Mass Intelligence Training Manual By Ben Pakulski Honors Kinesiology Degree, CSCS, ACE, MAT
Copyright 2011 Ben Pakulski Athletics and BenPakulski.com www.benpakulski.com
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Legal Disclaimer The information presented in this work is by no way intended as medical advice or as a substitute for medical counselling. The information should be used in conjunction with the guidance and care of your physician. Consult your physician before beginning this program as you would with any exercise and nutrition program. If you choose not to obtain the consent of your physician and/or work with your physician throughout the duration of your time using the recommendations in the program, you are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your actions. By continuing with the program, you recognize that, despite all precautions on the part of Ben Pakulski Athletics, LLC, there are risks of injury or illness which can occur because of your use of the aforementioned information and you expressly assume such risks and waive, relinquish and release any claim which you may have against Ben Pakulski Athletics, LLC, or its affiliates as a result of any future physical injury or illness incurred in connection with, or as a result of, the use or misuse of the program.
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Welcome to the Training Manual! Congratulations and thank you! I am thrilled about your decision to purchase MI40, and I know that you will be, too! This is going to be the first step toward building the physique of which you have always dreamed. That perfect physique that you aspire for is now completely within your grasp! This program was designed so that ANYONE, at ANY LEVEL, can learn to train like the best pro athletes in the world! MI40 is here to show you that every single variable of exercise is in YOUR CONTROL!
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PHOTO: RICK SCHAFF
MI40 will not only teach you HOW to exercise, but WHY this is the ABSOLUTE BEST WAY TO TRAIN for muscle growth and symmetry! I can say with complete confidence that the time you spend watching (and re-watching!) this program will be the most valuable time that you have invested in your training and in your physique! One thing I know for sure is that you will not leave the same athlete that you were before you started MI40!
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WARNING: I believe this is the hardest and most effective muscle program in the world. This is NOT for you IF you’re a tire kicker, lazy ass, or looking for a quick fix. Are you going to stick your head in the sand? Are you going to go into denial? Pretend you didn’t invest in this? Pretend you are already where you want to be? For your sake, I hope not and, because you’re here right now, I know you’re not that kind of person. If you put every ounce of your being into the next 40 days, I promise you’ll get the most incredible physique of your life. But you have to be ready to trust the science, trust the program, and trust yourself.
The content (not to mention the length) of this system was created to scare off the weak and cowardly, the “do-nothings”, and the bitter know-it-alls. If you’re reading this right now, it tells me that you aren’t someone who is going to sit on your hands and do nothing. So, I’m going to make a blatant proposal: IF you follow this program, I think it will change your life, and I KNOW it will change your physique! And it will answer a common question: No! It is NOT impossible to gain muscle AND lose body fat at the same time. In fact, I suggest that you should expect it! This program is designed to get you the MOST growth in the shortest amount of time. This does not mean that you should continue on it forever (more on this below). www.benpakulski.com
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It is too intense and many variables need to be manipulated. It is definitely beneficial to train with different rep ranges during certain times. QUALITY OVER QUANTITY! This program will eliminate all of the confusion and doubt in your mind. It will teach you to think like, and train like, a pro athlete. Every time you step in the gym, you will have a plan -- a plan that you can confidently believe will build muscle. The key to this program is sticking to the 40-day rotation. Every day has a reason behind it. You MUST learn to perform exercises properly before you can advance to the intermediate and advanced programs, so be honest with yourself. Another question I deal with frequently and know many guys are afraid to ask me, and which I’m more than comfortable sharing my thoughts on, is this “purple elephant” in the room:
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‟Ben, aren’t you a pro bodybuilder who takes steroids? I’m drug-free so why should I listen to you?” Fair question. For the record: I believe EVERYONE SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE A DRUG- FREE ATHLETE. No matter what you’re taking, you’d BETTER make sure your body is working optimally on the INSIDE if you want your training MAXIMIZED on the outside. You can take as many „extra-curricular supplements” as you want, but if your body isn’t treated as a whole organism, maximizing recovery, controlling inflammation, and balancing hormones, it’s going to BREAK DOWN very, very quickly. Your gains will be limited and very short-term. There are TONS of juice monkeys in every gym taking stuff and NOT growing. They have the “eat more protein, lift more weight” approach. Sorry folks, the days of the dumb meathead are LONG GONE, along with parachute pants and bandanas. Ninety percent of my clients are 100% drug-free so I know my methods are equally effective for drug-free or drug-assisted individuals. I approach ANY athlete by looking at the body as a whole. If there is ONE ingredient missing from the pie, you won’t be responding in the best way possible. What someone chooses to do above and beyond PERFECT training concepts and optimal nutrition is their own choice. Anabolic ‘assistance’ or not, why wouldn’t www.benpakulski.com
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anyone want to minimize their time in the gym and maximize results? Sounds like pretty simple meathead math to me.
‟I grew up training natural and eating clean.
There was no ‘cutting corners’ for me.
My mediocre genetics would NEVER allow it!” In fact, I have always preferred working with drug-free trainees because it’s more of a challenge and requires a more thoughtful & intelligent approach. We must carefully analyze every aspect if we want them to beat their non-drug-free counterparts! They often tend to be much more receptive to an intelligent ‘whole body’ approach. Drugs or no-drugs, professional bodybuilders are just like you. We obviously have different caloric requirements, and different training load, but at the end of the day, we’re all trying to get 100% out of our bodies. We push our limits, minimize injuries, recover as fast as possible, and then do it all over again! The smarter bodybuilders, like myself, focus on how to optimize recovery: short term and long term. This is the limiting factor to muscle growth! The faster you can recover, the more time you spend being anabolic (growing). Improve your capacity to recover faster, and you can train again sooner to stimulate more new growth. Everything I’ll share in MI40!
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My personal motto has always been:
‟The more you know, the more you grow!” So, why in the world did I create MI40? I decided to create the MI40 Program to fill a tremendous need that I see each and every day in the gym, at the beach, even on stage at fitness and bodybuilding events. People just don’t know how to train. This is evident by the bad posture, poor flexibility, and poor develop-ment we see in gyms all over the world!
“Looking around each day, anyone with a trained eye can see that you can break it all down to about 3 or 4 common mistakes that everyone makes.” 1) Poor range of motion. 2) No tension – the muscle they “think” they’re working isn’t engaged AT ALL. 3) Inability to give the muscle enough stimulus to grow (overload). 4) It’s obvious that people have no idea how to eat. The crazy thing is that it’s EASY to fix them! After many years of exposure to this sport, it is now even easy to pick out the exercises that people are doing improperly without ever seeing them in the gym. Simply looking at someone’s structure, posture, range of motion, even how they walk, will tell me a lot of information about what is going on in their body and how they likely perform exercises, and move. This lack of exercise knowledge seems to stem from a ‘blind leading the blind’ www.benpakulski.com
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mentality. People tend to look at those with the best or biggest physiques, and try to emulate them. Or, they learn from the newest fad on TV or the Internet. Well, that could be a great place to start if you were sure that the person you are learning from has any clue what they are doing. Often, these people with the best physiques are just blessed genetically or simply work harder or are very meticulous with their nutrition. Or, perhaps it is just a well-positioned marketing program. All factors that YOU, an outsider, cannot see. This, then, is where the premise of MI40 began.
Believe it or not, I was once exactly where you are now! There is so much information out there, no wonder young aspiring men and women become discouraged and don’t know what they should and shouldn’t be doing in the gym! I was there once, too. This is why I created this program. I HATED not knowing the proper way of doing things. Watching the guys with the biggest bodies train, is often comical. Clearly they have no idea what they are doing; yet they are the guys teaching people in the gyms. Then, there is the everso-educated ‘personal trainer’ who decided to take a weekend certification course because he heard training paid more than his current job as the McDonald’s drivethru guy. THESE are the authorities? MI40 is a journey to educate and inform each and every person who aspires to have a more aesthetically-pleasing or healthy and functioning physique! Years of studying the body and learning everything I could about biomechanics and function has allowed me to advance my own physique to the level of being considered one of the top 15 bodybuilders in the world. For a kid from a family of fitness level negative zero, this is quite an accomplishment. It has taken years of commitment, persistence, and attention to detail to overcome my genetics. Yes that’s right, OVERCOME my genetics! www.benpakulski.com
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Most people see an overly-muscled IFBB Pro bodybuilder and assume two things -genetics and performance-enhancing drugs. Well, the truth of the matter is that, yes, I do build muscle better than 90% of the people in the world; however, I do NOT build muscle at anywhere near the rate at which my direct competition builds muscle. To get myself to be one of the top 6 bodybuilders in the world, I need to perfect every single aspect of training, recovery, and nutrition. My quest is never ending, and I feel I learn something new everyday. Every single time I step in the gym, my focus is not only on building muscle and having great workouts, but also on how to improve each and every exercise so that I am able to get the most out of each muscle fiber on every rep. This has taken a lot of studying of physics-angles and forces; anatomy and biomechanics. Hours and hours of reading textbooks and researching the most brilliant people in the world (and often seeking them out to train with them or learn from them directly). All of the cumulative information gathered over the last 13 years has led me here, to MI40, and passing all of this information on to you.
Why would I share this wealth of information? I have such a tremendous love and passion for training and nutrition. Helping people is what I am good at. I take pride in watching my knowledge and education CHANGE PEOPLE LIVES! I will take the same pride in changing your life. I look forward to seeing your before and after pics when you send them to me! Maybe part of it is my ego… I really believe that I can take ANY physique and mold it into something amazing (with the obvious exception of people that may not be physically or mentally capable -- or even worse, LAZY!) I see everybody as a new challenge and I’m confident we’ll do a serious number on your physique in the next 40 days.
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What To Expect From MI40? The objective of this program is to teach each and every one of you how to build REAL muscle. You will learn the PROPER form and execution on the 40 exercises that are most important to your success. I want you to be able to step into any gym with the confidence that you can build muscle and change the way you look, at will. Building and shaping muscle is easy, once you learn how. LETS GET TO IT!
WHAT IS MASS INTENTIONS? MI40 is based on what is becoming known as the ‘magic number!’ …40 days, 40 second sets, 40-second rest periods, 40 exercises MI40 is more effective than anything you have ever experienced: The program takes into account EVERY SINGLE VARIABLE that MUST be considered to make muscle GROW! These are the variables that most trainers and athletes know nothing about: 1) Time under tension The optimal amount of time that must be spent ‘under a load’ to maximize growth, is between 40-70 seconds. 2) Neurological overload To contract any muscle, requires coordination between your brain and your nervous www.benpakulski.com
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system. Brain says contract; nervous system sends a signal; muscles move. The strength of contraction is dependent on the tension perceived in the muscle. The more tension, the more muscle fibers that are told to contract. Eventually those muscles fatigue, but the nervous system is still getting a signal to contract those muscles hard. At some point, the nervous system can no longer recruit any more muscle fibers to contract and the muscle stops working. Every time this happens, the body is asked to adapt, thereby forming new neurological pathways to the muscle and, therefore, a greater percentage of muscles can fire at once. 3) Optimizing range of motion Every muscle has a specific range of motion that it moves through. To fully exploit muscle growth, it is absolutely essential to know what this range is, and how the muscle is intended to move. Be sure to watch the online videos and review the Exercise Execution document to learn what full range of motion is for each respective exercise. 4) Increasing muscular torque Muscle communicates in terms of tension. Torque is the force directed through a muscle that results in greater tension in the muscle: more tension, more growth!
THE LANGUAGE OF MUSCLE: The language of muscle is TENSION! You’ve all heard the saying, that “muscles don’t know how much weight you’re lifting”. Well, it’s very true. Muscles communicate in terms of tension. www.benpakulski.com
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People have heard this so why don’t they do it? Maybe because people don’t want to start with light weights, or put in the time to learn, or maybe they just want fast results now. How does this apply to you? Well, the goal of MI40 is to teach you how to create the MAXIMUM amount of tension in your muscles. Weights are irrelevant. If we can increase tension and torque in the working muscle without increasing the actual weight, we grow equally as well and minimize chance of injury from uncontrolled heavy weight and improper movements.
THE GROWTH PROCESS: In order for muscle to grow, it must be subjected to new stimulus, or to a new amount of stimulus. The term you might hear most often is ‘overload’, which basically means just more stimulus than you’re used to. The word ‘stimulus’ can refer to any of the following variables -- tension, exercise, angle, speed, and time under tension. Most trainers get locked into the habit of doing the same things over and over and the monotony creates boredom, which leads to lack of intensity. MI40 takes control of every one of these variables and manipulates them so that your body is constantly adapting, and therefore growing!
Why is the workout 40 days? Forty days (6 weeks) has been scientifically proven to be the optimal amount of time to adapt to any training program for maximal effect before moving on to another training program. This number is not only applicable to MI40, but to any training program you might use in the future. Research done by Viiru et al, in 2006, shows that the body has reached its climax for muscular and neurological adaptation at this point. Using the same program for longer is not necessarily detrimental, but for someone who wants to make continuous gains, it’s time to change it up after 6 weeks. www.benpakulski.com
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What do I do when I am finished with the 40 days? Definitely continue training. MI40 is actually designed to overload your nervous system and allow for a greater percentage of muscle fiber to fire when it is complete. This means that you will actually be stronger and continue to grow for many weeks following MI40, if you continue to train hard.
Why are the workouts 40 minutes long? We have all heard of, and seen, people who like to train for 2-3 hrs at a time. This is NOT something I would suggest for any athlete wanting to build muscle. After 45 minutes of intense training, the body starts to inhibit anabolic hormones (GROWTH!) and the ratio of catabolic (muscle break down) hormones increases. We need to optimize every aspect of this training program to ensure growth! Cortisol starts to rise at the first sign of internal muscle damage. It will continue to rise as long as you train. The longer you train, the more cortisol you will produce. Cortisol is not ALL bad, but there is definitely a point of diminishing returns. Between 30-45 minutes is when growth potential has reached its peak and the catabolic hormones start to overpower the anabolic growth-producing hormones.
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Is it bad if I train longer than 40 minutes? MI40 sets out to provide the MOST OPTIMAL situation for growth at ALL levels of the program. Some workouts might be tough to get done in 40 minutes. Some people would benefit from doing two shorter workouts when 2 body parts need to be trained. That’s your decision.
How did you select the 40 exercises? The exercises chosen for MI40 are what I deem to be the BEST exercises for each body part. Years of training and research has led me to conclude that certain exercises simply recruit more muscle fibers and are more effective for growth. For specific research on which exercises recruit the greatest percentage of muscle fibers, see Tudor Bompa’s book Periodization. Certain exercises involve more compound movements and are termed ‘mass construction’ exercises. These are exercises that are known to recruit more overall muscle fibers per repetition. The ‘mass appeal’ exercises, or isolation movements, are the exercises that are included for stimulating what are called the Low-Threshold Motor neurons -- the muscle fibers that contract with minimal stimulus and lighter weights. These exercises are perfect for learning to train a muscle through its FULL range of motion and for creating a greater mind-muscle connection.
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How do you decide how many exercises per body part? Let’s do some math: 1 set = 40 seconds 1 rest period = 40 seconds 4 sets equals 480 seconds = 8 minutes per exercise Factor in 1 extra minute for NOS. Most exercises are 3-4 sets so each workout will be roughly 40-45 minutes of work sets. So, this is how we get 5 exercises per workout. Some days you will notice you have 2 body parts. This was necessary to obtain the optimal amount of frequency. In ideal circumstances, it would be best to train those in TWO separate workouts during the day. One in the AM and one in the PM: 4-6 hours separate the workouts. If this is not possible, the workouts will still be under 1 hour ( if done efficiently) because the 2nd body part is always minimal volume.
What is the thinking behind the body part split? The split in MI40 was chosen to allow for optimal recovery between synergistic body parts. www.benpakulski.com
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For example, you can’t train chest the day after you train triceps. Every body part is trained twice in a week, every 3 weeks. How do I know I am creating the maximum amount of tension? INTENTIONS! If you are applying Intentions whenever possible, the amount of tension you are applying is completely under your control. When using Intentions, the amount of force you apply (either in or out), is inversely proportional to the weight used. The lighter the weight, the harder you can/should push. The heavier the weight, the less you will be able to use Intentions. Always do your best to use intention on the negative portion of ALL reps. Your body is stronger eccentrically and therefore you can apply additional force without having to worry about not completing the rep. PLEASE, ALWAYS USE A COMPETENT SPOTTER!!! Watch the online videos to learn how to execute each exercise properly and re-read the Exercise Execution Guide multiple times over. You’ll always pick up something new. Don’t be lazy or assume you know how to train.
How do I know I am doing the exercise exactly the right way? Every single exercise of the MI40 program is described in the exercise execution guide. Optimal form is easy, once you know how to do it. www.benpakulski.com
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When someone starts using Intentions, is it very normal for the weight to drop significantly? This is okay. You are still creating as much, if not more, tension inside your muscles. Once you feel the increased tension on the muscle, and can maintain this through the ENTIRE range of motion, slowly start increasing the weight back to where you were prior to using Intentions. You should be back to using your previous weight by the end of your first run through the MI40 program…only now, doing it with INTENTION! If you have a hard time learning to feel the exercises with Intention, RE-WATCH the training videos. There are many helpful little tricks and hints in there to help you along.
Why perform 8 repetitions per set? Why 5 seconds per rep? This keeps you using the maximal amount of weight possible while staying in the 40-70 second Time Under Tension range. What is a tempo? How does it look for a pushing exercise? How does it look for a pulling exercise? A 4-0-1-0 tempo is the standard tempo for all MI40 exercises unless stated otherwise. A 4-0-1-0 tempo on a bench press (pushing exercise) would look like this: 4 seconds to lower www.benpakulski.com
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0 second pause at the bottom 1 second to press the weight 0 second pause at the top A 4-0-1-0 tempo on a lat pulldown (pulling exercise) would look like this: 4 seconds to extend to the top 0 second pause at the bottom 1 second to pull the weight to chest 0 second pause at the top The 4 seconds is ALWAYS on the Eccentric portion of the rep or Negative.
Why 4 second negative? The reason for a 4-second negative has to do with the number of repetitions and optimal time under tension (the basic calculations would suggest using around 75% of your 1RM) Heavier weights do naturally create a greater amount of tension within a muscle. Any more than 8 repetitions and you will likely be using too little load to stimulate maximum growth. It has been shown that your muscles are stronger on the negative (Eccentric) portion of the rep. Increased Time under Tension here is a great way to exploit the fact that you can use more weight and keep the muscles exposed to a load for a longer period. www.benpakulski.com
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Try doing a set with 4-second Concentric reps – it’s EXTREMELY difficult and you will get tired quickly, whereas your muscles could continue to work on the eccentric portion even after your concentric strength is gone.
Why should a set last 40 seconds? A set should last 40 seconds because it has been proven that ideal Time Under Tension for muscular growth is between 40-70 seconds. To stay on the low end of this, ensures you will be working a greater percentage of fast-twitch muscle fiber and using a greater overall load. We will also utilize the science of time under tension to upwards of 70 seconds on NOS sets! **Slowing down the movement increases the Time Under Tension and the amount of Tension on the muscle. Remember what we said was the means of communication between muscles? TENSION! We are increasing it in 2 ways by simply slowing a movement down. For a quick reference on the optimal amount of Time Under Tension for growth, reference Mel Siff or Tudor Bompa.
Why should I rest 40 seconds between sets? Forty seconds is just enough time to allow your muscle to replenish its energy stores to allow you to continue weight training. During short duration exercise, your body relies heavily on Creatine Phosphate (called C-P splitting) and ATP Glycolysis for energy. These energy systems have been replenished substantially after 40 seconds to allow you to be able to continue to exercise. www.benpakulski.com
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The point here is to train the muscles again before they have a chance to recover completely. You may see many people taking longer between sets. The point of this would be to allow the nervous system, which takes more time, to recover. This would be advantageous in strength training. It is not as effective for muscle-building.
Why do you rotate around different workouts each week? The workouts are set up so that you train each body part twice in a week, every 3 weeks. Training every 7 days is not enough to illicit optimal growth for most people. Training every body part twice a week is way too much, but rotating through body parts done twice weekly, is a great way to increase frequency and avoid burnout and overtraining.
What makes NOS so unique? If Time under Tension is great, Time under MAXIMAL Tension is better!
How much weight do I drop each time for my NOS set? 20%. If you’re using 200lbs to start, drop by 40lbs each increment. If you find you end up doing way too many reps on your drop sets, you’re probably just not starting with a weight that is challenging enough. www.benpakulski.com
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The Origin Of The NOS Revolution… For years, I had been searching for the best way to overload my muscles each and every time I go into the gym. I know you can relate to those days when you worked ‘hard’ but still feel as if you could have done more….leaving the gym feeling as if there was more in the tank, or maybe getting home and regretting not pushing harder?! I CRAVED something that would ensure that my muscles are taken to their limit, and CREATE NEW GROWTH! This is when I discovered NOS! My training partner and I had been coming up with creative ways to inflict pain on each other during leg workouts, for years. I remember daydreaming of ways to make workouts harder. My goal was to leave the gym knowing I had BLASTED every single muscle fiber, and to have my training partner talking about how he had never experienced muscle pumps and growth like this. ‘Straight sets’ just didn’t seem to do the trick anymore. Sure I felt a decent pump, but it just didn’t seem to be the type of intensity that I KNEW I needed in order to grow! FACT: A ‘straight set’ will NEVER cause the type of neurological adaptation, hormonal response, and therefore GROWTH, that a NOS set will cause. NOS WAS BORN ON A LEG PRESS! Being a research junky, I had always read about overloading the muscle and overloading the nervous system to stimulate new muscle and strength gains, respectively. Time under Tension was proven to be the number one factor correlated with muscle growth and overload! www.benpakulski.com
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Something clicked in my brain! Time under MAXIMAL TENSION! This had to be better than just Time under Tension!! And so, my GROWTH BABY was born! If I could use the maximum amount of weight I could handle for strict form, for the greatest amount of time possible, growth was inevitable! The only catch? IT’S HARD!!! NOS is something that I have been using religiously ever since… perfecting its components. I use it to get ready for my contests and in my off-season. ‘Straight sets’ are now a thing of the past.
The Science Behind NOS; a.k.a., Neurological Overload Sets The NOS system has been specifically designed to ensure a maximal MUSCLE OVERLOAD! The greatest number of muscle fibers are broken down or exhausted. Taking your muscles to such an exhausted state also causes the highest possible release of growth hormones and growth factors within a working muscle! Without these, you can train all day and eat a perfect diet, and expect ZERO growth. This is one of the main reasons why so many people train often, train ‘hard’, and see minimal results. They never reach that ‘overload-anabolic state’. Increased OVERALL STIMULUS = Increased MUSCLE GROWTH! Now this Math, I LIKE!!
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How To Perform NOS NOS is completed by performing an ‘extended set’. The goals here are to extend the set for as long as possible while maintaining tension on the working muscle, and to perfect form! Start the set with a weight that you can use for a strict 8 repetitions. After completing your first 8 repetitions, decrease the weight by 20% (if you’re using 100lbs, you would decrease by 20lbs, etc.) Immediately continue to perform as many repetitions as you can with the second weight (usually 5-8 reps). Repeat this process 4 times in total (you will complete 3 drops, therefore 4 ‘sets’ -100,80,60,40lbs). AWESOME TIP: DO NOT allow your form to stray in an attempt to complete more reps. If anything, decrease the size of the Range of Motion (ROM) (‘partials’) -- just make sure to be initiating the movement with the working muscle from a fully stretched position.
NOS Harnesses The Power Of Your Hormones: The NOS system was specifically designed to increase intra-muscular intensity and create the optimal environment for growth! We have all heard of hormones like testosterone, Growth Hormone, and IGF-1. These hormones MUST be present inside the muscle cells to initiate the growth process. The body has its own natural ability to create more than sufficient amounts of these hormones, given the right training environment. NOS has been www.benpakulski.com
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researched and proven to stimulate this precise training environment inside the muscle! No other training protocol comes close to stimulating this amount of muscle growth. Testosterone has been shown to increase in response to any intense exercise, in both men and women. Its levels peak after 20 minutes and begin to fall around the 30-40 minute mark. The goal of any workout plan should be to stimulate this natural release of testosterone, and get out of the gym before it plummets! GH is released in response to exercise and the presence of lactic acid in the blood. Lactic acid is released during anaerobic exercise for the first 2 minutes of activity. GH levels will actually continue to be stable for a long time during training. IGF-1 -- Insulin-like growth factor is only released during exercise when muscles are pushed to their limit. This is the true muscle- building hormone. This is what makes NOS so effective. Taking muscles to their brink causes maximal growth via IGF-1. Here is another example of what a NOS set might look like – Incline Dumbbell Press: Complete the first 3 sets to failure with 8 repetitions at a tempo of 4-0-1-0. 4 seconds to lower 0 second pause at the bottom 1 second to press the weight 0 second pause at the top That equals 5 sets per rep -- 8 reps per set equals 40 seconds per set! www.benpakulski.com
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Let’s assume for this example that you were able to use 100 lbs for the first 2 sets, and 90 for the 3rd set. For the 4th and final set, the NOS set: Using 90 lbs again, the set will look identical to the last one, except that once you have completed the 8th repetition, you will drop the weight by approx 20% (in this case, that is 18 lbs, so we will drop 90, 70, 50, 30) and continue with perfect form, and the same 4-0-1-0 tempo until you cannot complete another rep (ideally 4-5 repetitions with each weight). **It is extremely important to note that there must not be longer than 10 seconds between decreasing weight increments -- any longer will negate the NOS process. **
The NOS Mindset: There is a specific mindset that must be achieved to truly benefit from the NOS overload: complete focus, and a strong mental desire to incinerate every last drop of energy out of the working muscle. It is also essential to completely eliminate any extraneous body movement. I call this state LOCKING IT DOWN! When I say ‘lock it down’, I know that my mind goes directly into complete focus on the working muscle and my body is locked in position. Nothing, other than the muscle and joints I am working, are allowed to move. When taking your body to the most extreme limit, as you are with NOS, it is absolutely essential to be in the right mindset and not allow for any cheating or unnecessary movement. If you cannot complete another full rep, drop the weight and continue with 20% less weight. THIS IS THE MONEY SET!
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The ‘give it all you’ve got’ set! Approach each set and each rep with: FOCUS, INTENSITY, PERSISTENCE, TENACITY! GROW!
Why Does MI40 Work So Effectively, & A Closer Look At Intentions… “Intentions” The concept of Intentions is based on the fact that muscles communicate in terms of TENSION! Muscles do not know how much weight you are using. They only know how much tension is actually going through them at any one moment. Tension must be applied over a range of motion for the myofibrils (small contractile tissue) in the muscle to shorten and begin the exhaustion process. Once you have exhausted as many muscle fibers as possible (known as muscular ‘overload’), the workout is complete and the re-growth process is set to occur! The word “Intentions” refers to your conscious INTENT to create TENSION in the muscle during your quest for a lean muscular physique! BOOM!
MI40 is so effective because it considers the critical variables to create the ideal weight training program. The first and foremost is execution and form. Sure, you can grow muscle from lifting weights improperly, but you can also build muscle by lifting sacks of potatoes all day long. www.benpakulski.com
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If you’re someone who is seeking the information necessary to build a better physique (which, if you’re reading this, then you certainly are!), you DON’T WANT TO WASTE YOUR TIME!! MI40 is a TOOL to teach you proper technique to build balanced, symmetrical muscle in the shortest amount of time possible! Plus, MI40 will help to balance your body! Say goodbye to certain muscles being stronger, unbalanced, weaker, and unpleasing to the eye. When you do things properly, things will start to balance out! The body wants all the muscles to be proportionate so that the entire body can work as a whole unit. Start doing things properly NOW. Perfect range, maximal tension! Your body will thank you.
How is MI40 Different Than Every Other Muscle-Building & Weight-Gain Program Out There? How is MI40 Different Than Every Other Muscle-Building & Weight-Gain Program Out There? MI40 is NOT a weight GAIN Program! It is a PROPER TRAINING and OPTIMAL MUSCLE-BUILDING program! Muscle growth and muscle gain will inevitably come as your body does things properly, as well as overloading your muscles with NOS! This program is extremely different because this is not the “I’m jacked, do what I do?” routine. This program is based on proven scientific principles, and has been www.benpakulski.com
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tested by average people and pro athletes alike. Everyone grows! That is, everyone and anyone who wants to maximize time in the gym and minimize the amount of time it takes to build an ideal physique. Every variable for growth has been carefully considered and addressed to ensure optimal GROWTH!
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Who Is Ben Pakulski: “The truth behind my story is that I come from a family of overweight and obese people, and I refused to accept this fate when I was just a young child. When I started lifting weights, I was a small and soft 160-lb 16- year-old kid. As a young athlete, I was always looking up to the bigger guys. I found myself reading muscle magazines to find the proper way to train for bigger and stronger muscles. I had no real guidance, just a strong desire to be healthy, muscular, and to look fit so that the hot girls would like me. The guys in my school with the biggest muscles had the hottest chicks so I went to work! My love for health and bodybuilding grew quickly. I began reading everything I could get my hands on, to get the upper hand on my friends. I was never the strongest, the leanest, or the fastest, but I knew if I learned more than anyone else, I could be the best! My passion for learning about the body continued into my university years, when my primary focus was biomechanics and kinesiology. University is where I really started to hone my knowledge of the body. I learned about every muscle in the body and what its function was. I began to question the www.benpakulski.com
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training methods of every one I saw -- not assuming they were wrong, just wondering why they chose to do it the way they did. My desire to learn led me to seek out the most brilliant people I could find. They are the people that can answer all the questions, fill in all the gaps, and not only know WHAT IS BEST, but also WHY it is best! Anyone who knows me, or has trained with me knows that I am constantly looking for ways to make things better. After years of carefully studying muscle function and biomechanics, things have finally become clear. This being said, I don’t claim to be a master of every muscle in the body -- we have over 600 of them. I only claim to have mastered the muscles necessary for appearance and building a badass physique! I have been building my body for over 13 years now. The last 5 years have been the most influential for me. Throughout this time, I have had many mentors, role models, training partners, and even trainers. All of whom have, in some way, shaped who I am today. My passion for perfecting training has led me to travel literally all over the world to find the best coaches and trainers from whom to learn. One day, it all just clicked for me! It all became so simple. I could break down the most important principles I’ve learned over the last 13 years into 3 simple things: 1) RANGE OF MOTION 2) TIME UNDER TENSION 3) MUSCULAR OVERLOAD These are the principles on which MI40 is based. www.benpakulski.com
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If I could learn to eliminate extraneous and useless movement (cheating!), learn to ‘initiate with the working muscle’ (engage the proper muscle group for each specific exercise -- in my opinion, THE most important thing you are going to learn!), while applying these 3 principles….the potential for growth would be ENDLESS! Better yet, it would be ALL IN MY CONTROL! Whatever body type you’re told you have, this training will work for you. It’s ALL IN YOUR CONTROL. Focus on making every day your absolute best and you’ll arrive at your ultimate body.” Yours for health, fitness and passion, Benjamin Pakulski
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