Transformation Update: Week 3, Day 17
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By Brandon Cook
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Thought of the Day:
“Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightement. Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength. He who knows he has enough is rich. Perseverance is a sign of will power. He who stays where he is endures. To die but not to perish is to be eternally present.”
- Lao Tzu
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Day 17 of My Transformation Journey:
Well, because of my excessive soreness and being a little tired… I decided to post-pone my workout until Thursday. Notice I said post-pone instead of skip. You don’t want to skip a workout if at all possible. However, if you are feeling too sore, run down, or beat up it may be to your advantage to give yourself an extra day of rest.
Remember, you do not grow until you fully recover from your previous workout. If you train again too soon and can’t outperform your last workout, you’ve just short-circuited the muscle growth process and wasted your time. Maybe even set yourself up for an injury or overtraining. It took me a while to learn this lesson.
If you would like to skip the trial and error learning process that wastes years off your life (trust me I know first hand), I suggest reading “Muscle Gaining Secrets” by Jason Ferruggia. I’m currently re-reading this ebook before planning out my mass building phase. I highly recommend this program and am forever grateful for stumbling across this awesome strength coach.
I’ve read tons of muscle building and strength training books, articles, and advice over the past 14 years trying to learn how to pack on some muscle. While I’ve learned a lot from everything I’ve studied, I can honestly say that Jason’s program ties all of the training principles together in a simple and easy to understand format that quite simply gets results.
The power of this program is based on Jason’s fifteen years of real world experience training over 700 people and athletes at his New Jersey based, Renegade gym. I don’t always agree with Jason’s “hardcore” mentality (to each their own), but overall his training advice is always solid and dead on… and that’s why I’m re-reading his book and taking serious notes while I plan out my upcoming training.
Jason’s the man!
Check his program out here ==> Muscle Gaining Secrets
My Morning Ritual:
Woke up at 6:30am
Drank 30 ounces of water
10 Minutes of Tai Chi/Qi Gong Exercises
15 Minutes of seated Meditation
Meal #1 Breakfast (7:00-8:00 am)
28 grams of Raw Sunflower seeds
1 Banana
3 Whole Eggs (Organic/Cage Free)
Frozen Spinach
Onions, Green and Red Peppers
Pico Degallo
Porta Bella Mushrooms
1/4 Cup Organic Dark Red Kidney Beans
Add a little Salsa and seasoning
8 ounces Orange Juice
16 ounces of water
GNC Multivitamin
GNC 1000mg Vitamin C
GNC 400 IU Vitamin E
Carlson 2,000 IU Vitamin D
Biotest Flameout Fish Oil
2 GNC Super Digestive Enzymes
Shower time with two beautiful ladies… oh wait… I must still be dreaming! ;)
Warrior Walk #1:
15 Minutes of Walking my dogs while wearing a 32lb Weighted Vest - I thought I was going to work out today at this time!
Time to head to work.
Upon arrival 8 ounces of Black Organic Coffee
Meal #2: Brunch (10:00-11:00am)
12 Raw Almonds
Protein Cake (see Transformation Update: Day 1 for recipe)
1 Cheese Stick
1 Apple
16 ounces of water
Meal #3: Lunch (1:00-2:00pm)
6-8 ounces of grilled Chicken (topped with a little lemon juice, onions, green and red peppers)
1/2 Cup of Green Beans
1/2 Cup of Mixed Vegetables
1/2 Cup of Carrots
1 piece of 60% Dark Chocolate
16 ounces of water
2 GNC Super Digestive Enzymes
8 ounces of Earl Grey tea
Meal #4: Afternoon Snack (4:00-5:00pm)
12 Raw Almonds
1 Cheese Stick
Big Bowl of Mixed Field Greens
Several pieces of Brocolli
One handful of shredded Carrots
3 ounces of Tuna
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar
1 Biotest Flameout Fish Oil Softgel
1 Carlson 2000 IU Vitamin D – increased my daily dosage from 4000 to 6000 IU due to winter time
16 ounces of water
That wraps up another day…. time to head home! 
Recovery Training:
15 Minutes of Self-Massage using Foam Roller and Tennis Ball
15-20 Minutes of Static Stretching Whole Body
Meal # 5: Pre-Dinner (7:00-8:00pm)
Protein Shake:
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein
1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Casein Protein
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
5 grams Optimum Nutrition Creatine
5 grams Optimum Nutritoin Glutamine
8-16 ounces of Soy Milk
28 grams of Sunflower Seeds
(Note: swapped out the banana for seeds to keep carbs lower in the evening on off days to reduce body fat levels)
Warrior Walk #2:
15 Minutes of Walking my dogs with no vest.
Felt the urge to do some light reading so I grabbed my copy of “The E-Code: 33 Internet Superstars Reveal 43 Ways to Make Money Online” by Joe Vitale and Jo Han Mok.
Meal #6: Dinner Time (8:30-9:30pm)
3 Whole Egg Omelot
Cheese
Onions, Green and Red Peppers
Salsa
16 ounces of water
1 mg Melatonin
Went to bed by 11:00pm – It’s challenging getting in bed by 10pm.
Brandon
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About the Author:
Brandon Cook is creator of The Awakened Warrior Blog, and co-creator of HardgainerMuscleBuilding.com, a website specifically designed to teach hardgainers how to build muscle fast using the laws and scientific principles of body transformation.
HargainerMuscleBuilding.com features a free email class covering the basic principles of training naturally, eating a nutritious, muscle-building diet, and understanding the truth about supplements. The website is filled with free articles, videos, and the programs you need to create your ideal body.
Please visit us at http://hardgainermusclebuilding.com
© 2009 Hardgainer Muscle Building. All rights in all media reserved.
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Matt Says:
December 18th, 2009 at 2:59 am
Hey Brandon…
I am rocking it out here in Los Angeles and looking forward to the rest of this wonderful journey. Just posted my NEW stats and I have to say Jason has an AMAZING program. Loving each day. Rock On Brother!!!
Brandon Says:
December 18th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Great to hear it Matt! Like the positive attitude… keep rockin the west coast and I’ll handle the east. Got an email from Vince Delmonte… he’s in Hollywood right now. He couldn’t say why, but he said some important people flew him out there.
Fajar Says:
December 19th, 2009 at 12:44 am
Great stuff man!
Keep going hard…
I’m great full that I found this website at last… It reflects everything about my NOT gaining weight problems (logically and scientifically). My weight has not changed since highschool (maybe a pound or two) & now i’m graduating from college. Everyone tells me i look the same and don’t change ;(. I tried to eat, eat, eat as people would “advise” me but to no avail. Finally, Brandon came along and i’m feeling confident once again. I want to revive my almost lost dreams (putting some meat on my scrawny body). I sometimes feel like i’m the ectormorph of the ectormophs lol! By the way, learned alot here
With that said, I would like to give this a shot and follow your foot steps. I really don’t know how to start or how to go about it is it okay to follow the work-out presented here? Just the type of exercises not specific amount of weight, # of reps, etc… I will tailor that based on my weight which is lower than 135lbs (that’s a secret). I like the idea of building the core first. Any suggestion?
As emphasized here, it’s gonna take commitment, persistent and struggle. I’m welcoming the challenge… those motivational quotes will keep me going
Brandon Says:
December 20th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Hey Fajar… thanks for the kind words and glad you are finding the website helpful. I know how frustrating it can be to transform your body, especially without solid training information.
The ectomorph body type requires a different type of training then your “typical” bodybuilder. Of course any person who does not have awesome genetics and/or not using steroids must train differently than the body building mags will tell you. Those programs are complete BS.
I know you can do this Fajar, but you have to be willing to put in the time and focus… you’re gonna have to live, breathe and sleep this for the next 3-6 months. You seem like you’re ready so that’s awesome.
First step is to get the proper mindset- remove any doubt, fear, or negative beliefs. I want you to wake up everyday and start talking to yourself in positive terms only. Know deep down that your body is growing, transforming, and getting stronger everyday. Know that the information and answers will come and guide you to achieve this. Tell yourself constantly how you are growing and getting bigger. Tell yourself that YOU WILL DO THIS and you will face any challenge that arises… and they WILL arise, so be prepared. Talk to yourself in this way everday and throughout the day and be grateful for every experience that comes into your life. It is only there to teach you.
Secondly, keep following along on this blog. Start your own blog or get a journal to keep track of this experience. You must be serious, you must write down what you are eating and how you are training and use this information to make intelligent decisions on how to proceed. See my weekly reports and track certain data like weight and body fat %, measurements etc.
It is okay to use the programs that I am doing on this blog. I will be giving more detailed info on these programs as we go along. However, don’t rely soley on me. For example: If you want to know how to do an exercise and I haven’t made that clear yet, type it into google or youtube and do searches to figure out how to perform that exercise. However, you can email me as well or comment and I will help you. I’m here to help, I just want you to realize that you are very capable of finding the answers. Nothing will stop a determined man from achieving his goals.
Also, realize that these exercises I am doing right now are a break in phase using bodyweight exercises. Start at your own level. You may want to start with only 1 set of each exercise… then work up to 2 like I did. In January, I’ll be switching to a new phase… but realize you may need to spend a month or two on the bodyweight stuff first. Learn to listen to and trust your body. It is not your enemy… it is your partner in this. It will tell you when it needs more rest, food, etc. If you listen and get in tune with it.
Good idea to strengthen your core… I recommend doing elbow planks and side elbow planks at first. Simply get in a push-up position but instead of being on your hands get on your elbows. Tighten your abs, glutes, and hold that position while timing it with a stop watch. Decent strength is 1:30. Good strength is 3:00. Great strength is 5:00 minutes. Then rotate on to your side and hold a side plank. Same concept but now you are only on 1 elbow. You won’t be able to hold this position as long. Keep everything tight and don’t let your hips sag. Keep your body solid and in a straight line. Look them up on youtube if necessary.
Keep following this blog and reading the articles and quotes. We’ll do this together bro. Good luck!