Natural bodybuilding expert and best selling fitness author Hugo River discusses how should bodybuilders over 40 train.

For the over 40 bodybuilder, and even over 30, I would recommend training smart. No longer are we teenage kids who load up the bar with 225-lbs and bench press it without a warm-up, living to tell about it. Our joints can no longer handle that. So here are some training recommendations that I want to share with the over 40 crowd:

• Use The Right Training Routine: a well periodized training routine that alternates between periods of higher volume/higher repetition (10-15 reps) work with periods of lower repetition/heavier weights (5-8 reps) will work best. Active recovery phases where training volume is dramatically reduced should also be incorporated. The training routine should not be more than 60 minutes long and frequency of body part training will depend upon individual recovery. Generally, teens and those in their twenties can train a bodypart every 48-72 hours (so twice a week). Thirty year olds and those in their fourties benefit more from once every five days. Fifty year old and older, once every seven days.

• Use Proper Warm-Ups: warming up is extremely important, and it becomes more important as we age. While in my opinion, we only need to thoroughly warm up for the first exercise of a body part, not doing so puts you at the risk for injury. To properly warm up, if you know you will be doing 225-lbs on the incline bench for 10 repetitions, the first set I would just do 135-lbs for ten controlled slow repetitions. Then I would increase the weight to 185 for ten reps and only after that second set I would go up to 225-lbs and that would be my first work set. However, if working out on a cold climate, besides wearing warm clothing, I may ride a stationary bike first for 6-10 minutes, not in search of aerobic conditioning but with the goal of increasing my core body temperature. Alternatively I’ve also used abdominal training as a way to increase my core body temperature as well.

• Perform The Right Exercise Techniques With The Proper Weight: Proper execution of exercise and proper lifting speed is crucial. The exercise form should never be sacrificed in the name of adding weight. Nothing good has ever come out of that combination. In addition, jerking the weight up and down not only affects how much the muscle is actually stimulated (so your muscle building results will be less), but also puts much of the stress on the joints, leading to unnecessary micro-trauma. So always choose a weight that allows for full control of the weight and a lifting speed that is steady and controlled on the way up and slower on the way down. Contracting the muscles at the top position also helps to provide maximum stimulation without unnecessarily having to use super heavy weights.

• Ensure Rotator Cuff Health: One of the most common injuries in weight training is that of the rotator cuff. The reason for this is that as the shoulder muscle gets stronger, the rotator cuff gets weaker unless you train it directly with 3 sets of 15-20 repetitions of rotator cuff exercises. Some external rotations at the end of your chest or back workout will do the trick.

Related Natural Bodybuilding Article: Joint Care for Preventing Injuries

If you find the information of this website useful, please feel free to check out any of my best selling natural bodybuilding and fitness publications here.   Also, feel free to share this with your friends on Facebook and Twitter by clicking on the buttons above.

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube page at:

www.youtube.com/hugoriverafitness

and to CLICK LIKE on my:

Hugo Rivera Best Selling Fitness Author Fan Page.

• Natural Bodybuilding Video: Hugo Rivera and Ben Pakulski Talk Bodybuilding Training with MI-40
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Can You Follow The Pro Routines and Other Advice?
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Should You Train When You Are Feeling Tired?
• Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle
• 10 Anabolic Recipes For Your Natural Bodybuilding Diet

I get published on various bodybuilding magazines every month and thanks to technology, some of these magazines now also have an online presence.   Thus, every time I get published I will share my article with all of you.  

This time I will be sharing my article for the February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle Magazine, which is an awesome publication.  By the way, Natural Muscle is the first magazine that published one of my articles

My article is on page 38.  Also, if you are looking for an awesome Leg Workout, check out the one that natural female bodybuilding champion Cecile Bayeul shared on page 48.  Great routine for both guys and girls alike!

Click on the image below to access the magazine (it will open on page 38 automatically so that you can access my article immediately.  Then you can use the navigation to go through the various pages).  Click on the LIKE button if you enjoy the articles

• 10 Anabolic Recipes For Your Natural Bodybuilding Diet
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program
• Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Making Bulking Up Work Without Gaining Fat
• Hugo Rivera's Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Gaining Muscle, Getting Lean and Losing Fat while Still Enjoying the Holidays
• Natural Bodybuilding 30-Minute Shoulder Workout

As I promised, here is an awesome homemade bodybuilding protein bar recipe from my friend and fellow bodybuilder Dave Ruel.  One thing that I love about this recipe is that it is not only tasty, but it allows me to control all of the ingredients as well as the amount of protein (and type) that go into the protein bar.  Also, you can’t beat the price per bar (49 cents)

Nutritional Facts

(Per Serving – 1 Bar)

Calories: 452
Protein: 50g
Carbohydrates: 36g
Fat: 12g

Ingredients

- 8 scoops of your favorite chocolate protein powder
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup 1% milk
- 3 tbsp crushed peanuts

Directions

1. Mix together the protein powder, oatmeal, peanut butter, honey and milk.
2. Form into 5 bars and then roll in the crushed peanuts to finish.
3. Place in the fridge for about 30-45 mins or until solid

Click Here to See The Video on How To Make These Protein Bars

P.S. – If you like the recipe above and are interested in more, Dave Ruel has a cookbook that I just spent all day reviewing. It features many protein bar recipes and over 200 anabolic, quick and easy to make bodybuilding recipes so that your bodybuilding diet does not have to be boring ever again. And best of all, the instructions are simple enough to where even a guy like me who knows nothing about cooking can get them going!

The best part of this is that Dave just came out with his latest edition of this cookbook and only until the end of this week he is offering his entire program at a HUGE discount. His program not only includes the cookbook, but also a Complete Quick Start Guide that shows you things like how to prepare a week’s worth of meals in 3 hours or less, what’s in your food and what to look for, how to read a recipe and the different cutting techniques and cooking methods. On top of that, you also get calorie calculators, muscle building meal plans based on your specific body type, a nutrition journal and much more.

Go check out the ready-to-make muscle building meal guides and super simple recipes at www.Anabolic-Food.com.

If you are interested in a book that will take the boredom out of your bodybuilding diet while helping you to achieve your goals and saving you cooking time, then by all means take advantage of the huge sale which will get you the full system, valued at over $400 for less than the price of a protein tub!

Get The Anabolic Cooking System Here => www.Anabolic-Food.com

More About Dave Ruel

Dave, who is better known as the “Muscle Cook”, is a strong believer that bodybuilding and fitness nutrition DOESN’T have to be plain and boring and only composed of boiled chicken breasts, baked potatoes and broccoli… without spending more time in the kitchen that you normally do, you can have meals that are full of flavours and that make it easier to reach your fitness goals…

He knows that it is possible to cook easy and tasty meals that will make you enjoy your lifestyle a lot more!

Over the past years he has helped thousands of people, in over 100 countries, getting incredible results. He has helped bodybuilders get shredded for bodybuilding shows, fitness models get ready for photoshoots and regular fitness enthusiasts transform their physiques!

Dave is also a competitive bodybuilder, a professional Fitness Coach and Nutritionist.. He now shares this information with anybody who is serious about building muscle, burn body fat, and who wants to enjoy bodybuilding and fitness nutrition completely.

But more importantly, Dave Ruel is the author of the best seller: Anabolic Cooking, the Cookbook and Complete Nutrition Guide For Bodybuilding and Fitness. This book is jam packed with more than 200 recipes that are all easy to do, full of flavours, and will promote muscle building and fat loss. Dave also shares in this book all his top nutrition and meal planning strategies, which makes it a must-have for anybody serious about their goals.

Dave believes that the majority of people are mislead and misinformed when it comes to nutrition and cooking, and he is here to change the rules!

To check out Dave’s 200 Recipe E-book go to: www.Anabolic-Food.com.

• 10 Anabolic Recipes For Your Natural Bodybuilding Diet

Cooking is not my strong point.  As a matter of fact, is not even a point you can say.  For that reason I delegate cooking to my better half and to others who can do the task much better than me.

The only thing I do know about the subject of cooking is that there is a huge misconception in bodybuilding that in order for your diet to work, the foods have to be bland and boring.  To be honest, nothing could be farther from the truth.

As a matter of fact, this past week one of my friends pointed out to me a nice e-book written by a natural bodybuilder called Dave Ruel. It turns out that for Dave cooking is a very strong point.  Not only is it a strong point, but all of his recipes are bodybuilding friendly and they tell you how many grams of carbs, proteins and fats you get per serving; something that makes it very simple to include his recipes on any sensible bodybuilding diet.

I contacted Dave, thanks to my friend who forwarded me his contact information, and he was gracious enough to let me share his 10 Anabolic Recipes E-book with all of you.  I also have some other items that he has allowed me to share such as a recipe video for making protein bars.  I will share that one with you tomorrow.  In the meantime, here is your 10 Anabolic Recipes E-book, courtesy of my new friend Dave Ruel! (Thanks Dave!!)

Click Here or On The Image Below To Get Your Anabolic Recipes Download 

More About Dave Ruel

Dave, who is better known as the “Muscle Cook”, is a strong believer that bodybuilding and fitness nutrition DOESN’T have to be plain and boring and only composed of boiled chicken breasts, baked potatoes and broccoli… without spending more time in the kitchen that you normally do, you can have meals that are full of flavours and that make it easier to reach your fitness goals…

He knows that it is possible to cook easy and tasty meals that will make you enjoy your lifestyle a lot more!

Over the past years he has helped thousands of people, in over 100 countries, getting incredible results. He has helped bodybuilders get shredded for bodybuilding shows, fitness models get ready for photoshoots and regular fitness enthusiasts transform their physiques!

Dave is also a competitive bodybuilder, a professional Fitness Coach and Nutritionist.. He now shares this information with anybody who is serious about building muscle, burn body fat, and who wants to enjoy bodybuilding and fitness nutrition completely.

But more importantly, Dave Ruel is the author of the best seller: Anabolic Cooking, the Cookbook and Complete Nutrition Guide For Bodybuilding and Fitness. This book is jam packed with more than 200 recipes that are all easy to do, full of flavours, and will promote muscle building and fat loss. Dave also shares in this book all his top nutrition and meal planning strategies, which makes it a must-have for anybody serious about their goals.

Dave believes that the majority of people are mislead and misinformed when it comes to nutrition and cooking, and he is here to change the rules!

• Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program
• Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Making Bulking Up Work Without Gaining Fat
• Hugo Rivera's Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Gaining Muscle, Getting Lean and Losing Fat while Still Enjoying the Holidays
• Natural Bodybuilding 30-Minute Shoulder Workout

Since the main subject of this week has been gaining muscle, here is an article that I just got from pro fitness model and natural bodybuilder Vince Delmonte on the subject of traditional bulking. This is really a GREAT article and everyone that is interested in gaining muscle needs to take a look at it.

10 Ways Bulking Can Ruin Long Term Muscle Growth
By Vince Del Monte and 21 Day Fast Mass Building System

In the days of the legendary bodybuilders like Arnold and Franco,
bulking up in the off-season and then cutting up was considered
gospel. Aside from the obvious health concerns linked to packing on
lard, extreme bulking is an inferior approach to trying to achieve
your best body. Here are ten reasons why you can RUIN your long
term muscle gains through extreme bulking:

Reason #1: You can not force muscle growth. Putting back 7,000
calories is not better than just taking 4,000 calories if that’s
what your body needs to grow. It’s not what you put in your mouth
that counts, it’s what gets digested and absorbed.

Reason #2: Extreme bulking leads to insulin-resistance, which makes
it harder to gain muscle down the road. Insulin-resistance results
in carbs going primarily to fat stores, not muscle tissue.

Reason #3: You’ll be forced to diet down harder, which can result
in losing the muscle you gained during the bulk up! That’s called 1
step forward, 1 step back. (Note from Hugo: More like 2-3 steps back
since extreme bulking will increase the number of fat cells in your body
which makes it harder to get lean and much easier to get fat!)

Reason #4: That fatter you get, the harder it becomes to get lean
because insulin resistance is hard to reverse. Ask anyone who
bulked up excessively if they had a pleasant time traveling back
down to low body-fat levels!

Reason #5: The primary metric for measuring success while bulking
up is gaining weight on the scale. Increased scale weight
does not mean increased muscle gain. (Note from Hugo: scale weight
includes water weight gain and fat as well)

Reason #6: Getting fat, intentionally or carelessly, results in
decreased thyroid production – not ideal, because thyroid is
critical for fat loss. (Note from Hugo: the less thyroid hormone, the
less calories your body burns on a daily basis, and thus, the easier it
is to gain fat)

Reason #7: Calories are not created equal. Calories from quinoa
and bison are great for adding muscle; calories from nachos and
beer are not. Bulking up with unhealthy calories can lead to high
blood pressure, diabetes, excess inflammation and cardiovascular
diseases.

Reason #8: The leaner you are, the easier it is to gain quality
muscle because your body becomes more efficient at nutrient
partitioning. This means when you eat, your body transfers the
nutrients to the muscle (as muscle tissue or glycogen) or in the
liver (as glycogen) and less gets transferred to your abdominal
wall!

Reason #9: The more time you spend bulking up, the more time you
spend cutting which means less time you have to gain muscle!

Reason #10: The biggest reason is that extreme bulking can lead to
fat cell hyperplasia. Essentially, when you overeat for a
prolonged period of time, your body increases its number of fat
cells. Sadly, you can not remove fat cells without surgery so by
adding new fat cells your body you’re actually making it more
efficient for gaining fat and worse at losing it! Bulking up and
then cutting down a few times in your life is forgiving, but
attempting to bulk up and cut down every year is a sure-fire way to
ruin your physique!

If you are looking to gain muscle mass without gaining fat and want to
try Cyclical Bulking, check out the 21 Day Fast Mass Building System.

To help you kick off the New Year, you can get the system at 1/2 price
($50) but this 1/2 price SALE ENDS SUNDAY AT MIDNIGHT. PRICE
GOES UP AFTER MIDNIGHT.

If interested, check out the system below:
=> Check out the 21 Day Fast Mass Building System

—- End of Article from Vince —-

I hope that you enjoyed the article above and that you don’t commit the same mistake that many of us made before just because we did not know any better. Luckily we now live in the information era and thus we can empower ourselves with KNOWLEDGE!

And in case you missed it, here are my thoughts on Cyclical Bulking.

If you enjoyed this article please click on the Facebook LIKE button, Twitter button and Google +1 button to share with your friends.

Until next time, take care and train hard!

• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program
• Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Making Bulking Up Work Without Gaining Fat
• Do You Need to Gain Excessive Weight To Gain Muscle?
• Creatine Basics Video Blog – What is Creatine and How Does It Work?
• Biceps Training Mistakes – Get Bigger Biceps by Training Them Properly

Since a lot of you have been really interested by the email that I recently sent talking about bulking up without fat gain, and have asked me about the “Anabolic Amplifier”  program mentioned on the e-reports I shared with you, I decided to answer in this article all of the questions I have gotten regarding the Anabolic Amplifier Program.  Thus, here I will summarize all of the questions I got as best as I can.

What Do You Think of the Program? 

I think that this is a great program that shows you how 2 natural bodybuilding competitors and authors successfully implemented the principles of mini bulk/trim down cycles in order to gain tons of lean body mass in a short period of time.

The program is sound and comes with the exact training and diet plans that the authors used.  One thing that I really like is the fact that they individualize the training programs based on the goals that you have.

There are three specific workout programs that you can follow based on the type of body you’d like to build:

a- The Fitness Model Physique Workout

b- The Muscle Model Physique Workout

c- The Hardcore Bodybuilder Physique Workout

The workouts are short and intense and will give your body new stimulus for growth.

They also individualize the diets based on the amount of body fat that you are carrying and your body type as well, something that I am a huge believer on!

Thus, you have different recommendations for:

a-Ectomorphs (The naturally skinny body type that needs to gain muscular bodyweight).

b-Endomorph (The naturally overweight body type that needs to lose bodyfat, while increasing muscle mass…the guy like me J).

c-Mesomorph (The more genetically blessed guy that gains muscle and loses body fat quickly!  The lucky ones!).

The nutrition recommendations are exact and you will not exactly how many carbs, proteins and fats to consume based on your specific body weight.  Like myself on the Body Re-Engineering program, recommendations are made for bodyweights ranging from 100lbs – 300lbs.  Great useful stuff!

I Read About How This Program Can Make You Gain Up to 12lbs of Muscle In 21 Days…Sorry Man But Isn’t That  Just Plain B.S.?

Muscle growth happens in two ways:

1-Muscle Volumization caused by increased water levels and glycogen levels inside the muscle fiber cell. This type of muscle growth happens quickly!

2-Muscle Fiber increase via increased protein content.  This type of muscle growth happens much slower than the first one.

I read the text of the claims that Lee and Vince make and what they are really talking about is lean body mass.  Keep in mind that lean body mass does not only consist of muscle fiber weight, but of the glycogen and water weight inside of that fiber as well.  Because glycogen and water are important components of the muscle fiber, by increasing these two substances inside it dramatically your muscle cell will go up in size and so will your weight.  Thus, when they talk about “up to 12-lbs” consider that to be the combined weight of the muscle fiber, the glycogen and the water inside the muscle as well.    (Note: By the way, intra-cellular water retention is one of the ways in which creatine imparts its effects.)

At any rate, using mini cycles of bulk up/fat loss periods will maximize the muscle cell ability to super hydrate itself and that is why you will see the big fluctuations in fat free weight.  Over time, your muscle fiber protein content will also increase, making for a permanently bigger muscle fiber (and one that can hold more glycogen and water inside it).  This is especially true when you do a bodybuilding contest.  After a contest, your body is in such an anabolic state once you start to eat that you can easily gain 10-15 lbs of fat free mass in a day!  I remember that right after the USA’s I was up from 165-lbs to 180lbs in less than 48 hrs….and this was fat free weight brought upon by clean eating and a significant calorie raise!

Have You Used This Program Before?

As I stated in my Bulking Up article I have used my own version of the program.  I can tell you however that this is a really good implementation as well and I will be using the routines laid out sometime in the near future when I decide to do mini bulk/trim down cycles.

Does The Body Get Used to This Program?

The body gets used to any program and that is the reason that we need to keep introducing variation in both the training and diet programs in order to keep progressing.  And the more advanced one is, the more we need to vary the program.  I recommend that you follow this type of program for 6 weeks and then change to another program such as Body Re-Engineering or MI-40.

Hugo, I’m a big fan.  I have your Body Re-Engineering program, your Body Sculpting program and last month I also got MI-40.  Got great results from all of these programs so thank you!  How would you go about using all of these workouts throughout the year?  How do you do it?

Great question and thanks for the feedback!

The key to continuous progress is periodization, which as you know is the orderly change of the training via strategic changes in the workout variables of sets, repetitions, rest in between sets, and exercises used that will produce the best gains in muscle mass and strength.

Through the use of periodization, not only you keep your body guessing (and thus changing), but you also maximize your training efforts by priming your body for muscle growth, then taxing the body to the point that it is on the brink of overtraining, and finally cutting back on the training volume in order to allow the body to recover and grow.

There are many ways of applying periodization.  Body Re-Engineering (BRE), The 14-Day Body Sculpting Program (14-BSP), MI-40, and “The Anabolic Amplifier Program” are all forms of periodized programs that can be combined with great success!

Every year I change the way that I combine things but here is a good way to combine things:

I will start with the Anabolic Amplifier Program as that is what you are contemplating on using.

6 weeks – Anabolic Amplifier Program

1 week- Active Recovery Phase from BRE

3 weeks Loading Phase from BRE

3 weeks Growth Phase from BRE

1 week- Active Recovery Phase from BRE

6 weeks 14-BSP

1 week- Active Recovery Phase from BRE

40 days of MI-40

1 week- Active Recovery Phase from BRE

Repeat

When you repeat the strategy you can use a different set of BRE workouts and 14-BSP workouts in order to introduce more variety into the program.

Following the strategy above gives you almost a year worth of workouts!

Will This Program Work for Women?

Absolutely.  This program works as well on women as it does for men.

I hope that this answers most of your questions.  If you are interested in this program you can check it out here

=> Anabolic Amplifier Program: 21 Day Fast Mass Muscle Building

• Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Making Bulking Up Work Without Gaining Fat
• Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle
• 10 Anabolic Recipes For Your Natural Bodybuilding Diet
• Hugo Rivera's Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Gaining Muscle, Getting Lean and Losing Fat while Still Enjoying the Holidays
• Natural Bodybuilding 30-Minute Shoulder Workout

Because I have gotten tons of emails over the last few weeks asking about bulking up for gaining muscle, I decided to put this article together in order to clear up the confusion.

Problems of Traditional Bulking Up Methods

Many people who start natural bodybuilding and want to gain serious muscle mass make the big mistake of thinking that in order to get muscular you need to get fat.  As someone who has experimented numerous tactics over the last 2 decades, I can tell you that the strategy of eating like a pig in order to gain muscle will leave you, unfortunately, looking like one.

With the exception of the super fast metabolism of people that are hardgainers, most of us need to focus on consuming quality calories in order to gain muscle.  Furthermore, we cannot consume calories indiscriminately as again, doing so will invariable result in too much fat gain.

The worst is that once guys go over 10% body fat, and girls go over 14% or so, the body’s estrogen levels increase and, as a result, additional calories consumed are more easily stored as fat as opposed to muscle.  Thus, in order to make the best bodybuilding gains, it pays to stay lean.  As a matter of fact, the leaner one is, the easier it is to gain.

How Can I Bulk Up to Gain Muscle Without Gaining Fat

1-Get Lean First: In order to gain muscle at the most accelerated rate by using a clean bulk up method without gaining fat you need to first get lean.  There is no way around this.  If you are not lean enough,  your body simply will turn most of the extra calories as additional fat.

2-Prime Your Body For Gains: You have to remember that your body is an incredible machine who likes to remain in a state of homeostasis.  In other words, the body does not like to change much and will always fight change.  Thus, if you are constantly providing more calories to your body than what it burns, it will build muscle and store some fat.  If you are training hard, most of the gains will be in the form of muscle.  However, the minute your body gets used to your training routine, and also starts to adapt to the diet, your muscle production will go down and fat gain will go up.  And like I said before, after you go past 10% body fat, extra calories get more easily stored.  In addition, the body starts to become insulin resistant as well and that makes further muscle gains harder as well.  The key to priming your body is to diet down.  By following the right calorie restricted, fat burning diet, you get to lose fat, you optimize your insulin sensitivity and you start to prime your body for future muscle gains.  By depriving your body of calories you put your body in a state that it becomes very “hungry” for nutrients.  This is especially true after an extended fat loss period, such as the one prior to a competition.  When the body is “hungry” for nutrients, this is the optimal time to do a clean bulk up phase because when you do, most of the calories, if not all, are re-routed towards muscle production!  Any of you who have done a bodybuilding, fitness or figure show know what I am talking about.  If you are smart, after a show you will go back to the gym, raise your calories, and slowly but surely start upping the intensity as you regain your strength in order to make the best use of this anabolic effect that comes after a period of dieting.

Calorie Cycling – The Secret To Making Muscle Gains While Staying Lean

As you probably figured out by now, a good strategy to accelerate muscle mass gains is to alternate between periods of dieting with periods of bulking up as I propose in my Body Re-Engineering program.  If you are already lean, then you can also implement a strategy that I have used several times with great results where you do mini periods of bulk up cycles with dieting cycles in order to maximize gains while keeping fat gain away.  This mini periods allow you to gain at the fastest rate possible.

Like anything, the body gets used to anything if you keep it long enough, but you can use this strategy of mini bulk up and dieting periods for super accelerated muscle gains for about 6 weeks every six months.  And keep in mind that to get the absolute best results from such a strategy it is best to be as lean as possible.

How to Implement Mini Periods Of Bulking With Dieting

When I use this strategy, I personally, I like to do 2 weeks of high calories using a nutrient split of 50% carbs, 30% proteins and 20% fats followed by a week of lower calories with around 50% proteins, 30% fats and 20% fats.  During high calorie weeks I do 18 x lean body weight in calories and during low calories I do my lean bodyweight times 10.

As far as training, I modify my training to be high volume during the 2 weeks of high calories and lower volume but use heavier weight during my low calorie weeks.  (Please see the routines here: http://www.hugorivera.net/natural-bodybuilding-routine-with-periodization.html / My high volume training is like what you see in weeks 1-3 while my low volume training is what you see on weeks 4-6)

In regards to cardio, on the high calorie weeks I do two sessions of 45 minutes (monday/thursday) first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and during low calorie weeks I up that to 6 sessions a week.

For More Information On This Strategy

I know a couple of natural bodybuilding authors who have done a great job at covering this strategy so if you are interested in a program that makes use of this concept, check out the two free e-books below:

Download the Death of Bulking Here

Download the Anabolic Amplifier Effect Here

If you enjoyed this article please click on the Facebook LIKE button, Twitter button and Google +1 button to share with your friends.

Until next time, take care and train hard!

• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program
• Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle
• 10 Anabolic Recipes For Your Natural Bodybuilding Diet
• Hugo Rivera's Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Gaining Muscle, Getting Lean and Losing Fat while Still Enjoying the Holidays
• Natural Bodybuilding 30-Minute Shoulder Workout

Another amazing year has come to an end!  I want to take this opportunity to wish you an incredible 2012 full of blessings, health, success and happiness!  I also wanted to personally thank you all for your support throughout the years.  Without you, there would be no purpose to what I do.

I hope that 2011 was a great year for you and that you accomplished many of your goals.  Looking back, 2011 was a year of many challenges for me, but by staying focused on my goals, being persistent and looking for solutions, rather than excuses, I was able to come ahead and meet (and even surpass) all of my main goals for the year.

As we start this 2012 I want you to know that the road to achieving your goals will most likely not be a problem free one.  However, you need to stay focused on what you want and fight for it.  Whether it is to re-shape your physique, better your relationships or improve your finances, the key thing is to analyze the things that you want to accomplish this year, set goals, create an action plan and most importantly: TAKE ACTION!  WITHOUT ACTION there is NO REACTION!

You also need to know that in life, you have to learn how to take risks.  I am not saying to be careless, but what I am saying is that in order to get where you want to be, sometimes you have to make decisions that will take you out of your comfort zone.  Most people can accomplish incredible things if they have the confidence in themselves to come out of their comfort zones.  French historian and novelist Andrew Malraux used to say that “Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and to act.” Do not treat life as if it goes on forever because it does not! Don’t be a spectator, be a most valuable player in the game of life!

Ten Secrets to Making This Year An Amazing One! 

So for 2012 I want you to:

1- Figure out what are the top things that you want to accomplish and set some goals.

2- Have confidence in your ability to accomplish your goals because deep inside of you lies unlimited potential waiting to be unleashed.

3- Don’t listen to negative people who will put you down.  There are many people who will do this out of jealousy, insecurity or whatever else.  Know that these people DO NOT have your best interest at heart.  Therefore, put the blinders on, keep reminding yourself that you can do this and keep moving forward no matter what!  I have personally made a habit of making the impossible be possible so my suggestion is that you do the same.

4- Program your mindset to accomplish your goals as if your life depended on it.  At the end of the day, the quality of your life certainly depends in your ability to accomplish the things that make you happy.

5- Create an action plan so that you can achieve these goals.  And if you don’t know how to create one, look for reliable information and educate yourself so that you know how to get there!  We live in the information age so today more than ever there are no excuses about not knowing how to accomplish something.

6- Make a list of the tasks that you will need to do on a daily basis in order to execute the action plan and check these tasks on a daily basis.

7- When obstacles come, immediately look for solutions and modify your action plan as needed.

8- Know that nothing great has ever being accomplished without plain hard work.  Wake up every day with a smile and attack your goals aggressively!  When obstacles come, laugh in their face as you know that you have the ability deep inside you to tackle them.

9- Don’t be afraid to fail.  No successful person has reached success without some setbacks.  No one is born knowing!  It is these setbacks that teach us what not to do in the future.  One of the main differences between successful people and unsuccessful ones is their ability to deal with setbacks.  The great Thomas Edison used to say: ““I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  I personally do not believe in failure.  To me failure only happens when you decide to never get back up.  I rather die than let obstacles run me down.  Thus, keep moving forward and know that there is no retreat, no surrender!  There is only one possibility in my mind when I set a goal and that is to accomplish it!

10- As you reach success, help others along the way.  I have noticed that nothing in life is accomplished alone.  There are always helping hands that will come along your path.  Be thankful for those who help you and make sure to be a helping hand to others as well.  There is no better feeling in the world than the one experienced when you help someone else!

With this said, one of my main goals for 2012 is to help as many people as possible to accomplish their goals.  Soon I will introduce you to a project that I have been working on to help me accomplish just that.  I will give you more details as they come but for now I will say that I spent the latter part of last year working on something big to help all of you who are struggling to lose fat.

In the meantime, please take the 10 items I just listed for you to heart, and live by them!

“I challenge you to make your life a masterpiece. I challenge you to join the ranks of those people who live what they teach, who walk their talk.” -Tony Robbins

P.S. – FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING TO GAIN SOME SERIOUS MUSCLE IN THE NEW YEAR!

By the way, for those of you looking to gain some serious muscle in the new year, and who need a roadmap to help you accomplish this goal, please take a look at my friend’s program www.mi-40.com.  This is by far the best new muscle building product I have seen come up in years!  And for those of you who have not purchased yet, just for the month of January I will throw in a copy of my best selling Body Re-Engineering program (valued at $39.99) if you purchase MI-40.  Body Re-Engineering contains 21 weeks worth of muscle building and fat blasting workouts!  Following Body Re-Engineering after you follow the MI-40 program will give you unprecedented gains in muscle mass and strength!  All you have to do is send me your receipt to hugo@hugorivera.net with the subject line: 2012 Customer and I will personally send you your Body Re-Engineering system.  But take action now as this offer will expire on January 31st!

Get Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 Program Here:
http://www.mi-40.com

For my thoughts on Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 program go here:
http://www.hugorivera.net/ben-pakulski-mi40-natural-bodybuilding-system-review.html

P.P.S. - SOME MORE INSPIRATIONAL WORDS

I will leave you with some inspiring words, from the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger on what he considers are the top 6 secrets to success!

Here is to an AWESOME 2012!!!!

• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Training Over 40
• Check Out My Latest Natural Bodybuilding Article on February 2012 Edition of Natural Muscle
• 10 Anabolic Recipes For Your Natural Bodybuilding Diet
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ on The “Anabolic Amplifier” Program
• Natural Bodybuilding Tips for Making Bulking Up Work Without Gaining Fat

Ben Pakulski and Hugo Rivera talk about how they feel about high carb diets, when carbs should be consumed, and how many fats you need in order to gain muscle naturally.

Don’t miss out Part 3 where Ben and Hugo talk about Bodybuilding Supplementation.

Get Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 Program Here:
http://www.mi-40.com

For my thoughts on Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 program go here:
http://www.hugorivera.net/ben-pakulski-mi40-natural-bodybuilding-system-review.html

Bonus: Natural Bodybuilding FAQ With Ben: Can I Get Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time?

Bodybuilding Question: Ben, is it possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time?  If so, how can I do it?

Answer from Ben: I’m not going to sit here and assume you all don’t already know how important nutrition is to optimizing growth. I KNOW you do.

People come to me all the time and ask “What is the BEST approach to take if I want to gain muscle and lose fat?”  Is that even possible?

Well, the truth of the matter is that, yes, it is absolutely possible. Is it easy? Of course not.

BUT it is SIMPLE.

Let me do my best to explain.

Your first consideration when it comes to nutrition is RECOVERY.  You need to always ensure that your body has what it needs to recover when it needs it.  It is very important to nourish your muscles around the workout.  Your muscles need protein, in the form of amino acids, present in the bloodstream ALL the time or the body will start to leach those aminos from other parts of your body (Read: break down your muscles). This is BAD NEWS for those of us trying to build muscle.

REMEMBER: Weight training is a catabolic process — it breaks down muscle! It’s when we leave the gym and feed the body that the growth and re-growth processes occur.

Whenever possible we want to minimize the amount of muscle breakdown during the workout. In order to do this, certain essential nutrients MUST be present:

— branch chain aminos
— glutamine
— arginine
— antioxidants
— glucose
— zinc

This is your first consideration when it comes to building muscle.  The other main considerations of an intelligent nutrition plan are timing of nutrients, and ratio of nutrients (percentage of fats/carbs/proteins).

How do I know WHEN to EAT WHAT?
I think by this point in my life I have probably read EVERY nutrition book ever written (or at least started to read them all. Some are terrible so I toss them out halfway through).  I have probably tried every single logical approach to nutrition at some point in my life.

I was once a vegetarian; I have tried really high carb, low protein; I have tried high protein, low carb; zero carb; zero fat; gluten free; Ketogenic diet; Metabolic diet; Hollywood diet; Fasting diet….you get the idea!  The only one I think I haven’t tried yet is raw food diet because I just don’t think I could support my bodyweight with the limited food sources.

I could tell you pros and cons of each one for someone trying to build muscle and optimize their body composition (a.k.a.,Lose Fat).

My approach to nutrition is very much a hybrid of them all. I believe I have taken the best points from each one and manipulated them to create a formula for people trying to build lean muscle without the excess fat.

3-Phase Nutrition to Doubling Your Muscle Gains

Phase 1 of “3-P” is the “recovery” phase.

This phase is centered around taking the time to ensure that your body is getting everything it needs to recover from the overload of weight training and daily stress that you subject it to.  The idea here is to take time to establish the EXACT minimum requirements to meet your bodies needs on a day- to- day basis. As the recovery process begins DURING the workout, so does the P-1 phase.
The calculations are quite simple and applicable to everyone.
Workout carb requirement:

Lean Bodyweight x 0.3= Liquid carb requirement for growth(G)

Lean Bodyweight x 0.3/2= Liquid Carb requirement for fat loss (FL)

We now use this number [(G) OR (FL)] as our baseline number.

Post workout Window- Protein Requirement:

Multiple your baseline number x 2 for your post- workout protein requirement.

Divide your baseline number by 2 to get your BCAA and Glutamine amount in grams. Split BCAA And Glutamine into 2 equal servings, pre- and post- workout.

So here it is in action…

EXAMPLE

Massive Muscle Builder #1 weighs 170lbs and is 10% bodyfat (therefore 153lbs lean). He is looking to gain muscle. His calculation looks like this:

153 x 0.3= 51 grams of carbs to be consumed *around workout.

1) He should try to consume 102g of protein in the 3-hr “POST WORKOUT Window”

2) He should consume 25g of BCAA and 25g of Glutamine each, divided into two servings. One pre- workout, and one post- workout. (12.5g each time)

Pretty simple, right?

Take the time to calculate YOUR ‘P1’ values NOW!

Do not waste another minute in the gym if you’re not supporting the recovery process.

Phase 2 of “3-P” is “Setting your metabolism”

The second phase of 3-PN is all about establishing your metabolism where YOU want it to be!

Yes, this is absolutely possible.  Someone wanting to lose body fat should look at getting their metabolism going as fast as possible before they start the fat burning process.  For some people, this may take up to 3 weeks; others may achieve it in a week. The standard amount of time for this “metabolic recondition-ing” is 10 days in MI40.

The timing of your food is extremely important. The ratio of protein/carbs/fats is also obviously extremely important.
This phase is also very important for teaching your body how to use nutrients the way you want it to. It’s no secret that 80% of North Americans do not use carbohydrates well. It will be during P-2 that we diligently time your nutrients and use the proper supplementation to allow your cells to re-learn how to properly use carbohydrates.

More effective use of carbohydrates = more muscle growth and less fat!

Phase 3 of “3-P”

Phase 3 of “3-P” is is the phase that is most important to directing and guiding your body exactly where YOU want it to go.

This is the phase where we add or remove calories/nutrients to achieve the specific goal we have set out to achieve.

Most of the participants of MI40 are going to be following what is called a “P-3+” phase.  This is specifically designed to ensure that your body is getting all the nutrients it needs AT THE RIGHT TIMES!  Nutrient timing is THE ONLY WAY to manipulate gains: WHEN your body gets WHAT is the number one most important growth variable outside the gym.

MI40 is going to be pushing your limits of physical performance and growth. Your body is going to require a greater amount of nutrients than it is used to. This is necessary to support all the growth processes.

“But, wont I get fat?”

NO. If you push your physical limits in the gym, your body is going to have a huge increase in demand for nutrients and will burn right through them.

To ensure there is NO FAT STORAGE, MI40 will also prescribe a certain degree of NUTRIENT CYCLING.  We give your body all that it needs to grow. Filly those muscles right up so they are strong and ready to grow and recover. Just when they are just about filled to the max, we manipulate the nutrient ratios and prevent spillage.  ALWAYS maintain your P-1+ status. This means you keep your recovery protocol exactly as prescribed above(+).

This is essential to maintain recovery and prevent muscle wasting.

Note:  For Those of You Who Missed the MI-40 Special Last Week and Are Still Interested in MI-40

==> MI-40 Super Saver Special (Get the MI-40 PDF Files + BRE for $29.95)

If You order, please forward me the receipt via email at hugo@hugorivera.net with the following in the subject line: Super Saver Special.

• No Related Posts

In this natural bodybuilding video, IFBB Pro Ben Pakulski and Hugo Rivera talk about bodybuilding training and how MI-40 helps you to gain muscle mass!

Get Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 Program Here:
http://www.mi-40.com

For my thoughts on Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 program go here:
http://www.hugorivera.net/ben-pakulski-mi40-natural-bodybuilding-system-review.html

Bonus: Natural Bodybuilding FAQ With Ben: How Do I Know How Much Work is Enough?

Bodybuilding Question: Ben, could you please tell me how much work at the gym you think is necessary to stimulate muscle growth?  How do I know when I have done enough?

Answer from Ben: For years, I had been searching for the best way to overload my muscles each and every time I go in the gym. I know you can relate to those days when you worked “hard” but still felt like you could have done more.
How do I know when I’ve done enough to stimulate growth? Are my muscles completely exhausted, or should I be doing more? Ever ask yourself that? I know I have. I remember days when I would get in my car after the gym and say to myself “Damn, I wish I had done more” and legitimately contemplate going back in to do more. I’m sure we’ve all been there. “I wish there was a way to know that I had completely exhausted every single muscle fiber that I could!”
I CRAVED something that would ensure that my muscles are taken to their limit, and CREATE NEW GROWTH!

Let’s first understand something about the human body. Our bodies want to maintain EXACTLY as they are.
It’s called homeostasis. For all our attempts to change it, our bodies fight back as much as possible to maintain the status quo. We need to coerce them! We need to show our bodies that there is a reason to grow bigger and stronger. We are going to be placing some increased demands on these muscles, so you better make them bigger!

In order for this to happen, the stimulus you are subjecting your body to MUST be greater than it is used to. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, the problem is that your body is smarter than you are. It’s going to tell your brain to shut your muscles off. It doesn’t want to do all this work you’re subjecting it to, so it starts to create lactic acid.

Lactic acid builds up and your muscles STOP! This is a fact we cannot control.

Being a research junky, I had always read about overloading the muscle and overloading the nervous system to stimulate
new muscle and strength gains, respectively. Time under tension was proven to be the number one factor that correlated with muscle growth and overload!

Something clicked in my brain!Time under MAXIMAL TENSION!! This had to be better than just time under tension!
And so, my GROWTH BABY To Doubling Your Muscle Gains was born!

NEUROLOGICAL OVERLOAD SET-NOS!!
So, you’re in the gym, feeling all cool and pumped up for today’s big workout. You feel strong and you feel like you’re going to build some serious NEW MUSCLE today!

You pick up a BIG weight that you know you can rock for a perfect 8 reps!

You knock out the first 4 reps, piece of cake.

Rep 6 comes around and here comes the burn!

Rep 7, ooooh it’s getting heavy. Muscles burn like fire.

8th rep is darn near impossible, but you get it.

You set the weight down and stand up. You feel a bit of a pump in your muscle, but nothing great. You feel like you could have done more but you know you gave it your all; your body just shut off. Was it because your muscle was actually completely exhausted? Or if someone put a gun to your head, could you have done more? Is there ANY way you could have asked your muscles to continue to work? Maybe you could’ve extended that time under tension just a little bit?
OF COURSE!

Your brain clicks on and you hear “Eye of the Tiger” playing somewhere in the background (Rocky soundtrack always randomly turns on at times like this, people…you know that! )

You grab a slightly lighter weight and keep rockin’!

You blast out 6 more reps! Your Time Under Tension IS WAY greater now.

You even knock out a couple of partial reps with perfect form!

Somewhere in the back of your mind you see Rocky running up those stairs and feel the urge to march on!

You grab the next weight and smash out another 6 perfect reps!!

So fired up, nothing can stop you now! You continue one more time with a slightly lighter weight. WOW!! Now you’re cooked. Your muscle couldn’t budge another rep, not another partial. You could barely lift the weight of your arms.
THIS is what we call VICTORY!

You have just elicited the MOST AMAZING environment for muscular growth imaginable. Congratulations! Rocky would be proud!

By taking this set to complete muscular failure, not only have you overloaded your muscles, and your overloaded nervous system, you have also just started the process of creating the optimal hormonal environment for growth. When you take you muscles to exhaustion, your body now sees a need to make them bigger to adapt to this type of stimulus so it starts releasing Growth Hormone and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor).

These two hormones are HIGHLY correlated with muscle growth and reduction in body fat!
That brings us to…. the next GAMECHANGER! This one is the glue that binds it all together.

Get Ben Pakulski’s MI-40 Program Here: http://www.mi-40.com

And by getting it through one of these links you also get:

1) A complimentary copy of my own program “Body Re-Engineering” (valued at $39.99). Combining Body Re-Engineering with MI-40 will give you the most incredible gains in muscle mass and you will have half a year worth of muscle building and fat blasting workouts!

2) A NEVER BEFORE SEEN 120-Minute video that I am putting together on how you can combine the power of Body Re-Engineering and the power of MI-40 in order to get the most explosive gains imaginable! This video is valued at $300 but it is my gift from me to you as my way to say thank you for your support! (Value: $300.00)

3) A reserved space on my first Online Bodybuilding Seminar. (Value: $950.00)

4) Ben’s Exclusive 2 Inches in 21 Days Arm Blasting Workout (Value: $25.00).

Remember that between Body Re-Engineering and MI-40 you have almost half a year worth of unique muscle producing and fat blasting workouts!

Again, please make sure that when you pick up MI-40 you forward your receipt to hugo@hugorivera.net with the title ”SPECIAL BRE OFFER” and I’ll get it sent over to you asap (within 24 hours)! I will then send you also the video as soon as I have it ready (in around 2 weeks from today). I want to make sure that you are taken care off.  And if you are a current BRE customer, please bring it to my attention by putting in the title line Special Customer.  That way I can do something really special for you.

TAKE ACTION NOW ==>
I Am Ready To Get Big and Use The Power of MI-40 and BRE to Get HUGE!

By the way, order today (December 1, 2011) and you also get a FREE REPORT detailing the routine that Ben used to put on 2 inches on his arm prior to the Arnold Classic!  I will be implementing this one next week to see if I can at least get an extra half inch!  This offer will only be available until midnight tonight and Ben says that after he is not even making that book available anymore so the time to get MI-40 is NOW!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER NOW ==>
Sign Me Up for a Copy of MI-40 (Valued at Over $1300) + Body Re-Engineering ($39.99) + 2-Hour Exclusive Video ($300) + Online Bodybuilding Seminar ($950) for Only $47

• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Can You Follow The Pro Routines and Other Advice?
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Training Over 40
• Natural Bodybuilding Video: Hugo Rivera and Ben Pakulski Talk Bodybuilding Training
• Natural Bodybuilding FAQ – Should You Train When You Are Feeling Tired?
• Halloween Natural Bodybuilding Survival Tips