Bodybuilding Secrets Exposed
This week has been another amazing week of training. I have worked this week on pushing harder on the cardio. I have worked to make cardio harder so that I am burning more calories and fat.
Training was great. Coach changed things up a little and it felt great. The weights were heavy just the way I like them. I also worked on shortening the rest period without sacrificing the strength and intra-workout recovery time.
My numbers are improving:
Weight: 253.3
Body fat %: 15.5%
Sometimes I am asked how I got into bodybuilding. It is a difficult question to answer and an easy question to answer at the same time. The answer is a little complicated, but not entirely unique.
Throughout my life I admired the physiques I would see in bodybuilding magazines. I can remember looking at older copies of Muscle & Fitness magazine and wondering how I could look like the guys in the magazine. I would dream about it.
At some point I decided the gym was for me. I believe it was around the year 2000. I would lift weights for health reasons, trying to “get in shape”. Over time I fell in love with the gym. It became my sanctuary from everything bad in the world. Still, I never dreamt I would step on stage one day.
In 2011, I met Chris Albert. He was co-owner of Metroflex Gym in Long Beach, California. We worked out a deal where I would help him with the website and he would help me get in shape. Together we decided upon a rather radical goal. We decided that I would pay for and enter a bodybuilding competition. I was to tell everyone in the world that I would be up on that stage–in shape or not.
This crazy and bold goal activated something inside of me. I started training very hard. I ate clean. Everything just fell into place. I went from 290 to 240 on my own, but with Chris I dropped from 240 down to 210. I stepped on stage at 210 lbs and about 11% body fat. Not exactly a shape to win, but something I was quite proud of.
I actually did another show a few weeks later. It was an outdoor show. I got a standing ovation when the announcer told my story. It was quite the emotional experience.
So, the answer, in case you haven't figured it out yet, is that I have a passion for bodybuilding–both as a spectator and as a participant. I love the feel of the iron. It gives me peace in a crazy world. That's my trip down memory lane.
The bodybuilding lifestyle is not understood by most people who are not directly involved.
Not too long ago I did an article The Expanded Do's and Don'ts of Social Media in Bodybuilding. It was an extension of an article by Louis Uridel entitled The Do's and Don'ts of Social Media in Bodybuilding. In today's article I want to offer up some more tips on social media for bodybuilders to help with gaining a following. With my background in social media and technology coupled with my knowledge of bodybuilding, I hope you gain some insight.
People are looking for information and when they see that you are a bodybuilder they will want to get some advice from you. Take the time to post your advice on training. If you have a unique way of doing single arm dumbbell rows send that out. Each tip you give can later be collected and used in a way I will discuss later in this article.
People want to see that even you, the ripped bodybuilder, sometimes carry some fat. They want to see how you can transform your body in a short period of time by being disciplined.
Be honest, but don't destroy other people using your social media accounts. Use your following to build people up, not tear them down. Don't have anything good to say, keep it to yourself!
If you follow my advice to post training tips eventually you will have a large collection of tips. Pull those together and put out a cheap eBook with all your training advice contained inside. You will make a little bit of money and expand your reach.
Social media is a good place to promote yourself, but do so sparingly. As Gary Vaynerchuk says, “jab, jab, jab, jab, right hook!” The right hook is when you deliver the promotion of yourself. Give things to people with the jabs and then promote yourself. They will be more likely to buy from you if you build their trust.
Y3T is a great training program. I have done several articles on it:
Y3T Training System: Looking Back
Why Y3T Was My Training Choice
So, as a disclaimer right up front, I am a big fan of this system of training for many reasons. Today I want to discuss the principles behind the system, but first let's talk about the man who came up with it.
Neil Hill is the UK equivalent of Hany Rambod. He has turned some of the best amateurs into pros. His two most famous pupils are Flex Lewis and Zack “King” Khan. His nickname is “Yoda”.
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Y3T stands for Yoda 3 Training. The idea behind Y3T is to keep your muscles guessing how you are going to train so that your body has less chance of adapting. You rotate your training style over a 3-week period. It is a form of periodization that truly works.
In week 1 you go heavy on all exercises. You do 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 repetitions. You will use strictly compound exercises.
In week 2 you lighten things up and add in isolation exercises. The rep range climbs to 8 to 12 repetitions. The isolation movements are preparing your body for week 3.
This is the “Total Annihilation” week. You use different kinds of intensity techniques–giant sets, supersets, tri sets, drop sets, rest-pause sets–they all come into play in week 3. As an example, you may use one rest-pause set of 40 total repetitions and then follow that up by doing a giant set with 4 exercises, but mixing up the intensity techniques. Thus, you would do 1 straight set of 15 to 20 repetitions, then another exercise much the same way, then another set with drop sets taken to failure followed by a final set with 25 repetitions.
To exemplify how to use Y3T, here is a back training over the course of the 3 weeks.
Single Arm Bent DB Rows, 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Pullups, 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Deadlifts, 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps
Single Arm Bent DB Rows, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Pullups, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Lat Pulldowns, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Deadlifts, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
T-Bar Rows, 1 set of 20 reps
Bent over Two DB Rows, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
Straing Arm Pulldown, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps
SS1 – Wide Grip Lat Pulldown 1 set to failure
SS2 – Chin up grip lat pulldowns 1 set to failure
I have figured out that I can use Y3T just for certain body parts. By doing that I could hit parts that need to improve each week using the Y3T principles outlined above. Just pick a focus and hit it hard.
