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From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge By Derek Gray From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter One: Laying Plans ................................................................................................... 4 Know Your Science........................................................................................................... 4 Have the right mindset..................................................................................................... 5 Chapter II: Diet and Dieting - Bitter Pill To Swallow ............................................................. 6 Set the Mark ..................................................................................................................... 6 To Eat More is To Lose Less ............................................................................................. 7 Know what type of food to Eat........................................................................................ 7 1. CARBOHYDRATES ..................................................................................................... 8 2. PROTEINS ................................................................................................................. 8 3. FATS .......................................................................................................................... 8 Back to Basics ................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter III: Building Muscles ---The Scrawny Route Out..................................................... 11 Working Out .................................................................................................................... 11 Start Light: ................................................................................................................... 12 Training Heavy: ............................................................................................................ 12 Focus on Multi-Jointed Lifts ........................................................................................ 12 Rest:............................................................................................................................. 13 Chapter IV: The Truth Is Out There ..................................................................................... 14 The Use of Supplements .................................................................................................14 Much ado about nothing.................................................................................................14 Exercise Bugs:.............................................................................................................. 14 Diet Bugs: .................................................................................................................... 15 Supplement Bugs: .......................................................................................................16 Eat, Drink and Be Merry! ..................................................................................................... 17 Chapter: From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Skinny Training 101 .......................................................................................................... 11 2 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Introduction Have you ever wondered why Pop-eye had to eat spinach every time he was about to face Brutus? Was this just a part of the cartoon or a humorous mockery of how men project themselves? Every time Pop-eye had to battle it out with the bigger guy, he always had to pop a can of spinach and he was sure to score victory while impressing the girl. That does not sound so cartoonish now, does it? Fast forward to the present century, no more Pop-eyes, no more spinach but still, the desire to possess both prestige and girl exists. Not that it translates to anything immoral or negative; it is just a basic human need. Just like food, work or shelter, we want respect from others and admiration too. Understanding why men (or women) want bulkier bodies is as easy as learning ABC. Skinny guys tend to have less than most men have. In school, bullies are usually heavier kids and later on in life, jocks would rule universities. Seldom, do you see a skinny guy getting the goods and ladies in one. This must be what Rod Stewart had in mind when he sang Some Guys have all the Luck -- because they just do. If the guys in the movie 300 had less toned bodies, would it have worked better? Would it have appeared more believable and glorious? The effect would not have been the same surely. The fact is better bodies appeal to everyone. In this case, less skinny and more toned body gets more points. If a cartoon character wanted it, then why should real men want less? Unlike the cartoon though, the deal does not get sealed by just a can of spinach. Poof! The similarities end here. A lot has been said on muscle building; many have come out with different workouts or claimed to have formulated the perfect diet. Some of them may be true and some may actually be just a way to get noticed but no matter the power still lies within you. The road has been paved and muscle building has spread like wildfire, now it has caught on you. Take advantage of what is already out there and make it count for you. Chapter: Introduction Let this book guide you out from that scrawny look and help begin with the transformation. 3 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Chapter One: Laying Plans Know Your Science The human body despite having the same anatomical features performs differently for each individual. To each his own, so to speak. Having the correct understanding of how the body works is elementary but knowing how your body meets your specific needs is crucial to the entire process of gaining weight or building muscles. This has been a common mistake for everyone who hoped to build muscles. Misguided information or in-style programs opened the horizon to mistaken directions. It is like having a goal and an assumption at the same time. You are assuming that religious gym workouts will lead you directly to the path of owning the beefed up body you have always wanted. Better get a lifetime membership or you will never get to see that coming. There is a difference between you and the other guy and it is not what you think it is. Generally, there are three types classifying the human body. These are the endomorphs, mesomorphs and ectomorphs. Endomorphs are usually men with larger body types; ectomorphs are the naturally skinny people while mesomorphs have the body type between the two. Skinny people have a fast metabolism and thus have the difficulty of gaining weight despite all efforts. This basically means that in order for you to finally start packing on those muscles, you must change the way you eat, right? Yes and no. Yes because it is true. To build muscles is to eat and as a skinny, you must eat more. But no because how would you know how much you need to gain if you go on in straight and eat? Know your territory and you will increase your chances of success by a wide margin. What you see may not be what you are getting. After you have taken a bath, do you, like many other guys, stare at the mirror and do some pose? Do you flex your left arm and kiss those bulging muscles? Do not worry, this Chapter: Chapter One: Laying Plans Ectomorphs, or the naturally skinny dudes do not have an easy time gaining weight. In bodybuilding, people who fall under the category are coined as “hardgainers”. These types of people characteristically have a high metabolism, which burns up calories very quickly. Owning a high metabolic rate simply means that the food breakdown in your body happens quicker than the average person. The food you eat gets broken down so fast before your body has the time to store some energy for repair and muscle building. 4 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge actually looks cute for a lot of women and so once in a while, make sure your woman is looking. But seriously, people look at their own bodies to see what needs improvement and this is good. Noticing is an advantage and it results to action. As the old adage goes, a journey begins with a single step. In this case, it begins with you. What is it that you want changed or to put it in a better context, what is it that you want enhanced? Start with the “right” foot and balance on the weighing scale. Being skinny may not always translate to a person being underweight. It is imperative to know your weight classification before you claim to want to gain weight or even build muscles. The body mass index will calculate your body’s fat percentage using your height and weight to measure. In general, a BMI of 20-25 is considered ideal. Other sources would note that a BMI of 18 is already considered underweight. However, It is important to remember however that BMI serves only as a guide and consulting the doctor about weight issues is still considered the best idea. Have the right mindset Many have succeeded in claiming victory with the battle against scrawniness. Each person defined by the intensity by which they have trained. Some advocate a five-day program while others go at it for years. In such cases, skinny people who are contemplating on gaining weight must focus on the why rather than the how. The readiness to start on packing some muscles is not gauged by how much one is willing to spend or the anticipation to the physical change that will happen. There are many external factors that may lead one to decide to gain muscle and leave the skinny look behind. Or there may just be the very reasons why it is important to change an image. Nevertheless, one has to remember that it is not the people out there who will soon wear on the new image, it is not them who will sweat it out in the gym or stop eating junk foods, it will be you and it will be your own body that will change. The path to building muscle is not just to be better physically, but also to be confident with being you. Chapter: Chapter One: Laying Plans What sets an individual apart in the completion of the goal is the tick that urges them to go through the process. The motivation behind the idea of wanting change is the best factor to propel a “hardgainer” to a better physique. Understanding that the road may have been walked on by other skinnies is just the bait. The only and real prerequisite to owning a better body is through self-motivation. 5 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Chapter II: Diet and Dieting - Bitter Pill To Swallow Packing on the muscle and gaining weight is distinct and unique for every person. Even if the idea may have come from a magazine, a TV show or from wanting to impress a girl, no matter it has served its purpose and has propelled you to carve your way into owning a better self. Nonetheless, the work is yet to be done. The first place to start with helping you gain weight is to understand the way you eat. Unfortunately, when the words diet or dieting comes to mind, lacking or deprived is sure to follow. So do not jump ship just yet as each individual has a distinctive path to follow. You just may be in for a treat! Eating is all about sustenance but knowing what to buy more and eat less is another thing. A balanced diet will provide nutrients for energy and muscle growth while exercise will boost muscle development. Set the Mark “ My current weight is ( ) and my recommended weight is ( ).” Get the difference and you now have yourself your Target Weight. It is essential to know and have this number in mind before going on a diet or training. II. Count your Calories Sadly, it is not enough to understand that skinnies need to keep in more calories than ever before. You have to keep tabs on the calories that you eat. This will not only make you hate working out but it will also make things easier as well. Not all calories are the same. Some calorie-giving foods do not provide you with the same calorie that is needed to pack on the decent muscle gain. Some foods have calories packed in them that are useless to muscle build up. It is imperative to know the difference between these. BTW, What is a calorie? Daily Caloric Intake? Caloric Density? Chapter: Chapter II: Diet and Dieting - Bitter Pill To Swallow Before altering your diet, first choose a target weight. Fill in the blanks: 6 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge A calorie measures the energy in food and beverages we take in. A calorie is needed to exist. Everything depends on the energy that comes in the form of calories. The food we eat becomes the fuel that runs our bodies. The amount of calorie people need is specific per individual. Factors that daily caloric intake depends on are age, height, weight, daily activity and body type. Once you know the number of calories you need to maintain your weight you can easily calculate the number of calories you need in order to gain weight. For optimum health, if you increase your calories to gain weight then gradually increase your level of physical exercise in order to maintain or increase your lean body mass. Caloric Density is defined as the amount of energy provided per unit measure of food. Calorie dense foods, such as fat and refined sugars, provide many calories in a small amount of food. Foods with low calorie density -- fruits, vegetables -- provide fewer total calories and greater nutrition in a larger volume of food. To Eat More is To Lose Less Eating must be done in the right manner too. It is not enough to know that an underweight has the liberty to eat as many as he can to gain weight. You are at liberty to eat more but it does not say that you have to eat like a pig. The keyword to all of this muscle building and gaining weight is healthy. Eat your way to a healthy and bulkier new you. Add two or three more meals to the standard three meals a day program. Or better yet, munch on food every two or three hours to keep your body full of the much-needed nutrients needed to turn it into a lean and mean new you! Know what type of food to Eat You know calories, metabolism and BMI’s but do you know what nutrients you need to pack on the weight? The matter of diet or the food that you will be eating while on the way to being a brawn cannot be second-guessed. Diet is essential to any body conscious person or to any healthy person for that matter. This is no trending topic and cannot be considered lightly when weight is the subject. Chapter: Chapter II: Diet and Dieting - Bitter Pill To Swallow Because skinny or underweight people have a high metabolic rate, it is advised to increase on the frequency of meals. To put it bluntly, you have to eat like you have never eaten before. Eat more to lose less calories that your type of body metabolizes. To gain mass, you should eat around 18-20 times your bodyweight in calories. The surplus in calories will be used to create new muscles and repair body tissues in the process of gaining weight. 7 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge The primary nutrients to build muscle are carbohydrates, fats and high protein foods. It will be helpful to know the details and so read on. 1. CARBOHYDRATES They are the most important source of energy for your body. But many people stay away from carbohydrates when gaining weight or staying fit. The fact is, carbohydrates play a huge rule in building muscle and eliminating them from your diet may impede a good work out plan. As the main source of energy, carbohydrates spare the breakdown of protein. If the body has no more supply of carbohydrates in the body, it will then utilize other sources of energy like protein --- which should have been saved for muscle build up. Complex carbohydrates are the best as they are slow releasing. Simple carbohydrates like fruit juices, energy drinks should be restricted to around workouts period as they provide immediately useable energy which if not used will be stored as fat. Some of the best complex carbohydrates are: Bread, Brown rice, oatmeal, Bagel, Pasta, Cereals, Potatoes, beans, Quinoa and green leafy vegetables. 2. PROTEINS Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle. Athletes may require quite a bit more than this to support muscle repair, increased growth and to protect against the general hardships of vigorous training and competing. 3. FATS Fats are responsible for keeping the hormone producing glands in your body active including testosterone, which is the most famous one for muscle building. The benefits of using fats in your diet to gain weight is far and wide, from boosting natural hormone levels such as testosterone, to transporting vitamins throughout your body, to even helping with the digestion of protein. Fats are essential to muscle building BUT must be taken in moderation are: Saturated Fats, Essential Fatty Acids and Monounsaturated Fats. Back to Basics After knowing the general type of food needed for gaining weight and muscle building, digging for the specifics should not hurt. To properly gain weight, one has to step up the level of food intake. But which food group should be eaten the most from, and what food should one eat the most? These are just some of the questions a skinny is left to Chapter: Chapter II: Diet and Dieting - Bitter Pill To Swallow The best sources for protein are: meat, fish, chicken, beans, milk, in soy products like tofu and in lesser amounts in nuts and grains. 8 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge answer. Knowing all the nitty-gritties may have just crowded the table and messed up your diet all the more. Fear Not! The best way to start with the diet change is to set all realistic goals and make realistic targets to gain which is easy to achieve. Eat more and eat more frequently. Another way to gaining weight and forcing down all that food less of a chore is to choose foods with a higher calorie density. Higher Caloric Density Foods of Calorie-Dense Foods are the type of food that provides many calories in a small amount of food. By consuming them, you can get more calories in the same amount of food. Nuts and oil seeds are in general loaded with healthy calories, so you can include nuts like almonds, walnuts, pistachio nuts cashew nuts, groundnuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds or any other nuts or oilseeds according to your choice. Dried fruits are also excellent choice or can be good fillers in between meals these include - seedless black dates, dried figs, raisins and apricots. You can choose a dry fruit milkshake like cashew and fig milkshake is very palatable. • Sesame Butter (Tahini) • Whole Wheat Crackers • Raisins • Dates • Whole Wheat Bread • Dried Apricots • Coconut Milk • Avocados • Brown Rice • Oatmeal (Oats) • Grape Juice, Pineapple Juice, Apple Juice, Orange Juice (100%) Say NO to junk foods, processed and excess oily foods. These foods will be very attractive way to gain weight but once you develop any wrong eating habits then it will be difficult to get away with. Also include protein and fats to help you gain weight. Any food that has high amount of carbohydrates and protein qualifies as best muscle building food. Chapter: Chapter II: Diet and Dieting - Bitter Pill To Swallow Below is a sample of High Caloric Density Foods Ideal for Weight Gainers: 9 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Owning the proper dietary habit is very important in a weight gain program. Disciplining yourself to stick with your diet is a crucial part of itching yourself out of the skinny suit you are in today. The Agents of Change: The foods that matter to gain weight. Simple carbohydrates such as fruit have higher calorie densities than vegetables because simple carbs are more concentrated and have less fiber. Fruit juice is even more concentrated than the fruit itself. Complex carbohydrates (starches) such as whole grains, pasta, cereals, beans, yams, potatoes and rice also have higher calorie densities than fibrous carbs. The best proteins for gaining muscle are the lean ones like chicken, lean beef, egg whites, turkey and fish. Lean cuts of red meat like round or flank steak are excellent for gaining weight. Avoid fatty cuts of beef, as well as pork, sausage, bacon and whole milk products because they contain large amounts of artery-clogging, unhealthy saturated fat. Fat can also have a major impact on the calorie content of foods. Any food that has a lot of fat in it will have a high calorie density. Chapter: Chapter II: Diet and Dieting - Bitter Pill To Swallow With the proper attitude, approach and craving, you are now ready to start gaining weight the leaner way. Combine with appropriate work out and things will work out fine. 1 0 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Chapter III: Building Muscles ---The Scrawny Route Out If spa is to women then the gym is to guys. There is absolutely no guy who does not want to hit the gym anytime and anywhere. The gym is definitely a guys’ spa – sweating, crunching and coming off it feeling all refreshed and relaxed. Now, does this sound a lot like the three-letter word? Hmm, this must be the reason why men love going to the gym. But kidding aside, guys do good deeds while in the gym which converts to their over-all manliness. The sweaty odor and sight of other guys’ bodybuilding must be a kicker to many. The control to manipulate their own body and desire to look and feel good, though, is what many would say that brings them to the gym. Nothing beats a good work out, some would even say. To maximize a workout program, it must be well adjusted to the build of the trainee. Adapting to a regimen that has been popularized is not the right thing to do at all. Wanting the same result seen from another man’s body is normal but doing it exactly in a similar manner may just ruin the whole idea of your own transformation. Working Out Underweight, Skinny or “hardgainers” must start on a routine unlike any other. Remember that it should not be enough to just increase pounds or put on some muscles. Gaining weight the wrong way can lead to obesity and muscle bulge in the wrong places that eternally distort your proportion. Mismanaged diet and gym hours are just some of the many funny ways that can forever leave you in the spotlight. The leeway to eat more has been given to the guy with high metabolic rate – that extra intake will definitely gain you some weight. But alas, that is just the beginning. The second and more important obstacle is to challenge your body with training to help that extra calorie grow muscle in the right place. Skinny Training 101 The other guys at the gym have their own regimen to follow. Do not create a disaster of yourself by following his workout and not sticking to yours. It is not that you do not want bigger muscles but want bigger muscles that are proportionate to your size. Never Chapter: Chapter III: Building Muscles ---The Scrawny Route Out Working out, in the gym or at home, is different for everybody. Much like the progress to building muscles is unlike that of someone trying to cut some pounds. To achieve the desired physical outcome specific workouts or routines must be followed. Skinny or not skinny, building muscles the right way is crucial to looking good all over. 1 1 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge forget the science of body types and metabolic rates, he may just ruin your six day fast forward routine if you keep looking the other way. For starters, naturally thinner people have different responses to training than most people and cannot recover at the same rate. This means that there is a chance that you might not be able to tolerate the muscle building routines that those with bigger bodies can endure. Do not rush your fitness regimen. As a beginner, it is best to start out slow first to stimulate muscle growth without “shocking” your body. Start Light: Strength Training is an essential component of exercise programs for increasing muscular strength, muscular endurance and muscle size. However, when just starting a workout routine, the focus should be on form and intensity, not the amount of weight you can lift. I.E. when you start out, you should not be trying to keep up with the guy bench pressing 315 pounds for 10 reps. Training Heavy: First and foremost, you must make sure you have correct form for your lifts, and that you are working the targeted muscle groups. Because of this you will need to start out lighter, as I previously stated, so you can avoid injury. Second, once you have somewhat mastered the form required for the core lifts, you will need to find a weight that you can actually do for the required amount of sets. I would recommend sets between 8-10 reps one week and 4-6 reps the very next week. These two weeks with varying repetitions constitute a cycle. The goal is to continually increase the weight you’re lifting every cycle by at least 10 pounds, depending on the lift. It will be very important that you chart the weight, so you’ll know how much weight you’ll need to lift on subsequent weeks. Again, the term lifting heavy is very relative. Just keep a slow and steady approach of ever-increasing weight and proper form and you will get stronger and bigger. Focus on Multi-Jointed Lifts Multi-jointed exercises are those that stimulate the most amounts of muscle fibers. For those needing to gain weight, this is ideal because these lifts put your body under the most amount of stress. This is the stress that will shock your nervous system and cause the greatest release of muscle building hormones. This results in increased muscle gain all over the body. Chapter: Chapter III: Building Muscles ---The Scrawny Route Out The term lifting heavy is a very subjective one. Technically your muscles have no idea how much you have on the bar. The thing about working out is that if you stress the muscles then they will grow. (motto: If you stress it, it will grow) Many newbies believe they have to lift as much weight as humanly possible, whenever they hit the gym. This is totally wrong. 1 2 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Examples of Multi-Jointed Lifts: Squats Deadlifts Pull-ups Dips Power Cleans & Hang Cleans Bent Over Rows Military Press Rest: More training does not equal more muscle growth. Understand that the purpose of weight training is to stimulate muscle growth. Once that has been done, the muscle needs to be repaired and new muscle needs to be built. Chapter: Chapter III: Building Muscles ---The Scrawny Route Out “You do not build muscle in the gym, you build muscle when resting!” 1 3 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Chapter IV: The Truth Is Out There The publicity in the world of fitness is voluminous – no wonder many get lost while training. Opening a magazine or listening to a gym-buddy can likewise lead you further down the rabbit hole. Needless to say, you have reached this far and have gathered enough information to stand your ground. Additional material cannot be that bad, right? The Use of Supplements The dictionary conveniently defines supplement as something added to complete a thing, make up for a deficiency, or extend or strengthen the whole. The most common users of supplements are athletes and bodybuilders. Supplements commonly used include vitamins, minerals, protein, creatine, and various ‘‘ergogenic’’ compounds. But just as the word suggests, supplements only exist to supplement something else, a good diet, or a good training program perhaps. There is probably nothing wrong with using supplements just as long as there is full understanding of their potential risks and benefits. It has been proven that the use of supplements does not compensate for poor food choices. Where a nutrient deficiency is demonstrated, supplements may provide a short-term solution until a dietary solution can be identified and implemented. Much ado about nothing Myths can do two things – scare you to continue on or make you stick with it providing no benefit at all. But there surely won’t be any harm knowing what these are. It really is difficult to determine whether or not claims made by diet and fitness people are true or false. This type of hype is found elsewhere, but fitness and diet products have it really bad. Exercise Bugs: The more that you workout, the larger and better your gains Chapter: Chapter IV: The Truth Is Out There Much hype has surrounded the use of supplements over the years as athletes have continuously been charged with doping allegations. Noteworthy these are athletes with a complete set of medical people monitoring their routines, diets and training. Despite these, many still get in trouble even the point of being stripped of their achievements. To serve as a precaution, different sports organizations have developed policies on sports supplements. Being a beginner to all of this, it is best to begin your journey with the right diet and proper training before deciding to use supplements in your regimen. 1 4 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge This is a commonplace mistake beginners generally make. Training only 3-4 days each week for an hour or so each session has been proved to be effective for the majority of those wanting to build muscle. If you take a week off you will lose most of your gains Taking one or two weeks off occasionally will not harm your training. By taking this time off every eight to ten weeks in between strength training cycles it has the habit of refreshing you and to heal those small niggling injuries. No pain no gain This is one myth that hangs on and on. Pain is your body signaling that something is wrong. If you feel real pain during a workout, stop your workout and rest. To develop muscle and increase endurance you may need to have a slight level of discomfort, but that's not actual pain. You need to work out for at least 30 minutes - otherwise, it’s not even worth doing. There have been studies showing that splitting workout sessions into smaller chunks (1020 minutes each) provides similar benefits to one extended workout and in some cases actually increases the number of calories burned. But successful natural muscle building is a balance. It demands adequate rest time between sets so as to bypass the cardio building capacity of muscle tissue. With a demand for a bit more rest time between sets and a decent number of exercises for wellrounded development, workouts often need to be more than one hour. Muscles grow from “overload” followed by adequate recuperation. In fact, if you simply have a long series of successful workouts partnered with irregular successful recuperations, your muscles will get bigger – period! Diet Bugs: By working out you can eat what ever you want to Working out does not give you an open license to consume as many calories as you want. Although you will burn more calories if you workout than someone who doesn't, you still need to balance your energy intake with you energy expenditure. By eating more protein I can build bigger muscles Completely untrue! Traditional nutrition theory states that the body can only metabolize an exact amount of protein per hour and that excessive daily intake can cause weight Chapter: Chapter IV: The Truth Is Out There Keep changing up your routine so you can “shock” your muscles 1 5 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge gain, kidney problems, osteoporosis, or diarrhea. Taking an overdose of protein can even lead to a loss of appetite. Drink your protein powder within thirty minutes of finishing workout taking more advantage of the “window of opportunity” The notion is that muscle recovery can begin faster – and thus be more efficient. But there is no evidence whatsoever to support the notion that a “window of opportunity” in which nutrient uptake is maximized exists immediately concluding a workout. Supplement Bugs: Taking steroids will make me huge Not true, strength training and correct nutrition will grow muscle. Taking steroids without training will not make you muscular. Most steroids allow faster muscle growth through greater recovery, while others help increase strength, which allows for greater stress to be put onto a muscle. Without food to build the muscle or training to stimulate it nothing will happen. Most of the weight gain seen with the use of some steroids is due to water retention and is not actual muscle. Steroids build muscle without working out Chapter: Chapter IV: The Truth Is Out There There is no miracle pill or drug that you can take to change your body composition overnight (or in a few weeks for that matter). If you aren’t satisfied with yourself and want to make a change, the ONLY way is to work at it. You must keep a healthy lifestyle. 1 6 From Scrawny to Brawny: A Hardgainer’s Revenge Eat, Drink and Be Merry! The science has been uncovered, the food has been revealed and the routine unveiled. The power is now within grasp to see changes. Let no amount of dieting or strength training take you away from what you really want. To be comfortable with who you are. And that may just probably be the best trick that you have got your sleeve. The road is definitely not easy but it sure is an exciting one. With the right mindset, no amount of dieting or strength training can take you farther from your goal. Allow the information in this book to guide you and beat down all the challenges up ahead. Never forgetting that in the long run, your body will be better to look at in the mirror. Focus on the essentials and do not be afraid to acquire new knowledge on how to step up your game. The world is filled with the many innovations of science and has become an ever-changing society, do not allow yourself to get lost and always maintain your focus. Your desire to build muscle and gain a healthy weight will surely pave the way to a better future. Here’s to the new Muscular You, Derek Gray Chapter: Eat, Drink and Be Merry! www.HardgainersRevenge.com 1 7