Old School High-Intensity Powerbuilding, Nutrition, and Hormonal

Balance Manual for the Muscle-Commando of the Future

Build strength and size every week, save time by training briefly and intensely, reignite the
passion and do your part in forging the new golden era – THE CHROME ERA

Musclewave USA
musclewaveusa.com

@musclewaveusa
 WE ARE AT WAR
We are at war for health and aesthetics in the modern age.
The enemy is everywhere – on billboards, in our phones and TV’s, in our food supply and
plastics.…
But our guerilla lifters are also everywhere.
We are in every gym, we are at every beach; we’re lifting in the sun on the mountain tops, and
training in the shadows of dungeon gyms.
We’re roaming college campuses and stationed in high-rises of the corporate world. We’re in
every major city, on every continent – our Iron Cult of Aesthetics knows no bounds.
Our underground Army of Meatheads is behind enemy lines. We bear unknown art and deal
secret information. We are Commandos with a higher purpose.
Our calling is a noble bodybuilding rebellion, an aesthetic revolution – A MEATHEAD MUTINY!
And if you’re reading this…you are the resistance.

2
 What is Musclewave?
Musclewave is the hair-raising, test-pumping, vein-splitting fusion of retro bodybuilding
attitude and synthwave art. It is aggressive and unapologetic. It is not for everyone.
We are a MASS movement dedicated to the ideals of strength and beauty, of Sun and Steel. But
our focus is not an obsession with the past…
We don’t believe greatness is an intangible thing, locked away and only worshipped from the
trophy cases of a bygone era. Greatness is real. It’s tangible. And it’s something we ought to
strive for.
"The cynicism that regards hero worship as comical is always shadowed by a sense of physical
inferiority." - Yukio Mishima, Sun and Steel
When the opportunity arises, we must be ready. This is why we train—to answer the call when
the hour strikes and the horn resounds!
So it is in this spirit that a new art form has been created to represent the will of the people and
provide an ideal for the bodybuilding world of the future: Musclewave.
And as Chief Bodybuilding Propagandist of this movement, it is Dr. Musclewave’s task to arm
our Chrome Era Commandos with motivation, education, entertainment, and beauty in this
noble struggle for power.

3
 Why We Are ‘Retro Bodybuilding Propaganda’
Bodybuilding ‘motivation’ is one-dimensional. Its only purpose is to motivate.
While this is important, it is only one pillar to a larger goal (similar to how nutrition is important,
but is only one pillar of bodybuilding). Popular motivation attempts to please everyone, losing
its edge as it becomes flat and limp-wristed.
…motivation for everyone, becomes motivation for no one…
Propaganda is more.
It is appealing, entertaining, educating, motivating…
It is defined as: “usually biased information, ideas, opinions, or images…spread with the
intention of influencing people’s opinions for an aim or cause”. Musclewave is an entering of
the fray, against the grain. A rebellion with a cause…
We are biased: toward strength and physique.
We do intend to influence: our own to success and achievement.
And we are not just ‘bodybuilding motivation’ or media for everyone…
WE ARE BODYBUILDING PROPAGANDA
AND WE ARE MEDIA FOR THE MASSIVES

4
 The Dawning of a New Era: THE PAST IS THE FUTURE
Bodybuilding has seen different stages of aesthetics.
There was the Silver Era, a time when men like Steve Reeves and Vince Gironda championed.
This laid the foundation for bodybuilding from the 1940’s through the 1960’s.
Then there was the Golden Era of the ‘70’s, ‘80’s, and ‘90’s—the time many point to as the
peak. Myths and legends were brought to life. Arnold, Franco, Gaspari, Platz, Mentzer,
Yates…the age of the greats.
But even then, there were powers in control behind the scenes, pulling the strings. Their
tyranny manipulated and distorted the real meaning of the pursuit. It sold out to the
mainstream and devolved into a vehicle for booming profits—pushing lunkish simpletons,
dandies prancing around on Tik-Tok, or mutant aesthetics without concern for health and
appearance.
People forgot why they started, forgot the real reason they first picked up a dumbbell on day
one.
We have not seen a time since the Golden Era that is a true ideal of stiff attitude and sexy
aesthetics…until now.
Enter: THE CHROME ERA
A Testosterone-fueled mania of explosive, ass-kicking, neck-snapping energy…
Old School training and ‘secret’ knowledge for an 80’s physique, with a glitch…
Legions of high-IQ men dedicated to the advancement of the mind and body…
Bringing back this glory is our task. It is our Holy Crusade of Iron. It is the Musclewave Mission.
We press on eager and light-footed, reclaiming the glory and bringing it back to the future,
starting our own golden era…The Chrome Era.
The foundation of our creation is the potent mixture of powerlifting and bodybuilding: mass
and power, strength and size, physique and might—powerbuilding!

5
 The Plan
What you are about to read is a comprehensive manual, weaving together training, science,
nutrition, and motivation. Equipped with an actionable training regimen, our goal is building
size and strength every single workout.
We are going to smash through plateaus and see why this “logical approach to bodybuilding”
should have been how we took to the iron all along.
All while working out only 3-4 days per week, at 30-45 minutes per session…saving time,
working with intensity and efficiency, and crushing tangible goals.
Training should not be a haphazard, roll-of-the-dice gamble for your chance at making progress.
It should be a straightforward, linear path to growth, strength, physique, and achievement.
Using the High-Intensity Training (HIT) principles of Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates as our core
for Training, we are going to fully grasp the Exercise Science behind bodybuilding and strength
training.
And using Deep Nutrition and Estrogeneration as our core for Nutrition and Natural Hormone
Production, we are going to understand how to fully optimize our progress.
Synthesized into one glorious, highly potent formula, we’ll be able to take this total approach
and become Muscle-Commandos for our beautiful future.
This book is your weapon—your weathered rifle, your standard-issue AK-47.
Without you, it is nothing.
But armed with knowledge and a plan in one hand, and hard work and dedication in the other,
there is no enemy that can stop you.
This is not your influencer’s fitness advice…
THIS IS ANABOLIC COMMAND
And in this apocalyptic age of ugliness that has rendered truth and beauty revolutionary acts…
YOU ARE THE RESISTANCE!

6
“Man's proper stature is not one of mediocrity, failure, frustration, or defeat, but one of
achievement, strength, and nobility. In short, man can and ought to be a hero.” – Mike Mentzer

I am not a healthcare or medical professional. None of what you are about to read
should be taken as directives or advice.

The contents of this book are the sole opinions of a madman, though direct
quotations have been used and cited accordingly.

As always, you should consult your local doctor, therapist, and/or gynecologist
to determine if you’re healthy enough to engage in flexual activity.

Let’s begin.

7
8
 Knock Knock, Neo
If you train to build muscle mass, you are a bodybuilder.
Many feel they haven’t earned this title because they don’t compete. But if you are “building
your body” in any capacity, by definition you’re a bodybuilder. And I address you as such in this
book. This does not take anything away from those distinguished individuals who train at an
already highly advanced level and/or compete. They have earned themselves the higher title of
professionals.
In bodybuilding, there is no one area that is more important than another. It is a complete and
total endeavor.
This book is therefore divided into 3 chapters, each with sub-sections::
1. Training
2. Nutrition
3. Natural Hormone Balance
These are the pillars.
I do not claim any of the information contained in this book to be my own invention. On the
contrary, I do my best to properly cite and give due credit to their origins.
The training program has been constructed by our very own Eli Lazar (@elijah.lazar), himself a
competitive NPC Classic Physique Bodybuilder, in line with the Heavy Duty/High-Intensity
progress documented in the Training chapter. And while I have written the book using some of
my own examples and terms, the concrete foundation has been inspired by 4 great works:
1. Heavy Duty (and Heavy Duty Nutrition) by Mike Mentzer
2. A Portrait of Dorian Yates: The Life and Training Philosophy of the World’s Best
Bodybuilder by Dorian Yates and John Little
3. Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food by Dr. Catherine Shanahan
4. Estrogeneration: How Estrogenics Are Making You Fat, Sick, and Infertile by Dr.
Anthony G. Jay
Mentzer and Yates (through their mentor, Arthur Jones) provide the groundwork for most of
our High-Intensity Training as well as some of the Nutrition, while Deep Nutrition and
Estrogeneration provide the groundwork for Nutrition and Natural Hormone Balance.
While this book has been written for bodybuilders of all stages of development, from high
school gym rat to the bald, cut-off-jean-and-boots-wearing monster at the bench (assuming he
can read), the training program is not for competitive bodybuilders, competitive powerlifters,
or otherwise advanced-expert level weightlifters.

9
Because I am not a competitive bodybuilder/powerlifter or expert weightlifter, it would be
hypocritical and unethical of me to advise those in a training program. Therefore, the actual
training program has been created for those of beginner-intermediate experience.
That having been said, the science behind Training, Nutrition, and Natural Hormone Balance is
information and therefore can be applicable to anyone.
This book is not a recommendation to do or not do certain things. I am not preaching from the
gym’s soapbox, nor am I claiming to be a model figure for all the science included. I am not a
scientist, doctor, professional… I am just your friendly, neighborhood bodybuilding
propagandist.
I have attempted to assemble here information most relevant to bodybuilding progress and
holistic health. It is a presentation of gathered information from over 10 years of study,
practice, and trial-and-error, relying heavily on material from those more qualified and more
successful than I am.
Take what you’d want from it, leave what you don’t. Ultimately, you are the best judge in the
world for what is (or isn’t) working for you.
While none of this information is secret, most of what you are about to read has either been
suppressed or otherwise made very hard to find. It has been fire-tested through my own
experience, as well as through the experience (and greater success) of countless others.
In a world drowning in empty words and hollow phrases, finding quality information that works
is like finding a needle in a hay stack.
It is the aim of this book to be an assembled stack of needles.

10
 The Mainstream Regime: A Land of Confusion
Most theories pushed in the mainstream bodybuilding community are not based in facts.
“Workout 6 days a week, 2-3 hours per day, train with 30 sets per body part, eat 3 grams of
protein per pound of bodyweight, use 3 sets of 10 reps…”
The mainstream (fitness articles, muscle magazines, online forums, social media ‘gurus’, etc.)
has repeated these talking points so often that they have become ingrained in the minds of
aspiring bodybuilders everywhere. To the point where many ‘influencers’ are just repeating
theories they themselves may not understand. They can attain admirable physiques and not
understand how the muscular system develops.
Example: everyone’s favorite 20-something entrepreneur-gym-bro yelling in the IG Live videos
at 4am about how he just drank 3 gallons of water, meditated for 45 minutes, and consumed
3,000 calories of chicken and white rice, spaced 2-3 hours apart…and how you should be more
dedicated like him.
“Most bodybuilders fail to recognize that muscle magazines are not science journals, but
rather commercial catalogues whose primary reason for existence is to sell nutritional
supplements and exercise equipment.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty
This has caused an echo-chamber of talking points that are so ‘everywhere’ that the mass of
people take them for truths. But repeating an error 1,000 times does not make it a truth.
The mainstream bodybuilding dogma is a house built on sand, not on the bedrock of exercise
science. And in the endless chatter, it has caused unbelievable confusion.
Is there a science to it or isn’t there? Are we all different and grow muscle differently? Are carbs
making me fat? Do I really need to work out twice a day, 6 days a week? To train low weight,
high volume or high weight, low volume? Is my body just incapable of making progress because
of genetics?!
There’s a reason the first chapter of Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty is titled “Bodybuilders Are
Confused!”
But he cuts through the smoke and mirrors, striking the heart of the beast, “If exercise is a
science, then by definition, there should be concrete principles that must work and apply
universally.”
Indeed there are, referred to as Exercise Science. And understanding and implementing these
principles in Training, Nutrition, and Natural Hormone Balance is the rational, “logical approach
to bodybuilding”.
“There is no good reason why you should proceed with your bodybuilding career
confused and uncertain any longer. Progress should not be an irregular, unpredictable or

11
even nonexistent phenomenon. A rational approach to bodybuilding, one based on an
understanding and implementation of the scientific principles of exercise and nutrition,
will put you on a more satisfying path of regular progress.”—Mike Mentzer

12
 Exercise Science
Arthur Jones was an eccentric renaissance man, a combination of: ‘mad scientist’, bodybuilder,
businessman, pilot, and inventor of the famous Nautilus Machines (to name just a few of his
titles).
Spending tens of millions of his own personal fortune (which he made through his successful
business ventures), he self-funded private exercise/training research conducted on the grounds
of his own Nautilus Training facilities in the 1960’s.
As he studied and understood Exercise Science, he broke away from the established fitness-
science circles of the time, creating his own formula for bodybuilding progress based in his
discovery of High-Intensity Training (HIT) principles.
He became the scientist-trainer of Casey Viator who then won the 1971 Mr. America contest in
York, Pennsylvania at the age of 19.
Imagine a white-lab-coat-and-clipboard scientist observing a physical specimen with tabs and
wires attached to his muscles
Casey was being compared to the greats of the sport—Arnold, Franco Columbo, Dave Draper,
etc.—but what made his achievement more interesting (besides his age), was that he was
training for less than 3 hours per week under the ‘mad scientist’ Arthur Jones!
Meanwhile, Arnold and company were training the often advertised 4-6 hours per day, 6 days a
week…
It was at that contest that Casey met Mike Mentzer, a young, up-and-coming bodybuilder…and
hero of our saga.

13
 Mike Mentzer: Frustrated Beginnings
Mentzer, religiously following the dogma of the mainstream, was battling stagnation, lack of
progress, fatigue, and confusion.
“…I found myself in a situation similar to that experienced by many aspiring
bodybuilders…I avidly read all the muscle magazines, and had memorized the training
routines, dietary regimens, and even the personal habits of all the top champs.”
He followed the ‘more is better’ principles, lifting 3 hours a day, 6 days a week. But after an
extreme level of dedication, he was so disappointed with his lack of progress that his
motivation waned as he felt he would have to give up his dreams of bodybuilding success. He
figured if 3 hours weren’t enough with 30 sets per bodypart, he would need to lift 4 hours per
day.
“And it was difficult to justify spending even more time in the gym every day, as I was
already tired from my 12-hour work days in the Air Force and the three-hour daily
workouts. If developing a championship physique meant giving up all social life and
spending one-fourth of my waking hours in some dank gymnasium, it just wasn’t worth
it.” –Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty
Because of Mentzer’s personality and impressing physical potential, Casey urged him to speak
to his mentor, Arthur Jones.

14
 The Meeting of Arthur Jones
Mentzer was eager to learn and called Jones that day, but had to leave a message. Jones called
back ‘later on’. From Mentzer’s Heavy Duty:
“…at 2 a.m. the next morning, something, I learned later, that was typical of the
radically independent businessman.
“Before I could suggest that it might be more appropriate that we speak later that day
when I had my wits about me, Jones launched into an impassioned disquisition
concerning the actual nature of productive exercise, as opposed to that which was being
promulgated in the muscle magazines.
“So awe-inspiring was his fiery oratory that the leaden fumes of my somnambulistic
stupor evaporated in short order. For well over an hour, I listened in rapt attention as
Jones explained to me, in the most scrupulously objective language imaginable, the
cause-and-effect relationship between intense exercise and muscular growth; and why,
in light of the fact that the body’s ability to tolerate such demanding exercise is limited,
high-intensity training had to be brief and infrequent.”—Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty
Some big words there as Mike flexes his intellectual prowess, but the message was clear: Jones
knew what he was talking about.
Mentzer switched to a High-Intensity Training (HIT) program and, “…within only a year and a
half, my mediocre physique underwent such a dramatic transformation that I was able to easily
win the Mr. America contest.”
Mentzer would go on to learn the Exercise Science of bodybuilding extensively, applying this
“logical approach to bodybuilding” to his own undeniable achievement.

15
 The HIT Man: Golden Era Bodybuilder and…Philosopher?
Mentzer’s success became widespread. Charming wide audiences with his intellectual charisma,
unwavering moral beliefs, iron-clad loyalty to truth and a scientific approach to bodybuilding –
his style was unlike any other. He was beginning to be heard.
And in 1978, he officially became a professional when he won the Mr. Universe with the first
ever perfect score of 300.
But after peaking behind the curtain and uncovering the dark reality about the industry—that
he believed was selling lies and misleading many to confusion and failure—he rejected the
glittering dollar signs the supplement/magazine promotions offered him.
An ardent objectivist influenced by philosophy and dedicated to truth, and feeling a holy
responsibility to the next generation of young men as a model, he not only rejected the fame
presented to him by ‘the system’, but mounted a bold counterattack on its misinformation and
plundering campaign.
He was blacklisted for his honesty – upsetting his chances of deals and sponsorships, and his
name and mission were suppressed from the media. And after a particularly questionable 1980
Mr. Olympia contest, he vowed never to compete in the sport again.
It was from these struggles that he created his own path—the training system he named
“Heavy Duty”.
“…a lone, solitary voice of reason was heard in the bodybuilding wilderness. It had to
compete against the loud, confusing din of conflicting opinion, the echoes of tradition
and, not least of all, the booming exclamation of commercial interests…This voice of
reason belonged to a Pennsylvania native by the name of Michael John Mentzer.” –John
Little, Senior Writer, FLEX Magazine, in his introduction to Heavy Duty
Through the deceit and the darkness of confusion, Mike Mentzer attempted to bear a light of
truth and hope.
He was not an armchair academic writing volumes about theories he never applied, but
himself a living, breathing, massive example of his ideas put to practice. This is why The HIT
Man has such a diehard cult of personality and fanatical following.
Everyone knows Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Mentzer… is only for the initiated.

16
 The Noble Lineage
Mentzer’s ‘outside the system’ work directly impacted champions Dorian Yates (6-time Mr.
Olympia), Aaron Baker, “Barbarian Brothers” David and Peter Paul, Markus Reinhardt, Boyer
Coe, Dante Trudel, and countless others of lesser stardom. And his magnanimous influence
continues even to this day.
Dorian Yates would go on to create his own variation of Heavy Duty which he called Blood and
Guts, explaining the philosophy in his own book, A Portrait of Dorian Yates. (He writes three
separate times that Mentzer not only greatly influenced him, but that the High-Intensity Heavy
Duty Training system provided the foundation for his own).
Dante Trudel created DC Training (another variation built on Heavy Duty), working for many
bodybuilders today, including IFBB Professional bodybuilder Dusty Henshaw. Henshaw is the
current trainer of our very own competitive NPC Classic Physique Bodybuilder Eli Lazar
(@elijah_lazar), creator of our workout regimen and my personal friend.
What began as a creative spark inspired by science in Jones, was carried by Viator, until the
flame reached Mentzer, a barrel of black powder unable to be silenced.
From there, it hit Yates who engulfed the scene in victory and success. After the ‘90’s, Heavy
Duty went underground in embers, but lived on in Trudel, who passed it to Henshaw, and
ultimately Lazar. And now you.
We hold in our hands this same fire that has traveled across time to reach us. It is we who now
carry the torch.

17
 Renegade Science
Not unlike the hostile-to-truth climate that Jones, Mentzer, and Yates faced, today there are
again principles of health and science that are suppressed.
With a strong focus on hormonal production and balance (and the pivotal role these things play
on our health, even affecting the DNA of our offspring), there is a “secret science” promulgated
by a few bold scientists. And this knowledge towards lesser known science has been well-
documented by these daring experts.
Catherine Shanahan, M.D., author of Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food,
and Anthony G. Jay, Ph.D., author of Estrogeneration: How Estrogenics Are Making You Fat,
Sick, and Infertile, have shown a bright light onto the enormous dangers threatening us in the
modern world. Their books explain that what we eat, what we do, and the
products/environments we are exposed to, affect our health down to the genetic level.
These honorable scientists have undertaken a fight for truth, contrary to established opinion.
And their research and work has laid the groundwork featured in the Nutrition and Natural
Hormonal Production sections of this piece.
Jones, Mentzer, and Yates for Training and Nutrition; Dr. Shanahan and Dr. Jay for Nutrition
and Natural Hormone Production
But I must also mention that this book carries a last, even lesser known, influence.

18
 The Mind and Body
Recently and across various social media platforms, a new bodybuilding community began to
form.
What started (mostly on Twitter) as a small, ‘fringe’ group of young bodybuilding and
philosophy enthusiasts, began to grow into a holistic health-focused, energetic community that
reignited the fires of aesthetic revolution. It has now become a massive movement of loyal
compatriots—providing hope and insights from across the world.
It was from these bodybuilder-creators, dedicated to the evolvement of mind and body, that I
was first shown some of the original sources for this material (i.e. Deep Nutrition and
Estrogeneration). I have included many of their accounts and names at the end of this work.
It is for this group and its following—recreational and competitive bodybuilders, beginner and
intermediate health fanatics—that this work has been undertaken.
I am proud to belong to such a community.
“Man, is an indivisible entity, an integrated unit of mind and body.” –Mike Mentzer
And since Mentzer and Yates—these bodybuilding titans of yesteryear—were also convinced of
the development of the mind and body, they have become spirit-heroes for our fight in the
modern world.
They fought against the lies and suppression methods of their day, no different than many
creators and lesser-known scientists do in ours. In a sense, they were the first among us.
We pay our respects by carrying the mantle.
Let’s dig in.
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” –Goethe

19
TRAINING

20
 Exercise Science
The human body grows from different training in different ways.

Exercise Science is the study of this adaptive response (growth) to different demands (training).

If you want to develop the ability to run long distances, your training needs to induce the sort of
adaptation that will allow your endurance to build.

If you want to develop larger and stronger muscles, your training needs to induce the sort of adaptation
that requires the body to build muscle tissue.

The training, or “demand”, that you must place on the body to get this adaptive result is not the same
for these two goals. The training is unique to specific forms of growth. In physiology, this is known as the
SAID principle: “specific adaptation to imposed demands”.

There are two types of exercise, broadly speaking: aerobic exercise and anerobic exercise.

a. Aerobic Exercise (literally “with air”) is physical exercise of low-medium intensity for a longer
period of time. It engages our slow-twitch muscle fibers and is the training of our
cardiorespiratory (cardiovascular and respiratory) system that strengthens the heart and lungs.
This training develops endurance.
AKA: Long-Distance Running, Walking, Cycling, Low-Moderate Intensity Training, Endurance
Training, Volume Training

b. Anaerobic Exercise (literally “without oxygen”) is exercise that breaks down glucose for energy
without using oxygen. By nature, this type of exercise is explosive and short in duration. It
engages our fast-twitch muscle fibers and develops our muscular strength and size.
AKA: Sprinting, High-Intensity Training, Olympic Lifting, Jumping Rope

The Physiques: Sprinter vs. Long-Distance Runner

A common example showing the difference in exercise types and subsequent results is the comparison
of a long-distance runner and a sprinter.

The long-distance runner trains by running great distances at a slower, consistent pace. His training’s
failure is a cardiovascular failure (or a volume-training failure) targeting the slow-twitch muscle fibers,
leading to increased endurance. His training is aerobic exercise. The long-distance runner develops a
very lean, lankier physique.

The sprinter trains with high-intensity in short bursts, targeting the fast-twitch muscle fibers. His failure
is a muscular, anerobic failure of muscle tissue, leading to the growth we desire in bodybuilding. His
training is anaerobic exercise. The sprinter develops a heavily-muscled, dense physique.

We want to build a physique that resembles (and surpasses) the musculature of an Olympic sprinter.

Cardio is important and will be discussed in a bit, but for our goals of muscular size and strength, the
focus of our training, then, must be muscular failure through anaerobic High-Intensity Training (HIT).

21
This is also true for someone looking primarily to lose fat. More muscle mass means a higher Base
Metabolic Rate (BMR), which means more calories are burned while at rest. Muscle tissue burns more
energy, enabling one to enter into a caloric deficit faster and thereby burn fat more rapidly. More on
this in the Nutrition chapter.

We are all human beings, and while we all differ in certain respects (personality, genetics, age, etc.), we
have bodily systems that are the same. Skeletal muscle is skeletal muscle, whether it’s on a 45-year-old
Chinese woman, or a 25-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And skeletal muscle grows the same way.

The Muscular Growth Cycle (not that kind of cycle)

Muscular Growth occurs in a linear, 3-step process, in order of:

1. Stimulation,
2. Recuperation, and
3. Growth

Stimulation is the High-Intensity Weight Training workout.

Recuperation is the recovery of the bodily system back to baseline.

Growth, if our training pushed us beyond our normal capacity, is the adaptive response of the body that
builds additional muscle tissue to handle the same level of stimulation again in the future.

Recuperation is the most abused and overlooked step of the process for the vast majority of muscle-
building athletes. Growth only occurs after the recuperation process is fully completed. We will cover
this later; let’s first focus on muscular stimulation.

If muscle growth is to occur consistently, there must be incremental increases in the stimulation,
steadily over time. This concept is called: progressive overload.

Muscular Stimulation
If you are already capable of a physical task, re-performing that task will not stimulate growth.

If you can already lift 100 pounds for 10 reps, doing just that once again is not telling the body it needs
to adapt and grow. It could already have done that with its existing capacity, why does it need to build
or change?

“Repeating tasks that are well within your existing capacity will do nothing to spur growth.
Ending a set before failure, just because an arbitrarily chosen number of reps has been
completed, will not cause you to grow.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

For growth to occur through adaptation, you need to progressively increase the stress.

22
 Milo of Croton: Progressive Overload
Milo of Croton was an ancient Greek wrestling champion who lived around the 6 th century BC. He was
known for his remarkable strength in the arena.

The story of how he attained his legendary strength goes like this: When he was a young man on his
father’s farm, he would take a calf, hoist it onto his shoulders, and carry it up a hill. He would do this
every day. As the calf grew bigger in size and weight, Milo’s strength grew with it.

The exact historical accuracy of this story is unimportant to us. What matters is the analogy it represents
for progressive overload.

Progressive overload can be defined as a steady and methodical increase in stress (like weight and
volume) over time that will force the body to respond by increasing its own strength to handle the
overload.

This principle is not only reserved to weight training. The long distance runner fully capable of running 3
miles in a set amount of time, is not pushing his endurance abilities towards growth if he never attempts
to go farther in a shorter amount of time. It actually applies to all areas of life.

Progressive overload is the only way to grow.

Building Power: The True Aim

As bodybuilders, our focus for progressive overload must be on strength.

“A properly conducted bodybuilding program is directed exclusively toward the development of

strength. Why? Because muscular size and strength are related…You will be bigger only when
you are stronger, and so long as you are getting stronger as a result of each workout your
training is headed in the right direction… strength increases precede size increases.”—Mentzer,
Heavy Duty

Strength and size are directly correlated.

Their growth occurs together, slowly and incrementally. As you get progressively stronger, you will also
get progressively larger muscles that have adapted to handle heavier weight.

Hence our true aim is the combination of powerlifting (strength) and bodybuilding (size) into:
powerbuilding.

Stronger Muscles Become Bigger Muscles

We have two measurable ways to increase the demand on the body and evaluate progress: weight and
volume.

Weight being the amount of weight on the bar (“no shit, Musclewave!”). This will continue to be
increased throughout the entire lifting journey.

23
 “Increased poundages and physique achievement go hand in hand. If poundages weren’t
important, then I’d still be squatting with the same 150 pounds I used when I started
bodybuilding…I smile when I hear other bodybuilders say that they use the same poundages
year after year.”—Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

‘Poundage’ is the British way to say ‘pounds’, meathead.

Volume refers to the amount of reps to perform at that weight. Go too high in reps, and the exercise
can become aerobic in nature, leading to a cardiovascular failure instead of the desired muscular failure.
Go too low in reps, and total/effective stimulation may not be reached. More on this when we get to
Intensity.

For our training to induce the required muscular failure to stimulate growth, reps must be reserved to a
given range at a given weight. Again, performing too many reps risks becoming a volume training, or
endurance training, failure. The number of required reps varies depending on the size of the muscle
groups. The significantly larger groups may require more reps to fully exhaust their capacity.

Our initial goal should be handling weight that just barely allows us to get 8-12 perfectly completed reps.
This range is a guideline. For a massive muscle group like the legs, the number may 15 or higher.

For example, to implement progressive overload to a specific exercise/bodypart at the 8-12 rep range,
we would choose a weight for our main set that allows us to just barely get 8 reps with perfectly strict
form. Next time we train that same bodypart, we would strive for 9-10 reps. We continue increasing the
amount of reps at that same weight until we can get 12 reps. Then we’d add 10-20% of weight to the
bar, and again only be able to do roughly 8 reps. We repeat this incremental process forever.

Add more weight, complete more repetitions, repeat. This is progressive overload…This is how we
progress every single workout.

From one of Mentzer’s training videos:

“Progressive overload is the cornerstone of an effective weight training program. Add more
weight, do more repetitions—this is how you continue to improve. If you persist in handling the
same weight for the same number of repetitions, you’ll never progress. Your muscles will have
no reason to grow bigger and stronger.”

Even just a one rep increase is a successful strength gain.

Whenever there is doubt about lifting heavier, remember the words immortalized by the King Ronnie
Coleman, making an off-beat cameo appearance in our saga:

“EVERYBODY WANNA BE A BODYBUILDER…BUT NO BODY WANNA LIFT THIS HEAVY-ASS WEIGHT!”

Example from (Gym) Wildlife

Nature also shows us an example of progressive overload.

A fully-grown male deer has a sweeping rack, many feet in length. His antlers are heavy and powerful.
The buck’s rack was not bestowed upon him one day like a crown; it grew to that size over an extended

24
period of time. Slowly, every day, the horns grew out, their weight increased, and the muscles of the
deer’s neck and body also grew progressively stronger and larger, supporting the added weight. The
adult deer now carries his full rack with ease.

But if you were to take that fully-grown rack of antlers on the buck, and place it on the head of a baby
deer in one swoop, the animal wouldn’t be able to lift up its head under the crushing weight.

The same could be said of a beginner weight lifter who, during his first training session at the gym, walks
up to the squat rack and tries to squat 315. The result could be a dangerous, perpendicular collapse of
the young lifter’s back.**

But if the novice begins with 95 pounds, and slowly increases the weight over time, someday he will also
be able to swiftly handle 315 pounds; and his leg muscles will have become much bigger. Our “young
buck” now a champion of his own “rack”.

**After witnessing this 90 degree flattening actually happen to the spine of a particularly boastful
freshman during our wrestling evaluations, my high school workout partner, Tommy, dubbed the
spectacle “getting briefcased”. And the threat of ‘briefcasing in the squat rack’ became an effective
warning for Progressive Overload to freshman for seasons to come. Thanks, Eugene!

The x Factor: INTENSITY MAKES DENSITY

Progressive overload for powerbuilding is actually a combination of three factors, each one requiring
incremental increases: Weight (pounds on the bar), Volume (reps in our range), and, most importantly,
Intensity.

“Intensity refers to the percentage of possible momentary muscular effort being exerted.”—
Mentzer

High-Intensity means using a high level of momentary ability at the time of exertion. Low-Moderate
Intensity would refer to exercise that is a brisk pace that can be repeated for a longer duration of time.
Unlike weight and volume, it is difficult (or impossible) to measure with numbers. It can only be felt.

“…it has been verified and re-verified since then—that the specific stimulus response for
inducing muscular growth beyond normal levels in human beings is related to intensity of
effort. The closer the percentage of effort gets to 100%, the greater the growth stimulation.
High-intensity muscular contractions, therefore, are an absolute requirement for stimulating
rapid, large-scale increases in muscular size and strength.”—Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty

Referencing the Exercise Science of Arthur Jones, Mentzer explains that for muscular stimulation and
growth to occur, weight training must be:

1. Intense
2. Brief, and
3. Infrequent

25
Low-intensity and even moderate-intensity exercise does not lead to maximum muscular growth. This
has been evaluated scientifically, and can be seen in swimmers, long distance runners, hikers, bicyclists,
etc.

Mentzer continues:

“…men who engage in highly repetitive tasks, such as common laborers, distance runners, and
swimmers, show little improvement in their muscular size or strength as a result of their efforts.
Such tasks, being low intensity by nature, do little to stimulate such an adaptive response.”

Training for muscular growth must be High-Intensity.

This means it must also be brief. You cannot run a full-out spring for very long before you have to start
jogging/walking.

And because of the enormous demands of such training, it must also be infrequent. This will vary as you
become bigger and stronger. As you push heavier and heavier weights, and your workouts become
increasingly more intense, the frequency of sessions must be reduced in order to continue to progress.
We will cover this in Overtraining and Recuperation and Growth.

Mixed Intensity = Mixed Results

The training styles are not so black and white. Just because someone is in the gym lifting weights, does
not mean his exercise is High-Intensity.

“In most cases, bodybuilders unwittingly combine moderately intense bodybuilding/strength

training…with endurance training (using the “more is better” principle); and because the body
has a limited adaptive capacity, they obtain mixed results, i.e., a little bit of strength and size
along with some endurance.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

Using a predominately high-volume approach with medium intensity, more endurance capacity may
develop than skeletal muscle. Perhaps in extreme cases, some lifters may be even engaging in primarily
low-intensity training…the gym bro filming a Tik-Tok in the mirror next to you may just be doing cardio!

This is not a total knock on higher volume training either, as we will see. There are some benefits to
volume and it is not the boogeyman some HIT fanatics seem to always decry.

Quality over Quantity

Muscular development does not come with duration of exercise.

Mentzer goes through great lengths to explain this concept and dispel the ‘more is better’ myths being
promulgated by the mainstream.

While working out “6 days a week, 3-4 hours a day” can be taken as a lesson in devotion and motivation
to a desired goal, this is not how muscular progress is attained.

26
An analogy Mentzer stated often regarding the “blind, more is better” principle, can be paraphrased as
the following: if working out is simply about time spent in the gym, then why not temporarily quit your
job, train in the gym for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, and in a few short months, be Mr. Olympia?

This extreme example should demonstrate that time spent in the gym is not the factor that is most
important in muscular growth. In fact, you should be striving to progressively reduce the workout time
for the same routines.

“Performing the same workout in less and less time increases the intensity, and thereby, the
productivity of your workouts.”—Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty

When it comes to muscular stimulation, it is the quality not quantity, intensity not duration, of the
exercise that is the most important!

Form, Full Contraction, Slow and Controlled Movements

For 100% of the muscle fibers to be engaged in a lift, the muscle must reach full contraction, and to
remain under tension even in full contraction.

Each movement must be performed with strict form, in slow and controlled motions. This allows the
resistance of the weight to be applied evenly, “to the entire length of the muscle, which makes the
exercise more productive.”

If you swing the weight too rapidly or slingshot passed transitional points of the lift, momentum and
gravity play a part in the movement, and these outside forces take away the resistance applied to the
muscle group.

This “reduces muscular involvement, reduces the intensity of the contractile effort, and thereby,
reduces results.”

This also applies to most lockout positions of presses and squats. In a military press, for instance, at the
top of the lockout position, the muscles are no longer engaged and the weight is being held up by the
skeleton. This gives the shoulder muscles a chance to rest in the middle of a set, reducing the intensity
of the exercise.

You may be able to do more reps (this can be used intentionally in a rest-pause fashion beyond failure),
but the focus must be maximum intensity of the muscle group being trained, not a pre-determined
number of reps.

Training to Failure: FAILURE IS THE ONLY OPTION

If intensity of exercise is the most important aspect of muscular stimulation, then we must be striving
constantly to reach closest to 100% momentary ability. This means a muscle must be trained to failure.

Training to failure means performing a set to the point where another rep is impossible, and the
muscle fails at moving the weight despite the greatest effort.

27
 “It is only in the last rep of a set carried to a point of momentary muscular failure that an
individual is forced to exert 100% of his momentary ability.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

It is the last rep attempting the momentary impossible that guarantees the muscular stimulation is
pushed beyond the “break-over point”. The body must dip into its reserve capacity, and the message is
sent that in order to handle this load again, the muscle must grow.

In Heavy Duty, Mentzer references an old Arthur Jones analogy relating the cause-and-effect between
intense exercise and muscular growth “…to striking a stick of dynamite with a hammer to cause an
explosion. Only one hard, well-placed blow from the hammer is required to stimulate an explosion, and
no number of lesser blows will do the trick.”

So intense and taxing is this failure to the body’s physiological recuperative system, that the risk of
overwhelming the system is enormous (we get to Overtraining soon). Because of this, only one set to
failure is required.

“That last almost impossible rep where you’re bearing your teeth, you’re shaking all over, you need
assistance! That rep is very special, that rep is very different. There’s something special going on inside
your body when that happens.”—Mentzer

ONE SET TO RULE THEM ALL: Stretching and Warm-Up

A set taken to failure places a huge demand on the body. So great, that only one set to failure is
required for the growth message to be sent, and any further sets taken to failure will create unnecessary
inroads in the reserves, damaging and confusing the system.

“One set with 100% intensity does the job. The message that you need more size and strength
has been sent to the muscle. If you hit a nail bang on the head the first time and drive it straight
into the wood, what’s the point of hitting the nail again? You’ll only damage the wood and
destroy your own initial efforts.”—Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

One set to failure does not mean you walk into the gym and attempt your max weight and max rep
straight out and cold. The body must be properly stretched and warmed up prior to the ultimate one set
to failure in order to reduce the risk of injury and optimize performance.

Mentzer and Yates both stress the importance of a light warm up of the body to get the blood flowing
and body loose, followed by stretching of the muscle groups to be trained, and then warm-up sets of the
specific exercises before completing the all-important one set to failure.

So a typical workout could be structured as follows:

 3-5 minutes of a light warm up of the whole body to get the blood pumping and the body loose.
This can be jumping rope briskly, rowing on the row machine, or just walking on the treadmill at
speed 3 with maximum incline. The goal here is just to get the blood pumping. We do not want
to reach moderate-high intensity of effort so that we can preserve the energy for the lifts.

 Stretching the body and specifically the targeted muscle groups of that day for 5-10 minutes

28
  2-3 warm up sets of the exercise you are about to complete to failure. You’d start with very
little weight and progress steadily upwards in weight toward the final weight you will be
completing to failure. So if you can bench 225 for 8 reps to failure, you may start with 95lbs
(warm-up set 1), then do 135lbs (warm-up set 2), then 185lbs (warm-up set 3), then 225lbs
(main set to failure). Be sure not to exhaust the muscles too thoroughly before the main set. As
the muscle is sufficiently warmed up and ready after the first 1-2 exercises, further ‘warm up
sets’ may not need to be as many (i.e. after performing these warm-up sets and set to failure for
a bench, the chest may not need 3 full warm-up sets prior to the next chest lift). You must
ultimately decide how you feel.

For an accelerated warm up effect, begin the warm up/stretching process of the training session in
sweats.

Following these practices will ensure you avoid the danger of injury and won’t take up much time. These
are guidelines which can be altered based on how you feel and what you prefer. Hydration and listening
to your body is very important.

Beyond Failure: Advanced/Expert Level

For the highly advanced lifter, there are additional practices that can be done at the end of the almighty
one set to failure to take your body beyond failure.

The muscles have 3 abilities, each with different levels of strength.

1. Positive Ability (weakest) is the strength to contract the muscle in the positive rep, also called
the concentric contraction. It is a shortening of the muscle fibers. (i.e. the biceps ability to lift
the bar upwards in a barbell curl)

2. Static Ability (stronger than positive, weaker than negative) is the strength to hold the
weight/resistance at any point of the contraction, also called the isometric contraction. It is a
holding of the muscles fibers at the same length. (i.e. holding the bar steady at any point with
resistance during a curl)

3. Negative Ability (strongest) is the strength to lower the weight back down in the negative rep,
also called the eccentric contraction. It is a lengthening of the muscle fibers. (i.e. lowering the
bar slowly back down during the curl)

The 3 abilities have descending levels of strength: positive being the weakest, negative being the
strongest.

This means that failure can be achieved in all 3 of the muscular abilities in their order, to reach
thorough and maximum, 100% intensity.

29
The muscles will fail in the positive ability (positive failure), but still be able to hold the weight static.
Then, once the static fails (static failure), the muscles will still be able to lower the weight back down in
the negative rep, until this also fails (negative failure).

In our barbell curl example: you will first be unable to lift the bar, but still be able to hold it at any point
of the motion. Then you will not be able to hold it steady, but still be able to slowly lower it.

There are multiple techniques to reach the beyond failure point: pre-exhaustion (superset), forced reps,
rest-pause, negative reps, descending sets (drop set), and partial reps.

- Pre-Exhaustion (Supersets) are when you first perform an isolation movement, immediately
followed by a compound movement in order to exclusively target the main muscle group being
trained and bring it to failure. A compound movement, by definition, brings a variety of other,
smaller muscle groups to its aid; an isolation movement directly and exclusively hits one specific
muscle group.

Ex. If training chest, you can use a 2-set combination of exercises like the incline dumbbell fly
immediately followed by the incline barbell/dumbbell press. This way, you first isolate and pre-
exhaust the upper chest directly with the fly, then move to the compound movement of the incline
press.

The incline press (the compound movement) will use shoulder muscles and the triceps to complete
the lift. Since we are training chest, we don’t want the failure of the exercise to result from the
smaller muscles fatiguing (like the shoulders or triceps) before the larger, target muscle group of the
pecs. By ‘pre-exhausting’ the pecs, they are more likely to fail first. Because muscle repairs and
replenishes its energy in seconds, you must move quickly into the second exercise, within a 3-5
second range.

- Forced Reps are positive reps that you would’ve otherwise been unable to perform because you
have already reached positive failure, and so a training partner must assist you just enough to
help you complete the movement. “That one was all you bro.”

- Rest-Pause reps are when you temporarily hold a movement in the lockout position and rest
there for a few seconds to let the muscles replenish some energy before performing more reps.

- Negative Reps are when your training partner helps you significantly in raising the weight, but
allows you to slowly lower the weight on your own until you reach negative failure.

- A Descending Set (aka “drop set”) is when you decrease the weight immediately after reaching
failure, then perform more reps until you reach failure at the lower weight, and then lower the
weight again, etc. Yates liked to do these with seated dumbbell curls, grabbing lighter dumbbells
at the ready.

- Partial Reps are when you perform a few reps not in the full range of motion, but as close to the
full range as possible, after you reach positive failure. This doesn’t mean letting form get sloppy
or ‘swinging’ the weight haphazardly, but just performing a limited range motion and bringing
the rest of the muscle fibers to failure.

30
Yates calls this beyond failure set a “Yates set”.

“For anyone trying this one-set system, if you feel you can attempt a second set, then you
couldn’t have been pulling out all the stops during the first set.”—Dorian Yates, A Portrait of
Dorian Yates

*It is extremely important to use these methods with a workout partner and to maintain strict form.

Training to failure (and beyond) can be dangerous without proper stretching and warm up, and without
the help of a spotter or workout partner. We talk about workout partners in a bit, but it is imperative
that you do not attempt training to failure (and beyond) without one.

Some exercises, given their injury-prone nature, should not be taken beyond failure (i.e. deadlifts).
Others, like barbell rows, can’t really be “spotted” so only supersets or partial reps could apply to the
beyond failure techniques.

As mentioned, these practices are only for experienced lifters because of the extreme nature of the task.
Yates states:

“It is not necessary for a beginner to include the extremes of forced or negative reps. I trained
for 12 months before I tried a forced rep, and only after two years of workouts did I begin to
employ them regularly. For a beginner, going to failure generates enough muscular stress. The
‘newness’ of your body to the rigors of weight-training guarantees the correct muscle-building
response will occur.”

Everything we have learned leading up to 100% intensity is a progression.

You can’t just start out performing a “Yates set” on day one. One, because it requires an understanding
of the mind and body’s abilities that take time to develop and push the limit to the intensity it requires,
and two because you may actually induce too much damage to the system’s recuperative abilities and
stunt growth.

Training with this much intensity is very serious, and an injury in the gym is no joke. Treat it with the
respect it deserves. There are people who want to see it fail.

Many High-Intensity critics like to holler on and on about the dangers of such training.

But “it’s not the critic who counts…”. There’s no risk of injury at home on the couch.

“That’s what you call absolute, total, utter, ridiculous failure.”—Mentzer

Recuperation and Growth

Once correct (1) muscular stimulation occurs, next the body needs to (2) recuperate, and finally (3)
grow.

Growth only occurs after recuperation has been fully complete.

Recuperation is the most overlooked and abused area for most bodybuilders. In the beginning when
morale is high, most can throw themselves at the wall 6 days a week without seeing results. But this will

31
not lead to efficient progress (if any at all), because many think of recovery in terms of individual muscle
groups. This is a misconception:

“…exercise always has a generalized effect on the entire physical system, as well as the localized
one on the specific muscles.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

The entire body (the whole physiological system) needs time to recuperate, and requires rest out of the
gym. Lifting a 6 day split in a week, even if you alternate the bodyparts, is not allowing sufficient
recuperation to take place, and therefore won’t allow you to grow.

“…the body’s overall physiological and nervous system needs whole days at a time free from
gym exertions.”—Dorian Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

In other words, training chest on Monday, back on Tuesday, legs on Wednesday, and chest again
Thursday does not mean that the chest has had 72 hours to rest in between workouts.

This is especially true when training to failure. The demand of such High-Intensity Training on the body is
enormous, and the internal systems are only able to repair so quickly.

“If your workouts constitute 100% all-out efforts — which they need to if you want to make the
required progress — then you must have days free of weight-training activity, otherwise you
won’t be allowing appropriate recuperation time. The actual body building process takes place
out of the gym, not in the gym. Spend too much time in the gym, and you won’t grow!”—Dorian
Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

In fact, as the intensity continues to increase (weights go up, shorter durations, rep increases in our
range), you will actually require more time to recover.

Dorian states that it was at his peak of Mr. Olympia training, that he actually spent the least amount of
time in the gym. This is because by then, his intensity was so high, that his recuperation needed to be
that much longer for growth to still take place.

The 20’’ arm requires more weight and higher intensity to stimulate the muscle group—more intensity
than the 13’’ arm. But the body’s internal system is being stressed more in the 20’’ arm workout
because of the degree of intensity, and will need more time to recover.

“As you grow larger and stronger, the demands on your recovery ability become greater.”—
Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty

Rest time will vary depending on the intensity capabilities, but 48 hours of rest in between workouts is a
good baseline (lifting every other day). Beginners, who are not yet lifting heavy weights or able to train
to failure, may be able to workout with 24-48 hours of rest, intermediates beginning to train to failure
(and beyond) will likely need at least 48-72 hours.

I have seen some modern HIT enthusiasts recommend 7+ rest days (!) in between workouts for
beginners. I think this is too high.

A week or two off from the gym is encouraged if you feel signs of overtraining (getting to next) or if
progress has come to a halt. But taking 7 days of rest in between workouts on a regular basis is too
much for a beginner/intermediate.

32
Unless you’re Dorian Yates heaving barbell rows for reps at 405, I think 48-72 hours is a good benchmark
to start, and even some 24’s for beginners. But ultimately this must be felt and discovered on your own
depending on your degree of intensity and requirements.

“Correctly fine-tuning the required individual balance between intensity and recuperation is the route to
consistent progress.”—Dorian Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

Sleep: “Recuperate to Accumulate”

When undisturbed, sleep occurs in 90-120 minute cycles of REM, Light, and Deep Sleep. The body will
repeat these cycles multiple times throughout the night, and the more times you can hit deep sleep the
better.

But stimulants (pre-workout, caffeine, nicotine, etc.) and other substances (like alcohol), negatively
affect the sleep cycle by delaying or preventing full, deep sleep. You may be “asleep”, but the body is
delaying the complete cycle, or unable to fully dig into the deepest levels.

If you feel tired “all the time” when getting adequate hours of sleep, it’s probably because your body
isn’t reaching sufficient deep sleep. This means insufficient recuperation time, which is the definition of
overtraining.

Also, consistent poor sleep leads to needing more stimulants throughout the day to continue pushing
through, which leads to continued, less-quality sleep, which leads to more stims, etc.

In the efforts of writing this book, I have re-acquainted myself well with this slippery slope.

Break the cycle by taking days off from stimulants to allow the body to recalibrate its system if you find
yourself in this negative loop. And don’t be afraid to take rest time from the gym.

Try to refrain from stimulants (coffee, teas, pre-workout, nicotine, etc.) later in the day. Caffeine, for
example, takes about 10 hours to be fully expunged from the system. This may mean switching to a
pump supplement as pre-workout if you lift later in the day/at night.

Also try to avoid blue-light screens (computers, T.V., cell phones, etc.) at least 1 hour prior to bed. These
lights disrupt the natural circadian rhythm and inhibit your ability to reach deep sleep in the early
stages.

Try to budget at least 7.5 hours of quality sleep per night, with an optimal being 9 hours. If your job or
state in life won’t allow for more than 6 hours of sleep, increase the amount of rest days between High-
Intensity workouts to compensate.

6 hours of high-quality, undisturbed deep sleep is better than 9 hours of poor, negatively-impacted
sleep.

“Recuperation is fundamental to building muscle, and adequate sleep is fundamental to

recuperation.”—Dorian Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

Nutrition and Hormonal Balance will also play a significant role in recuperation, and we devote a chapter
to each. But don’t underplay recuperation, thinking it’s weak not to go balls-to-the-walls every day.

33
Not enough rest and recuperation time will only further damage the muscles and the hormonal
balances, resulting in the opposite of our goals. The muscles will not grow at all, or worse, get smaller, if
you do not allow enough recuperation time (i.e. overtrain).

RECUPERATE TO ACCUMULATE

Overtraining: The Bane

Overtraining is bodybuilding’s most common mistake.

It leads to the opposite of our goals: obstructed sleep patterns, damaged hormonal balances,
insufficient recovery periods, injury to the central nervous system, etc.

When our muscles do not fully recover, they do not grow. Worse yet, if they are hit again too soon, they
may even get smaller.

“Performing more exercise than the least amount required will make unnecessary inroads into
the body’s recovery ability, or limited reserve of resources, and hamper the process of growth
production.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

And remember, the entire system as a whole requires this recuperation, not just individual bodyparts.
The recuperative system can be overwhelmed.

I used to prescribe to the macho but misguided mantra: you can’t overtrain, only undereat! This type of
super-man talk is fun, but it’s wrong.

Mentzer and Yates both provide two applicable analogies, that can be paraphrased as follows:

Overtraining Analogies
Exposure to sunlight will result in a tan. This allows you to get more sunlight next time. But when
overexposure occurs, the body’s recovery system is overwhelmed, and this results in a burn or worse.

Rubbing a little sandpaper on the palm of your hand will result in a callous. This allows the body to ready
itself for the next exposure to the friction. However, rubbing the sandpaper on the tender skin before
the callous is formed will result in further damage to the skin. Keep rubbing the sandpaper on the hand
before it can heal (even if it’s with less intensity as before), and the skin will be further disrupted and
scarred.

The initial sun exposure and the application of sandpaper is the stress placed on the body (training). The
body developing a tan or a callous is an adaptation to endure the same degree of stress again (recovery
and growth – i.e. Progressive Overload). Overwhelming the system in one bout with too much sunlight
or too much continued friction will damage the system (overtraining).

Know the Signs: Web M.D.

Dorian has provided us with tell-tale signs.

“Following are the classic signs of not recuperating fully, i.e. overtraining

34
 1) General feeling of tiredness
2) Irritability
3) Trouble sleeping
4) Loss of appetite
5) Joint aches
6) Thick head and nausea
7) Not being in a positive frame of mind”

Don’t be a “thick head” (another British term?) by ignoring these signs of overtraining, making all efforts
counterproductive.

“You’ll lose size and strength, and you’ll feel lousy too. In my early bodybuilding days, I used to
think it was wimpish to throttle back when my body was screaming for a couple of days out of
the gym. I now recognize that such a kamikaze spirit is self-destructive. I’ve learned from those
mistakes, and I realized that improvement is enhanced not by training harder and longer, but by
training smarter.”—Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

The risk of overtraining is especially important to athletes weight training with High-Intensity. This is
because the demand and stress it’s placing on the body is very high.

“High-intensity bodybuilding is not aerobics! The magnitude of the demand on the body’s
limited recovery ability made by high-intensity training is literally enormous, which explains why
one must be careful not to perform any more sets than actually required to stimulate
growth.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

Ignoring the signs of overtraining will defeat our greatest efforts. And aside from the physical damage, it
will also deplete our most valuable resource: time.

“A rational individual will not want to spend any more time in the gym than is minimally
required to achieve the desired result. This leaves more time to pursue other rational value—
such as knowledge, money and relationships—which make a fuller, more rewarding life.”—
Mentzer, Heavy Duty

Work smarter not harder. Be efficient, make consistent progress, and have more time for other life
pursuits.

Now let’s get into an area that makes some “HIT” fanatics uncomfortable.

Cardio (and High-Intensity Excuses)

High-Intensity, Heavy Duty Training is not an excuse to be lazy or fat. This is a danger area where some
Heavy Duty enthusiasts seek comfort. HIT is not an excuse to train with ease or so infrequently that you
ignore cardio or get fat.

“Cardio? What is that, Spanish?”

35
Cardio helps us stay lean and burn excess calories (fat). Fat, aside from the obvious, also harms our
hormonal output. The more fat we have, the less testosterone our body has available, making it harder
to build quality muscle and also making it harder to shed that fat in a negative feedback loop.

If you are looking to primarily cut fat, it would still be advantageous to engage in a High-Intensity weight
training program, with added cardio. When the body needs to burn more calories than it is ingesting, it
will target fat for use as the energy. (More on caloric surpluses and deficits in Nutrition).

In High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way, Mentzer states:

“Your aerobic training should be performed at what I call a relaxed pace; if you’re gasping for
breath while performing your aerobic exercise, that means you’re increasing the proportion of
sugar being burned for fuel and decreasing the use of bodyfat. If you can’t talk easily while
jogging or cycling, you’re working too intensely. Perform your aerobics at a conversational pace,
and you will be using up to 90 percent stored fat as fuel.”

The important thing to remember here is the difference between Intensity.

High-Intensity, explosive bursts is the training that builds muscle. By definition, this anaerobic training
will break down glucose in the muscles for its energy (carbs stored as glycogen). We want to save this
energy for outputs in the gym.

Cardio training is low-moderately intense and when performed at this low level of intensity, the aerobic
training will make the body use fat as the primary energy source (not glycogen in the muscles). Slow and
steady effort and a brisk, relaxed pace will keep the intensity low-moderate, and allow the body to burn
fat for fuel. You shouldn’t be huffing and puffing doing cardo.

For the best results in fat loss, Dorian advocated for cardio in the morning, prior to eating the first meal
(or breaking your fast at ‘breakfast’).

“I’ve come to learn that aerobic exercise is much more productive when done first thing in the
morning, prior to eating. At that point, the body is depleted of glycogen and is more amenable
to burning fat as a source of fuel.”—Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

The muscle magazines will cry, “No, wait! This will result in your body eating itself and its muscles in a
catabolic state! You must eat like a baby eats every 2 hours in order to prevent this! In fact, if you want
to lose weight, just eat more frequently to speed up the metabolism!”

This has created a sort of neurosis among modern bodybuilders.

Eating Disorder
Using fear as a primary driver (as every bodybuilder fears losing the hard-earned muscle he is spending
so much time and energy developing), the mainstream gurus have created a frantic mania.

Not all that different from the anorexia of a female model throwing up her food after every meal, is the
opposite perversion of the neurotic bodybuilder, paranoid of losing an ounce of muscle and frantically
eating every 2 hours. If he misses a meal, his day is ruined…

Not very good to be so dependent on eating food.

36
Despite the prevalent mainstream neurosis, your body is not an enemy of your physique, patiently
waiting like a predator every “2-3 hours” to devour itself and its hard earned muscle in the dreaded
“catabolic state”. The body is actually very adaptable, and is muscle-sparing when it is fasting or
undergoing a calorie deficit, meaning it will go through measures *not* to eat its own muscle when
calories are scarce.

This is why the body stores fat in the first place: to use as excess energy when you are operating in a
caloric deficit.

This is also why pregnant women can more easily store fat: so that in the event that food becomes
scarce, she still has enough ‘energy stored’ on her body to sustain her and her baby until the fast can be
broken.

Unless you are in a life-threatening dangerous situation, you shouldn’t let fear be a primary driver in
decision making.

Fasting is actually very healthy, healthier than “needing” to eat food frantically every 2-3 hours, both
physically and mentally. This is why it is built into countless religions across the world, and also why
many doctors advocate fasting for medicinal practices.

Fasting has its own section in the Nutrition portion of the book, so I won’t go into detail here. But
obesity is a sickness and if you are heavily overweight, fasting is a very sound option in a strict diet
protocol that will deliver concrete results.

It’s easier to not eat 200 calories than it is to burn off 200 calories.

Back to Cardio
Cardio exercise can be done by biking, jogging, or even walking.

If you cannot run far, then very lightly jog what you can and walk to supplement the distance. If you
cannot jog, then walk. Even walking can be a good source of low-intensity exercise. You don’t have to be
gasping for air on the treadmill.

And if you want to be able to jog, then walk until you can jog. Remember, progressive overload can be
applied to all areas of life.

You must crawl before you can walk…and walk before you can jog!

I personally despise running on a treadmill and feel much better performing cardio outside in the open
air and sun. The sun is nature’s best source of Vitamin D, which is essential for testosterone production
and overall health.

In fact, in Deep Nutrition, Dr. Shanahan actually attributes sun damage (and other problems commonly
attributed to the sun), to the overconsumption of harmful vegetable and seed oils present in most
modern foods. She writes:

“…we’ve seen that vegetable oils and sugar can create imbalances in the immune system and
cause acne, and both diseases can damage our collagen…if your diet is healthy, then your
collagen won’t be seriously injured unless your skin actually burns—which I would never

37
 recommend. The more vegetable oil in your diet, and the more PUFAs end up in your skin, the
more readily you will get burned and the more excessive the invisible damage to the deeper
layers of your skin.”—Dr. Shanahan, Deep Nutrition

There’s more on the terrible vegetable oils in the Nutrition chapter soon. But get outside in the sunlight,
allowing your body to collect Vitamin D.

Using the sacred principle of progressive overload, you can start with a little sun exposure (stimulate),
return indoors (recuperate), build up a resistance in the form of tan (growth), then incrementally
increase within good reason. Just don’t get burned.

Aside from the scientific research, it feels like flat-out commonsense that walking and jogging in the
outdoors is superior to a treadmill in a stuffy room, shielded from the sun like a hamster on a wheel. It
can get the job done in a pinch, but it isn’t ideal.

The Log Book

Keeping a detailed log book is crucial to your weekly advancement.

It is the benchmark that you will slowly, progressively overload. You must see what exercises you
performed the previous weight training session, at what weight, and how many reps, so that when
completing the next workout, you know what you must beat.

Mentzer and Yates are fanatical about keeping a log book. If you don’t keep one, you are vaguely
estimating progress, gambling with new weight/reps.

You want to be as meticulous as a scientist measuring dosages in a vial, your pump cover, your own lab
coat.

It can be a simple note book, that lists out your exercises for a given day, with a column for weight
performed at how many reps.

This way, you can increase either the weight or the reps down to the number, exacting your progress
with scientific accuracy.

And then it won’t matter about what anyone else in the gym is lifting. You’re training to beat your own
numbers EVERY WEEK, and the log book is just a mirror of your previous self.

“Don’t make the mistake of comparing yourself to others. The only person you can accurately
compare yourself to is…YOU!”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

It doesn’t even matter where you have to start. Who cares how much weight you can push around in
the beginning? Training is about improving yourself, not proving yourself.

It’s your very own muscle that you should worry about stimulating, not the ego.

“…it is not the amount of weight you have on the bar that is important, it is the effect that
weight has on the muscle. Maximum muscular response is obtained from the shock of high-
intensity, high-quality training.”—Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

38
A logbook will help ensure you are attaining your own, measurable goals. It is with consistent progress,
not gym accolades, that we must concern ourselves.

Every little bit of progress is important—even a 1 rep or 2.5lbs increase means additional tissue.

Goal Setting
The determining factor of achievement is the ability to break down long-term goals into smaller and
smaller, actionable ones. Then completing those short term goals methodically, and making new ones
that consistently bring you closer to the final end goal.

Those who fall off the wagon usually throw themselves at something passionately, but without a plan.
And without a plan, there’s no way of knowing where you’re heading.

Someone much wiser than me once said, “If you’re pointed in the wrong direction, it doesn’t matter
how hard you row the boat.”

There were multiple times in the writing of this book that I recklessly and passionately began writing
huge portions without an outline. I knew I had a lot to say, but didn’t think hard enough about how. The
result was the writing was disorganized, unmethodical, and ultimately had to be re-written.

The longer term goal (the book) had to be generally outlined into short term goals of chapters, which
had to be further broken down into sections, which also had to be outlined. Then, the writing work
could be efficiently undertaken.

This reminded me of some of the mistakes I made in my own lifting career, with reckless abandon but
no concrete plan or way to measure goals being made.

Achieving the goals in the short term will reaffirm your plan, create more motivation by providing you
with success, and fuel the continued fire.

“If, in a given workout, you are able to curl a certain weight for a maximum of 10 reps, and the
next workout you can curl it for 11 reps, that should motivate you.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

Shortcomings and errors are bound to happen. But it’s important not to let them impact your mission
(including those who’ve spent years overtraining).

After spending countless hours in the gym in the early days with little to no success, I sought out
different methods. In this way, it was not wasted time—I had to sacrifice that time in the gym before
realizing what worked and what didn’t. Sometimes you just have to learn the hard way. This has been
true for me and many other bodybuilders, some of whom are my closest friends.

Even Mentzer met this opposition.

“With not the slightest inkling of the nature of theoretical knowledge and its role in man’s life, I
wasted more hours than I care to calculate engaging my blind passion in an endeavor that
amounted to endlessly pushing a rock up a hill, only to have it roll back down again.”—Mentzer,
Heavy Duty

39
But he didn’t let his failures and struggles defeat him; he made a new plan. By focusing on making short
term goals that feed the bigger ones, you can also implement an actionable plan.

Word by word, this book was written. And set by set, your goals will be reached.

“Don’t start out with the thought that you’re going to be Mr. Olympia, CEO of Coca-Cola, or a Nobel prize
winner. Instead, just focus on a goal which constitutes the next small step of improvement. Learn to use
discipline and determination to fulfill that goal. Once that goal has been reached, set the next short-term
objective, and don’t allow obstacles to defeat you.”—Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

The Workout Partner: Your Iron Comrade

A lifting partner will help you work toward maximum intensity, and help ensure you do not injure
yourself during such critical points.

Besides the ability to spot your reps, a lifting partner will push you beyond your capability just by being
there—extra fight will be called for in healthy competition as you rise to the challenges that your
partner must witness.

While it doesn’t matter what you can do in front of your partner, you will be pushed to do more…which
is why we are in the gym in the first place.

In wrestling, they used to say, “Always wrestle up!”

This meant, during practice, you should always wrestle/spar with the guy in the immediate weight class
above you, so that he can make you better.

You got your ass kicked during practice “wrestling up”. But it made you a hell of a lot better on the mat
facing soft-body opponents.

The same can be said in weight-lifting.

When possible, always “lift up”, with a partner smarter/stronger than you. And lift up others when the
time comes.

Genetics: The Will to Win…THE WILL TO POWER

“Many bodybuilders sell themselves short. Erroneously attributing their lack of satisfactory
progress to a poverty of the requisite genetic traits, instead of their irrational training and
dietary practices, they give up training. Don’t make the same mistake.”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

While we all have the same physiological systems and grow skeletal muscle and digest macronutrients
the same way, there are a variety of other factors that are not able to be measured that make us
impossibly unique individuals.

Motivation, personality, and genetics are among the few.

40
But genetics is not something that means you can or cannot improve (“it’s all genetics, bro”), but rather
it is a ceiling that limits your absolute, ultimate potential.

“…anyone, no matter what his genetic endowment, can improve upon his existing physical
condition. And with the proper training program, he should witness progress each and every
workout…”—Mentzer, Heavy Duty

The “genetic potential” is a limit, but there’s no saying any human being on earth has ever reached this
absolute potential, even among the greats. It is an impossible state of perfection—it is an ideal. And
there’s no reason why you shouldn’t strive to reach as close to this ideal for yourself as possible, even if
it means you aren’t Mr. Olympia.

“…everybody, with planning and application, can be the best they can be. If you become the
best bodybuilder you can be, then your achievement is every bit as worthy as my winning six
Sandow statues.”—Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

Those resting on the laurels of their genetic advantages can be beaten, and have been, time and again
by those lacking the same advantages.

Mentzer gives due credit to Arnold, stating that Arnold used his “free will to sustain a higher level of
motivation”, and beat Sergio Olivia who was “blessed with an almost overwhelming abundance of the
required genetic traits” on a more consistent basis.

We have a saying in the States: Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard.

And it’s true. Hard work and inner mental strength beats talent. Dorian calls this passion to overcome,
the will to win.

“In a sport where physical prowess appears to be the most visible overriding asset, inner mental
strength is the determining factor for success. The major reason I’ve won the Mr. Olympia six
times is because I was prepared to ask more of myself mentally than other more physically
gifted guys. It’s called the will to win!”

Even if you feel that you don’t have the genetics to be the best in the world, you do have the genetics
to be the best version of yourself that you can be.

How far you go versus where you started can only be assessed in retrospect. And this is the real
measure of success.

“You’ll never know how great you might’ve become, unless you try.”—Mike Mentzer

Seize the will to win…THE WILL TO POWER!

The Journey: Listening to Your Body

The muscle building/fat burning process takes time. It is slow and methodical. There is no shortcutting it.
There’s no way around the hard work; only through it. But success is not only a matter of hard work. The
plan must be correct; the map must be accurate.

41
My ex-marine Uncle Al once told me, “Success is a formula of: hard work, determination, knowledge,
and a plan.”

You must use knowledge and understanding of yourself to formulate a plan, and implement it with hard
work and determination. After an honest effort, you can then assess the plan’s correctness. But there is
no amount of words or theories that can replace the deep understanding gained through trial-and-error.

And if it ain’t working, it ain’t the right plan.

Reassess, make changes, and re-implement. Then reassess again using the knowledge you’ve gained
from trial-and-error and study. It is an ever-evolving cycle, and only you are able know if it’s working for
you.

You are the best judge of how a complete program is (or isn’t) working for you.

These are not hard and fast rules.

Maybe certain exercises work better for you than others, maybe a different order of exercises stimulate
your muscles better. Dorian boldly admits that he doesn’t even use the flat bench press, for instance,
and prefers the incline bench as the primary chest builder.

If progress comes to a screeching halt, don’t be afraid to take a week or two off from training entirely.

Analyze the plan and your efforts to see what is going wrong. Ask yourself: Have I been going full-
throttle or cheating on the plan? Have I been disciplined or is it the plan that needs to change? Am I
overtraining?

Listen to your body. Make the adjustments when needed, take the time to honestly consider the plan.
And let the energy build and slingshot you into the next goal.

Volume Training: The Bogeyman?

Mentzer, through all his hammering against the ‘dogma’ of accepted beliefs, teaches us that in order to
apply the “rational approach to bodybuilding”, it is important to question things and not become rigidly
attached to dogma. The same can be said of our own information laid out here.

While many HIT enthusiasts decry volume training as the ultimate evil, they unfortunately become
dogmatic in their thinking, and may even take certain points out of context.

“Volume training” can vary.

A gigantic muscle group like the legs may require +15 reps of all-out effort to bring them to their highest
intensity. Mentzer and Yates state this themselves. Does this mean that this is “volume training” since
it’s not in an 8-12 rep range?

Not necessarily. It may just be that the large energy reserves need more reps to get them to the high-
intensity muscular failure they need.

And as a ‘beginner’ in the weight room, some volume training can be good. I can already hear the
‘chorus of execration’ coming from the Heavy Duty diehards. But I believe it’s important to test the

42
waters, trying the different degrees and developing the mind-muscle connection that will lead you to
being able to perform at the highest of intensity you can.

You might find that for a specific muscle group, 6-8 reps isn’t activating the muscle to its highest
intensity and stimulation.

This doesn’t mean you go and perform 5 pound curls for eternity. But testing higher reps may help bring
you past sticking points. Maybe instead of 12, you cap it at 15 or 16 before adding more weight. Listen
to your body.

At the end of the day, it is the intensity that matters most. Higher volume and high intensity beats either
sort of volume with half-assed intensity. Tom Platz, the bodybuilding legend and madman known for his
insane leg training sessions, is a perfect example of this. While some of his work was high volume, his
intensity was maddening. And the results speak for themselves.

The most important component is not dogmatic weight or volume, but intensity. It is intensity that
makes density, not a chosen number of reps.

The War Rages on: Free-Weights Against the Machines

There’s been debate about free-weights and machines for a long time. So which is better?

The point of any weight resistance is to stimulate the muscle. And there are benefits and
disadvantages to both free-weights and machines.

Free-weights allow for greater range of motion, and will help develop the smaller muscles needed to
help stabilize the weight. However, at peak contraction, free weights take the resistance away from the
main muscle (as holding a barbell curl at the full peak will take the resistance away from the biceps). And
the use of the other body parts take away some of the body’s energy that could have been allocated to
the main muscle being trained. (For example, the shoulders and triceps being worked as well as the
chest in a bench press.)

Machines help target one specific muscle group and apply resistance evenly throughout the movement.
But because they are so isolating, they won’t help develop the other smaller groups in the normal
course of the movement. This is by design, and would be good if you wanted to bring that individual
muscle to failure.

For these reasons, free-weights would be best used primarily in the beginning (in my opinion) to allow
a greater foundation of muscular development, and machines would be best for the
intermediate/advanced bodybuilder.

Because compound movements allow a greater range of motion and use complimentary body parts, a
stronger foundation of strength is built before moving more into machine training for targeted groups.

In an extreme picture: think of a lab test where only one muscle group could be artificially made to grow,
like the chest, without anything else. The specimen would have a massive chest, but no smaller muscles
(we don’t know the names of) inside the shoulders and back that are needed to put those chest muscles
to use.

43
Machines will target an isolated group. And the uniform resistance will help carry the specific muscle to
full exhaustion. This is great once there has already been a foundation laid, and we’d want the targeted
isolation effect.

The fact is there is no magical exercise that will turn you into Mr. Olympia. Gold’s gym doesn’t have
any special equipment that does anything besides stimulate muscle.

There are bodybuilders in the third world lifting rocks and water jugs to stimulate their muscles.

And it’s the muscular stimulation that matters, not what tool is used to stimulate them. The best of
the best perform the basics, perfectly. As Yates says with some Musclewave-styled humor, “Your
muscles don’t know if you’re lifting cable plates, dumbbells, or a Spice Girl. Your muscle fibers only know
that they’re being forced to work.”

Keep it simple, build the foundation, get more specific, blend the ingredients, and continue to fine-tune
your ideal routine.

“Beginner” Is Not A Dirty Term

“Every Mr. Olympia was once a beginner.”—Yates

There is no shame in being a beginner. Even some of us with years of experience in the weight room
could appropriately be considered a beginner.

I always hated the term, and even in my earliest days in the iron forge, I would blow past the “beginner”
training programs to get to the “intermediate” or “advanced” ones listed in the muscle magazine that
month. I didn’t want the beginner rations; I wanted to feast with the top dogs.

But these aren’t arbitrary terms. The beginner programs should weave into the intermediate ones
seamlessly. Everything is a steady progression—forever. That is how consistent success happens, little
by little, brick by brick.

Everything we’ve learned up to this point has been predicated on the concept of progressive overload.
Push the limit, grow, push the limit again, grow, etc.

Training to failure (and beyond failure) requires a degree of physical and mental discomfort that takes
years to develop. It is extraordinarily intense by nature, and therefore cannot be started straight out to
the full level required.

“I found myself greatly influenced by the writings of Mike Mentzer. I decided that the optimum
way to muscle growth was to follow a training schedule of a high-intensity complexion. But
before rushing into a high-intensity program, I had to acquaint myself with the nuts and bolts of
bodybuilding.”—Yates

The beginner weightlifter cannot honestly begin training Heavy Duty style on the first day of his
training journey, or even in the first couple years without the proper introduction. Though I’m sure I
wouldn’t have believed this in my earliest days.

44
I wanted to shortcut my way straight to the intermediate phase. I thought the term “beginner” was a
dirty word for stragglers and scrawny soft-bodies who just happened upon the gym one day—for those
who didn’t even know the difference between a simple or complex carb! But this is not what beginner
means.

Dorian himself says the beginner stage for him lasted about 2 years – and he began training when he
was 21. It would then take him 9 years to reach the full level of intensity that this sort of training
demands…

“I concentrated on intensity of effort and never did more than three sets for an exercise, even
as a beginner. Over the years, I increased the intensity to the point where I currently do one all-
out set for each exercise. For beginners, I still advise three sets per exercise. It took me nine
years (from 1983 to 1992) before I was able to develop the powers of concentration that
allowed me to apply myself 100% to one all-out set per exercise. Beginners need more sets in
order to perfect lifting technique and to generate the necessary muscle pathways.”—Yates, A
Portrait of Dorian Yates

This is because training Heavy Duty, to failure and beyond, is not practice. Each workout is an all-out,
full-blown competition. You are training to break your own records every single time.

The muscles will have gotten so strong that they demand much more to be fully stimulated to maximum
intensity. And as this gets closer to being an all-out effort, your recuperation and growth times must be
continually extended.

The Progression
High-Intensity Training is a journey of mind-body development. It leads toward pushing the absolute
brink of mental and bodily limits, toward 100% intensity. It is a gradual process of progress.

One must practice, first building up overall strength and understanding the feeling of proper form and
contractions with resistance applied throughout the entirety of the exercise. Then, implement
progressive overload with knowing the numbers to reach for and reps to add. Then, training to failure,
and decreasing duration and frequency of workouts. Then using practices “beyond failure” to maintain
that 100% intensity level required.

It is cumulative; it is constant evolution. It is progress and intentional failure throughout the entire
journey. While it is simple and straightforward, it is not easy.

It took Dorian 9 years (!) of his own admission to reach the point where he was able to put all of these
pieces into practice to the full extent, regularly blasting his muscles with 100% intensity and progressing
exactly how it worked for him.

This is why the training of beginners and intermediates is different for those at a highly advanced level.

It’s calculating and mentally taxing to reach a degree of “insanity” to push these absolute limits every
single workout.

45
It’s a balls-to-the-walls path that never ends. The program listed next is meant to be harmonized with
this progression.

It is meant to start with ‘practice’: some volume and mostly free-weights, leading into more intense
workouts using the same free-weight exercises, to training to failure, to more rest days, to slightly
altering the routine, to training to failure and beyond, to endless tweaking and progress continued
forever and ever…

But if you’re making progress already, don’t feel that you have to change anything... If it ain’t broke
don’t fix it.

Just start somewhere with an educated plan, and go.

The journey of a thousand muscles begins with a single set…

…to failure!

Mentorship
“He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a great leader.” -Aristotle

Every single leader, artist, inventor, athlete, whatever, had countless influences in his life that formed
and shaped him into a success.

The greatest military general was first a great soldier. No man is ‘self-made’.

Bodybuilding is no different. From Mentzer’s long, unusual 2 a.m. phone call with Arthur Jones:

“Before Jones finished, I realized that I was not the bodybuilding expert I had thought. In fact, I
knew very little of value about exercise. Memorizing training routines from muscle magazines
doesn’t make one an expert.”

Even Mentzer had a mentor.

This lesson in humility shows us that we always have something to learn, something to glean, something
that can be picked up and reapplied to our own lives.

There comes a time in every bodybuilder’s education when he thinks he knows everything. Don’t fall for
this mistake; there is always something to learn and someone who knows more. Be open to advice and
critique. Bodybuilding has enough egomaniacs as is.

And when the time comes, don’t be afraid to share the knowledge you learned through the trials and
errors with someone else. We’re all at various stages of development, and we are all constantly
evolving, constantly improving.

If you’re the biggest and strongest guy in the weight room—you’re in the wrong gym!

46
The following pages are the beginner and intermediate training routines created by our own
competitive NPC Classic Bodybuilder Eli Lazar (@eli_lazar).

Eli’s notes for key things to remember:

 Properly warmup before each working set, play it by ear and feel how your tendons are
responding
 Keep a log book and beat it EVERY WEEK even if its 1 rep or 2.5lbs, progression means new
tissue
 “Top and Back Off Set” means 1 all out set, the top set. And then another around 85% of that as
a back off. Full rest in between.
 The Intermediate routine is very, VERY similar to the beginner. Rep ranges changed a bit
 RP (or rest pause) technique is: 1) go to failure, 2) 45 sec rest, 15 breaths 3) Repeat steps 1 and
2, 4) Repeat step 1
 The Intermediate program is just an advanced technique, lifting doesn’t change much, we just
use intensifiers to make additional stimuli. Bread and butter lifts over 2,3,4 years is what makes
dense full muscle

The Intermediate Routine still has more than one set per exercise, as with some volume as you will see.
This is because, as mentioned previously, training with the level of absolute intensity required to
bombard the muscles to and beyond failure is very difficult, even for intermediates. If you are more
advanced and able to reach that level of intensity, then you already know you can perform less reps
and less sets with higher intensity.

As stated many times, it is a progression. Weights should be increasing steadily. We are working towards
being able to perform one “Yates set” per exercise. But it took Yates 9 years of his own admission to
reach the point when he could do this consistently. We are working towards higher and higher intensity,
and this means heavier weight and less sets. So long as you are working towards training to failure, you
are on the right track.

(Note: Do not perform a set to/beyond failure more than once per exercise. Save this technique as the
final “main” set for that lift to avoid the risk of overtraining.)

Remember it is intensity that matters most, not exact rep ranges. Use what you see here as a guideline:
from the exercises, to the split, to the rep ranges, to the off days. With the information in the previous
pages, you can make your own routine that best suits you, using the exercise science explained. None of
the following is set in stone. Don’t be afraid to incorporate more off days, or take a whole week off if
progress entirely halts. Do what feels and works best for you.

Listen to your body; no one else knows it better than you.

47
Beginner Workout Program - First Stage of Progression - Introduction to Heavy Duty (High-Intensity) Training
Arrange days to fit your schedule, but no more than 2 days in a row.

Example Split: (Mon.) Chest & Tri's; (Tues.) Back & Bi's; (Thurs.) Shoulders & Traps; (Sat.) Legs & Abs; Repeat

Workout 1 - Chest and Tri's

Exercise Sets Reps Notes
Warm up & Stretching N/A N/A
Warm up with a few (2-3) sets make sure the pec tondons are warm
Incline Barbell or Smith Press 2 10-12
and the muscle is firing
Dumbbell Flyes 2 12-15 4 count negative, work on range of motion, stretch the muscle

Flat Dumbell Press 1 10-12 2 count at both extension and contraction

(Weighted) Dips 2 10-12 Full range of motion, stretch the muscles

Lock arm out fully, envision yourself hitting a side tricep, make the
Tricep Cable Pushdown 3 10-12
tricep as hard as possible

Workout 2 - Back and Bi's

Exercise Sets Reps Notes
Warm up & Stretching N/A N/A

Bent Over Barbell Row 2 12-15 Top and back off set, brutally heavy

Rack Chin Ups 2 10-12

2 warm up sets, 1 final set heavy to finish off the back with mass
Deadlifts 3 10-12
overall mass builder
Alternating Dumbell Curls 3 8 2 count negative

Workout 3 - Shoulders and Traps

Exercise Sets Reps Notes
Warm up & Stretching N/A N/A

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press 3 10-12

Squeeze at peak contraction, hold at static, don't rest long at bottom
Seated Dumbbell Shrugs 3 12
of the rep
Dumbell Side Raises 3 12-15 Bend the wrists, fire the side delt

Bent Over Reverse Fly (Rear Delt) 2 10-12

Face Pulls (Rope) 1 20 Not super heavy, focus on control

Workout 4 - Legs and Abs

Exercise Sets Reps Notes
Warm up & Stretching N/A N/A
Increase weight each set, BURY the squat (this is not powerlifting -
Squat 3 15,12,10
there should be no doubt that you hit depth)
Lying hamstring curl 3 12-15

Leg Extension 2 20

Romanian Deadlift 3 15,12,10

48
Decline Situps (Weighted) 2 15-20
Intermediate Workout Program - Second Stage of Progression - Heavy Duty (High-Intensity) Training
Arrange days to fit your schedule, but no more than 2 days in a row. Keep back and leg day spaced with adequate rest
Example Split: (Mon.) Push: Chest, Shoulders, & Tri's; (Wed.) Pull: Back, Traps, & Bi's; (Sat.) Legs & Abs; Repeat
Exercise
Warm up & Stretching
Incline Barbell or Smith Press
Dumbbell Flyes
Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press
Dumbell Side Raises
Bent Over Reverse Fly (Rear Delt)
Tricep Cable Pushdown
Single Arm Overhead Extension
Exercise
Warm up & Stretching
Bent Over Barbell Row
(V Bar) Lat Pulldown
Underhand cable row
Deadlifts
Barbell (Dumbbell) Shrugs
(Machine) Preacher Curls
Exercise
Warm up & Stretching
Squat
Lying hamstring curl
Leg Extension
Romanian Deadlift
Abs Superset
Workout 1 - Push (Chest, Shoulders, and Tri's)
Sets Reps
N/A N/A
1 8-12
2 12-15
3 8-10
2 12
2 8-10
2 10-12
1 12-15
Workout 2 - Pull (Back, Traps, and Bi's)
Sets Reps
N/A N/A
2 10-12
3 12-15
1 12-15
1 8-12
2 12-15
2 8-10
Workout 3 - Legs and Abs
Sets Reps
N/A N/A
3 15,12,10
1 12-15
2 10
3 15,12,10
2 15,10; failure
49
Notes
Warm up with a few (2-3) sets make sure the pec tondons are warm
and the muscle is firing. Main set: rest pause
4 count negative, work on range of motion, stretch the muscle (can
be supersetted as the isolation movement prior to incline press)
2 warm up, 1 main set
Bend the wrists, fire the side delt, perform them seated then partial
standing
1 count hold at top
Lock arm out fully, envision yourself hitting a side tricep, make the
tricep as hard as possible, last set drop down to 80% after failure
Light weight, fully extend and flex the tricep
Notes
Top and back off set, brutally heavy
3 count negative
3 count negative
1-2 warm up sets, 1 main set to finish off the back with overall mass
builder
Full range of motion, squeeze at peak contraction. Perform 2nd set
to failure, can be supersetted with light upright rows
Top and back off set
Notes
Increase weight each set, BURY the squat (this is not powerlifting -
there should be no doubt that you hit depth)
10 from top to halfway, 10 from bottom to halfway, 10 full range 2
count hold and 4 count negative
Set 1: (Weighted) Hanging Leg Raises (15 reps) superset with ab
rollouts (10 reps). Set 2: Leg Raises (12 reps), rollouts to failure
“Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” –Hippocrates

50
Nutrition is a key element to the powerbuilder’s success. It fuels our energy, capacity, strength,
recovery, growth, endurance, hormones, etc.

Many bodybuilders have written extensively about the basics and ‘science’ of nutrition: macronutrients,
calories, Base Metabolic Rates, functions of the nutrients, timing…the numbers.

But aside from getting clean and comprehensive nutrients for weight and growth progress, what we
ingest has an enormous impact on our hormonal balance and systems most bodybuilders do not take
into consideration.

Few, and only from specific circles, have discussed the importance of food from this holistic perspective.
There are many dangers that threaten us in modern ‘feed’: not all calories are created equal. This is
especially important for natural bodybuilders. ‘Food’ today is not the food our ancestors ate just 150
years ago.

Feed today is not the Sustenance of Tradition.

We are going to walk through the basics of nutrition, how to approach and build a diet with an idea of
the correct proportions of macronutrients, shift our focus to be one of traditional foods, and point out
how (and why) to avoid enormous dangers threatening us today.

The Mad Science

The body needs energy to function, but not just function in the gym.

The heart needs to beat, blood needs to be circulated, food needs to be digested, the brain needs to
think (…well, it’s supposed to). All of these things require energy, so just by sitting at your computer or
watching TV, your body is burning calories to operate internally at rest.

The amount of calories your body needs to function while at rest (without taking into account physical
exercise) is known as the Base Metabolic Rate (BMR). If you want to calculate your BMR, you can
perform a simple experiment.

Weigh yourself on a scale every day for 7 days, multiple times throughout the day. Count every calorie
you ingest for this week-long experiment, hitting around the same target number of calories each day.
The exact amount of calories you eat each day will differ slightly, so add the number of calories for all 7
days, then divide by 7 to get your average daily intake.

If your weight goes up over the course of the week at that specific number of calories, your BMR is lower
than the amount you’ve been ingesting (i.e. your body is burning less calories than you’ve eaten =
weight gain);

If your weight goes down, your BMR is higher than the amount of calories you’ve been ingesting (i.e.
your body is burning more calories than you’ve eaten = weight loss);

If your weight stays the same, the number of calories you’ve been eating is your BMR (i.e. your body is
burning roughly the same amount of calories you’ve eaten).

This is assuming you are not performing any physical exercise at all.

51
In other words, if your average daily caloric intake for the week was 3,500 calories, and you gain weight,
your body is in a caloric surplus, meaning the body is getting more calories than it is burning. If you eat
3,500 calories and lose weight, your body is in a caloric deficit, meaning it is burning more calories than
it is getting.

If your weight stays the same, this is the base metabolic rate: your body is getting the same amount of
calories as it is burning. This is also known as your maintenance calorie requirement, or “cruising
speed”.

We’ll cover caloric surpluses, deficits, and weight gain/loss in a bit, but it is important to have an idea of
your BMR before building a nutrition program that will suit your training and physique goals. You can
abridge the test to 3 days if you desire a faster, but slightly less accurate, assessment.

A quick-and-dirty way to figuring out your BMR without the above test is given to us by Mike Mentzer, in
Heavy Duty Nutrition:

“For Men: Add a zero to your weight in pounds; then add to the result twice your weight in
pounds. I currently weigh 215 pounds, so I would figure my BMR: 215 plus a zero is 2150; 2150
plus twice my weight, 430, is 2580. So my body expends 2580 calories simply fueling my vital life
processes. This formula leaves out the calories expended in daily voluntary activity.”

There are many factors of the individual that affect this BMR number: weight, age, muscle mass, gender,
hormonal output, “fast” or “slow” metabolism, etc. But remember, this number is assuming you are not
exerting your body physically at all.

Your body will then need energy for physical activity and muscular recuperation (lifting, walking, hiking,
running).

Food is energy in the form of calories; calories are a unit of measurement. Calories come from 3
macronutrients: Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats.

The Macronutrients (Macros)

A macronutrient (or macro) is the element that comprises food, and contains calories. The 3 macros are
Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats.

 1 gram of Carbohydrate is equivalent to 4 calories

 1 gram of Protein is equivalent to 4 calories
 1 gram of Fat is equivalent to 9 calories

You can look at the nutrition fact label on the back of any pantry item and calculate the amount of
calories just by knowing the amount of macronutrients and doing the math as above.

Carbohydrates
Carbs are the muscle’s primary fuel source.

52
They play a dynamic role in both energy available for fast-twitch, muscular contractions in the weight
room, and also in the recuperation phase. All carbohydrates are broken down into glucose (sugar) in the
blood, which are then turned to glycogen as energy stored in the muscles. Glycogen is the fuel source
used in high-intensity weight training.

There are two kinds of carbohydrates: Simple Carbs and Complex Carbs. The difference between the
two is their molecular composition.

Simple carbs (sugars) are more easily/quickly turned into glucose, and therefore glycogen, in the body.
Complex carbs are made up of longer chains, and digest more slowly, making them turn to glucose and
glycogen over a longer period of time.

Therefore both kinds of carbohydrates are ‘sugar’ (eventually) but simple carbs will have more of an
effect on insulin, a storage hormone. We talk more about the role of insulin later here in the Nutrient
Timing section as this gets more complicated by the combination of foods ingested in a meal.

For our purposes, it would be best to get most of our carbohydrates from complex carbohydrates in
order to avoid the spike in insulin. The one exception to this would be immediately around a high-
intensity workout, when the insulin spike and subsequent glycogen storage is most useful.

“Glycogen is paramount in the recuperation/muscle-building process. In the postworkout

period, the body is crying out for the replacement of depleted glycogen stores. So much so, that
during the postworkout phase the body actually releases enzymes that aid in the storage of
glycogen.”—Dorian Yates, A Portrait of Dorian Yates

Most simple carbs today are refined and processed garbage. Examples of these bad simple carbs are:
soda, candy, donuts, table sugar, white breads, etc.

Examples of good Simple Carbs: raw honey, fruit (bananas, berries, oranges, cherries, apples,
watermelon, pineapple), raw milk, pure organic maple syrup, Not from concentrate organic orange juice

Examples of Complex Carbs: sweet potatoes, potatoes, jasmine rice, white rice, brown rice, gluten free
pasta (made from 100% organic brown rice, for example), steel-cut oats, whole grains, Ezekiel bread,
sourdough bread, and (to a lesser degree) vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, onions, and
peppers

Proteins
Protein is the body’s repair and muscular growth substance.

As you may remember from 9th grade bio class, protein is the “building blocks of muscle”, and amino
acids are the “building blocks of protein”. Protein plays a crucial role in repairing and building muscle
after workouts. Protein is obviously important, but this doesn’t mean it is “of only importance”—an
important distinction from the mainstream.

Protein takes longer to digest than carbohydrates, though not as long as fats. This is why foods
containing high amounts of protein and fats make you feel more sufficiently satiated than just
carbohydrates would. You don’t feel as hungry after eating a 16 oz ribeye, than you would after eating
pancakes or a slice of bread.

53
Protein can be overconsumed. I’ve seen some guru’s advocating 2.5-3 grams of protein per bodyweight.
This is a lot. Too much of any macronutrient that is beyond what the body can use, will be eliminated in
waste or turned to fat.

“…protein consumed in excess can be turned to fat just as readily as excess calories derived
from fat and carbohydrate sources….it is an excess of calories that leads to bodyfat, no matter
the source.” –Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty Nutrition

Protein in the correct amounts is still very important to our well-balanced, muscle-building diet.

Examples of Protein Sources: grass-fed pasture-raised red meats, game meats, eggs, poultry, lean
ground beef, organ meats (liver); wild caught salmon, tuna fish, sardines (in water or olive oil), shrimp

Often times, protein and fat intake go hand-in-hand, for example with eggs, salmon, and steak cuts of
meat.

Fats
Fats play a dynamic role in the body, and fat eaten doesn’t just turn into fat on the body.

Fat: acts as a secondary energy source late in endurance training, is used as energy for involuntary
system functions, contributes to cognitive function and the health of skin and hair, is involved in the
production of the body’s natural hormones (key), lubricates joints, and is needed to absorb certain
vitamins and minerals.

If protein has been overstated in the publicity of the health world, fats (and carbs) have been mostly
understated.

Fats are thicker, more complex foods that take a longer time to digest. This is why you may feel a bit
tired and “need time to digest” after eating a heavier meal like a steak before you feel the energy to
workout.

We won’t cover the science in depth here (poly vs. mono, saturated vs unsaturated, etc.), but on top of
accompanying food sources, they are also the best sources to cook with and add to salads in the form of
certain oils.

They are present in most meats, butter, and oils.

Examples of Fats: Grass-fed, pasture-raised butter, eggs, meats, bone marrow, and Ghee; Extra Virgin
Organic Olive and Coconut oil; Avocados

“In order to maintain health and provide for optimal growth, our bodies require more than 40
different nutrients. These various nutrients can be found in the six primary food components:
water, protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.”—Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty
Nutrition,

Now that we know about the 3 macronutrients, we are left with water, vitamins, and minerals.

Water, Vitamins, and Minerals

54
Up to 60% of the human body is comprised of water. Water is needed to transport our nutrients and for
our cells to function properly—especially the cells in our muscles. Water and carbohydrates are to thank
for the pump during a workout.

But water does a lot more. It transports nutrients throughout the body, aids in digestion and waste
removal, lubricates joints, removes toxins and other unwanted substances that have been stored, and
regulates body temperature. And in Mentzer’s own words, “and last but not of least importance to the
bodybuilder, water is the primary constituent of muscle tissue.”

Water consumption can vary. You don’t “have” to drink 1+ gallon of water. Too much water and the
body becomes bloated and the process of removing toxins and moving nutrients gets delayed. In other
words, you don’t have to walk around with one of those lame water containers with “inspirational”
messages at each notch of water level (“keep going!”).

Listen to your body and “let thirst dictate intake.”

Vitamins and Minerals are known as “micronutrients”. They combine with each other and other
nutrients spoken for above in order to form enzymes that are then used for many vital physiological
processes.

They are abundant in a variety of foods with macronutrients. So, “If you are consuming a reasonably
well-balanced diet, you are getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.”—Mentzer

A well-balanced diet is one rich in a variety of the different macronutrient sources listed above, and is of
crucial important to the health and progress of a powerbuilder.

Well-Balanced, Muscle-Building Nutrition

The body optimally uses the three macronutrients in different ways.

It “wants” to use:

1. carbohydrates as the primary energy source for fast-twitch, muscular contractions in the
weight room and on the track,
2. protein for repairs and growth, and
3. fats as slow burning energy for low intensity exercise and to maintain involuntary internal
functions like thinking and hormone production.

However, when one area is deficient, the body will have to work overtime to make up for the
deficiency.

For example, if you have no carbohydrates (carbs-->sugar (glucose)--> glycogen) in the muscles and are
engaging in intense manual labor or weight training, the body will then convert ingested proteins into
glycogen through a long and tedious internal process called gluconeogenesis.

Once it has exhausted the ingested proteins, it will turn to ingested fats, and convert them into the
required glycogen to complete the activity. Finally, when all ingested foods have been exhausted, the
body will turn to its fat stores (body fat) as energy.

55
(If you are obese or heavily overweight, it would make more sense to just fast and cut straight to the fat
stores as energy… more on this later.)

In so doing, the body won’t be able to use all of the ingested protein for repairs and growth, and all of
the ingested fats for internal functions and hormone regulation. In optimal circumstances, protein is not
used a fuel source.

“It is also true that all of the various nutrients work together, and when one is lacking or
deficient, the others are limited in their roles as well.”—Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty Nutrition

This is why a well-balanced diet, one with a healthy ratio of carbs, proteins, and fats, is important for
our powerbuilding goals. It will provide you with all of the nutrients needed for performance, growth,
and hormonal function.

The Percentage Split

Both Dorian and Mentzer advocate for a split of total caloric intake to come from: 50-60%
carbohydrates, 25-30% protein, and 15-20% fat.

So, if you are consuming 3,000 calories a day, the total caloric split for the day would be:

1,800 calories from carbs, 750 calories from proteins, 450 calories from fats

Or Carbs: 450g; Proteins: 187.5g; Fats: 50g

Total Calories Calories by Calories to

Macronutrient Grams
(3,000) Macro Grams
Carbohydrates (60% of Total = 1800
3,000 x 60% 1800/4 = 450g
Calories) calories
Proteins (25% of Total Calories) 3,000 x 25% = 750 calories 750/4 = 187.5g

Fats (15% of Total Calories) 3,000 x 15% = 450 calories 450/9 = 50g

Ah, thought you were done with Advanced Calculus, did you?

This can be tweaked to serve your own needs. Fat and protein can comprise more of the diet than this
original breakdown, as recent science has shown us that fat (coming from quality sources) is much
healthier than thought in previous decades. We get more into fat when we discuss Deep Nutrition, but
suffice it to say fat from good sources is more important than we have been led to believe.

As for protein, and as a high-intensity athlete, it would be important to get around 1 – 1.25 grams of
protein per pound of bodyweight to allow enough recovery and growth to occur, but within reason. So if
you weigh 185 pounds, you can mold your daily breakdown around 185-230 grams of protein.

Again, this is a starting point. You may find that you feel better with a variation of the split. Apply
changes in small increments so that you can properly analyze the success of the changes and fine-tune
your strategy with accuracy. Listening to your body takes time, but is very important.

This dietary macronutrient split can be attained in two ways:

56
 1) Try to eat each meal with this balanced breakdown

Ex: A homemade stir fry. You can make jasmine rice in a rice cooker or bowl, and simultaneously
sauté garlic, onion, spinach, and broccoli in Extra Virgin Olive Oil in an iron skillet or soup pan; you’d
add shrimp to the sauté medley, cook them, then add a couple of eggs; once the vegetables and
shrimp/eggs are cooked, you can add the cooked rice and mix thoroughly. If you proportion
everything correctly, this single meal will have all of the macros proportioned in one big batch, and
can be easily saved for future meals.

2) Ingest a daily intake that would fully comprise the breakdown at the end of the day

Ex: A breakfast comprised mostly of carbohydrates, a lunch/post workout meal primarily consisting
of all three macros, and a dinner with more fats and proteins to carbs

I’ve done both, and now strive more towards option 1 in order to keep insulin stable.

If you are striving to be a competitive bodybuilder, then counting all of your macros (and even weighing
your food) might be required.

However, if you are training recreationally—to maintain health and strive for a stronger and aesthetic
physique—counting each macro and calorie isn’t necessary. Simply having an idea of the general
balance and getting quality food from proper sources (very important, we get to this later) is sufficient.

Having a neurotic, obsessive compulsive worry about these things is not worth the cortisol.

“Because we have different metabolic rates, we will all get fat, lose weight and grow muscle at
varying rates of speed. While it is obviously true, therefore, that we all have different metabolic
rates, what is less obvious, but equally important, is that the physiology underlying metabolism
is universal. In other words, it’s the same for all human beings. The chemical processes
governing our utilization of food for energy, maintenance, repair and growth have been clearly
mapped out and circumscribed by physiologists long ago.”—Mike Mentzer, Heavy Duty Nutrition

Nutrient Timing and Eating Frequency

There is some debate regarding total amount of nutrients that can be absorbed in one sitting. Some say
that the body can only absorb 50 grams of protein in a meal at once, others say there is no limit.

I generally fall into the camp of maintaining each meal to be around 50-75 grams of protein, following
the macro breakdown as above. I don’t think it could possibly be efficient to routinely eat one meal that
contains all 3,000 calories for the day. The system can be overwhelmed to its own detriment, as we see
when certain nutrients become toxic when overconsumed (like Vitamin A). This leaves the rational
individual to believe that there is a limit and a balance to the amount of nutrients to absorb in one
sitting.

If the body really had “no limit” to how much it can absorb in one sitting (as I’ve heard certain ‘scientific’
members of the community say), than why not eat 21,000 calories one time once a week to account for
a 3,000 calorie per day diet? The body is very adaptable, but it can be overwhelmed. Even the amount of

57
fat one can store on the body can be overwhelmed, and everything after that limit would just be
eliminated after a long time on the can.

Perhaps we need a test subject to eat one 1,095,000 calorie meal for the year!

As discussed, getting more carbs/proteins/fats than the body needs at that time will be eliminated in the
form of waste, and the rest will be stored as fat on the body. The body wants to save this energy for
later.

While I think it’s good to consume these meals over the course of a day, I do not prescribe to the
mainstream bodybuilding notion that one must eat every 2-3 hours.

Insulin and Glycemic Index

When you eat anything, your body breaks down the foods into sugar and sends it into the blood. This
raises your blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. Insulin is a hormone that gets released in order to
transport that sugar from the blood into the cells of your muscles, liver, and fat to be used for energy
later.

Insulin lowers the blood sugar levels by transporting the blood sugar from the blood into the cells.

Different foods have different impacts on the blood sugar levels and the subsequent spike in insulin.
These foods are categorized by a scientific index called the glycemic index.

The glycemic index (GI) is a numbered chart from 0-100 assigned to food, with pure sugar (glucose)
being given the value of 100 (or higher). The higher the number, the higher the resulting blood sugar
level (“sugar rush”), the higher amount of insulin is required.

This can be used to our benefit, as described in our carbohydrate section above. We can purposely use
this spike in the storage hormone immediately before and after our workouts for optimal fuel. For this
reason, meals with less variety and consisting of high glycemic foods, with a little bit of protein and
lower amounts of fats, will have a positive effect through the insulin and storage at this time.

Eating 2 bananas (higher GI food) with a scoop of whey will be great for the storage and energy effect,
replenishing the glycogen in the muscles effectively, and allowing the protein to get to work in the
muscle repair process.

However, for all other points of the day, a balanced meal becomes particularly important. When higher
glycemic foods are consumed with fats and proteins (0 on the glycemic index), the overall spike in
blood sugar is dulled. Because fats and proteins are more difficult to digest, they will lower and
counteract the spike in blood sugar levels and the resulting insulin requirement.

As mentioned, insulin is a storage hormone that (in healthy doses and around High-Intensity Training
workouts) correctly stores the sugars into muscles. Insulin lowers the blood sugar levels by getting the
sugar out of the blood and into the cells. But too much spiking the blood sugar levels makes the body
“insulin resistant”.

Insulin resistance occurs when the body is too frequently spiking its blood sugar levels, and the cells in
your muscles, fat, and liver don’t respond properly to the insulin. When this happens, the body’s
system gets confused and requires more and more insulin to properly get the sugars into the cells for

58
energy. If the body stops making more and more insulin, it results in a resting blood sugar level (also
called a fasting glucose level) that is high all the time. This leads to excessive weight gain, obesity, and
diabetes.

Another harmful thing happens when you eat too frequently—leptin resistance.

Leptin is a hormone that is released when you eat. It is known as the “hunger regulating signal” that is
sent to the brain, letting the brain know that you have just eaten and are full.

But when you eat too frequently, leptin is so constantly sent to the brain that the brain stops ‘seeing’ it.
It becomes the new normal. And when this happens, you don’t feel full, causing you to eat even more.

In a disastrous, negative feedback loop, obese people often become leptin resistant, and therefore still
feel hungry after eating after eating. This causes them to eat even more in a sitting, which causes them
to gain even more weight.

A healthy athlete engaging in rigorous weight training and following a principled meal plan as outlined in
this book will not have to worry about such imbalances in the system. But due to the massive amounts
of unhealthy foods in our time and general inactivity, this has become a problem for many people.

In a one-two punch, insulin resistance and leptin resistance can occur together, making it very difficult
for a heavily overweight individual to lose fat. This leads to severe obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

People who have Type 1 diabetes need to inject insulin because their body has either stopped making
insulin on its own or destroys its own insulin thinking it is a foreign threat. Type 1 diabetes is a
hereditary, genetic disease outside the control of an individual. It can be found and diagnosed in
children.

Type 2 diabetes, however, is developed. It is caused by constantly spiking blood sugar levels for so long
and so frequently that cells no longer respond correctly to natural insulin output. It is caused by chronic
insulin resistance from an individual’s poor eating habits and inactivity.

Leptin resistance and Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, reversed, and overcome through fasting,
exercise, and proper eating habits.

Fast.
If you are a healthy individual, decreasing your caloric intake through lowering all three macronutrients
slightly, and increasing your overall energy output through increased exercise is the best way to lose fat,
as we discuss in the following Bulking and Cutting section.

However, if you are obese, a type 2 diabetic, and/or have developed chronic insulin and leptin
resistance, you are not a healthy individual.

And: “To eat when you are sick is to feed one’s sickness.” You may need to fast.

Eating, digesting, and putting the food to use takes up a large percentage of the body’s internal systems’
efforts. This hinders the other systems of the body, including the immune system. A body in a fasted

59
state undergoes a self-regulating and cleansing process called autophagy, a cleaning out of damaged or
degraded cells.

Because fasting requires you to simply not eat for an extended period of time, the body’s other internal
systems are allocated all of the internal energy reserves. In this homeostatic process, the body can reset
its insulin sensitivity, and because you aren’t eating, the “blind signal” of leptin can begin to be reseen
by the brain.

Fasting allows the body to overcome and reset leptin and insulin resistance. It also allows the immune
system to run full tilt on any invasive or threatening illnesses inside the body. Not to mention fixing the
almighty endocrine system responsible for healthy hormone production and regulation.

And (especially important for the obese individual) because there is no caloric intake, the body has no
choice but to use its fat stores as energy to function.

The fat stored on the body is the energy it saves for later. Fasting makes that later, now.

“Eat More to Lose Weight” (!?)

This is why it’s absolutely absurd and problematic for the mainstream fitness gurus to recommend fat
people actually eat more frequently (!) in order to lose weight. Even going so far as to say fasting is
unhealthy!

Fasting is mandated as religious practices for faiths across the world (Lent for Catholics and Christians;
Yom Kippur and other times for Jews; Ramadan for Muslims; as well as other times for Buddhists,
Mormons, Hindus, and more). It is used to treat stubborn illnesses (in some cases, even cancer) by
holistic ‘renegade’ doctors. And it was known and well-documented by the Ancient Greek and Roman
worlds to have a significantly positive effect on the health of an individual, both spiritually and
physically.

There are different types of fasting, of varying degrees of severity: Intermittent Fasting, Water Fasting
(with or without salts/electrolytes of Potassium and Sodium Chloride), “Soft” and “Hard” Dry Fasting.

Intermittent fasting requires that an individual eat in “windows”, usually of about 8 hours, and fast the
remaining 16 hours of the day. This could be done, for example, by eating breakfast (breaking the fast)
at 12 Noon, and finishing your last meal no later than 8PM. Or on a stricter protocol, eating only in a
window of 6 hours (12-6PM) or 4 hours (12-4PM)

And while I’d recommend fasting for heavily overweight and sick individuals, intermittent fasting can
also be a very effective way for a healthy athlete to lose fat quickly, while also decreasing his caloric
intake and increasing exercise. We get into bulking, cutting, and caloric surpluses/deficits next.

Fasting must be done properly, and can be harmful if taken to its extreme. I won’t go into detail about
the other types of fasting here, but if you are an obese or heavily overweight individual and are
interested in learning more about how fasting can help you achieve your fat loss goals in a healthy and
effective way, send me an email at hq@musclewaveusa.com and we can set something up.

In the words of Cole Robinson of the Snake Diet Wizard Program, if you’re obese and need to lose
weight: “Stop f*cking eating fatty!”

60
 Bulking/Cutting: Calories in, Calories Out Debate
When you consume more calories than you are burning, your body is in a caloric surplus. If you are
consuming less calories than you are burning, your body is in a caloric deficit. So, eat more calories than
you burn = weight gain; eat less calories than you burn = weight loss.

In other words:

- Eat 3,500 calories, burn 3,000 = 500 calories of weight gain

- Eat 2,500 calories, burn 3,000 = 500 calories of weight loss.

This is the idea of ‘calories in vs calories out’.

When trying to build muscle and gain weight, we want to be in a caloric surplus. But, as already
mentioned, eating more calories than necessary will result in excess waste, and in storing fat.

“The body has a certain capacity for dealing with excess beyond need. But this capacity is not
infinite, and can be overwhelmed.” –Mentzer, Heavy Duty Nutrition

In order to avoid the “dirty bulk” of putting on too much fat, increase the calories in small increments of
about 500 calories. Up the daily amount for a given week and monitor the results on a scale. So if you
are eating 3,000 calories per day, up this daily intake to 3,500 calories per day, and monitor the results
of the change after a week. If nothing happens, add another daily 500 calories the following week, and
so on. This will ensure you are building lean muscle mass.

The reverse is also true.

When attempting to cut weight, eat less daily calories in increments of 500 and monitor the weight loss
results on the scale and in the mirror over the course of a week, adjusting over time accordingly.

Despite the fad diets that have come and gone with various names, re-packaged and re-branded for
different marketing campaigns, weight loss for the healthy individual can be this straightforward.

For example, the classic low/no carb diet has gone through many identities over the years: Atkins, paleo,
keto, Eco-atkins (?), zero-carb, Whole30, Dukan. Mentzer has this to say regarding them:

“One last word about low-carbohydrate diets. They do work, that is certain. But any diet where
you drastically reduce consumption of one of the macronutrients will result in weight loss. You
can achieve weight loss more safely, and just as effectively, by reducing the consumption of all
three macronutrients slightly.”

If you are a generally fit and healthy individual with a good amount of muscle mass, slightly consuming
less of all three macros (less calories) while burning more, will be a healthier and safer path to weight
loss over time.

If, however, you are obese or heavily overweight, intermittent fasting, and fasting to varying degrees
can be an effective and healthy option.

There is some debate regarding the “it’s as simple as calories in vs. calories out” mentality.

61
And there is truth to this critique, but not for what the critics usually use an excuse (genetics, slow-
metabolism, fast-metabolism, systemic oppression, etc..)

There is a degree of nutrition under the surface that goes beyond the numbers: beyond the good and evil
of calories.

And it has to do with natural hormonal production, overall health, and the presence of toxic elements
in nearly all of the mass produced and pre-packaged ‘food’ of modernity.

The Hidden Science: Food Sources Matter

The food on the shelves of mega-corporation grocery stores is not the food our great grandparents
ate.

Most ready-made carbohydrate sources are refined and processed, making nearly all of them basically
insulin-spiking, concentrated sugar devoid of the other nutrients that would naturally accompany the
food in its original form.

Most mass-produced meats come from factory-farms, where not only do the animals live tortured and
pitiful lives, but they are fed a diet of soy/grain feed and pumped full of synthetic antibiotics to keep
them from dying, sometimes with hormones to force them to grow and function despite their
conditions.

To add insult to injury, the marketing teams of these globo-corps market the products in a way that
show sunsets over rolling hills of plains, as if the animals were seeing this landscape every day as they
are happily milked and eating the grass.

The reality is much more grim, filled with twisting machines, sickly animals defecating and living on top
of one another, estrogen-spiking (and toxic estrogenic) feed, and warehouses of concrete and metal
with no sun or rolling pastures in sight.

Here, the old quip applies: “You are what you eat.”

And if the animals are eating unnatural food and living in hell conditions, alarmed, frightened, and
plagued, this will get into their meat and milk.

So when we eat them, through a transitive property, we are ingesting contaminated and unhealthy
foods that make us unhealthy.

“Cage-Free, Natural Eggs from smiling chickens on Sunset Farms!”

Another layer of the deception is committed through big-farma’s lobbyists and legal teams. They have
changed mass producing laws and regulations in order to label things as “natural”, “free-ranged”, “cage-
free”, “No Added Antibiotics”, “vegetarian fed”, “Grain-finished” in order to sell them at a premium,
with little to no real benefit to the health of the consumer.

62
It is a way to make people think they are getting something better (while charging a premium) when it
may just be a lesser of two evils.

‘Natural’ means pretty much nothing (obviously, all food is “natural”); ‘free-ranged’ just means that the
hens have access to the outdoors (meaning there is a door that can lead to the outdoors) but doesn’t
mean they are going anywhere; ‘cage-free’ means the eggs are coming from hens who can move around
in a “building, room, or enclosed area” but doesn’t mean they have access to the outdoors; ‘vegetarian-
fed’ means the feed doesn’t have meat (but chickens are omnivores and actually eat bugs and worms in
a natural setting); ‘grain fed/grain-finished’ means the cows are fed grain to fatten them up (their own
dirty bulk), but that contributes to their health problems and lack of quality nutrition (similar to a human
eating nothing but cheerios); the list goes on.

These companies need to make money, and they don’t do that by massaging the animals and feeding
them like kings (unless, of course, we’re talking wagyu).

I am not a vegetarian and this isn’t hippie-dippie bullshit.

Aside from the reprehensible crime against nature, the contaminants and threats of illness are the result
of such an environment. It is not the eggs themselves that pose the risk of salmonella, but the wretched
environment in which they are begotten. (In fact, you can eat eggs raw when their source is high quality
and they have been pasture-raised.)

If you are grimacing in suspicious disgust as you peel open the shrink-wrapped package of poultry meat,
fearing the spread of invisible disease across the kitchen (as I have done many times before), this should
be a telling sign.

The “eating chicken and rice every 2 hours, bro” mentality of the mainstream just doesn’t cut it.

These harmful elements make the foods less nutrient-rich and drastically affect our health—especially
our hormonal health.

Hormones. Hormones Everywhere

As we will see in the Natural Hormone Production chapter next, herbicides/pesticides, mold in the
grain, types of feed the factory farm animals are fed, and the placing of all their products into plastic,
compound estrogenics (artificial estrogen) in the food. We will discuss estrogenics more in depth in the
next chapter, but it is important to note that they particularly ‘seek out’ fat, and live for their lifetime.

As animals eat these estrogenics, they end up in the meat, as the meat is harvested and placed in
plastic, more estrogenics are in the food. We eat the food, and we then ingest the estrogenics.

As water is contaminated by herbicide run-off, plastics, and even female birth control (!), lower levels of
marine life (down to zooplankton) become contaminated. Fish eat them and have higher concentrations
of the pollutants, and the bigger fish eat those fish and have highest concentrations. When we eat them,
we ingest the same estrogenic contaminants.

The same is true of land animals.

63
Chickens are typically fed soy feed (the highest concentrated phytoestrogen on our upcoming list), they
generally live in wretched and ill conditions, sometimes doped with hormones to make them fatter and
larger, and their meat is typically stored in plastic.

Cattle and pigs are typically fed grain which, when stored in huge quantities in damp conditions, become
contaminated with mold, a potent mycoestrogen (another estrogenic on our list). Or they’re fed corn
meal, which itself is heavily doused with herbicides and pesticides containing estrogenics. The animals
eat this, also living in poor conditions and also sometimes given hormones to make them produce more,
the estrogenics live in the fat, and the animal by-products (including dairy) are stored directly in plastic,
sometimes while hot.

Because most farms are located next to or near bodies of water, these estrogenics are going back and
forth between the two, and the same can be said for the vegetables.

This is all well-documented by Dr. Anthony G. Jay (biochemist and Ph.D.) in his work Estrogeneration:
How Estrogenics are Making You Fat, Sick, and Infertile. I don’t include exact numbers here for the sake
of brevity, but we discuss estrogenics more in depth in the coming chapter.

This isn’t an attack on meat or farmers. I am referring here specifically to factory farms controlled by
gigantic, mega-billionaire corporations and elites. And meat and dairy, as suggested by Dr. Jay, is not the
issue, but the estrogenic contaminants. It makes you wonder why super-billionaires are ‘buying up farm
land’.

Quality Food Sources

It is always best to eat meat, poultry, eggs, and raw milk that has come from local farms, or butcher
shops that have gotten the meat from a local farm. And ideally, these products were stored in glass or
non-plastic wrappings.

Not only is this a way to vote with your dollar to support local communities and struggling farmers being
crushed by the big-ag mega-corps, but it is much healthier for you.

It is even better to eat game meats (especially super-foods like liver) that have been hunted while
living in the wild, eating what nature intended.

Because this is not always an option for all of us, here is a short list of things to look for in the grocery
store for quality sources:

Meat: “Pasture-raised”, “grass fed” (beware the trick: “grain-finished”)

Fish: Wild caught (avoid farm raised when possible, especially from Asian waters which are filled
with higher levels of mercury and estrogenic contaminants); Smaller fish (like sardines) lower on
the food chain will have less contaminants which compound higher up the chain

Eggs: “Pasture-raised, Organic, Certified Humane/Animal Welfare Approved”

Butter/Ghee: “Pasture-raised”, “grass fed”

Vegetables/Greens/Fruits: “Organic”

64
 Water: Properly filtered water (charcoal filter or distilled water filter) or well water is the best.
Spring water (not best drinking out of plastic, as we discuss later, but “purified” is just tap water
containing fluoride and other contaminants).

These items are often pricier, but it’s my assertion that it is better to eat less, high-quality food than
more, toxic feed.

The laws and regulations may be different in Europe and other countries of the world that I am less
familiar with, especially as it applies to farming, but this is important for the US followers.

Hormonal Nutrition: Foods for Testosterone and Overall Health

We have to make an effort to keep hormonal production and internal health as optimized as possible,
especially if training natural. The importance of healthy hormonal production cannot be overstated.

There are certain foods classified as phytoestrogens (which are plant-derived xenoestrogens) that mimic
estrogen in the body.

And there are other ‘foods’, usually slipped into mass-produced goods and pre-packaged items that
have a destroying effect on the body’s internal systems and overall health. These include, but are not
limited to, refined carbohydrates, processed sugars, and vegetable/seed oils.

Here’s a list of food items to stay away from due to their estrogenic/health damaging effects:

 Legumes (soybeans, green peas, kidney beans, lima beans, lentils, peanuts – peanuts are
actually a legume, and most commercial peanut butter is poisoned with vegetable/seed oils)
 Barley/Hops (Beer, especially IPA’s, are made with a ton of hops – a powerful estrogenic;
domestic beers are also usually doped with High-Fructose Corn syrup; Beer also has a Glycemic
Index of 100)
 Soy products
 Wheat germ
 Sesame seeds
 Flax seeds
 Dried Fruits (these will usually be coated in vegetable oil)
 Tofu
 Granola
 Oatmilk (based used here is vegetable oil)
 Commercial salad dressing (sugars and vegetable oil, this includes commercial ranch and blue
cheese)
 Alcohol (Harms sleep quality, damages protein synthesis, contains empty calories – similar to
macro’s, but 1 gram of alcohol is 7 calories, so even a shot of straight liquor contains about 80-
100+ calories. Red wine is best to consume if drinking, especially with meals as it contains
dozens of digestive enzymes that help break down and absorb food. Vodka/tequila soda with a
lime is the next best thing if going out with friends, in moderation. Alcohol overconsumed will
harm hormonal balance for the worse.)
 High fructose corn-syrup/other artificial sweeteners

65
  Processed foods and fast food and processed sugar/refined carbohydrates (white breads,
breakfast cereals, pre-packaged meals, sodas, mass-produced breads and pastas, etc.).
Processed anything, really
 Margarine and any other kind of butter substitute (these are usually “cut” with high amounts of
vegetable oils)
 Vegetable/seed oils (corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, soybean oil, cottonseed
oil, rapeseed oil)

It’s not the end of the world to eat a few of these foods in moderation. But some are far worse than
others.

As we see later in the Natural Hormone Production chapter, certain foods contain estrogenic
phytoestrogens like flax seed, soy and soy products, and sesame seeds which are highly potent
estrogenics. Others, like black beans and chickpeas, while still containing phytoestrogens, contain only a
tiny amount, and our gut biome’s natural bacteria is more equipped to handle these estrogenics.

Other foods can contain mold contamination known as mycoestrogens (like grains). But oats and black
beans are not nearly as bad as vegetable oils and processed sugar.

Vegetable oils and processed sugars are two of the most damaging foods to consume, especially when
ingested at the same time.

Vegetable Oils: A Hidden Plague

Vegetable oils do not come from vegetables or other leafy greens, like shown on their labels. And they
are found in nearly all pre-packaged foods in the grocery store shelves—from breads, to dried fruits, to
commercial salad dressings, to oat milk.

“Vegetable oils” are more accurately “seed oils” and include: soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil,
sunflower oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, rapeseed oil.

Up to a few decades ago, these oils were used as engine oil (!) but have since been reclassified to allow
for cheaper production costs of ‘food’ by the gigantic agriculture-corporations. They are easy to
manipulate, cheap to make and use, and their dangers have been carefully hidden from the general
public.

Dr. Catherine Shanahan in her extensive book, Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food,
has pulled back the curtain of vegetable oils’ mainstream prevalence and their disastrous effects on
people. On a scientific level, she explains what occurs within the body upon consumption of such
hazardous ingredients.

The process of creating these oils begins similarly to how machine oil is made, with processing, pressing,
refining. “In fact, one of the initial steps in making vegetable oil involves the use of hexane, a component
of gasoline.”—Dr. Shanahan, Deep Nutrition

After a long chemical process, the seeds become rancid, producing a terrible stench and nearly black
coloring. She continues, “Making these stinky oils palatable requires a degree in chemical engineering;
it takes twenty or so additional stages to bleach and deodorize the dark, gunky muck.”

66
The refining process destroys both healthy kinds of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in the fat along
with their complimentary antioxidants, transmuting them into “distorted, unhealthy molecules”.

“Industrial fat products like vegetable oils are toxic to your arteries because they contain
delicate polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that are particularly prone to oxidative damage,
especially when exposed to heat…they’re bad because they lead to the formation of free
radicals, which not only turn normal polyunsaturated fatty acids into mutants, but can also
damage almost any part of your body: cell membranes, chromosomes, other fats…in addition to
mangling and distortion membrane PUFAs, the cascade reaction can damage hormone
receptors, nutrient channels, and other proteins in the membrane, disrupting membrane
function and putting the entire cell at risk.”—Dr. Shanahan, Deep Nutrition

When these oils are heated (especially to smoking points), the result is a highly explosive ingredient (on
a cellular level) that wreaks havoc on the brain and internal systems of the body, from cognitive function
to hormonal production.

This is why you generally feel like sh*t after eating fast food – and are likely still hungry.

And unfortunately due to their low costs, vegetable oil is what is likely being used at most restaurants.
(Since we have lives to live and likely enjoy eating out from time to time, if you do eat a meal that has
been tainted with seed oils, you can take a spoonful of cold-pressed, organic Extra Virgin Coconut oil
when you arrive back home – the vitamin E present in the shavings will help absorb the damage done
from the PUFAs.)

The danger of vegetable oils and their presence everywhere knows no bounds…you ultimately have to
check the ingredient labels of foods that you buy packaged at the store. You will be shocked to see just
how prevalent vegetable/seed oils are in everyday food. They are nearly everywhere, but their harm is
enormous.

Shanahan goes so far as to assert that the damage from them (especially when combined with
processed sugar) can lead to: inflammation, heart disease, clogged arteries, birth defects, gene/DNA
damage, autism, pre-cursors to cancer…even erectile dysfunction. After all, she says, the same big
pharma company that makes Lipitor (a popular cholesterol-lowering medication) also makes Viagra.

Deep Nutrition
Her book is thoroughly-researched and I’d recommend reading it. She doesn’t just discuss vegetable oils,
but on a greater scale how our foods affect our genes in a science called “epigenetics”, impacting our
appearance, height, the straightness of our teeth, the health of our skin, and overall physical beauty.

However, I think she understates the importance of carbohydrates, and would disagree with her
recommended macronutrient split. While she states that she is “not anti-carb”, the book definitely leans
this way.

I guess she wasn’t exactly writing for the jacked up, High-Intensity Training powerbuilders of the world.

67
While the bits about the exact science and chemistry become very detailed (and promptly go over my
head in certain parts), the message is clear: When it comes to food choices, if your grandparents/great
grandparents would’ve have been able to eat it, then it ain’t food…and stay far away from demonic
vegetable oils.

Cooking for Yourself

Dr. Shanahan in Deep Nutrition says, “saturated fats (present in butter, coconut oil, lard, and traditional
fats win hands down. Why? Because they can resists a kind of heat-related damage called oxidation.”

Therefore, choose the following kinds of oils and fats to use in cooking:

 Extra Virgin Olive Oil (perfect oil for dressing salads as well, combined with balsamic or red wine
vinegar)
 Grass-fed, pasture-raised butter (or Ghee)
 Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
 Animal fats (lard, tallow)
 Peanut oil (not as good as the above, but better than the alternatives)

These are the best kinds of fats to use in cooking and eating. Be sure not to heat them too high to their
smoking points, as this will destabilize their components.

Heat can change food/nutrition on a chemical level.

Going back to the Glycemic Index, starchy foods (like potatoes) for instance, become higher on the
glycemic index the more (over)done they are cooked.

Other foods that are healthy in their raw state, become transformed and less nutritious in their cooked
(overcooked) state (carrots, broccoli, sauerkraut, etc.). The reverse is also true, and some foods can
have latent nutrients that get activated through the cooking process.

When red meat, for example, is exposed to high heats, molecules become tangled and fused together,
making it difficult to digest and sizzling out some vital nutrients.

Ordering a steak well-done not only doesn’t taste good (or look good to your sophisticated company),
it’s not as bioavailable, or able to be absorbed and used by the body.

Red meats (including game meats) are best digested and their nutrients best absorbed when eaten rare.
Medium if you have to. (THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO POULTRY MEAT). For taste and function, you can sear
the beef on the outside and keep the inside red and juicy. This is very good for your hormonal health, as
are eggs.

Eggs are a super food, containing nearly all of the vitamins and minerals you need, as well as all
essential amino acids (they are called “essential” because you can only get them through diet, the body
cannot make them). And as we recall, amino acids are the building blocks of protein, which are the
building blocks of muscle.

68
Eggs are also great foods for testosterone production because of their cholesterol. Cholesterol is a
precursor to testosterone, a steroid hormone of the body.

“Cholesterol is a misunderstood and underrated building-block for your body’s steroid

hormones and this highlights one—of many—important and healthy roles of cholesterol in your
body.”—Dr. Anthony G. Jay, Estrogeneration

Cholesterol has taken the fall over the decades for many health problems that plague the public, and Dr.
Shanahan attributes many of these issues not to cholesterol, but vegetable oils.

Many bodybuilders are even proponents of eating raw eggs. This has already been discussed at length by
many other creators in our circles (see: @raweggnationalist, @solbrah, @musclechristianity, etc.), so I
will not go into detail here. The point being simply that the yolks in the eggs have cholesterol, one of the
building blocks of anabolic hormones (testosterone). The cholesterol gets damaged in the process of
cooking, harming its ability to be absorbed by the body (becoming less bioavailable).

In fact, Vince Gironda (well-known Silver Era bodybuilder and previous trainer of Arnold) popularized a
unique “cycle” of his time: the 36 raw-eggs-a day-diet—which he claimed gave him the power of a cycle
of anabolic steroids. A shake made in this way would look something like: 6+ eggs, 6oz of orange juice, a
splash of cream or a few ounces of raw milk, a banana, a splash of pure maple syrup (to taste), a little
coconut oil, and ice...garnish with cinnamon.

If the eggs come from high-quality sources (local farm, thoroughly cleaned shell, pasture-raised
organic/certified humane), the risk of salmonella is practically zero. That’s because the inside of the egg
is not where salmonella comes from, but the bacteria in infected environments of the factory farms
outside of the shell. This is not nutrition advice. But thanks to these other creators, I’ve enjoyed
(slonked) many of these shakes.

Now, as Dr. Shanahan points out, the whites of raw eggs have proteins and ‘antinutrients’ that are not
able to be absorbed, but when cooked, actually become bioavailable. In my opinion, the most optimal
way to eat your local, pasture-raised eggs is sunny side up with a runny yolk. This way the white is
cooked and the yolk is runny, warm, and unharmed in the cooking process. The best of both.

Another superfood that should not be overcooked is liver.

Liver is one of the most nutrient dense foods on earth. This lean organ meat is overlooked for the steak
or ground cuts, but an animal is not entirely made of muscle meat. Liver would’ve been a cornerstone in
the diet of our ancestors. The liver of beef, lamb, or game animals contains high amounts of Vitamin A,
folic acid, iron, and zinc: all of which are crucial to healthy hormonal production.

From the butcher, grass-fed and pasture-raised liver is one of the healthiest and underrated foods you
can add to your diet. Because of its texture, it does not take long to cook, so only a quick sear on both
sides (less than 90 seconds) does the trick.

When it comes to liver and red/game meats, always remember the Musclewave motto: ERR ON THE
SIDE OF RARE.

Here is a list of other super foods to incorporate into your weekly nutrition for test production and gut
biome/overall health:

69
  Sauerkraut (most fermented foods are good)
 Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts) will help block estrogen – just do
not overconsume
 Grass-fed, pasture-raised liver (lamb, beef, game meats)
 Pasture-raised eggs
 Meat on the bone
 Bone Marrow

When in doubt, avoid anything processed, pre-packaged, and generally anything being pushed by
mainstream propaganda (like artificial/plant-based/soy/ ‘beyond!’ meats). Carefully screen the
ingredients to ensure the item has not been tainted with vegetable/seed oils and any other ingredients
that you can’t pronounce.

If your not-so-distant ancestors wouldn’t recognize it as food, then it probably isn’t. This is one of the
many reasons why THE PAST IS THE FUTURE.

This is the hidden knowledge unknown to the mainstream bodybuilding world, at the ready and
earnestly entrusted to you, the Chrome Era Commando—the man of the future.

Reject the Feed of Modernity; Embrace the Sustenance of Tradition!

70
71
 The Importance of Hormonal Balance
“It has been said that correct nutrition can be as much as 80% responsible for a bodybuilder’s success. I
don’t go along with that reasoning. To my mind, bodybuilding is a four-way fusion of correct training,
correct nutrition, correct recuperation and correct mental approach.”—A Portrait of Dorian Yates

I’d agree with Dorian but add a 5th: Hormonal Balance and Production

Most bodybuilders do not write about or discuss the importance of habits, foods, and lifestyles that
optimize peak hormonal production and balance.

As professionals, they don’t have to worry about certain foods/environments wreaking havoc on their
hormones because they are able to control the exact amount of hormones their body receives via
precise amounts of steroids and estrogen blockers.

It makes no difference to me whether you make the decision to train natty or pin a needle in your
glutes. But this manual would be incomplete if it didn’t emphasize the all-important role hormones play
in building size and strength, losing fat, and maintaining overall health.

Following a Training and Nutrition Program (with proper rest and sleep) will positively impact your
body’s hormonal levels and internal systems. These are great things to implement. But this section will
cover things to avoid so that you don’t undo this great work.

Your body’s hormonal system is under constant attack by common elements in the modern world—
estrogenics. These artificial chemicals reside in many products and foods today, and they have a terrible
impact on the body. We’ll need to avoid them as much as possible.

Some of this information may sound crazy, as the science describes molecules we can’t see. But it’s
important to remember that it is not meant to be a scientific-doom rant advocating you become a
hermit-monk somewhere in a cave, disbanding all of the products we frequently use. It’s included here
to alert you to some of the dangers present in our environment, so that you may know the risks and
minimize/eliminate them where possible.

Even by removing or changing only some things, you can cut the bleeding. We’ll end with steps you can
take to complete this minimization/elimination process.

Very roughly speaking, testosterone is the male sex hormone we want to maximize, and estrogen is
the female sex hormone we want to minimize.

Testosterone
Healthy and optimal testosterone output is correlated with: increased muscle density, increased
muscle mass, faster recovery from workouts, sharper mind, healthy heart, happiness, positive mental
outlook, libido, abundant energy…

Poor testosterone production (Low-T) and estrogen levels that are too high result in: increased fat
tissue (especially in the abdomen region), depression, increased stress and cortisol levels, increased risk
of Alzheimer’s Disease and Osteoporosis, irritability, fatigue, low libido and ED, infertility…

There’s a reason pro bodybuilders take steroids and estrogen blockers to supplement their training…

72
We need to do everything we can in order to carry a safe proportion of the two hormones, optimizing
our testosterone and minimizing our estrogen. This is extremely important for natural bodybuilders.

Many things (not just soy) in our modern world’s environment disrupt our endocrine system, the system
of our body that regulates healthy hormonal production. The disruption has a disastrous effect on the
body as it tanks testosterone and skyrockets estrogen.

What do I mean by many things of the modern world?

Plastics, receipts, commercial soaps, commercial deodorants/shampoos/body wash, fabric softeners…

vegetable and seed oils, phytoestrogens and mycoestrogens in foods, factory-farmed/sourced meat and
dairy, soy products, non-stick cooking pans…

herbicides, commercial sunscreens, cannabis…

You get the point.

But unfortunately, this isn’t theory. There is a catastrophic and documented scientific phenomenon
showing a steady, linear decline in testosterone levels for the average man independent of typical age.

The average 25 year old in 2021, has less testosterone than the average 25 year old did in 2001, who
has less testosterone than the average 25 year old did in 1981, who has less testosterone than the
average 25 year old did in 1961, and so on…

“In the 1940’s, for instance, when scientists were actually able to measure testosterone for the
first time in history, the average middle-aged males were approximately double the levels we
are at today. That’s a rapid fallout with massive health and strength consequences!”—Dr. Jay,
Estrogeneration

While this decline has been caused by many rapid changes within the last century (work becoming less
active and more sedentary, dynamic societal shifts, comfort replacing difficulty and growth…“The
industrial revolution and its consequences” sort of thing), it has been suggested by people much smarter
than me that it has also resulted (and continues to result) from the endocrine disruptors present
everywhere in the modern world.

What are Estrogenics?

The book, Estrogeneration: How Estrogenics Are Making You Fat, Sick, and Infertile by biochemist
Anthony G. Jay (Ph.D.), blows the lid off this topic.

It shows the direct correlation of these endocrine disruptors (a class of chemicals called “estrogenics”)
with obesity, depression, infertility, and cancer. And Dr. Jay demonstrates with grim, scientific research
just how “everywhere” these dangerous agents are.

Estrogenics are a class of molecules that mimic estrogen and bind to estrogen receptors in the body,
“turning them on”.

They are “artificial estrogens” that the body treats like real estrogen, but outcompete real estrogen
when they bind to these receptors. Dr. Jay breaks down a list of the top 10 estrogenics that are found in
our environment as we will soon see.

73
While different areas of the body may have different hormone receiving potencies and sensitivities (i.e.
rubbing Triclosan-laden bodywash all over the family jewels means a devasting direct hit), our hormone
receptors are located throughout the entire body, from the lungs, to the liver, from the esophagus, to
the skin.

This means that they can be ingested, inhaled, and even absorbed directly through the skin.

Estrogenics block-out natural estrogen but they also have a 3-fold negative effect on testosterone:
“…they decrease your testosterone, give rise to less testosterone receptors, and block testosterone
binding to its receptor in your body.”—Estrogeneration

Having abnormally high levels of estrogen is bad for the building of one’s body and for overall health—
even for women. But estrogenics contribute to many more problems on the rise. Dr. Jay shows a deadly
link between estrogenics and what he labels the “7 Deadly Things”. In his book and with research for
each, he states they contribute to:

1. Fat Gain
2. Depression (not just from ‘body-image’ issues, but from a chemical imbalance)
3. Hormonal Disruption
4. Immune System Dysfunction
5. Blood Clotting
6. Cancer
7. Infertility

Perhaps more alarmingly, estrogenics affect our DNA, and this DNA damage is then passed on to
future generations. They are “transgenerational”. So someone with acquired illness through this sort of
damage can pass this down to future generations.

This field of epigenetics is the same one we saw in Deep Nutrition. It is not just our own genetics that can
become altered, but those of our offspring. This is especially important as it applies to infertility for us
and for our wildlife (that we consume)—a step in the “dying off” direction.

The 10 Most Common Estrogenics List

Dr. Jay provides us with a list of the 10 most common estrogenics, and examples of where they are most
present. Some are worse than others, but he reminds us that all are “bad”. The list headings are directly
from his book, but the descriptions and examples I have written myself in paraphrased/condensed form.

Let’s get to the list.

1. Phytoestrogens – The “Plant Estrogenic”

This estrogenic is found in certain plants, to varying degrees of concentration. It is an artificial
estrogen that the plant itself makes for its own propagation. Some phytoestrogens we eat like
actively, like certain seeds or legumes, others we eat unknowingly, as is the case when soy is added
to prepackaged foods. Others, like lavender and cannabis, are inhaled through aromatherapy

74
diffusers or by smoking weed. Vaporization (and inhalation) condenses and compounds the
phytoestrogens.

While legumes like beans (as mentioned in Nutrition) do have phytoestrogens, their numbers pale
in comparison to flax and soy.

In one study Dr. Jay cites (using units per microgram per 100 grams of the food) , Flaxseed contained
379,380 micrograms and soy had 103,920 micrograms. Soy protein had 8,840 micrograms, and
sesame seeds had 8,008 micrograms. Black beans had just 9 micrograms, and chick peas had 5
micrograms. Astonishingly different numbers.

Found in high levels of certain plants like soy, flax, lavender, and cannabis, as well as in lower
levels of legumes like beans and peanuts.

2. Mycoestrogens—The “Fungus Estrogenic”

This estrogenic is actually a fungus toxin (mycotoxin), secreted by molds and yeast. It is not directly
consumed, but is found in foods whose mass, damp storage (like grains) allow for this contaminant
to grow.

It is not the gluten or wheat itself that is estrogenic, but the fungal contaminant that can preside in
those foods when improperly handled and stored.

This poses a threat for mass-stored food items sitting in large silos but also for our common farm
products, as most of the livestock ingest large amounts of this mold through their feed. (BAP
discusses this on his podcast, Carribean Rhythms)

The estrogenic harm is compounded by the fact that most of these crops are sprayed with
herbicides, as we see next in our list.

Found in cheap, mass-produced foods like cereals and grains (oats, brown rice, cheap coffee,
chocolates) whose dark and damp storage is susceptible to mold contamination.

3. Atrazine – The “Herbicide Estrogenic”

This estrogenic is found in the herbicides used in mass agriculture production and in commercial
weedkilling products. The chemical is sprayed in heavy doses on crops to kill weeds and insects. It is
also used commercially on lawns (the case with its counterpart, glyphosphate (in Roundup and
Monsanto) as a weed killer).

It has been banned in Europe for its dangers, but is the second most used herbicide in the US at 80
million pounds per year (as of the writing of Estrogeneration). It’s present in most commercial crops
and as we see, it eventually gets into water supply from run off.

Found in commercial crops, manicured lawns, and ‘purified’/contaminated water.

75
 4. Triclosan and APE’s (Alkylphenols) – The “Soap Estrogenic”
These estrogenics are added to soaps (and at a time, toothpastes) as a germ-killer because they are
inexpensive to produce.

Triclosan, due to legal regulations, must be listed as an active ingredient in soaps, detergents, etc.
making it easier to identify. And because of its dangers becoming well-known recently, it was to be
removed from US production by 2017.

APE’s are “surfactants” that produce the desired suds in soaps and body wash/shampoos.
Unfortunately, APE’s are a family of molecules with different breeds. They are not required to be
listed in the ingredients list, so they often aren’t, passing unseen or unknown. They are banned by
the European Union, and some forms are even banned in China.

Found in commercial soaps, shampoos, and detergents.

5. BP & 4-MBC (Benzophenone & 4-Methlybenzylidene) – The “Sunscreen

Estrogenic”
These estrogenics are found in cheap, commercial sunscreens. What makes them particularly
dangerous is that these estrogenics are affected by UV light from the sun, similar to plastics.

When they are exposed to direct sunlight, BP and 4-MBC are able to be “fused” to the estrogen
receptor, flipping the receptors to their “on switch” and capable of causing estrogenic damage to be
longer-lasting. “…the receptor ‘switch’ would be turned ‘on’ far longer than nature ever intended via
the fusion.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

Dr. Jay also recommends staying away from any kind of “-benz” ingredient (estrogenics) which can
be found in other sunscreens (in the form of “oxybenzone”) or in preserved food products (in the
form of “sodium benzoate”).

Found in cheap sunscreens.

6. Red Dye Numbers 3 & 40 – The “Artificial Red Food Color Estrogenics”
This estrogenic is found in artificial red food dye as “Red No. 40” and “Red No. 3”. It is not limited to
sodas, candies, and energy drinks, but “…I even find Red No. 40 in foods ranging from salad
dressings to salmon fillets.”—Dr. Jay. They are added to products to give them a better appearance.

Dr. Jay states that all red colorings should be avoided, not just the specific numbers listed here,
because the testing results are few and questionable.

76
In some countries of Europe, Red No. 40 was banned, but was legalized with the formation of the
EU. It is still banned in Japan. Red No. 3 was banned in cosmetic products in the US, but still allowed
in food and drinks.

Found in some prepackaged or processed foods, as well as other somewhat random products (like
hand soap).

7. Parabens – The “Fragrance Estrogenic”

This estrogenic, along with the next one, is so present that it is nearly impossible to avoid. Parabens
are another class of molecule, that have different components. If one specific one gets banned, then
companies can easily substitute another, with the same effects.

They are added to cosmetics as fragrances in bodywash, deodorant, shampoos, soaps, and also used
as a preservative of these products.

The good news is they are not “as estrogenic” as others; they have a less binding power to the
estrogen receptor. But they are nonetheless estrogenics.

Found in artificially fragranced commercial cosmetic supplies (often as ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum’) like
body wash, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, lotions, creams, perfumes, etc.

8. Phthalates – The “Plastic Additive Estrogenics”

Phthalates (pronounced: “thal-ates”) are molecules that are added to plastic to make the plastic
more clear and flexible, since cloudy plastic doesn’t sell as well because it appears inferior. They are
additives to the plastic, not creating components, and act like glitter—little pieces getting
everywhere, difficult to get off, and releasing into food or liquids upon contact.

They are used heavily in perfumes, as well as common plastic items like contact lenses and storage
containers. They can also be found in the interior of new cars.

The EU has banned the use of phthalates in the production process (with the exception of medical
equipment). They remain legal in the US.

Found in plastic items, perfumes, plastic toys, new car interior, etc.

9. BPA & BPS [Biphenol A & S] – The “Plastic Ingredient Estrogenic”

These estrogenics are used in the actual making of the plastic, not as an additive like phthalates. It
must be made known that “BPA-Free” plastic items does not mean “BPS-Free” (or some other BP
variation – BPAF, BPB, BPF), though these chemicals have the nearly the same effect on the body.

77
 They are particularly drawn out by fats and oils, and more easily held in them. Heating up the plastic
makes this process more harmful, as more of the estrogenics will leak into the hot food or drink
item.

Surprisingly, most receipt slips are not actual paper, but “thermal paper”. The shiny, slippery-looking
kind of receipt at the grocery store, airports, restaurants, etc. is really a plastic containing high-
concentrations of BPA and BPS, to the point where we are not even supposed to recycle them.

Found in plastic items, receipts (in highly-concentrated doses), some canned food items (as the
liner).

10.EE2 – The “Birth Control Estrogenic”

The chemical “EE2” is the most frequently used artificial hormone in the creation of birth control
drugs. “Over 100 million women worldwide—over 60% of all married women on our planet—are
currently on chemical contraceptives containing EE2.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

Unlike all other estrogenics we’ve seen, this one was “intentionally designed to mimic estrogen,
activate the estrogen receptor, and stay in the body longer than natural estrogen.” Obviously.

But it’s not just those “on the pill” who are affected by it…

Because of the nature of the chemical, it does not dissolve in the body, but passes through in urine
and flushed down the drain with the rest of the water to be ‘recycled’ by the filtration process. But
the water filtration process does not adequately remove estrogenics, and so this artificial hormone
circulates into the water supply.

There are laws in place in different parts of the world that declare what level of EE2 found in the
drinking water is an ‘acceptable’ amount.

Found in tap water (in higher levels of populated places like cities), and in the meat of fish and
marine life that have been exposed to this contaminant via lakes, ponds, and even the open
ocean.

There’s Something in the Water

There are estrogenic contaminants in most of our water—from lakes, ponds, rivers, open ocean…even
our ‘purified’ tap water

Herbicides, plastics, and, perhaps worst of all…female birth control (EE2) have made their way into the
water supply and subsequently marine life.

Herbicides
Many have heard about mercury being a contaminant in waters. In some places, signposts warn you not
to eat the fish and to only “catch and release”. But Dr. Jay suggests that mercury levels are actually an
indicator of estrogenics in the water, specifically through the herbicide Atrazine.

78
 “Mercury levels in water have risen because traces of mercury are often added as preservatives
to herbicides / fungicides / pesticides.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration.

Wherever these herbicides are sprayed, the traces of mercury usually end up in the water as well. And if
mercury is there, he asserts, so are the estrogenics.

As millions of pounds (80 million per year, or more in the USA) of the herbicide Atrazine get dumped
onto vast fields of crops, these durable chemicals eventually make their way into lakes and streams via
runoff and rain, and are then carried to bigger bodies of water or oceans.

In fact, governments have legal limits as to how much Atrazine they find in the water before declaring it
unsafe to drink.

Europe? Limit is 0 ng/L (it’s banned)

Brazil? Limit is 2,000 ng/L
America? Limit is 3,000 ng/L

Atrazine, the second most used herbicide in the US, has been banned by the European Union since
2004. Dr. Jay quotes Brett Hartl, a director at the Center for Biological Diversity, “[Atrazine] chemically
castrates frogs even in tiny doses, is an endocrine disruptor, and likely causes birth defects in people.
The EPA should have banned this years ago.”

Scientists found that the amount of Atrazine that lead to the morphing and maiming of reproductive
organs in frogs (even changing their sexes) was just 200 ng/L. One tenth of the legal amount for Brazil,
and one fifteenth the legal amount of the US!

Plastics and Birth Control

Plastic trash gets into bodies of water but doesn’t biodegrade. The estrogenics emanating from these
plastics live in the water and move around with the currents, contaminating the fish and traveling with
them throughout other parts of the world. These small fish are eaten, contaminating other bigger fish.
(The same can be said of the birth control estrogenic, EE2)

Fish and other marine life have been shown to have similar reproductive abnormalities, sometimes
becoming completely sterile.

“…at extremely low levels of EE2, researchers observed around a 50% reduction in the number
of rainbow trout eggs reaching an early stage of embryonic development. A 50% reduction from
‘short-term’ exposures! How much EE2 was used? The dose tested in this study was 10 ng/L. So
this study was done for a short-term and using a very low dose. It’s worth remembering that
10ng/L is a lower dose than Lake Quinsigamond, Massachusetts EE2 levels, a mere 1 hour drive
West of Boston.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

Another study done on zebrafish used a lower dose, but exposed the animals for a lifetime. The result
was a devastating “compete population failure”.

“…scientists used only 5 ng/L of EE2 but exposed the fish for their entire lifespan. This lifetime
exposure more accurately mimics what we see in lakes…well, expecting that 5ng/L is
conservatively low compared to many American lakes. Plus, these studies oversimplify. The

79
 reality is that numerous other estrogenics are also present in our lakes. It’s not just
EE2…atrazine…parabens, the phthalates, the BPA.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

Fish and frogs are extreme examples, because they are living and breathing the contaminated waters
24/7, and their eggs are especially vulnerable to hormone disruption. We’re not fish, but “Does fish and
frog science transfer to mammals? In short, yes. Mammal fertility is massively impacted by artificial
estrogens from the [Top 10] list.”—Dr. Jay

Dr. Jay even suggests the estrogenics in public waters contribute to the steadily declining fish
populations, while the government blames overfishing by outdoorsmen. This leads them to “stock”
lakes, rivers, and ponds with farm-raised fish that feed on corn and live in estrogenic contaminated and
overpopulated tanks. So it’s no surprise when even these stock fish fail to repopulate.

“EE2, too, has even been found to cause decreased sperm counts but men aren’t taking EE2
contraceptives, right? Of course we are, it’s in the drinking water.”

“Are You on the Pill?”

Birth control (EE2) is the longest-lasting estrogenic on the list. It was engineered to stay in the body for
long periods of time. It is passed through in urine, flushed down and the water ‘recycled’. The filtration
process doesn’t remove these estrogenics. So these lab-created artificial hormones end up in bodies of
water, including the tap water. The more densely populated the area (cities), the more women on the
pill, the more EE2 ends up in the water.

Dr. Jay uses examples where scientists have found the birth control estrogenic (EE2) contaminating the
marine life from lakes outside of Boston (Lake Quinsigamond) to remote lakes in the Swiss Alps (Lake
Thun, that happened to have a river leading to it from the city of Bern 30 miles away).

But the most extreme example came from China.

Scientists were able to test purified water in Beijing, China but had to perform a variation of the test
that forced them to dilute the ‘treated’ water with their own distilled water. For context, the EU max
levels of the birth control hormone EE2 allowed in the water is 0.035 ng/L.

So using 95% of the lab’s distilled water, and just 5% of the drinking water they were testing, the
scientists found levels of EE2 *above* 100.0 ng/L!

“Lots of women and men, in other words, are on ‘heavy birth control’ in that region.”

This is an extreme example because China’s child-limit policy means many married women are on the
pill, and because Beijing is very densely populated. But nevertheless, this is what happens on a lesser
scale here in the US and other parts of the world.

As mentioned, our public water purification process does not filter these estrogenics, including drinking
water (i.e. tap water and ‘purified’ water bottles).

“While living organisms like bacteria and parasites are successfully filtered out or killed by high
chemical levels [in the purification process], the smallest molecules, especially the hormones,
are generally not removed from drinking water…boiling or cooking does very little to destroy
estrogenics.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

80
This is why it’s important to properly filter water. Activated charcoal (also called carbon) filters will
get the job done and aren’t going to break the bank. Or water sourced from the well.

If you don’t want to spend the money on a faucet filter, you can get a basic filter pitcher like a Brita
(activated charcoal will remove the estrogenics), but try to store the water in stainless steel or glass.
Letting the filtered water sit and store in the plastic is going to undo some of the work.

Liquid Estrogenics
Once plastic and other estrogenics come into contact with liquid, they ‘leach out’ into that drink.
Different liquids and substances have different “drawing out” effects.

“…oils, fats, alcohol, and other substances in beverages can make the estrogenic leaching
problem worse. The added substances ‘draw out’ more estrogenic chemicals.”—Dr. Jay,
Estrogeneration

Storing these items in plastic is especially damaging. The negative effects are also compounded if you
heat the plastic, add the food or liquid into the plastic while it’s hot, and/or place the plastics in the
microwave.

We have already discussed how these estrogenics end up in our food supply (via factory farms) in the
Nutrition chapter, but because the meat and dairy is stored in plastic, the issue worsens.

“Milk purchased from an ordinary grocery store in Wisconsin was tested and found to contain
APEs at high levels. Specifically, in standard cow milk, APEs were around 17,000 ng/L, Goat milk
from the same store was even higher at about 88,000 ng/L. That is astoundingly high but the
bad news gets worse. Other plastic chemicals need to be considered. Phthalates have been
found at ‘high levels’ in all sorts of dairy products and parabens, too…Predominantly, they leach
in from the plastic milk containers, although processing milk and processed animal diets
contribute to these high estrogenic loads.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

Why They’re Everywhere

It’s hard to imagine that such a small and invisible chemical molecule can do so much damage, spreading
like a contagion in foods and substances. But estrogenics are everywhere because they are significantly
cheaper to use in mass production than other sources that would be more healthy.

“This would not be a problem if these items were healthy or at least not harmful but that’s just
it. They are relentlessly harmful…”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

Estrogenics can compound into one another, creating a highly potent estrogenic cocktail. For instance, a
body wash may contain lavender (#1 - plant), APE’s (#4 - soap), Parabens (#7- fragrance), and stored in
plastic (#8 and #9 – plastic) snowballing 5 separate estrogenics on our list.

Other times, as is the case with food, the same compounding effect may occur. Farm animals may be fed
soy feed (#1) and grains contaminated with mold (#2) that have been treated with herbicides (#3), drink

81
water high in Atrazine and birth control EE2 (#3 and #10), and their final meat/dairy product stored in
plastic (#8 and #9). Not even to mention their pitiable living conditions.

Of course, these effects can go hand-in-hand with the dangers of vegetable/seed oils that we also saw in
our Nutrition chapter.

“Okay, so… we’re just supposed to not eat or drink anything, and avoid every product in the store...?”

The point of all of this is to raise awareness to the prevalence and sources of these contaminations. This
way, an educated individual can minimize/eliminate his exposure where possible. We will soon get to
measures we can take to avoid most, if not all, of these harmful dangers.

“Lmao bro, I take soy protein, eat chicken in plastic from the store, drink water straight from the
tap, and smoke weed all the time and I’m fine – this sounds like some whack sh*t.”

This is like saying “Cigarettes cause cancer? I’ve smoked a cigarette and I don’t have cancer. Cigarettes
don’t cause cancer.” Or inversely, “I’ve worked out at the gym a few times, but I haven’t developed any
muscle. Lifting weights doesn’t develop muscle.” Just as progress takes time (slowly and incrementally)
so does regress. Most of these effects are not immediate and can’t be seen, which make them more
dangerous, especially as it relates to internal factors like hormones, DNA, chemistry, and other science
jargon. If they impacted you immediately, they’d be more known and avoided.

“But I’ve searched the effects of soy on google and found a ton of articles stating that they are
good for us, even healthy!”

Most ‘articles’ are not written by experts, but ‘reporters’ or ‘journalists’ repeating talking points they
may have even read…in other blog posts. The blogs themselves are not science journals, but businesses
that want you to land on their websites so your data can be tracked by their advertising program. Their
ultimate aim is that you eventually buy something from them. The blogs, then, choose topics that have
made the public fearful because they know the key words of these topics are highly searched on the
internet, increasing the chances that you end up on their sites and in their trackers. These are the small
fish.

In a world where money rules, there are also gigantic, multi-billion dollar special interests that want and
sponsor certain research, and they apply this pressure to science to increase their business and power.
Hence, “Well actually, studies have shown soy reduces men’s prostate cancer chances by XX%!”

“Most American research labs obtain money one of two ways: either they investigate things that
the government wants and commissions or they investigate things that a large corporation
wants and commissions.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

Scientific Research and Bias

Various studies have polluted the science world stemming from political and corporate pressure. Dr. Jay
shows very clearly how these biases impact ‘research’.

Scientific research labs get most of their funding from either the government or corporations. No money
for the labs, no research.

82
 “In the USA, most money that goes into scientific research at universities originates from
corporations or grants from the US government.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

This pressures scientists to show certain results from political influence (government funding), or from
big business pressure (corporations that can use the results to make more sales). Surprisingly, the most
unbiased research usually stems from less common, private donors who don’t have skin in the game.

The USA, for example, has certain estrogenics legalized, where even the commies of the European Union
and China have banned them to varying degrees. This presents political pressure when projects are
funded by the government and they need to make a case for keeping the products legal. And because
estrogenics are so cheap (like vegetable oils), corporate-agriculture has a huge stake in their production.

A company with soy products wants research that shows soy is good…

This presents corporate pressure for research to show results the corporations want, and they use pay-
raises and additional grant funding as incentives to the scientists and institutions.

Hence, the unending, exhaustive articles/blog posts promoting soy, plant-based products, vegetable oils,
‘beyond’ meats, etc. referencing scientific studies and percentages. These articles and blogs can be very
misleading, often clogging your search engine, burying the truth you’re looking for.

“…money is the elephant in the estrogenic room because selling estrogenics generates massive
profits. Lucrative items include soy, weedkillers, plastics, fragrances, and birth control drugs.”—
Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

It is from private donors and scientists willing to speak the truth at their own financial risk, like Dr. Jay,
that these extremely dangerous chemicals have been brought to light.

Paging Doctor…Musclewave?
This chapter is not a doctoral research paper.

I am not a Ph.D., M.D., or any other sort of “expert”. And I am well-aware that citing results and effects
as mentioned in the “7 Deadly Things” list is not sufficient without proper evidence citing the findings of
scientific studies conducted by experts of the field. That is what biochemist Dr. Jay has done.

I have not claimed any of this information to be my own, and for the sake of brevity and simplicity, I
have not cited every scientific study/finding (since qualified individuals have already done that).
Probably to the point of making science dweebs wince in pain.

What I have attempted here is a distillation of some of the most important concepts from Dr. Jay’s book.

I am not a writer for the “New England Journal of Medicine”. I am a writer for the Musclewave
Massives.

I would strongly recommend reading Estrogeneration: How Estrogenics are Making You Fat, Sick, and
Infertile by Anthony G. Jay, Ph.D. if you want to further your research and see the evidence firsthand.
The results are well-cited in the book, and Dr. Jay does a good job at simplifying the science to the point
even I could understand. This chapter cannot replace the eye-opening impact of the book itself.

83
Dr. Jay was also generous enough to answer a few questions that I had for the writing of this book, and
it goes without saying that I receive no compensation for recommending his.

TAKE COVER: What You Can Do

“Become a hermit, wear sealskin clothes, communicate by carrier pigeon, hunt your own food with
wooden bow and arrow. It’s sinple, really.”

We have to be practical. We all live in the modern world. We’re going to encounter some or all of these
harmful chemicals on a daily basis.

We can, however, know the threats and where they are prevalent, and try to minimize them as much
as possible, eliminating them entirely if we can. Cutting the bleeding can be a form of progress. We can
control what is in our control.

Dr. Jay concludes his book with 3 levels of action one can take with knowing the dangers of estrogenics,
what he calls “Gold, Silver, and Bronze Level” action plans. The levels he lists are varying degrees of
avoidance and preventative measures to minimize or completely eliminate the intake of these harmful
chemicals. (He is also an advocate for fasting and sauna use to allow the body to cleanse itself of these
and other stored toxins.)

“If you are a professional athlete or military operative, on the other hand, you may want to be
zealous about avoiding estrogenics.”—Dr. Jay, Estrogeneration

And what if we’re both?

I’ve summarized some of these points and added others, for the sake of simplicity. It is not a complete
list that includes all of Dr. Jay’s points (for example, the ones regarding children’s toys, baby products,
vinyl flooring, etc.).

Here are things that can be done immediately and to varying degrees to protect against estrogenic
hormonal disruption:

 Minimize your use of plastics whenever possible (use glass containers to store food, non-plastic
utensils/silverware, ceramic plates, drink from the glass, etc.)
 If you have to use plastic, it is better if it is cold (as the heat will increase the amount of plastics
that ‘seep out’), and best if the food is dry. Liquid (especially fatty oils) allow the estrogenics to
move freely around the entire product, whereas a steak in plastic is only exposed at the points it
is touching the plastic
 Increase your intake of fermented foods (like sauerkraut) that boost your gut biome health. The
natural bacteria in your gut biome can ‘eat up’ and neutralize some of the estrogenics found in
certain phytoestrogens
 Minimize/eliminate your intake of mass-produced grains, cheap coffee, and cheap chocolates
 Minimize/eliminate your intake of corn products
 Minimize your intake of food items stored in metal cans (most canned foods are lined with BPA)
 Avoid soy and soy products, flax seed and flax products, and sesame seed and sesame products
 Avoid pre-packaged food/drink products containing red dye of any kind
 Avoid ingredients that include “benz-“ or “phen-“

84
 Never use commercial weedkillers/herbicides on your lawn
 Properly filter your water using some kind of activated charcoal (also called ‘carbon’) filter, or
drink well water – try not to store it in plastic for long after filtering
 Avoid commercial sunscreens filled with ingredients you can’t pronounce. Use extra virgin
coconut oil (which has a natural SPF and vitamin E for moisturizing skin health), or zinc oxide-
based sunscreen instead
 Avoid using the microwave to heat food. The radiation used to heat the food changes its
molecular structure, resulting in a toxic feed devoid of many of the once-present essential
nutrients. Reheat food the same way it was cooked, or use a toaster oven/oven
 Do not add hot food to plastics (avoid plastics entirely, if possible), and do not use plastic in the
microwave
 Avoid non-stick cooking pans (surface contains harmful chemicals); use a cast-iron skillet and
non-plastic cookware (wood and silicone are good)
 Minimize use of commercial lotions and creams that have “fragrance” or “parfum”
 Avoid polyester clothes and bed sheets/blankets. When possible opt for cotton materials
(polyester is a form of plastic)
 Use natural soap made of olive oil, argan oil, or even goat milk (Noble Formula Argan Oil Soap is
good and found on Amazon)
 Avoid popular commercial deodorants filled with artificial fragrances, aluminum, and propylene
glycol; use natural deodorant instead. Thai Chrystal Deodorant (@solbrah) or Schmidt’s Charcoal
+ Magnesium smells good and can be found at Walmart (@musclechrisianity)
 Avoid commercial, toxic shampoos (bad for skin, hormonal health, and can cause premature
balding). Rinse well with hot water after exercise, and use natural shampoo twice a week, if
desired. You can also condition your hair with a small amount of coconut oil 1-2 times per week
(depending on length). Shampoo was only invented in the 1930’s. (@solbrah,
@musclechristianity)
 Avoid commercial toothpastes (containing fluoride and artificial chemicals). Use fluoride-free
toothpaste (Tom’s of Maine for example can be found on Amazon)
 Opt for “fragrance-free” laundry detergents and fabric softeners
 Cannabis is a powerful phytoestrogen, and condensing the estrogenics through smoke makes it
more potent. Stop smoking weed
 As mentioned in the Nutrition chapter, avoid hoppy beers (like IPA’s). Hops, like cannabis,
contain extremely potent amounts of phytoestrogens
 Avoid lavender for the same reason as cannabis, either topically (oil) or through inhaling the
scent through a diffuser—remember, your lungs have hormone receptors
 Minimize your exposure to electromagnetic radiation (being close to the microwave, having
laptop on your lap, cell phone on your ear, etc.) Try to keep these things at a distance by:
turning cell phones off (or to airplane mode) overnight; keeping your cell phone/laptop away
from testes when in use; minimizing use of Bluetooth devices directly on your head
 Avoid handling receipts

85
At the end of the day, it’s going to be what it’s going to be. You can’t just never touch plastic or only
drink purely filtered water every time.

*STRICTLY grass-fed, free-range, 100% organic fragrance-free soap from non-steroidal, vegetarian goats
milked on the hills of Bavaria by the farmer’s daughter in a dirndl stored directly in glass jugs… or else
you die from gyno-AIDS bro!*

There’s no sense in being neurotic about every single thing.

I prefer steel-cut oatmeal (a grain), I drink cheap coffee, and sometimes I add black beans to my rice.
And there’s nothing like a good Hacker Pschorr Oktoberfest. But I’ve switched from cheap oatmeal to
higher-quality/better sourced steel-cut oats, I only store my food in glass containers, and instead of
brown rice, I get jasmine rice, to name a few measures.

Some foods just simply come in plastic (some meats, rice) or cans (sardines, tuna), but knowing this
information will help you make educated decisions when faced with seemingly identical options. The
message is to try to control what you can and go from there—minimize the damage, start small and
keep at it.

Just like frantically eating every 2 hours isn’t healthy, neither is being paranoid of the demon-
estrogenics. It’s not worth the cortisol.

From the Top-Down

Despite what the nu-males and boring blog articles say, the research is there and it’s well-documented.

The “war on masculinity” seems to reach all the way from the “smash the patriarchy” green-hairs, down
to the invisible molecules of estrogenics.

The disciplines outlined here, and throughout the other parts of the book, are a tall order. It all may
sound very unconventional. And to modern-man, there’s no doubt it is.

But we are not aspiring to be modern-man; we are aspiring to be the man of the future.

And there is more to becoming a Chrome Era Commando than weights and barbells.

86
 THE END…
THE BEGINNING

87
 Mentzer’s Demise: The Unsung Hero
Mike Mentzer’s health entered a slippery decline by the late ‘90’s. And fully exhausted by 2001, he died
at the age of 49. Just two days after finding his older brother in his apartment, Ray Mentzer (Mike’s
younger brother and fellow HIT bodybuilder) himself died of kidney failure. He was only 47.

The Mentzer saga meets a tragic end.

Mike’s life was a gigantic struggle for his principles and ideals.

His dedication to truth forced him to reject the deals and sponsorships that would’ve afforded him a
comfortable living; his passion drove him to share what he discovered through countless works of
writing and lectures; and his sense of obligation to the youth as a role model lead him to train and
mentor many men down on their luck, sometimes for nothing.

For this, his name was unjustly criticized, redacted, and suppressed by the mainstream media.

His story is tragic. But it is also heroic—it is not the end result that defines the success, but the principles
for which one fights.

Whether he was right or wrong about specific topics is of little importance. Whether he saw victory in
his lifetime is of no importance at all. The impact goes far beyond barbells and macronutrients, beyond
vain goals of the physical…

It is through his principled fight, that his legend lives on in the hearts and minds of men.

And now his name is circulated among young men in dungeon gyms across the world; his word is spread
through underground works like the one in your hand. He can no longer be rightly called an “unsung”
hero…

Through his struggle and untimely fall, Mentzer has won in the end.

The HIT Squad: Honorable Mentions

Despite seeming against the world, there were many Heavy Duty/High-Intensity allies that accompanied
Mentzer in this spirit, who bore the same burdens of suppression, and who cannot go without
mentioning.

Arthur Jones, the mad scientist behind the High-Intensity foundation, created the Nautilus machines.
Due to his anti-establishment sentiments and his own funded research, his machine inventions spawned
the initial ‘anti-machine equipment’ push in the mainstream.

Dorian Yates was a mentee and friend of Mike Mentzer, and even he felt he wasn’t given his due credit
for the undeniable accomplishments of six Mr. Olympia victories.

Casey Viator, Ray Mentzer, and Boyer Coe are not a well-known bodybuilders…

In similar fashion, Dr. Shanahan and Dr. Jay have had some popularity and more success (given the reach
of the internet), but their information is still not widely known or properly recognized in their field.

88
None of the fame and popularity matters.

To them… or to Musclewave.

I am well aware that our style is not for everyone, that it won’t see millions of tik-tok likes and flashing
fame—that it is “too extreme for many people”.

And I’m okay with that.

ONLY THE EXTREME

Firm application of these principles over time will lead to physical success.

While the path is straightforward, it is not easy because of the level of dedication and consistency it
requires.

Our corrupt age of instant-gratification has rendered this level of dedication rare. The colors and lights
of social media software and television sets have fried attention spans. The ability to stay driven to a
winning strategy, and not give up when the going gets tough, is what separates the men from the
boys—the heroes from the quitters.

Accomplishment means staying hyper-focused to goals and overcoming failures. It means keeping at it
when there is no immediate reward. It is this conviction that makes anything possible.

It requires a tenacity many are not prepared for, a level of commitment to an ideal and overarching goal
that frighten the cowards and lay waste to the would-be’s. Most of this would be considered “extreme”
by the majority of people.

But as one of my role models, Paul Waggener, once wrote:

“In my experience, only the extreme will ever find success and lasting independence in this world,
because there is no place at the table for the mediocre except beneath it, begging for scraps.
Keep rising.”

We continue our ascent, in spite of the odds.

89
 ANABOLIC HIGH COMMAND
Musclewave Headquarters
November 23, 2021

Chrome Era Commando,

We are not men of hollow theories and armchair philosophy. We are men of action. And with the
prestigious title of Chrome Era Commando, comes the expectation of action. Armed with knowledge and
a plan in one hand, and hard work and determination in the other, there is no mission you will be unable
to achieve.

This book is more than your average “grindset-influencer’s” half-hearted-10-pages-of-rambling e-

download. It has been a cumulative and comprehensive approach combining motivation, health,
science, training, and achievement.

It has demanded months of active devotion and many sacrifices to create, along with years of study and
trial-and-error. It could not have been completed without the help of many loyal friends, followers, and
bodybuilders for their input and support.

It has been forged by the toil of many hands and has traveled great distances to reach you, wherever
you are in the world.

I earnestly hope you’ve found it valuable.

The Commitment, The Musclewave Manifesto…

Musclewave USA began as an idea—a passionate desire to forge together ballsy, retro bodybuilding
attitude with futuristic synthwave aesthetics. It was to be a high-test explosion of energy, shocking and
aweing men back to the roots of training. But also a counterattack on the mainstream—a blast from the
past in the truest sense…a punch to the face of modernity.

Even then, it was not an obsession and nostalgia for times gone away, but itself a hope for all that can
be brought back. Not a whine that man has fallen, but an effort to stand back up—to re-enter the ring
despite the odds!

When the movement had just a handful of followers, I remember quite well the opposition it faced.

“You think people are gonna like this? lol”

“No one is going to read your posts, they’re too long.”

“The messaging is too much. This is too extreme.”

“You should just learn how to make reels.”

“You’re going to get banned.”

“You’ll never reach people because of the algorithm, you should try tik-tok instead, that’s where fitness
influencers are now.”

90
Fitness influencer?

They couldn’t understand that it was never a project undertaken for glamorous fame and millions of
“likes”. It was not about soulless ‘reach’, but genuine creation.

The nay-sayers didn’t comprehend the fire that burned deep in the heart of the movement; they had no
idea the power resting dormant in men from all over the world.

Instagram was specifically chosen as the medium because I wanted Musclewave to tie together graphic
design with the written word. I didn’t want to just ‘reach’ any soul bouncing around on tik-tok; I wanted
to reach people who would be inspired by both the visual and the mental, intellectually engaged people
driven to the development of the mind and body…

And that handful of followers grew, slowly but steadily.

The project took on slightly new shapes, the vision began to form more concretely. The efforts of the
small movement were beginning to win through.

But the haunting words of resistance were still there. Doubt was introduced to hope…the fledgling
mission was questioned and re-questioned when support was needed most…

It was then that messages began to come in from followers from all over the country, and the
world…notes of support and appreciation, urges of encouragement to continue and even to create
apparel. This was the fuel that kept the fire alive. And for these people, I am very grateful. Without
them, the small fire may have been extinguished.

But it was messages I began to receive later that would turn the fire into a white-hot furnace.

People writing in that my work was helping them get through tough times, encouraging them to read
more, to fight addiction/get sober, or just have a smile after a bad day. It was these messages that have
made this enormous labor worth every minute.

No matter the cancel threats from the gatekeepers or disapproval from popular figureheads, the mission
was no longer going to think of capitulation. However impossible the odds, a new art form was going to
be created, a new story was going to be written, a new era begun!

Yes, our enemies may hold today in their slimy grasp, but the future is ours to be written—the pen is in
our hands…

It’s ours for the taking.

Tough Times Don’t Last.

To help people through tough times, as an artist… there can be no greater reward. But to be helped by
those same people is something I could never have anticipated. That is true value the scheming
advertisers will never understand. I’d rather have a few of these meaningful relationships, than millions
of waning subscribers.

It was my followers that have made all the difference. You have given me the strength to push forward
in the hardest times. You have reminded me why the mission started in the first place.

91
I thank you all for your loyal support.

We’ve got a ton of killer stuff planned and we’re pumped to have you on board this mad, runaway
freight train.

There’s a glorious future of neon and chrome that isn’t going to build itself. And this isn’t the end; this is
only the beginning.

Let’s get after it

Through Struggle,

Dr. Musclewave

Chief Retro Bodybuilding Propagandist,

Anabolic High Command

Instagram: @musclewaveusa

Website: musclewaveusa.com

Email: hq@musclewaveusa.com

P.S. I want to hear about your success. Send me an email at the address above if you’ve gained
something out of this work, and I’ll get back to you.

And if you want more personalized guidance on any of the subjects discussed here, email me at the
same address above with subject line “MW Coaching” and we’ll set something up.

92
 Work Cited
Book’s Used for Research and Citation (Not MLA or APA Format)

Heavy Duty by Mike Mentzer

Heavy Duty Nutrition by Mike Mentzer

High-Intensity Training the Mike Mentzer Way by Mike Mentzer with John Little

A Portrait of Dorian Yates: The Life and Training Philosophy of the World’s Best Bodybuilder by Dorian
Yates and Peter McGough

Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food by Dr. Catharine Shanahan, M.D.

Estrogeneration: How Estrogenics Are Making You Fat, Sick, and Infertile by Anthony G. Jay, Ph.D.

Other Social Media Creators (Information)

‘Solbrah’: @SolBrah (Twitter)

‘The Golden One’: @thegoldenjarl (Instagram)

‘Raw Egg Nationalist’: @Babygravy9 (Twitter)

‘Bronze Age Pervert’ (BAP): Carribean with BAP Podcast (Gumroad and Soundcloud – banned from
Twitter)

‘Herculean Strength’: @HerculeanStren1 (Twitter)

‘Dr. Benjamin Braddock’: @GraduatedBen (Twitter)

‘Muscular Christianity’: @musclechristianity (Instagram)

Special thanks to Competitive NPC Classic Bodybuilder and friend Eli (@eli_lazar) for the creation of the
HIT workout program and to @qualitative

93
 Lighthearted, Gym Meme Entertainment
‘Jack3d Memes’: @jack3d_memes (Instagram)

‘DARK IRON GAINS’: @dark_iron_gains (Instagram)

‘Bolo Swaggins’: @bolo_swaggins (Instagram)

‘papamassmatics’: @massmatics_roiddaddy (Instagram)

‘MONKE KING’: @memslibrary.official (Instagram)

‘Epic Squats’: @epicsquats (Instagram)

‘Barbell Binks’: @doievenlift_bro (Instagram)

‘Monday Iron’: @monday_iron (Instagram)

‘The Italian Tank’: @the_italian_tank_powerlifting (Instagram)

‘RICH PIANA FAN PAGE’: @2scoopspiana (Instagram)

‘Barbell.exe’: @barbell.exe (Instagram)

‘Rick’: @ricks_lifts (Instagram)

‘SARM Force Commander’: @based.dpt (Instagram)

‘Gurth Brooks’: @gurth_brookz (Instagram)

‘Gymbo’: @gymbologoy (Instagram)

‘Natty Meme’: @natty.meme (Instagram)

‘legdayhater’: @legdayhater (Instagram)

‘forthegymmemes’: @forthegymmemes (Instagram)

‘Muscles & Memes’: @musclesmemesofficial (Instagram)

‘Gym Gains Memes’: @gymgainsmemes (Instagram)

94