On the other hand, for some who delve into ketogenic diets it becomes a pleasant surprise. The best part about ketogenic diets is that they allow you to eat (and eat well) without having to starve yourself for your weight loss and nutritional goals. Not to mention there is a large variety of savoury flavors and foods. Here is what approaching your ketogenic diet might look like.

Plan for Success

There are some things you can also do to help the transition in the early stages. When it comes to starting a ketogenic diet, you could just try to dive right in. But why not set yourself up for a better experience and success with ketosis? Try the following:

1. Finish/remove your carb-rich foods: If they are lying around, they will be tempting you. Finish what you have so you can stock up with keto-friendly ingredients that will keep you in line with your keto diet.

2. Determine your caloric needs: There are plenty of resources online that can help you calculate you total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) which is the amount of calories needed to maintain your current weight. Sure you can go to the grocery store and load up with keto friendly foods, but having a snapshot of how much you will need each day can also help to manage the early stages of the transition (and save on grocery bill). This can also help you for buying and portioning your food as well as meal planning.

3. Meal Prep: Preparing multiple meals all at once will make it much easier to stick to your ketogenic diet because you won’t be as tempted to cheat when you have keto-friendly food already available. Try to prep a few meals in advance. An easy way to start is by making more for lunch or dinner than you need so that you have leftovers to choose from the day after.

4. Allow for more keto-friendly food: You will quickly realize the difference between real hunger and mere flavor cravings. At first, you might feel like you are still hungry because even though you’ve eaten, you haven’t satisfied your carb cravings. So indulge in more keto food! Once you achieve ketosis, your appetite will level off and you will lose the flavour cravings you once had.

Must-Have Groceries

There are many foods that fit a keto-friendly diet. Your main concern here are avoiding grains and sweets. If this sounds daunting at first, don’t worry, there are ways to pacify the sweet tooth (see below). But thankfully, you’ll still be left with savoury and delicious food items including the following dietary staples:

Eggs – nature’s multivitamin rich with nutrients–high in protein and healthy fats

Bacon – yes, bacon. High in protein and fat, and a delicious way to add flavour to your dishes.

Chicken – here you can opt for cuts with skin that provide more flavour and fat content for your diet.

Fatty fish – salmon, tuna, mackerel, and other fatty fish are excellent sources of omega fatty acids and protein

Avocado – this delicious high fat food is rich in folate, potassium, and B-vitamins, and fiber which gives it a surprisingly low net carb count

Leafy Greens – fiber is important and leafy greens like spinach, kale, and romaine lettuce are great sources of fiber and micronutrients

Full fat cheese – rich in calcium, protein while also being a delicious flavour agent for your meals and providing vitamin A, D, B vitamins, and even magnesium

Coconut oil – this versatile oil is great for cooking while providing healthy fats for your keto diet

Chicken broth with sodium – great for hydrating while maintain sodium levels and staving off potential keto fog during early transition

Sample meals

When starting a keto diet, keep it simple. Stick to the easy recipes and thing you’re comfortable making. You can always experiment later with new recipes and new dishes to spice things up.

Breakfast Option 1: Bacon & Eggs—What Could Be Simpler?

2 large eggs
2 pieces bacon
Spinach
Mushrooms
Butter

Fry bacon and eggs. Sautee mushrooms and eat with spinach or wilt spinach in pan to eat alongside the dish. The great thing about eggs is their versatility. Even when cooked on their own, there are so many ways to prep them. You can also swap out bacon for sausage but make sure to check the sugar content if you do!

Breakfast Option 2: Cream Cheese Pancakes

2 oz cream cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp sweetener (see below)
½ tsp cinnamon

Mix/blend ingredients and set to rest for a few minutes until bubbles settle. Pour into pan greased with butter or coconut oil and cook until golden brown on both sides.

Lunch Option 1: Hearty Caesar Salad

1 Chicken Breast
1 Avocado
Bacon
Creamy Caesar Dressing

Cook chicken and bacon, slice ingredients and place in a bowl! Doesn’t get much easier than this and your chicken prep method is up to you.

Lunch Option 2: Tuna Salad

1 tin tuna
1 small head crunchy lettuce
2 eggs
1 medium spring onion
Pink Himalayan salt
2 tbsp mayo

Hard-boil the eggs, combine in a dish with mayo and tuna and mix thoroughly with fork. Add to lettuce and mix in the spring onion.

Lunch Option 3: Leftovers!

Seriously—prep enough dinner the night before to carry over into the next day. This can be especially useful if you need to take a lunch to work because few if any places are going to accommodate your keto needs. Having extra keto options on the go is a good strategy to stick to your ketogenic plans.

Dinner Option 1: Steak & Asparagus

1 Steak (Your choice of cut)
1 cup asparagus

Quick and easy! Grill steak on the BBQ to desired finish and grill asparagus while steak is resting. You can choose whichever cut you like best. This works equally well in a skillet where you can include butter and garlic for extra flavour.

Dinner Option 2: Salmon & Salad

1 wild caught salmon filet
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons organic dried parsley

1. Preheat your oven to 350 and line a baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Season salmon with salt and pepper
3. In a medium skillet, over medium heat, melt butter and lightly saute garlic.
4. Once the garlic has softened, reduce the heat to low and add in the remaining ingredients. Stirring until combined and melted.
5. Spread mixture over salmon filet and bake at 350–15 minutes for thawed salmon and 20-25 minutes for fozen. Check by gauging how it flakes with a fork.
6. Side salad can include spinach and romaine lettuce with nuts and creamy, low-carb dressing.

But What About Dessert?

Dessert didn’t disappear, but it can and should in the beginning. Due to the way your tastes adapt and your body adjusts to ketosis, you will tend to crave sweets less and less. This seems to be a consistent trend among participants of keto diets.

If, however, you absolutely must give in to that sweet tooth—you can. But it cannot be with sugar. Not only that: when it comes to sweeteners, there is a significant difference in their glycemic index. That means some can cause a serious insulin spike which will interfere with ketosis and can be uncomfortable while others can be consumed with little to no insulin response.

Avoid these sweeteners with high glycemic index: Maltodextrin, maltose, dextrose, glucose, trehalose, high fructose corn syrup, sucrose

Use these sweeteners with low glycemic index: Stevia, mannitol, erythritol, inulin, xylitol, sucralose (Splenda).

This is not a comprehensive list and there are many sweeteners within the mid-range of the glycemic index that can still cause problems for a ketogenic diet. If you must, try to gravitate toward sweets that use the sweeteners with low GI ratings.

One of the big advantages of keto diets is the ability to eat savoury, satisfying food instead of picking away at calorie-restricted regimens. You don’t need to starve yourself to see positive results! Your meal plan can be simple and effective at first while allowing you to play with dishes as time goes on. No crazy recipes or Michelin-star needed. Full, hearty meals are satisfying and delicious. Remember that supplementing the transition in the beginning and making sure you are getting electrolytes can be a big benefit to the early stages of ketosis.

Complete Training Program built for Hard Gainers who want to gain mass and keep it!

With size comes power, self-esteem and respect from others. But, what if you’re genetically cursed? What if the genes you got mean that you’ll never gain mass like the big guys?

Fear not! While it’s true that there’s a hard-wired genetic component that, if you do nothing beyond your normal existence, you’ll stay small. But there are countless examples of guys out there who we’re small but changed everything and became huge. This is the principle of phenotypes versus genotypes.

SIZE MATTERS AND DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU ANY DIFFERENT!

Genotypes are how, if you do nothing different, you’re doomed to be small and stay that way! Phenotypes on the other hand is where the promise of mass gaining future can come true for you. In a very small nutshell, genotype is your genetic code and phenotype is the physical expression of a combination of your genotype and environmental factors. In essence, if you change the forces that your genetics react to, you can literally change how your inherited DNA is expressed.

In this article we’ve laid out key tips on how to create the change that your genetics react to; this will not happen overnight and you must commit yourself to maintaining the increased calories, increased quality of the calories (i.e. superior protein sources) and progressively more intense training.

Training for Mass

Big bodies are the result of big weights being moved in the gym. You have to attempt to be stronger each week, whether it’s increasing the weight or the reps. Handling more weight on all your exercises or doing the same weight but increasing the reps are great indicators that you are gaining more muscle and you’re well on your way to being one with the masses!

It is important that you keep the weight heavy and the sets shorter. Your goal is to continuously expose your genotype (your DNA) to heavy weight for relatively short bursts. As you get used to the weight, progressively increase that weight. You will always need to be forcing your body to adapt to and overcome new levels of resistance (weight).

Eating for Mass

If your a hard gainer, as in you have a very difficult time putting on mass and keeping it on, you have to realize that your genetics predispose you to degrading any muscle that you put on. To prevent this, you have to dramatically increase the amount you eat per meal and you have to increase the frequency of the meals. Hard gainers who have successfully gained mass eat between 5 and 7 meals per day and aim to have their calorie intake at 4,000 to 5,000 calories per day with their protein intake at 2 or more grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day (if you’re 150 lbs. aim for 300 g of protein).

This sounds tough, and it is. Your body will fight you every step of the way. But that’s how you know that you’re doing the right thing. If it was easy, you would already be huge, right?!

What if I Get Fat?

I hear this all the time. Guys who are smaller than they want to be are worried about getting a belly. Don’t worry! Here’s why. When you up your calories (of high-quality food – NOT ICE CREAM!) your body receives the signal of abundant food and your metabolism along with dozens of other metabolic processes kick into high gear.

In addition, with the consistent increased level of resistance training, you are forcing your body to repair and grow muscle tissue rapidly. This is something that only happens when you are eating tons of food on a regular basis. Your body cannot simultaneously put on solid muscle mass when you are in a caloric deficit (i.e. not eating enough).

Mass-Building Workout

Day 1: Chest/Shoulders/Triceps

• Flat Bench Press/Incline Bench Press: 5 sets of each exercise, pyramiding up in weight and going as low as 4-6 reps on your final two sets.

Flat Bench Press:                              5 Sets                                    8 Reps (4 to 6 on Sets 4 and 5)

Incline Bench Press:                         5 Sets                                    8 Reps (4 to 6 on Sets 4 and 5)

*Take as long as 2-3 minutes rest in between your final two sets, so that you can attack the weight with full intensity and energy.

**Push the weight until it literally can’t move anymore to achieve complete muscle failure.

***Pyramiding: Increase the weight up to set 3 (your max) and declining in sets 4 and 5.

• Lateral Raises/Upright Rows: 4 sets of each with the first set being a warm-up set, and then moving into your working sets where you should aim to achieve muscle failure at around the 8-rep mark.

Lateral Raises:                   4 Sets                                    8 Reps

Upright Rows:                    4 Sets                                    8 Reps

*Try using dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells and even plates to perform these exercises for variety.
**Remember your elbows must be higher than your wrists at the top of each of these movements.

• Triceps Dips/Skull Crushers: 4-5 sets of each exercise, pyramiding up in weight and keeping in the 8-10 rep range on your final two working sets.

Triceps Dips:                       4 to 5 Sets                           8 to 10 Reps

Skull Crushers:                   4 to 5 Sets                           8 to 10 Reps

*Keep your elbows from flaring out to the sides, so all the stress is on your triceps.
**Pyramiding: Increase the weight up to set 3 (your max) and declining in sets 4 and 5.

Day 2: Rest

Day 3: Quads/Hamstrings/Calves

• Squats/Leg Presses: 5 sets of each, pyramiding up in weight and then doing a drop set for your final two working sets. Start with a weight you can handle for only about 4-6 reps then perform a triple drop set by dropping the weight by about 50 pounds for 3 consecutive sets.

Squats:                                 3 Sets                    4 to 6 Reps

Squats:                                2 Drop Sets         Drop 50 LBS for 4 reps x3

Leg Presses:                       5 Sets                    4 to 6 Reps

Leg Presses:                       2 Drop Sets         Drop 50 LBS for 4 reps x3

*Wear a belt and even use knee wraps to handle the heavy weight, and place the emphasis on the working muscle rather than the knee joint.
**If you don’t feel ill after doing the last two sets, you didn’t go hard enough!
***Pyramiding: Increase the weight up to set 3 (your max) and move to Drop Sets in Sets 4 and 5.

• Stiff-Legged Deadlifts: 4-5 sets pyramiding up in weight and going no lower than 10 reps on your final two working sets.

Stiff-Legged Deadlifts:                   4 to 5 Sets                           10 Reps

*Wear a belt to help keep your back supported and your midsection in check.
**Perform the exercise on a platform so that it allows your range of motion to go past your feet for an extreme stretch to your hams and glutes.
***Pyramiding: Increase the weight up to set 3 (your max) and declining in sets 4 and 5.

• Standing Calf Raises: 4-5 sets, with set one being a high rep warm-up set of around 50-100 reps, then go straight to a weight where you can get 10 reps at best for 3-4 working sets.

Standing Calf Raises:                       High-Rep Warm-Up Set                 50 to 100 Reps

Standing Calf Raises:                       3 to 4 Sets                                           10 Reps

*The calves are used all day when you walk and need a stimulus they’re not used to, which is heavy, heavy weight.
**Be sure to use a full range of motion and avoid bouncing on the balls of your feet, hold the stretch and the contraction for a 2 count.

Day 4: Rest

Day 5: Back/Traps/Biceps

• Wide Grip Chins/Barbell Rows/Deadlifts: 4-5 sets of each going to failure on your chin-up sets and pyramiding up in weight for the barbell rows and deadlifts, going as low as 6-8 reps.

Wide Grip Chins:                               4 to 5 Sets                                           6 to 8 Reps

Barbell Rows:                                    4 to 5 Sets                                           6 to 8 Reps

Deadlifts:                                           4 to 5 Sets                                           6 to 8 Reps

*Think of your hands as hooks and grip the barbell with your finger tips to take the biceps out of the movement.
**Focus on the mind-muscle connection with your back muscles, as it’s hard for many to get the right feeling in their backs. It might have something to do with not being able to physically see the muscle working.
**Pyramiding: Increase the weight up to set 3 (your max) and declining in sets 4 and 5.

• Barbell Shrugs: 4-5 sets pyramiding up in weight and going as low as 6-8 reps on your working sets.

Barbell Shrugs:                                                  4 to 5 Sets                                           6 to 8 Reps

*Shrug up and down with no rolling of the shoulders to avoid injury.
**Use wrist straps to help with your grip so you can handle extreme weights during this exercise.
***Pyramiding: Increase the weight up to set 3 (your max) and declining in sets 4 and 5.

• Straight Barbell Curls/Dumbbell Hammer Curls: 4-5 sets of each pyramiding up in weight and going as low as 6-8 reps on your working sets.

Straight Barbell Curls:                                   4 to 5 Sets                                           6 to 8 Reps

Dumbbell Hammer Curls:                             4 to 5 Sets                                           6 to 8 Reps

*Focus on using correct form and then use a little cheating to move the weight on your final reps to get as much from your biceps as you can.
**Pyramiding: Increase the weight up to set 3 (your max) and declining in sets 4 and 5.

Days 6 & 7: Rest

After you have completed this rotation, it’s time to do it all over again, but this time try using heavier weights or performing more reps on all your sets. A good tip would be to keep a training journal to chronicle the weights you used, so you’re not guessing and short-changing yourself and your gains.

Mass-Gaining Supplements

To build massive amounts of muscle, you have to eat massive amounts of food and supplements with the appropriate products to back up your efforts.

Keeping the levels of protein and calories high enough with the right frequency isn’t easy. What a lot of successful mass gainers have done is take a Mass Gainer like QUICKMASS. It quickly and easily adds 1010 calories in just 4 scoops (for this program we recommend taking 1 serving in the morning and 1 serving post-workout), complete with 60 grams of high-quality protein!

Your can also try stacking HVOL (optional), AMINOCORE, CVOL (Powder or Capsule), CARBION+, VITASTACK and GLUTAMINE (optional) for unbelievable gains in size and strength. Combining these products will not only give you the boost you need to hit the weights hard, it also has all the ingredients needed for repair and growth of new muscle tissue.

IF YOU’RE A HARD GAINER, THERE’S STILL HOPE.

Being large and in charge is not for the faint-at-heart and only the hardcore will take mass to new levels. If you’re a hard gainer, there’s still hope. You have to be consistent and persevere, even if gains are slow. If you tend to put on mass fairly easily, be careful of the type of mass you are putting on. Remember, you can’t flex fat, and quality before quantity counts when you are a bodybuilder looking to get huge.

Conclusion

Train smart, supplement accordingly and enjoy stretching the sleeves of your shirt and having to shop for a whole new wardrobe!