The following guest article comes from Teiko Reindorf and covers what it takes to become BIG.
“Damn bro… you’re huge. You must have been born that way”
“It must be nice to be naturally big”
“Man, I wish I were your size”
Those are just a few of things I hear on a regular basis from people who unknowingly discredit all the years I’ve put into getting bigger and stronger.
Though I think these comments have no malice behind them, a part of me thinks the majority of folks assume all of big dudes were have it that much easier and have never had to struggle to make lee-way in the gym.
Well, I’m here to tell you – that notion, is a crock of shit.
Every single big, strong, S.O.B I’ve ever met has had one thing in common. He has worked very hard to get where he is physically.
With that said, there are a few things which separate big guys from the wimpy, frail and fragile. If you read on I will break-down what these things are and show you how you can implement them to start bustin shirt collars and rippin-up pant seams
I’m’ sure you’ve heard the saying – success leaves behind clues.
When it comes to training for size, no truer words could be spoken. If you were cross-examine what the big boys do which regular Joe’s don’t – you would discover some pretty radical differences. I’ve gone ahead and termed the big mans approach to training the big boy basics.
The first big boy basic is to eat BIG. If you were to take a cross section of most fitness athletes one would find, the majority of them have a f*cked up relationship with food.
I can’t tell you how many fitness conventions I’ve attended where the trainers, coaches and lifters scrutinize everything they put into their mouths.
Big boys don’t buy into all that crap. They understand that the body needs to be fed to grow and would rather expend energy readying themselves for the next big workout than worrying whether their meal fits perfectly into their macro-nutrition requirements.
I’ve said it once and I will say it again. If you want to be a big, strong powerhouse you’ve gotta chill with the calorie counting. Step your game up and chow down as much high quality, unprocessed food as your body requires… everything will figure itself out.
The second big boy basic is to Train rather than workout.
I know this may sound confusing but if you really think about it… training and working out are completely different concepts.
– Working out is passive. training is aggressive
– Workouts are scheduled. training is expected
– Working out is a hobby. training is a life style.
Anyone who can wrap his or her brain around the contrast between the two, will also understand the commitment training requires.
Big boys live a to train and structure their lives in accordance. If you don’t eat, sleep and live training… chances are you are never gonna be big
The third and final thing big boys basic deals with planning.
If you wanna train for size and get it… you’ve gotta change your mindset to expect the best while planning for the worst.
I don’t know about you but I’ve been training for upwards of 16 years now. Over that time I’ve beat myself up fairly badly. Personally I feel this should be expected.
I’ve yet to find one person who has achieved high levels of physical success without pushing their body to the limit. Becoming a big, strong bastard comes at a price.
Now that you know this, you can foster a plan to manage the eventual bumps and bruises.
I would suggest you start performing as much recovery work as possible and surround yourself with healthcare practitioners who, when needed can nurse your broken ass back to health. If you follow these two steps you will mature into a big, old and wise lifter who doesn’t curse every time he is asked to walk a flight of stairs
So there you have it.
The tenets of the big-boy, basics. Now you’ve seen what it takes to get diesed-up and stand out from the crowd- it’s time for you to make a choice.
Are you gonna hunker down and do what it takes to become a powerful, behemoth or are you gonna ignore everything I’ve just told you, sit your ass down and whimper sheepishly in the corner?
To quote Black Sheep “The choice is yours.”
About The Author
Teiko Reindorf (TKO) is a NSCA certified personal trainer hailing from the wintery north (Toronto, Canada) He has been a training folks to become big, strong behemoths for the past decade.
Teiko has also authored a few training books and training manuals for men looking to pack on size and get stronger. His most recent release Big Man Strong has been termed by many as a refreshing approach to training and exactly what the fitness industry has needed.
Comments
What you call it, training or working out, is besides the point. It’s what you do that counts. It’s getting old with the “Do you train or work-out” crap!
If you squat, dead-lift, bench, row, dip……etc hard and heavy it doesn’t matter what you call it.
A point missed in the article is that you have to base your trainingg on the above exercises, a program based on leg-extension, triceps kick-bacs and concentration curl won’t make you grow. (Unless you use a bit of “vitamin S”)
Myself, I’ve been “working-out” 😉 for 40 years now, I’ve stopped with the power-lifting because my knees and shoulders were complaining too much. Now it’s
“just” body-weight stuff a’ la “Convict Conditining” and Al Kavadlo and a bit of TRX added in sometimes. You have to listen to your body, something I learnt a bit too late, I guess. ;-(
Great article, too many want to get huge but are afraid to loose their 6-pack, hopefully they’ll see the light 😉
I get what you’re saying about training or working out but the words we use are actually very important. Besides that the original idea was that training described a different method then working out. More than just words.
Absolutely agree with you on the compound movements though (like the vitamin s comment too).
That is a pretty good article. It’s refreshing to see what amounts to basically “balls to the wall” touted here. It’s always “slow full movement, don’t push yourself too hard, if it feels weird you need to stop”. What I learned from my Strength training in the last couple of months is: Sure, your body has limits, but those limits don’t rush up on you as quick as people lead you to believe. You have to settle in, there is no doubt about that. But I have put almost 100lbs on my Deadlift in the last 4 weeks because I get it now. I get that I am not gonna break so easily, but I also spent lots of time getting myself ready for my growth. As the article (and coincidentally myself) says, expect the best but prepare for the worst.
Hey Teiko,
Nice article.
I definitely think it’s strange when men are counting calories all the time. I mean, unless you are a competitive bodybuilder getting ready for a show, it seems a bit OCD to me, not to mention, err, less than manly.
Although I do tend to stay pretty trim around my mid-section and help my clients do the same, I think the “six-pack culture” has gotten ridiculously out of control. Seems weak and desperate if you ask me.
One thing I will say is that loosely (not obsessively) paying attention to rotating your macro nutrients can be benificial for gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously. A few days of low protein here and there seems to ramp up protein synthesis as well.
Same thing goes for carbs and fats. Going super starchy on your heavy training days and low carb on your off days or HIIT days can do wonders too. Of course, fasting here and there helps make eating big even more effective.
A million ways to skin a cat, as you know. Keeping the body guessing and all that happy horsesh%t. 😀
Anyways, I’m a big fan of what you’re doing. Thanks for everything.
“Stone” Paul