From Lard To Hard: A 14 Page Guide To Get In Shape!, By: Hugo Rivera

My story begins when I was a teenager that was seriously overweight (80 pounds plus to be accurate), and extremely unhappy with the way I looked. I had dreams of being fit and muscular one day, but everyone else would laugh at me telling me that I was always going to be fat forever. At 5 feet tall and 180 pounds, it seemed like an impossible goal to achieve.

One day being tired of the way I got treated by everyone else and the way I felt, I decided to take charge and began a diet that would get rid of all the extra weight. I followed the diet that most people trying to lose weight usually follow: the starve to death diet. The difference between most people and me was that most people usually quit their starvation diet within a week; I didn't.

To make a long story short, I became anorexic and after a year I ended up weighing 90 lbs. My family, concerned about the situation decided to take me to a nutritionist that dealt with cases like this. This nutritionist told me something that completely changed my life: "Food will not make you fat; It is the abusive intake of the wrong kinds of food that will". That sentence made so much sense to me that I decided to slowly increase my food intake and follow the diet that she prescribed.

At that point in my life I became interested in the subject of nutrition, and began reading articles about the subject. One day, I began looking at the muscle magazines in the supermarket and saw a picture of the one and only Arnold Schwarzenegger. From that moment on, I knew exactly how I wanted to look. It was in that summer of 1990 that I began my bodybuilding journey.

Now, almost ten years later and 100 pounds heavier, I decided to share with everyone the way in which I accomplished this remarkable physique transformation, in hopes, that you (the reader) can feed from my knowledge and achieve the bodybuilding goals that you have as fast as humanly possible.

The Formula For Success

Being an engineer it is hard for me to write a document that does not contains at least one formula. However there is no need to worry because you will not need to understand complicated mathematics to be able to use this one. However, you will need to have a strong desire to change the way you look in order to apply it.

The Formula Is The Following: 

Success=Determination x Training Nutritional Program Rest/Recovery

Where S is the success that you will achieve in your program, D is the determination that you have to achieve success, T is the training that you use, N is your nutritional program and R stands for rest & recovery.

Each component in the formula above can only have two values. A value of 1 is given to a component if it is followed completely. A value of 0 is given to any component that is not followed or followed halfway. Therefore, if every single component is followed, you get a maximum value of 3. In this case the person will get the fastest results possible from their program.

If the person stops following one of the components inside of the parenthesis then you get a lesser value and not optimal results. However note that if you don’t have any determination you get a value of 0 which means that your whole program will fail and you won’t get any results. The reason for this is because determination is by far the most important factor in determining the amount of success you will achieve in your bodybuilding program and we will later see why.

After examining the formula above, now it is easy to see why just purchasing a sophisticated gadget or a couple of magic pills at the health food store are not going to cut it. In order to achieve permanent weight loss all of the factors described above have to be present and in perfect harmony. Follow one but not the others and your success will be negatively affected.

Now that you have an idea of what it will take to get the body of your dreams, lets talk about how to go about doing it it. After all, only applied knowledge is power.

Determination

Determination is the first component of the formula and with good reason. Of all of the four components that make up the formula this is the only one that is more important than the remaining others. If you are not determined enough to make the sacrifices necessary to get in shape, then dear reader nothing is going to happen. You can have all the knowledge that I have as to how to get in superb shape but if you don’t apply it, then all you have is wasted knowledge.

You need to want to change your appearance as badly as you would like to breathe if you were drowning. You also will have to believe in yourself and know that you can do it. You must not have any doubt in your mind that it is possible to change. If you have any doubts, believe me, you will fail.

You will also need to have tunnel vision, in other words, look at your goal and no matter how much adversity you encounter, stick to your plan, follow through and get there. It is not an easy path. In a day and age where skepticism and negativity rules, roadblocks will appear (such as people telling you that you will not succeed or putting your program down, etc.). Every time you encounter a negative situation like that, use it to your own advantage.

Use it to fuel your desire to achieve whatever goal you have in mind. Don’t let anybody put you down. This is important stuff. This not only applies to changing your appearance; this applies to every aspect of your life. If you want something, and you want it badly enough you will be able to get it no matter what. Set a goal, have a plan and follow through no matter what happens until you reach that goal.

In this report I give you a proven plan to change the way you look, whether the goal is to simply lose a few pounds and firm up or become a bodybuilder I give you the knowledge to get there. All I ask of you is that you use your desire and put the plan to work for you.

Training

Training is the first component inside of the parenthesis of the formula for success. The way you train will ultimately determine the way that you look. This is how you will be able to sculpt your body into a work of art.

Weight training is the number one way to re-sculpt your body. Weight training is by far superior to any other form of exercise because it is the only one that can give shape to your body and increase your metabolism permanently. This alone will kill the root of obesity; a slow metabolism. No ladies, weight training will not make you muscle bound.

For ladies, weight training will provide the firm, cellulite free looking body they are looking for. It will not make them look like Arnold Schwarzenneger because their bodies simply do not produce enough testosterone (male hormone that is responsible for muscle growth) to achieve that look. As far as men are concerned, weight training could either make them look as fit as the guys in Baywatch, as buffed as Arnold or any point in between. It all depends on how far you would like to take it.

Rules For Effective Weight Training: 

In order for weight training to be effective the following rules should be followed:

a.       Each session should be short; 40 minutes maximum. The maximum amount of time a weight training session should last is 40 minutes. After 40 minutes the levels of muscle building and fat burning hormones (like growth hormone and testosterone) begin to drop.

Also, the glycogen in your system, which is the fuel that your muscles use to contract, has been depleted. What this means is that training for any more than 40 minutes will actually be a waste of your time since you will no longer have the hormones or the fuel necessary to produce muscle growth.

Continue to train past 40 minutes and you will get impaired recovery which leads to overtraining, a condition where your body does not recover from its weight training sessions and leads to lose of strength and muscle mass.

b.       The rest between sets should be kept to a minimum; 60 seconds or shorter. Keeping your rest time in between sets and exercises to a minimum not only allows you to perform a prodigious amount of work within the 40 minute training window but it also helps improve your cardiovascular system and most importantly maximizes the output of growth hormone, the powerful fat burning, muscle building hormone that we mentioned earlier.

Also, this range promotes a muscle voluminizing effect in which water goes inside the muscle cells (not outside) and makes the muscles look more firm and bigger. Do not confuse this with water retention outside of the muscle cells, which is what makes us look puffy and fat.

c.        The sets of each exercise should be between 8-12 repetitions each. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost, it has been shown that it is within this range that growth hormone output is maximized. As we already know, this is a good thing since this hormone does exactly what we are looking for (it increases muscle and decreases body fat).

Also, since we are performing so many repetitions, you get a great pump (blood rushing into the muscle) which is a good thing since along with the blood are nutrients that nourish the muscle cells and help them recover and rebuild bigger much faster.

Finally, performing this amount of repetitions reduces the possibility of injury dramatically since you will need to use a weight that you can control in order to perform the prescribed amount of reps.

d.       Training must be progressive. This principle applies more to bodybuilders than to people who are just interested in getting in shape since bodybuilders are the ones interested in gaining enormous amounts of muscle mass. Progression means performing one more repetition than the last time the exercise was performed or a little bit more weight if you are able to do more than 12 repetitions for a particular exercise.

It is important to understand that we will not be able to increase weight or increase the number of repetitions in every single session. However, it is important to know that the overall goal of the bodybuilder is to ensure progression over a period of time because this will ensure the continuous addition of muscle mass.

People who use weight training as a means to lose weight and get in shape need to apply the progression principle up until the point that they reach the muscle building goals that they have in mind. Once the person is happy with the amount of muscle that they have gained then instead of concentrating on increasing the amount of weight they should concentrate in decreasing the amount of time in which the training session is completed but using the same amount of weight as before.

This would make the training more aerobic in nature and it will give it a stronger fat burning effect without adding any more muscle mass.

e.       Training must be varied. For the bodybuilder this is very important as this will also ensure continuous gains in strength and muscle mass. Variation does not necessarily means changing all of the exercises in the program. As you will soon see there are only a few exercises we need to be concerned with.

Change could take place in any form. For example, once you notice that you are not gaining strength in your exercises (this typically happens after six sessions of performing the exact same routine for the advanced trainee) you can go ahead and change the order in which the exercises are being performed.

You may want to superset (do one exercise after the other with no rest in between) a couple of the exercises or you may want to substitute the exercise completely for a similar one (i.e.: substitute bench press for dumbbell bench presses) for the next few weeks until your strength gains stop again.

Even if you are like me and you don’t like to change the exercises in your program, changing the order in which they are performed, varying the speed at which they are performed or even shortening the amount of rest in between sets for the next six sessions from 60 seconds to 30 can have a big impact in the amount of gains you make. Every time you do something that your body is not used to, it will prompt the body to change (in this case grow).

So bodybuilders, remember; once your strength gains stop, don’t be afraid to change your routines. You will be surprised at the amount of muscle mass that you will gain after doing so.

f.         Training must be composed of free weight basic exercises. Only free weights provide the fast results you are looking for. The body is designed to be in a three dimensional universe. Therefore, whenever you use a machine and you limit your body to a two dimensional universe you limit the amount of muscle fibers that are going to do work and therefore you get less results. I am not saying that all machines are bad.

Some machines definitely have a place in our weight-training program. However, our program should be mostly based on barbell, dumbbell and exercises where the body moves through space such as the dip, the pull-up, the squat and the deadlift. The best exercises for each bodypart are the following:

Back: 

Wide Grip Pull-ups to front
Wide Grip Pull-ups to Back
Chin-ups with palms facing your body
Chin-ups with a Neutral Grip (Palms facing each other)
Bent Over Rows
Bent Over Rows with inverted grip
T-Bar Rows
Dumbbell Rows

Chest: 

Incline Bench Press (and its dumbbell version)
Flat Bench Press (and its dumbbell version)
Chest Dips, Pushups
Decline Bench Presses (and its dumbbell version)

Thighs: 

Barbell Squats (and its Dumbbell Version)
Deadlifts
Lunges
Hack Squats
Leg Press
Leg Extensions

Hamstrings: 

Stiff Legged Deadlifts (and its Dumbbell Version)
Lying Leg Curls
Standing Leg Curls
Seated Leg Curls

Shoulders: 

Behind the Neck Press (and its Dumbbell Version)
Upright Rows
Lateral Raises
Bent Over Lateral Raises

Traps: 

Barbell Shrugs to Front
Barbell Shrugs to Back
Dumbbell Shrugs
Upright Rows

Biceps: 

Barbell & Dumbbell Curls
Barbell & Dumbbell Preacher Curls
Incline Dumbbell Curls
Concentration Curls
Hammer Curls

Triceps: 

Barbell & Dumbbell Lying Triceps Extensions
Barbell & Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extensions
Triceps Pushdown
Triceps Dips
Close Grip Bench Press (and its Dumbbell Version)

Calves: 

Standing Calf Raise
Seated Calf Raise
Donkey Calf Raises
Calf Raises on Leg Press Machine
One Legged (or Two Legged) Calf Raises with Dumbbells.

Abdominal: 

Sit-ups
Crunches
Leg Raises
Knee-Ins
Leg Raise Crunch.

A typical workout might look like the following: 

Mondays/Thursdays - Chest, Back & Rear Delts

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 8 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Rows - 10 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Flyes - 2 sets of 10 reps
Bent Over Lateral Raises - 3 sets of 15 repetitions

Tuesdays/Fridays - Shoulders, Arms & Abs

Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 3 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Upright Rows - 4 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Curls - 8 sets of 10 reps
Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extensions - 8 sets of 10 reps

Wednesdays/Saturdays - Quads, Hams & Calves

Dumbbell Squats - 6 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Lunges - 4 sets of 8-12 reps
Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlifts - 6 sets of 12 reps
Dumbbell Calf Raises - 7 sets of 20-40 reps

Notes: 

§         You can substitute the exercises above with any other basic exercise. Just don't add any more sets to the routine.

§         Note that this routine could be done at home with adjustable dumbbells and a bench.

§         Only rest 30-60 seconds in between sets.

§         I like to exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach since that way I burn 300% more bodyfat and increase my growth hormone levels.

§         Feel free to pair up exercises and superset them. It gives an incredible pump!

Nutrition Overview

Without a good diet, your dreams of achieving your ideal body will never be reached. We'll first discuss some nutrition basics and then we'll discuss the characteristics of a good nutrition program.

Characteristics Of A Good Nutrition Program 

1.       It should favor smaller and frequent feedings throughout the day (every two to three hours) instead of two or three large ones. Why? Because when you feed your body several times a day, your metabolism increases. Therefore, you burn more fat.

Frequent feedings are of particular importance since after three to four hours of no food your body switches to a catabolic state (a state in which you lose muscle and gain fat!). The body believes that it is starving and it starts feeding itself on lean muscle tissue and it prepares to store calories as fat. Bad scenario!

"The body believes that it is starving and it starts feeding itself on lean muscle tissue and it prepares to store calories as fat. Bad scenario!"

2.       Every meal should have carbohydrates, protein and fat in the correct ratios. Having a meal that is not balanced (for example, a meal that is all carbohydrates) won't yield the desired results. Every macronutrient has to be present in order for the body to absorb them and use them properly.

Without boring you with the effect of food on the body's biochemistry, let's just say that if you only eat carbohydrates in one meal without anything else, your energy levels will crash in about 30 minutes and your body will be storing whichever of those carbs that were not used for energy into fat.

Conversely, if you only eat protein, you will lack energy since your body will not have a source from where to create it. In addition, the ratios for each particular macronutrient have to be correct in order to get the results you want.

A Good Macronutrient Ratio Is The Following:

45% of your calories should come from Carbohydrates.
35% should come from Protein.
20% should come from Fats.

Again, without getting into the biochemistry, lets say that this ratio creates the best hormonal environment in the body for gaining muscle and loosing fat( ie: Testosterone and growth hormone production increases and insulin is in just the right amounts). It's very important to keep this ratio intact.

Nutrition Basics

There are 3 Macronutrients that the human body needs in order to function properly.

A) Carbohydrates 

Carbohydrates are your body's main source of energy. When you ingest carbohydrates your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is very important because:

1.       It grabs the carbohydrates and either stores them in the muscle or stores them as fat.

2.       It grabs the amino acids (protein) and shelters them inside the muscle cell for recovery and repair.

Most people that follow low fat diets but are overweight are in that condition because they are eating an overabundance of carbs. Too many carbohydrates cause a huge release of insulin. When there is too much insulin in the body, your body turns into a fat storing machine. Therefore, it is important that we eat no more carbs than necessary and that we eat the right amount of carbs. An easy way to get in the right ratio of carbohydrates to proteins and determine if you are eating too many carbohydrates is the following:

Multiply the amount of protein (in grams) that you are eating in your present meal by 1.5. This will give you the maximum amount of carbs (in grams) that you can eat in that particular meal.

Conversely, if you don't eat enough carbohydrates, you will feel tired, lethargic, and irritable. To see if you are not eating enough carbohydrates, just multiply the amount of protein that you are eating in your present meal by 1. If the amount of carbohydrates that you are planning to take in is less than the result, then you are not taking enough carbs.

For example, if you are eating 8oz. of chicken this comes out to approximately 45 g of protein.

45 x 1.5 = 67.5 g « Max amount of carbs you can eat in that meal.
45 x 1.0 = 45.0 g « Min amount of carbs you can eat in that meal.

Now that we have talked about the importance of having just the right amount of carbs, let's talk about which are the best sources of carbs. Carbohydrates are divided into complex carbs and simple carbs. The complex carbs give you sustained energy ("timed release") while the simple carbs give you immediate energy. It is recommended that in the morning and after the workout you eat a combination of both complex and simple carbs, while at night you should eat mainly complex carbs. During the day you can eat a combination of both. Below is a list of good sources of carbs: