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Tired of working out and seeing very little results? Had enough of buying and drinking expensive protein and gainer supplements and not seeing those gains they advertised?
Don’t worry. There is hope for you yet. No, we are not talking about injecting yourself with synthetic anabolic steroids.
We are talking about going back to the basics here. We’re talking about natural and effective ways to build and sculpt your muscles – the old school way.
The Way Of The Iron Guru
The old school way of building lean muscles is about training the right way and eating the right types of food. Today’s training is more about training programs and less about nutrition. In old school bodybuilding, it’s more about what you eat and training is about augmenting the effects of food on your muscles.
Many revolutionary ideas originated from Vince Gironda – a man who has built such a legacy in bodybuilding that he has earned the name The Iron Guru. His name may not be familiar to you but you probably know the people he has trained. He has worked with renowned bodybuilders like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s at his prime. Arnold is much older now but his physique can still hold its own even up to this day.
His secret? Following Vince Gironda’s methods.
What are Vince Gironda’s methods?
Vince Gironda is known for various traditional bodybuilding principles, one of which is the popular Hormone Precursor Diet. At the core of this program lies his highly effective recipe for a gainer shake. This recipe is perfect for building bigger and leaner muscles without struggling with the increased food intake needed to build them.
All you need to do is mix 12 raw eggs, 12 ounces of half and half cream, and 1/3 cup of pure protein powder in a food processor. You may also add a banana for flavour. If you do low carb or keto the banana can be skipped.
This recipe was used by many old school bodybuilders back in his days, including Arnold Schwarzenegger. Bodybuilders are advised to drink 3 of these shakes throughout the day, in between meals, and before going to bed.
This recipe is a mass gainer trick that helps you provide the nutrients your body needs for anabolism and remaining in a positive nitrogen balance. This shake also helps you achieve calorie surplus for weight gain but without the formation and storage of excess fat.
Why Are Raw Eggs Such A Great Bodybuilding Food?
Eggs are some of the best anabolic foods. Anabolism is a building process. When you build muscles, your muscle tissues needs an excess of nutrients.
The best way to support these needs is by eating anabolic foods. Eggs are packed with everything that your body needs to build muscles.
It has proteins, with most of the essential amino acids needed for tissue-building. If you drink your eggs, it makes it very easy to consume these liquid proteins rather then trying to bulk up on things such as steaks.
It has healthy fats. Yes, your body needs fat for its anabolic activities. It is a vital component of the cellular membranes. Fat is also used by the body in producing steroid hormones such as testosterone, which in itself will help you build more muscle and shed more body fat. All steroid hormones are needed by the body for maintaining hormonal balance and a healthy endocrine system.
The cholesterol fats in eggs is what helps in boosting your body’s production of steroid hormones. Aside from proteins and fats, raw eggs are also rich in numerous minerals and vitamins.
Fats For Muscle Building
As mentioned, not all fats are bad. Some can actually help you sculpt a marvelous physique. This is especially helpful for those who have more difficulty in gaining weight.
Fat can help you get more calories into your diet because it is denser in calories than other macronutrients such as carbohydrates. On a per gram basis, 1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories, compared to 1 gram of fat = 9 calories. You eat smaller servings but pack in more calories.
If you want to bulk up and build muscles, you will need to feed your body with lots of calories. You will have to be maintaining a calorie surplus, which means eating more than you need. You should be tracking your calorie intake daily to make sure you hit your surplus and macros. Apps such as MyFitnessPal can you help you with this step.
If you are trying to bulk up, eat calorie dense foods such as the following to help create a calorie surplus.
- Eggs
- Dark Chocolate
- Bacon
- White rice
- Oat Meal
- Potatoes
- Sweet Potatoes
- Olive Oil
- Olives
- Coconut Oil
- Coconut Milk
- Avocados
- Greek Yogurt
- Heavy Cream
- Raw Milk
- Cheese
Adding fats into your diet can help you achieve calorie surplus easier than adding more servings of less calorie dense carbohydrates or proteins.
One of the best types of fat is called CLA.
Understanding CLA and Bodybuilding
Conjugated linoleic acid or CLA helps carve your physique better. Numerous positive studies on CLA has already been conducted. Results showed positive impacts on health. This compound can help with fat burning, weight loss, and muscle building.
CLA is ideal for those who want to get rid of stubborn body fat. This type of fat helps the body to mobilize excess fat stores and burn them for energy.
There are numerous natural foods and supplements that contain CLA. Eating more dairy and beef products can help you get more CLA into your body.
Ground beef, for instance, has about 7 times more CLA content compared to chicken or pork. Other good sources of CLA are plain yogurt, mozzarella cheese and homogenized milk.
The fat-burning effects of CLA can be achieved by taking about 3,500 mg of this fat on a daily basis.
There are also many other benefits of CLA, which helps you build leaner muscles faster while you improve your overall health. Examples are:
- Increase testosterone
- Increase in metabolic rates
- Increase in rate of muscle growth
- Reduction in cholesterol and triglyceride levels
- Improved insulin response
- Enhanced immunity
- Improve body composition
Liver Tablets
This is one of the only supplements that Gironda advocated strongly. There is nothing synthetic in liver compared to many other fitness/preworkout type supplements on the market today. Liver tablets are ground up pork liver and liver is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet.
These tablets promote positive nitrogen balance in the body. They are taken in between meals to help with gains.
Maintaining a positive nitrogen balance is another important factor to consider when building muscle. It helps promote anabolism. It also inhibits catabolism that commonly occurs in between meals and after workouts. Liver tablets before bed makes sure your muscles has all the building blocks they need even while you sleep.
Gironda’s Weight Gain Diet
All of the discussed tips tie up to the Weight Gain Diet formulated by Gironda. This diet simply means you have to eat up and train smart to get the massive, athletic physique you want.
The basics of the diet include the following guidelines:
- Eat regularly.
- Eat smaller yet more frequent meals per day.
- Aim to eat at least every 3 hours (about 6 meals or more per day).
- If you can’t eat 6 small meals or more, eat 3 main balanced, nutritious meals plus snacks in between meals and before you go to bed.
- Never overeat on any meal or snack.
- Never let yourself get hungry
- Keep a constant supply of healthy, calorie-dense snacks or foods at hand.
Conclusion
If you really want to bulk up, it’s worth considering the old school way of bodybuilding. Arnold Schwarzenegger and many of his contemporaries got those insane gains using the method described in this article. If they were able to achieve that physique, you can too.
Granted, Arnold did have genetics on his side, but the beauty of the Gironda way is that it works for all kinds of body types. You just have to work on your own strengths and use what works for you.
Try it now and see for yourself how effective these methods really are.
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Rohan Arora is a Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutritionist and has been actively involved in sports and fitness for over 8 years. He now leads the team of fitness specialists and personal trainers who help people around the world with personalized workout and nutrition plans, along with providing the right information on sports supplements.
