Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Today is just another personal update for y'all, so sit back for kind of a chill talk/life update about me. I talk about how my trip to the annual meeting of the TACSM went, my team's performance in the student bowl, my recent training, and some stuff about mental health, motivation, and self-love that I think everyone should remember.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Have you been watching tons of ab workout videos to try and tone down your midsection, to no avail? Have you struggled with getting your abs to show, and don't know what to do? In today's episode I disprove two common misconceptions about ab training, and give some important advice for how to train your abs for the most optimal results.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Sources/Additional Resources:

Jeff Nippard Science Explained- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xdOuqokcm4&t=467s

Sean Nalewanyj Video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXloHGTJ_k0

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Have you heard the term "progressive overload" used constantly in videos on muscle building, but are unsure of how to implement it? Do you know how to progress on a short-term basis, but don't know how to ensure safe, sustainable progression in the long-term? In today's episode I break it down and give you 5 simple and effective ways to progress on a week-to-week basis, as well as give you multiple methods of periodization to ensure sustainable progression in the long-term.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Sources:

Flow High Performance- “Complete Programming and Periodization for Hypertrophy Training”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmMaBv5QF3g

Jeff Nippard- “Periodization for Bodybuilding”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KWsgdDX79w&t=404s

Renaissance Periodization- How to add weight and reps to grow muscle (fyi, this is a very in-depth and somewhat advanced lecture, so it may not be necessary for newer lifters to watch, but still a very good source of information): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36yYDFM4ZXU&t=449s

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Are you left confused and even intimidated by the overwhelming amount of information out there on muscle building? Have you found yourself not making any real progress, or unsure of what you need to focus on, despite consuming hundreds or even thousands of hours of content on the topic? In today's episode I get rid of all the unnecessary, shiny, fluff and dive into detail about the 5 things that you MUST focus on in order to gain muscle, and give you the information you need to properly implement them.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Sources:

Sean Nalewanyj Nutrition to build muscle video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y-R3dNx4vA&t=731s 

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Are you unsure of how much weekly volume per muscle group you need to do in order to maximize growth? In this episode I go over what the current research says and break it down into practical recommendations for people to follow and that they can adjust as needed. Stay tuned until the end of the video to also hear about an essential factor that goes hand-in-hand with volume but is even more important for muscle growth.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Sources:

Sean Nalewanyj Volume & Intensity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qln-tmO80wU

Jeff Nippard Volume(older video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwv3JqOUqWs

Jeff Nippard Volume(newer video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mja2fDwYA5s

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Are you worried about locking out on exercises like the bench press or leg press, because you think you'll put too much pressure on your joints? Do you think that you need to go just shy of lockout to keep constant tension on the muscle to achieve greater muscle growth? In today's episode, I will address these concerns, determine if locking out is harmful and/or will cost you some gains, and ultimately answer the question: Should you be locking out during your exercises?

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Sources:

**Must watch (3 min)** Great clip of people discussing locking out a joint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvULav_47c0

Locking out with Pushups: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzsgT7mmMPo

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Have you reached a plateau in your training? Are you stuck at a certain weight on an exercise, and don't know how to break through and continue to progress? In today's episode, I will tell you about a training method that will help you to solve these problems. Not only will this allow you to lift more weight on exercises like the deadlift and the bench press, but it will also recruit more muscle fibers to drive more hypertrophy and strength gains.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Sources:

Athlean X Get Stronger in 30 Days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OD1gjN5BWg&t=42s

Coach Christian Thibaudeau CAT Training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksKeA0rCRAE

CAT Training Article: https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/compensatory-acceleration-training-speed-up-your-strength-gains/

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Do you train what you need to train on your pull days? Are you not sure how to properly put together a pull workout to get the gains you're looking for? Today I solve these problems for you by giving you ANOTHER pull workout that will hit all the muscles/regions of the back and biceps, and will deliver unique and important benefits to both, without keeping you in the gym for several hours. This is the second part to my previous episode (S0E12) covering Pull Day A in a week of training, so if you haven't listen to it go check it out.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Workout:

1-Arm Lat Pull-ins 2x15-20 no rest

Deadlifts 2 warm-up, 4x8-10 2-3 min rest

Pull-ups 3x6-8 1-2 min rest

One Arm Straight Arm Lat Pushdown 3x10-12 0-30 sec rest

Bent-Over Barbell Row 5x5 1-2 min rest

{Incline DB Waiter Curls 3x8-10

   {Cross-Body Hammer Curls 3x8-10 1 min rest

Exercise 7: Angled BB Trap Shrugs 4x6-8 1 min rest

Exercise 8: Face pulls 2-3x15 1 min rest

Sources:

Jeff Nippard Pull Day Workout (source for the Lat Pull-ins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JDJV0AnyY&t=497s 

Athlean X Facepulls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiRAi2KOfRQ 

Additional Athlean X Video about Facepulls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIq5CB9JfKE 

Athlean X DB Waiter Curl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCJVOcBTJUA 

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Today I talk about a not-so-well-known source of hidden strength that when implemented into your training can yield explosive results in your big lifts such as the deadlift and bench press, as well as other exercises like your rows and pullups. In this episode I not only explain what this source of strength is, but also how you can train it and implement it into your workout programs.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Sources:

Athlean X Straight Arm Scapular Strength (timestamp: 1:23): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS54uZZxEls

Athlean X 1-Arm Straight Arm Pushdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJXtu9F9K0g

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Do you train what you need to train on your leg days? Are you not sure how to properly put together a leg workout to get the gains you're looking for? Today I solve these problems for you by giving you a leg day workout that will hit all the muscles/regions of the lower body, and will deliver unique and essential benefits to your training, without keeping you in the gym for several hours.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Workout:

Exercise 1: Hip Thrusts 1-2 wu, 4x6-8, 2-3 min rest

Exercise 2: Back Squat (with box if needed) 1-2 wu, 3x8-10, 2-3 min rest

Exercise 3: {Leg Extension 3x10-12

(superset) {Single Leg Leg Curls 3x10-12, 1 min rest

Exercise 4: Bulgarian Split Squats 3x8-10, 1-1.5 min rest

Exercise 5: {Machine Adduction 2x12-15

(superset) {Machine Abduction 2x12-15, 1 min rest

Exercise 6: Cable Pull-throughs 3x10-12, 1 min rest

Exercise 7: Full ROM Calf Raises 3x10-12. 1 min rest

Additional Information/Sources:

Athlean-X Glute-Ham Raise: (Starting @4:00) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Anl0osYkg8

Athlean-X Cable Pullthroughs (also talks about what I said about hamstring injuries) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qANsWXQLEy0&t=8s

Jeff Nippard Romanian Deadlift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oyxCn2iSjU

Athlean-X Bulgarian Split Squats: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4OUtEO27UM&t=50s

Welcome fellow hardgainers! Sorry for my extended break. Starting the week of 12/12, I will be posting again, once a week. This is to make sure that each episode covers a good topic, is more thought out, and is better planned, and to give me more time for working towards my career goals and other important things in my life. Thank you for your understanding and patience with me, and for continuing to tune in. Have a great day!

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Today's episode is a personal update, where I go over my recent experiences and goals I want to set for my future. These updates will be posted once in while to directly update y'all on my progress along my fitness journey.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Do you train what you need to train on your push days? Are you not sure how to properly put together a push workout to get the gains you're looking for? Today I solve these problems for you by giving you push workout that will hit the chest, shoulder, and tricep muscle groups, and will deliver unique and important benefits to both, without keeping you in the gym for several hours.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Workout:

BB Bench Press 1 wu, 4x8-10, 2-3 min rest

{DB Incline BP 3x8-10

  {One Arm Cable Crossover 3x10-12, 1-2 min rest

BB OHP 4x4-6, 1-2 RIR, 1-2 min rest

{Incline Lying Tricep Extensions 3x8-10

  {Incline Tricep Kickbacks 3x12-15, 1-1:30 min rest

{DB Lateral Raises 3x10-12

  {DB Incline Front Raises 3x10-12

  {Urlacher 3x10-12, 1 min 

Rocking Tricep Pushdown 2-3x10-12, 1 min rest

Sources:

AthleanX UCV Raise Video @7:33 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0ZAPSKhWRM&t=273s

AthleanX Urlacher Video @5:19 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfjAI0P-Jd8&t=318s

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Today I go through several common and (uncommon) tricep exercises and rank them from best to worst, looking at tons of criteria and deep diving into my thoughts about each exercise. If you're trying to figure out if you should incorporate certain tricep exercises into your routine or not, if an exercise is ineffective or there are better options, or if you're just looking to learn about tricep training, stay tuned until the end. Also, make sure you check out the videos below that I mention in this episode as additional resources to learn more and see physical demonstrations of a lot of the exercises mentioned.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Links to resources used/mentioned:

AthleanX Triceps Exercise Ranked: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrAiIvpZvhM

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! When you work out and try to learn new things about how to workout better by reading articles, watching YouTube, or maybe listening to podcasts like this one, you tend to forget some things you've learned. This happens to me all the time, and so in today's episode, I go over 4 important priorities that you may have forgotten about or neglected to do for training the triceps.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Links to resources used/mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTsNG5c568k

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Do you train what you need to train on your pull days? Are you not sure how to properly put together a pull workout to get the gains you're looking for? Today I solve these problems for you by giving you pull workout that will hit all the muscles/regions of the back and biceps, and will deliver unique and important benefits to both, without keeping you in the gym for several hours. 

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Workout:

Bent-Over BB Row: 1 warm-up set, 3x8-10

One Arm High Pulley Row: 3x12-15

Single Arm DB Rows/Lawnmower Pulls: 5x5

BB Shrug Ladder (1-10 reps then 1-10 sec hold): 1-10

Weighted Chin-ups: 3xapproximately 10 (stop at 1-2 RIR)

DB Curl Trifecta: 3x24

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Today I go through several common and (uncommon) bicep exercises and rank them from best to worst, looking at tons of criteria and deep diving into my thoughts about each exercise. If you're trying to figure out if you should incorporate certain bicep exercises into your routine or not, if an exercise is ineffective or there are better options, or if you're just looking to learn about bicep training, stay tuned until the end. Also, make sure you check out the videos below that I mention in this episode as additional resources to learn more and see physical demonstrations of a lot of the exercises mentioned.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Links to resources used/mentioned:

AthleanX DB Waiter Curl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCJVOcBTJUA

AthleanX Alternating Curls vs 2 better alternatives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTWO2th-RIY

AthleanX Perfect Bicep Workout (DB Curl Trifecta, explaining the cross-body hammer curl, banded DB curl): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gozU3CUIizs

AthleanX Arnold’s 21 Curl & Modification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chfGAaQaz7E

AthleanX (Banded DB Curl, Incline DB Curl, Incline/Spider Waiter Curl): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGYeHsgb4CY

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Are you actually doing your Bulgarian split squats with the correct form? You'd be surprised. Even if you have proper form, the tips and cues I share with you in this video will allow you to squeeze every extra drop of gains you can from the exercise. If you want to maximize the benefits you get out of this staple single-leg exercise, and ensure you're not developing bad habits, stay tuned throughout the whole video to learn more.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Links to resources used/mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4OUtEO27UM

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Some foods are clearly either healthy or unhealthy, but with some foods it can be hard to tell. Even some foods that you think are healthy may not be as healthy and good for you as you believe. In today's episode I tell you about 11 different "trap" foods that may seem healthy, but are actually not - and could be the reason why you're having trouble losing weight!

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Links to resources used/mentioned:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgPXS7K0hJ4

Welcome back fellow hardgainers! Are you actually doing your lat pulldowns with the correct form? The answer is likely no, and even if you have proper form, the tips and cues I share with you in this video will allow you to squeeze every extra drop of gains you can from the exercise. If you want to maximize the benefits you get out of this staple pull exercise, and ensure you're building your mind-muscle connection, stay tuned throughout the whole video to learn more.

Thank you for tuning in! If you enjoyed and found this informative please leave a like, a comment, subscribe, or follow (depending on what platform you're listening to this on). If you have any suggestions, comments, or requests email me @buildandkeepfitness@gmail.com or leave a comment on YouTube. Have a goodnight, and goodbye!

Links to resources used/mentioned:

(AthleanX Back Master Tip) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQUaU1jibAE