Those of you that know me a bit better, will know that the hand of cards I have been dealt with in the last 12 years is, well, not (!) a good hand.
Twice now I had very close calls with death and been fighting the good battle non-stop the past 12 years. Lots of pain, kidney problems, liver problems and many other serious health issues with very dark clouds hanging over me.
But you know what, through it all, I’ve put my poker face on and played that hand of cards to the best of my ability! I have grown immensely as a person. Suffering and pain and dark clouds hanging over your future is the BEST opportunity to become the YOU, you never was. Does not matter what your prognosis…you will not exhale that last breath until God decide it is time. Make this an opportunity to look into that mirror and say “I like what I see, I like the heart of the person looking back at me!”. Apart from personal growth it also allowed me to grow in my walk of faith with God. Let this be your moment with God Almighty…believe me nothing brings more peace and hope.
No-one is going to live forever, tomorrow might be your last day, you might be run over, no one knows. So stand tall and stand proud, whatever dark cloud is hanging over you is irrelevant…play that hand of cards with your best poker face and win!
Had quite a few requests to do an article for youngsters who want to build muscle.
Few things are so healthy looking than a young guy with a good aesthetic looking physique!
So as a young guy…what must you do to grow and what must you avoid? (under 16 do preferably just body resistance exercises not weights.)
I am going to give you a quick and easy guide.
The easiest way is to look at what to avoid since this will tell you by implication what to do. Things to avoid is things that will limit muscle growth and even results in smaller muscles! Many guys into their 30’s and even 40’s never learn these basic muscle building errors and they can never understand why they do not put on size. LEARN! By cutting this out of your gym/lifestyle will ensure you create an optimal environment for growth and fat loss from a young age.
15 THINGS TO AVOID by a youngster (over 16) who want to grow muscles:
Overtraining – you cannot train more than 6 days a week. Remember each of these sessions is going to be intense and very hard on the body. The body need at least 1 preferably 2 days a week to recover and build.
Too long training sessions. Muscles do NOT grow in gym. They actually getting torn down and hurt and literally become smaller. In gym is only where you STIMULATE the muscle for growth. Healing and repair must first occur before growth sets in. Never train a muscle still sore from previous workout. Growth occurs outside while your rest and recover. So do not spend more than 60 minutes in gym!
Junk food! What you eat is what you will be. Outside the gym your muscles need the right food to grow…junk food is NOT it!
Too little food. The muscles cannot (!) grow if the body thinks it is in a famine environment…then your body will use the muscles for energy and go catabolic (equals smaller muscles) and only as a last resort use the fat storage. You must eat enough food to grow and to lose fat!
Too little sleep! The most important ingredient to help muscles grow is getting in enough sleep. You cannot expect muscles to grow with just 2-3 hours sleep a night. At least 6-8 hours of solid sleep.
Bad Form – bad form or technique will not stimulate growth and will open the door for serious injury. NEVER throw a weight! Slow controlled movements.
Showing off in gym. The sooner you get the ego under control the sooner you will start growing. NEVER show off. Lift the weight that you can manage in a controlled fashion. You WILL hurt yourself showing off and you will make your name an ass!
Listen to everything everyone says in gym and taking it for the gospel! Be carefull what you believe and to whom you listen. Verify the facts before following someone’s suggestion or trying something new. VERIFY! VERIFY! VERIFY!
Training with the wrong partner. Having a training partner not focused will seriously hamper your success. The training partner you choose must add to your success not take away!
Exercise technique/breathing. Learn to breathe correctly. Positive and negative moves of an exercise must be equal speed. Try and squeeze the muscle when reaching the top of the move.
Good bodies are NEVER created through exercise machines. They are created by free weights. Why? Well very simple: free weights uses and activates all the stabilization muscles which are crucial for a balanced looking aesthetic physique. Machines bypass all these stabilization muscles and result in an unbalanced muscle development…full stop!
Do not trust on supplements to be the answer. VERY FEW supplements actually work. Consider only the following: Creatine, Whey protein, BCAA’s, L-glutamine and maybe a caffeine pill while training. The rest is just money down and empty pit!
Anabolics is not a good idea, especially for a youngster. You got more than enough testosterone and HGH in your veins. USE IT! Using anabolics WILL result in smaller balls and it WILL result in impotence and no desire for sex…just for starters. You really, REALLY need to know what you are doing venturing this road and if you MUST do it, only after you had your kids!
Alcohol! Want a rippling 6-pack? Well this is NOT going to happen with regular consumption of alcohol. Keep it to one day a week and NOT more than 500ml of wine or the equivalent. Alcohol in males create a fat layer around the internal organs and result in a bloated looking tummy which is very difficult to get away. No good body is ever build on regular alcohol consumption no matter what the Hollywood perception is!
Training too light. If you do not stimulate the muscle for growth, no growth will occur. Stimulation only happen when the muscle is challenged. One sure way to do this is to train regularly to absolute muscle failure! The muscle must have at the very least a slight ache the next day…that is a sign that you have done a good job!
I have a blueprint system developed for young guys to create the environment for growth and make optimal use of the high testosterone and HGH levels…have a look here: https://gertlouw.com/my-transformation-secrets/
Quite a few guys asked me what was the biggest impact on my life after I achieved this muscled physique and healthy living success.
Some things changed, like suddenly more people are friendly with you, people have more respect when talking to you and yes, sure…looks like wife loves me more!
But the biggest problem that came with the whole deal revolves around sex, lust and temptation. I had many, many(!) guys, girls, and couples (married and otherwise) that offered me in no uncertain terms…sex. Yes, you heard right, even married couples. And some of these people are incredibly attractive!
Now, I am no-one special. I am certain that any muscle guy or fitness girl, having a high internet visibility, have this problem to contend with. The people making the offers don’t care about what you stand for. That is irrelevant to them.
I’ve been offered gifts, large sums of money and even people that wanted to travel from another continent just to have sex…
Now, believe me I am no “Amish” when it comes to sex. I LOVE sex even some kinky stuff! BUT I have a family…a loving, 100% loyal, wife and a son looking up to me as the leader of the family showing him how a man and a father must live. When I am 80 y/o, I still want to too be able to lovingly look into my wife’s eyes and give her a passionate kiss without having to feel guilty about cheating her and living a life devoid of integrity.
Sure the world reckons what others don’t know won’t hurt or harm them and thus they just do whatever pleases them. Me, on the other hand is not using the world as my moral compass but my moral compass is Jesus Christ. Every evening I have to face God and He gives me my moral guidance.
For me ignoring my rules guiding my integrity is a path of self-destruction. I lose all love for myself and literally start to hate myself. This path always leads to severe depressive states and can easily result in suicide. Believe me I know what I am talking about, I’ve been there. Long ago this was my life and it was a worthless life. After nearly dying at 40 my appreciation and love for life changed me.
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It is not about what the other person do not know…it is about what I know! Not having self-respect is a sickness of our time…and the resultant symptom is free sex around every corner leading a life devoid of integrity.
Am I immune, to these temptations? Certainly not. EVEN Adam and Eve stumbled with forbidden fruit.
If I ever have one prayer request for my fellow Christians, this will be it. Pray that I will be strengthened to keep leading a life of integrity.
Sometimes this can become so bad that I wondered if it was at all worth it. But then I will get this email from someone I have never met and do not know…about how my life and testimonies literally saved him from a path of destruction and how he turn his/her life around…all because of me. And you know what? This makes it a 1000 times worth over. There is no more incredible feeling when someone tells you, because of you, what you stand for and what you said, because of your life and integrity…I was saved!
When you wake up in the morning, what is the first thought entering your mind?
“I wanna stay in bed”
“I can’t face this day”
“My body aches sooo much”
“Life sucks”
“I hate my wife/husband”
Now I am sorry to tell you this, but you are right! The thoughts you entertain in your head is what will make and shape you.
Take the same scenario waking up but instead the thoughts you entertain are:
“What a beautiful day!”
“Today I am going to get closer to my dream.”
“I am so blessed!”
“Life is beautiful”
“Today I will show my loved one I care about him/her”
If you entertain these thoughts, this is what you will become – a positive person with a lust for life that wants to make the world a better place and see the beauty in all.
Our thoughts make or break us. They shapes us into what we become eventually. What is in your heart will be in your actions.
The wonder is that you have FULL control over your thoughts. You decide which thought you are going to entertain and from that thought will spring eventually good or bad, life or death, beauty or disgrace. You have been given the power to control your mind and your thoughts.
But how do I control my thoughts?
When a negative thought enters, put it out with a positive one and entertain the positive one to the fullest. If you continue to do this, your mind will learn to eventually entertain just positive thoughts. As with everything in life, if you do not train something, it won’t get stronger. Like a muscle, the brain and thought patterns must be trained. You need to actively train your mind continuously in this fashion to focus and concentrate on the positive thoughts. Those that apply this wisdom will rise above the rest, and yes, they will look happy and blissfull to the rest because of their positive thought patterns!
This will also become an amazing tool when you want to transform your body and you want to reach for the dream that dances in your head.
We have one life, live it to the fullest.
A beautiful verse in the Bible sums this up perfectly:
Proverbs 4:23 – Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.
