There are three things you need to know if you want to get big and strong.

1. A stronger muscle is generally a bigger muscle (not always, but usually).

2. To maximize your muscle mass, you need to give your body a REASON to build and hold onto that muscle mass (and the most powerful reason is heavy strength training)

3. Strength is NOT built in a straight line. There is NO way you'll continually gain strength with a linear program. Your body simply does not work that way. You need to use intelligent training strategies that keep the body guessing to keep progressing.

And honestly, this last factor is the thing most muscle programs miss...and I mean COMPLETELY miss.

Yet it's THE single most important consideration you NEED to master if you want to have a hope of getting bigger and stronger over the long haul.

To give you an idea, here's what I looked like when I was 17 years old, before I got into heavy weight training (this pic was taken in the middle of a triathlon)

And here's what I look like NOW...at 41 years old....after 24 years of heavy training (100% drug-free).

You don't build this type of muscular foundation with baby weights and "beach" exercises like bench press, crunches and curls. It takes HEAVY loading using STRATEGIC training approaches to keep the body moving forward, building strength.

And I think the most important thing to note here is this...I DO NOT have great genetics for building muscle...I'm actually an ectomorph (naturally skinny).

YOU can get results like this, too, with the right approach to strength.

So one of the most interesting approaches that I've come across recently is called D.U.P...Daily Undulating Periodization.

It's intelligent programming for high-frequency training... i.e. working muscles and lifts more often than the tired (and kind of useless, in my opinion) "hit it once a week" approach.

I absolutely LOVE high-frequency training, especially when it's done in a SMART manner, like the D.U.P. approach.

Take the bench press for example...hitting it 3 times a week.

You'd train it once for strength, once for power, and once for functional hypertrophy.

An example schedule would look like this:

Day 1 (Strength) - 4 sets of 4
Day 2 (Power) - 5 sets of 3
Day 3 (Functional Hypertrophy) - 4 sets of 8

The reason this approach works is simple...

You're NOT "crushing" a muscle/movement every time...and you're not beating your nervous system into the ground.

In THAT kind of "hardcore" program, your body takes time just to come back to where it was when you started before it can even go beyond that level...and at that point, you're already hitting ANOTHER muscle/movement so hard, it sets you back again.

It's like taking one GIANT step backwards for a small step forward.

It might get you results...(SLOW results)...or it might not!

When you take an approach like the D.U.P. approach that goes for a training stimulus rather than annihilation, you recover much faster and you move BEYOND your starting level very quickly.

You may be taking a small step backward, but it means you'll take TWO small steps forward...and you'll be doing it WAY more frequently.

Sound good?

I've been using this approach for years, and it flat-out WORKS.

It WILL get you BIG and it WILL get your STRONG.

Some info on the D.U.P. Program.

1. It was created by Mike Samuels and Jason Maxwell, two very respected strength coaches and athletes. And I'll be straight up with you...I don't know these guys personally...they're not my "buddies"... ;).

However, their program really speaks for itself. After reading through it, I could see the logic behind it and, based on my own experience with similar methods, I can tell just how effective their approach is.

This stuff is GOLD.

And it's going to give you an education on what it really takes to build muscle and strength for the long haul.

Here are some success stories of guys who are using the D.U.P. Method.

2. This week, Mike and Jason are launching the program online, so they've put it on sale for a REAL 70% off.

3. When you pick up the program TODAY, you'll also get their Bigger Bench Checklist

Have you ever wanted to increase your bench press? Maybe hit 2, 3, or even 4 plates a side? Then you need to know two things:

- The "Gear" you need for a bigger bench. (This includes all your equipment, clothing, and tools.)

- The "Execution". The key cues you need to remember, how to train, and the technique pointers that will help you crush your next session or PR attempt.

Jason and Mike have created a checklist that covers the two points above.

4. If you have any questions about the program, let me know. I'll be back with a more detailed rundown of the nuts and bolts of it tomorrow, too.

Bottom line, though, if you want to get BIG and STRONG, this is a programming approach that I can recommend very highly!

Nick Nilsson
The "Mad Scientist of Muscle"