Even though I don’t consider myself to be “huge”, and don’t feel completely qualified to
talk about “getting huge”, I’m going to outline a few of the simple methods I’ve learned
thus far on my quest to be the biggest dude in town.

I have always been in pursuit of big, freaky size.  But at the same time, I’ve always
been careful to stay lean.  This is what I call “sitting on the fence”.  You can’t make an
omelet without breaking a few eggs.  Not to say that I haven’t achieved some success.  
Over the past few years, I’ve worked hard, ate clean and still managed to get to a lean
220lbs at 5’10”.  But I’m a strongman competitor and I’m always looking to be bigger
and stronger.

You must want to be big more than you want to have a chiseled midsection.  It’s tough
to let yourself gain a little fat after working so hard to stay lean for many years, but ask
yourself what’s important.  You can always lean out again later.  And if you do things
right, you will be still be bigger when you get lean again.

Eating: this is the single most important thing you can do when you want to grow.  And
I’m not talking about 5-6 meals of chicken breast and broccoli everyday.  You have got
to pound the food into your belly all day long.  It can’t be total junk, but you must
choose calorie dense foods.  Vegetables are not calorie dense, peanut butter and eggs
are.
The staples of a mass gaining diet should be steak, eggs, rice, oats, potatoes, cheese,
milk, whey protein, peanut butter, fish and poultry.  The problem with eating only whole
foods is that you get full very quickly.  It is often necessary to add some “treats” to help
keep your body over loaded.  I usually try and keep my “treats” for after my training or
early in the morning.  By treats I mean, pop tarts, peanut butter and jam sandwiches,
dates, Oreo cookies, etc.  I also love pizza.  I usually pound a large pizza after training
on Friday nights.  It’s to celebrate another good week in pursuit of getting huge.

When I first found out about the “Tate and Wendler” methods to getting “jacked”, I
thought is was mostly in jest.
These are somewhat of a joke, but at the same time, this is what works.  You have to
eat, a lot. Simple as that. I’ve met both of them, they are both fucking thick.  If it worked
for them, odds are, it will work for me and you too.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve had a 150lb guy tell me, straight faced, that he eats
like crazy and can’t gain a pound, I would be some wealthy.  If you can’t gain a pound,
you aren’t trying hard enough, and you sure as hell aren’t eating enough.  Whenever a
“skinny” tells me he eats “SO MUCH”, I pull out an old article by Dr John Berardi.  Back in
high school the good doctor was a skinny bastard, but he put together a diet plan that
helped him gain a good amount of muscle.  He ate continuously, all day.  Every morning
he mixed up a gallon of whey protein in big jug and smeared some PB on a whole bag
of bagels.  He started his day out with a huge breakfast and as soon as he finished the
last bite, he started sipping on the protein and nibbling on the bagels until it was time
to eat again. He continued this process all day, between all of his meals consisting of
beef and baked potatoes.  This isn’t an easy thing to do, but nobody ever said it would
be easy. (I said it was simple)
Supplements can be a big help as well, when trying to gain.  They add an element of
convenience when trying to take in good calories all day long.  Lets face it, you can sit
down and eat roast beef and baked potatoes all the time.  A pre-mixed protein shake
can be a big help when your on the move.  At the same time, I feel it’s important to not
get caught up in the super supplementation mess.  Drink shakes, take some creatine,
but don’t stress over not having the latest and greatest.  If you have the budget, great,
but remember that you need the whole foods just as much if not more than the supps.

Training: it is also important to get your training right.  100 sets of calf presses and
concentration curls aren’t going to make you big and strong.  Train your WHOLE body
with compound movements. We all joke about the guys that only train upper body, but I
see it all the time.  These are the same guys that are stuck at a certain size or weight
but continue to pump the shit out of their shoulders, arms and chest 4 days per week.
There are many great training programs out there that focus on the heavy basics.  I’m
not going to get into all the details but I will tell you that squats, bench press, deadlifts
and clean and press are staples of my training and they are working very well. (Lately I’
ve received a lot of comments about how I’ve gotten a lot bigger from many of my peers)

You can forget about running 5K or the 45mins on the elliptical. Do you want to look like
a marathon runner or an NFL linebacker?  As for cardio training, you can’t totally neglect
it, but keep it short and intense.  If you don’t know about the prowler or sled dragging
by now, it’s time to come out of the cave.  

So to summarize for the guys who still don’t get it.  Eat food all day long, add in some
supplements as needed, and lift heavy weight.  A very simple method, but so difficult for
so many.  Just EAT!

Applying these simple points has helped me gain almost 20lbs since July of 2007, and
my strength has improved greatly as I continue to get bigger.  How do I know I’m
gaining good weight?  My main indicator for the quality of weight I’m gaining are pull-
ups.  Pull ups are a good measure of relative strength.  When I started down the “Road
to Jack”, I could do 13 wide grip pull-ups.  I figured if I gain only fat, my pull-up max will
go down.  I can now do 15 wide grip pull ups and a much heavier body weight.  I know
this is not completely accurate but it works for me.


It should be noted that this article was written while eating a big chunk of pork roast
and some rice, followed by a home-made cheeseburger, that was washed down with
some milk.

Paul “I still feel skinny” Vaillancourt