Interview by Marc David

1. What’s the biggest mistake in training?

In my opinion, the biggest mistake made by the majority of lifters out there is that they just plain do not train hard enough.

If we examine the muscle growth process from its most basic roots, it becomes quite clear that in order to achieve a significant amount of growth, we must train with an effort-level that is at (or extremely close to) our maximum potential. Muscles grow as an adaptive response to the environment; because the body believes that it is in life-threatening danger. In order to create the greatest “artificial threat”, we must train as hard as our bodies will allow, plain and simple.

It seems that most people are willing to train hard on only a select number of lifts. These lifts are also, not surprisingly, the least uncomfortable exercises to perform. It’s not uncommon to see a lifter pressing his heart out on the bench press or performing a set of skull crushers to all-out failure. Everyone wants a huge chest, but it’s no secret that relatively speaking, the bench press is not the most uncomfortable exercise in the world.

But how often do we see a lifter squatting to the point of failure? How often do we see a lifter pulling with every fiber in his body to deadlift a bar off the ground? How often do we see a lifter squeezing with every last ounce of strength on a heavy barbell row?

Aha! Now we’re getting somewhere...

Look, I don’t care what anyone says, if you’re not willing to train with maximum effort and focus, you will never develop your physique to its true potential. Truly hard training is…well…Truly hard!

Get out of your comfort zone. Stop making excuses for yourself. Get in the squat rack and squat. But don’t merely squat. Squat with passion, with heart, with commitment to your goals, wants and desires. Do the same with your deadlifts. And with your barbell rows. And, yes, with your bench presses also.

If you want serious gains, then train seriously.

2. What’s the one thing we should do first when it comes to nutrition?

Well, the very first thing comes in the way of understanding its importance. A
very large percentage of lifters highly underestimate this aspect of the muscle-building process and in doing so they dramatically compromise their gains. Training and nutrition go hand-in-hand, and you absolutely will not build an impressive physique unless they are given equal focus.

The tasks that you accomplish in the gym are merely the “spark”. When you train with weights, you are basically telling your body to build muscle. This “spark” is only half the battle! After working out, your body has an incentive to grow, but an incentive alone is not enough. You must now provide your body with the proper building blocks needed to facilitate growth, and without these building blocks the muscle growth process will be next to impossible.

I suggest consuming 5-7 meals per day, spaced every 2-3 hours.

Consistency is key!

Only when you truly understand the importance of nutrition will you be able to achieve outstanding results.

3. What have you done differently that has been successful?

Well, if you’re talking about what I have done differently than the majority of lifters out there, then there are many things. You see, the principles that I preach are not MY principles. I did not devise them myself, nor do I claim to have uncovered some breakthrough secret that no one is currently aware of.

Quite the contrary, actually.

The system that I preach is merely the system that I believe in. There are a large handful of people out there who follow these principles as well, and through my own research, trial and error experimentation as well as what I have seen in others, they are without a doubt the most effective. They are the most effective because they are based on logic, not random guessing.
In a nutshell, here are a couple of things that I do differently than the majority of lifters:

a) I train as hard as my body will allow. (In terms of intensity, NOT volume)
b) I do not train often or for extended periods of time. (3 days a week in the gym for 1 hour is more than enough to stimulate growth)
c) I keep detailed records of each and every workout, down to ½, even ¼ reps sometimes.

There are many, many others, but I those are a few major points.

4. Give us 5 quick tips about building muscle?

1) Always train with 100% intensity and effort.
2) Put all of your focus on moving more weight for more reps.
3) Incorporate squats and deadlifts into your program. If you aren’t performing both of these lifts you are dramatically hindering your gains.
4) Write down your goals and review them each day.
5) Pay more attention to good old fashioned hard work and less attention to pills and powders.

5. What’s the easiest thing I can do right now to see results in my exercise program?

If you aren’t already doing it, always bring a pen and paper to the gym and record the details of every workout you perform. Everytime you enter the gym you should know exactly what you did in the previous week and should aim to improve on it for the current week.

The entire basis for building muscle is to build strength, and if you are not paying close attention to the exact numbers, down to the ½ reps, you will not progress nearly as fast as you could.

"8 Things You MUST Do To Build Maximum Muscle Mass"

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