EAT BIG TO GET BIG

Getting big with a lot of muscle is still the name of the game for bodybuilders. Sergio Oliva, 3- time winner of the IFBB Mr. Olympia, perhaps said it best, "There's only one way to get bigger, eat more!" Now that's elegant in its simplicity.

I graduated from high school weighing a scrawny 126-pounds. at 5'10". When I started training, twotime Mr. Olympia, Franco Columbu, (the Sardinian Samson), was often pictured with his thick chest distinguished by the deep separation between his upper and lower pectoral fibers. I remember feeling a bit of pride because I had a similar groove of delineation in my chest. Looking back, I now realize that it was not separation of various muscle groups but simply my ribs showing.

From my initial 126-pounds, I gradually built myself up to a top weight of 203-pounds. Every ounce of weight I've gained has been a slow, uphill, tooth-and-nail battle. But, as all the months of training rolled on by my 135-pound. squat became 185, 225 and soon enough, 405-pounds. Likewise, my muscle grew even if my metabolism and genetics were stubborn.

IN MY DAY...

My ultimate solution was the "then classic approach" to weight gain — gallon of the white stuff – milk! For a period of three years, I consumed at least a gallon of whole milk a day in addition to at least four to five meals. These were huge meals. It was not unusual for me to eat a half a pan of lasagna or a pound and a half of hamburger at a sitting, topped off with six yogurts or a quart of kefir (a yogurt-like beverage with active cultures that assist in health of the digestive tract). To top it off, I added a half-gallon of chocolate ice cream before bed.

Needless to say, consuming all that sugar and lactose gave me world-class flatulence.