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LEGAL DISCLAIMER
The information presented in this work is by no way intended as medical advice or as a substitute for medical counseling. The information should be used in conjunction with the guidance
and care of your physician. Consult your physician before beginning this program as you would
with any exercise and nutrition program. If you choose not to obtain the consent of your physician and/or work with your physician throughout the duration of your time using the recommendations in the program, you are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your actions.
By continuing with the program you recognize that despite all precautions on the part of
Pakulski Fitness International, there are risks of injury or illness which can occur because of
your use of the aforementioned information and you expressly assume such risks and waive,
relinquish and release any claim which you may have against Pakulski Fitness International, or
its affiliates as a result of any future physical injury or illness incurred in connection with, or as
a result of, the use or misuse of the program.
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HARDCORE ABS
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you how to bring them out, and save you a TON of time and frustration.
And just let me clear the air on something, AB training WILL NOT make your waist thick. Just
like curling a soup wont make your biceps big. Your body will adapt to the resistance way
sooner than it will be able to grow, and you will never use enough resistance to build any size
(unless youre training like a strongman for 10 years).
AB TRAINING 101
Lets get right to it, ab training is just like any other muscle under the MI40 principles, but
with a few other minor considerations. If youre starting to understand the concepts behind
building other body parts, and how to execute exercises for those, then youve got a good
head start. Near-all those tips and rules will apply here as well.
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inches at first, do it right and you will get stronger with time and persistence.
3) Maintain Tension.
- Slow, continuous, deliberate.
- No hiccups, no jerking, no swinging.
- Try to keep the muscles engaged as long as possible. Time under Tension (TUT) is king for
abs.
Learning to HOLD your contraction in the shortest position is probably one of the most
valuable tools you will EVER come across for ab training. Start with 2-second isometrics and
work up to 6-second isometric holds. The key here is not simply to hold the position, but to
focus on continually trying to get the muscle shorter and shorter, making the contraction
harder and harder. Exhaling all the air from your lungs and diaphragm is essential. When you
think youve got it all expelled, expel some more, trust me theres some still there expelling it
all will make the biggest difference in the level of contraction you can successfully achieve.
4) Hard contractions.
Regardless of your goal, you want make sure you focus on HARD contractions, and intenseshort workouts. This is definitely the most neglected component of most exercise programs,
especially with ab training.
Most people are directing all their focus and attention on simply completing a rep, while
others are focused on using as much weight as possible to finish a prescribed number of reps.
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FUNCTION
The Abs are primarily made up of 4 muscles, that function in 4 different manners; all of which
are important for great core development.
Example:
Lean back until your low back muscles contract, then round your spine forward (slouch) while
sucking your stomach in, and imagine trying to touch your shoulders to your hips.
2) Trunk Rotation.
This is the most neglected movement for all humans after the age of 25 (when we stop
playing sports/being active), hence why so many people hurt their backs while twisting
weak muscles. Adding a simple twist to the top of your movement (one side at a time) is all
you need. Doing it in different planes, with different resistance profiles is a good idea.
3) Trunk stabilization.
Static contractions and stabilization are a major function and shouldnt be neglected. One
of the best ways to progress someone with weak core muscles is to add simple manual
resistance with your hands. Try making them (or you) sit really tall, and in a controlled way,
push them in different directions while they resist with isometric contractions. You can push in
any direction, back, transverse, twist, etc. (other than forward, which would be a spinal erector
exercise) you could even move them into some different starting positions, for example:
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start them rotated, or leaning in one direction, then apply
isometrics.
SUMMARY
Learning to ENGAGE, CONTRACT, HOLD and SQUEEZE the abdominals will be the keys to your
ultimate success. Executing a movement for completion sake is a waste of time, unless youre
training for a specific sport or activity. To improve the esthetic of your abdominals, control
and contraction are everything.
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PROGRESSION
How often should I train my abs?
Be progressive. For fastest progress, I suggest working your way up to training abs 5-7
times/week... that doesnt mean you should start there.
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VOLUME
Week 1:
3 exercises, 3 sets each.
1 for lower, 1 oblique, 1 upper abs.
Week 2:
3 exercises, 4 sets each with 3-second isometric holds on each rep.
Week 3:
3 exercises, 5 sets each with 5-second isometric holds on each.
Week 4:
4 exercises, 4 sets each done in two Supersets format.
Example:
- A1/A2, rest for 1 minute, then repeat x4
- B1/B2, rest 1 minute, repeat x4
Week 5:
4 exercises, 4 sets each, done in two Supersets format, with 3-second isometric holds.
Week 6:
4 exercises, Giant Set format.
Example:
- A1/A2/A3/A4, rest 2 minutes, repeat x4
Week 7:
4 exercises, Giant Set format, with 3-second isometric holds.
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REP RANGES
Proper rep range for abdominal training is 12-20
repetitions, or, 40 seconds to 2 minutes of Time under
Tension.
Once youve learned proper execution, combined with
performing HARD contractions during the isometric
holds, 8-12 reps will be difficult with no added
resistance youll be adding the resistance manually
via the tension generated during the contraction!
Counting reps is much less important once youve
learnt to properly engage and contract your core,
therefore see the prescribed rep range above as a
guideline.
If you find yourself outside of this guideline on the high
end, meaning above 20 reps, youve gone too fast and havent spent enough time performing
isometric contractions.
If you find yourself outside of this range on the low end, decrease the resistance or
difficulty of the exercise. DO NOT decrease the duration or intensity of the contraction!
Training your brain and nervous system to only ever engage the core HARD, will result in
HARDCORE ABS!!
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DOWNLOAD COMPLETE SYSTEM
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Mass Intelligence
Training Manual
By Ben Pakulski
Honors Kinesiology Degree, CSCS, ACE, MAT
Legal Disclaimer
The information presented in this work is by no way intended as medical advice
or as a substitute for medical counselling. The information should be used in
conjunction with the guidance and care of your physician. Consult your physician
before beginning this program as you would with any exercise and nutrition
program. If you choose not to obtain the consent of your physician and/or work with
your physician throughout the duration of your time using the recommendations in
the program, you are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your actions.
By continuing with the program, you recognize that, despite all precautions on the
part of Ben Pakulski Athletics, LLC, there are risks of injury or illness which can
occur because of your use of the aforementioned information and you expressly
assume such risks and waive, relinquish and release any claim which you may have
against Ben Pakulski Athletics, LLC, or its affiliates as a result of any future physical
injury or illness incurred in connection with, or as a result of, the use or misuse of
the program.
WARNING:
I believe this is the hardest and most effective muscle program in the world. This is
NOT for you IF youre a tire kicker, lazy ass, or looking for a quick fix.
Are you going to stick your head in the sand? Are you going to go into denial?
Pretend you didnt invest in this? Pretend you are already where you want to be?
For your sake, I hope not and, because youre here right now, I know youre not that
kind of person.
If you put every ounce of your being into the next 40 days, I promise youll get the
most incredible physique of your life. But you have to be ready to trust the science,
trust the program, and trust yourself.
The content (not to mention the length) of this system was created to
scare off the weak and cowardly, the do-nothings, and the bitter know-it-alls. If
youre reading this right now, it tells me that you arent someone who is going to sit
on your hands and do nothing. So, Im going to make a blatant proposal:
IF you follow this program, I think it will change your life, and I KNOW it will
change your physique!
And it will answer a common question:
No! It is NOT impossible to gain muscle AND lose body fat at the same time.
In fact, I suggest that you should expect it!
This program is designed to get you the MOST growth in the shortest amount of
time. This does not mean that you should continue on it forever (more on this
below).
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anyone want to minimize their time in the gym and maximize results? Sounds like
pretty simple meathead math to me.
Looking around each day, anyone with a trained eye can see that you can break it
all down to about 3 or 4 common mistakes that everyone makes.
1) Poor range of motion.
2) No tension the muscle they think theyre working isnt engaged
AT ALL.
3) Inability to give the muscle enough stimulus to grow (overload).
4) Its obvious that people have no idea how to eat.
The crazy thing is that its EASY to fix them!
After many years of exposure to this sport, it is now even easy to pick out the
exercises that people are doing improperly without ever seeing them in the gym.
Simply looking at someones structure, posture, range of motion, even how they
walk, will tell me a lot of information about what is going on in their body and how
they likely perform exercises, and move.
This lack of exercise knowledge seems to stem from a blind leading the blind
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mentality. People tend to look at those with the best or biggest physiques, and try
to emulate them. Or, they learn from the newest fad on TV or the Internet. Well,
that could be a great place to start if you were sure that the person you are learning
from has any clue what they are doing. Often, these people with the best physiques
are just blessed genetically or simply work harder or are very meticulous with their
nutrition. Or, perhaps it is just a well-positioned marketing program. All factors that
YOU, an outsider, cannot see.
This, then, is where the premise of MI40 began.
Most people see an overly-muscled IFBB Pro bodybuilder and assume two things -genetics and performance-enhancing drugs.
Well, the truth of the matter is that, yes, I do build muscle better than 90% of the
people in the world; however, I do NOT build muscle at anywhere near the rate at
which my direct competition builds muscle. To get myself to be one of the top 6
bodybuilders in the world, I need to perfect every single aspect of training, recovery,
and nutrition. My quest is never ending, and I feel I learn something new everyday.
Every single time I step in the gym, my focus is not only on building muscle and
having great workouts, but also on how to improve each and every exercise so that
I am able to get the most out of each muscle fiber on every rep.
This has taken a lot of studying of physics-angles and forces; anatomy and
biomechanics. Hours and hours of reading textbooks and researching the most
brilliant people in the world (and often seeking them out to train with them or learn
from them directly). All of the cumulative information gathered over the last 13
years has led me here, to MI40, and passing all of this information on to you.
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system. Brain says contract; nervous system sends a signal; muscles move.
The strength of contraction is dependent on the tension perceived in the muscle.
The more tension, the more muscle fibers that are told to contract.
Eventually those muscles fatigue, but the nervous system is still getting a signal
to contract those muscles hard. At some point, the nervous system can no longer
recruit any more muscle fibers to contract and the muscle stops working.
Every time this happens, the body is asked to adapt, thereby forming new
neurological pathways to the muscle and, therefore, a greater percentage of
muscles can fire at once.
3) Optimizing range of motion
Every muscle has a specific range of motion that it moves through. To fully exploit
muscle growth, it is absolutely essential to know what this range is, and how the
muscle is intended to move.
Be sure to watch the online videos and review the Exercise Execution document to
learn what full range of motion is for each respective exercise.
4) Increasing muscular torque
Muscle communicates in terms of tension. Torque is the force directed through a
muscle that results in greater tension in the muscle: more tension, more growth!
People have heard this so why dont they do it? Maybe because people dont want
to start with light weights, or put in the time to learn, or maybe they just want fast
results now.
How does this apply to you? Well, the goal of MI40 is to teach you how to create
the MAXIMUM amount of tension in your muscles. Weights are irrelevant. If we
can increase tension and torque in the working muscle without increasing the actual
weight, we grow equally as well and minimize chance of injury from uncontrolled
heavy weight and improper movements.
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For example, you cant train chest the day after you train triceps.
Every body part is trained twice in a week, every 3 weeks.
How do I know I am creating the maximum amount of tension?
INTENTIONS! If you are applying Intentions whenever possible, the amount of
tension you are applying is completely under your control.
When using Intentions, the amount of force you apply (either in or out), is inversely
proportional to the weight used. The lighter the weight, the harder you can/should
push.
The heavier the weight, the less you will be able to use Intentions.
Always do your best to use intention on the negative portion of ALL reps. Your body
is stronger eccentrically and therefore you can apply additional force without having
to worry about not completing the rep.
PLEASE, ALWAYS USE A COMPETENT SPOTTER!!!
Watch the online videos to learn how to execute each exercise properly and re-read
the Exercise Execution Guide multiple times over. Youll always pick up something
new. Dont be lazy or assume you know how to train.
When someone starts using Intentions, is it very normal for the weight to drop
significantly? This is okay. You are still creating as much, if not more, tension
inside your muscles.
Once you feel the increased tension on the muscle, and can maintain this through
the ENTIRE range of motion, slowly start increasing the weight back to where you
were prior to using Intentions.
You should be back to using your previous weight by the end of your first run
through the MI40 programonly now, doing it with INTENTION!
If you have a hard time learning to feel the exercises with Intention,
RE-WATCH the training videos. There are many helpful little tricks and hints in
there to help you along.
Try doing a set with 4-second Concentric reps its EXTREMELY difficult and you
will get tired quickly, whereas your muscles could continue to work on the eccentric
portion even after your concentric strength is gone.
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The point here is to train the muscles again before they have a chance to recover
completely.
You may see many people taking longer between sets. The point of this would
be to allow the nervous system, which takes more time, to recover. This would be
advantageous in strength training. It is not as effective for muscle-building.
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researched and proven to stimulate this precise training environment inside the
muscle! No other training protocol comes close to stimulating this amount of
muscle growth.
Testosterone has been shown to increase in response to any intense exercise, in
both men and women. Its levels peak after 20 minutes and begin to fall around the
30-40 minute mark. The goal of any workout plan should be to stimulate this natural
release of testosterone, and get out of the gym before it plummets!
GH is released in response to exercise and the presence of lactic acid in the blood.
Lactic acid is released during anaerobic exercise for the first 2 minutes of activity.
GH levels will actually continue to be stable for a long time during training.
IGF-1 -- Insulin-like growth factor is only released during exercise when muscles are
pushed to their limit. This is the true muscle- building hormone. This is what makes
NOS so effective. Taking muscles to their brink causes maximal growth via IGF-1.
Here is another example of what a NOS set might look like
Incline Dumbbell Press:
Complete the first 3 sets to failure with 8 repetitions at a tempo of
4-0-1-0.
4 seconds to lower
0 second pause at the bottom
1 second to press the weight
0 second pause at the top
That equals 5 sets per rep -- 8 reps per set equals 40 seconds per set!
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Lets assume for this example that you were able to use 100 lbs for the first 2 sets,
and 90 for the 3rd set.
For the 4th and final set, the NOS set: Using 90 lbs again, the set will look identical
to the last one, except that once you have completed the 8th repetition, you will
drop the weight by approx 20% (in this case, that is 18 lbs, so we will drop 90,
70, 50, 30) and continue with perfect form, and the same 4-0-1-0 tempo until you
cannot complete another rep (ideally 4-5 repetitions with each weight).
**It is extremely important to note that there must not be longer than 10 seconds
between decreasing weight increments -- any longer will negate the NOS process.
**
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MI40 is so effective because it considers the critical variables to create the ideal
weight training program. The first and foremost is execution and form. Sure, you
can grow muscle from lifting weights improperly, but you can also build muscle by
lifting sacks of potatoes all day long.
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