 | Josh has always been in good shape and very athletic. However, after attending a private school and then picked on in high school decided it was time to get bigger. See how he gained an impressive 65 lbs! |
 | Before: 145 lbs |  | After: 210 lbs |
Vital Stats
Name: Josh "The Mule" Haddad
Email: JH1504@ship.edu
Years Lifting: A year and a half
Favorite Body Parts: Biceps, triceps, and shoulders
Favorite Exercise: Absolutely everything and anything
Favorite Supplements: Muscle Milk and a whole lot of food. You don't need anything else.
Hobbies: Spending time with my friends at school, training other people at the gym, all kinds of sports, and hanging out with my family.
Before:
Weight: 145 lbs
Current Body Size:
Weight: 210 lbs
Chest: 44 Inches
Biceps: 17 1/2 Inches
Forearms: 14 3/4 Inches
Legs: 27 Inches
Waist: 38 Inches
Lifting Abilities:
Bench: 280lbs
Curl: 140lbs
Leg Press: 850lbs
My Life Story
My entire life mainly consisted of sitting inside and watching television and playing videogames; normal kids life. Although I was fairly on the lazy side I was also involved in a lot of sports growing up. I played football for a year, soccer for two years, baseball for five years, hockey for three years, I was ranked number one in my bowling league and had the U.S. bowling team wanting me to go overseas and represent them in one of there junior classics, and lastly I played basketball for two years.
A bunch of people told me I just had a knack for sports. I just picked up a ball and knew what I was doing. Being in these sports activities really influenced me a lot growing up. It let me meet new people, let me challenge myself against other athletes, and also kept me in shape.
Although I played all these sports throughout my life, when I got to high school, that all changed. I went to a private school which didn't have many sports to choose from, so I ended up putting an end to most of my sports activities; except bowling.
My freshman year in high school was a very influential part in my life. Along with the hard transition, I had to worry about the upper classman doing all kinds of crap to the incoming freshman. Well I was one of the lucky ones that got jumped in the middle of the hallways in between classes by six upperclassmen. They tried it again and I kind of stood up for myself, but I was no threat at all to them.
I told myself I was going to start doing something to get bigger, but never wanted to lift, I thought it was the dumbest thing in the world. I was just cruising through my junior year and right towards the end of the year, a fight broke out, nothing really happened, but it got me thinking, if I would ever get into a fight, I would get destroyed.
Once again, I didn't do anything about it. FINALLY, the summer before my senior year, my friend Erik decided it would be fun to workout over the summer at our school. I wasn't all that happy, but I figured I would give it a shot.
My First Day In The Gym
My first day lifting was horrible. I put on 135 lbs, the average starting weight. Well let's just say I got smoked, I couldn't even do one. I felt like the biggest pussy on the face of the earth. It turns out I could only bench 95 lbs comfortably. Since I was working out with Erik and his brother Paul, they could both lift more than me, which really lit a fire under my @ss.
I used that @ss motivation and in no time at all I was on the brink of benching 200. I thought me benching 200 lbs would be impossible at first, but then it happened, one of the happiest days of my life, I benched 200 lbs.
That summer I gained 20 lbs and was up from 145 to 165 in weight. Then school started back up and I kept working out in the gym, granted it was a piece of junk, it got the job done. When I came back everyone commented on how much better I looked and that was all I needed to hear,
I decided I wanted to make lifting a part of my life. I joined an LA Fitness by my house and started working out with my sister's boyfriend Jeremy. He was huge, he had it all going for him, and this was exactly what I needed. I used him as motivation because one day I wanted to be built and @ss strong as him.
I worked my butt of all throughout my senior year and week by week I would be putting on pounds and adding tons of weight to my exercises. Midway through my senior year I was at a plateau that I could not get over for several months. This is when I started taking my first supplement.
I was mostly against them at first, but decided I needed something to get myself over this hump. I started taking Cellmass and NO-Xplode. This worked like a charm; I got over my hump and then went back to a clean workout without any supplements except protein.
Cellmass & NO-Xplode.
For the most part I was in the 180's for weight, but I knew I needed to add more size to my body. I decided to go on a bulking stage over summer before college. I went from 180 to 194 lbs by the end of summer. It was extremely hard to keep weight on at college though because I didn't have a lot of time to life and eat like I normally had.
I ended up losing almost 20 lbs and was back down to 175. It was hard for sure. I went home for Thanksgiving and went on a rampage. Thanksgiving day I weighed 178, and by the time I came back from Christmas break I weighed 203. This was huge. I felt great, I looked great and I was stronger than ever.
EVERYBODY took notice to this drastic change. People asked left and right if I took steroids and I could honestly say that I didn't and that was a great accomplishment, for people to think I was big enough to take steroids, but in reality I didn't. I currently weight 210 lbs and am about to start cutting down somewhat; still deciding on that.
How I Did It, Supplements & Advice
I gained so much muscle and so much weight in a reasonable amount of time because of this motto; "Eat big, Train Big, GET BIG." This is essential for gained weight and getting big. At first I lifted because it was something to do, but now I wake up every morning and can't wait till I get in the gym because I know then next day I am that much bigger and stronger.
It is very hard keeping up with all the new supplements out there - I'm sure you have the same problem understanding what is going on in the supplement world. I do not think supplements should be used unless you are stuck in a rut.
I didn't start taking supplements until I hit my plateau, but right after that I stopped, just stuck with the muscle milk and a whole lot of food. I think food sometimes goes underestimated, because I gained all my weight off of food and protein shakes, nothing else.
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So if you want to spend 100 bucks a month on supplements, then go ahead, but all you need is protein and food and sleep; sleep is another underestimated aspect in lifting. A lot of lifting heavy weights is all mental. If you tell yourself you are going to lift that weight, you're going to lift it and vice versa.
I max bench once a month and the last time I maxed I got 270. Today I went to the gym and maxed 275. I contemplated stopping at that, but told my friends to throw on 280. They I knew this was a stretch, but I believed with everything inside me that I could throw this weight up like nothing.
I maxed 280 today by 50% being mental, 25% being to prove to everyone that doubted me I could do it, and 25% just for pride. I used all that motivation to get that, but I guarantee if I didn't believe I could do it, I wouldn't have come close to getting it.
So my advice to you is stay mentally tough, keep well rested so you can stay in the gym longer and lift harder, and eat as much and drink as much as you possible can.
| Meal Number | Time | Meal |
| 1 Breakfast | 8:30am | 4 Scrambled eggs 2 Pieces of sausage 5 Pieces of French toast sticks |
| 2 Snack | 10:30am | 1 Bagel with cream cheese 1 Yogurt |
| 3 Lunch | 12:30pm | 2 Pieces of chicken Some carb filled food A meat Sandwich 4 Boiled eggs |
| 4 Snack | 2:30pm | Protein shake before the gym-2 scoops |
| 5 Snack | 4:30pm | Protein shake after the gym-2 scoops |
| 6 Dinner | 6:30pm | 2 Pieces chicken 1 Tuna sandwich 4 Boiled eggs |
| 7 Snack | 9:00pm | Spaghetti and meatballs Protein shake-2 scoops |
| 8 Before Bedtime Snack | 11:30pm | 2 Packs of oatmeal Protein shake-2 scoops |
Workout Routine
For every exercise I will do a drop set in reps by one, but increase the weight. EX: Preacher curls- Set 1 I do 8 reps at 95 lbs, and the next set I will do 7 reps, but will up the weight, and keep doing that for 5 sets until I reach 4 reps. (Be sure to do one exercise of warm-ups and stretch appropriately).
Monday - Chest & Abs:
- Flat Bench - 5 sets
- Decline Bench - 5 sets
- Incline Bench - 5 sets
- Machine Flyes - 5 sets
- Dumbbell Flyes - 5 sets
- Flat and Decline sit ups: 3 Sets of 20 each
Chest
Abs
Tuesday - Back:
- Lat Pulldowns - 5 sets
- Triangle Bar Pulldowns - 5 sets
- Upright Rows - 5 sets
- Shrugs - 5 sets
- Dumbbell Rows - 5 sets
- Seated Row - 5 sets
Wednesday - Off Day:
Thursday - Shoulders:
- Shoulder Press (Machine) - 5 sets
- Military Press - 5 sets
- Dumbbell Press - 5 sets
- Front and Lateral Raises - 5 sets
- Incline Front Raises - 5 sets
Friday - Biceps & Triceps:
- Preacher curls (Machine) - 3 sets
- Straight Bar Curls - 3 sets
- Alternate Dumbbell Curls - 3 sets
- Hammer Curls - 3 sets
- Tricep Extensions (Machine) - 3 sets
- Pushdowns - 3 sets
- Lying Tricep Extensions - 3 sets
- Close Grip Bench - 3 sets
Biceps
Triceps
Saturday - Legs & Forearms:
- Leg Press - 3 sets
- Leg Extensions - 3 sets
- Hamstring Curls - 3 sets
- Squats - 3 sets
- Straight Legged Deadlifts - 3 sets
- Overhand Grip Curls - 3 sets
- Wrist Curls - 3 sets
Legs
Forearms
Sunday - Off Day:
Closing
I would just like to say that lifting has been one of the best things that I have ever gotten into in my life. Not only is it healthy for you, it gives you the opportunity to do so many more things in your life. You will feel 100% better about yourself, people will respect you, and you can help share what you know to other people.
Because I was very skinny and got bigger, I can help all those people out there, just letting them know that if I can do it, anyone can do it. It might come slowly, it might come very quickly, but no matter what, you have to stay with it. Set yourself a goal and stick to it and do not stop until you reach that goal.
Once you hit that goal, set another goal even higher and push yourself to the limit until you reach that goal, and keep going from there. Overall, I am very happy with what I have done and I thank GOD everyday for giving me the opportunity to be capable to bodybuild. So for all you hard gainers, skinny guys, and lazy bums, take my word for it, get out there and join a gym and start lifting, it will be the best decision you will ever make. "EAT BIG, TRAIN BIG, GET BIG"
Good luck!
What do you have to lose?
Try it out.
JOSH HADDAD
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