Guess what?! For years the magazines claimed that you needed to train 6 days a week for 2-3 hours per day. When Hugo prompted me to change this, at first I was very skeptical. However, Hugo explained to me that there is a chemical reason behind this. After 1 hour of training your production of anabolic hormones like GH and testosterone decline and your cortisol levels start increasing. Cortisol is an adrenal hormone secreted by stress and its purpose is to store body fat and burn muscle. Cortisol is BAD NEWS FOLKS! We don’t want cortisol, ok? So as a result of long workouts, you burn more muscle than what you put on.

So when Hugo explained to me, and I started training with him for less than 60 minutes at a time, guess what? I started growing like a weed! So remember everyone, when it comes to bodybuilding, sometimes less is more, and quality is definitely more important than quantity.

Too much cardio kills muscle; period! Once again, an excessive amount of cardio will increase cortisol levels and make it much harder for you to lose body fat.

As a matter of fact, I recall a time in my life when I was doing 2 hours of cardio per day and following a low calorie bodybuilding diet in order to try and get my abs. However, Hugo put an end to this and we focused on the weight training and added cardio 3-4 days a week for 25-30 minutes at the right time. Guess what? As soon as I lowered the cardio and increased my calories with the right macronutrient ratio, I started losing body fat again. Why? Because if you restrict calories and also add a ton of cardio on top, your body lowers its metabolism in order to compensate for the increased activity level (kind of when you get a big phone bill and cut on the number of long distance calls the next time).

Besides, remember that too much cardio increases cortisol levels, and cortisol breaks down muscle tissue and also decrease testosterone levels.

Like yourself, I was a victim of most of the magazines out there, whose only purpose is the advertising of bodybuilding supplements. After consulting Hugo about which supplements are needed for muscle growth, I was shocked to hear what he had to say! Hugo broke down the most popular bodybuilding supplements out on the market today and said that he would not even give them to his dog. I remember following the magazine routines and bodybuilding diets prescribed (along with the copious amounts of supplements recommended) and having nothing to show for it but an empty wallet.

"But wait a minute", you may say, "Isn't the purpose of the bodybuilding magazines to inform us of what are the correct ways to reach our bodybuilding goals and to provide us with the latest cutting edge information?" Well, yes, except for the fact that they make more revenue by selling ads to supplement companies than by selling you the magazine. You see, a full page ad in one of the major publications can run well over $10,000 per page! And when I say $10,000 I am being very conservative; it is more like $20,000. Now, next time you go to a newsstand and you pick up your favorite muscle magazine, count the number of ads. Do the math and then you'll see what I am talking about. In order for the magazines to continue getting the repeat business of these advertisers (supplement companies) they will not print the truth on how to get muscle. Why? Because the truth is that in order to get large amounts of muscle the key ingredients are proper training and diet! Some supplements such as whey protein are good only if it is inconvenient for you to eat several real meals a day. Other than that, please don't starve your wallet.