Posts Tagged ‘Steroids’

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them: A desire, a dream, a vision.”
-Muhammad Ali

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”
-Roy Oliver Disney

 
Indeed you want to pack on pounds of rock-solid mass! That is your hope… your dream…your vision. You sit there and just imagine what it would be like to appear as tough as Ali, as solid as Frank Zane, or as Herculean as Steve Reeves… or whomever it is you look up to.

 
“Oh how different my life would be if only I could look like that!” You might wonder. “All the girls would want me then. I’d be rich, famous, and cool. I would be the envy of all men and at last gain the respect and admiration that I rightfully deserve.”

“Too bad my genetics suck, I have always been skinny.”

 
“If only I was younger/older/richer and had the time to dedicate to pumping iron.”

 
“I have tried everything and still can’t pull in an ounce of muscle”

 
“Oh yeah, and you have to take steroids to appear like those guys.”

 
“I feed on lots of food and still can not grow. It is difficult consuming that much food.”

 
“Nothing I do seems to work for me. I guess I merely can not acquire any muscle.”

 
“I’m a hardgainer… that’s all there is to it… I give up!”

 
Well there you go! You know you are correct… your genetics do really suck. You do not have the time anyway, and besides, after all, you are a hardgainer. No hardgainer has ever been successful.

 
There isn’t a chance in **** that you will be able to reach any significant muscle additions. So yeah, you’re in all probability doing the right thing by throwing in the towel. I mean why waste all of this hard work and effort on something that’s completely out of your grasp anyway. You gave it a shot and it didn’t work out. Now, you’re only being realistic.

 
I mean that’s what a CHAMPION would do right?

 
 
WRONG!!!!!!!!!

 
 
Firstly, champions don’t give up… they may fail to reach a goal or lose a match, but they never give up. They pick themselves up, dust them selves off, learn their lessons and then act accordingly. A champion understands that there is no such thing as failure until you have truly given up. If you never throw in the towell, then each set-back, each problem, or any disappointment you face is plainly another lesson… another test of your true character.

 
Now don’t get me wrong, it is important to be honest about what you are able to accomplish… if by realistic you mean truthful and accurate in your interpretation of reality.

 
For instance, if you are an ectomorph and training drug free it is very unrealistic to think you can train and eat to become the size of a modern professional bodybuilder like Jay Cutler.

 
I remember reading a story about him where he stated that the first time he bench pressed he was able to lift 315 lbs. True or not… I am not so sure. However, it is possible though, particularly when you consider that he is a 5′9″ with near-perfect muscle building genetics. Jay generally weighs 250-280 lbs at contest and 280-320 lbs off season. In addition, it is virtually a given that he’s a lil’ heavy on the juice (and I ain’t talking fruit juice!) He still worked hard to achieve his body though. So I give him credit for what he’s accomplished.
 
 
All is not lost though if you do not have the perfect genetics and want to train naturally. It’s important to recognize that regardless what your genetics or situation you can still add muscle to your body. It is not unrealistic to add anywhere from 15-75lbs of muscle or more… depending on what age you start training and how disciplined you are willing to be. We’ll talk more about this when I get to goal setting. The point I am trying to make is… yes be realistic… but also remember that a champion also has to be somewhat idealistic or optimistic in what they can and will accpomplish with their lives.

 
Remember, as Ali alluded to in the opening quote, a champion has a dream and a vision in their mind and that dream and vision is so solid, so compelling, and so real to them that they will stop at absolutely nothing until that desire has been accomplished. You see they have made it true in their minds so it’s merely a matter of time before it becomes a reality in their touchable world.

 
Lastly, Champions don’t think self-defeating thoughts like the ones listed above. In all honesty, they may have at some point in their lives, but at that point they weren’t conceived to be champions. At some defining moment in their lives, the true champion acknowledges that negative views just work to defeat and restrict you to what you can become. It is at that point that they release the need to think about any other outcome except for the outcome they desire. If a negative thought comes into their mind, they promptly discharge it and replace it with a positive one.

 
You must realize that any statement you make to yourself or out loud is an statement to the universe about who you are. Ali did not say “I’m okay!” or “I am pretty good!” No, he screamed “I’m the greatest!”

 
 
So determine for yourself, immediately, what you want to be.

 
 
Do you want to be a hardgainer or do you want to be a champion? If you select to be a champion, then drop the hardgainer mantra and excuses right now. They’ll simply hold you back from being what you are able to become.
 
 
Drop the Hardgainer Delusion Once and For All

What? The hardgainer delusion… Are you trying to say there’s no such thing as a hardgainer? After all, this is hardgainermusclebuilding.com. You guys of all people should know about the plight of the hardgainer… our inability to gain muscle mass regardless on how much we eat… regardless on how hard we train… no matter how relentlessly we try. How can you call it the hardgainer delusion? I’m not deluded… am I?

 
Chill out “skinny”…. You are burning off too many calories!

Here’s the truth: YES, there are hardgainers and NO, you are not deluding yourself.

Here’s another truth: NO, there are not hardgainers, and YES, you are deluding yourself.

 Now that I have thoroughly bewildered you… let me break it down!

 
Everyone, and by everyone I mean any ordinary joe or jane without some debilitating disease or circumstance, can gain muscle. Yes, everyone is unique and there are different somatotypes, which cause some people to have more or less difficulty in adding muscular size. For instance, the ectomorph (due to their inherent genetic make-up) has a more challenging time acquiring muscle than say the mesomorph or endomorph. So, if there really are hardgainers out there, the ectomorph somatotype would fit the bill of being a “true” hardgainer.

 
That being said, it is not unimaginable for an ectomorph to rapidly earn muscle mass if they understand the reasons why their genetics are inferior for muscle growth compared to the other somatotypes and take the appropriate measures to defeat those restrictions. To put it differently, the ectomorph must work out and eat in a way that is congruent with his somatotype. In doing so, one will prevail over any inherited shortcomings and will be able to create an athletic and muscular physique that maximizes their genetic potential.

 
There are two problems with using the term hardgainer to define your self. First of all, it can be used as an excuse or blaming mechanism to shift responsibility away from your self. Secondly, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy that will keep you small and weak for life.

 
A lot of “normal” people underestimate the commitment, discipline, and hard work that goes into building a champion physique. Combine that with our “we want it yesterday” mindset that is so prevalent in the world today and some people easily become frustrated at their lack of progress.

 
Instead of accepting responsibility and grasping the truth that their lack of results stem from something (or a lot of things) that they’re either doing (or not doing)… they select to blame their genetics and cry out with despair… “I must be a hardgainer!” Now they’ve officially shifted the blame off of themselves and put it on their parents.

 
In reality, the reason why they are not acquiring muscle is related to their training, nutrition, recovery, or mindset habits. One or more of the four pillars needs some calibrating, which means they’ll have to recognize that the problem is in truth within themselves and make the appropriate changes to their lifestyle. Altering your habits can be arduous work, so it’s a great deal easier to just blame mom and dad.

Now let’s consider the second issue with labeling yourself a hardgainer. Not only is the hardgainer identity a handy excuse for your crappy results, it also becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. The more you identify with and call yourself a hardgainer, the more you actually become one.

 
As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you can or can’t… either way you’re right.”

 
How do you expect to acquire muscle rapidly while you are constantly telling yourself that you are a hardgainer or have bad genetics or can not succeed or any of the negative affirmations listed at the beginning of this article?

 
You will never win if you continue to harbor and affirm such negative, self-defeating thoughts. It’s weak thoughts like these that are keeping you small and weak. If you want to be big and strong you must think big, strong, powerful thoughts.

 
 
“You become what you think about” -Napoleon Hill

 
 You are going to hear this a lot on our website, and the sooner you truly grasp this fact and understand that this is the key to living a fulfilling life… the sooner you’ll be able to completely transform your body and life into anything you imagine.

“With your thoughts you make the world” –The Buddha

 
Brandon Cook

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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 instruct the hardgainer the laws and scientific principles for building a classic, muscular and functional physique.

 
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.

Conventional allergy treatment consists of two main approaches: symptom suppression and desensitization. Symptom suppression uses various medications to reduce the release of and/or the effects of circulating immune chemicals like histamine. Reduction of the amounts or effects of these chemicals reduces the severity of the body’s allergic reaction and things like congestion, irritated eyes, and skin reactions diminish. In severe allergies, steroids like cortisone may be used to drastically suppress the body’s inflammatory immune response.

The other main conventional approach to treating allergies is gradual desensitization, which is done using allergy shots. Allergy shots deliver small amounts of the person’s allergens into the body on a regular basis. The concept here is that over time the body will grow accustomed to the allergen and stop reacting as strongly to it. Basically, the idea is that the body will get “tired” of producing an immune response to the allergen if it encounters it often enough. Allergy shots are effective at eliminating allergies in many cases, but it is a slow process. There is a new way of desensitizing the body to allergens that is much faster and does not require injections, as we’ll discuss shortly.

You’ll need a bit of background information before I begin discussing this new form of allergy treatment. This method of treatment is based on the concept of the energy field of the human body and it utilizes a system known as muscle testing or “applied kinesiology” to evaluate changes in energy flow. Acupuncture is a system of healing that has been around thousands of years. It is based on the flow and interaction of subtle forms of energy in the body. While this is still a new concept in Western medicine, energy healing is widely accepted in many parts of the world. Medical doctors often dismiss outright the concept of an energy field around the body, yet the existence of this field is easily demonstrated, as anyone who is “muscle-tested” will experience.

You may have heard of homeopathy. As with acupuncture, it is also based on the concept of energy fields, in the body, as well as in substances and organisms that may interact with the body. In essence, homeopathic remedies are energy “signatures” of substances not the actual substances themselves. Just as you can store electronic information on a computer disc, energy signatures can be imprinted on purified water and other substances. The stored energy signatures in the homeopathics can then be used to treat the body.

As mentioned above, the existence of the human energy field is easily demonstrated. One of the simplest and yet most effective means of assessing the flow of energy around and within the body is something called muscle testing. Every muscle in your body is controlled by nerves, which transmit electrical signals. If the body’s energy field is disrupted, the electrical signals of the nerves are interfered with, and so the muscles cannot function at full capacity. It’s sort of like a light on a dimmer switch. When the power to the light is flowing at full capacity, the light is bright. When the flow of electricity is interfered with (by means of the components of the dimmer switch), the light dims. If the nerve signals to your muscles are “dimmed”, the muscle appears weak. In muscle testing, we assess energy pathways by touching points on the body or by contacting the body with a substance to check the body’s reactivity to it. Although any muscle in the body can be used for testing, one of the most popular tests uses the deltoid muscles. The basic procdeure involves having the person being tested hold his or her arm straight out to the side at shoulder level and the person doing the testing pushes down on the arm at the wrist or forearm. When an energy reaction occurs, the person being tested will be unable to resist the downward push from the tester where they had been able to easily resist before.

There are many critics of muscle testing who claim that it is a hoax. I used to think that myself. Certainly there are ways to “cheat” the test to make it show what you want it to show. All of these tricks are easily detectable if you pay attention to what’s happening. Among the more common tricks to produce a weak response when the tester wants it are: the tester pushes harder or faster, the tester lifts up on the arm (triggering muscle relaxation) prior to pushing down, or the tester changes the angle, or shifts the leverage of the push. I myself have witnessed a lot of muscle testing where the outcome was controlled by the tester. Such experiences led me to conclude that muscle testing was a bunch of garbage. A few years ago, I attended a seminar that changed my mind. I came to understand the proper way to do muscle testing. Following that, I came to recognize what a valuable tool muscle testing actually was for assessing the body.

Allergy and Sensitivity Elimination and Reprogramming Technique (ASERT)is the newest method of dealing with allergy problems in the body. This is a method that uses muscle testing and homeopathic substances to evaluate the body and then uses a form of acupuncture point stimulation to reduce the body’s sensitivities to allergens. This is a relatively new technique that is an updated version of an older, but more widely-used method called NAET (Nambudripad Allergy Ellimination Technique).

NAET, like many remarkable discoveries, was stumbled upon by accident by Devi Nambudripad, a chiropractor and acupuncturist. She had suffered for years with numerous severe allergies and food sensitivities and she was on an extremely restricted diet because of her many food sensitivities. Supposedly, one evening she was preparing dinner for her husband and, without thinking, took a bite of carrot, which she was quite allergic to. Immediately, she started to have an allergic reaction and she decided to ride it out using some acupuncture to help her through it more easily. She placed acupuncture needles to stimulate all of the energy channels in the body and laid down to rest. When she awoke, she felt unusually good and noticed that in her haste, she had not washer her hands and still had some carrot on her skin. On a hunch, she ate a bite of carrot and found she did not react to it as before. She then tried using the same procedure for other foods she was allergic to and discovered that the acupuncture stimulation eliminated those reactions as well. From there the method has grown and there are various modifications and offshoots of it, including ASERT, the technique I use.

With ASERT, I use muscle testing to test for reactions to various allergens and then desensitize the body to any allergens I find using laser acupuncture. The laser is particularly good for this technique because it is completely noninvasive and painless and can go right through most clothing, negating the need for the patient to disrobe. In using this technique the last few years, I have discovered some additional tricks to make it even more effective. For most cases, significant reduction in all types of allergies and sensitivities can be achieved in 1 to 10 visits. This treatment is long lasting (it usually “holds” for at least several months) and is often permanent. A few interfering factors can come into play with the effects of treatment, such as heavy metal toxicity or particularly heavy exposure to the desensitized allergens, but these are rare.

Although they are a bit difficult to believe at first, ASERT and NAET are both highly effective in the majority of cases. They are gaining popularity and practitioners of these techniques can usually be located in most major cities.