It can even just pop up in your head randomly. It is even hard not to think about it. Everything is just so tangible!

Now, when you think about working on your goal of getting big and strong, is it the same way as when you think about a girl?

For most of you, it’s not. Everything is so abstract now. Nothing is readily available to think about. Work? Any time you think about it, you have to approach the problem again, trying to find a way to tackle it bit by bit. You are never sure of where you are on your progress line. You are not sure of what exactly you still need to do. In short, everything is blurred in your mind.

So how do we fix this problem?

• Think about your goal a lot more than you do now.
• Write your goals down on a piece of paper (follow these 6 steps. They are at the beginning of every good training book or article that you’ll ever read).
• READ that piece of paper first thing in the morning and last thing before going to bed. At least until you know exactly and vividly what your goals are (until thinking about your goals is as easy as thinking about a girl).
• Always, ALWAYS check to make sure you know exactly where you are on your journey.
• Then think about what steps you can take to reach your goal on time (because there is always a deadline).

Don’t worry. It will not be hard. Because:

• It is pleasurable to think about your goal (here’s why).
• Your conscience will not leave you alone if you are not working on your goal.

RECAP: It is crucial that you know exactly and vividly what your goals are. Based on that, you must constantly check your progress, be aware of where you are on the journey, and think of ways to get there quicker.

• You get help and support from other like-minded people.
• You think about your goal (constructively, deeply, and vividly) more often than anything else.

How do you get that? Easy:

• Start a thread on popular bodybuilding forum like forum.bodybuilding.com. The thread will be your journal throughout your journey toward reaching your goal.
• Start a blog offering your own tips and thoughts on training

Why a thread on a forum?

• As a newbie to training, you should start a thread on one of these forums instead of a blog. This way, you will immediately get lots of attention from experienced bodybuilders and avid visitors of the forum. Just clearly state your goals, your plan, and ask people to join your journey. Soon you will get valuable feedbacks on your workout program, your meal plan, and just about everything pertaining to training.
• You are to keep posting new entries to the thread regularly (daily or at least 3-4 times a week). You will talk about your progress, any problem you may have, or any thought or tip regarding training you may have come up with. This way, you will think about training on a daily basis. More importantly, the act of writing everything down on your thread makes sure that you are thinking about training seriously. After all, you are writing to the public, not on your secret diary.
• It often happens that people with the same goal will engage in your thread. They will motivate you, give you valuable information that you may have missed, and best of all, make you accountable.

Why a blog?

• As you get bigger and leaner, your knowledge of training also increases tremendously. Your level of experience is now very valuable to many people. A thread is no longer the relevant medium. With a blog, you have more freedom regarding the topics of your writing. Also, you can categorize all your posts, choose your own theme for the blog, and become even more serious about your entries.
• As an ectomorph, you will have to lead a unique but healthy lifestyle for as long as you want to keep your hard-earned muscle. I’m talking about years and even decades of hard work lying ahead. It is a part of your life now–and a big one it is. Therefore, why not make it more meaningful? After all, you can learn valuable lessons about life from just about anything, provided that you pay attention and always be curious. Therefore:
• A blog is the perfect medium. You can still post daily entries with thoughts on training, but now on a rather abstract level. From training, you have learned how to achieve any goal in life, how to get things done quickly and easily, how to stay motivated, how to inspire other people, etc. So please, share it with the world. Share it with your very own blog!
• Your blog will make you accountable and keep you thinking about training. Coz believe me, it doesn’t take much to NOT think about eating healthy, resting fully, and lifting heavily. And just like that, you will lose so much progress that costs valuable time and money. Take this blog for example: 3 posts a week. Sharing with the world my own perspective on training. And in the process, I have learnt so much more than I could have imagined at the start while keeping a good focus on training.

So take action. What are you waiting for? Go to a forum and start a thread. Or if you are more experienced, go to Word Press and create a blog. It will be one of the best decision you’ve made in a while.

As an ectomorphs, you are at a disadvantage when it comes to gaining muscles and getting strong. You may even think that you are not very smart either. However, those are no excuse for not daring to dream big and keep trying hard when the goings gets tough. Don’t use your current limitations to justify your failures. Don’t sit still and expect a secret formula to come along and magically get you what you want.

Training to get big is about taking action, staying persistent, and giving 100% of your effort consistently. There are only a handful of principles to take heed of (and most of which are clichés). It is not hard to learn how to get big; the real challenge lies in your ability to follow these rigid principles for an extended period of time.

RECAP: Don’t use your limitations to justify your failures to get big. Don’t expect something magical to happen. Take action. Stay Persistent. Give all your heart. And you’ll get big.

Getting to the point where you actually sit down and try to seriously research for ways to get big is already a big step forward. However, this is also when you painfully become aware of your ignorance regarding training knowledge. So many sources of knowledge talk about so many different ways to get big. So many different programs and exercises to choose from. Every single person claims to be able to help you gain massive muscles in amazingly short time! Who to listen to? Which program to pick? See how much you have grown since first starting working out?

The thing is, there is no way you can sit there and be able to understand everything about training and tell who is right and who is talking bullshit. There is too much information, and too many different or even opposing opinions. The only thing you can do in this situation is: knowing how to find the right program and just get started immediately. Pick one program to stick with… and have FAITH in it. Trust in your choice. Believe that the program will be able to help you. Chances are, you will not fail.

Getting big and gaining muscle mass is not just about program selection. 90% of your success comes from proper rest and nutrition for ample recovery, and that requires determination, consistency, faith, and a burning desire to get big. Most ectomorphs never get big because they don’t have what it takes to get big, not because they cannot find the right program. Follow my instruction on how to find the right program, put in the right effort and determination, and the rest will be history.

RECAP: Follow my instruction on how to find the right program, start immediately, and stay determined, consistent, and faithful to your program. Most important of all, nurture a ferocious, burning desire to get big. And you WILL get big.

Sources:

1. First photo: humorblogging.com

2. Second photo: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

3. Third photo (self-mixed): smashingmagazine.com

What’s more, most programs have to also satisfy these “other” requirements: 1. They must be easy for you to follow immediately without making you go through any technique training session, 2. They must make sense to what little knowledge you have about training (which are mostly wrong), 3. They must be quick and easy so that you can gain tremendous results after just a few quick workout sessions, etc.

The thing is, these two sets of principles are not complementary, meaning: No program can satisfy both sets of principles. Simply a big NO.

Even when you’ve found a great program that satisfies all of the fundamental requirements, it cannot give you much gain unless you understand the principles. Training for muscle gain is consisted of more than just time in the gym. In fact, working out is only 10% of what is needed, sufficient nutrition and rest time for proper recovery is the other 90%. Thus, even with a good program, many factors go into determining whether or not you will get bigger and stronger. It is simply impossible to control for all these factors without understanding the principles.

Everyone is different, and also, things happen and keep you from training properly. By understanding all the principles of training:

• First of all, you know which program is the right one for you for your purpose (strength training at first, then muscle gaining, then fat burning).
• Second of all, you will have enough knowledge to tweak the program a tiny bit here and there to your specific need and also to react to the changes that happen to you along the journey.

(The fact is, most people mess too much with the original program without realizing it. Tweaking a training program requires a great deal of work actually).

RECAP: Without understanding the principles of training, you cannot make progress even with a great program.

Sources:

1. First photo (self-mixed): http://www.hahastop.com/
2. My own
3. My own

The journey to reaching your goals is never the same as you expect it to be. NEVER. All you need is to keep your focus on your goal, keep your burning desire, and keep on persisting. I made no gain the first two years of training. Even when I started to train seriously and properly, problems keep popping up and throwing me way off track. I make more sacrifice than I planned, but I also learn more and benefit so much more than I hoped for.

To have a goal and to REACH your goal is the best thing to happen in life. Every journey is always worth traveling if you are willing to stick with it till the end. So don’t hesitate. Start right now, whether you are ready or not.

RECAP: Start your journey right now!!! whether you are ready or not.