A little update on 21 Days to Bigger Arms by Ben Pakulski
I finished up a round of MI40 so now moving on the the 21 Days to Bigger Arms bonus.
Like I say every week, GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!! Trust me you won’t regret it.
BE STRONG!
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
Your arms stop growing?
I’ll be frank, I’m getting tired of all this “functional training,” talk. Come on! Is that the reason you really got into lifting weights? It seems arm training has taken a dip in popularity and this may be the case in some circles but if you’re REALLY honest I’m guessing you wanted arms that resembled a
SUPERHERO… and for that, doing DIRECT bicep and triceps workout will NEVER go out of style.
And having big, muscular arms that stretch your shirtsleeves will NEVER EVER go out of style either, so today is a reminder that when you pick up a copy of Ben Pakulski’s MI40 System you’ll also get his complete 21-day workout to BIGGER ARMS. The same workout that packed TWO INCHES on his arms in 3 weeks! RIDICULOUS!
I would be happy with just 3/8ths of an inch!
Get MI40 System + 21 Days to Bigger Arms FREEEE! <---- Click here
Now onto our arm tips compliments of the big man himself…
4 Uncommon Tips To BIGGER ARMS
By Ben Pakulski
1) LESS VOLUME!
Small muscles require less volume, and recover faster. Basic logic says, a smaller muscle has less overall total volume of muscle fibers. It takes LESS overall stimulus to fatigue these muscles and less overall training volume to exhaust glycogen stores (stored muscle energy).
2) HEAVY WEIGHTS (WITH PERFECT FORM)
Heavy weights are going to fatigue a greater overall percentage of muscle fibers in a shorter amount of time (aka less sets). Heavy weights also have the added benefit of stimulating “high threshold motor units”. These are the muscle fibers that require a lot more stimulus to grow and respond, but also
the fibers that are more likely to be responsible for muscle hypertrophy or GROWTH!
3) ARMS RECEIVE A LOT OF STIMULUS ON A REGULAR BASIS
Arms receive a lot of stimulus on a regular basis. For most people, this tends to occur in the middle of the range of motion where the muscles are strongest. In order to get the arms to grow and respond, it is necessary to subject them to a different type of stimulus. One of the best ways to improve arm development is to subject them to more tension and continuous tension at the extremes of the range of
motion (a.k.a, when a muscle is fully lengthened or fully shortened –where muscles
are weakest). This will allow for greater time under tension as well as targeting different
points of the strength curve to force the nervous system to adapt and stimulate new muscle
growth.
4) YOU MUST ENGAGE THE TARGET MUSCLE FIRST IN ANY MOVEMENT
The FIRST muscle to engage in ANY movement must be the muscle you are trying to target.
If you are working your biceps, to most effectively stimulate the bicep, it must be the muscle to
initiate the movement. As mentioned, muscles are weakest at those extremes and that makes
it LEAST likely to contract. This is where your conscious intent and control is vital! The best way
to ensure this is happening is to CONTRACT its antagonist muscle. This will ensure a fully lengthened
working muscle and make it much more likely that it will initiate the movement(provided your using
proper control).
e.g. when working your bicep, to fully stretch your bicep at the bottom of the range, it is necessary to
contract your triceps before initiating the movement of contracting your bicep again.The opposite is true
when training triceps. Contract your biceps at the top of the range when a tricep is fully stretched(forearm touches biceps).
If you’re tired of busting your butt in the gym with little to show, tired of seeing your buddies get twice as big as you and can’t remember the last time you had a growth spurt… you would be insane not to give this a shot! If a 275 pound pro has room to grow, I’m sure you do too!
Like I say every week, GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!! Trust me you won’t regret it.
BE STRONG!
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
Week 5 in the books. MI40 Week 6 – I MADE IT!!!!
I am going to change things up in February for a couple of weeks and then I might tackle Ben’s 21 Day Arm Blaster Routine. I will keep you posted.
Like I say every week, GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!! Trust me you won’t regret it.
BE STRONG!
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
Question: Ben, please identify the number one training mistake that would be preventing individuals from achieving maximal muscle gains
Answer: Well, we all know “the guy” in the gym that throws a ton of weight on the bar and moves it with terrible form and looks like hes going to hurt himself. He is the root of many of our jokes, and definitely gets a lot of sideways looks from the patrons of the gym.
We’ve all asked ourselves “WHAT is he trying to do?” Chances are, he has no clue. He comes in the gym everyday and does the
Exact same thing week in and week out because he really has NO IDEA what he is trying to do. Therein lies the problem!
Guess what, more likely than not, you have all been guilty of doing this too at some point in your life (whether you care to admit it or not).
The first thing you need to do is identify your desired goal. If your goal is to build muscle, then you have come to the right place and you should take a minute listen up.
The one and ONLY most important factor that you need to consider when it comes to your quest to build muscle, is TENSION. (more on that in a minute..)
We have all heard people speak about mind-muscle connection, or that you’ve got to really “squeeze” a muscle to make it grow. I don’t know about you, but for most people this is a really hard concept to figure out. Those of us that “get” what it means, still really have a difficult time putting it to action.
The good news is, this is quite a simple concept and I will show you how to apply it to building your muscles literally TWICE as fast.
Here is what you need to know:
Muscles communicate in terms of tension. They have absolutely NO idea how much weight youre lifting. They only know how much tension or torque is going through them.
What if I told you there was a way to perform more or less ANY exercise so that you could FEEL it EXACTLY where youre supposed to feel it, AND increase muscular tension with LESS weight to get results TWICE as fast in half the time. Sounds pretty cool, right? I’ll explain.
YOU can control exactly how much tension or torque that goes through a muscle you are working at ANY point in the workout.
You have complete control over HOW HARD you squeeze, HOW LONG you work, and most importantly EXACTLY WHERE you squeeze and contract.
You can selectively train EXACTLY the muscle youre supposed to be and not train anything that you don’t want to be.
Every guy out there knows what im talking about. We’ve all don’t bench presses and got NO pump in our chests but our delts and tris were cooked! No more, gents!
I would like to take this moment to introduce to you the revolutionary muscle building technique called INTENTION!
The way I describe intention to people I encounter that are unfamiliar with it is this:
“Intention is the CONSCIOUS INTENT to create TENSION in the muscle”
I know, I know, sounds a little hokey. BUT the fact of the matter is that this is BY FAR the best way to ensure you are maintain tension on the working muscle.
The number one most highly correlated factor with building muscle is “TIME UNDER TENSION”. The longer you can keep tension directly on a muscle, the more you control the rate at which that muscle grows.
You can do a bench press all day long, and if there is not tension in the pecs, you WILL NOT build pecs. Why is it that some people can build great chests while bench pressing while others cant? Because some peoples “genetics” all them to
thoughtlessly keep a greater amount of tension in that muscle!
We now have the ability to do this consciously. The best part is, IT’S EASY!!
INTENTION in action.
The most simple example of intention exists on the bench press. Grab on the bar in front of you, just like you would on a bench press. You can use any stable surface for this example. I will use the edge of my desk. I grab the edge of my desk about equally as wide as I would on a bench press. Hold on firmly, and without letting your hands move from that
position, “shove” them toward each other. What happened? Your chest contracted didn’t it?
Now imagine doing this exact thing through a range of motion, like in a bench press.
WOW! You just created continuous tension in the EXACT muscle you wanted to! Pretty cool right!?
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
WEEK 5! DAMN, we are almost there. I KICKED ASS in Week 4 of MI40 and cruising into Week 5
Like I say every week, GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!! Trust me you won’t regret it.
BE STRONG!
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
By Ben Pakulksi:
We posted part 1 of this article on New Year’s Day so we though that it was time for Part 2.
One thing I love about our sport is that you’re never perfect. Some aspect of your preparation can always be improved, whether it is training, nutrition, supplementation, or recovery. How about the things that few people know anything about? How neurotransmitters affect growth, or how your adrenals control cortisol; you all know about cortisol right? How about how the food you eat every day can instantly increase estrogen and cortisol levels and completely halt growth? How about how much training is the right amount for growth? Sets, reps, fast, slow, full, partials? There are so many factors to consider.
Learning about these little subtleties is what I love doing! How can I improve my performance, recovery and growth even 1% and sometimes 50%? As I have recently mentioned in part 1 of this blog, the approach I take is that an athlete is an athlete. We all have very similar needs and requirements for optimal performance and recovery. Bodybuilders obviously will have different caloric requirements, and different training volume and load, but at the end of the day, were all trying to get 100% out of our bodies. We try to minimize injuries, and recover as fast as possible so we can get back In there and do it all over again!
Lately, a lot of my time and efforts has been focused on learning to optimize recovery, short term and long term. This seems to be the limiting factor for maximal growth; the faster I can recovery, the more time I spend being anabolic. Everyone knows someone who can train as hard or harder than most people, and doesn’t really get sore. Chances are they have a greater capacity for growth because they can train again sooner and stimulate more new growth.
The question then becomes, how do I know what factors set these people apart and where do I find how to change these variables. For most bodybuilders, “recovery” means taking some carbs and BCAAs after a workout, eating lots of dietary protein, and we’re on our way to recovery right? Well, the truth is, when trying to maximize performance, the difference between being good and great needs to be a lot more precise. Training at an elite level affects a lot more than just the obvious things that you can see or feel.
One factor that I find to be THE most important aspect of recovery is inflammation. It is absolutely essential to be aware of inflammation and do everything in your power to reduce it and keep it under control. It has been said that 60% of all human ailments and health conditions are a direct result of inflammation. Inflammation is the body’s response to irritated tissue or organs. It might be from training, allergic reactions to food, sudden blunt trauma, repetitive strain on a muscle, ligament or joint, etc.
When we train we are causing damage to muscle tissue. The body naturally sees this as an “injury” and instinctive tries to protect the area. It can sometimes take days for this to go away, inhibiting our ability to move properly and of course, limiting our training potential. It makes sense then, that if I can help to speed up the healing of the inflamed tissue, I will more quickly be able to train, with less inhibition and less pain!
Most important factors in reducing inflammatory periods:
-Proper rest.
-Adequate hydration.
-Appropriate supplementation.
This last factor is what you’re all probably waiting for. Lets stick to the basics:
1) Omega 3 fish oils
2) Proteolytic enzymes
3) Minerals (Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc are essential)
4) Turmeric
*I also use CoQ10 and greens which can aid in the elimination of accumulated inflammation.
Achy joints? Tight Muscles? Finding it takes a long time to recovery between workouts? Try the supplements above! And FYI, these simple supplements can also play a huge role in reducing heart disease or arteriosclerosis (inflamed blood vessels!).
Stay healthy, stay huge!!
Pak
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
After completing Week 3 of MI40 I have to say that I am ready for Week 4.
Hey gang, I tell you every week GET WITH THE PROGRAM! Trust me you won’t regret it.
BE STRONG!
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
Week 2 of MI40 was an ass kicker and now I head into Week 3 of Ben Pakulski’s MI40 (Mass Intentions 40)
Seeing and feeling results but you need to leave your ego at the door.
Hey gang get on board with the program, trust me you won’t regret it.
BE STRONG!
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
We sit 4 weeks after my last competition of the season and right in the mix of re-balancing all of my hormones and body systems.
The approach I take each year after competing is to learn to balance everything that’s going on in my body with the use of natural herbs and vitamins. Most people really have no idea the extent of the taxation a pro athlete puts on his or her body in a competitive season. Bodybuilders often seem to be so far behind other sports when it comes to stuff like healing the body, likely because we just don’t have the same financial resources that the other mainstream sports do.
It can really get expensive if you want it to, but I’ve learned many ways to be cost effective; just learning to weigh the cost to benefit ratio really.
Bodybuilding tends to be a very ego driven sport. “I’m bigger than you, so I must know more than you do.” I try to adopt the philosophy that there is something to be learned from every situation and every person we encounter. I like to look at myself first and foremost as an athlete. Every athlete has very specific needs and requirements to ensure optimal output. What exactly is it that allows other elite pro athletes compete at such a high level for so long and not burn out? Sure there are some that do burn out and get injured, but I chose to look specifically at the elite that are able to sustain an exceptionally high level of performance over a long period, or I look at the ones that are the absolute best in the world at what they do. They must be doing something differently, and I set out to find out what it is, and replicate it.
For me, it started out as baby steps. Learning what few factors I could change immediately and notice a quick response. The first thing I experimented with was supporting my adrenals. By using just a few herbs I noticed my energy was more consistent, my mood was more stable, my sleep was more sound, my body’s responsiveness to just about anything I asked of it increased. For someone like myself, who loves to train, often more than once a day, my adrenals were certainly fatigued. I found myself having more than ample energy to complete multiple workouts on a daily basis without the need for stimulants after just a few days on proper adrenal support. Check out James Wilson’s work on www.adrenalfatigue.org for some great information.
The second thing I noticed was that my body wasn’t using sugar as well as some people. A quick look at my blood work or my family history would verify my suspicions. Some dietary changes and workout manipulations and I noticed a significant difference within weeks. My energy was better. I found myself with a better ability to concentrate. Less likely to doze off at random times throughout the day. My strength in the gym went up and fullness increased dramatically. Something as simple as adding some lemon water into your diet in the morning or before each carb meal with significantly change your insulin utilization. My protocols tend to go into a lot more detail than this, but that’s definitely a good quick tip!
One of the most commonly asked questions is, “how do I know where to start? “ Or, “how do I know which of my bodily systems needs balancing or support?” I use a method of simply determining what I call my “weakest link”! What is it about my body that I feel holds me back from greatest gains? For me, if had always been a slight lack of energy upon entering the gym. Once I got going, I was fired up and ready to kill it. But often times I find myself walking into the gym thinking about a nap rather than this arm workout I was about to have. Is this normal? The answer is, yes it is! Apparently its very common. I traced this back to a mild case of “over-training” and poor insulin utilization. For me, the weakest link changes every year and I’ve since taken on the mentality of simply addressing every body system to ensure optimum health and output.
Try starting with one system at a time to see if you notice an immediate difference.
Plenty more to come!!!
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
MI40 Week 2 Report. Here is my this week’s update on Ben Pakulski’s MI40 (Mass Intentions) Week 2
Hey gang Ben knows what he is talking about get on board with the program, trust you won’t regret it.
BE STRONG!
If you want to learn more about Ben’s MI40 Program click here – Click MI40
