Today would normally be stats day, but I'm not posting those right now (gotta maintain suspense) so I have decided to take  the Friday tip and turn it into the Sunday tip effective later today.

I did just complete my measurements and will report that my first week bulking was a success. My circumference measurements went up in every place I would want (chest, arms, legs) and down where I would want (abdominals). My bodyfat percentage is down and scale weight is up.

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Weight Training Tips

By Vince DelMonte

Weight training properly is known by few. If it was easy then you would see a lot more muscular and lean physiques on the streets. Before you learn how to weight train properly, it is critical that you learn these five weight training tips before you even step foot in the gym.

1. Write down a realistic short term and long term goal.

2. Make a commitment to stick to one program for at least 12 weeks.

3. Educate yourself prior to starting.

4. Hire a trainer to teach you proper technique.

5. Focus on gradual progression.

Weight Training Tip #1: Goal Setting

Inch-by-inch life is a sinch. Yard-by-yard life is hard. Treat your goal setting the same way. Do not expect to be on the cover of Men's Health by next summer. Decide how much muscle weight you wish to achieve in three months. Six months and one year. Decide where you wish to finish and work backwards. If you wish to gain 50 pounds by the end of the year, than create a game plan that allows to gain at least one pound per week.

Weight Training Tip #2: Commitment

The only reason you will fail is if you are not truly committed to your goals. Do your homework and find a weight training program ideal for your specific goals and situation. Study the program fully prior to commencing. Comprehend every detail of the program and if you don't, contact the author of the program to ensure you have no excuse to misunderstand or perform the workout incorrectly. After you chosen a program, take responsibility for your decision and follow it to it's full completion. Do not try it out for three weeks and than say, “It's not working…” and try another program. This will create a failures attitude and begin the deadly bad habit of program hopping

Weight Training Tip #3: Education

How much do you really know about building muscle? Let's put it this way, if you had to teach someone else how to transform their body in the next twelve weeks, could you help them? Never mind, could you transform your body in the next twelve weeks? If not, you probably do not know enough about how your body works from a training, nutrition and recovery stand point. Order a book, visit a reputable website and find out everything you must know, about proper weight training, before you start the guessing game.

Weight Training Tip #4: Proper Technique

You wouldn't try and drill your teeth? You wouldn't try and do your own taxes? You wouldn't try and fix your own car? Assuming you have no expertise in dentistry, accounting or automotive repairs. So why would you try and teach yourself proper weight training technique? It boggles my mind why so many people across North America sign up for a gym membership and jeopardize the health of their tendons, ligaments and joints with the attitude of “I think I'll try it on my own,” or “My friend is going to teach me,” or “I am self taught from watching others…” Do not be cheap and leave your ego at the door and hire a reputable fitness trainer who can teach you proper weight training technique.

Weight Training Tip #5: Progression

I'll say this again. Inch-by-inch life is a sinch. Yard-by-yard life is hard. Approach each workout with this attitude. Your bench press does not need to go up twenty pounds in the first week. But just imagine your bench press went up consistently 2.5-5 pounds every week for the next year? That would some serious muscular and strength gains! Your goal is to simply out do yourself from workout-to-workout, week-to-week. Whether you do one extra rep, one extra set, a extra 2.5 pounds or a shorter rest period, these are are measurable signs of weight training progress.

Make your weight training life easy by starting with the the above weight training tips and look forward to a rewarding and fruitful adventure in the gym.

———————————-

Vince DelMonte is the author of No Nonsense Muscle Building: Skinny Guy Secrets To Insane Muscle Gain found at http://www.VinceDelMonteFitness.com/

He specializes in teaching skinny guys how to build muscle and gain weight quickly without drugs, supplements and training less than before.

© 2006-2008, Vince DelMonte Fitness. All rights in all media reserved. You may reprint this article so long as the article and author bio are reprinted intake and all links are made live. This article may never be sold individually or as part of a package.

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What's on my mind today? This was not my original post for tonight, but plans change.  As I mentioned in previous posts, I've been carrying on email correspondence with Carlos De Jesus (inventor of the Quad Blaster) and we've approached some very intersting issues.  Carlos is very wise.  What is best about communicating with Carlos from my perspective is something most people would not catch. You see, we can go online and read information from Chad Waterbury, Tom Venuto or even Jay Cutler, but how often are you presented with the opportunity to actually talk to a true champion?  That's what happened to me tonight.  For 1-1/2 hours, I had a telephone conversation with Carlos De Jesus (1981 Winner Natural Mr. USA, 1981 Winner Natural Mr. North America, 1985 Winner Professional Natural Mr. World).  What is even more incredible, Carlos actually initiated the call based upon our email correspondence. We discussed many topics tonight.  Carlos gave me his input on nutrition (I told him my secret ideas and he agrees with them), he gave me his input on training (he agrees that your body really has to take a pounding to get bigger), the fitness industry (top secret), blogs (he's visited mine and several others that are linked from ine), God (Carlos and I are both brothers in Christ), The Anabolic Diet (Carlos has read the book and we had a nice discussion about it) and many other topics.  I find Carlos to be amazingly informative.  He is very wise.  This is the kind of person I will listen to because he walks the walk. I have totally changed my attitude towards transformation in the past month to two months (pretty much started around the time of my nutritional experiment).  I'm not sure my views would be popular with the Shreddersphere in general, but I will be expressing them as time goes on.  I have discovered a few things that will now be included in my eBook.  Most of what I've discovered has to do with nutrition.  Nothing I've discovered is earth shattering, but with some research, everyone could discover the same things.  More on this in the future, so keep coming back for more. It is late and I need my rest.

Week Begins 6/1/2008   Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat Cycle spot HC LC LC LC HC LC LC M1 * 5:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 5:30 a.m. M2 * 8:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. M3 * 11:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. M4 * 2:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. M5 * 5:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. M6 * 7:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Weights * N/A Lift N/A Lift N/A Lift N/A Cardio * N/A N/A AM N/A AM N/A AM Abs * N/A FYA FYA N/A FYA N/A FYA Water * 264 oz 264 oz. 240 oz 264 oz 264 oz 264 oz 264 oz Post-workout nutrition * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Pre-sleep nutrition * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Vitamins/Supplements * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Accountability * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cals within 5% (+/-) * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Target Cals 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 Cals 2910 2869 2912 2901 2828 2921 2725 Ratios (C/P/F) 40/30/20 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 Target Ratios (C/P/F) 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 Total Completed 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 Total Possible 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 Mission 3 Total Complete 224 239 254 269 284 299 314 Mission 3 Total Possible 225 240 255 270 285 300 315 * = Counts towards total Success! Failed Not Counted!

Find out what I'm doing to my body! Today I went for an outdoor run.  The target I wanted to hit was 20 minutes and a heart rate of 129 to 152 beats per minute.  I managed to hit both sets of targets.  I enjoyed running in a new area and saw some beautiful scenery along the way.  I am very committed to this new program of steady state cardio during my bulk phase.  I can't wait for tomorrow to see what my results are so far.

Exercise the brain with the Thought of the Day! “To reach newer and higher levels of perfection, we must be willing to pay the price; sometimes that price is enduring more suffering, more agony, more pain.” (Carlos De Jesus) Note: Perfection here is defined as personal best.

Get a discussion started by answering the question! How much are you willing to pay for a new personal best?  Comment this blog post to answer the question.

Mission 1, Day 26: Why do I do this? Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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I am coming to you poolside with the thoughts that have been going through my head today. As I've been experiencing a nice  case of DOMs today I began to think about the role your mind plays in training.

You must leave your problems at the door of your gym when you e= nter. When it comes to training, if your head's not into it, you're not going anywhere. You must have the ability to focus on your training and nothing else. You must block out all distractions. This is why I wear my MP3 player when I workout. People are less likely to bother me and I can focus on what I am doing–training.

Take your training to the next level through the mind-muscle connection.

(Brought to you live from the pool via mobile blogging.)

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What's on my mind today? The day began with another brutal lifting workout.  I have more in the workout log below, but this was another one of those where I felt like throwing up the entire time. I got out of town around Noon today.  Upon arriving at my destination I got some nice down time to do some more reading.  I am reading Anabolic Solution and it has alot of scientific terms that I need to be sure I totally grasp, so the reading can be slow at times.  He also repeats his main points an awful lot and that is always challenging when reading because you instantly lose interest. I had an awesome email exchange with Carlos DeJesus (Quad Blaster inventor) earlier today.  Carlos is a really nice man with a passion for fitness.  He gave me some great advice on pain and sacrifice.  In fact, Carlos shared a personal journal entry on the subject and even commented the entry so I'd understand what he was thinking.  After asking permission, today's Burning Thought of the Day comes from that journal entry. I can see a nice friendship starting up between Carlos and myself.  He gets where I'm coming from and offers encouragement.  It is refreshing to see how observant he is because I feel most people today are not that observant.  Most people are so self-absorbed that they fail to see what's going on with other people.  Carlos picked up on a few things in some of my emails that were spot on and he commented on them to me.  It has been a very enriching discussion so far. It really got me thinking about the sacrifice required to reach my goals.  I could easily cruise through my workouts and not work hard, but what would be the point?

Week Begins 6/1/2008   Sun Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat Cycle spot HC LC LC LC HC LC LC M1 * 5:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 3:30 a.m. 5:30 a.m. M2 * 8:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. M3 * 11:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 11:30 a.m. M4 * 2:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. M5 * 5:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. M6 * 7:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Weights * N/A Lift N/A Lift N/A Lift N/A Cardio * N/A N/A AM N/A AM N/A AM Abs * N/A FYA FYA N/A FYA N/A FYA Water * 264 oz 264 oz. 240 oz 264 oz 264 oz 264 oz   Post-workout nutrition * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Pre-sleep nutrition * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Vitamins/Supplements * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Accountability * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cals within 5% (+/-) * Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Target Cals 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 Cals 2910 2869 2912 2901 2828 2921   Ratios (C/P/F) 40/30/20 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30   Target Ratios (C/P/F) 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 40/30/30 Total Completed 14 15 15 15 15 15   Total Possible 15 15 15 15 15 15   Mission 3 Total Complete 224 239 254 269 284 299   Mission 3 Total Possible 225 240 255 270 285 300   * = Counts towards total Success! Failed Not Counted!

Find out what I'm doing to my body! IThe third brutal workout of the week commenced with deadlifts, but with 15 rep sets done at 60% of my 1RM.  That equates to 295 pounds.  The tempo is 2010 (2 seconds up, 0 seconds at the top, 1 second down, 0 seconds at the bottom) which means it is a constant movement during the set.  With that kind of weight and that sort of pace, my heart was pounding in no time flat.  This was supersetted with chin ups at the same tempo.  I inserted the Quad Blaster as the second exercise of this workout, immediately after my deadlifts.  I managed to go to failure on all 3 sets.  It was an amazing group of 3 sets.  I even had a man ask me why I would want to do that to my body.  He doesn't get it obviously. I have been extremely focused this week.  I was ready for this bulk phase and I want to get the most out of it.  I purposely kept this phase down to 8 weeks because I am unsure of how my body will respond.  Depending upon what happens and some of the nutritional reading I'm doing, I may see M4 as a total bulking mission from start to finish. At the end of my workout I worked my abs so hard again that they were cramping up as I was walking out of the gym.  I spent the next 2 hours fighting that nauseous feeling.  How crazy am I that I actually look forward to that feeling after a workout now?

Exercise the brain with the Thought of the Day! To go where no one else has ever gone, to accomplish what no one else has ever accomplished- is to sacrifice more than anyone else has ever sacrificed. (Carlos De Jesus)

Get a discussion started by answering the question! Are you willing to sacrifice more than anyone else has ever sacrificed to reach your goals?  Comment this blog post to answer the question.

Mission 1, Day 25: A very long day! Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!

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