the fascinating world of adrenal exhaustion and show you how to beat it once and for all.
The underlying issue that this eBook aims to address is the severe increase in cases of chronic adrenal exhaustion throughout the fitness world caused almost entirely by the incorrect use and abuse of pre workout nutritional supplements.
And I’m not going to give you a one-‐size-‐fits-‐all solution; I’m giving you seven different strategies.
Do one of them and you’ll be kicking ass, do all seven, however, and you may just become superhuman.
Before we begin, let’s take a quick scientific look at what we’re trying to overcome here: What exactly is adrenal exhaustion?
The following quote is from the Better Health Channel: an initiative of the Victorian State Government of Australia:
“The human body has two adrenal glands, one on top of each kidney. These glands form part of the endocrine system, which works with the nervous system and the immune system to help the body cope with different events and stresses.”
Moving on to a latter part of the quote:
“Adrenaline is the most well known of the hormones that are secreted by the adrenal glands, in the adrenal medulla (the central part of the gland). The adrenal cortex (the outer part) also produces important hormones, the corticosteroids. They include cortisol, aldosterone and supplementary sex hormones.”
Source: The Better Health Channel, Victorian State Government, Australia (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)
So, what does this mean? To put it in simple terms, the adrenal glands are where you make adrenalin.
And do you want to know what makes you feel so full of energy when you get excited, scared, aroused, or when you drink coffee, energy drinks, or pre workout supplements? You guessed it...adrenalin!
The following quote will briefly explain the effects of too much caffeine on the body and the symptoms of adrenal exhaustion even further:
Ralph T. Golan, MD, describes this unfortunate state in his book, Herbal Defense:
"Caffeine forces your glands to secrete (adrenalin) when they don't have much left to give, and they have to keep digging deeper and deeper, making you more and more tired over time. And over the years, it takes more and more coffee to get the same result. Some people reach the point of drinking half a dozen or more cups of coffee to get the same result and it's barely keeping them awake. That's severe adrenal depletion (exhaustion)."
Source: Naturalnews.com – “The hidden dangers of caffeine: How coffee causes exhaustion, fatigue and addiction”
Adrenal exhaustion is when you are running on empty, there’s nothing left in the tank, and no matter how much caffeine you put into your body, you don’t feel energized or excited, you only feel tired.
Now to see if adrenal exhaustion may be holding you back, take a quick look at the following list and see if any of these symptoms look familiar to you:
• You get to the gym at the end of the day with zero energy and have a horrible workout. • You feel exhausted several times a day, yet wide-‐awake when it’s time for bed.
• You feel stressed, anxious, short-‐tempered, and unfocused. • You get dark circles under your eyes and dry eyes.
• You wake up in the morning feeling sluggish even though you’ve had plenty of sleep. • You have low sex drive, low libido, or a low desire and enthusiasm for life in general.
If you are experiencing any one of these, it can easily be fixed.
If you are experiencing all of these: May God help you!
But not to worry, there are millions out there just like you who are experiencing these symptoms.
But it’s time to put an end to it all.
It’s time to unleash your inner superhuman.
Wake The Fuck Up: How to sleep
effectively for maximum energy levels
and faster recovery from training
Did you know that we spend as much as one-‐ third of our lives sleeping? That’s pretty scary when you think about it, so I hope you’re making the most out of those other two-‐ thirds.
When it comes to maximizing your pre workout performance, remember that it is during your sleep that you do most of your recovery; it’s also when you produce testosterone, growth hormone, and, most importantly for our purposes: It’s when you replenish your little adrenal glands and “fill up the tanks.”
Take a quick look at the following and see which ones apply to you:
· You slept for ages, like 10–12 hours or more, and yet still felt tired for the rest of the day. · You woke up really early feeling alert, but then decided to go back to sleep for another hour because it wasn’t time to get up yet, only to find that one hour later you felt really tired and sluggish.
· You slept for only three or four hours, yet somehow felt energized and fresh for the rest of the day.
If you have experienced one or all three of the above situations, then you are not alone. I’ve experienced them too, and most people still do on a regular basis.
Well, now it’s time to try and understand what the hell is going on when we sleep, and how
Before we explore the solutions to these three common scenarios, we will briefly explore what happens inside the body while we sleep.
To put it simply, we experience three different stages while we sleep; they are listed in order below:
1. Light Sleep – This is the first stage and, as the name suggests, is very light and doesn’t really provide much benefit for the body.
2. Deep Sleep – This is a very important stage in which our body does its best work, such as repairing our cells and keeping our body and mind strong.
3. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep – This is when we have our dreams and where our memories are sorted out or “saved” and filed away in a very similar way to managing files on a computer.
Most people take about two hours to complete one “sleep cycle,” in which the body experiences all three stages of sleep before re-‐entering the light sleep phase and getting ready to go through another “cycle.”
The first few cycles of sleep are where we do the majority of our deep sleep and REM sleep, so the more cycles you sleep, the less deep and REM sleep you will experience.
So sleeping in for many hours isn’t very useful for increasing recovery or increasing your energy levels if you look at it from this perspective.
One more important point: If you wake up during deep sleep or REM sleep, you will feel tired or even disorientated, but if you wake up during light sleep, you will feel alert and energetic.
Therefore your goal should be to sleep in multiples of two hours, e.g. four, six, eight, or ten hours of sleep per night rather than sleeping for three, five, seven, or nine hours, though we might be woken up by our alarm in the middle of the deep or REM sections of our sleeping cycle and thus feel terrible and tired.
But that being said, not everyone has an exact two-‐hour sleep cycle and it will take some practice for you to discover how long your ideal sleep length is.
Go experiment with this one and eventually you will find what works best.
Now going back to the three points mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, let’s take a look at some solutions for better sleep quality, faster recovery times, and a more effective pre workout experience:
The first point: Getting 10 to 12 hours of sleep and still feeling tired; I’ll give you three
explanations for why you may be feeling tired after sleeping so many hours:
1. Sleep cycles – As mentioned above, you may be waking up in the middle of one of the wrong stages, e.g. during the REM stage or the deep sleep stage. This usually results in a feeling of disorientation or not knowing where you are and what time of day it is. It can also lead to a feeling of tiredness for the entire day.
2. Dehydration – The body has gone so many hours without water that it now feels dehydrated and is slowing down; the longer you sleep in, the more damage you are actually doing by dehydrating your body. So get up and drink some water.
3. Low Blood Sugar Levels – Over time, your BGL (blood glucose level) begins to drop, e.g. you experience sugar cravings, sluggishness, etc. It happens while you sleep, too. A pre bed snack is a very effective strategy for not only creating a stable BGL, but also for muscle growth and fat loss. It’s best to avoid foods with sugar, as that can lead to a blood sugar crash and a negative impact on recovery through less growth hormone production.
An ideal snack contains some fats and protein together, as both of these help stabilize blood sugar levels very effectively. Some good examples are:
• One tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter (made from 100% real nuts, no added
sugar, preservatives, or stabilizers).
• One small serving of fatty fish, e.g. salmon.
• One small serving of lean chicken breast with a tablespoon of avocado.
• Five raw almonds OR three raw macadamia nuts OR three raw Brazil nuts.
Eat your pre bed snack 30 minutes to one hour before bedtime and you will definitely notice the difference the next morning.
The second point: Waking up early and feeling alert, but then going back to sleep only
to be woken up by your alarm an hour later and feeling really tired again.
This brings us back to point number one of the previous problem—sleep cycles. If you wake up before your alarm, even if it’s one or two hours before your alarm...STAY UP. You will have more energy for the entire day, and just imagine what you can do with those extra hours.
You could do an early morning training session, make plans for world domination, do some extra work, or even start writing your own book on how damn productive you are now that you have more hours in your day.
Finally, point number three: Sleeping for only three or four hours yet feeling energized
for the whole day.
Again, this is the sleep cycles doing their job; you might have set your alarm for three or four hours, but you managed to time it well so that you woke up just after or right near the end of your sleep cycle.
I highly recommend experimenting with your sleep cycles until you find the magic numbers that work for you.
Personally, I tend to feel energetic after five and a half to six hours of sleep, and I feel pretty terrible after seven hours.
I usually get six hours of sleep most nights of the week, and I might give myself the gift of an eight-‐hour sleep one or two nights per week.
On this routine, I tend to maintain high energy levels all week, even while training with high intensity five to six days per week and working on my businesses five to six days.
One more fun exercise to try is the following:
Set two alarms in the morning instead of one.
What do I mean by this exactly?
Say for example you want to get up at 6 a.m. but you find it very difficult and usually end up snoozing several times and getting up at 6:30 instead.
Do this: set one alarm for 5:45 a.m. and another for 6:00 a.m.
When the first alarm goes off: Get up and out of bed and open some windows or turn your lights on so that it’s fairly bright in your room (natural light is much less harsh, so I
recommend the window option).
What you'll find now is that when that second alarm goes off at 6 a.m. it will be much easier to get up than it used to be.
If you want a detailed scientific definition then I recommend you Google it, but my job here is to give you the most simple and practical explanation I can, so here goes:
“The suprachiasmatic nucleus (or SCN) is a tiny part of the brain that is responsible for controlling your circadian rhythm (your sleeping routine).”
What's interesting about this tiny part of the brain is that it is sensitive to light and part of its job is to "fire the body up" once it detects light hitting the eyes so that you can wake up and get ready for your day.
To sum it up: Try waking up 15 minutes earlier than you normally do, let the light hit you right square in the SCN, and then you'll be ready to jump out of bed 15 minutes later.
So start measuring and managing your sleep patterns now and take note as your pre workout energy levels begin to soar.
Drink Up Buddy: How staying hydrated
can make all the difference
Drink more water: Live longer and train harder.
There, I’ve said it… This chapter is now complete.
Well pretty much, but just in case you’re not convinced yet, I’ll throw in a bit more
evidence just ‘cause I’m a nice guy.
“Researchers at Loma Linda University in California found that people who drank at least five glasses of water each day were less likely to die from a heart attack than those who drank two or fewer glasses per day.
“In contrast, people who drank a lot of other fluids were more likely to die from heart attack than those who drank less, with high levels of non-‐water drinking in women associated with a more than twofold increased risk of death.”
Source: http://preventdisease.com/news/articles/drink_water_lower_disease.shtml
This sounds almost too simple, right? Just drink more water? Well, you’ll be shocked to learn that more than 90% of all people today do not drink enough water.
That’s nine out of ten people...maybe someone you know? Maybe someone you know personally?
So, how much water should we drink each day and what will it do for us?
maximizing your pre workout performance:
The Christian Baker Superhuman Hydration Formula –
Take your weight in kilograms x 0.033 OR your weight in pounds x 0.015 – This will give you your daily water requirement in liters.
If you want to convert your liters to ounces, use the following formula: liters x 33.8.
For example: two liters x 33.8 = 67.6 ounces.
I weigh 90kg/198lbs, so let’s do the calculation: 90 x 0.033 = 2.97 liters/100 ounces and 198 x 0.015 = 2.97 liters/100 ounces.
Luckily for me, I beat that amount and I actually drink as much as 3.5 to 4 liters per day. That’s 14 to 16 250ml/8oz glasses each and every day.
I know what you’re probably thinking right now: “I bet this guy is pissing every 20 minutes,” right?
Not true—I only go as much as any other person, because I’ve trained my body to stay really hydrated all day long and use the water to keep my muscles feeling great, my skin looking clear, and, most importantly, my energy levels high for maximum performance in the gym.
At this stage, if you’re freaking out and thinking there’s no way you could ever drink the amount that my formula suggests, then just relax and make an easy plan where you just
add in one extra glass of water per day until you’re drinking the recommended amount.
It might take you one week, it might take you two weeks, but you’ll get there—just take it nice and easy.
One quick tip though: Don’t drink with meals.
Outrageous, I hear you say? Yes, I know most of us have grown up either drinking juice or water with every meal, but trust me; you’re not doing yourself any favors. I’ll explain why:
When you eat food, it eventually travels down into your stomach and gets broken down in a pool of hydrochloric acid, or, more specifically: special little guys called “enzymes” do the job of breaking down your food, getting all the important vitamins, minerals, and energy out of the food before it passes through the stomach and into the intestines.
When you drink fluids, you dilute the acid in your stomach and make it really hard for those enzymes to do their job properly, so this means it takes a lot more time to digest your food, which can make you feel tired and bloated.
Have you ever felt really tired after a big meal and wondered why?
Now ask yourself, were you drinking anything with that meal? I’m guessing that you were.
So, if I’m not drinking with meals, when the hell am I supposed to fit in my 14 or 15 glasses of water?
The answer is: Sip...
All you have to do is carry around a bottle of water with you everywhere, sip it all day long, and then refill it several times.
For example, if you carry a 600ml/20oz bottle of water and refill it several times each day, it becomes very easy to measure your exact water intake.
One final and very important tip: For every cup of coffee, energy drink, or pre workout supplement you consume, you must count that as MINUS one glass of water.
So if you have to drink 10 glasses a day but you also drink one cup of coffee plus take two scoops of a pre workout supplement, that actually means you need to drink three more glasses to meet your daily needs (e.g. 10 – 3 = 7 and 7+3 = 10).
If you get started on this strategy today, I guarantee you’ll perform better in your next workout—the effects of proper hydration can be felt almost immediately.
So what are you waiting for? Drink up!
Hungry Like The Wolf: Sports nutrition
for maximum performance
Having been in the health and fitness industry myself for over eight years, I have watched time and time again as people
attempt to “out train” and “out supplement” a bad diet.
It simply DOESN’T WORK.
No matter how skinny, fat, special, average, talented, untalented, fast metabolism, slow metabolism, low sex drive, sexy beast, black, or white you are, 99% of all human bodies play by the same rules.
The 1% I have left out would be people with serious genetic disorders who need medical attention before they can train or diet properly.
Assuming you are in the 99%, let me point you towards one simple fact that I want you to get into your head:
NUTRITION IS THE #1 FACTOR IN ACHIEVING RESULTS IN AND OUT OF THE GYM.
Training is not #1 and supplementation is certainly not #1.
1. Nutrition 2. Exercise
3. Supplementation
So by simply making the changes outlined in this one chapter alone, you will achieve massive increases in the effectiveness of your pre workout routine.
My thoughts around food are as follows:
Food is fuel, food is there not only to keep us healthy, but it can also be used to enhance athletic performance.
Unfortunately, most people pursue one or the other.
On one hand you’ve got the purists who would never eat a protein bar or a big piece of steak in their lives, and then you’ve got the fitness junkies who don’t know what vegetables are and only believe in protein.
HEALTH VS. FITNESS
I believe there is a disparity, a divide, and a separation between health and fitness when it comes to most people’s nutrition plans.
People typically choose one or the other. I choose both.
And I will show you how.
Let’s start with the health side of things first.
Foods that heal and foods that steal:
Let me tell you another story:
Hundreds of years ago, all international trading of goods was conducted via merchant ships, e.g. businessmen and explorers who would travel the world on sailing boats trading their goods for the goods of others.
Europe was one of the busiest regions for international trade with Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands being four of the most active countries when it came to sending out ships for trade.
On one particular journey, a group of Dutch sailors were transporting white sugar from Europe to Asia, and if you know how long it takes to fly there you can only imagine how long it would take to sail there.
Unfortunately for the sailors, they had underestimated the supplies needed for this trip and ran out of food with more than a week to go before they reached their destination.
Out of desperation and hunger, one group of sailors decided to begin eating white sugar each day to increase their energy levels and attempt to satisfy their hunger.
The other group of sailors refused to eat any of the sugar and decided to survive off water alone and no food whatsoever.
When the sailors arrived at their destination the difference in health between the two groups was very significant.
One group looked frail, weak, had dark circles under the eyes, and were showing other signs of sickness, too.
The other group was a little tired but they had no real health issues.
Can you guess which group was the sick group?
… … …
It was the group that ate the sugar!
Now, you might be thinking how on earth could the group that was actually consuming calories be in a worse state of health than the group that was eating absolutely nothing?
The answer? White sugar is an incomplete food.
What I mean is this: White sugar does not begin its life as white sugar; it starts out as the sugar cane plant.
Any food that grows in nature is considered a “whole food,” therefore the cane sugar not only contains sugar, but it also contains vitamins, minerals, and valuable enzymes which are needed by the body to properly break down food.
When we refine a food, e.g. turn wheat into white bread or turn sugar cane into white sugar, we lose all of the valuable nutrients needed by the body to properly break them down.
So, why did the sailors get sick?
If a food does not have its own vitamins, minerals, and enzymes to be broken down properly, have a guess where it needs to steal them from?
Your body.
So each time the sailors ate the white sugar they were actually losing nutrients and gaining nothing but empty calories that do little good for the body.
So, using the above example, take a second to think about the amount of complete or “whole” foods versus the amount of refined or “processed” foods in your current diet.
This one little factor alone could be having a huge impact on your energy levels and wreaking havoc on your pre workout effectiveness.
Not only do incomplete foods steal nutrients needed for high energy levels and
superhuman strength, but they also steal the nutrients you need to build more muscle.
The aim of the game is this: when choosing foods, try to consume as many complete or “whole” foods as possible and minimize the amount of refined or “processed” foods in your diet. The difference you feel in your energy levels will shock you.
The acid and alkaline equation:
One other significant factor in the impact food has on our energy levels is the acid and alkaline equation.
One of our body’s biggest priorities is to keep the blood at an ideal pH balance of 7.365.
Source: http://www.thepheffect.net/
What does this mean?
When the pH gets lower, the body becomes too acidic, and when it gets higher the body becomes too alkaline.
Unfortunately, the majority of foods we eat today are acidic, and it takes a lot of hard work to keep the blood pH balance when we eat these foods.
Some of the side effects of eating too many acidic foods are:
• Losing minerals from our bones
• Bad skin and looking older than you really are
• Storing extra body fat and, worst of all...
• Having low energy levels and poor performance during workouts
It is very important to eat plenty of alkaline foods to make it easy for the body to keep the ideal pH level and to keep our energy levels high.
I’ll give you a brief list of acidic foods and then another brief list of alkaline foods on the following page:
Acidic Foods -‐ Most fruits and fruit juices, white bread, most meats (especially red meat), butter and margarine, breakfast cereals, cheeses, and most canned foods.
VERY Highly Acidic Foods and Drinks -‐ Artificial sweeteners, pickled vegetables, beer, liquor, chocolate, pork, canned sardines, coffee, black tea, fruit juice with added sugar, veal, and wine.
Alkaline Foods -‐ Almonds (raw), ginseng, lemons, broccoli, lettuce, capsicums/peppers, carrots, onions, cauliflower, tofu, tomatoes, sesame oil, flaxseed oil, and most other raw vegetables and raw nuts.
VERY Highly Alkaline Foods and Drinks -‐ Wheatgrass juice, barley grass juice, avocado, barley, cucumber (Lebanese cucumbers are my favorite, they are so much juicier than the regular green variety), garlic, and ginger.
By making more food choices from the alkaline lists and fewer from the acidic lists, you will make it much easier for your body to keep the balance and you will be rewarded with high energy levels all day long.
Now that we’ve covered the health side, let’s move on to the fitness side of nutrition.
Nutrition For Fitness:
Gaining muscle mass
Most guys who train in the gym train for one reason: To look better.
This usually means either more muscle mass, less body fat, or a combination of both.
So they usually go down one of two paths:
• In their attempt to gain muscle mass they begin taking one extra protein shake per
day and cross their fingers hoping that the muscle will just pile on overnight.
OR
• They take up a self-‐prescribed mass-‐gaining program that involves all you can eat
buffets and takeaway burgers as a daily staple and end up looking like a fat slob who has to resort to wearing outdated cotton track suits and telling everyone it’s their “off season” and that underneath all that fat there is apparently some muscle.
Let’s take a closer look at what it takes to gain muscle mass and how to personalize your routine for your body type.
What Is Your Body Type?
Endomorph: An endomorph is someone who gains fat quite easily and, although he can
gain muscle mass easier than an ectomorph, he must be very careful not to over consume calories, otherwise he will gain just as much fat as muscle.
Endomorphs are naturally stronger than ectomorphs mostly due to the fact that they have adapted to carrying around more bodyweight throughout their life.
Ectomorph: An ectomorph is the “skinny guy in the room.” An ectomorph is usually lean all
year round whether he likes it or not, but can also become “skinny fat” as he ages if he is not careful; this is characterized by a skinny-‐looking frame with a soft belly and some flab on the upper and lower back.
Ectomorphs find it very hard to gain muscle and can also lose muscle very quickly if they’re not careful.
Mesomorph: A mesomorph body type is the Holy Grail when it comes to building an ideal
male body. Think of the movie “300” or the TV series “Spartacus” and you’ll see plenty of mesomorphs.
Mesomorphs gain muscle very easily and are very responsive to weight training; however, they do still gain body fat easier than ectomorphs and therefore cannot be entirely ignorant when it comes to the calories they consume.
Nutrition strategies for gaining muscle mass as an Endomorph:
The good news for you is that you probably already have more muscle mass than you think; you’ve just got to lose some body fat so that you can see it.
Train weights like a bodybuilder to stimulate muscle growth but be sure to do some cardio exercise to make losing body fat easier.
Here is your recommended nutrition breakdown -‐
Eat plenty of quality lean proteins such as:
• Lean beef
• Chicken breast
• White fish
• Eggs: four whites with one yolk is ideal for your body type
Make sure you have a small serving of healthy fat with each meal to help limit the amount of insulin—aka the “storage hormone”—that gets released; by limiting insulin you are limiting fat gain while promoting gains in muscle mass at the same time.
Some good suggestions are as follows:
• Six raw almonds
• One tablespoon olive oil
• One tablespoon coconut oil
• One quarter of an avocado
Limit your intake of carbohydrates, as unfortunately your body type cannot deal with them very well. It is OK to eat a small serving of “safe” carbs with breakfast, as your body’s
insulin sensitivity is very high at this time of day and you are less likely to store the carbs as fat; have another small serving with lunch if you think you absolutely need it for energy, and under no circumstances (other than a weekly cheat meal or cheat day) are you to eat carbs at dinner.
Here is the safe carbs list:
• Rolled oats and oatmeal
• Sweet potatoes
• Lentils
• Black beans
Eat every three to four hours to keep your blood sugar levels stable and prevent sugar and carb cravings, try to include protein in every single meal, and make raw salads and green vegetables your best friends.
Using the above strategies and tweaking them to your personal taste will result in
significant muscle gains and fat loss when combined with an appropriate training program.
Nutrition strategies for gaining muscle mass as an Ectomorph:
The good news for you is that you possess an ability that fat people all over the world wish they had: The ability to eat a ton of food and barely gain any weight.
Unfortunately, this also works against you when it comes to building muscle.
The trick for you is to eat so much food to the point where you are full and then jam even more food down your throat until you feel sick.
No, I’m not joking.
Eventually your body will catch up and it will become easier, but it’s going to take some practice if you’re serious about building muscle.
That being said, you cannot jam just any shitty foods down your throat, as we want to build quality lean muscle and not gain any fat with it.
For your training routine you want to train weights hard and heavy with a focus on maximum TUT, or “Time Under Tension,” to really torture and break down your muscle fibers.
That being said, you want to cut back your training frequency to only two to three times per week at the MAXIMUM to leave you with plenty of time to recover and grow.
And unless you absolutely have to do it, it’s best to lay off the cardio, at least for now. Here is your recommended nutrition breakdown -‐
Eat plenty of quality proteins such as:
• Fatty beef such as beef mince, burger patties, and steaks with all the fat left on
• Chicken thighs rather than chicken breast
• Fatty fish such as salmon and swordfish
• Whole eggs: At least five at a time and keep ALL the yolks
Make sure you have a serving of fat with every meal to help limit the amount of insulin— aka the “storage hormone”—that gets released, but also to maximize the amount of calories per meal; even if you are eating fatty meats and whole eggs, it doesn’t hurt to throw some extra fats in for the ride.
Some good suggestions are as follows:
• Eighteen raw almonds
• Three tablespoon olive oil
• Three tablespoon coconut oil
• One whole avocado
Carbs are your friend, and make sure you include them with most meals; eating too many with a salad or other vegetables is just a recipe for bloating, so keep your dinner portion of carbs reasonably small, but every other time of day go nuts.
That being said, you still want your carbs to be “clean,” e.g. mashed potatoes instead of fries, etc.
Here is the clean carbs list:
• Rolled oats and oatmeal
• Sweet potatoes and white potatoes (does not include fries or any fried potato products)
• Lentils
• Black beans
• White rice
• White sourdough bread (if you have bread cravings, some white sourdough is ok, as it is easily digested by the body, but try to avoid all other types of bread, even “healthy” varieties that contain grains, as most of these will bloat you and make it harder for your body to absorb nutrients properly)
Eat every three to four hours to keep your blood sugar levels stable and to keep your body in “growth” mode rather than “self destruct” mode when it comes to building muscle.
I definitely recommend eating green veggies and raw salads but, as mentioned earlier, try to have them mostly with dinner and avoid combining them with too many carbs, as this can lead to bloating and discomfort.
Using the above strategies and tweaking them to your personal taste will result in significant muscle gains while still staying lean when combined with an appropriate training program.
Nutrition strategies for gaining muscle as a Mesomorph:
If you are reading this part then I must say: Congratulations you lucky motherfucker, you have been handed the Holy Grail when it comes to building an ideal physique, so use it wisely.
The good news for you is that your body wants to gain muscle mass, and it doesn’t particularly want to gain fat either.
So let’s take a look at how to maximize this golden opportunity to build serious muscle mass and get as shredded as mozzarella cheese on Columbus Day.
Train hard and train often; you should be able to train damn hard for up to five or six days per week and still be able to gain muscle mass as long as you’re eating enough quality calories.
You can even do cardio if you want, as it will help keep you lean as you make more gains. Here is your prescription for nutritional awesomeness -‐
Alternate your protein choices between the two previous lists, so that means alternating between lean protein and fatty protein to give you enough calories for growth without over doing it:
• Lean beef or fatty beef
• Chicken breast or chicken thigh
• White fish or fatty fish
• Always eat whole eggs, but try four at a time rather than the ectomorph’s five
Say, for example, you eat a chicken thigh; you will not have to add extra fats to this meal, but if it were chicken breast, make sure you add a serving from the list below:
• Six raw almonds
• One tablespoon olive oil
• One tablespoon coconut oil
• One quarter of an avocado
Just like your ectomorph buddies, carbs are your friend, but make sure you keep them clean and don’t eat them with dinner unless you feel you absolutely have to.
Clean carbs list:
• Rolled oats and oatmeal
• Sweet potatoes and white potatoes (does not include fries or any fried potato products)
• Lentils
• Black beans
• White rice
• White sourdough bread (if you have bread cravings, some white sourdough is ok, as it is easily digested by the body; try to avoid all other types of bread, even “healthy” varieties that contain grains, as most of these will bloat you and make it harder for your body to absorb nutrients properly)
Eat every three to four hours to keep your blood sugar levels stable and keep the muscle mass coming; don’t be afraid to throw in an extra meal or snack from the above lists if you get hungry.
Using the above strategies and tweaking them to your personal taste will result in significant muscle gains and superhuman shredded-‐ness when combined with an appropriate training program.
*One important note for all body types: It is OK to take one day per week as your “cheat day” where you eat anything and everything you like. I recommend choosing Sunday, as this helps you be more sociable and less stressed on weekends.
That being said, if you want more fat loss it’s recommended you have only one “cheat meal,” such as a Sunday night dinner, and keep the rest of your day clean.