The Last Secrets of Bodybuilding

By Sal Banuelos

About the Book
At last, the world’s finest gym trainers, nutritionists, bodybuilders, and philosophers have been gathered together and placed in a single book. Not only for building muscle and training for bodybuilding competitions, this guide also teaches readers how to obtain superior mind, power, health, lifestyle, and soul.
Written to teach anyone from young teens to adults who are interested in getting in shape, how to exercise properly, eat right, and choose healthier lifestyles, this book is intended for everyone—whether they have minimal experience or exercise regularly. Readers will learn how to maximize their genetic potential, how to instantly build muscle and burn fat, how to attain a perfect metabolism, and much more.
Complete with eating plans designed by author Sal Banuelos for any weight category and muscle-building level, one will discover the best diets and supplements of all time, tailored to their own individual physique and workout routine. Workout routines designed for growth are introduced in easy-to-follow charts. Rounded out with separate chapters on supplements, health, and nutrition, The Last Secrets of Bodybuilding stands out from any other book of its kind on the market.
About the Author
Sal Banuelos is a certified personal trainer who has also managed a nutritional health store business for years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Company
• Release date: Mar 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887297934

Book preview

Acknowledgments

This book is dedicated to my Gym Master, Vince Gironda, a man I cannot thank enough for his fine achievements, wisdom, and work. I am and will continue to be a humble student of yours.

I would like to express my appreciation to all of the bodybuilders, philosophers, nutritionists, and gym trainers included in this book, who, I think, are the greatest men in history, and whose knowledge has inspired me and millions of other people to choose healthier lifestyles.

Last but most importantly, I would like to thank God and my family, who have been there for me and always will be.

Author’s Preface

Who is this man standing on the rock? I have never seen anything like it. Small waist with wide shoulders and chest. Arms full of muscle running down the forearms. Are those diamonds under his legs or are they calves? I will just call them diamond calves. These were the words that came to my 15-year-old mind when I first saw a bodybuilder. It was a famous photo of the one and only, legendary Steve Reeves. From that day on I decided to become a bodybuilder.

–Sal Banuelos, author

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At a young age I was fascinated with learning about the sport of bodybuilding. It seemed that it was not like other sports where someone needed to follow all the instructions and rules. In bodybuilding, every bodybuilder had their own unique ways of building muscle, which got me even more interested. I began looking for answers, which took time and effort. I did not have the luxury in my teen years of hiring a personal trainer to train me and answer the many questions I had. Searching through media, magazines, exercise books, and interviews of champions helped to an extent, but what definitely helped a lot more was when I began testing my own self and experimenting with different exercises, routines, diets, and supplements. Within weeks, the answers were there.

 The purpose of this book is to teach you how to build muscle size and shape the body, by demonstrating the most proper and quickest way of shaping possible. It includes never-before-seen techniques on how to cut fat rapidly and gain quality muscle, with simple habits that can be applied to your daily lifestyle. It also explains how the usage of supplements can help you reach your goals faster. Interested in entering a competition and wondering where to start? Look no further, it’s all right here! There is also an informative discussion about the usage of steroids and other drugs.

 My intention is to build a Mr. America or Ms. America winner, literally from scratch, by training any individual and turning him or her into an almost super-human. This book is designed to give anybody an understanding of exercise and nutrition, far greater than that of any other book or resource I have gotten my hands on.

 John Grimek, an undefeated bodybuilder and powerlifting champion from the 1950s, was asked in an interview what was his secret behind all the success he achieved? He instantly replied, Hard work. His golden secret has stood the test of time and can still be applied today. Regardless of age, sex, or lifting experience, the individual needs to be in good health and have a strong desire to build their body and mind.

 Believe in what I am about to present to you in the pages ahead; give it everything you can and results shall speak for themselves. And you won’t believe, in chapter after chapter, how many secrets had been previously buried underground. Not hidden but, rather, forgotten and now remembered again; the last secrets of bodybuilding, now brought back to the surface in this one-of-a-kind guide.

Important Note: Always be sure to consult your primary care or sports physician before beginning any exercise program.

Introduction

Welcoming the Beginners

The anatomy of muscles, as shown by Steve Reeves

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Surprisingly, I prefer training and showing beginners the amazing benefits of the iron game and how to eat correctly over working with experienced bodybuilders. But even the most advanced bodybuilders that are open to trying new concepts will learn a lot, too.

I will be discussing repetitions (reps) and sets a lot in several chapters. Reps and sets are very easy to learn, and are used to describe the number of times you perform an exercise. A rep is the number of times you perform a specific exercise, and a set is the number of cycles of reps that you complete. For example, suppose you complete 10 reps of bicep curls. You would say you’ve completed one set of 10 reps. A set can be any number of reps, so if you complete 12 reps of a neck press, you would say you’ve completed one set of 12 reps, and if you complete just six reps, then that would be one set of six reps.

 You will also notice abbreviations such as 6x10, for example. This refers to six sets of 10 repetitions. In some chapters I will say 15x4, which means 15 sets of four reps. Simple, right? As we go along it will become easier for those who are just starting out.

 Before starting any lifting program, I highly suggest doing a three-day colon cleanse consisting of a diet of only vegetables. Unsweetened cranberry juice can be added to the menu too, if desired. This cleanse will detoxify toxins and mucus from the colon, so that next time when eating regular food and supplements, the body will absorb them much better. It is good to have yourself a good colon cleanse every six months.

I, personally, will demonstrate through step-by-step pictorial instructions, how to do the best exercises shown in this book to shape the body. I highly suggest watching the videos of Larry Scott, Frank Zane, and Vince Gironda, so you can see how the exercises are done in person. Most of their videos can be found on YouTube.

Why do I prefer to train beginners rather than advanced bodybuilders? Well, one reason is, for those who have been lifting for many years and already spend three hours a day in the gym, it may be difficult to cut their training time to only 30 minutes a day. Also, for another individual who has thrown away the yolk from the egg (the most important part of the egg) it would take time and effort to make that person understand that yolks do not make people fat or increase the risk of a heart attack, and that the egg should be eaten in its entirety. The list is endless.

This book is not intended as a read-it-all-at-once guide in order to consume all the knowledge in one day. Study the eating courses and workout routines. Keeping a copy of this book in your gym bag is a good idea. Regardless of your experience, this book can guide anyone down the same road to success.

 Are you ready to fly with the eagles and succeed?

Chapter 1

Thoughts Behind My Desk, Part 1

"Ninety percent of the people that enter the gym don’t know what they

actually want to look like."

 –Ron Kosloff,

owner of NSP Research Nutrition, clinical nutritionist,

10-year owner and trainer of a powerhouse gym in Michigan

If you are a right-handed person you will notice that your right-sided arm, leg, chest, and shoulder may be slightly bigger in muscle size than your left- sided parts. The primary reason for this is because the right-sided parts are used more for grabbing, throwing, kicking, etc. Many people who notice that their left-sided body parts are smaller will tend to do a lot more exercise on the left side, thinking it will catch up with the right side. I believe in more, but in concentration. Grab a pair of dumbbells for both hands with the same weight, perform any exercise, and concentrate on the smaller area that needs more growth, either right or left. It works faster to bring a lagging body part back to pace when you use both limbs at the same time, rather than performing one-arm or one-leg exercises. Other equipment can be applied, such as machines, barbells, cables, and body weight exercises, but nothing beats dumbbells for this purpose. One-arm exercises, in my experience, are more for shaping a muscle rather than bringing it out in size. The main reason why using both limbs at the same time increases size faster, is because it produces more nerve force. Here is a simple habit that will make a big difference: Think left if you are right-handed and vice versa, and with the unusual hand, perform a typical task you would normally do with your usual hand, such as grabbing the door or picking up groceries. This essentially will force the brain to work differently, and gains will arise.

 Soreness is not an indicator of muscle growth. It can indicate where the muscle is being worked, but this does not mean that more soreness means more growth. In fact, taking 1,000 mg (one gram) of vitamin C before bed will get rid of most soreness for the next day. In my early years I thought that the more soreness I had, the more I would grow; and no matter how hard I trained, rarely was I ever sore. It took me, as it does any beginner, time to learn.

 Higher repetitions increase definition very little, and lower repetitions increase bulk very little. What is going to increase definition a lot more is nutrition, and what is going to increase bulk a lot more is nutrition. It depends on how much fat, protein, and carbohydrates you ingest, when you eat them, and what kind you need to consume, based on your goals.

 Sweating is not an indicator of fat loss, only water loss. And as soon as you drink some water, that loss will be gained right back. Depending on the type of day and our mineral balance, sometimes we may sweat and other times we may not. As one focuses on working out, sweating will become unimportant. Sweating bands that are wrapped around the waist for sweating are useless.

 Get big by any means, but your physique should be balanced. For example, your calves and arms ought to be the same size, and if not then your calves should be bigger. This will make your physique more appealing for judges, others, and yourself to look at.

 It is possible to shape your muscles to obtain such looks as mountain peak-looking biceps, diamond-looking calves, or cannon-looking deltoids – of course while using the right exercises and techniques, and patience.

 What most people really want from the beginning is to lose weight, and for some reason they rely on looking at the numbers on the scale and hoping that they go down. The first exercise most people will do in the gym is either run many miles or ride the stationary bicycle for many hours. First mistake. Next, many people will eat nothing but cereal, fruit, juices, and a lot of carbs, staying away from animal meat. Second mistake. Then they will exercise the abdominals (abs) by doing dozens of sit-ups, thinking that it will reduce their waist. Third and worst mistake of all. If it works, then why change? This, however, never works and many will give up. Perhaps let’s change everything completely. Instead of running we will lift weights to build muscle and, by