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How I Know I Can Build Muscle

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How can I be so sure that I can build muscle? Part of it is experience and the other part is the network of people that I know. I went from 240 lbs. and 30% body fat a year ago to 240 lbs. and 15% body fat today. That's an increase of 36 lbs. of lean body mass. 

Intensity in Training

I know I can build muscle because I train with extreme intensity. I don't worry about burns because burns don't mean the muscle is done working. Yes, I pay attention to pain, but the burn you feel doesn't mean it is time to stop working. I push myself to a place I like to call “beyond” and it forces my muscles to grow. This type of intensity is something most people don't even know exists.

I see it all the time with my clients. I tell them to go to failure and then I see them mentally counting the reps. They stop when I can clearly see they have more in them. When I call them on it they say “I did 15 reps!” My response to that never varies–“Why the hell are you counting the reps when your job was to get to failure?” They usually laugh because they know exactly what I am saying–they quit because they “did 15 reps” not because they had reached failure.

Consistency in Training

I am consistent with my weight training. I rarely take time off unless I am injured or my body is screaming for the rest. Otherwise I train and train and train. My muscles grow as a result. I have seen this first hand. I was able to add a V-shape to my back with this type of approach. Consistent and hard training for 3 months and I went from Photo A to Photo B.

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Notice how much wider my back is?.
Photo A Photo B

I was able to accomplish this improvement in a very short period of time. Through consistent training methods.

The Squeeze Method

I was taught “The Squeeze” by Ken Turchek and it has been the single most useful technique I have learned for training purposes. It has given me a much bigger gain in lean body mass than I ever thought possible. He taught me to focus on the squeeze of the muscle. It made me really focus on the mind-muscle connection. It made me work the muscles to failure. I was able to efficiently work every muscle group using “The Squeeze” technique. I will be describing this technique in a video coming soon.

Conclusion

I know I can build muscle because I have proven the ability to do so already and I am confident in my approach to bodybuilding. I have gone back to the basics and it really works. You can do the same thing.

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What’s Your Story?

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What is your story? What brings you to your interest in bodybuilding and getting into shape? Everyone has their own story, what is your's?

My Story

I was a nice 210 lbs when I had to go in for back surgery. I had a 12 week recuperation period after the surgery. I gained so much weight that I was embarrassed by how I looked. I had to lose weight. I went to work doing the best I could. I got myself down to 240 lbs. and couldn't crack the barrier. It was then that I started working with Chris Albert. 

Chris took my stats down and I was at 30% body fat. I weighed 242 lbs. We set a goal that I would get on a stage for a bodybuilding competition. I managed to be at 10% body fat by the time I stepped on stage. My weight was 210 lbs. Pay attention to these numbers! When I began working with Chris I weighed 242 lbs., 30% body fat which means I had 168 lbs. of lean mass. When I hit the stage on April 13, 2012 I was 210 lbs., 10% body fat which means I had 189 lbs. of lean mass. I had lost 32 lbs on the scale but gained 21 lbs. of lean mass! 

What Happens Now?

After meeting a goal like I did, what is next? For me I didn't feel like I had done my preparation for the competition as well as I could. I decided to enter another competition 6 weeks later. I walked on stage at 215 lbs and 9% body fat. That amounts to 196 lbs. of lean body mass which was a gain of another 7 lbs. in just 6 weeks. 

For me I just keep coming up with new goals. Now my goal is to be about 225 lbs. and 7% body fat. That would be a solid 209 lbs. of lean body mass! That is the goal, but I have subgoals like improve my chest and improve my arms. The main objective is to be lean and massive.

Watch the Video Rant

[pro-player]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaHCUjCKOrs[/pro-player]

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How an Old Guy Eats

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I have tried many different forms of eating. I am gong to present my overall philosophy and my current “rapid fat loss” philosophy in this very same article. It is important to understand my overall philosophy because it is what drives my eating the majority of the time. It is also important to understand what I am doing for just a short period of time so that you can see some of the tools available for your tool belt.

My Overall Philosophy

I am a big believer in the timing of nutrients and eating clean all the time.  I believe that to keep your sanity you should include a cheat meal at a regular scheduled interval. If I am bulking I will add a cheat meal every day or even just every other day. It is just one meal and I do not go overboard. It is merely a great, motivational way to get the calories up. As long as you are eating clean and training hard these cheat meals will not hurt you one bit. Of course, when it comes time to peel down the fat you will eliminate the cheat meals.

If I am not bulking I cycle my carbs, but on a more even high/low cycle. By that I mean I will do 3 days low and 2 days high during off-season. Carb cycling is an amazing way to keep the fat off.

Speaking of carbs, they are not the evil nutrient everyone makes them out to be. For a bodybuilder, carbs are an essential part of your food intake. They help to build muscle. However, this goes back to my initial statement—I believe in the timing of the nutrients. This means I eat my carbs mostly before and immediately after my training. It just makes sense to give the body most of its carbs right around the time it will utilize them the most.

My Current Plan

Right now I have a dual goal–I want to bulk, but I want to stay leaner. I am currently at 15% body fat. That is not great, but it is acceptable for the off-season. However, I do not want to go above that because it is quite a job to peel off the excess fat when the time comes. To hit this goal I am keeping my protein levels high. I am using a modified version of the Velocity Diet. You can read up on the Velocity Diet for the details, but suffice to say that my change involves adding solid foods on a daily basis. By adding the solid foods I will be able to keep the nutrients flowing into my body. This will avoid the problems I had previously with random cramping and stomach issues. The basic layout of my plan is to get in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass, which is 204 grams of protein. I am keeping the carbs lower than normal, but I am not eliminating them like the Velocity Diet would have me do. The actual meal plan is as follows:

Meal 1:

Protein shake, oatmeal, fruit

Meal 2:

Eggs, 6 oz. of lean protein source

Meal 3: 

Protein shake, oatmeal, agave syrup

Meal 4:

6 oz. of lean protein source, veggies

Meal 5: 

Protein shake

Meal 6:

Protein shake

Goal for the Velocity Diet Modified

The bottom line goal for the Velocity Diet modified is to peel off as much fat as I can. I would like to be at 10% body fat when the 28 days is up. I will accomplish this by using some intense cardio sessions. I wasn't able to do those the last time I did this program because I did it exactly as outlined. With the addition of solid food I am going to be able to include cardio. I believe that I will be able to drop 5% bodyfat in 4 weeks using this process.

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Operation Get Swole Update: 5/27/2013

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The update this week is bleak and sad. On Tuesday I was doing my second cardio session of the day. I was on the treadmill. I spent 2 minutes warming up and then upped the speed to a running pace. As soon as I did so I felt funny. My body completely shut down and I blacked out on the treadmill. I wound up injuring my right quad muscle. My face got “rug burn” and I cannot train now for 2 weeks (doctor's orders).

Injury to the head

This comes at the wrong time, that's for sure, but it is important because there is a lesson to be learned. Injuries are going to happen. You should roll with the punches and get back to training as soon as possible after the injury. In this case I am not allowed to lift or do cardio at all. 

It would be very easy to just give up, but I am not going to do that. I am going to fight through the injury and just work harder on the other side. I am ready for whatever is in front of me. I am trying to stick with the mindset a champion would have because that is what I plan to be. Why wouldn't I work harder after an injury?

These things separate the hard workers from everyone else. It is all about how you react to the injury that matters. I honestly have never once wallowed in what is going on. I took care of business by going to the emergency room and getting checked out. From there I just listened to the doctor and then formulated a plan moving forward (see video below). I am ready to get to my goal and have been for a long time.

What kind of mindset do you possess? Are you the type who will fight through anything or do you give up? Remember, 100% of the people who give up fail at accomplishing their goals. That is a certainty and there is no arguing about it. None. You just have to tell yourself that it isn't the end of the world and then you have to believe it with all your heart.

I will be working at healing. Things have gone well already. I am able to get up and down from the couch without a struggle now. There isn't a constant nagging pain in my leg any longer. 

Find me on Mobli — http://mobli.com/michaelmahony

 

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Operation Get Swole Update: 5/20/2013

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The Operation Get Swole update this week is not exactly what I would like to bring, but it is what it is and perhaps it will be educational. I have been having incredibly intense workouts with Ken Waters, my new training partner. He and I compliment each other's style and we push each other hard. Every training session has counted. We have left it all on the gym floor. It is an amazing feeling.

Training

I have adjusted my training split to give body parts more rest time between training and still allow me to double and triple up on a given body part. I use a smaller workout in the morning as a supplemental workout aimed at improving those lagging body parts. I feel like it is doing the job. I know my biceps are harder and tighter. My chest is pumped and starting to look better. I am now going to focus more on shorter rest periods to add a cardio effect to my training.

Ken and I had an incredible back workout twice this week. We shortened the rest period to next to nothing and just pumped out the sets. We were both dripping in sweat when we were done. It felt so incredible to drip from a weight training workout. We have also improved the strength of our core by working it at every workout. We started with 2 sets per exercise and just increased it to 3 sets per exercise. Core has never been a great strength of mine, so I am excited to see the changes.

Potential Injury?

What I hate reporting is that I think I have an injury to my right hand/wrist. I noticed that my thumb and index finger on my right hand felt a little numb towards the tip. As a result I postponed chest training for one day. As the day wore on I found that my middle and ring finger started to feel the same way, so I postponed my chest training yet again. I am going to be icing the hand on a regular basis and a regular, but intense therapy of Ibuprofen. I will watch and see how my hand feels and make a decision about training. However, if the weight training has to stop for a bit I am going to add a 5th day of cardio to keep myself active and burning calories.

Lessons Learned

If you want to get to the next level you have to push yourself very hard. It isn't enough to just cruise. Don't leave anything on the gym floor. Focus on the situation at hand. Rely on your training partner to push you and you to push him/her. At the same time you have to listen to your body. If you feel something abnormal take action before it gets worse. Don't just ignore it and hope it will get better. Remember that you are putting a huge amount of stress on your body, so if something feels wrong it is just going to get worse instead of better if you continue to push forward.

Be consistent with your supplementation. Get into a routine and follow it. These things don't work if you are not consistent. 

Be consistent with your training and take it to a new level at every single workout. Get a training partner who will push you and who can move a similar load as you. 

These variables, when put together in a consistent manner, will produce some amazing results. Watch me do that very thing throughout Operation Get Swole.

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