If you’re really serious about building muscle mass with bodyweight training, check out “The Muscle Experiment.” This program is the only program devoted to increasing lean muscle mass using 100% bodyweight exercises. Click here to learn more about “The Muscle Experiment” and to decide whether or not it’s for you.

I wasn’t planning on posting anything else today, but I just found this recent video Coach Sonnon posted. He’s got some incredible new, never before seen bodyweight exercises here. He’s also doing great stuff with Kettlebells and Clubbells. Check it out:

Wanna be as fit as Scott Sonnon? Then you absolutely have to grab a copy of his recent TacFit Commando program. That’s the only way you’ll build yourself upto his level of fitness.

Well, the 3-Day discount is over for Mike Geary’s Fat Burning Kitchen. However, now I’m offering a free bonus for all that grab the program through my website.

Click here to learn more about the Fat Burning Kitchen, and my free bonus.

By Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

If you depend on classic aerobic cardio for fat loss, you probably spend 30 minutes on a machine trying to burn a set number of calories.

But does that work?

Does burning 500 calories per day cause you to lose 1 pound of fat per week?

Well, according to science, it should. But if it did, you probably wouldn’t still be reading this article.

Back in the day, I used to write a column on fat loss myths for Men’s Fitness magazine. Here’s a classic weight loss topic I covered.

Myth: I need to burn 500 calories each workout to lose fat.

Truth: Possibly one of the worst inventions for fat loss was the calorie-counting monitor on treadmills, elliptical machines, and stairmasters.

Because of these, millions of men and women now obsess about the number of calories burned per session. You’ve probably even been one of those people, watching it creep up ever so slowly during a slow-cardio session. All the while knowing that you can wipe out a 30-minute, 300-calorie treadmill session with one fell swoop of the Krispy Kreme hand.

Too many people are brainwashed into thinking that if they don’t burn 300-500 calories per session, then they won’t lose fat. After all, that is what you’ve been told time and time again in those fluffy fitness/fashion magazines.

The problems with this approach to fat loss are numerous. First off, it’s difficult to say if the calorie counters are even accurate. A story on CBS news showed that cardio machines overestimate calorie burning by up to 20%.

Next, depending on slow cardio for advanced fat loss is relatively useless and at the very least, inefficient. It takes a long time for you to burn a lot of calories and one study showed that men who only used cardio training for weight loss ended up with a reduced resting metabolism. You are basically undoing the calorie burning by depending only on cardio. On the other hand, guys in the same study that used strength training didn’t suffer a reduced metabolic rate.

So what is the solution to burning fat in a faster, more efficient method? The answer is to use strength and interval training to burn fewer calories in less exercise time, but with a more intense form of exercise.

Your body will burn more calories after exercise (when you use intervals) than it does after you do slow cardio and your metabolism will stay high. Some experts refer to this as the afterburn effect. How do you do intervals? Well, you could sprint for 30 seconds and rest for 90 seconds and repeat that for 6 sets – using the bike preferably or treadmill if you are experienced with it.

Within that short time frame the intervals will cause your muscles to go crazy with activity (I call it a metabolic turbulence). This crazy metabolism boost causes lots of calorie burning after exercise to get your body back to normal. The result is you would end up burning more fat and more calories in the post-exercise period as your body tries to get things under control.

Now there is one time where you’d want to count calories, but that is when you are counting up and determining how many calories you eat per day. Again, you can wipe out an entire workout’s work in less than a minute simply by eating garbage. Without some structure and discipline to your nutrition, there is nothing that even my programs can do to help you lose fat.

So exercise nutrition control and interval training. These are the two anti-calorie counting methods that will help you lose fat and get lean.

For some great, high intensity bodyweight-only workouts proven to help you lose fat, check out Craig’s Bodyweight workouts. Click here for more information.

If you’re wondering what it feels like to perform one of Craig Ballantyne’s bodyweight workouts, then check out this video:

As you can see, this is a great program you can do with ZERO equipment. Here’s a rundown of how to perform “The Crazy 8 Circuit.”

• 60 Jumping Jacks
• 20 Spiderman Pushups
• 20 Walking Lunges
• 20 Spiderman Climb
• 60 Seconds Wall Squat
• 60 Seconds Plank
• 10 Burpees
• 50 High Knees

All those repetitions/seconds add up to 300. After the first circuit, you’ll be pretty tired. Start off with just one circuit, and build yourself up to 3 rounds. Try to complete exercise back to back with as little rest between as possible.

What I like to do is time the entire workout, and try and perform it faster the following week. Just a 30 second improvement in time will take a tremendous amount of work.

This is just one sample of all the unique bodyweight workouts Craig Ballantyne has developed. He has lots of great workouts you can try and he’s giving them away for a discounted price in his Deluxe Package.

He gives you more information on his website, TurbulenceTraining.com. (Click Here)

P.S. I know this probably won’t mean much to you. But, just to say Thank You for grabbing Craig’s workouts from my website, I’m going to send you a special bodyweight only program using some of my favorite bodyweight movements.

But you’ll only get my thank you bonus if you grab the Deluxe Bodyweight Workouts Today. ==>> Click here to Grab Craig Ballantyne’s Deluxe Bodyweight Workouts.

P.S.S. You won’t be disappointed! Craig Ballantyne’s workouts are the real deal.

Mike Thiga is the author of “The Muscle Experiment,” a bodyweight-only muscle building workout program.

I decided to ask Mike a few questions about his eBook, and about muscle building in general.

And unlike most interviews I conduct, I actually learned a lot of great lessons through Mike Thiga.

I’m actually new to building lean muscle mass with bodyweight training alone. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Mike Thiga:

Parth: So, Mike. What exactly is the Muscle Experiment?

Mike: The Muscle Experiment is a training program designed to pack on muscle on even the skinniest person, with the use of Bodyweight Training Exercises. The reason I decided to call it “The Muscle Experiment” is because it all came about after a little ’experiment’ I decided to try on myself in 2008.

You see, I was born with a withered right arm, which has one finger. And because of this people used to treat me like a helpless weakling. And whenever I tried to go to a gym to workout, nobody really wanted to train me because they though I’d be ‘excess baggage’ and slow them down.

So I decided to get into bodyweight training. I had heard stories of people who had built impressive physiques without lifting weights. The warriors of ancient days had amazing physiques…long before weightlifting was invented. My uncle who was in the military was also a pretty big guy, and as I recall he never trained with weights.

And with this, my bodyweight training muscle building journey began. I knew I was going to build muscle without weights, and nothing was going to stop me. At the end of my first 23 week training cycle, I had gained 39 pounds of muscle.

Parth: That’s really cool that you were able to overcome your genetic abilities and pack on so much muscle mass.  I feel this is a huge problem with hardgainers – they don’t seem to know how to get past their genetic abilities. And because they walk into the gym so skinny, no one wants to help them. So I congratulate you on that. But on top of that, any other specific benefits to packing on muscle mass with bodyweight exercise alone?

Mike: Using bodyweight exercises to build lean muscle mass has countless benefits. Let me give you a few:

1. You’ll save time and money – You’ll save money by not having to pay for gym memberships or personal trainers. You’ll save time, because bodyweight exercises can literally be done anywhere and so you don’t have travel around.

2. Enhanced physical functionality – Bodyweight training works the body in its natural lines of motion. Unlike the typical up-down movements that gym machines provide, bodyweight exercises work the muscles in all possible planes of motion, and therefore making you more fit, agile and muscular.

3. Greater Muscle stimulation – Research shows that using bodyweight exercises will fire more muscle fibers than weightlifting exercises. So when used properly, bodyweight exercises will help you pack on some amazing amounts of muscle mass.

On top of the muscle building capabilities, you will also greatly increase your overall physical well being. I’ve never heard anyone in their old age say that using bodyweight exercises ruined their joints. In fact, using bodyweight exercises will help you protect your joints as you grow older. But if you look at avid weightlifters as they age, you’ll get a whole different story.

Parth: There are tons of great muscle building programs out there. They all promise exactly what you’re promising. What makes the Muscle Experiment so different from all the rest?

Mike: Unlike literally 99% of muscle building programs out there, The Muscle Experiment actually shows people how to build muscle WITHOUT the use of weights. The thing is, not everyone has access to a set of weights. Some people can’t afford to go to the gym. Some are too busy to go to the gym. Some just love bodyweight training. But the important thing is that you don’t need iron to build muscle. I’m living proof of that fact, and I want to show people how to do it.

Parth: True. I didn’t have access to a gym growing up either. I wish your program was around back then. Anyways, going through the eBook, I noticed you spend a lot of time on nutrition. Could you briefly explain your nutritional philosophy?

Mike: I like to use the analogy of building a house: You see, if you want to build a small house, then you’ll need just a few bricks. But if you want to build a massive house, you’ll need a ton of bricks. When building muscle, your body is the ‘house’, and the food you eat is the ‘bricks’. So if you want to build a bigger ‘house’ you need to start consuming more bricks. It’s that simple.

Most people fear increasing their caloric intake for fear of getting ‘fat’. But your body needs the extra materials for it to build muscle, and if you don’t provide it with that extra material then it simply won’t grow. That’s why nutrition is very important when it comes to building muscle.

Training of course is the ultimate determinant and I deal with that extensively as well, but I’ve actually seen some people train themselves thin…literally. And these aren’t guys who wanted to lose weight; they were skinny to start with. But because they neglected their diet, they trained and burned off the little muscle they had in the beginning. In the book I go into more detail on things like super-absorption techniques and so forth, but it all hinges around the fact that in order to get big, you must eat big.

Parth: Women usually don’t think about muscle building. I personally love a woman with a little bit of strength and muscle on her frame, but maybe that’s just me. If a woman were to ask me which is the best muscle building program for her, why should recommend the Muscle Experiment?

Mike: A little bit of muscle tone will improve anyone’s appearance; whether you’re a man or a woman. And while it’s true that most women don’t exactly want to look like muscle-heads, they can use the techniques given in the book to develop a lean, sexy tone. For women thinking of using the program, my advice would be that you just follow the program until the point where you are satisfied with your personal results.

Parth: You have a great 6-Month beginner program. But what about advanced trainees who’ve been training with their bodyweight for quite some time?

Mike: There are two 6 month training programs provided: The first one is for people in the beginner-intermediate level, who don’t have very much training under their belt. And then there is the Advanced 6 month training program which caters for those people who have been using bodyweight exercises for longer and are on the more advanced level of training. So both programs are designed to build muscle, depending on your current level of training and fitness.

Parth: In one of your reports, you state that burpees are not a good mass building exercise. The movement activates a lot of muscle fibers, so why isn’t good in a mass building plan?

Mike: To perform an exercise, your body recruits only as many fibers are necessary to perform that particular task. The greater the recruitment, the higher the cellular damage, and hence the greater the muscle stimulation. And while burpees do recruit a decent amount of fibers, they fail to do it in the required volume to produce great enough cellular damage. And it is this cellular damage that is needed to bring about new muscle growth.

Our aim is to build as much muscle mass as possible. Therefore we should utilize exercises that achieve the most fiber recruitment within a single workout. Don’t get me wrong – burpees are a great exercise for conditioning, and they are an amazing cardiovascular exercise. But they just don’t cut it when it comes to mass building.

Parth: Interesting. So where did you learn about bodyweight training? What’s your background?

Mike: I learned a lot about bodyweight training from my uncle who was in the military. He was a pretty big and muscular guy, and he never once lifted weights. I asked him about this and he began to give me his theories on training using bodyweight exercises as well as the routines he personally used so as to improve his physique.

I also did some of my own research, trying to see exactly how people of ancient times used to train before weightlifting came around. And after gathering all the data, I began to apply it for myself and see what worked and what didn’t. And the results were simply amazing.

As for my background, I am not a fitness “guru” or anything like that. I’m actually a graphic designer by profession who just happens to have an incredible love for bodyweight training.

Parth: Same here! So, most muscle building plans tell you not to do any cardio. Although I still feel that training the heart is important. What are your thoughts on cardio?

Mike: I definitely do not have a problem with cardio, although I really believe it depends on the trainee’s current stand. If a trainee is overweight and they want to build muscle, then it would be a good idea to add some kind of cardiovascular exercises to their training program. But if the trainee is skinny to begin with, they really don’t need to perform cardio. So it would really depend on the trainee’s current fitness goals.
Parth: Ok, I can see this program being great for average guys who just want to get bigger. But what about people who want to achieve bodybuilder-like mass?

Mike: As we speak, I’m currently moving past the 200lb mark, using the very same bodyweight training methods I teach in my book. My initial goal was to hit the 180lb mark which I did, and now that I’ve seen the possibilities and learned so much more, I have all the tools to achieve that massive physique.

But just to make things clear, every single competitive bodybuilder within the 270lb+ range is on steroids. Fact. And there is no form of training in the world which can get you to that level without getting on the juice.

Therefore my personal definition of “bodybuilder like mass” would be having a muscular bodyweight of between 200 pounds to 220 pounds. And yes, you CAN pass the 200lb mark using bodyweight training techniques, and especially is you follow the anabolic/catabolic and training protocols given in the book. That’s for sure.

Parth: Wow. That’s some hardcore muscle there. I will definitely be telling my bodybuilder friends about your program. Glad to speak to you  Mike!

Mike: Been a pleasure.

Click here to Learn more about Mike’s Program

My friend Mike Thiga just gave me permission to give out three of his muscle-building reports.

Use the advice from this manual, and you’ll be that much closer to packing on lean muscle mass with bodyweight training alone.

Report #1: The SuperFreak Report

In the SuperFreak report, you’ll discover:

• The TRUTH About Bodyweight Training
• The 7 Secrets to Building a Massive Physique with Bodyweight Training Techniques
• Top 6 Exercises that will NOT Build You Any Muscle
• Little Known Bodyweight Exercises to Slap Inches onto Your Frame

Report #2: Creating the Perfect Bodybuilder

In this report, Mike shows you the 3 steps you need to take in order to pack on Bodybuilder-like muscle mass.

Report #3: 45 Lbs of Muscle – No Holds Barred Interview

Mike interviews a man named Mike Joplin. He was in the US Navy over 40 years ago, and was able to pack on 45lbs of muscle in a matter of a few months.

This is an interview you MUST read, and is a true testimonial of what is possible with bodyweight training.

To grab these free reports, simply enter your name and email below:

As a trainer, you should stay up to date on all the latest health and fitness programs. I agree, most health and fitness programs are fads and are completely useless to your client’s needs.

However, a brand new program launched by Scott Sonnon and Ryan Murdock may be something that you can use to:

1. Help current clients break through plateaus
2. Attract and keep new clients with challenging, never before seen exercises
3. Train clients anywhere they may be

That last one is important, since TacFit Commando is a bodyweight only program. This means that instead of your clients having to come to you, you can go to your clients.

Your clients will not need a pullup bar, or a swiss ball, or any sort of fancy equipment. So, all you need to do is bring yourself. And since you’re offering something new and unique (plus, a service by saving them time and money on gym membership and drives), you can charge a higher price for your services.

I’ve been noticing a lot of Personal Trainers purchasing Craig Ballantyne’s Deluxe Bodyweight workouts through my site. (How do I know they’re trainers, because of their email address – for example, if I were to buy something on someone’s site I would use shah@shahtraining.com – which would tell you I was in some way connected to health and fitness).

So, people are already doing it. They’re using other people’s workouts to train their clients. It’ll save you a lot of time and effort on coming up with your own workouts.

And, as a trainer, you already know enough about health and fitness. So you can easily customize the training programs based on your client’s needs. You can add exercises, reduce rest periods, decrease sets – anything you need to do.

But the bottom line is that you’ll be giving your clients something new, unique, and fun. And of course, TacFit Commando has been used for years on top military units so you know it works.

Click here to Read my Full review on TacFit Commando

Wanna learn how to pack on muscle with bodyweight training? Then follow these three muscle building principles and you’ll be that much closer to your dream physique:

Muscle Building Principle #1: Train at a High Intensity Level

No, high intensity training does not mean that you train 2-3 hours every single day at the gym. In fact, the longer your workout, the less intense your workout will be.

Also, the more frequently you workout, the less time you will have to recover between your workouts. If you do not properly recover from your training, it can lead to severeover training, and of course, a decrease in intensity (because you’ll be too tired to train properly).

Hence, an intense workout must be brief. The more intense, the shorter the workout. But how do you measure intensity? Well one way to measure your intensity is to be able to perform something in a shorter period of time.

For example, lets say your first muscle building workout took you 43 minutes. Now, your goal is to perform the same amount of work in a shorter period of time.

You can either lower the rest periods between each set or simply increase the speed of the movement. If you’re able to complete the same workout in 42 minutes, then you’ve effectively increased the intensity of the workout.

Muscle Building Principle #2: Recover Properly

This is crucial. I believe that proper recovery is the key to progress. This is a huge mistake I’ve made in the past, and I sincerely hope that you will not make the same mistake.

Most people mistakenly believe that more you train, the more progress you’ll make. This is not true. You gain muscle when you don’t workout, not during your workouts.

The workout is simply there to break down lean muscle mass. Your nutrition and rest takes care of the rest. After I workout, I’m usually super hungry the rest of the day.

My metabolism is on fire. My muscles are hungry. Feed your muscles. Keep your nutrition balanced, providing your body with ample amounts of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

Muscle Building Principle #3: Overload or “Just Constantly Push Yourself”

In my last article, I went over a few techniques you can use to make your workouts harder (click here to read it). Another big problem with newbies to the muscle game is that they keep doing the same thing over and over again.

I’m not a huge fan of dramatic changes within a workout. But just slight and different changes week after week will give you enough challenge without making the workouts too hard.

A workout that’s too hard will make you feel intimidated. You might not even perform the workout because you’re literally scared of it. Instead, just do something different each workout.

For example, after the first workout, increase repetitions. After the second workout, increase sets. On the third or fourth workout, slow down the movement.

You see, increasing repetitions each and every week is not possible, and is boring. Doing different changes each week or month is more practical and certainly physiologically doable.

These three principles have been beautifully implemented by Mike Thiga in his recent eBook titled “The Muscle Experiment.” This is a 12-month program designed to help you pack on lean muscle mass with just bodyweight exercises.

Click here for more information.

We all know building muscle is tough. Building muscle with bodyweight exercises is even tougher. We don’t have access to hundreds of different exercises and variations, nor do we have an easy way increase the load of an exercise.

However, combine the bodyweight exercises you learned earlier (click here for the Bodyweight Exercises for Mass Article) with the following 6 muscle building techniques, and you’ll be able to create workouts that will help you pack on even more muscle:

Muscle Building Technique #1: Supersetting

If you read my site regularly, then you know how much I love supersets. If you’ve stopped seeing results from your mass building workouts, then just take two exercises and perform them back to back with little to no rest in between each set.

A sample superset would be to alternate between standard pushups and close-grip chinups. Ideally, you want to choose two exercises that train opposing muscle groups (such as back and chest).

However, you can also form supersets that train the same muscle group back to back if you’re trying to bring up a particular muscle group. For example, for your triceps you can do a set ofTricep Blasters followed immediately by Isolated Tricep Pushups.

Muscle Building Technique #2: Speed Reduction

I usually train super fast. However, I tried Mike Thiga’s workouts by slowing down the speed of each repetition, and it made the workout TWICE as hard. I always assumed that the faster the workout, the higher the intensity.

But I was wrong. Your heart rate will be going crazy. You will be sweating hard. And if you continue in this manner, you will see results. If you don’t see results with reducing the speed of a movement, then a) you’re not using challenging movements or b) you’re not eating enough.

Reducing the speed of the movement places great stress on a muscle, hence increasing its TUT (Time Under Tension) I’ve written about Time Under Tension before (click here to learn more about TUT).

Muscle Building Technique #3: Static Holds

Static holds work in the same way the reducing the speed of a movement does: it increases its TUT. The only thing is that I find static hold workouts really boring.

I’ve seen workouts before where all you do is static holds. I hate it. Mike Thiga’s approach is to perform static holds at the end of a movement, or after 2-3 regular work sets.

For example, lets assume you are doing pullups. Perform 2 sets of pullups as a regular set. Rest, and on your last set, pull yourself up to the bar, and hold that top position for 30 seconds.

Muscle Building Technique #4: Consistency

This isn’t exacly a technique you implement into your workout, however it is worth mentioning. In fact it is probably the most important thing in your progress.

If you do not regularly train, then you’ll never see results. It really is simple as that. You can be doing the craziest things with your workouts, but if you keep changing them up, or skipping workouts, those crazy workouts will be meaningless.

Don’t worry, I’ve experienced the same things. However, it helps to find something that motivates you. I’ve used a few techniques that help me stay on course. (Click here to learn about my motivation techniques).

Muscle Building Technique #5: Switching Hand Positions/Angles

Simple switching a hand position makes a huge difference in the difficulty of the movement. Take pushups for example. The closer your hands, the more difficult the movement.

The same can be said for your legs. The more elevated your legs are, the more difficult the movement. The toughest pushup variation is the planche pushup, where your legs are completely off the ground.

I salute anyone who can perform a planche pushup. These guys have tremendous upper body strength and mass. Strive to continually make your exercise more difficult in this manner.

Muscle Building Technique #6: Volume Training

Volume Training is simply increasing the volume (sets and reps) of a movement. At the end of Mike Thiga’s program you will dramatically increase the volume of your workouts for a brief moment.

This is just another way to shock your body into growth. You will be doing so much work, then your body has not choice but to adapt to the higher workload.

But, volume training can be dangerous. You see all those people in the gym training for 2-3 hours at a time? Well, they’ve taken volume training way too far.

There you have it. Start implementing this techniques one by one and you’ll start to see results immediately. For a complete, 12-month (yes, that’s right – 12 MONTHS!) training program designed to help you pack on muscle mass with bodyweight training only, check out MikeThiga’s Muscle Experiment.

Click here for more information.