This past spring, I took park in BodyBuilding.com’s 2011 Transformation Challenge. I began my transformation on January 30, 2011, where I took and posted my “Before” pictures. These, I must say, were quite depressing to say the least. However, the most definitely fueled my motivate for the 12 week challenge. My final day of the challenge, where I posted my “After’ pictures was April 23, 2011.

I started my transformation by following Vince Delmonte’s 21 Day Fast Mass Building Program. Although I didn’t follow any sort of diet plan during this, I did see some gains. However, because I didn’t eat probably, these gains didn’t last and before I knew it I was back down to my starting weight of 165lbs.

I decided that in order to give myself a shot in winning this challenge, I needed to create my own workout and meal plan to follow. I really wanted to win this thing, but I wanted to do it on my own and not through someone else’s program. Although, I very much recommend Vince Delmonte’s programs.

I consider the first month of my challenge, where I used Vince’s program, as simple just a warm-up for what I was about to do to my body next. My weight at the end of the first month remained the same. I weighed 165lbs with a bodyfat percentage of about 12.

Over the next two months, I went through a 5 week “Bulking” phase and then a 3 week “Cutting Phase”. By the end of these two months, I gained 10 lbs, so I weighed 175lbs and dropped to 7% body fat!

Here are my Before and After pictures:

I’ll be creating a guide on my transformation that includes a detailed workout plan and meal plan. If you’d like to receive this guide for free when it comes out, please fill out and submit the form below!

Sign Up to Receive First Access to My Transformation Guide! 

Name:

Email:

We respect your email privacy

 My Transformation Guide is Due Out Soon!

First 100 Sign-Ups Only

Many people struggle to gain muscle mass fast. It’s true. Don’t think you’re alone. You may spend a lot of the time at the gym, thinking you’re doing everything that you can possibly do in order to gain muscle mass fast, but after time goes by, nothing. Perhaps you look in the mirror and you see nothing has hardly changed, look at an “before” picture of yourself and looks like you could have just taken the picture. But you know, you’ve been hard at work at the gym. What’s the problem!?

Gaining muscle mass fast is a common goal amongst those who weight train at the gym regularly. So how does one fully achieve this goal of gaining muscle mass fast? There are several rules you need to allows follow and if you do, you will see results!

Wrong Workout Routine?

This is a common problem among beginner weight lifters. You figure, hey I’ll do this exercise and then this, but you don’t realize there is a proper system you need to go with. You can’t make significant gains if you’re just performing random exercises.

This all starts with having the right workout routine. With a properly planned out routine specific for gaining muscle mass, as long as you follow it all the way through, along with meeting the other rules below, you will see yourself gaining muscle mass fast.

Wrong Diet?

This is big. How big? As big as your calorie count should be. In order to gain muscle mass fast, you need to consume more calories a day then you burn. It’s not as easy as you may think. Go to Mcdonald’s everyday, that will increase my calorie count. Although this may be true, you need to be eating healthy calories and a lot of them. Plenty of protein, carbs and healthy fats are ingredients to muscle mass gaining diet. This also includes plenty of water!

Sleep, Who Needs it?

Well, muscle gainers do! Did you know that most of your muscle building isn’t done at the gym, but while you’re sleeping. It’s is best to get as little as 7 hours of sleep, if you want to see an sort of muscle gaining results. More is definitely recommend. If you don’t sleep very much, perhaps you only sleep for 4 or 5 hours a night, this can be a problem because your body isn’t given enough time to recover and build.

The three rules to gain muscle mass fast are quite simple, proper workout routine, proper diet, proper sleep. Not following any one of these 3 rules can keep you from see the gains you work so hard and sweat so much for.

For more on muscle mass gaining workouts, quick recovery methods, and nutrition guidelines, refer to Vince Delmonte’s 21 Day Fast Mass Building e-book in which he lays out a 3 definite 21 Day plans to carve out the body you want. (21 Day Fitness Model Routine, 21 Day Muscle Model Routine and a 21 Day Hardcorde BodyBuilder Routine)

Secret Workout Technique to

Gain Muscle Mass Fast…

Last spring (2010), right before the start of this blog, I started using the AthleanX Training System by Jeff Caveliere. I created this blog or website if you will to review the Athlean X Training System and share my opinion on the program, along with other useful information I’d learned through various sources. Since I had so much fun doing so, I decided to start testing out other programs as well. Give a little variety to myself and you all.

This past month, I tested the Vince DelMonte’s 21 Day Fast Mass Building program and in my opinion, blows AthleanX out of the water! At least based on my results! I figured it was time to stop toying around and let you all know how I feel about both programs head to head.

Please feel free to post questions in the comment section below. I’ll be honored to answer any and all of your questions regarding the programs.

Who are the programs for?

This is a very important question when comparing the products because sure one program may be better overall, but not right for you.

If you are someone (male or female) who wants to gain muscle as quickly as humanly possible, it’s 21 Day Fast Mass Building program. Easily. The program is specifically designed to increase the amount of muscle you normally would gain by follow any other program, like AthleanX.

If you are someone (male or female) who wants to trim down your waist line and start showing those abs you have, then AthleanX would be the program. However, I believe Vince has a slightly better program known as the Six Pack Quest.

The 21 Day Fast Mass Building Program does help your waist line, as you can tell from my pictures, but it’s geared for towards those whose main goal is to build a lot of muscle.

In fact, the two programs would actually compliment each very well. The 21 Day would be after you complete AthleanX or the Six Pack Quest.

Length of the Program?

The 21 Day Fast Mass Building program is NOT just 21 Days long. Ha, that just wouldn’t be right. Vince has put together 3 sets of 21 day workout routines designed specifically for the type of body you want. Fitness Model, Muscle Model, BodyBuilding? All 3 come with the program. This is also a program designed to be repeated, whichever workout routine you choose.

The AthleanX system is 90 days. The exercises change up, however it’s design one way. Unlike 21 Day which has several body type options.

Price?

The cost of the program seems to always be a deciding factor if you still don’t know which to choose. However, in this case it’s one or the other or both. Cost shouldn’t play too much of a role.

The 21 Day Fast Mass Building program costs $97 (with money back guarantee). This price was lower originally and has increased. It could increase again, I don’t know.

AthleanX costs $67, however unlike 21 Day Fast Mass Building and Six Pack Quest, there doesn’t seem to be a money back guarantee. At least nothing on the sales letter about one. There used to be one, however it looks like they switched who the sell the program through.

Six Pack Quest costs $77 (with money back guarantee) and trial offer for $19.95.

Gym Membership Need?

Highly recommended for all, unless you want to spend a couple hundred dollars in equipment to workout at home.

Downloaded Programs?

For all the programs, nothing is shipped to you. Once you purchase the program, you’ll be directed to a page where you safely download all parts in a pdf format.

Best Customer Support?

Well I’ve had some experience email the support and guess what? They all write back! Some would think they wouldn’t, but they do. I did a test and email both of them at the same time to see who would respond first. Vince and his team email be a nice response within 12 hours. Jeff and his team took a little bit over 24 hours. Now, this isn’t always typical I’m sure.

Does What the Program Promised?

If you follow the program exactly as they have it all laid out, you will see results! That being said, I felt that I definitely was more surprised by how much muscle and definition I gained with the 21 Day Fast Mass Building program and to be honest, I didn’t follow the program completely. I messed up my eating habits. I ate clean, but I didn’t follow instructions.

The AthleanX for the time I followed it, did myself and my body pretty well. I had a lot of fun using this program. But the changes weren’t as drastic as the 21 Day for me.

In the End…

I gave the 21 Day Fast Mass Building program an overall rating of 9.5 and AtheanX an overall rating of 8.8.

Below are my before, during and after pictures of my 21 Day Fast Mass Building program challenge! I’m very pleased with my results so far. I completed the 21 Day Fitness Model workout routine and gained 7.2lbs of muscle! I didn’t quite follow the diet as Vince and Lee suggested. Instead I kept my calorie intake the same throughout the 3 weeks. This was probably not a good idea, I may have been able to gain more, who knows.

Tomorrow I’ll be starting the 21 Day Muscle Model workout routine and I’ll again post before and after pictures. In total, there are 3 sets of 21 day workout routines – Fitness Model, Muscle Model and Hardcore Bodybuilder. I’ll be completing all 3. So one down 2 to go!

I’ve written a quick review of the program and you can read it at here – 21 Day Fast Mass Building Review. Out of all the programs I’ve played around with and worked through, this one has given be the best results in record time! I gave it an overall rating of 9.5 and I’ll be adding to the review through the next couple months as I go through the program.

For those who want to gain muscle, I’ll recommend this program over AthleanX any day! Nothing against AthleanX, I just so much quicker results with this program.

It’s definitely a challenging program, but completely worth it! The results will amaze you, you just have to follow everything Vince and Lee tell you to do.

The “Guns.”  The “Pythons.”  “Thunder” and “Lighting.”  The “Rockweillers.”  There is no other muscle group that has earned more nicknames than when describing a bulging and huge set of bicep!  Bulging biceps – every guy wants them.  Count me in this group.

The days are far from gone when you walk into the gym and see 9 out of 10 guys doing bicep curls all at the same time with the same determination to add even ¼ inch to their biceps.  Training biceps has become almost an ‘obsessive addiction’ in the gym.  I have seen guys do bicep curls in between sets just so they can ‘see’ a little bit of a pump in their arms.  I have seen guys spend an entire hour bent over doing concentration curls while starring in the mirror.  I have seen guys take weights on vacation so that they can do some bicep curls at their hotel before they go into the club!  I have seen guys spend longer amounts of times shopping for t-shirts than girls shopping for a blouse with the hope that one of these shirts will make his arms look ‘good.’

Someone disagree with me that bicep training has become an unhealthy ‘obsessive addiction.’ for many.  In the “Skinny Arms” defense, the allure of peaked, mountainous biceps will never go away.  Why should it?  The ‘guns’ are of a man’s most prized possession and one of many women’s most desired body parts on a man (of course)!

My question is if 9 out 10 guys are obsessed with seeing their biceps grow and dedicate so much of their workout volume to isolating their biceps and using every technique from forced reps, drop sets, and 21′s which are ‘promised’ to be the most effective methods confirmed by pro bodybuilders, why do they still have little to show for their efforts?

Let’s examine five of the most common problems with bicep training before I offer a step-by-step program to take your bicep peak to new heights.

Problem #1  with bicep training – More is not always better

If doing 4 sets is better than 3 sets, why don’t you just do 10 sets?  Even better, why don’t you just train them all day?  It has been said before, but it obviously needs to be said again: “Less is often more.”  Especially if you are not gifted with “muscle-friendly” genes.
Your goal of each weight training workout should be to simply ‘out do’ your last workout.  Once you achieve this with an extra pound or a few extra reps, then it is time to move to the next exercise.  Not to Nazi-torture the muscle for another hour.

I have found this a hard concept for many skinny guys to grasp because they are fixated on the instant gratification of making their biceps ‘look’ big during the workout and not what they look like when they leave the gym, which leads us to our next problem.

Problem #2 with bicep training – Being more obsessed with how they look while you train rather than when you are not training!

Problem #2 ties in with problem #1.  The truth is that the longer you train your biceps, even if the weights are not extremely heavy, you can achieve a fairly decent pump that can turn a few heads while in the gym.  This attention and perception that you are doing something beneficial is deceiving.  Yes, there is something to say about keeping blood in the muscle as long as possible, but if the workout is done with weights that do not overload your muscles and emphasize an increase in strength, your biceps will quickly deflate back to normal with no true muscle growth.

Problem #3 with bicep training – Not focusing on increasing your overall strength

Some of the biggest guys I know rarely even train their arms.  What they do though is put a strong emphasis around increasing their chest, back and shoulder strength.  If you simply focus on increasing the weights on your rows, pull ups and chin-ups, rest assured that your biceps will come along for the ride and grow proportionally.

However, if you are always blasting and ‘smoking’ your biceps, they will always be fatigued when you train your back muscles and, as you should know, you are only as strong as your weakest link.  This is another reason to take a lower volume approach to arm training.

Problem #4 with bicep training – Using the same bicep exercises every time

Every pro bodybuilder will put their money on two of the simplest exercises for building huge biceps – barbell curls and dumbbell curls.  According to the pros, these two exercises have built more huge guns than any other exercise in the world.  I definitely agree that these ‘simple’ exercises are a safe foundation to build a program around, but let’s also remember that pro bodybuilders using steroids are going to have a strong response to practically any exercise they do.

I have no problem using these two exercises under one condition – you are getting stronger from week to week.  As long as you are increasing the weights and reps relative to perfect form, then your arms should continue growing.  Aim to build your barbell curls up to 110 pounds for a few “slow speed” sets and your dumbbell curls up to 50 pounds for a few “slow-speed” sets that involve zero rocking and swaying.

Once you build your barbell curls up to 110 pounds, you will be ready to try these two different angles on the bar.  You will have to drop your weights a bit, but stick with these two variations until you build back up to 110 pounds:

Bicep Exercise 1: “Stress” the outer portion of the bi’s by placing your elbows outwards and using a super-close grip.

Bicep Exercise 2: “Stress” the inner portion of the bi’s by taking a super-wide grip on the bar and digging your elbows into your side (and don’t let them move.)

Bicep Exercise 3: To “stress” the brachialis and brachioradialis stick to good old fashioned hammer curls and reverse curls.  Don’t underestimate these two exercises in the slightest.

Problem #5 on biceps – Not enough tension on the muscle

I think many weight trainees do not fully grasp the concept of isolating and actually training a muscle. They do not know how to make the muscle work and fatigue.   Instead, you see a lot of swinging, momentum and sloppy lifting used to move the weight from every part of the body except the one they are actually trying to train.  The biceps have a very strong response to “constant tension,” which means you should never give them a chance to breathe.  Keep the bar constantly moving without pausing at the top or bottom.  Focus on squeezing the heck out of the bar and never let your biceps relax until the set is over.  Your entire goal is to not allow any oxygen into the muscle which creates a spike with your anabolic hormones to promote muscle growth.  Resort to a slower 3-0-3 or 4-0-4 tempo to get the job done.

VIEW OR DOWNLOAD
4- Week Bicep Prioritization Program – CLICK HERE

Weight Training Program Notes:

• Notice the simplicity of the workout structure. This program will work extremely well for hardgainers. The overall volume might be a little low for someone used to a traditional bodybuilder split program and has more than four years of consistent training.
• The power of the program is found in the principle of prioritization by sequence on the first pull workout. Notice that your prioritization muscle is being sequenced at the start of the workout and the start of the week. This is happening on purpose. We are intentionally giving your biceps an opportunity to train at their two most “fresh” times – at the start of the week and at the start of the workout.
• Focusing on increasing overall strength can still be achieved on the second pullworkout where the biceps will not be pre-fatigued.
• Notice the slow speed movements.  Many anabolic hormones are released when your muscles are under constant tension. The tempo’s are set up so that will be forced to move the weight slower and with a greater amount of tension concentrically and eccentrically.
• On a pull day, 402 would mean: 4 seconds to release the weight, 0 second pause at the bottom and 2 seconds to pull the weight.  On a push day, 402 would would mean 4 seconds to lower the weight, 0 second pause at the bottom and 2 seconds to push the weight up.
• Focus on adding 5-10 pounds to each of your exercises over the course of the next four weeks while keeping the rep ranges and sets the same.  It is not necessary to do more sets or more reps.  Focus on increasing more weight under the same set, rep, tempo and rest prescription.

For more on muscle building workouts, quick recovery methods, and nutrition guidelines, refer to Vince Delmonte’s No Nonsense Muscle Building e-book in which he lays out a definite 29 week plan to carve out the body you want.

Avoid The 5 Worst Ways
To Build Muscle…