Ha – you know all those goofy little “Confucius say…” sayings, right? Some quotes are real, like:

“What the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others.”

Others are jokes like:

“Man who run in front of car get tired.” (LOL)

There is one saying I really like – not sure if Confucius ever really said it or not, but it goes like this:

“Everything in moderation”.

See, you go too far in any one direction, you’re gonna suffer. And it’s no more evident than in the world of strength training,  bodybuilding, and fitness.

–Wanna get too damn big? Your conditioning, mobility, and many times your overall health will suffer.

–Wanna get too damn strong? Your body will suffer, as you’ll get injuries and put strain on your body and its systems it was never designed to deal with.

–Wanna get too damn lean? You’ve seen all the crazy stuff pro-bodybuilders do to get ready for contests, right?  Do you really think that’s a good idea?

That’s why my muscle building programs – Body Armor – are not only good for building muscle, but:

1 – has a set/rep/load scheme nobody else uses…lets you get stronger *and* more powerful at the same time

2 – builds muscle mass, mainly by letting you pick the exact exercises you wanna use for your assistance work

3 – involves intense conditioning to not only keep you lean, but also keep your heart and lungs healthy

4 – uses different things for the conditioning…stuff that makes you move around…b/c even if you’re big, strong, powerful, and lean…you wanna be athletic (none of this “all show, no go” stuff here)

Body Armor definitely has a ‘everything in moderation’ kinda feel to it…only instead of only being ‘moderate’ (who wants to be just ‘Ok’?)…you get really good.

Maybe the saying should be ‘everything in excellence’?

=>CLICK HERE to excel…and raise the bar…across the board

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard-
Matt “Wiggy” Wiggins
Muscle Building Workouts | Muscle Building Programs | Cardio Workouts | Cardio Fitness | MMA Workout | MMA Training

PS – remember not long ago, I said that my buddy Mick – the 52 year old from Australia – was using Body Armor to prepare for a natural bodybuilding contest? Well, he placed 2nd place! Pics and details coming later this week.

PS #2 – Also be watching for a blog post on a new protein bar I’m trying out…WHOA…this stuff rocks…

So this guy emails me the other day, asking me questions about my ‘Body Armor’ muscle building workouts.

He wants to know:

-why is there intense conditioning included in workouts that are supposed to build muscle mass?

-will Body Armor help him build a V-taper like the legendary Steve Reeves (famous for his roles as “Hercules” in the 1950s)

Well, first of all, the conditioning is included b/c Body Armor isn’t about just getting you big. Being big is cool and all, but
if you can’t move and aren’t athletic at all, then who gives a damn? (Nobody wants to fit the typical ‘all show and no go’
bodybuilder stereotype, do they?)

And ironically, it actually ties into his next question as well.

See, the guy went on to ask what kinda stuff was included for the side deltoids, lats, etc – all stuff to help him improve his V-taper (wide shoulders down to a narrow waist). I told him he was barking up the wrong tree.

If he wanted an aesthetic V-taper, the smartest thing he could do was do the intense conditioning, and lose some weight.

Needless to say, he was emailing me back pretty quick, thinking I was nuts.

Something like a V-taper is all about proportion. Your shoulders don’t need to actually be wide – they just have to look wide when compared to your waist.. So, to do that, you could:

-build super-wide shoulders and lats

or

-lose the fat around your midsection and make your waist smaller

Which one do you think is easier (not to mention quicker)? Yeah, the second one. And when you add good muscle building programs in there (like is in Body Armor), you’re building your shoulders and lats wider *while* making your waist smaller.

Best of both worlds.

Wanna find out how to do it?

=>CLICK HERE NOW for a workout “Hercules” would be proud of

Have a kickass weekend.

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard-
Matt “Wiggy” Wiggins
Muscle Building Workouts | Muscle Building Programs | Cardio Workouts | Cardio Fitness | MMA Workout | MMA Training

One of the questions I get a lot about Body Armor (and honestly, about my other programs as well), is exactly what equipment is needed to do the workouts.

I almost find this question funny now, as just a few years ago, this question would almost be along the lines of being stupid.

You see, a few years ago, all most people really had to do their muscle building workouts with was normal, plain old gym equipment. You know – the stuff that was in their local commercial gym, YMCA, or even the college weight room.

But, since then, a lot of other types of training equipment have become very popular – kettlebells, tractor tires, sledge hammers, and the like.

Then, with the advent of warehouse gyms and the popularity of certain types of fitness programs, you then saw more ‘specialty’ stuff being used – glute-ham benches, bumper plates, reverse hypers, prowlers and sleds, etc.

Now, all this is pretty cool stuff, and can mean absolute kick ass things for your training. (You long-time readers will remember that I wrote one of the first sandbag-based training books on the market back in ’03 – “Singles & Doubles – still available at workingclassfitness.com)

However, it’s caused a problem. So many trainers use this type of stuff (though I think it’s more of a ploy to try and differentiate themselves as being ‘different’ or ‘cool’ than anything), that unless you’ve got access to all this kinda stuff, it’s almost impossible to do many of the workouts on the market today.

That’s why Body Armor is different.

All you need is basic stuff you’d find in any gym, or even a decently equipped home-gym – rack, bench, bar, plates, DBs, chin/pullup bar, etc. Simple stuff.

Body Armor can be done in pretty much any kind of gym or weight room.

Now, can you use all the other ‘cool’ stuff out there in Body Armor? Sure you can. But, by no means is it necessary.

=>Do the muscle building workouts that can be done in *any* gym – Body Armor.

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard-
Matt “Wiggy” Wiggins
Muscle Building Workouts | Muscle Building Programs | Cardio Workouts | Cardio Fitness | MMA Workout | MMA Training

Last week, I sent out a newsletter about a pretty cool feature in my Body Armor muscle building programs.

The feature is that on certain exercises, I give you a basic list to choose from, you can pick and choose whichever exercises you want. Now, the ‘main’ strength & power exercises are specifically prescribed, as are other certain movements for prehab, as well as ‘relative’ strength purposes.

But for a good chunk of the assistance movements, I give you a list of ‘approved’ exercises, and let you choose what you want. This is for a few reasons.

1 – Only ‘good’ exercises are given as options (your leg extensions, cable crossovers, and triceps kickbacks can kiss my ass).

2 – Certain people just like certain exercises. I’ve talked about this before, but my buddy Andy loves DB Rows. Now, I like DB Rows just great, but will almost always favor Bent Over Barbell Rows. Andy, on the other hand, doesn’t like Bent Rows nearly as well. And in the end, it doesn’t really matter – different strokes for different folks.

3 – In the end, how different are many exercises, really, anyway? If you’re using good form, a decent weight for the given set/rep range (and the goals inherent with said set/rep range), and are using the same musculature in the same fashion, then who gives a damn?

Now, if we were talking about using different muscles, a much different range of motion, or a different movement plane, then yeah, I’d get it. A Curl Grip Pulldown on a cable machine is a much different exercise than an old-school T-bar Row that’s just done with one end of an olympic bar in the corner and holding onto the other end.

However, if you’re talking about a palms facing away Pullup, a Curl Grip Chin, a neutral grip pulldown, or any other similar vertical pulling motion, then there’s just not that much difference. Same would go with DB Rows, Bent Over Barbell Rows, Low Pulley Cable Rows, etc.

That also means exercises like DB Overhead Presses, Behind the Neck Presses, and PushPresses are all similar. Lateral Raises don’t belong to that list. Nor do Dips, Shrugs, Upright Rows, or any kind of Bench Press.

When I sent that out to in my newsletter, many readers “got” it. Others…not so much.

I had one guy basically “go off” on me, literally asking me “how stupid are you?” He went on to tell me about the intricate differences between a flat and inclined Bench Press, as well as the differences between how the rhomboids would be targeted in a Bent Over Barbell Row that was done with a wide grip, bar pulled to the chest or neck area, and a Bent Over Barbell Row that was done with a shoulder-width grip, bar pulled to the belly button.

*sigh*

Ok, lemme see if I can explain this. (I really hate this kinda arguments, because there are some people that no matter how hard you try, you know you’re just never gonna get through to them.)

Technically, the guy is right. Would there be a difference in how the rhomboids would be directly targeted in those two different kinds of rows? Sure. Just like there is difference between how the pecs (as well as front delts and triceps) are hit with flat Bench Presses and inclines. Just like there is a difference between a Curl Grip Cable Pulldown and a wide grip palms facing away Pullup.

But here’s the rub – while those kinda differences do exist, it’s more a matter of “putting the cart before the horse” than it is about them being relevant.

Look at it this way – say somebody wants to become a medium distance runner. Not sprints, but not marathons, either – say something like a 5k.

Now, while I’m no distance running expert by any means, I do know that there is definite strategy to be employed when running a race or training. You don’t just go out there and go balls out from the starting gun. At the same time, you don’t just pace the whole thing, either. There are times to pace yourself, times to run a fast clip, a time to really turn it on to pass or catch up with a pack, and a time to kick it into high gear for a good finish. This will vary from runner to runner depending on their own running styles or capabilities, but that’s where a good coach comes in.

So let’s say you decide you’re gonna start running 5k races. Would all these things be important to know? Of course they would. BUT, if you couldn’t even run a 5k in the first place without have to stop and walk for a rest, do any of those strategic race moves really make any kinda difference?

Nope.

Well, all these different kinds of exercises are the same way. Are they “different”? Yeah, they are. But they are much more similar than they are different. So just pick your favorite and go at it. Or, you can pick your favorite 2-3 and rotate through them – whatever you want to do.

If you get to the point where you’ve put on a bunch of size and are concerned enough with your physique (be it for bodybuilding competition’s sake or just plain ole’ vain ego) that the intricacies of these different exercises really matter, then by all means, feel free to add different exercises to your program or broaden your workouts out to the point that you can be more specific.

But if you’re just a dude that’s trying to put on 15 lbs of muscle, get in better shape overall, be stronger/more powerful your sport, or anything else along those lines, don’t worry about it.

Lift hard, lift heavy, and keep your nutrition right. I guarantee the dude that just picks an exercise or two and works diligently on them is much further ahead after 3 months than the guy that’s worried about hitting every single little angle and variation and nuance.

So go get to damn work.

Still not sure exactly what to do?  No problem – I’ve got you covered.  Just hit up Body Armor, and I’ll tell you exactly what to do (giving you the leeway to make some of your own exercise choices) every step along the way.

Just click to “Add to Cart” button to get started:

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard-
Matt “Wiggy” Wiggins
Muscle Building Workouts | Muscle Building Programs | Cardio Workouts | Cardio Fitness | MMA Workout | MMA Training

Ok, this is gonna be short and sweet.

I’ve been hinting around at having something cool in the works for a while now, and in my newsletter last week, I mentioned a ‘contest’. Well, time to find out what all the fuss is about.

Some of you might have seen this on Facebook recently, but in case you didn’t, my latest book – Body Armor – is now listed on Amazon.com! Was a bit of work, but I jumped through all the hoops and got Body Armor up on the worlds biggest internet shopping site. So now you can not only get the electronic version from my website (www.bodyarmorworkout.com), but the hard-copy version at amazon.com here.

To ‘celebrate’ this event, I am gonna give away three copies of Body Armor, the hard-copy book…FREE.

Here’s how it’s gonna go down. First, you have to have already purchased the electronic version of Body Armor from my website (y’all have supported me by plunking down your hard-earned cash, so I wanna help y’all back). Second, you have to have verified your email address when you got your download instructions (I’ve got a list of all Body Armor order email addys verified). Third, you have to be one of the lucky people I draw at random.

Simple as that.

Now, I’m going on a small weekend vacation this next weekend, so I’m gonna do the drawing and order the free copies before I go. I will draw the names at random on Friday, 27-Aug-10, at noon eastern time.

That means if you haven’t gotten your copy of Body Armor yet, you have until then to order and verify your email address. But come noon (eastern time) on Friday, the names are getting drawn. If you haven’t ordered by then, then sorry Jack – tough luck.

So if you haven’t gotten your copy of Body Armor yet, go get it now while you still can, and get a chance to win one of three FREE copies of the hard-copy version of Body Armor as listed on amazon.com!

=>Get “Body Armor” now…and have a chance to win the hard-copy version FREE

Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard-
Matt “Wiggy” Wiggins
Muscle Building Workouts | Muscle Building Programs | Cardio Workouts | Cardio Fitness | MMA Workout | MMA Training