Today’s post is our latest installment of a new series called the “Coaches Corner.” Our Adonis Transformation Coaches will share their knowledge, experience, and best practices to help ensure your successful transformation. To continue the series, our topic comes from none other than Adonis Legend and AGR Pioneer, Jason Haynes.
No Training = No Muscle
No Train No Gain!
Bodybuilding legend Vince Gironda used to advocate that bodybuilding was 80% nutrition and 20% training.
Granted, I am not a bodybuilder nor do I want to be one, but stay with me here.
This belief of “the Iron Guru” naturally leads to reason that without that 20% training you are not going to build any appreciative muscle.
Sorry, but that’s the way it is. You can eat all the raw fertilized eggs and Rocky Mountain oysters all you want…you can mix the eggs into as much heavy whipping cream as you want (which is what Gironda advocated for muscle gaining diets), but you are still not going to gain any muscle without training.
Fact is that muscle is not going to mystically pop up on your body without putting in time and effort in the gym.
Now here is where the “nutrition only” people will want to skin me alive: at the same time, guess what? If you don’t watch your nutrition…if you eat like crap in more amounts than you need, but you still consistently train intensely…you’re going to gain muscle.
Now sure, chances are you’re going to get fat in the process if you don’t monitor your caloric intake…but the basic fact is that we can eat whatever we want in whatever amounts and gain muscle IF WE TRAIN CONSISTENTLY!
Conversely, if you eat 99.9999% perfectly and you don’t train, you’re STILL GOING TO BE SKINNY AND WEAK! If your goal is to have an outstanding physique, you’re not going to even be remotely close to the physique that you desire if you’re not training consistently and with intensity.
On the contrary, I don’t care how perfect your diet is, without a properly designed training regimen that you follow consistently you will NOT…repeat: NOT…achieve an outstanding physique.
PERIOD.
We at Adonis Golden Ratio Systems do NOT encourage nor endorse “bulking up” (i.e. eating massive amounts of calories which only end up making one fat), but the simple fact is that fat can be dieted away. The muscle gained stays in a caloric deficit. Therefore, as I said, if one is training consistently but eating like crap, muscle is still gained.
However, focusing purely on nutrition without proper, consistent training will make you “healthier” (what is the exact definition of that anyway?), but will get you NO WHERE on your journey to a golden physique. I don’t care if you eat the most healthy (whatever that means) diet of perfectly measured protein, macro-and-micronutrients, and fruits and vegetables, but if you don’t train you’re still not going to gain one single gram of muscle whatsoever.
REMEMBER: Muscles are TORN in the gym, FED in the kitchen and BUILT in bed.
Look, I am all for eating healthy, clean, unprocessed, natural foods with no chemicals. I am still on the fence about GM (genetically modified) foods, although I am definitely more on the “No Way” side of that one. Yet, when it comes down to it, there are two parts of the equation: training for muscle mass and nutrition/diet for losing or controlling fat gain.
Takeaway: without worrying about nutrition, as long as you are training and challenging yourself, you’re still gaining muscle mass. You may look like crap shirtless…fat, bloated, whatever, but you’re still building up your muscles.
(Side note: strangely enough you don’t have to eat well to lose fat. Look at the “Convenience Store Diet”/”Twinkie Diet” experiment by Professor Mark Haub of Kansas State University as an example.)
Anyway, back on topic, about it: how many fat, bloated guys do you see in the gym? Now, taking “gear” (steroids) out of the equation because they just “change the rules of the game,” how many fat but strong guys with appreciative muscle mass (but with no “cuts”) do you see in the gym? They have muscle because they train for it. They have strength because they train for it. But they look like crap because they are paying no attention to calories in vs. calories expended.
However, if these same guys paid attention to just nutrition but didn’t go to the gym…at best they would just be skinny…or worse: skinny-fat…or just plain old fat.
Look, people say “well nutrition is 80% of the overall bodybuilding equation.” Yes, I’ll agree with that. But, that is: if you want to be a bodybuilder. And being a bodybuilder, by basic definition, means that you “build your body,” and that is done through using weights.
(Side note again: are you truly wanting to be a “bodybuilder?” Do you want to be on stage all oiled up and flexing? If not, then you might want to consider what you are doing NOW to get to your goals instead of using the methods for those who are not after the same goals as you.)
Fact is: Take away the work out…take away exercise…you can have the most perfect dialed in diet down to the .0001% of everything being perfect and correct…and you are STILL going to look like skinny, fat, or skinny- fat.
Build muscle at the gym. Lose or control fat gain through nutrition. Period.
End of story.
If you’re looking for something to help you get that golden physique, then check out the AGR systems, which has helped hundreds of men of different ages and sizes to achieve outstanding results…numerous of them jaw-dropping and awe-inspiring.
Finally, if you need some extra accountability or any extra help with your transformation, sign up for our premier coaching system. Each of our coaches (including myself) underwent their own personal transformations and have maintained their physiques for years. Frankly, even professional athletes have a coach to tell them what to do. Even the best of the best professional athletes don’t need to do it for themselves, and neither do you.
As always I welcome your comments via the AGR community forum.
Train hard. Train smart.
Jason
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
ADONIS ORIGINS: Jason Haynes | Circa 2009-2010
Jason Haynes is one of the oldest members of the AGR community and has been around since he participated in the first and second AGR Transformation Competitions, of which he placed second and first, respectively. Having found a system that he is confident in and that works, he has faithfully stuck by it ever since. Now in his 40’s, Jason enjoys living the life of maintaining his physique easily and with little effort, thanks to the AGR system and tools provided. He is also a coach in the Adonis Premiere Coaching program and desires to help anyone to achieve their fitness goals.
ADONIS LEGEND: Jason Haynes: May 2014
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