Scrawny to Brawny: Paul Valiulis
Paul Valiulis at 133 and 210 pounds.
Here’s the truth: When you want to accomplish something – build muscle, make money, write a book, whatever – it’s better to have one specific action step you can start practicing today than it is to have a long list of to-dos.
That’s because doing one thing is easy. And doing two or more things is hard. (Yeah, it ain’t rocket science.)
Try to do too much at once — a common flaw of ambitious people — and you’ll fail. Do one thing — even if it’s ridiculously simple — and you’ll build confidence to get the ball rolling toward your big goal. And once you master that one thing, whether after two weeks or two months, it’s easy to add another habit right on top of it to keep the momentum going.
The caveat, of course, is that your one action step better be worth it. It better make a big impact. And it better be something you can do consistently, without fail, every day.
Precision Nutrition coach Paul Valiulis knows this well.
He gained over 70 pounds and completely transformed his life in just 18 months by focusing on building one habit at a time. So whenever a scrawny guy asks him how to gain muscle, Paul starts ’em off with one thing and one thing only.
In this post he introduces the one habit that kick-started his scrawny to brawny journey, and how it can help you gain muscle.
Enter Paul.
Paul at 133.
Paul, 18 months later, at 210 pounds.
Picture this: You’re a 130-pound marathon runner.
Depressed. Anorexic. Screwed.
You look in the mirror. (sigh)
Another day of wishing you weren’t alive.
You go to the gym for the only thing that makes you feel good anymore: running.
Sore from the marathon you did just a couple of days ago, you hop on the treadmill and start jogging. Two hours later, you step off. Somehow, you injured yourself while running indoors.
This is rock bottom.
A few years ago, I was in a pretty rough place, addicted to running, eating about as much as a 12-year old girl, and completely oblivious to the laws of muscle-building.
After a few shitty things happened (like the injury mentioned above), I was forced to re-evaluate my methods and change all of my habits.
Why?
I wanted to be different. I wanted to be better. I wanted to turn my scrawny frame into a brawny physique. A physique that would match how I felt inside. A physique that would let my zest for life really shine through.
So I decided to do something about it. Well, one thing really. But that one thing — what I'll share with you below — led to a snowball effect that changed my life.
The Difference Between Scrawny and Brawny
Here’s a snapshot of how I ate and trained when I was scrawny, back in 2005.
- 130 pounds
- Calorie Intake = 2,400 per day
- Daily meals = 3 meals per day
- Cardio (jogging) = 22 miles per week
- Weight Training: 1x per week (abs and arms)
- Reactive (get injured, go to physical therapy)
And here’s a snapshot of how I eat and train now.
- 200 pounds
- Calorie Intake = 5,000 per day
- Daily meals = 6 or 7 meals and snacks per day
- Cardio (sprints) = 6-10 minutes per week
- Weight Training: 4x per week (2x per week legs)
- Proactive (foam rolling, yoga, ART, etc.)
We’re all a product of our habits. And if you don’t have the body you want, your habits just plain suck.
Now, let’s be clear. It’s not a personal flaw or a lack of knowledge. It’s not your genetics or some other crappy excuse. It’s because the things you do on a daily basis are not conducive to building muscle.
And here’s the good news. Your habits are the easiest thing to change. That’s why I want to help. But I’m not gonna write you a complex training program or tell you how many calories you need to eat. That stuff is irrelevant right now.
Instead, I’m gonna give you one habit — the same habit that helped one of the guys in our Scrawny to Brawny coaching program gain 18 pounds in one single month.
Your New Habit: Drink 3 Super Shakes Every Day
Look, if you’re a scrawny guy who needs to gain muscle,you need to start eating more. You don’t need to count calories, and you don’t need to balance your macronutrients. You need to put more food into your mouth.
How do you get those calories? The stupid way is to eat a bunch of crap. The smart way is to drink what we at Precision Nutrition call a “Super Shake.”
Enough with the plain ol’ water and protein. A Super Shake combines high-quality protein, fiber, muscle-building fats, antioxidants, and more in a tasty formula that ensures muscle-producing anabolism. (That’s science-speak for getting huge.)
When done consistently, drinking 3 Super Shakes every day may help you gain more muscle in the next couple of months than you have in the past year.
Here’s how to make your Super Shakes.
For optimal mixing, flavor, and consistency, follow the steps in order. (Trust me, I’ve done enough experimenting for the both of us.)
Step 1: Start with Ice
- Use 1-4 cubes for a thin, chilled shake
- Use 5-10 cubes for a thicker, pudding-like shake
Step 2: Pick a Fruit
If you like a thick shake, go with frozen over fresh.
- Apple, orange, banana, pineapple
- Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry
Step 3: Throw in a Veggie
Yeah I know it sounds gross to put veggies in a shake, but if you use the right ones, you’ll barely taste them. Plus, you get the added benefit of extra nutrients.
- Spinach or powdered greens
Step 4: Scoop Some Protein
One or two scoops should be all you need. I use Metabolic Drive by Biotest.
Step 5: Select a Nut or Seed
Aim for 1/4 cup of nuts per shake.
- Walnuts, cashews, almonds, nut butter
- Flax, hemp, or chia seeds
Step 6: Pour Some Liquid
How much depends on how thick or thin you want it. If you have a weak blender, more liquid makes it easier to blend.
- Water
- Chilled green tea
- Unsweetened almond milk
Step 7: Choose Your Topper
This step is optional, but it nicely finishes off any shake.
- Dark chocolate, ground coffee beans, coconut, oats, granola, cinnamon, vanilla extract
Putting It All Together
Here are two of my favorite Super Shakes (although I do experiment a lot and try a ton of different combos).
"Berry Blast"
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
- 1 cup frozen, mixed berries
- 1/2 cup fresh spinach
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 tbsp raw, mixed nuts
“Chocolate Peanut Butter Bomb"
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 scoops chocolate protein powder
- 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
- 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
- 1 tbsp raw, mixed nuts
What To Do Next
Drink 3 Super Shakes every day.
If you’re having trouble gaining muscle, three Super Shakes a day will give you a much-needed kick in the ass.
Think it’s too simple or (gasp!) too easy?
That’s the whole point.
The trick to making real change — like, say, building 70 pounds of muscle — is to focus on one thing at a time and ignore all the other shit that’s constantly coming at you.
Drink three Super Shakes today. Do the same thing tomorrow. Keep doing it for the next two weeks.
Then let’s talk about what else you can do.
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Need Some More Muscle-Building Recipes? How ’Bout A Free Gourmet Nutrition Cookbook?
Paul and John Berardi over at Precision Nutrition have generously donated 2 free Gourmet Nutrition Cookbooks. And here’s how you can win one. Simply answer the following questions:
Have you tried to gain muscle before? If you succeeded, what did you do? If you failed, what can you do better next time?
Let us know in the comments. On Friday we’ll pick two people to win a free copy of the Gourmet Nutrition cookbook, just for sharing their thoughts.
Want more help gaining muscle?
On May 4th, the Scrawny to Brawny coaching program is going live. Over $20,000 in prize money, world-class coaches (like JB and Paul), and individual daily lessons written by yours truly.
Last year’s group gained over 1,600 pounds of muscle in six months. This year’s program is slated for a full year and is guaranteed to sell out within a few hours. If you’re a skinny guy who’s interested in building muscle, I highly recommend you check out 5 Muscle-Building Transformation Stories, an article I wrote profiling 5 regular guys who went through the program.
Comments for This Entry
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Amazing transformation. This article regarding setting small goals and building up from that point is exactly what I needed to read. I find I will start a bulk program by trying to consistently eat more, but by two weeks or so I fade out after a few days of not following that diet. Thanks much
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I've tried putting on weight in the past with mixed results. Over the past 4.5 years, I've put on a total of 35 lbs. Not too bad, but at the end of the day, I still only weight 145 lbs. I've boosted my calorie intake to 3500 but find it hard to maintain that using solid foods. I'll have to give some of these super shakes a try!
Great post Nate! -
Great advice. Paul is a great guy with a big heart too.
Nate, remember going to dinner with some of the PN crew and Paul stopped off to eat before he stopped in to eat? That was the best example of dedication I've seen in a while.Yeah, that was awesome. Essentially, guys, Paul got a foot-long Subway sandwich on the way to dinner. Dude ate it in the cab. Unbelievable.
Nate Green
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Here I am sitting on the locker room bench of my gym. I just banged out push press, ring dips and ring chest flies. Tomorrow I hit sprints and lots of foam roller. My training overall is very on point (in fact I'm a personal trainer and own my own biz) you'd think a guy like me would be able to put on muscle, but I've been trying for 12 weeks and not gained a pound. Sure I've gotten stronger but like all young guys I want to look as good or better than I can perform.
So what I'm going to do right now, instead of going straight home. Is drive to the super market and take action on this one step. Thanks a lot!I saw your post on Facebook with your Super Shake materials. Way to take action, man.
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Q:
Have you tried to gain muscle before? If you succeeded, what did you do? If you failed, what can you do better next time?
A:
In high school, I went from being skinny-fat, to skinny. In grade 12, I was 5'11, 155lbs, and I knew I wanted to play football, but I was too small. I tried doing cross-fit style workouts, and lots of running, but that didn't work. I started spring training for football, and I was always SO HUNGRY after practice, so I would come home and stuff my face with potatoes, vegetables, meet, and lots of milk. At this same time, I started doing the workouts in Robert Dos Remedios' Power Training. I gained about 10-15 lbs in 2 months. Football season ended, and I lost 5lbs.
When I went to University, I had my own kitchen, and I decided to eat exactly how Mike Roussell recommended in Remedios' Power Training. In 4 months, I weighed 185lbs. That's 30 lbs in one year.
I plateaued at 185lbs for 2 years and decided I wanted to get bigger. I followed the diet in Berardi's Scrawny to Brawny and gained 10 lbs in 3 weeks. My goal is to reach and retain a solid 200lbs. -
I gained 10 lbs over the last year. Changing my workouts every 6 weeks and eating like a pig helped a lot. I would still like an additional 10 lbs so I need to up the training intensity.
Do you think it's the training intensity? Unless you're currently doing infrequent light-weight training, I think it has more to do with your eating habits. Just a thought.
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Saw a little about him at PN the other day and wanted to know more about him. Good post.
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What worked for me was following Joe DeFranco's Built Like a Badass program.
It worked so well that my suit jacket was too small through the shoulders.
Oh well...... -
Nice transformation!
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Paul and Nate,
This is a fantastic article. Soooo many scrawny guys (and people in general) think one of two completely wrong ideas:
1. Building muscle is easy.
2. Building a muscular physique is impossible.
This post addresses both well.
Keep up the great work, both of you.
Tim -
i think the importance of goals is highlighted in the above post. To be honest i am highly doubtful that he consumed around 2400 cals to look like that.
Obviously his goals have changed over time and it doesnt necesarily come down to eat more, although that is a large part of it, changing your training to suit your goal. Running 22 miles will have a great impact on the calories consumed to increase in weight and that ultimately led to the look he had in the first picture. I have had this issue with numerous clients focusing on gaining lbm only to be completing endurance type running/cycling. They ultimately need those calories to reach there goals, conflicting goals just dont work. Rant over. Anyway great post nate!! -
As always, Nate, great post! I've recently read The Hero Handbook (twice). Inspirational to say the least, and the same goes for this blog post. I'm at a career turning point in my life, and at 32 years old I'm realizing now is the time that I need to do something! I'm taking small steps towards a large goal. Posts like this as well as your Handbook have helped motivate me, keep me focused on each task at hand, and continue to pursue that ultimate goal. Thank you!
Thanks Jay! Much appreciated.
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I was on the UWO triathlon team with Paul waaayyyy back in the day! He was a machine then with the tris, and look at him now! A machine with the iron!!! I love the transformation-- he looks so much healthier. Not to mention, I would bet his energy levels are much improved and day-to-day activities become much easier with some mass on your frame. Kudos, Paul. You've come a long way and you look fantastic! :)
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I never really had much problem gaining weight, my problem was that that weight was probably 50% fat and 50% muscle. As a FFB (former fat boy) I really enjoy eating, so the calories weren't too hard. I made my biggest and leanest gains when I cleaned up my diet and added a quick HIT bodyweight workout everyday to supplement what I was doing in the gym. This little change leaned me out while adding pounds to the scale... in other words I gained muscle and lost fat at the same time.
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Wow, amazing transformation. He's seriously ripped now. Great stuff, very motivational.
Have you tried to gain muscle before? If you succeeded, what did you do? If you failed, what can you do better next time?
I'm continuously trying to do it. I'm eating a lot of food every, going close to 4000 calories right now. The weight is not going on much. I guess this habit of pouring in three Super Shakes every day might definitely be worth a try, because it's beginning to get really hard to eat that much solid food.
I'm definitely not giving up; I'm still super-motivated, because I love this stuff. I love trying to figure out how to do things better. I'm sure I'll be able to discover something that helps me become bigger. I just may have discovered something: Super Shakes.
Right now, I'm at about 165lbs -- it's obviously not super skinny compared to 135lbs, but I still unconfident when going to the gym. I guess it's not helping that I'm wearing a shirt that makes me extra skinny. -
Have you tried to gain muscle before? If you succeeded, what did you do? If you failed, what can you do better next time?
Here’s what I did
I agree that not eating enough is definitely one of the biggest muscle gaining mistakes. But for guys that are not an ectomorph I think the second biggest mistake is not being consistent with their workout. That's my number one advice, be consistent. I seen far too many guys quit after two months or so and their number one excuse, "Man I've been training for two months and I haven't seen any results, this shit doesn't work." What they don't know is that building muscle is a long term process. It takes more than a couple of months of training.
So in the end if you want to see results you've got to stick with it for the long run. This is how I did it. First I chose the number of time I wanted to workout in a week (preferably 3-4), then I stuck to it and I literally mean it. I didn’t let anything slow me down and I did have my fair share of obstacles to overcome which includes two herniated disc that prevented me from doing any form of squat or deadlift. But hey, I didn’t give up. I analyze my situation, figured out what went wrong, and I got back to work. No squats or deadlift? Fine I’ll do some lunges. And at the very least I did manage to build a solid upper body during my days of injury. So my advice never ever give up and stay consistent with your program (even if it’s a crappy program). -
Nate, thanks for posting this, it's both inspirational and actionable..my favorite kind of post :-)
In college, I was down to 137lbs after a bout of depression during a very bad semester. I was about 22, and decided to buckle down and bulk up. And it worked. I went to the gym like it was my job. I carried a cooler bag around with food I'd cooked ahead of time, and I drank weight-gain shakes religiously (man, those are bad for you, but they work). I went from 137 to 155 in about 3 or 4 months. I maintained 150-155 at around 13% bodyfat pretty much for the past 7 years. Then I got into Triathlons, and teaching spin classes. Last summer, I was around 147lbs, but around 6-7% bodyfat. Once the summer was over, I got my intake back where it belonged, worked with Cressey's Show and Go program, and finally broke 160. I'm back in summer mode, but now I'm at 154lbs at 6-7% bodyfat, a gain of about 6lbs of muscle. Not the kind of crazy numbers that Paul had (yet), but I can tell you it makes a pretty noticeable difference at 5'-8" tall.
So, here's what I have learned. Consistency in diet is EVERYTHING. The body is such an incredibly precise machine; you cannot trick it. You can't skip meals, you can't eat things that are off limits. You totally jeopardize your progress when you do.
Now I'm gonna break out the blender and give these shakes a try! -
I've tried to gain weight several times in the past, and I've failed for the following reasons:
1. Not eating enough. I feel like I'm stuffing myself, but I tend to compensate by eating less the next day.
2. I tried to go slow and thereby hopefully avoid gaining too much fat. The result instead is just not gaining much weight at all.
3. Not training hard enough in the gym. Sure I've trained hard, but not really pushed myself, so that my muscles didn't demand as much of whatever extra calories I was taking in. So more of the calories were available for fat.
4. I'd often start feeling "fat" and sabotage the weight gain because I wanted abs.
5. Probably too much cardio, too intense and too often. It would ruin my recovery AND sometimes make me too worn out to lift, so it mucked things up twice as much.
So to get it right this time:
1. Eating more, especially more fat, and being willing to feel stuffed. Second helpings and calorie-dense foods are my friends.
2. Forget the idea of gaining muscle without gaining fat. A few lucky guys might be able to do it, but it's not something you can depend on. Do one thing at a time and do it well.
3. Pushing myself much, much harder in the gym. FORCE the muscles to grow, not just give them an opportunity to think about it.
4. Forget the abs. I can get lean once I'm big.
5. Cardio within reason. Not an hour every non-lifting day!
6. Shakes!
PS: Following your post in which you talked about your Vibrams, and your example videos for the Hero Workout in which you're wearing them, I checked whether they're allowed at my gym, and to my pleasant surprise they are, so I wore mine the last few workouts and really, really like the feeling of it. Thanks for the inspiration, Nate! -
Hi Nate,
This is my first post on your site and before I answer your question I would just like to thank you for what you've got going here. I've been reading your different articles and there's a lot of information that I'm going to incorporate with my own training and lifestyle.
As for my experiences with gaining muscle... Up until June of 2010 I was not active at all. I weighed in at 255 and it certainly wasn't muscle. Since then I have lost 80 lbs and have started strength and conditioning training at a local gym, Fun Intelligent Training in Concord NH. So far I have gained about 6 or 7 lbs of muscle and am hoping to see that increase with the use of the info you share here. Thanks again and keep up the good work!
JimThanks for commenting Jim. Welcome. :)
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Have you tried to gain muscle before? If you succeeded, what did you do? If you failed, what can you do better next time?
My whole life I have tried to gain muscle, whether it was for a sport or just to know when I wake up and look in the mirror, I'm going to say, "Woah, you look f***ing awesome." I have both succeeded and failed at gaining muscle, I have tried all different methods. I have counted calories, stuffed my face, and have taken supplements to aid muscle gain. I'll tell you what I have learned, supplements will never make anyone any bigger without eating enough calories each day to gain weight. Supplements are just that, supplementing nutrition. Another thing I have learned is counting calories is too time consuming (and weird), and in the end it makes you nervous to eat anything above or below your set calorie constriction. The best way I have gained muscle is by just eating. Not letting myself get hungry, but never gorging myself either. I ate about six or seven meals a day (mostly comprised of whole food, with some super shakes thrown in there for a quick fix). The best way to gain muscle, is the only way to gain muscle. Eat, lift, sleep, eat, sleep, lift, eat, sleep... -
"Have you tried to gain muscle before?"
Oh, yeah.
I ran track in the 7th grade, and sucked. I swam competitively in 8th grade, and sucked. I was on the wrestling team my Junior year in high school, and sucked.
I spent the summer between my Sophomore and Junior years in college back in 1982 weighing in at around 145 at 5' 11". My parents thought I was on heroin.
Did Ellington Darden's "BIG" in late 1991 and put on over 20 pounds of almost solid muscle in six weeks by eating any thing that didn't move fast enough for me to wrestle it on to my plate. My parents now thought I was on steroids because I'd put on about 30 pounds in six months, going from 165 to 195. Can't win with those people.
Kept going until I was finally an overstuffed 215 before realizing that my wife was taking my eating habits as her own. She had feminine equality in mind; if I ate a plate of food, she had to have the same thing on her plate; portion control and macro nutrient profiles be damned. She bulked up while I did. Not pretty.
So now, twenty years later, we've reversed roles. I eat what she eats so she can't complain that I get some thing she doesn't. So I'm down to around 165, which was about where I started in 1990 when I got serious and consistent in my lifting. I've come full circle. But even with that weight loss, the 165 I carry today is a very different 165 than I carried back in 1991. Completely different, indeed.
I know it's expensive to buy food and new clothes that fit and all that, and to take the teasing of those people who gain easily (or have no goals to begin with), but it's completely worth it. I didn't start until i was almost 30, and I'm almost 50 now. I had a 20 year ride where I was no longer the skinny little guy and single handed moved a lot of sofas, washers, driers, and at least one gas oven. It's true what they say about the weight room being the world in microcosm; the confidence you learn in the gym does indeed transfer in to the "real" world. -
Wicked transformation - I've personally always had a middling success when trying to build muscle and I think it has always been largely to do with a lack of sufficient caloric intake.
When I was in university I went from 125 to 145 in about 6 months going to the gym 3 times a week. My workouts were decent (all 3x8, mostly free weights, some cables each workouts focused on two muscle groups but I didn't have any squats or deadlifts as part of it) and I did gain a fair amount of strength so at the time I thought I did pretty well but when I look at what someone can do in 6 months with less time spent in the gym I'm pretty pissed off at myself that I didn't know about how many calories I needed to add to my diet. -
I've definitely tried to gain muscle in the past and have both succeeded and failed. When I succeeded I ate massive amounts of good simple food and hit the gym religiously. When I failed usually I still ate well, but not enough quantity. Eating right and eating enough is always harder than the working out, because it's a commitment all day every day, not just 1-2 hours four times a week...
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At the beginning of this year I was determined to make a serious effort toward putting muscle on my 160-lb frame. Having always been lean, I started off on the gallon-of-milk-a-day (GOMAD) diet while performing one of Mark Rippetoe's basic strength programs. Within four weeks I had put on 14 scale pounds and looked much better overall, but I was tired of the bloated feeling with consuming so much daily milk. So I cut the daily milk down by 50-75% and have tried to get more calories elsewhere. My body composition has improved (i.e. less fat and more muscle), but the scale hasn't moved much since I quit the GOMAD diet (about 2.5 months ago). I think adding 3 Super Shakes per day is just what I need to break through my plateau and ultimately get some much-needed calories.
On a side note, I'm just starting Month 3 of Nate's Hero Workout, and it is HIGHLY recommended. I feel healthier than ever and my strength has skyrocketed. Very balanced and challenging program.Glad you like the program! Thanks for the shout-out.
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To add to the above, another thing I've learned in my struggle to gain muscle is that eating enough isn't simply a "diet" or an "eating plan," it is a LIFESTYLE. Adjusting to cooking and eating so much was much harder until I realized that this is how I'm going to be eating for the rest of my life. Now that I understand this, my routine is much easier and the cooking/eating doesn't dominate my entire day anymore.
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Sorry but either you are a genetic freak or you took anabolic steroids.
This type of weight gain is just not possible for the average person not matter what training/diet type. Research, on high level athletes, has concluded that on average a person can put on 2lbs a month. Your boy here has done double that.
I don't know why you display somebody who, has either lied about the duration, the fact they may have used steroids, or at least the fact they have hit the genetic jackpot, in a post. This is completely unfair of those people who will read this and believe this is possible for them.Thanks for your comment. And you're certainly entitled to your opinion. However, Paul certainly did not take steroids.
Good genetics? Probably.
He also did something most people never do: he picked a program, figured out how much he needed to eat, and focused his entire life around it.
I'm not sure if the "research" has been done on that type of dedication.
Also, the point of the post is to inspire and give you an actionable step you can use immediately to start gaining weight. Sorry if you see this as "unfair."
-Nate -
Thanks for another great post. When I was 18 or 19 I started a weight-lifting program and started to see decent gains quickly. Unfortunately, partying took priority over training. So I pissed my 20's away. Now I'm 31 and partying is taking the back seat to good health and fitness. I haven't started a training program yet because I've been researching. I've read many negative articles about too much research and not enough action, but I'm glad I did it. If I hadn't I would have started some really complicated lifting and eating routine which I probably would become frustrated with, and I don't think getting into good shape should stress me out. It's not that I haven't been working towards my goals in the meantime, I've been talking my dogs for 2 good long walks a day, and do some bodyweight workouts 3 times a week. Now I feel capable of packing on some serious muscle. What I've read by you and several like minded people reminds me of something my 7th grade teacher taught me, but I forgot. The kiss method, keep it simple stupid! To start off with, I'm going to go to the gym 3 times per week with an A,B,A-B,A,B routine (do I make sense?) with 3 exercises for day A, and 3 exercises for day B, and HIIT for cardio on Saturdays. I will monitor my progress everyday, but after 6 weeks I'll consider how things have been going, and decide what to add to my routine. That workout routine plus 3 big meals a day, plus 3 supershakes, and snacking on fruit and veggies throughout the day is something I can stick with until my body needs more. I admit that I'm a bit slow in getting started, but for some reason it's been really tough for me to go from being a lazy beer guzzler, to an energetic health and fitness enthusiast! (yes I'm being sarcastic, lol) It took a lot of words to explain, but my new routine sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Maybe I should tell you more about myself. Just kidding! Thanks for all of your great blog posts, the Hero Handbook, and 5 lesson e-course. I wish you all the best in everything you do. Cory
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It's amazing what a little growth hormone can do isn't it.
If he truly gained 70 lbs without growth hormone or steroids congrats...Again, see my reply above.
No steroids. No "funny stuff." Just a sharp dude with good genetics who followed a plan religiously.
Now, he teaches it to other skinny guys.
-Nate -
I've tried gaining muscle all my life to no avail. This post though inspires me. It makes me wanna do something to better my self and literally become my own hero. It also proves that you can't just sit on your lazy butt and search internet forums and training websites all freakin day....you gotta get to work! That's what Im doing from now on: WORKING! Thanks Nate
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What if you enjoy running for fun or the thrill of a 1/2 marathon now and then for fun? How would that change your approach to regular weight training and food intake?
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This post really hit home with me. I try to put on weight, but never succeed mostly because I work a lot and never have time to eat nearly enough. Most days, it's breakfast at a deli, lunch only if I have time, and whatever is in my fridge for dinner. I tried to drink 1-2 protein shakes a day, but that gets old quick and I never saw consistent results either. This Super Shake idea sounds promising, and worth giving a try, but I have one question...
My work schedule does not allow any time for blending shakes through out the day, so I was wondering if it's possible to make all three of them the night prior and bring them with me in the morning. Would the shake still have the desired effect even though I'd be drinking them possibly 12-18 hours after blending it up? Thanks for any advice, on top of what has already been provided of course! -
To the point people are making of his transformation being borderline impossible. First, he was underfed and "over ran" sort of speak. Likely a bit underweight.
Second, is it possible that a persons beliefs and their results are related? Is it possible that if you think a thing impossible that it is? Or is that just hokey talk from the new agers?
Maybe, just maybe, focus and eating better will improve your results and that may be the point. -
Its a great transformation, and no doubt about it, he looks really good now. A massive improvement. However, as someone who DOESN'T take steroids but trains with 5 people who openly take them and talk about them, I know for a fact he is on steroids. Everyone here should know CLEARLY they will NEVER EVER make those kind of gains not on steroids. A more realistic transformation from a non-steroid user would of been better. Other wise keep up the great work. And I'd also like to add that steroids won't do that for you, he's worked very hard its plain to see, and deserves credit, no doubt he would still have had an impression transformation without them.
You know "for a fact"?
Really? Huh. I didn't know that you and Paul knew each other. :)
I appreciate your comment, man. But you certainly do not have the facts. -
Hey guys...great feedback so far, keep it coming! We're excited to send out a few free copies of our Gourmet Nutrition cookbook, as a special thanks for sharing your advice and experience.
One more comment. To the few cynics out there, suggesting that it's "impossible" to gain this kind of muscle without drugs, all I have to say is this...try telling that to our 11 Scrawny to Brawny finalists from the last S2B coaching program.
Here's a link:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/s2b-grand-prize-winners
These 11 finalists gained nearly 300 total pounds during the program; an average of 27 lbs each in just 6 months.
Sure, you could assume all of them were genetic freaks or took drugs to achieve these sorts of results. And it's your prerogative to do so. But maybe, just maybe there's something else you're missing here. Maybe good coaching + the right program + the right eating + social support + real dedication can accomplish "the impossible."
Just check out these five stories, if you don't believe me:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/five-muscle-building-stories
In the end, I'm not really here to convince anyone of anything. That's not my job. Instead, my job is to help over-fat people drop body fat, despite previous failures (via the Lean Eating Coaching Program) AND to help over-skinny people build muscle, despite people's opinion that it's impossible. And, in the last 3 years we've helped over 7,000 people do just that.
I'm very proud of what we do. And the fact that some will suggest we're "cheating" is great. Because it means our coaches and our programs are doing something special. -
@Roland I don't think that's hokey new age talk at all. One of Henry Ford's most popular quotes is, "Whether you think something is possible or impossible, you are right.". I may not have got that quote exactly right, but the message is the same. He didn't come up with that idea on his own, I've read similar ideas from ancient Greeks, in the Bible, and various other sources that come from ancient times until present day. Have faith, if you want to achieve something, you have to believe you can, and come up with a plan that doesn't leave room for failure. Lack of faith, planning, and commitment is the path to failure. Like Nate said, Paul organized his whole life around achieving his goal. I know I can't get the same results as him, because I won't center my life around building muscle.
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You got it @Corey. Believing something is impossible makes it so. Believing something is possible makes it a maybe.
I know Paul. He didn't take juice, despite those that "know for a fact" that he did.
What I get out of Paul's story, and in talking with him, is that a person with focus, focus on one thing at a time, gets massive results. (pun intended). It really is simple, not even that difficult, it is just rare.
This has inspired me to get cracking at three super shakes. I'm a lean eating coach with a fairly new goal of adding some mass. Let's see how the next two weeks goes! While I could pontificate all I want, I'm instead going to take action. -
Over the past few years, I have been going through my own transformation. I was overweight and out of shape. I made some life changes and dropped down to 170 pounds, which I maintained for about 6 months. At this point I got tired of being scrawny (fat scrawny really, as I still had a bit of a gut.)
Last June, I decided that to really be my best, I would need to pack on some lean muscle mass. The major changes I made were 1) Started taking protein shakes regularly (similar to this articles suggestions). 2) Switched from non-fat milk to hole milk. (Seems real obvious when trying to add mass right). 3) Continually increasing weights. 3 pretty simple changes, although I suppose continually adding weight to your workout is simple progression, not really a change. However, doing these 3 things has helped me significantly. I was able to put on about 40 pounds of lean mass in 6 months, and have been basically maintaining since. Right now, I am around 210 pounds, and my waist is just as slim (if not slimmer) than when I was 170.
Now I am working to get down to the 10-12% BF range (currently probably 18-20%). Nate's Hero workout has definitely increased my training intensity. I am currently seeing very slow fat loss while keeping my weight stable (still making lean gains - Nate's Program is Awesome!) -
Because this post has the chance to devolve into a mess, I want to make sure everyone is on the right track.
Fact: Paul had an amazing transformation.
Fact: Paul did not take steroids.
Also, as JB posted above:
"But maybe, just maybe there's something else you're missing here. Maybe good coaching + the right program + the right eating + social support + real dedication can accomplish "the impossible."
Being critical or asking pertinent questions is fine as long as we're respectful. But I won't let this get outta hand. :)
And now back to the whole point of the blog:
Guys, if you want to gain muscle, try drinking 3 Super Shakes every day consistently. It'll work wonders. And if you want more help, consider checking out the Scrawny to Brawny coaching program.
-Nate -
I have both failed and succeeded. Failure was mainly from lack of real commitment and going through the motions with everything. Including workouts and nutrition. Additionally lack of education and following muscle mags for pro bodybuilders didn't help.
Success came from making gains in size and strength a true priority and making it enjoyable. I switched training (with a trainer's help) to three days a week, with old school compound full body workouts, and ate as clean and as much as possible without weighing food and still keeping a normal life. I also slept and rested more, cut back on the partying and made some dramatic gains in size and strength. -
This is a great post! Thanks for this one. I love to hear from people who have actually succeeded in their goals, because it's so easy to lose motivation and get caught up in everything else that's going on.
I've definitely been following the slow and steady route to getting big. I find it pretty tough to jump into something full tilt and make it stick, so I usually only end up taking on one habit a year. But it's worked so far: in 2003 I weighed 135; after a couple of years of going at things the entirely wrong way, I managed to get to 150 by 2007; now I weigh 174 and am going for at least 180. That's almost 40 pounds, but it's taken me 8 years to get there.
There were two things I learned along the way that have helped me get where I am now and, I hope, have provided the foundation to do better every day...
For one, eating. I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that I really need to eat more. It's so obvious now... Of course, it's tough. At first, it's always a real struggle to cram an extra 1,000 or so calories down. Then I learned to love shakes (and I'm definitely going to try to have more and better ones each day after reading this article). And now I've found out that your body adjusts... It used to be that if I stopped consciously eating big I'd lose 20 pounds without even noticing. At some point, though, my body started to get used to the amount of food and I get ridiculously hungry if I don't eat as much as I had been, so I don't lose much more than 5-10 pounds, like my "reset point" is higher. Am I the only one this happens to?
Another thing I learned was to lift like I meant it. It's pretty easy to not want to increase the weight on the bar until you're comfortable with it, but the whole point is to be uncomfortable and shock your body into growing. You have to sort of kill yourself to grow - just not to the point of actual pain.
So thanks to you, Nate, and you, Paul, and all the other smart folks who are willing to give good advice to us tough cases.
Now if only I could learn to follow it without protesting... -
Nice work there man. Hands down for making a change.
I've trained the wrong way for about a year and half or so. I also didn't eat enough, but I lost all the fat I have. I'm not just a skinny guy or so, I can easily put some fat on my body. Past October I learned how to train the right way, I always isolated too much and never used free weights. I tried a full body program for about a month and half, and it worked reasonable! Since past December I found out I was actually not eating enough. So I have gained some muscle in the times I was not eating enough, but nothing tremendous. Now I am want to be extremely lean for when summer starts, but afterwards I just want to put some huge muscle! I've always kept learning how to improve my fitness life, but I too wanted to do too much at the same time. I'll keep it simple for now!
But after all this time I can definitely say that working out is a way of life for me. It sets my mind free and I just love it! I am positive that oneday I will achieve the body I want to have. :D -
Why when some has an awesome story people can't be happy for those who are succeeding?I knew steroids would be mentioned in this blog,what people are really saying is because I don't have the dedication and the balls to see things through to my goal nobody else can....just because you can't do something does not mean its the same for the person standing next to you.what you guys really need to really make a impact on yourself is to get 'inspired'.......or you could just point the finger at other people and try mocking their hard work.well done Paul!! Awesome blog nate!
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Something that you can add to these shakes is canned pumpkin. Pumpkin is incredibly good for you and loaded with carotenes and fiber, and hardly anyone eats it consistently. I add three tablespoons to my shake and I can't even taste it. You could also add some cinnamon for some added insulin sensitivity too. Again, I can't even taste it. Amazing transformation by the way, damn you ectomorphs that get to eat 5000 calories a day!
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As far as whether or not I've tried to gain muscle. Yes, I have before. I went from 180 to 205 in a short time, but I like to call that being a beginner. Since then I've only dialed in 5-10 more lbs (over a 4 year span). My limiting factor is definately diet over training. Worrying about gaining a bit of fat here and there and whatnot. Ironically enough, I just went back and re-read some of JB's nutrition articles on Sciencelink/jb.com to get a hold of the situation.
These shakes sound good though. One question though, I'm not familiar with eating raw ground coffee bbeans. Any considerations I should make before randomly chomping on them?I actually just had a few freshly roasted coffee beans today. (I visited a small roasting facility for my next blog.)
As long as they're fresh (like, less than two weeks old), coffee beans can add a tasty kick to Super Shake. -
I never get sick of hearing this transformation story and trust me, I've probably heard it the most besides maybe Paul's brother.
I'm Pauls roommate. Also his best bud. So likely, I know him better than anyone else here.
I'm shocked by Paul's transformation. Most of you are probably shocked by it, too. Some of you are so shocked that you think it's simply untrue. That puts a smile on my face. A big one. I smile because I know something you don't: what day-to-day behaviors are required to make this sort of change.
You see, the beauty of living with Paul is that you get to see what it takes to make massive change. You get to see the determination, the effort, the energy that truly goes into this sort of transformation. And you get to see it repeated, day after day after day.
This story is remarkable simply because you don't see many (if any) people making the same daily commitment required to change. They may put out a few weeks effort and then get swayed into buying four donuts from Timmy's or get bored of following a strict plan for so long. Paul doesn't. And that's the difference.
For anyone who thinks this isn't achievable, than I invite you to come to Vancouver, live with Paul for a while, and try to out work him, out discipline him, or out effort him. You'll probably meet your match.
Within this story is an opportunity to see what's possible when you apply yourself intently over a sustained period of time. The only thing left to do is ask yourself whether you're willing to commit to drinking 3 super shakes a day, day after day after day. -
Have you tried to gain muscle before? If you succeeded, what did you do? If you failed, what can you do better next time?
Yes. I used to be not just "skinny-fat," but "fat-fat." My immediate focus was dropping the pounds, and I did so successfully. After going from 230 to 190, I was still not happy with my physique. I still don't think I was "skinny-fat," but maybe "medium-fat"; regardless, I was not happy with my physique. I dropped all cardio in favor of established routines (Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting, Build for Show) and starting eating more food, more frequently; after a few months, I also started supplementing with whey protein, creatine, fish oil, and Opti-Men multi-vitamin. Over the course of several months, I built myself from 190 to 220 lbs, at the same waist size.
Right now I still have some pudge to get rid of, and would like to be a bit more chiseled--I have a good "base," but I wish my arms were bigger and stomach was smaller. I am doing "Nate's Hero Workout," to build a bit more muscle, followed by the Villain transition to get a pump, and then jumping into "Final Phase Fat Loss" to hopefully pummell remaining fat into submission. I'm hoping this can help me put on some finishing touches to the last going-on-two-years of work! -
I'm a naturally skinny guy, base weight of 150 pounds, jumped up to a lean 170 in two months by pounding in snacks and meals every two hours. I believe it keeps my metabolism running and continually fulfills my nutritional requirements. With that being said, eat right. It was tough since I'm a full-time medical student, but little changes (eat more frequently, even if it was a small snack) made a big difference.
Another noteworthy difference, would be simplicity of my muscle building routine. I cut down the bullshit elaborate 1 hour routine to 30 minutes by focusing on deadlifts, squats, bench-press on day A, and squats, chin-ups,shoulder press on day B.
step by step, not matter how small, is moving towards your goal. -
Hmmm. I was a bit like Paul. Ran all the time. Started to move into weights - but saw no difference really. 'Cause every little bit I gained, I burned off. Duh. Then my knee started to give out. Dropped running. But I was intimidated in the gym - did some machines, stayed on the periphery. Made some modest gains. Enter a 78 year old(!) mentor at the gym, that showed me how to do free weights - then I made better gains. It wasn't until I started doing the bigger compounds (bench, squat, DL, etc.) that I started to make real gains. That, and eating more and better quality (dropped the no-fat crap!). So I started around 138 - and now I'm about 162ish. Now that's over 3-4 years; slow but sure. I'm happy with it, but always room for improvement!
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HEY GUYS!
The man of accusations is here. And smiling, ear to ear, like a kid opening the greatest Christmas present (in this case, compliment) he's ever received.
A few things about me:
- I've never taken steroids. My training partners, co-workers, friends, family... anyone who knows me will vouch for that. This is not some conspiracy.
- I'm competing in my first EVER bodybuilding show (a natural one - The IDFA BC Classic) in just a few weeks. If you're in the area, please come out and support me! It'd be awesome to meet ya.
- I don't use a microwave. Too shady a concept.
- I threw out all my old soaps, shampoos, sprays, and cleaning products. Too many troubling chemicals.
- The first time I laid in a tanning bed, I wrapped a sock around my balls. I'm that afraid of stuff I don't understand.
- This is probably a sad thing to admit, but I couldn't name 3 steroids if I tried. Diannebol (if that's how you spell it?) is the only one I ever seem to remember.
Does this paint a picture of someone you imagine doing steroids?
The problem I see with these comments is not one of a personal nature. It's criticisms like these that I don't take to heart.
The problem - and this is what really saddens me - is the lack of hope in the cynics who have pre-decided what's possible, and what's not.
I can't convince you of my legitimacy. I furthermore won't even try. Beyond all of the second-references this world could provide, you'll stand by your convictions either way.
But I will challenge you to examine your beliefs. Examine your premises, and the underlying philosophy by which you live.
Because this - above all knowledge this world can provide - will ultimately determine your level of (muscle-building or otherwise) success.
Thanks for the interest, guys. It means a lot, especially today - on my 25th birthday.
Now go blend some Super Shakes! -
By the way, if you'd like to learn a little more about my transformation, you can check out a few links here:
http://vimeo.com/11068275 (sorry for the poor quality - I never expected to use it)
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/s2b-coach-paul-profile -
Happy Birthday Paul, and thanks for the awesome idea! Do you think it would be ok for me to blend the shakes the night before and bring them to work with me? I don't have time, nor a blender, at work to make them during the day. Do you think they would still have the intended result even though I'd be drinking them 12-18 hours after blending?
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Hey guys,
I don't think there's anything more that needs to be said, but I'd still like to speak my piece. It is saddening to see how people refuse to believe that a natural change like this is impossible, and they'd be right if they tried undertaking a transformation like Paul's with that kind of mindset. The fact that some may attribute his transformation to steroid use may reflect on their own personal responsibility. This amazing process all started when Paul decided it wasn't impossible, took responsibility for HIMSELF, and dedicated his every fibre to self-improvement without the aid of any funky substances (beyond those nasty green spinach shakes he used to try and feed me, UUUUGGGGGHHH...)
As Paul's brother and as one of the few who witnessed this insane process from the very beginning, you have to understand the dedication that went into this. Paul was scoffed at and questioned every step of the way for his fanaticism when it came to diet and exercise, but he never broke focus and stuck to his habits. He's living proof that the system works if you stick to it, MAKE SACRIFICES and NEVER give up on yourself.
I love Paul and couldn't be more proud of the changes he's gone through. I'm so incredibly fortunate to have such a solid role model to look up to and such an incredibly inspiring person to have as a brosef. I can't wait to see what he'll go on to do in the future because I know I'll be right alongside him for the ride...
AL VAL -
Hey Nate and Paul,
Great work on your transformation, I went out and got ingredients to make shakes like these the day I first read about you. Will it be a magic bullet? maybe or maybe not but I feel like it will definitely help me take in more high quality nutrients throughout the day.
As far as the posts about how you actually accomplished this, Id like to ask you if you did anything else during this 18 month period. Did you have a job? Go to school? Have a girlfriend? Im not trying to hate on your success at all, I just feel like the people who are writing comments about steroids may be forgetting the fact that you did nothing but train and eat for 18 months, at least that's what I assume you did. Since I have a job, go to graduate school and have a girlfriend it would be nearly impossible for me to gain like you did but I'm going to try my best and see what I come up with -
Great blog.
Would love to see what an entire day of eating looks like for paul? -
Apologies for my post before; I was neither trying to take away from the fact that he has obviously worked incredibly hard or make the point that he was on steroids. In fact I probably should have commended you on the hard work you had put in.
The point I was trying to make is that the average person isn't physically and genetically capable of making those gains, no matter how spot on their diet or training may be. This is why myself, along with others, are somewhat skeptical about these transformations.
Good on you though - you've worked hard and the results have paid off. Well done. -
@Jon:
Great question! Throughout my weight gain, I was actually pretty busy: An undergrad student, on $1100/month ($500 for rent, the rest mostly for food), with a part-time girlfriend, doing everything it takes to overcome the emotional problems I was facing (depression & an anorexic mindset), and then all of the random obligations and social commitments that unexpectedly take away from your time.
We can be so much more than we are. Develop a vision, and go for it.
Accomplishment is waiting for those willing to go the extra mile. -
When I see this, I oscillate between two reactions, the "holy shit" reaction and the "wow I could never to that myself" reaction. But even if I can only accomplish 30% of what this guy did, I'd already be pretty happy. So to answer the question
>> Have you tried to gain muscle before? If you succeeded, what did you do? If you failed, what >> can you do better next time?
I was an endurance athlete in college, much as Paul was. But despite doing about 20 hours of training per week and eating a lot, I could never put on a lot of muscle. With that type of endurance training, where you're just hitting your body as hard as you can every day, sometimes twice a day, different energy systems are tapped that develop cardiovascular endurance, but in my case, not a lot of strength. It was always interesting to me that some guys on the team had extremely scrawny frames, and others had more brawny frames... what was the difference? we were all doing the same training - was it genetics, food intake, a mixture of both? The guys who made the top boats were not always the brawny ones either, so I was always a bit hesitant to make it my ultimate goal to build lots of muscle - instead, I wanted to be in the power-to-weight "sweet spot". After graduation I stopped rowing, but decided to just stay with endurance training and no strength training. I ran a lot and pretty much remained at my same weight in college, which is about 185 lbs at 6ft 4in - pretty skinny! Now my goals are changing, and I want to develop my physique, to actually for the first time look like a strong, powerful man. Having a freakishly low heart rate and knowing you can outsprint 99% of people is great for training on a team, but in my case they never translated to a powerful looking body. This was a case of constant frusteration for me as people would tell me: "you row? interesting - you don't look like a rower!"
The problem though, is that after having done such intense training for a long period, I felt like I knew everything I need to know about training, which is completely incorrect now that my goals have changed. So it's taken a couple of years for me to both set a new goal (gain at least 15 pounds of muscle to be at 195 lbs) and to accept that I actually need to tweak my training and eating to achieve that goal.
Since about September, I've been following Nate's Built for Show program, and really loving it! The only hiccup I've had is a lower back flare-up as a result of doing deadlifts with too much weight. Since September, I've seen slow but steady gains, although I've only gained about 5 pounds. There have definitely been days where I've thought: "man this is frusterating, when am I actually going to start to see the results, dammit??"
What I've begun to realize is that i simply have not been focusing enough on my diet. Son in the last couple of weeks I've changed this - started bringing some food to work to have 2 meals, taking more protein shakes, reading up on some of John Berardi's material, and becoming much more conscious of what food I am taking. This post just reinforces the importance of diet for seeing the results I want - so as I write this I am already taking a protein shake, and plan to follow the advice to have three per day for the next few weeks! Let's see what happens!! Looking forward to a continuing transformation and reaching ever higher for the unattainable perfection that is the HERO. As my coach would say, "you never arrive - as soon as you think you've arrived, some guy with a shit eating grin comes up from behind you and steals your lunch" So stay on your feet boys, and keep adapting, changing, and evaluating your plans, attitudes, and habits - by bringing awareness to what we want and making a plan for how to get there, the unachievable slowly starts looking achievable... -
Truely inspirational to see these photos and read about your story. I, myself, have recently been trying to put on some weight. Not nearly 70 pounds, but in pursuit of a transformation from 172 lbs to 185 lbs at 5'-9". Preferably I want that to be a lean 185 so I am attempting to shoot past my goal for now then lean out to 185 lbs.
Recently I have had quite a bit of success getting up to 181 by adding snacks of mixed nuts, tuna sandwiches, and lean meat into my diet. Before I would try to gain mass by only eating large portions during my normal meals. The weight gain, however, has really come with sizeable portions during regular meals, and snacking at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., 6p.m., and 10 p.m. I work an 8-5 job so I snack during my breaks, then when I get home from, then before I go to sleep. This, I believe, has made all the difference. I am not having to force food down when eating normal meals, but rather eating 250 calories 4 times a day to get an extra 1000 calories in.
Im going to attempt to get to 190 lbs by the beginning of June because thats when my girlfriend wants to get her eating habits in order so I figured this would be a good opportunity to begin my slow cut down to 185 lbs. I am going to add these shakes in for breakfast and before my workouts to see how my weight moves. If this isn't cutting it, Ill add another with either lunch or after dinner.
Thanks for the extra motivation, great shake recipe, and story. -
Great transformation & solid advice.
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Have you tried to gain muscle before? If you succeeded, what did you do? If you failed, what can you do better next time?
Yes I have, and I did succeed for a while. It was actually quite simple. I have a pair of dumbbells in front of my dresser, and every night after work I would come home, do simple routines like curls, wall squats, and push ups, then change. It became habit, and I was doing it everyday. This continued for about 4 months.
I lost the habit and muscle when I went traveling, because I did not have them with me. I could've avoided it by creating a new routine without dumbbells. Lesson learned?
Consistency. -
I have managed to add 25 lbs to my stiill scrawny 155 pound body. But for a year been stuck at that weight but I never had a job and blamed that on me not being able to gain muscle right now..now that I have job I still am falling short using all the excuses in the world just to make myself feel not guilty for my lack of effort.so basically. I now know what needs to be done to reach my goal....a gourmet nutrition cookbook....armed with this knowledge now im finally ready to unleash some he'll these next few months ....thanks guys
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Paul,
That is really impressive, I guess that takes away a good chunk of my excuses. Time for me to get to work. I will definitely be starting with adding the shakes. -
I had the honor of training with Paul day in and day and day out at Western. Watching this guy bust his balls was inspirational to say the least. I'm ecstatic that he's being recognized for his amazing transformation and passion for helping others!
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I wish everyone who has not worked as hard as Paul and were not as dedicated in their training and eating stop trying to take away from his accomplishments. How many people can say they trained hard and smart without stopping for 18 months straight, not to mention following a strict diet plan while doing so. Just because you have trained on and off for years and aren't as big or as muscular as Paul doesn't mean that he has taken steroids. When I first got to college I lifted 6 days a week and ate constantly. I would not go 2 hours without at least having a snack and I was able to gain 25 pounds of muscle and no fat in less than 5 months without steroids or supplements (all you can eat at the dining hall was the secret haha). So to everyone out there who wants to gain muscle and get in better shape if you are dedicated to your workout, rest, and eat all day gains like this are definitely possible.
Thanks for another great post Nate. I really enjoy your website and how you inspire us to continue not only our weightlifting goals but all other goals in life. -
@pmci, Don't apologize. Just shut up. Your comments have nothing to do with drinking three super shakes every day. And they don't give the proper respect to guy who put himself out there for us to question and be inspired by. Your back-handed compliments are like putting lipstick on a pig. Guess who the pig is. Go write your own blog, maybe call it "I'm a Jealous Hater.com?.
Yo Cory,
I appreciate the comment, but there's no need to be rude, man. Everyone's entitled to their opinion.
Let's keep this friendly.
-Nate -
Your the best Paul! I'm definitely gonna try those smoothy recipes, I'm so bored with my standard snack of a protein shake with a handful of almonds!
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Is that your caloric intake even on non-training days?
Also is there a height weight ratio that would be optimal? At 5'7 I am sure I would not look being so big -
@Cory
The point of allowing comments is to allow criticism, questioning and compliments. I am entitled to voice my opinion on this subject as I've transformed my body and know how hard it is to do. Once again (it was my fault the first time) you missed the entire point of my post, it was never take away from the hard work he had put in. It was to point out that he made gains that are not possible for the rest of the population.
Am I jealous? No. I know the dedication it takes to get where he is and I place value on other aspects of my life. I do have great admiration for both his physique and work ethic though. -
Paul,
Your story is truly one that is inspirational and really made me question my former beliefs.
When I first saw Paul's transformation photos. I didn't believe it for one second. The first word that came to mind was: "impossible". I thought that he must of taken steroids, had a false before and after shot, or did something that was short of very hard work/rock solid dedication.
The reality is that, to achieve of goal of that magnitude, one needs a high level of consistency and effort that many of us are lacking.
It is extremely difficult to make those changes, I have struggled with a similar issue. I'm currently making the changes one day at a time.
I used to be an almost marathon runner like Paul, until knee tendinitis took me out of the game. Oddly enough, I ate a lot of food, almost 3,000 calories if not more (rough estimate). After the injury, I got into other sports that are much more fun and fulfilling (triathlons, tennis, ultimate frisbee).
Within the last 8 months I've gained 7lbs of muscle. Every week I use a skin caliper and measure my weight. Measuring only takes 3 mins, yet it has gone a long way towards determining whether I'm
achieving my goals.
These last few days I've made the adjustments of: drinking A LOT more water and only water, having a least some mixed vegetables with each of my 6-8 meals, and now having the 3 super shakes everyday :-)
Thanks for the inspirational post Nate and thanks to Paul for sharing his remarkable story. -
Paul's transformation is quite inspirational (to say the very least)!
I like the idea of taking that first step. It's often the hardest step for people to take, regardless of how much they want to make a change. Making it a "no-brainer" makes it that much easier to step out there and move closer to your goal. Great stuff!
-Tony -
my sophomore year of high school I put on 40 lbs in 6 months. I can't say it was all muscle but a substantial amount of it was. My maxes soared and it helped me gain a starting spot for Varsity football and now I am a D1 athlete. How did I do it? I ate everything in site. I would eat breakfast every morning. Eat a snack before lunch. Eat lunch. Eat something small right after school. Lift drink my protein shake after I lifted. And then eat dinner at night. And most of the time I would eat a snack before bed too. I had barely any idea of what good nutrition was at this point so I can hardly say I ate clean, but it worked. Over the course of the next year I managed to put on another 40 lbs coming into my senior season at 285 being the strongest guy at my school. I remember I used high volume workouts in the gym hitting a lot of sets for a lot of reps. Until I adopted Joe Defranco's WS4SB template the summer before my senior year. I think ultimately it was the eating and the fact that was the very beginning of my lifting career so any kind of routine would have packed on the pounds.
Love your post Paul,
Matt -
Great article, good reading to pass the time. It reminds me when i first started working out at MUST (Missoula Underground Strength Training) I weighed 200lbs even. I remember Mike looking me up and down and giving me the look like "Really this kid wants to play college football." Within two months I have bulked up to 230lbs with out even touching anything other than protein shakes and the food in our college cafeteria. Cool thing too is that as I was gaining weight and training hard I was lowering my body fat percentage and getting cut. After reading this article I wonder where I would be at now (cutting back on the eating back in december) if i stuck with the diet I was on, could I have been just like this guy?
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Wow, way to go & bust your rump! What in the world did this guy do to build those amazing Serratus muscles? They're a finger deep! DAMN!
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Thanks to everyone for their comments! Paul, JB, and I picked two guys to win the GN cookbook:
David
Joe H
Check your email guys!
-Nate -
I first met Paul in the spring of 2009 at the UWO gym. I was introduced to him through a mutual friend as we were attempting interval training for the first time – still one of the hardest, if not THE hardest, workouts I’ve ever done. Later that day, my friend showed me Paul’s transformation. It immediately caught my attention and two thoughts came to my mind: 1) it IS possible to gain muscle as a skinny guy; 2) I've got to get to know this guy in order to get some advice.
Next time at the gym, I confronted Paul and asked all about his transformation and how he did it. You’ll never meet a more approachable guy who is willing to help anyone succeed with his or her fitness goals. He told me about this book, Scrawny to Brawny, and how it changed his life. I went out the next day and bought it, promising myself I will strictly follow it this upcoming summer. I took down Paul’s email and we kept in touch throughout the summer as he was traveling Australia, giving me tips and advice to gain some mass.
I left UWO in April 2009 at 155 pounds and came back in September at 185. Seeing Paul’s reaction for the first time was priceless - he was happier about my transformation than I was!
To this day I’ve never met anyone as passionate as Paul - he truly is chasing his dreams, doing what he loves, and not letting anyone stop him. We’ve become great friends over the past few years and I look up to him in many ways. He showed me anything is possible if you really want it. This gave me confidence in a lot of things, allowing me to become the person I want to be. -
@ Hudson:
Haha Sounds like a testimonial! Thanks dude. Your 30-lb summer gain was awe-inspiring.
@ John:
My training day intake was 5,000-5,500 calories, and my non-training days were about 4,500. It was a constant battle, equipped with an alarm that would go off in my pocket every 2 hours, prompting me to eat. I obliged about 90% of the time (even, on a few occasions, while writing exams). It was comical to watch, I bet.
@Michael kerley:
Keep an eye out for it, and in another month or two, I should be up and running with a blog of my own. I'll post a day's worth of eating then!
Thanks for the interest guys. Catch you again soon. -
It's pretty easy to accuse Paul of doing steroids as a way to make yourself feel better about not having his dedication or focus.
I've known him for six years and the worst thing I've seen him put in his body is...........probably brussell sprouts mixed with pesto. It smelled disgusting. -
great post.. jb's an amazing coach and there is a reason hes a consultant to so many other succesful people.. its easy to point fingers at people for your own lack of dedication to attain your goals its much harder to do what paul did in applying his knowledge and sticking to the programme and achieveing his goals.. great work guys...
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Hey Paul, question for you: What do you recommend those of us who can't go home mid-day and can't carry a blender around with us do for that mid-day shake?
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I was reading an article on GSP where he was talking about how desire creates talent and talent creates opportunity. This could not be more true for Paul, at one point; frail, weak & lacking confidence. Paul had what few have, a burning desire to be fit, muscular, extremely healthy and most of all change his outlook on life. He craved this and wanted it so bad, he went out and achieved it. His nutrition and workouts are spot on to fit his bodies needs psychologically and physically. All the while doing so with a full course load at university. He has become very talented thus created the opportunity for himself through dedication and hard work to work with very acclaimed industry professionals.
So ask yourselves what you are doing to change your body, your mindset and your views. If you set goals, achieve them, don't just write them down for the sake of doing it, actually follow through. What are you willing to give up? Paul rarely if ever drinks alcohol, continuously reads to further his understanding about the body and mind, while doing what he loves to do. This can be you too.
Everyone who reads about the transformation that Nate posted can have their own opinions, but if you are inspired by Paul, I challenge you to do exactly what they have said and down those 3 shakes a day everyday, work out a bit harder, push yourself, establish goals and achieve them, and surround yourself with friends and individuals that will push for you to succeed and aid in you doing so. Just go get what you're after, no excuses or complaints, life is tough but achieving your goals makes life worth living. -
Hey Nate,
Firstly, congrats to Paul... I saw him at perform better last year, first impressions were he was very confident and rightly so, well done to him.
It says in the blog "don't blame genetics" - whats your opinion on that? Do you believe in body types or habits? Its difficult to argue against either.
Thanks -
So, this might sound really uninformed, but what is ART? Paul listed it his "snapshot" of then and now, next to foam rolling and yoga. What does that stand for?
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Hey Brad,
I believe it stands for Active Release Techniques, which is a soft tissue movement based massage technique which is used to help with active recovery of damaged, injured or sore muscles. I am not sure if this is a spot on definition, but I hope it helps! -
Great transformation and determination to succeed. I recall my biggest transformation was my freshman year in college. I came in at 145 lbs and was able to leave that summer at 175. The best part was that many of my friends joined in and we drank about 2 protein shakes per day in addition to the massive eating we were doing. I can’t say it was very clean, but it worked. We also did a lot of sprinting and compound exercises. Thanks for sharing this story.
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I've tried to lose weight and build muscle for the last 7 years of my life, always doing the same shit, starving my self, and doing 10 min of (REALLY easy cardio) on a bike.. Needless to say, i haven't gotten any results - but then, THEN - i finally woke the f*ck up, and realized that this wasn't the way to get in shape.
I quickly joined a gym, stopped eating sweets, and got a hold of a personal trainer, that put together a somewhat awesome program for me, with exercises i love to do, and with results i can feel AND see.. :D
So now i've lost 43 kilograms (Metric-system for the win!) and on my way to getting a body i can be proud of! :D still have around 10 kilograms to go, and then i'm truly happy..
And a little note to this weeks article on super shakes - they sound freakin' delicious, one thing though... I have really no idea where i Denmark i am supposed to get "Unsweetned almond milk, powdered greens, or Flax, hemp, or chia seed" but i guess i just gotta keep my eyes open..
All the best from Denmark!
Lasse! ;) -
Nate, this is definitely one of your best articles to date. I think I'm like most people, I've seen bouts of success mixed with failure. Overall, I feel I'm on the winning end however. I think the biggest thing is just staying committed to what you set out to do. I've been "trying" to do 2-3 shakes a day, but it's been a little laxed. This was the kick in the ass I needed. Now that I've seen it in print, I'm gonna commit to it. Thanks again for all the support and I hope Paul knows how much I appreciated the article. Let's finish what we started.
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@Ian:
Nice question. What I'd normally do on campus (or while at work) is to pack everything I would've wanted to blend, but just eat it separately. So instead of a SuperShake, it'd be protein powder in water, a bag of almonds/cashews/nuts, a bag of celery/carrot sticks, a couple of bananas/apples/oranges, and some fish oil caps on the side. Excuses? Overcome. "Where there's a will, there's a way."
@Nathan:
I LOVE it when people bring up genetics. It gets me excited like Tinky Winky.
To me, genetics are usually the final scapegoat to the "Ugh. I give up!" resignation.
Sure, in some cases (like bone, tendon, or ligament length), you've gotta work with what you've got, and there's not a lot of visual change possible. But as far as muscle-building and fat loss go, there's FAR more variability in our genes than most of us will EVER express. And I guess that's a part of what my story represents.
So with WHATEVER genes you've got, if your goal is growth, you know what to ---- HEY! Who stole my SuperShake?!?
;-) -
@Niko
Thanks. -
Hey Nate, this has nothing to do with the article but I wanted to ask you something. Can I get the book "The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition" with out buying the certification that comes with it? I have been wanting to read the book, it sounds really good from what i've read on the PN website. Seeing as how your friends with John Berardi I thought i'd ask to see if there is any other way I could buy it.
I don't think so, man. I'd suggest getting the whole thing, though. The videos and online database that comes with the certification is priceless.
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What a transformation! That is a lot of weight to put on in 18 months but I would have to assume that you never really worked out before this period.
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Greetings fellow exercise-enthusiasts,
Nate, don't know you, but I'm hearing many great things about you. I must be another to thank you for this amazing post by Paul V. And congrats for everything :).
@ everyone. I witnessed the majority of his transformation. His dedication. If a man resorted to extreme measures to reach his goals, is he not a true hero? If he endures hardships, suffers to attain his purest ideals, endeavours to be faultless, is he not a true hero? Paul Valiulis is such a hero amongst ordinary men. He struggled to prosper over one great enemy: himself.
I've seen Paul working out and I honestly believe genetics has nothing to do with this. And the mention of steriods? I never believed people truly took these. Then I learned people do. It's a shocking realization. Even more shocking ~ Paul Valiulis is a 100% natural, hard-core, determined hero. A group of us took some time off and came back to my house in the countryside for some R&R. What did Paul do? Eat. EAt. EAT. And flex his muscles in preparation for the war to come. He is always sound of mind and walks as through a procession of $100 bills. Jovial.
I train people, as a living, to destroy physical enemies. I offered, on many occasions, to teach Paul some of my unorthodox, yet highly effective, conditioning methods. I got a few people to stand on exercise balls with me. Paul never veered off course for even a moment. Until his transformation was over, he didn't dabble in other programs.
To attain what Paul has requires more than the dedication he possessed but the destruction of your own ego. Then the subsequent reconstruction.
I'm proud to be a friend of Paul Valiulis and am overcome with ecstasy that he changes peoples' lives (and bodies) for a living. -
Whilst frustrating when it comes from friends/family/co-workers who think protein shakes are some kind of performance enhancing drug, the accusation of being on steroids when it comes from guys who train and should know better must be pretty rewarding!
Awesome achievement, Paul.
At 5'8, going from around 140lbs at approximately 10-11% body fat to 175lbs at the same body fat in around two years I'm pretty pleased with my progress so far, but ideally I'd like to add another 15-20lbs or so of lean mass in the next couple of years. The most difficult thing for me isn't the eating but the cost of the eating! I'm already spending around £85 (~ $140) per week on food for me alone and this doesn't include eating out!
Would be interesting to know roughly how much the rest of you guys are spending a week/month? -
@Paul_H:
My current grocery bill is about $170/week at Costco, with a massive ($300) online supplement order once every few months. When I was going through my S2B transformation (in University), I was getting by on about $130/week, at the cheapest, lowest-quality grocery store in town.
True story: When I was about 6 months into my weight gain, I was getting a little squeezed with my funds, so when the local discount foods store was trying to get rid of their old nuts, I jumped on the opportunity to capitalize on 'em. I got 40 lbs of Almonds for $2.50/pound. They measured it on the meat scale in the back, and it lasted me a few months. Discount and bulk purchases like that can always get you by when you think your situation's impossible. -
@Thomas:
I was the typical high school kid. Good at running, but not very strong. I went to the gym only once or twice a week, to do arms and abs like a girl. Little did I know how little I knew.
If you're off and rolling with your 3 Super Shakes/day, I'd highly recommend picking up the Scrawny to Brawny book next. That should give you a full meal plan to shoot for, when you're ready. -
I need to get hold of some of that unsweetened almond milk
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Great advise.
I always have trouble getting on muscle, as I've been skinny all my life.
Will follow this advise and let you know....
Chr -
Great post, Nate.
I'd also like to weigh in here, in lieu of detractors.
I was fortunate to see Paul almost daily for 4 years as we busted our asses at UWO's dungeon gym.
I've seen skinny Paul, I've seen chubby Paul, and I've seen post-S2B DIESEL Paul. We've done everything. Sprint intervals, 45 minute mobilization sessions, max-effort squats, Turkish getups, crazy ninja moves (karate in the garage?). You name it. Paul's friendship and support is a big part of the reason I've been able to make it to an international level of powerlifting.
I've seen him overcome eating disorders and injuries that end most lifter's careers. These things stop most people dead in their tracks. Not this guy.
There is no peer-reviewed, quantifiable measurement for sheer-ass-kicking-drivenness.
In the words of Jim Wendler, "You want science and studies? I've got blood, sweat, and chalk." Paul has these things. If you've never eaten 4,000 calories in a day then continued to eat another 1,000 despite hating the taste of food --- try it some time.
Then do it every day, train hard, and listen to to the good people over at S2B and PN. -
not to derail the conversation, but what sort of strategies would you all recommend for those of us that lean more towards endomorphism? i've definitely got more than a few pounds to lose, but i'm not really 'round' or anything (probably actually closer to being a mesomorph), and I would like to put on some more muscle. I'm afraid that if I increased my caloric intake levels to those that my ectomorph brothers require (you guys have it hard: I would say it's harder to go from skinny to jacked than it is from portly to jacked) I would end up round. I guess the core of my question is is it possible to lose fat while concurrently building significant muscle?
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Any thoughts on substituting casein isolate outside of the peri-workout period instead of whey in a super shake? I know JB recommends whey isolate and carbohydrate powder in workout recovery drinks, but I'm wondering if a slower-digesting form would be better suited to a 'meal shake'.
That being said: I've done the 3 super shakes/day since this post went up and have gained 16 lbs : D -
While Paul's results are very impressive. If I where looking at the precision nutrition program I'd look at the average results rather than the 99th percentile results.
Looks like 1600 lbs for 200 participants gained over 6 months (could be wrong on this), which averages 8 lbs. If we throw out the top ~6% (11 finalists) who gained 300 lbs, the average comes out to a little under 7lbs. So a little over a lb a month gained. You should be able to put that on in water alone with any kind of increased carb intake.
The limitation is always compliance, not genetics. From the results you can see that most people just didn't follow the program.
Now if John could invent a magic pill that makes you comply with diet and routines, then he'd be a billionaire. -
Those are some big gains for 18 months, wow!
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Well the Transformation is unbelievable but I still think it can only be possible with free time and making money is no issue else impossible but I must say Medicines are effective too much effective. If don't believe me check my site you will find the information about it.
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I read through most of the comments. I was assigned to/Paul was my coach on the Precision Nutrition Scrawny to Brawny program. I accidentally stumbled upon the book about 5-6 yrs ago.. Read through it but didnt feel comfortable to get into the gym so I never did anything with it. When I bought the book, I set up something to get free email newsletters, but I used an email address that I send all my spam to. I hadnt been in there in years. Back in 2010, I had gotten married and my wife was a big runner and fan of the gym, although she didnt have alot of direction. She convinced me to join a gym with her. I had a very bad experience with a "Free Session" with a trainer as part of my sign on "perks". I was 117 pounds, thought I knew what I was doing in the gym (I was drinking protein and creatine in the mid 90s and using machine weights), but the guy really discouraged me. I was pissed off and pretty much had written off ever going back to the gym. I was reading through the old PN Newsletters and there was this talk about an Online Scrawny to Brawny program. It was $100 a month and only 6 months.. and they said if I was not satisfied, I could ask for my money back, no questions. So I thought what the heck, ya know?.... So I gave it a shot. I did 80-90% of everything they said.. I trusted them. Hey, it was believable. And if it sucked, I could get my money back.... but it didnt suck. I got to know Paul. Maybe on a business level, but we had a great bond. I consider him a brother. Ive had a lot of health problems in the past. Cancer survivor, muscles moved around, skin grafts, muscles removed, etc.. and in 6 months, I dropped from 14% body fat to 7.4%.. and I gained about 10 pounds of weight, probably 15 pounds of muscle considering I dropped a little body fat. I'm 6'2". I got burnt out on the shakes early in the program. I just wasnt brave enough to experiment with new things. My wife told me late in the program that she could tell a marked difference in my size when I was on 3 shakes a day. Ive got completely off the shakes for several months, but now Im committing myself to 3 a day again... Im ready to get back on the Brawny wagon. Paul is the real deal. I fully trust that he is drug free. I was gaining 1.2 pounds a week when I was on the shakes. I felt the best Ive felt in a long time. If I could gain 1.2 pounds of muscle from 3-4 hrs in the gym and eating somewhere around 3200 cal a day (with the 3 shakes included in that), I guarantee you that Paul's transformation was real. Im glad I stumbled across this program. It changed my life. I'll be 36 yrs old in about a month. And I plan to be brawny before Im 40.
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Great results and a great program.
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Whoa, that transformation is impressive. I think a lot of us can relate to that moment when we finally realise that everything has to change. The problem is knowing how to do it and while we are looking for answers it's pretty easy to end up losing a lot of time, or even the courage we began with. Hopefully in the end we figure out the truth of what Paul is getting at for ourselves. 1 habit, 1 day at a time; again and again and forever again.
Michael -
Oakley Sunglasses You can aour kids.
Cheap Oakley Sunglasses Fresh draws in consciousness constantly will be to fulfill our curious desire,
and aspiration create us to chase just following the aim instinctual. -
I had gotten married and my wife was a big runner and fan of the gym, although she didnt have alot of direction. She convinced me to join a gym with her.
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Nice transformation
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Grappling with the details of so many different individual policies can lead to a strong urge to pick the next one that sounds halfway reasonable. But halfway isn't good enough.Grappling with the details of so many different individual policies can lead to a strong urge to pick the next one that sounds halfway reasonable. But halfway isn't good enough.
COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
Eric 6:29pm Apr 19, 2011