It is time to get serious about eating. If you are not serious about eating, you're not serious about getting bigger. Below, we'll take a look at those whose claim to fame are their eating skills.

Notes: The ezine missed a month in October. Just me being lazy I guess. Also, in looking through my junk folder, I found a few people who had tried to contact me by replying to the ezine... That goes to a junk folder so I am less than likely to ever see it. If you would like to comment, criticize or question, please use the contact form. That way, I'll actually see what you have to say.

In This Issue...

Site New Stuff

Reviews

I've finally gotten around to getting some more program reviews up. I've had a rash of questions from visitors about various programs this month and, over the next few weeks, I hope to get many more reviews up.

The three programs below weren't ones I thought were in the top echelon of what's out there and I rated each with 2 stars.

• Shawn Lebrun's 7 Things You Must Do To Gain Weight.
• Jonathan Perez's From Skinny to Muscular.
• John Sweeney's Deep Muscle Stimulation.

Articles

• Increasing Your Natural Testosterone Production - Despite the claims of all the supplement companies, the most powerful ways you can help maximize your natural testosterone levels come not through popping pills but through the way you diet, train and rest. In this article, Sean Nalewanyj gives you 10 simple steps to increasing your natural testosterone production.

• The Latest on Pre and Post Workout Nutrition - In this one, Will Brink updates you on the latest research into what best to put into your body before and after a workout. A definite "must read."

• Marc David's Top Weight Gain Tips - 6 essential tips from Marc on how to make sure your diet doesn't hold you back from the big gains.


Weight Gain Tips and Testimonials

• 3 New Weight Gain Tips from Ryu J., James N., and Patrick W. All are great reads and great inspiration for those of you just beginning the journey to a bigger, stronger self.

Please keep the submissions coming - submit tips here. Don't feel that you have to be unique with your story or advice, sometimes the best advice is the basic advice. Even if someone has heard it 100 times before, maybe it will be the 101st time when it finally sinks in.


And finally...

• At the Muscle Building Blog, not much really going on. There is a new post there - "Unwanted Massive Muscle Gain (UMMG)" - where I try to be funny regarding the many emails I receive from people truly concerned that bodybuilding is going to make them "too big" against their will.

I plan to change the focus of the blog shortly, more on that soon.

Interesting Off-Site Reads

• Gaining Weight is Bad For The Environment? - This one made me laugh. Someone has actually figured out just what effect additional bodyweight has on the environment. And it's not good. Expect to pay a higher price at the pump as you move up on the scales, and expect the ozone layer to feel the effects of your newly developed muscle as well.

  I guess I can expect the radical environmental activists to start demonizing the site soon?

• Weight Training For Women - For the ladies, a nice article on the benefits of weight training - addressed is that frequent topic from my in-box and from the blog post mentioned above, the ever-present fear of getting too big.

Program Updates

Bodybuilding Tip of the Month

Becoming a Skilled Eater

Some time ago, I read an article on Ronnie Coleman, perhaps the biggest bodybuilder ever. The number one thing that amazed the article's writer? Ronnie's biceps, his thighs, his sheer overall size? None of the above.

The number one thing that left the writer dumbfounded was Ronnie's ability to eat. And then eat some more and then, just when you thought he couldn't possibly eat anymore, he ate more.

The guy can eat. Even with whatever drugs he may take to help get and maintain his size and the training he does, all of it would be for naught if the guy wasn't a skilled eater.

Who are the world's most skilled eaters? If you're talking quantity and not quality, you needn't look further than the top performers on the competitive eating circuit.

Yes, there is such a thing. These are the people who can down a year's worth of hot dogs or doughnuts in about ten minutes. World records: 54 hotdogs in 12 minutes, 49 glazed doughnuts in 8 minutes.

That is some serious eating. How do they do it? Are they just really hungry? Are they huge people? Can that much food really fit into a stomach?

Well, the serious competitors on the circuit train to get to the top of their "sport." Over time, they condition their stomachs to stretch and accept increasing amounts of food.

They are not always the obese people Hollywood likes to portray. In fact, a quick look at the top competitors (http://www.ifoce.com/eaters.php) will tell you that being overweight isn't the norm. The world record holder for hard boiled egg eating, Sonya Thomas, is the picture of petite (65 eggs in less than 7 minutes, Cool Hand Luke was a wimp).

Believe it or not, current theory in the world of eating holds that excessive fat actually limits the capacity of the stomach. There's some science behind this theory, fat limits the stomach's ability to stretch.

So, as a "skinny" person with limited body fat, you probably have greater potential stomach capacity than your more weight-furnished peers. You just need to develop it.

Becoming a bigger and better eater isn't easy. But it is definitely doable. It takes practice. It takes consistently upping the ante and conditioning your body to accept the amount of food you need to grow.

You won't need to train to the extremes or eat to the extremes that the competitive eaters do (nor should you unless a medic is nearby). But you will need to eat more than you are now. No matter how much you are eating now, the inescapable fact is that you will have to eat more to get the gains - you will have to develop your eating skills.

What you can take from the competitive eaters is that the ability to eat is in fact a skill that can be developed. You may not have the ability to achieve what they do (and you probably don't want to), but with some persistence and practice, you can improve on your ability to eat big.

Becoming a skilled eater will be every bit as important to your muscle building goals as learning to effectively squat. Probably more.

Want an example of how much and how quick a skilled eater can accomplish bodybuilding goals? Look no further than competitive eating's undisputed champion, Takeru Kobayashi. Takeru weighed in at a very skinny 110 pounds when he started competing, got into bodybuilding and now, a relatively short time later, he is closing in on 200 lbs.

Not talking fat here, the guy is built and sporting some nice ab definition. Of course he trains but just like in Ronnie Coleman's case, don't underestimate the impact the developed skill of eating has had on his impressive growth.

From the In-Box - Q&A

"Weight gain accomplished, now how do I maintain it?"

After gaining the weight I desire I was wondering how many days a week I should work out and for how long. I don't want to workout until I'm extremely tired but yet I still want my training to be effective. (from Michelle)

That's an individualistic deal. The exact answer for you will have to come with trial and error.

There is a theory of "set weight," the time it takes for the body to adjust to your new weight. When you are trying to change your body, it works against you and instead tries to maintain the status quo. However, once your body "accepts" the new weight and new physique you have developed, it begins to work with you towards maintaining that weight.

It is believed that it takes from 2-6 months to "set" your weight. Therefore it is not advisable to immediately back too far off your training right when you reach your goals. You still have some convincing to do (convincing your body that you need and can support the additional muscle mass).

With your weight set, it is generally thought that the body won't start breaking down muscle due to non-use for about two weeks (a solid reason that trainers shouldn't fear taking breaks from their training). For some, an intense workout focused on compound exercises performed once every couple of weeks is enough to maintain the physique they desire.

I would look at that as a minimum. For most it will probably take a little more effort. The more "advanced" the physique, the more effort it will take. Those are just some numbers and it is important to remember that we are all unique. You have to do some testing and see where you come out. One thing is for certain, the longer you maintain the easier it becomes to maintain.

How long you workout isn't really as important as how hard you work. Your goal with any workout should always be to challenge your body, to push it past the point of comfortable. Only when you do that is it effective. Intense workouts of 30 minutes or less will be much more effective than casual workouts that take hours.

Future Plans

As mentioned above, the blog will soon be getting a new focus. And I will probably changing the format of this ezine as well. These long things are exhausting and I often wonder if anyone actually makes it down this far? I will probably move to more frequent, much shorter ezines in the new year. I'll let you know next month.

Until then, keep eating and keep gaining.