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I struggled to gain weight in high school and have gone through many of the same challenges most of you skinny guys have or will go through. By the time I was a sophomore I had been lifting for about three years, was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, run/throw in track) and never really had any breaks from running or an off-season to gain weight. I really needed a plan for adding pounds. As a busy student athlete it had to be simple, it had to be affordable and I wasn't going to count calories or macronutrients or weigh anything, because that's neither of the above- time has always been especially valuable to me.

It's not a popular sentiment to say this, but you can out train your diet. People have done it for thousands of years and people do it today. I have done it and I have seen hundreds of other people do it. It's just not popular to say that if you are selling a nutrition program, idea or fitness lifestyle.

I have become better at reaching goals and goal setting. We all like to think we have goals and have good intentions to reach them but the reality is that many of us get side tracked on the way. Very few times is one's reach too far. I think most of us are pretty honest with ourselves. There are not a lot of 40 year old men who REALLY think they are going to make the Olympic finals in the 100m dash. The problem in reaching them is that the ACTIONS are more about the end goal than about the process to achieve them.

Building Your Home Gym Your home gym always depends on what you want to do in your training and what your goals are. But for simplicity sake, let's just say you want to be strong and awesome. This is by far the easiest thing you can train for, and probably the cheapest. Here's what you'll need.

"You have to find what works for you."

This is especially popular amongst the population that believes that squats, presses, rows, chins, and pulls DON'T work for them. This is because...

It’s that time again and everyone you know is ready to make a change. More times than not, this means they want to get their ass in a gym and get in shape. Well, I have no idea what “in shape” means to everyone but 99% of people fail for the following reasons:

No one's going to judge you as a person on how much weight you lift; and if they do, their opinions aren't worth a watery dump. Since you are new to this, let me offer a few points.

Question: I wanted to get your thoughts on this. I'm a college student and next week I'm taking a new job unloading trucks at UPS. I worked there over Christmas peak season and my training went to shit. When I start next week I'll probably be working around five hours a day, five days a week. After a couple days of working there it begins to be a bitch. I'm planning on adjusting my training schedule from 4 days/week to 2 days/week. Keep in mind, I'm trying to stay as north of vag as possible, but I was wondering how you would recommend balancing my training schedule with my work schedule and avoid burning out.

Answer: I did this for a year as a job. I lifted 4 days/week and ran hills 4 days/week. You’ll be fine. First week sucks but you’ll adapt. Quick tucking it and let it swing.

Give your child some of the greatest gifts - the gift of physical fitness, athletics and healthy eating. By doing this you will eliminate most of the social bullshit and drama that many kids face. They will be emotionally and physically stronger, have better self-esteem, skin will be better, they will be confident for new challeges and carry themselves better.

Question:
I know there are a lot of variables to this question but do you find that older lifters (over 55) respond better to full body training 2 days a week or focusing on one main lift a day 4 days a week?

Answer:
It doesn't matter at all - for any lifter. People get so caught up in this stuff, and I totally understand why, but it doesn't matter at all. Just like where you put the bar when you squat, what kind of grip you take on chins/pull-ups, casein vs. whey...I should write an article on this. Just a lot of bickering and ridiculousness.

Anyway, with an older lifter there are a couple things that need to be addressed/looked at. First...

Ever since I started pressing, I have been obsessed with making it better. Partly because I was so weak at it for so long (which meant that it had no place to go but up) and because it is simply a cool exercise to do. The death of the Press as a movement can be attributed to a lot of things, none of which actually matter. BUT, if you view this lift with as much enthusiasm as I do, use these tips to improve what I consider to be one of the most fun movements in the gym.

I was surprised when recently asked about the keys to making money in the fitness industry. I never really thought about it much – I don’t know if there are any real secrets to putting out a good product, service or idea other than having a good product, service or idea. I do know...

Without a doubt, the strongest and best lifters in the world have consistently busted their ass in the weight room. For decades. Not weeks, not a year, but decades. There are genetic freaks out there that achieve a high level of strength quickly, but comparing yourself to them is unfair and will probably drive you out of the sport and into a 10-year Pop Tarts & Vicodin bender. Now, consistency doesn't always mean they're going balls out, every day. It means they chip away slowly, but surely.

However you choose to bench press, make sure every single rep, regardless of weight is done with perfection. This goes for the squat, deadlift, press and any other big barbell lift. I've never seen any strong, experienced lifter take any set lightly - they demand perfection from the bar to their max. Think back to the last time you bench pressed - did you have a perfect set-up on the very first rep with the empty bar? Did you treat it with the same importance as your last max attempt? The beginner still thinks there must be some kind of special secret or trick. A veteran lifter always makes sure the simple things are taken care of; they aren't ever sexy but they always work.