As a kid, I was obsessed with getting better.
Obsessed with video games and our backyard wrestling club. One day I asked my brother how to get stronger and he showed me how to do lunges to strengthen my legs. I did a thousand every day for a week.
Later, building my business and strength training became my passions.
But powerlifting was a double-edged sword; it left me with aching shoulders and knees so sore I couldn’t sit through a movie without getting up to move around.
Losing fat and improving my overweight and rusty body was the reason I got into this fitness thing in the first place.
A year ago, I found myself at 205 lb – overweight and achy all over again.
So I decided to train like a bodybuilder and get myself in shape.
I’ve been doing this for the past 13 months – and you should try it too
(if you want to get faster results, in less time each week, while taking care of your joints).
My physique has transformed more in the past year than it had in the past 2-3 years combined… and I want to show you some powerful principles that will work for you too.
Let me ask you this – have you ever felt that your workouts are just a chore?
That the discomfort and monotony of exercise make it anything but enjoyable?
It’s not even challenging in a good way – just boring and uncomfortable?
You’re not alone.
Working out feels aimless and unfulfilling and leads to stagnation, when you’re on the wrong track.
You know what you want out of the gym.
Maybe you’re just scared to admit it.
You want to build more muscle.
You want to get stronger and feel good about your progress.
You don’t want to get hurt along the way.. especially if you’re already high-mileage.
Training for muscle growth is the obvious choice.
So why aren’t guys training like bodybuilders?
They don’t know what natural bodybuilding actually looks like.
The common image of bodybuilding doesn’t help – ideas of impossibly muscular dudes, oiled-up, lifting heavy weights, grunting and steroids.
Or they’re scared they’ll get too big (more on this later)
It’s no wonder many opt for the ‘safer’ and less exciting, stationary bike, half-assed workouts, or elliptical.
But what if training like a bodybuilder could be the missing puzzle piece for you, like it was for me?
It hits three big checkboxes:
It’s efficient, evergreen, and effective.
Efficient = it doesn’t take a lifetime to make it happen.
Evergreen = it can be enjoyed for plenty of years to come.
Effective = it does what it says on the box. Results you can actually see.
If you’re missing one of these, you’ve got a hole in your bucket.
An effective plan that’s evergreen might be great, but how realistic is that for your schedule?
An efficient plan that’s effective would be so brutal that you wouldn’t stick with it for long.
An evergreen plan that’s efficient is fun – but won’t give you the results you’re after.
To maximize the ‘lifetime value’ of your workouts, it’s best to include all three.
Here are 6 things I’ve learned after training like a bodybuilder for the past 13 months.
[1] Choose your own adventure
Want bigger arms? You can do that.
Hate barbell squats? Ditch them.
You can pick exercises that you enjoy and feel good for you.
Training can give you all the things you want with none of the things you don’t.
Good = muscle growth, pumps, soreness, disruption of the target muscle.
Bad = joint pain, discomfort, mental fatigue, injury risk.
You selectively breed for ‘yay without boo’.
[2] You don’t need to go heavy
This is relative.
Heavy for me might not be heavy for you.
But relatively, the weights don’t need to be all that heavy to make you grow and get stronger.
A challenging set of 10-15 reps might not feel all that heavy at the beginning… but by rep 9, you’re going to be working for it.
Can you think of a few benefits of not needing to go heavy all the time?
[3] Tempo training fucks
Try this – go slow on the way down.
Spend 3 seconds actively lowering the weights under control.
Pause for 1 full second at the bottom of each rep.
Then push it back up.
Good technique is no longer optional.
Again, it limits the external load (weight) you need to use…
so your biceps are going to be screaming with a fraction of the weight you normally use.
Long game.
We’re building an empire here.
[4] Fat Loss?!
Holy fuck did I ever see some muscle growth this year.
Especially in my shoulders and my back – which weren’t getting enough direct work from what I was doing before.
And look, I don’t want to be massive.
I want to look good – with a lean, defined, athletic, and muscular body.
But I don’t want to be enormously jacked… and I never will be.
Because training like this will help you grow visible muscle, but not overnight.
Nobody in the history of the world got too jacked by accident.
That’s like looking up at the night sky and worrying that you’ll become an astronaut.
Training for growth means you’ll keep more muscle around when you diet for fat loss. So for every pound you lose, a greater percentage of it will be fat than muscle.
That makes a big difference whether you’re losing 10 lb or more than 50.
Just like the guys in 50 For 50, who are all working toward losing 50 lb in the next 6 months.
(this cohort closes in 6 weeks).
[5] It’s time-efficient
Everyone has seen the memes of powerlifters pulling out a sleeping bag in between sets.
Spending hours at the gym.
Or runners who go for their 4 hour distance Sunday runs.
I love training as much (or more) than the next guy, but I don’t want to spend more than 60-90 minutes in the gym when I’m there.
I’ve got a business to run, and lives to change.
60-90m is more than enough for even my longest bodybuilding sessions.
Especially when you incorporate techniques like supersets.
Back to back work.
- Curls, lateral raises, rest.
- Curls, lateral raises, rest.
- Curls, lateral raises, rest.
Save the time you spend resting in between sets.
Spend it getting rich instead.
Or with your loved ones.
If you’re lucky, like me, you can do both at the same time.
[6] Lubed-up joints
Slowly controlling yourself all the way down into a deep squat, for a handful of reps, for a handful of sets…
It makes your joints feel brand new.
It’s like loaded stretching.
Oh wait – that’s exactly what it is.
Training into deep ranges of motion (going ALL the way down) grows more muscle and makes you more flexible.
If you want to see what this really looks like – watch me die on the leg press.
Again, you need to use less weight when you train like this.
But who gives a flying fuck how much weight you use for your cable curls at the community center gym?
I didn’t even realize how rusty and beat up I was until I stopped doing what I was doing before.
This past year, focusing on training for size rather than strength, has been a revelation.
My joins feel better, and I’ve seen noticeable muscle growth and definition.
The best part?
Training has become exciting and motivating again.
Watching my chin up numbers climb… seeing my back get more jacked.
It’s awesome.
Training like a bodybuilder isn’t just for those looking to step on stage in sparkly underwear.
It’s a pathway to healthier joints, bigger muscles, and a renewed sense of progress.
Find out your workout lifetime value:
Let’s predict how far you’ll get with your workout plan by assigning you some scores.
Using the numbers below:
- How evergreen is your plan? Is it sustainable long-term?
- How efficient is your plan? Does it all fit within your schedule?
- How effective is your plan? Does it show you the results you’re after?
It’s not great = 1
It’s not bad = 2
It’s great = 3
Take all those numbers and multiply them together for a total score.
Fix what isn’t working.
Future you is counting on you.
Until next week,
Matteo
PS: If you want to build more muscle, feel more confident in the gym, and get more out of every minute you spend there…
Grab my free mini-course – Weight Room Roadmap
