Fitness Facts

He's got Three consecutive Mr. Olympia finished behind one of the greatest bodybuilder in history, eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney. In Arnold's own words, “this guy is an animal.” And he's right. In Rich Gaspari's mind, there's nothing he can't do. Especially when someone tells him so. I first met Rich Gaspari in 1987 before his second assault on his old training partner, Lee Haney, the only man on earth standing between him and the Olympia title – the absolute zenith of any bodybuilder’s life on earth. Of course I knew of Rich; if you were a bodybuilder you knew who Rich Gaspari was. In fact, at the time, you could say I was a fan. I was working for a chiropractor in Santa Monica who specialized in pro athletes. I’d see Rich come into the office every week for adjustments and deep tissue work. He was one of those bodybuilders who left no stone unturned.  All of 24, with the muscle maturity of a bodybuilder twice his age, Rich Gaspari was a brash, cocky kid from South Jersey, with a world class bodybuilding physique, who was so focused on winning the Olympia, he couldn’t have squeezed in another thought if he tried. We got along, I suppose, because I was a brash, cocky kid from New York, who actually admitted he liked the Jersey shore better than the beaches on Long Island. And, of course, we’re both bodybuilders and 100% Italian, with familial roots in the construction biz. We’ve been friends ever since.  Other than the Hudson river, the thing that separated us was the fact that Richy had every right to be brash and cocky. This kid, four years younger than I, had already bagged his IFBB pro card. Doing so at 21 years of age made him the youngest pro bodybuilder in the sport. The icing on that cake came one week later when he won the Mr. Universe, making him – to this day – the youngest Mr. Universe of all time. For the next five years, Rich would compete in 18 pro shows. With the exception of a 3rd place finish in his first Olympia in 1985, in the remaining 17 shows, he took 2nd eight times - three in a row at the Olympia - and won the rest, including the first Arnold Classic in 1989.  This incredible contest history not withstanding, no pantheon of modern bodybuilding would be complete without Rich Gaspari, because of where he, and he alone, set the bar for conditioning. Rich was the first bodybuilder in history to present striated glutes. I’m not particularly enthralled about having to talk about my friend’s ass cheeks here, but they are, nevertheless, pivotal items in bodybuilding history. Those striations set the conditioning standard that would mark the subsequent reign of the 90’s as the greatest era in the history of the sport, and known forever as the “classic era of bodybuilding.” After Rich, no pro bodybuilder’s physique would be considered complete without the conditioning marked by striated glutes. At no time since, have bodybuilders brought the level of conditioning to the stage that Rich ushered in.  What makes these accomplishments so notable is the fact that Rich did not have stellar bodybuilding genetics. As I hope you know by now, genetics is the apex pre-requisite as far as any bodybuilding pursuit goes. What Rich exemplifies is ferociously rare. He overcame what his genetics lacked by out working everyone else. He’d wear out training partners like canyon racers wear out tires. Rich was an absolutely ruthless, unbreakable, animal in the gym and everyone knew it, including eight time Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney, who recruited Rich to be his training partner during his Olympia prep. Lee literally had 7 billion other people in the world he could have chosen for that position, but he chose Rich because of how hard he worked, which he knew, would be how hard it would make him work.  In Lee’s mind, it would be the classic Biblical reference to steel sharpening steel. And, as history tells, it worked. Rich and Lee trained in “the Valley” at the Gold’s gym in Reseda, CA. I trained at the Gold’s in Venice. Even in the days before social media and instant messaging – cell phones too for that matter - everyone in Gold’s Venice would be talking about how brutal Lee and Richy were training in Resida. The members there would call and tell the guys working the desk what they were doing and they’d tell the rest of us. One day, about two weeks before the Olympia, Lee and Rich showed up at the gym eating Tofuti frozen yogurt cones! Phones started ringing all over the world! News of that sacrilege spread faster than a California wildfire during a drought. Such stories became legends.  You cannot possibly be successful as a pro bodybuilder unless you believe, with every fiber of your being, that this is what you’re going to do. And Rich is the classic example of what I mean by that.....  In 1983, Rich took a disappointing 5th in the Nationals. He was determined to come back the next year and win, which would qualify him for the Mr. Universe (IFBB World Amateur Championships) where, if he won, would earn him professional athlete status (back in those days, they didn’t hand out pro cards like candy, like they do today. Becoming a card carrying IFBB pro bodybuilder was a HUGE deal). And, he did. He came back the next year, one weight class lighter and took 1st in the light-heavies, earning his coveted qualification for the Universe in Vegas a week later.  This feat was something he not only envisioned, but also sold to his family, who he wanted to attend. But, it gets better..... Several weeks out from Nationals, while Rich was telling his family to book flights and hotels for that show in New Orleans, he told them they also needed to book flights and hotel accommodations in Las Vegas a week later, because, Rich told them, he was going to turn right around after winning the Nationals and win the Mr. Universe. Not compete in the Mr. Universe, but win it and turn pro. And he wanted his family there to see it.  There was simply no doubt in his mind about that, and he convinced his family to pony up the funds for all that traveling from and to New Jersey. Well, long story short, in spite of everyone telling Rich he couldn’t do that, that’s exactly what he did. And he was the youngest guy to ever do it. “Can’t” simply was not a concept Rich would allow himself to understand.  In fact, telling him he can’t do something is a 100% guarantee that he will. Clearly, a trait worth emulating. 

As long as you're alive, aging is inevitable. Some people don't age well and look like a withered piece of rope by the time they're 50, while others age with so much grace that they don't even look like they're aging at all. What's the secret that differentiates the two? Is it just genetics, or is there some surreptitious rout to graceful aging? Well, I'm no expert on aging but I’ve learned enough over the years to know that there are several things that have a significant impact on how well we age: • How you handle stress • Your attitude • Your mental activity • Your physical activity • Your diet • Rest and sleep Even if genetics is the biggest factor in how we age, the above list gives us plenty to work with, over which we have a great deal of control and can positively affect the inevitable outcome.   Now, if you're a young buck who isn’t sure why I'm even bringing this up, just remember, I’ve been where you are, I was young and invincible once. But, are you going to be able to look and perform like me when you're in your 50's? What you do today – the habits and the disciplines you employ today - will have a huge impact (good or bad) on what you're able to do 10 – 20 – 30 years from now. So, let's take these one at a time.   While my training and diet advise never really addresses stress per se, psychologists and physiologists will tell you that rigorous physical activity is a tremendous stress reliever. So, if you're following my training protocol, check that one off the list. As far as your attitude goes, I’ve always advocated that you make goals to believe in yourself, to fight through adversity and disappointment, to hang out with people that motivate you, to work hard, to pick yourself up, not make excuses.... If you've been paying attention, you know that I always espouse the best mental outlook for aging gracefully. I can't stress enough the value of being a lifelong learner. This practice not only keeps your brain sharp as you get older, but it also keeps you inquisitive, active, adventurous – there's never a dull moment if you're continually learning.  And, when you combine mental acuity with physical activity, a good diet and adequate rest, there's no stone left unturned. I’ve bombarded you with how important each of those disciples is to reaching your physique goal. If you’ve missed those points then you haven’t been paying attention.  It's those same disciplines you're doing as part of your march to your ultimate physique that will keep you vital and youthful at every age. One of the men I most admired was Jack LeLanne. He is known as the “godfather of fitness.” He died in 2011 at the age of 96. After he beat a 21 year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger in an informal bodybuilding contest, at age 54, Arnold simply said, “that Jack LeLanne is an animal.” Jack preached fitness and diet until the day he died. He never stopped, notably continuing to accomplish incredible feats of strength in his 90s. When you think about aging with style, take Jack’s words to heart that he spoke shortly before he died: “I train like I’m training for the Olympics or for a Mr. America contest, the way I’ve always trained my whole life. You see, life is a battlefield. Life is survival of the fittest. How many healthy people do you know? How many happy people do you know? Think about it. People work at dying, they don’t work at living. My workout is my obligation to life. It’s my tranquilizer. It’s part of the way I tell the truth — and telling the truth is what’s kept me going all these years.”

As I write this, the elite Mr. Olympia “club” has only 16 members since it's inception in 1965. Fifty-seven years, 16 champions. Obviously, that means more than few have won multiple times. In fact, as of today (2022), just five Olympians have only one Sandow statue - Chris Dickerson (1982), Sammir Bannout (1983), Dexter Jackson (2008) Shawn Rhoden (2018), and Brandon Curry (2019). The rest: Larry Scott, Sergio Oliva, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Frank Zane , Lee Haney, Dorain Yates, Ronnie Coleman, Jay Cutler, Phil Heath and Big Ramy have won numerous times; Both Haney and Coleman hold the record with eight a piece. With so many guys owning multiple wins, it's tough to say who was the greatest. The first Mr Olympia contest was held on September 18, 1965, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in New York City. In an effort to enable Mr. Universe winners to continue competing and also earn money, Joe Weider founded the Mr. Olympia, as bodybuilding’s first professional (paid) event. The first Mr. Olympia champion was Larry Scott, who would go on to repeat the following year. Larry was the first bodybuilding superstar. He brought size and condition that had not been seen before. But, more importantly, his unique aura, personality, and charisma helped launch a new professional sport. For the next three years the title was owned by Sergio Oliva. Maybe the only bodybuilder who was more naturally adept at being Mr. Olympia than any other because, it is well documented, that he didn’t have to diet and work at the same level as mere mortals, like me. Sergio, and Lee Haney, were perhaps the two most genetically gifted bodybuilders of all time. Then came Arnold Schwarzenegger. He changed the sport even more dramatically than Larry had. He had perfect symmetry and an incredible shape that flowed in both directions from his tiny waist. He was intense and charismatic in his own unique way, and he would go on to win seven titles between 1970 and 1980. Franco Columbu would pick up two in 1976 and 1981, Frank Zane filled in 1977 – 1979, then we got to the 80's. Many people think the 80s were the most competitive era of professional bodybuilding. Lee Haney set new standards of size and shape, combined with spectacular condition, to the astonishing degree that no one could wrench the Sandow from his grip for eight straight years. I came up against him in 1985, 86, 87 and 88. I pushed him as hard as I could and was his bride's maid three years in a row. I thought maybe I had him in 1988. I had support on that from a number of experts, including Lee Himself.  But, the bottom line was that the Sandow was staying at his house. His combination of ripped muscle and size were incredible. In order to beat the champion you have to knock him out. And that wasn't happening, he was just too good.  I didn’t think anyone could approach Haney's record.  But, then came Dorian Yates, who won six straight before retiring, followed by the next great champion, Ronnie Coleman, who matched Lee’s eight straight victories. He was followed by Jay Cutler who picked up four. Phil Heath came next and nearly matched Lee and Ronnie with seven straight wins. Finally, Big Ramy (the current Mr. O) is preparing to defend his title for the third time. To put such greatness into perspective, out of the 57 years of the Olympia's existence, 38 of those years were monopolized by just six guys. As technology, supplementation, and overall knowledge grew, so did the champions. Each decade saw dramatic jumps in both size and definition. Coleman was competing at 270 pounds with the definition you would never have seen on a bodybuilder with that much size twenty years earlier. So, it was no surprise when Jay Cutler competed and won four titles at 290 pounds. Now we have Big Ramy who lives up to his name by competing at over 300 pounds! So many great competitors, so many undeniable champions. But who was best? In other words, who was the greatest bodybuilder of all time? As any sports fan knows it’s tough to compare players from different eras. Babe Ruth or Barry Bonds? Johnny Unitas or Peyton Manning? Jessie Owens or Carl Lewis? Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant? The debates could go on forever. Boyer Coe said Sergio Oliva had the most impressive performance ever in 1971—and he didn’t even win. But I’d have to say the top three are Arnold, Lee, and Ronnie. I would then pick Lee as the greatest because I think his eight straight wins were accomplished against the most intense competition. Shawn Ray agrees with me. Lou Ferrigno, who might have won a couple titles if he hadn’t gone into acting, says you could flip a coin between Arnold and Ronnie. Then there's big Ramy who, some people say, could be Mr. Olympia for as long as he wants to be. So I know not everyone agrees with me, and there are so many variables and hypotheticals that any discussion of “who’s the greatest?” could go on forever. Such debates, while clearly never definitive, can be extremely motivating, even for me. I think all the way back to 1988 when things could have gone my way, instead of Lee's, and I'd have at least one Sandow on my mantle. The thirst to be the best never ebbs. Even though the best of all bodybuilders is an incredibly tight group, they stand as testament to what the best actually looks like. They send a powerful message to every guy throwing down in the gym every day. Be the best. Be the best you can be. The top is way up there. And any ascent anywhere near the top is going to be quite a climb and, odds are, you probably wont make it. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Because the greats are so high up there, anyone along the way is going to be pretty damn impressive – including you! 

Life is a rollercoaster. It's not lived in a straight and level line like I-70 through Kansas, where you can set the cruise control to 85, take a nap, and wake up in Colorado. One of the many reasons that's still not possible is that, while the line may be straight, the reality of driving a car is that you will encounter potholes, road blocks, construction zones and lunatic drivers paying more attention to texting and eating than the 4,000 pound projectile they're piloting through traffic. Life, like driving a car, brings us adversity, challenges and frequent occasions to work on our patience. Depending on how we choose to handle these things, the end result could be devastating – that is, if YOU let it.  During the 90’s, the late Richard Carlson, Ph.D, considered one of the foremost experts in happiness and stress reduction in the United States at the time, wrote a series of books called, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff . . . and It's All Small Stuff. It basically described how to put challenges and roadblocks in perspective, reduce stress and anxiety through small daily changes, to help you find the path to achieving your goals. The series became a runaway best-seller, making history as the #1 best-seller in the United States for two consecutive years, and spent over 100 weeks on the New York Times Best-Seller list, selling over 15 million copies worldwide. I'm quoting the incredible appeal of this concept because it is 100% the absolute truth!  However, after almost three decades in business and in life, I would also add this:  If, after all your best efforts you do end up sweating, don't let anyone see you sweat.  If life didn't bring us enough adversity, humans are famous for adding to it by causing their own; by making bad choices and by exhibiting bad behavior. You can have the world's shittiest boss, but if you don’t show up to work on time for an entire week, there’s no one else to blame but yourself for him telling you not to bother coming in on Monday.  On the other hand, some adversity comes our way because of the bad choices other people make. If you get hit by a drunk driver, there’s a good chance the aftermath, depending on how sever, is going to present many challenges you didn't order. And, some adversity just seems to be a matter of bad luck. Insurance companies have a term in most policies called force majeure. This describes what's called “acts of God” —floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other destructive events that just happen. However you slice it. Life is not going to be smooth sailing. If it is, you're doing something wrong. You can eliminate some adversity by consistently making good choices. But, there will still be lows in life. If the roller coaster goes up, it is bound to go down. You already know firsthand that life holds some adversity. We all know it. But surprisingly, we still get blindsided by it. We all know people who can't cope when things go south. If you workout hard, I can guarantee you that you will get hurt from time to time. On a rainy day, my left shoulder reminds me of how hard I trained when I was young and thought I was indestructible. If you're in a relationship, I can promise you that there won’t be candles and roses on the table every night. There will be some fights and disagreements. That doesn't mean you don’t love each other. It means you’re human. If you are a parent, your kids aren’t going to respond to everything you want them to do, or behave the way you think they should—even when you think you are being perfectly reasonable and fair. If you own a business, it's inevitable that there will be months, meetings, problems, and situations where you'd wish the buck didn’t stop with you. So how do you ride the roller coaster of life? I think there’s an underused and underrated word that's such a huge determinant of your overall success: poise. When you practice poise, it’s almost like you knew trouble was coming before it got there. When everyone else is whining and complaining you're handling what needs to be handled. Poise is a little bit like a duck crossing a pond. On the surface, it seems to glide elegantly across the water, but what no one can see is that beneath the surface, those webbed feet are churning like crazy. Poise is a posture that exudes grace. It knows that no problem is big enough to let them see you sweat. It brings wisdom and patience to the table. Someone mouths off to you and instead of lashing out and escalating things, you ignore what needs to be ignored. You're poised when you get a grip on your temper. Poise doesn't mean you're meek and it doesn’t mean you don’t have passion and emotions—believe me, I know, I'm Italian! It’s a tool of self-control that marshals your strengths to handle whatever life throws at you. I won bodybuilding contests because I had poise. It's why I overcame adversity. It's why I lead a successful company. It’s the only way I know how to ride the roller coaster called life. Next time some adversity comes your way make it an opportunity—step up your game, and don't let them see you sweat.

Just like as it is with any product or service based business, claims of being the “the best” run rampant in the sports supplement arena. Everyone makes the best sports supplements, just ask them. They're certainly not going to tell you they don't make the best supplements; that they're just the middle of the road, average, or the worst. They're all going to proclaim to be the best! But, as things stack up, there can only be one best. Everything else is not the best, in spite of plaintive claims to the contrary. Such is life. The problem attached to this lies in the details that caused a forfeiture of the number one supplement spot. If it was a close call and the difference between best and not the best was a split hair, then you'd probably have no problem using that product or service in lieu of the best one, for whatever reason. But, what about the supplement companies aiming for last place? Those who ride the industry's coattails, but aren't even trying. They proclaim to be the best, but in actuality are the worst. Rather than invest in good raw materials and/ or process, they put their money into marketing. They're not looking for the most important sale, they're looking for a sucker.  Even with laws that require truth in advertising, we all know that P.T. Barnum was right when he said, “there’s a sucker born every minute.” While none of us like to be played for a fool, it still happens to some people because they don’t take the time to check out what we’re being sold. From insurance to investments to healthcare products to political promises, you can clearly see that P.T. Barnum was on to something, there’s a lot of suckers out there. After I retired from competition, I knew I loved the sport far too much to walk away. I had to stay involved. I chose the supplement industry, not only because the timing was right, but also because I knew that if I employed the same work ethic that I did as a bodybuilder, to put out quality products at a fair price, that I knew would help people attain their physique goals, I knew I couldn't lose.   I soaked up every ounce of available knowledge to design products that I knew would help a great many athletes. Yet, people still told me I was crazy.  I was a small-timer out of New Jersey up against established multimillion-dollar companies and I couldn’t compete with that. They should have known better than to tell me such a thing - it only made me want to achieve that “impossible” goal even more. My attitude was, somebody has to be number one, it might as well be me. Now, 25 years later, Gaspari Nutrition has grown into one of the leaders in the supplement industry. Why? The obvious reason is that our products really work. I simply thought that if I was to make products better than anyone had ever done before and sponsor the unbiased, independent research to prove it, I couldn’t go wrong.  With all of the effort you put into building your physique, or improving your performance, trying to figure out which supplements are worth the investment shouldn’t be an added strain on your time. Every athlete should have access to the best supplements available. You should learn as much as you can, check the sources of your information, and the truth will reveal itself.  And that always leads to what I believe is the most important sale – the second one. When you buy a product and it does exactly what you hoped it would, or better, you tend to buy it again. You’re also likely to recommend the product to others. And, you’re probably going to try any new products that company makes. That being the case, I urge you to keep two words in mind: “independent research.” I have personally participated in the development and testing of every product we create. I even went so far as to earn certification from the National Institute of Sports Medicine. But, even that wasn’t good enough for me. So, what I started doing early in my company’s history, was funding area universities to conduct independent, scientific research on my products, so I could back up my claims with science. There’s a history of “snake oil” being sold in my industry and I wanted to rise above that. My goal is to not only provide high end nutritional supplements designed to help you achieve your goals, but I also want to give you a lot to think about. I don't want you to be one of P.T. Barnum's suckers. Your brain needs to be worked at least as hard as your body.  So, investigate for yourself what I’m telling you to do. If what worked for me needs to be fine-tuned for your physiology, feel free to make adjustments. You may not be interested in becoming an expert on sports nutrition. But, you do need to become an expert on what works best for you. There’s only one way to do that, investigate. Rely on credible research to narrow your search, but whatever products you choose, they have to work for you. That means, with confidence in potency and purity, you still have to use yourself as the lab rat and test everything!

A common saying we hear all the time is, “don't judge a book by its cover. In the sense of fairness, I suppose there's some truth to that, but, today, in this world, particularly in bodybuilding, appearances matter. Your appearance matters a lot because of what your appearance says about you.  This is especially true if you're a bodybuilder, including me. From the age of 13 on, I dedicated myself to maximizing my appearance: I built the biggest muscles possible with the most vascularity, symmetry and definition. I’ve gone so far as to take the body I built to the stage to be judge, not only by the bodybuilding judges, but also the general public in the audience and by being on magazine covers, videos and appearances. In so doing, one thing you learn early on as a bodybuilder is that not everyone says nice things about you. I have no problem with the fact that some people just don’t like big muscles. I suspect a few negative assessments likely come from people with just a little bit of jealousy. In addition to bodybuilding, appearance also matters in business. Because I have a supplement company focused on helping athletes, I don’t have the same requirements or standards of performance as a banker or lawyer—though every now and then I do have to put on a suit. When people I work with see me dressed up in a business suit they kid me and ask if I’m going to see a banker or going to a funeral? Back in the early days of launching my company either trip would have felt about the same!  No matter how you slice it, appearances matter.  Whether you're interviewing for a new job, trying to impress a particular member of the opposite sex, or a trip to the beach. How you present yourself can have a huge effect on your intended purpose, particularly if you're going to compete in a bodybuilding contest. Some people don't compete because they know they're not good enough to win, but, they're too cool to compete and lose. I took 6th in my first youth event and 5th in my first national event. You have to start somewhere and I’m proud of both of those finishes because I knew I presented myself well. The same goes in business. You have to look the part. I’m glad I’m not selling my supplements out of the back of my trunk anymore. But, there was noting wrong with it. I was proud of my product and it showed. The appearance was that I had quality products, at a fair price, and I believed in them with every fiber of my being. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am any other way. Remember, appearance can cut both ways. You can appear to be behind what you're doing 100%, knowledgable respectful and humble. Or, you can appear to be a dick. One is going to get you somewhere, the other isn't. Appearances matter. 

We live in a culture that can be very self-indulgent. There's a lot of lazy people who like things the easy way. Is it any wonder then that there is so much mediocrity in our world? Take health for example. Too many of us are lazy. This leads to obesity, diabetes, hypertension, poor mobility.  These conditions are rampant in America among both young and old alike. People want to blame fast food companies. But, they're only giving lazy people what we demand – the easy way. The blame lies in the mindset. If you choose to be unhealthy you will. By the same token, if you settle for mediocrity, that's all you'll get.  The gym is a fertile breeding ground for mediocrity. No one is going to get on you if you're not hitting it harder than you were yesterday. In fact, no matter how bad you're mired in mediocrity, you'll still get people who will say that what you're doing is incredible! But someone close to you knows better than to feel good about a so-so effort. It’s not your spouse or parent or best friend that isn’t going to be proud of you. That someone is you. If you're not making gains or not improving, it's probably time to do some honest self-assessment. Are you training your body like never before or are you settling for a mediocre workout, just going through the motions today the same as you did yesterday? You know, the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. You can't improve performance without doing the work. I’m sorry, it’s not going to happen. No offense, but you’re insane if you think it works that way. I love the quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.” The only thing I would add to that is to forget moving the hearts of others. Just stir your own heart. Deciding to go to the gym and doing a mediocre circuit on the exercise machines might be good enough for someone else. But what about you? If you settle for mediocre effort you'll get mediocre results, putting you as close to the bottom as you are to the top. Is that what you want? The surest way to kill your dreams is by giving a half-hearted effort. Giving less than your best only makes you feel bad about yourself. So, instead of striving and reaching higher, you lower the standards. If you shoot an arrow and then draw a circle around wherever it lands, I guess you can tell people you hit the bullseye. But someone knows you aren’t being true to yourself. And that someone is you. How do you rekindle a flame that has basically blown out? You can watch a movie like 300 or Gladiator or Braveheart or Remember the Titans. It will help fire you up. You can load your iPod with some great songs. All those things might help. But ultimately you're going to have to hit the gym and do exactly what you set out to do. You're going to have to go an entire day eating exactly what's prescribed. You're going to have to tell your friends you aren’t going clubbing because you have to catch a full eight hours of sleep. Success breeds success. Nothing feels better than doing exactly what you're determined to do—no matter how hard and painful it might be. In fact the harder it is the better you feel. The old adage is still true: No pain, no gain. “No excuses” is not a trite saying some overpriced shoe company is printing on their tank tops. It's a real mindset that must be lived - if you want to own an impressive physique or exact maximum performance. No one wants to hear excuses, and you sure as hell better not be telling any to the guy in the mirror. He doesn't want to hear them either. Be the guy that says “I can't complain,” When he's asked, “how you doing?” No one wants to hear complaints, excuses, and other meaningless drivel designed to justify your failure. If you lie to yourself enough eventually it becomes the truth. In the gym and in your mind, you have to be vicious. You have to be an animal. Period. They called me the “Dragon Slayer” because that's what I did. I came out of nowhere and stepped up into the pros swinging a battle axe. I slashed my way to the very top, slaying dragon after dragon – the absolute biggest and baddest monsters in the world – until I came up against the only dragon on the entire planet that could not be slain. Considering there's 7 Billion people on the earth, that's still pretty damn good.   I'm putting this so dramatically because it is. I didn't find myself at the top of the heap because I was endowed with freak genetics, packed on a 6'3”, 310 pound shredded frame. I got that way because I lived like you'd imagine a mythical dragon slayer to live. I got that way because I was fierce. Arnold Schwarzenegger once called me an animal for my work ethic. And that was in regard to my business acumen!  The secret to a stellar physique does not lie in a diet, or a workout program, a bottle of test, or your genetics. It lies in your brain. The more intensity you can focus on your training, diet, rest, cardio, posing, etc., the better you'll do. I didn't get to battle Lee Haney because I was the biggest and the baddest, I got there because I wouldn't settle for less. I was more of an animal that anyone else.  So, how do you start? It's really a pretty simple choice. You just look at today and empty your guts. Today.  That’s it. All you have to worry about is today. Do everything better and harder than you ever have before. Attack everything you do like a wild animal.  Do that and tomorrow will take care of itself. If you just worry about today, you'll quickly realize that ultimately, tomorrow is yesterday's today.    I was thinking I'd close with something inspiring and motivational, but I'm not going to. I don’t want to give you anything. I want you to go out and do whatever it is you are supposed to do today with your own determination and self-motivation. Don't settle - be an animal – don't settle for mediocrity. 

For a lot of bodybuilders, Arnold Schwarzenegger was their inspiration. A few of us though went for the underdog, Lou Ferrigno. I'll always admire Arnold, but Lou was who I wanted to look like, mainly because he was the Hulk, and what kid doesn't want to be the Hulk? As a young kid, I loved reading my older brother’s comic books. Captain America, Spider-Man, The Avengers, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Superman, The Green Lantern, Batman, Wolverine..... They were all great. But when I got to a comic that featured The Incredible Hulk, he was instantly my favorite character. He was the strongest of all the comic book characters and I wanted to be as big and as strong as the Hulk. There’s a reason the appeal of comic book figures is powerful and enduring for young boys. For many of us, they represented our first dreams about who we want become. And those characters are cool – the bigger their muscles the cooler they are. That's what boys want -to be big, strong and cool, like the Hulk. At least it was like that when I was a kid. Today..... Ughhh, don't get me started... Later, when I was about 12, I saw my first bodybuilding magazine. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. All I could think was, this is  unbelievable. There are comic book characters in real life! These guys look like they have superhuman powers. They look like the Hulk! That's what I want to look like! There it was, I had proof right in front of my eyes that I could actually train my body and look like the Hulk. The Hulk on TV was played by Lou Ferrigno – a real live human bodybuilder. He was my inspiration from the world of fantasy from day one, (who, later on in my career, actually became my friend). The bodybuilders in the magazines personified that dream I had and proved to me that I actually could look like the Incredible Hulk.  As we grow up, people are always going to tell us to get our heads out of the clouds – stop day dreaming. It’s true we need to grow in responsibility and character with every passing year. We need to take care of business and look out for those people who matter most in our lives. But, I never grew out of daydreaming about the Hulk and achieving superhuman accomplishments. When our dreams die, so too do our aspirations to be better than we are now. I never got as big as Lou Ferrigno (No one did!), but Rich Gaspari, the businessman and the person, still grew pretty big because I never stopped dreaming.  If you ever get called a dreamer, say, “thank you,” because it's a compliment. Without dreamers, we'd have no innovation, exploration, discover, or accomplishment. Imagine our world with those things. So, dare to dream, just make it big, like the Hulk.

The surest way to get me to do something it to tell me I can't do it. It's been the greatest motivation my entire life. The second someone tells me you can't do that, I'm on fire to prove them wrong.  Bodybuilding included.  Growing up, I always knew I was loved and that my family had my back. That was a great feeling then and also later in life, when things weren’t going so great for me. I can’t thank my parents enough. But, just because my dad loved me doesn’t mean he was always easy to be around. He had his own bodybuilding program planned for me. It was called hard work in the trenches as a manual laborer. He was a brick and stonemason, so he certainly knew a fail proof system to get me strong. Now, I’m proud of my dad and don’t think of myself as being above manual labor— that’s just not what I wanted. I was mesmerized by the world of bodybuilding. When I first showed my dad the pictures of Lou, Arnold, Franco, Samir, and others to explain why I was eating a dozen eggs and drinking a whole gallon of milk each day, his immediate response was “you can’t do that.” When he found out I was sneaking into the weight room at Rutgers University, all he said to me was “you can’t do that.” When I left Rutgers just short of graduating, to pursue my dream of being a bodybuilder in California, the capital of the bodybuilding world, once again he said to me, “you can’t do that.” The problem for my dad was that he raised me to be independent, to take chances—and to work hard. So his words didn’t discourage me and obviously I didn’t agree with his opinion. I can honestly say that him telling me, “you can’t do it,” was a great motivator. I wasn’t mad. I wasn’t trying to get back at him. But, I did want to prove him wrong. I wanted him to be proud of me. And, I succeeded in that endeavor. When I turned professional and writers and other competitors said I couldn’t become a champion because I was too small, I have to admit part of my motivation was to prove them wrong. I never wasted much emotional energy on it, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get any satisfaction from hearing people who said I couldn’t succeed, have to explain how I did it. Motivation can come from a number of different directions. Most importantly and best of all, is when it's internal and tied to your own dreams and goals. We all need the extra boost of motivation we get once in a while from an encouraging word from a coach, a boss, a parent, a friend, or a competitor. I’m sure you can think of someone who's had that kind of impact in your life. Don’t forget to return the favor and encourage others. The good news is we can turn any negativity that comes our way into a motivational tool. I grew up when dads let the belt do their talking. Fear of punishment definitely motivated me. Today, a rebuke, a bad performance review at work, a low grade on a test, someone mouthing off to you - so called experts today shudder at the very thought of such negative confrontations. They are terrified it’s going to ruin your self-esteem and short circuit healthy development. Too many people believe the experts and settle for mediocrity rather than challenge someone to do better. What it comes down to is this: the proper response to someone telling you that you can't do something is to get mad, or frustrated, or whatever other emotion you need to harness to get yourself motivated and determined to succeed. The next time someone tells you that you don’t have what it takes, tell that person, “thank you.” Then go out and prove them wrong. Few things in life are more gratifying. 

Procrastination is the gateway to trouble, especially if you're interested in building any serious, measurable, gains in size, strength, or athletic performance. For you, procrastination is a setback. The more you lack motivation and  procrastinate, the more you stretch out the process. You procrastinate at the expense of your gainz. And that's the truth. So is the fact that the reason you're procrastinating is because you have to do something you don't want to do. In other words, you have to eat a frog. That's right, a frog.   I once read a little book on personal development called Eat That Frog, by Brian Tracy - a motivational public speaker and self-development author. With over eighty books to Tracy's credit, including NY Times best sellers, Earn What You're Really Worth and No Excuses, that have been translated into dozens of languages. So, I figured Tracy might know what he'd be talking about with this gastronomic analogy being implied by eating a frog. But, it could fill a book?   It actually did, but in a nutshell... every one of us has something important to get done today that we're dreading doing. It might not be as off-putting as eating a frog (especially a live one), but it’s still distasteful to us. So we stall. We waste time. We get distracted easily. We move slowly. In other words, we procrastinate. The point of Eat That Frog was, instead of putting off what we hate to do, that is exactly what we should do first. If you get it out of the way and move on, your productivity will begin to soar. When it comes to bodybuilding, most of us have a muscle group or body part that is the most difficult for us to develop and that doesn’t respond the way we expect, or would like. I could get my chest and arms big and ripped just by looking at the weights. I may be exaggerating a bit, but building my chest and arms just weren’t a problem for me. Abs, shoulders, back, glutes, upper legs—no problem. Lower legs? Big problem. My calves just wouldn’t respond for me like my other muscle groups. What happens when we don’t get the results we want? We get discouraged. We move on to something we like better. It’s great that you can pump up your arms to over eighteen inches without breaking a sweat, but if you have chicken legs, that’s what needs improving. That’s the frog that you have to eat. Prioritize! When you put together your workout program, the area, or areas, of your physique that you have difficulty getting to respond must be put in the beginning of your workout, because they obviously need the most attention. In other words, you do what you least like to do first. That’s when your body has the most oxygen and fuel to focus on an area that is resistant to growth and development.  What I mean is, eat that frog first! I don't give workout and nutrition advice that's easy. If your looking for the path of least resistance, I'm not your guy. Building your body is going to be tough work and that means you're going to be eating some frogs. So, hit what’s hardest for you first. Don’t mess around. Don’t start chatting with everyone around you. Take it as a personal challenge.  But here is the good news: frogs are high in protein and low in fat, and they taste like chicken. So go for it!

The big giant extra bulbous booties and skull crushing amazon quads and hamstrings the Wellness girls are packing these days have gotten quite a bit of attention. Of course not all of it it's good. There's always going to be the distractors who think it's too overdone, too much, unbalanced..... you've heard it all. But, some people thrive on the creation. The wellness division in bodybuilding is growing like the booties it espouses. People love it. For the guys who are into it, watching a champion level wellness girl run through her workout is a sight to behold. For some women, that kind of workout is just what she's looking for.   Now, imagine not one, but two, champion wellness girls being thrashed into submission by an IFBB pro bodybuilding legend (who took second to Lee Haney in the Olympia three years in a row) on their leg day.  Well, Gaspari Nutrition did it for you. Aliona and Fafa, two stunning examples of Wellness booty and quad royalty, descend upon Alphalete gym in Houston, TX, and hand over their workout to Rich Gaspari.  In what could only be perceived as unbridled brutality, these two girls endure an insane old school leg workout that would cripple a mere mortal.  Drop sets, forced reps, negatives, partials, you name it and Rich inflicted it upon them. And they took it all in stride. Absolutely incredible video footage of the workout can be found here https://youtu.be/_8V2FRbrb7s Now, some guys may look at that and, if not become intimidated, at least be impressed. Or not like it at all. However, a woman may look at this and say, yeah that's great for them, but I don't want to look like that. But..... a lot of women in the gym these days are taking ques from the Wellness girls and employing many of their techniques into their regular workouts. They may not be willing to take it as far as Aliona or Fafa, but anywhere along the way could be just fine. In fact, the majority of Wellness fans are women! This is because many women – and men too for that matter – understand that besides skin and bones, there's only two other elements that make up the human form. One is fat and the other is muscle. Muscle is moldable, fat is not. Your body decides where fat will be stored and many times it's in the wrong place. Muscle, on the other hand, is marble for the sculptor. We have total control over where the muscle goes. And, as we all know, you can't flex fat.  So, any beautification to the female corpus is going to come from muscle. How you grow it and where is the quandary. Tips from Wellness champs is like taking driving lessons from a formula 1 Champion. There's no way what they tell you wont work. Intense physical exercise is what builds muscle. A well balanced and controlled eating plan provides the required energy to put yourself through the kind of grueling workout necessary to build muscle as well as keep body fat in check.  Certain supplements such as Gaspari's Glycofuse, SuperPump and Citrulean can help with the process by providing energy, fuel and nutrients for the muscle and a great pump.  Whatever it takes, the sculptor's goal is to build muscle and burn fat. These are the chisel strokes that create the flowing lines of a well trained physique or just a beautiful body. Take it as far as you like – from looking totally satisfied in your bikini or all the way to the stage, this is the kind of workout that can't possibly fail.  THE WORKOUT Legs Extensions 4 sets of 20 reps  *Last set triple drop to failure with negatives    45 Degree Leg Press (legs close) Supersetted with Hack Squats (toes pointed out) 3 sets of 15 reps each   Inverted Leg Press   Supersetted with Front Squat Machine (legs wide)   3 sets of 15 reps each    Adductor  supersetted with Abductor  3 sets of 20 reps each

If things don't go your way today you can always come back another day and win!  What's stopping you from getting what you want? From winning? From succeeding? One of the biggest things that holds people back from getting into the gym, from seeking a promotion at work, from starting a business, from asking someone out, or from trying something new and challenging is the fear of failure. It's incredible how the fear of failing and looking bad in the eyes of others stops people from going for it.  Maybe it's because I was born into a family with a father who knew he wanted something better out of life; a guy who packed up his wife and firstborn to make the journey to America— with a detour through Canada on the way—instilled in me courage and confidence, along with hard work. He told me that you don’t worry about what others think. You don’t sweat it when there are obstacles and setbacks. My dad instilled in me, by example, that you set your sights on the prize and you go for it. You can do neither win nor fail unless you jump. You have to go for it. One of the most significant competitions in my life was the NPC Nationals in 1983, in San Jose, California. I was 208 pounds which put me at the bottom end of the heavyweight division. The lineup of bodybuilding greats I was competing against was incredible – its been said numerous times, that this may have been the best amateur lineup in history. These guys were my heroes. I had studied their pictures and read their training tips for years with the dream of someday being like them. Now there I was, up on stage going toe to to with them. Rory Leidelmeyer came to San Jose as the clear favorite, but the winner ended up being Bob Paris. Mike Christian, the legendary “Iron Warrior” took third place. Another great bodybuilder, Matt Mendenhall, took fourth place. In fifth place was a 20 year-old  kid from New Jersey that no one had ever heard of before. His name was Rich Gaspari. My first competition as a teen I took sixth place, so believe me, on that stage, with those great bodybuilders – even by today's standards - I wasn’t disappointed in taking fifth place. But, I wasn’t satisfied either. Being up there and compared to those amazing physique stars just gave me a taste; it only made me hungry for more. I can’t tell you how excited I was to hear the key players in the bodybuilding industry talking about me as the guy to watch—and watch out for. After the show, Ed Connors, one of the owners of the Gold’s Gym empire, came up to me and told me that if I would drop a weight class I could come back and win the NPC Nationals as a light heavyweight the next year. He was right. That was a tall order, but I did it. I dropped about 20 pounds and won my first national championship in 1984 and turned pro. Now, what if I hadn’t competed in 83 because I thought I was too young and wasn’t ready? What if I had been afraid of what others might think of me? Or if I had been too scared and intimidated to walk on stage to compete against some of my heroes? I certainly wouldn’t have been in the position to win a championship the following year. You may never have heard of me if I didn't go for it. I don’t care how awkward you feel about whatever it is you need to take on in life right now. Coddling you and telling you it's okay to be afraid and handing you a puppy to pet in your safe space isn't going to help you. What are you afraid of? Who cares what others think? It matters what you think. And if you think you're not ready, not worthy, not good enough, so what? Go for it anyway! What have you really got to lose? Try, get your feet wet, do it anyway, ask out the hottest girl you've ever seen. Tell your boss you deserve a promotion and more money. Sign up for a local competition. It doesn't matter if you get turned down, told “no,” get your butt kicked. Who cares? Get back up, brush yourself off, learn from it, get back in there and win it next time! You can't win unless you try. So, you're just going to have to go ahead and go for it.

Whatever you may accomplish is worthless if everyone thinks you're a dick. Respect is one of those things that's that goes both ways. You've all heard the saying, “you have to give respect to get respect. That seems to be a bit difficult for some people. Then there's self respect. That's really the most important because if you don't respect yourself you can't possibly believe anyone else will respect you. And that's not really a good position to be in. So, respect yourself, respect others and you'll get the respect you deserve, right? Sounds simple enough. So then why are some of you suffering with this issue? I see it more than I'd like – people with low self esteem, low self respect, and little respect from others. It's a sad situation that you really don't have to suffer with. Maybe I can shed some light on how you can pull yourself out of it.  One of the biggest influences on my life was Joe Weider. Unless you've been lifting weights under a rock, I know you've probably heard the name,  Most people associate him with Arnold Schwarzenegger, but exactly who is he? Joe is the man most responsible for building the bodybuilding industry. Back in the 40s and 50s, he was big and strong, but wasn’t a bodybuilder himself. However, he firmly believed that physical strength was important for a man’s self respect.  He was so far ahead of his time.  He, his brother Ben, and his wife Betty—a pinup model and a pioneer for women’s fitness—founded the International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB). They created the Mr. Olympia and Ms. Olympia and other contests. Joe founded and published Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Men’s Fitness, Shape, and the other important magazines that predated those modern titles. When Arnold Schwarzenegger, then the governor of California, awarded Joe with the Muscle Beach Life- time Achievement Award, he pointed out that it was Joe who inspired him to be a bodybuilder and immigrate to the United States. There are literally millions who would say the same thing about Joe, including a kid from Edison, New Jersey. I not only admired his accomplishments, but I also admired and respected the fact that he did this starting at the bottom. He had $7 in his war chest when he launched his first company, typing bodybuilding pamphlets in the middle of the night, while his family was asleep, from under the dining room table, with a sheet draped over it to help drown out the noise of the typewriter.  Without Joe Weider, bodybuilding as we know it would not exist. He did tremendous things for the sport and for fitness at large. I can vividly remember the last time we spoke. He was well into his 90s, his voice wasn’t as strong and clear as it had once been. But, as always, his words were powerful. Toward the end of our talk he said something that brought tears to my eyes. He said, “Rich, I’m proud of you and I respect you for all you have accomplished. I know this is just the beginning of all you are going to do.” He didn't give me this remarkable compliment when I was getting ready to turn pro, or at the height of my career. He said this after I had retired, hit rock bottom, and had finally gotten my lean and mean company up and running. He knew all the good things that I had pulled off, but he also knew the struggles I had; from injuries to going bankrupt. He was a friend to me the whole time. Some people who had accomplished a whole lot less than Joe wouldn’t take my calls when I was down. He would. He was that kind of man. He cared about people. He built people up. And when he told me how proud he was of me, and that he respected me, it felt like a confirmation that any hardships I had to overcome were worth it. He recognized that I was the same person in good times and bad. He saw that I was a fighter. Next to my dad, I can’t think of anyone who's words of respect and blessing meant more to me. Respect is such an important theme to me. Self-respect. Respect from others. Respect for others. I am a firm believer that all of us have been created with infinite worth. But respect is something different from self-worth. It isn’t something we are born with. It is both learned and earned. I like to think that I have even just a little of what Joe had - a genuine concern for people, a desire to see them reach for their dreams and a generous mount of respect. I always respected Joe, not only because of what he did for me, but for what he did for others and for our industry. The highest honor you can pay someone is that they are a man of respect. And to strive to be such a man is the greatest aspiration you can strive to achieve. More than a supplement contract, however many million “likes,” a trophy, or the accolades of your fans. Any accomplishment you achieve is worth nothing if people think you're a dick. I've said this before and I'll say it again, my message to you is more about building your ultimate body. Your ultimate body is worthless unless, along with it, you build the ultimate you. Learn to respect yourself and others, and respect what you are accomplishing. And, if you didn't already know it, the place to start is by showing more respect to yourself. Don't put yourself in demeaning or compromising situations. Our culture can be pretty cynical and negative and offer opportunities to venture down some pretty dark roads. Always seek the better path, even if it's more difficult – which it usually is. Don't follow where the negativity points you  - it might look like an easier path to follow, but in the end, it won’t take you anywhere. Respect is one of those investments in life, where you end up receiving more than you give. Show it. Receive it. And, appreciate those who have it – they earned it. At the end of the day, that's what you want people to feel about you.

In bodybuilding, making gains in muscle mass and strength is inevitably going to be met with obstacles. Breaking through these training plateaus is the real key to making lasting gains. Many times the key to these breakthroughs relies on variations in your training, or trying something new. You always have to remember that the body is constantly striving for efficiency. The longer you do the same thing, the better the body gets at doing it. This is particularly true in bodybuilding. You have to not only push your limits to breakthrough these plateaus and make gains, but you also have to switch things up to keep your body from adapting to a routine. Don’t be afraid to try new things. There are so many incredible athletes and bodybuilders out there today, if you pay attention when they speak about their training variations, you'll quickly find that ideas can come from all directions. Watch closely when they show what they are doing on the videos they post all over social media. Be ready to learn from everybody – new ideas are everywhere. Back in day, I devoured everything I could get my hands on. I paid particularly close attention to Joe Weider, the patron saint of bodybuilders, who came out with a long list of Weider Principles that broke new ground. And, Angelo Siciliano, aka Charles Atlas – the guy who who made sure the bully didn’t kick sand in your face. He could turn anything from a chair to the floor, into a sophisticated piece of exercise equipment.    After I turned pro, one of the things I was known for was my striated glutes. That doesn’t seem like a big deal now—all the top bodybuilders have striated glutes, even the girls! But, go back and look at champion bodybuilders through the years. Prior to my ascent in the mid 80s, no one else had them. There’s a simple reason. I was one of the first guys to try something new and put lunges into my routine. Now, at the time, lunges were considered a “girl exercise.” If “girl exercise” was meant to be an insult, then the person saying it hasn’t really done a true lunge. They also better not say that in front the top female athletes that are part of Team Gaspari. They might get their butt kicked. I did walking lunges with really heavy weights; I'd grab a pair of 120 pound dumbbells and walk the gym parking lot. Then, did the same with reverse lunges. I didn’t really invent anything, but I still came up with something brand new for male bodybuilders by keeping my eyes open to what was going on around me and not being afraid to try something new.   Another concept I brought, not just to the bodybuilding community but all different forms of physical fitness, was the superset. That’s where you do a parallel workout on two body areas. For instance, you might do a set of bench presses to work your chest, and then rush over to the leg press and do a set for your quads. You then head right back over to the bench and do your next set of presses, then back to the leg press. Back and forth, back and forth, no rest. You basically work two body areas in the same amount of time as it takes to recover between sets doing just one area. You add intensity and get some cardio throughout your entire workout as well. I brought that approach from New Jersey to California with me. I was training in one of the greatest gyms in the world, with a who’s who list of bodybuilders, and it didn’t take long for others to adopt the practice. The superset is pretty standard practice today, but read through the old bodybuilding manuals and you won’t find anything like it. Was it a brilliant idea on my part? Well, I think it was a pretty darn good idea, but my point is, I paid attention to what was being done and kept my mind and eyes open for better ways to do it. These are just two examples of my approach to bodybuilding. In my striving to be the best, I consumed everything I could learn from others; I was never afraid to try a new way of doing things to gain an edge. The lesson? Mix things up. Beg, borrow and steal great ideas for improving your workout. But don’t forget one very important source of new ideas and inspiration - you

Those around you can have a huge impact on your success. Back in the day, success was pretty much a one man show. If you buckled down, focussed, worked hard and produced you'd more than likely do pretty well for yourself. This was just as true in business as it was in bodybuilding. No matter how you sliced it, hard work ruled the day. Unlike most pros today, I never had a coach or a “guru” for all of my bodybuilding career. For obvious reasons, I don't necessarily recommend it these days, but, back then, it was just the way it was for me and a lot of guys with whom l competed. Bodybuilding was very much a solo sport  -  a team of one. That went for our side gigs too. Many of us sold our own tee shirts, or training programs, videos, straps, wraps, belts, posters.... no matter what it was, out of our garages. It was us on the front lines flying solo – appearances, traveling, packing, shipping. The idea of doing all this – while also training, dieting, and prepping for a bodybuilding contest – under the guise of a “Team Gaspari,” with a staff of people helping me, was something l could never have imagined. Today, “Team so-and-sos” are all over the place and everyone has an entourage. Almost no one flies solo anymore.  Now, that’s not to say I accomplished everything on my own. I had incredible parents who provided a stable home, with a lot of love and support. Although my dad was convinced this bodybuilding thing I had gotten myself into was crazy. I was also armed with the wisdom I picked up over the years from the bodybuilding greats that went before me. I soaked up everything my heroes like Joe Weider and others wrote. I even bought the Charles Atlas program from an ad in a comic book! I was the skinny kid that didn’t want sand kicked in my face. If it had to do with building muscle, I read it. But, like a lot of bodybuilders, I flew solo. I didn’t play team sports at all. My parents were immigrants to this great country. My dad was caught up with making it in America. He was a very hard worker and wasn't the kind of dad to take me out in the yard to toss a baseball or have me go out for passes while he winged a football at me, and we didn’t have a basketball hoop in the driveway. I wasn’t tall enough for a basketball career anyway. But, Dad gave me my work ethic and I think that was the greatest lesson any kid could have learned.  When I was 20, I packed up my few belongings, loaded them into one of my dad’s old beat up suitcases, and flew to southern California, to the mecca of bodybuilding. Almost as soon as I landed I was offered a job by Ed Connors, one of the owners of Gold’s Gym. He saw the potential in me and made me a manager of Gold’s in Reseda, California. Things started happening—which is usually the case when you work hard. Lee Haney, who would go on to win eight Mr. Olympia titles, saw my ferocious intensity from across the weight room and asked me to be his training partner. He's the one who taught me to work smarter. I was bench-pressing 525 pounds as part of a normal workout. He taught me how to “stimulate, not annihilate,” muscles by using less weight and better form. My point is simple. Even for a guy like me who likes to do things on his own, we all need the right people around us. The best relationships are mutual, where both parties push, compliment, and help the other improve. I honestly believe I helped Lee as much as he helped me. I know he would agree with that statement. If I had to take 2nd place in the Olympia THREE times, it was only fitting that it would be Lee who beat me, because it was me who pushed him.  This isn’t just a lesson for bodybuilding. Nowhere is it more true than in business. One of my greatest sources of pride as the owner of Gaspari Nutrition was being vendor of the year for both GNC (five times) and Vitamin King. To that end, I’ve done everything at Gaspari Nutrition - from helping to develop and test new formulas, to packing boxes, to making sales calls and promotional appearances. I’ve mopped the floors a few times, too. But, believe me, I know I couldn’t have done anything past what I could have done out of my garage without hiring— and occasionally firing—the right people. You'll see that as you grow older, wiser and more successful that it's the team – the people with whom you surround yourself  - that will have the greatest impact on your drive downfield. The marketable universe in which we find ourselves today is too vast, too complicated, too crowded and too competitive to navigate yourself. It's not 1983 anymore.  Who do you have on your team? Are they making you better? Are you making others better? Are they team players? How many times have we seen a kid with all the potential in the world but they get caught up with the wrong  group of friends, and they end up going through life in the wrong direction? If you train with people who practice bad form and put out mediocre effort, you aren’t nearly as likely to give your ultimate effort and your bodybuilding career will suffer as a result. If your best friends on the job do nothing but complain and have a terrible work ethic, you probably aren’t doing your professional career any favors. If you hang around people with lousy attitudes, don’t be surprised to discover you have a lousy attitude too. If you want to succeed, you have to surround yourself with the right people - people who will help you just as much as much as you help them. You need people with whom you can grow; encourage and push each other, be each others’ fans and hold each other accountable to work harder for better results. If you absolutely can’t find the right workout partners, or the colleagues, to help you grow in your chosen career, then at minimum make a commitment to stretch your mind and your vision through select books and videos. Study what the greats do and follow their lead. The bottom line is this: Whether it's writing iPhone apps or building custom toilets, you must visualize your success in it, believe in it yourself, and surround yourself with people who will motivate you and help nurture your belief. With that team structure in place, nothing but great things will happen.

People always ask me about keeping a fitness journal and do I recommend keeping on for bodybuilding. My answer is always the same -sometime, many years from now, you might want to look back and see exactly what you were doing today. This is incredibly important if you've hit a training plateau. That's why keeping a fitness journal is invaluable –it lets you look back and see the last thing that worked –or didn't work.Relying on your memory is not sustainable. You have to keep a journal. When it comes to bodybuilding this is really critical. The reason why is the actual nature of bodybuilding as a sport. We off season bodybuilding and then pre contest bodybuilding. Bodybuilders fluctuate between the two seasons constantly. A successful 16 –18 week bodybuilding contest prep incorporates so many variable and potential training plateaus you cannot possibly rely on your memory to dial yourself in the next time you compete. The something goes with personal records. With no fitness journal to consult you're left with what you might remember.The problem with that is the mind has been known to play tricks on us, particularly when it comes to memory. I had a fun “discussion” with a friend the other night about one of our early business meetings. I was positive we met at one restaurant and he was equally positive it was a different place. It was no big deal, but it illustrates how our memories get distorted over time—even the ones where we are absolutely certain we have right.The best way to document, track and preserve your bodybuilding efforts accurately is with a journal. A quick Google search will yield theme journals for just about everything for wine lovers, book readers, travelers, leaders, teachers, and yes, fitness journals for those who want to track their workouts. There are also online journals and smartphone apps. What do I use? I’m a self-directed, straight forward, old school, kind of guy. I like a simple ruled journal. I don’t want prompts on what to write. My journals for the past 30 years have been very basic and task oriented.What do I write? Simple: Date Workout Meals Sleep Supplements Results The only subjectivity in my journal is what shows up in the “results” section when I evaluate myself. Now, if you are a pro bodybuilder, you do take measurements from time to time. You know what you can see in the mirror, but you need objective numbers, too. There was no guesswork for me on those days. I still remember the first time I measured my arms at 21-inches. That was pretty cool. I proudly wrote it down knowing that some day I'd want to revisit that moment, maybe even with my son. I knew precisely what areas were responding correctly to my regime and where I needed to put in some extra work. But I had been around the sport long enough that I could track my performance by what I saw in the mirror and how I felt.You may be thinking, Rich, I’m not sure I am that hardcore. That sounds like too much trouble. No problem. But, I still encourage you to at least test keeping a fitness journal for a week. After seven days, read back over what you wrote. I know that’s not long enough to gain deep insights on what works and what doesn’t work long term. But, you still might discover something there, and you might also find that you like keeping a record of your efforts and progress as much as I do.At the very least, writing in a journal offers a symbolic exercise that what you do each day is important. It all matters. It is worthy of being committed to paper. So, write yourself a note that you can look back on in the future, to see just how far you've come

Even God rested on the seventh day. You need to rest too. Building any kind of muscular athletic body is hard work. The more performance you desire, generally the more brutal the work. You not only have to follow a very strict diet and make sure you get all your nutrients in the right combinations, but you also have to take your intensity in the gym up to a higher level than you did the last time you were in there. Some of you take it to a very extreme level and train like a crazed wild animals. Regardless of the level you take it, going to the gym and getting the work done is serious business and, like it or not, it takes its toll. Training and dieting like a bodybuilder for instance – like me – is really hard work. Its seriously hard work. But, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. An incredibly simple little thing that's a whole lot easier than sticking to your diet and working out like an animal. Pay close attention, because if you ever pay attention to anything I tell you, this is it. I know a lot of hardcore bodybuilders already know this—but, some actually forget it, or ignore it. Unfortunately, it catches up with them after a while, and then it's too late. For some, really too late. You might already know the secret too. But, if you're like countless others I've trained and counseled over the years, you don’t think it’s a big enough deal and don't pay attention to it. And, while it's probably the easiest thing you could possibly do, it’s still overlooked at every level of bodybuilding and fitness training. You know what it is? Are you ready? Can you handle it? Can you take it on with the same sense of urgency and importance as you do your workout? Here you go - You have to rest. Yes, rest. If you don't make recovery a priority you're not going to succeed. It’s not just a nice break from the action, and it’s not optional. It’s imperative. You have to take days off from the gym. And, even more importantly, you have to get enough sleep. In fact, I would argue that ignoring the need for sleep is having a devastating effect on our society at large. I have a friend in the medical profession who swears that Americans do serious damage to their health due to lack of sleep. Trust me, when I showed up in Venice Beach, California, the opportunity to go out and have a good time was everywhere. I was young and single and always happy to go out and have a good time. One of the hardest things in the world was to say no to everyone wanting to go out and hit the clubs, and go home and hit the sack. But, I knew I had to let my body heal. When it came time to compete, I destroyed guys who had a lot more natural size and ability than I had. Why? They worked hard in the gym, but then they went out and partied all night. I know a lot of young people feel it’s their duty to run the streets at least a couple of nights a week. There’s an even bigger temptation to do that as you see your body starting to getting bigger and leaner. The more jacked you look, the more you want to go out and show it off and see what kind of trouble you can get into. Remember the TV show, Jersey Shore?  I grew up there – l was one of those guys (Only bigger, leaner and less of a Guido) I can tell you that what you see on TV is the way it's done there. It's a real lifestyle. And, living it will not make you a champion. Run the streets like those guys and you won’t reach your goals. Period.  I’m not your dad and I can’t tell you what to do. And, I don’t want to. But, I can tell you that your body is not made to be pushed to its limits and not be given a chance to rest. That’s why I recommend you schedule at least TWO off days per week, if you really want to get big and ripped. Lowering your intensity on workout days so you can add in another workout day isn’t going to give you what you want. Get in the gym, go balls to the wall, then get out of there, go home and rest. When it comes to sleep, you have to get at least eight hours. When I made the jump, at age 22, to be a professional bodybuilder, I knew I needed my sleep. Lee Haney taught me how to get the most out of my workout without destroying my muscles. But no one had to tell me to get to bed at a reasonable hour and let my body recover. Everything I’ve learned in my career has simply been a confirmation of what I already intuitively knew. Especially when it comes to sleep.  Sleep does two things for you. First, it lets your muscles heal from the beating you’ve given them in the gym, allowing them to get bigger, leaner, harder, and more defined. Secondly, it lets you recharge your nervous system so that you don’t drag in the gym during your next workout. Instead, you can go in there with determination on your face, ready to make an assault on the weights. I get a lot of credit from my peers for having the absolute best work ethic they’ve ever witnessed. I’m proud of that. But what a lot of people don’t realize about my approach to bodybuilding is that I was just as serious about resting. Days off were days off. Nighttime was for sleeping. I even took a solid, half-hour, nap every afternoon to make absolutely sure my body was getting all the rest it needed. I can guarantee you that if I had run around all night like everyone else, I would have accomplished next to nothing as a bodybuilder. And I seriously doubt I'd be the owner and CEO of a $100 million supplement company. Let me add here that rest isn’t just for bodybuilders and fitness fanatics. It's for businessmen and women; it is for stay-at-home moms; it is for students – particularly in college!  I know how tempting it is to stay up studying late at night all week and then hit the clubs and parties all weekend. But, no one is at their best without proper rest. It’s simply not how we were created. There’s a time to work, a time to play, and a time to rest. And, when it's time to rest, you have to actually rest. On your day of rest do something special with your loved ones—wife, children, significant other, friends. Do something normal. If you're allowed a cheat meal, have it on a rest day. It keeps you well rounded so that you don’t get tired of the gym. It also keeps those who are special to you, if not satisfied, then maybe at least appeased. I know bad habits are hard to break and changing them can be a real challenge. But, getting adequate rest is absolutely imperative. Start making it a priority to get more rest, even try sneaking in a thirty minute catnap if you can. When it's time for bed, turn off the computer, the television and all your devices, get in bed and close your eyes. If there are things you didn’t get done today, don’t worry about it right now. Get your sleep and you’ll get more done tomorrow—in life and in the gym. Remember, life is all about choices. You can choose to be like all the other young guys and run around until sunrise, or you can choose to sleep and give your muscles the opportunity to repair the damage you’ve inflicted on them in the gym, so you can keep growing bigger and better. Always remember that you stimulate growth in the gym, but you grow outside the gym, while you're resting, especially while you're asleep. Being diligent about getting the rest you need between workouts is the only way those intense training sessions will ever bear fruit in the form of massive biceps, triceps, pecs, lats, quads, hams, delts, and calves. You simply can’t build your body without proper rest. Now you know the secret. What are you going to do with it? Why not hit the sack early tonight and sleep on it.....  

You can lift all the weight in the gym. But, if you don't eat right, not much is going to happen. Building the requisite muscle for an impressive physique boils down to one thing, and really, one thing only – how bad you want it. Building muscle, bodybuilding, physique art.... whatever you wan to call it, is nasty business. Unlike most pursuits, building muscle requires a total commitment that literally sets the course of your entire life. It encompasses everything. From what time you wake up, to how long and how hard you train, to where you go, what you do, who you do it with, to what you eat and what time you go to bed must be 110% concerned with your ultimate physique goal. So, no social life outside the gym, intense grueling training sessions at least every day, boring food you have to shop for and cook yourself and dealing with injuries, soreness and stiffness that's probably going to hurt every single day for the rest of your life.  If living such a life doesn't make you literally salivate, then toss your belt in the trash on your way out the gym door and stop at Target on the way home. Pick up a deck of cards, or a pair of knitting needles or something else that doesn't require commitment, sacrifice and a quantum degree of suffering. Unless you grew up tossing hay bales in Iowa, a powerfully built physique is not in your future. If you're still reading this, I'm going to let you in on what I believe is the number one priority included in this list of extreme lifestyle attributes. FOOD.Eating like a bodybuilder goes hand in hand with being a bodybuilder. There's an old saying that goes, “the battle is not with the weights, the battle is with the knife and fork.” That's a cute way of saying that feeding your body quality food five to seven times a day isn’t easy. It takes planning, preparation, and often times sacrifice. Most people aren’t willing to put that kind of effort into their eating. They miss meals, they let too much time elapse between meals, and they don’t eat the right foods. In order to always have the foods your muscles need to recover and grow, you have to plan ahead and you have to bring your food with you; to work, or school, or wherever you spend your day, so you don’t get caught without food when it's time to eat.  If you don’t eat right (that means the right foods and on time) you will short-circuit your training program.What’s the difference between this type of attention to diet and what the average Jack or Jill in the gym does? Do you really have to ask? You can always spot the ones that push harder with both their training and their nutrition, because they look amazing. Anyone that tries to downplay the importance of proper nutrition in the big picture of fitness is only fooling themselves.It’s not easy to make sure you’re always stocked up on all the meats, starches, vegetables, and supplements you need. It sure isn’t easy to keep meals cooked and packed ahead of time for the whole day when you eat every two to three hours. It’s not convenient to always make sure you have the right amounts of the right foods at the right times, every single day. But if it were easy, everybody would have fantastic physiques – and if you look around, you'll see almost no one does.Attaining such a physique is going to take a ton of hard work and it won’t happen overnight. You have to be in this for the long haul and never quit. You must challenge yourself to train with greater intensity, be totally precise with your nutrition and supplementation, and always be sure your body gets adequate rest between each and every ferocious workout. You don’t need someone yelling in your ear to motivate you, that voice should already be inside your head.Is this you I’m talking about now? There's no two ways about it. It either is or it isn't. If it isn't, there's always bowling.