Here it is guys! The interview I promised! ;) A well known figure in industry of building muscle/losing fat, Lyle McDonald from www.bodyrecomposition.com, agreed to answer questions about training and nutrition for skinny guys. The guy doesn’t tolerate BS, is straight-forward and knows tons of stuff. He has written some great books (like The Ultimate Diet 2.0 or The Protein Book) about nutrition. Guy has helped thousands of people with his advice already and now is sharing his knowledge with you! 
Here are 10 questions I gave him. Some are a bit blasphemous (which makes the interview more interesting and useful!). Enjoy the interview!
From now on my goal is to keep things when building muscle as simple as possible. I just read a book about nutrition from one nutritional specialist (he is good, I trust him) but it was so hard to read because of those damn medical/biological/chemical terms. I don’t like to read that stuff, it’s so boring. The content is great and if you get it, you have a better knowledge of how your body works instantly and it gets easier to gain muscle (a bit).. I am sure that one can tell the same stuff in simple people’s language. Maybe using metaphors would help. So from now on I am on a mission not only to help 1000 Skinny Guys go Buff but also to create a simple, easy to understand, step-by-step guide/system on training and nutrition. I like to keep things simple and I think visitors of this blog love it too.
Today I’m posting the last entry to Lessons From the Great: Arnold… here will be more lessons in future but it’s the last one from the Austrian Oak. He describes the benefits of bodybuilding very well and I probably couldn’t do it better. It’s not about muscle though. It’s about what bodybuilding and workouts teach you and how that can help you succeed in life!
Every day, I see people running
around, all excited, wanting to do things, feeling pent up and
unable to find any release. I’d probably be that way if I didn’t
work off my frustrations in the gym. I’ve come to realize that
almost anything difficult, any challenge, takes time, patience and
hard work, like building up for a 300-pound bench press. Learning
that gave me plenty of positive energy to use later on.
I taught myself discipline, the strictest kind of discipline. How
to be totally in control of my body, how to control each individual
muscle. I could apply that discipline to everyday life. I used
it in acting, in going to school. Whenever I didn’t want to study I
would just think back and remember what it took to be Mr. Universe—
the sacrifice, the hard work—and I would plunge myself
into studying.
Bodybuilding changed me entirely. I think I would be a different
person now if I’d never trained, if I’d just worked somewhere.
It gave me confidence and pride and an unlimited positive
attitude. I can apply my success to everything.
I think the most important things I developed through bodybuilding
were my personality, confidence and character. When
you have a well-developed body and you’re confident, you see
people bending your way, wanting to be on your side, wanting to
do things for you. When I was young I suffered from the same
insecurity every kid has. But as I transformed myself into something
strong and unique, discovering I could do one thing well,
confidence came to me naturally. And that gave me a great deal
of security.
I hope this resonates with you guys and you see that it’s more to bodybuilding than just looking good, having big muscles or beach body. It can change your life for the better, that’s why I’m a HUGE fan of bodybuilding and will always recommend guys to workout !!!
Best of luck,
Adrian
Time for another lesson from The Austrian Oak! The more I read the book, the more I like the guy and more I see why he was so successful as bodybuilder and is so successful in politics! If you haven’t read it yet, there is the first part of the series here . So let’s go on to the second lesson now. ;)
Besides his determination another thing that stands out is that he pays a lot of attention to the mind in life and bodybuilding. From the beginning he had a VISION of what he wants to be , how he wants to look. And he went after it. Look at this quote:
Today I’ll post about one of the greatest, if not THE Greatest Bodybuilders ever – Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’m reading a book about him, The Education of a Bodybuilder. I’m looking for lessons that could be helpful for me and all guys who want to gain muscle. There definitely are things we can learn from those who achieved a lot.
I read half of it and one thing that stands out to me is how determined he was. How he was able to keep negative comments not influencing him. From the VERY START, even being young, he was determined to do what he DECIDED to do, what he wanted to do, what HE felt was right to do. I’ll use this quote from the book, at that time he was like, 15-16 years old:
