Elite Physique

MUSCLE INSIDER asked me to reveal my off-season secrets for building muscle in the shortest time possible. To come up with these, I essentially asked myself what I know now that I wish I’d known when I first picked up a barbell. I certainly made a lot of mistakes during my early gym days, so hopefully you’ll heed my advice and maximize your muscle-building efforts.


1. DO EXERCISES YOU CAN FEEL


If you don’t feel the exercise, don’t do it. I know this goes against everything you’ve been told, but if you aren’t feeling the target muscle doing the work, you aren’t working the target muscle. I made this mistake for years with bentover barbell rows. I did them because all the magazines and books said this was the best mass builder for back thickness. But I couldn’t feel my upper back and traps working well when I did it. If bent-over rows don’t work for you, try T-bar rows. If that doesn’t work, try seated rows. There is always an alternative exercise that you will feel more that will move you closer to your goal. My only cautionary note is to make sure you’re performing the exercise correctly before you remove it from your program.



2. FLEX YOUR MUSCLE TO MOVE THE WEIGHT


Just lifting the weight from point A to point B is not bodybuilding— that’s powerlifting. Bodybuilding is about taking a weight from a stretched position and flexing to a peak contraction. Moving the weight is secondary and is a result of flexing the muscle you want to work. If you watch MuscleMeds sponsored athlete Kai Greene train, you’ll see what I’m saying. Every muscle is flexing witheach contraction, and there’s no throwing the weight up and down.



3. EAT BIG TO GET BIG


Your stomach is only so big, so when it comes to gaining, you need to maximize the amount of calories you consume in every meal. Focus on good foods that are high in calories and low in volume. In the off-season, you need to eat big to get big. Chow down on beef instead of low-fat tuna, eat rice instead of salad, etc. By zeroing in on calorie-dense foods, you’ll guarantee a more productive off-season.



4. LIMIT VEGGIES


What? Are you serious? Yep! Veggies will fill you up and are great for dieting to supply you minimal calories. But when it comes to gaining size, you need to get in your steak in place of veggies. Sure, veggies are “healthy,” but I recommend to my off-season clients to consume their veggies in the form of a Veggie Green type of product or a V8 drink. Again, save the veggies for diet time.



5. DON’T DRINK JUST WATER


If you’re carrying around a 1.5-litre water bottle to get in your daily
water needs, why not spike it with BCAAs? It will taste delicious and supply your hungry muscles with aminos to help you grow. A constant supply of amino acids will help keep you in positive nitrogen balance and assist in muscle hypertrophy. Think of this tip as taking advantage of downtime.



6. NEW GYM, NEW MOTIVATION


Travelling to a new gym is probably one of the single best ways to guarantee a Dorian Yates Blood and Guts intensity level workout. I can’t tell you how many times I travelled over two hours to hit a gym in Toronto to train with the big boys. Cranking out legs next to IFBB pro Bob Weatherill was more than enough to fuel my tank for my next four leg days. We all need a kick in the ass to keep the momentum going and a new gym every month will go a long way. Just don’t forget to bring a puke bucket.



7. TAKE CREATINE


You won’t find a better over-the-counter muscle builder than creatine. It’s proven by science, it’s legal, and it’s cheap! Pick up some creatine and mix it with water or your favorite beverage. Take 20 grams per day for the first 5 days, then take 5 grams per day to maintain your creatine stores within your muscles and brain cells. Creatine is the most highly researched ergogenic aid in sport science history.

To read more about how to an Elite Physique, click here!