It started in the most primitive way you can imagine.
Before the championships or my move to America, and long before anyone talked about a "Golden Age of Bodybuilding," it began with a fantasy in the forests of Austria.
My friends and I imagined ourselves as gladiators. During the summer, we would charge up dirt trails all day, stopping to pound out sets of push-ups and squats. We would struggle through chin-ups on tree branches so thick our hands would slip off after the first few reps. And then, when we'd exerted ourselves, we would build a fire and cook our meat under the stars.
You could analyze the hell out of what led us to that particular fantasy. But if I had to guess, it was about escaping the depression that surrounded us by dreaming about men who created their own destiny by building their bodies, honing their skills, and, yes, "engineering the alpha."
The next summer, I would discover weights, and I was only a few years away from making my escape real by coming to America. The rest, you know.
The Modern-Day Gladiator
That commitment to fitness that I developed as a young, imaginary gladiator has stayed with me all my life. After I won my titles, I wasn't content putting them on the shelf and walking away. I wanted to inspire others to join me in my fitness crusade.
When I began my career, if you asked someone where the nearest gym was, they would most likely look at you like you were a serial killer. If you were lucky, they would point you to some faraway dungeon with a few barbells and some weights.
Today, it's hard to find a strip mall or a building without a fitness center, and for the most part, you would never mistake a modern gym for a torture chamber. We've come a long way, but I know this is not a crusade that has an obvious end point. We will always have to keep pushing forward and fighting to show people the benefits of health.
I met Adam Bornstein and John Romaniello because they share my commitment to health and fitness. When I decided to get back into the fitness game, I sought out the best and brightest experts in the field. In that search, I asked everyone from my fans to my advisors who they recommended I look at. Without fail, the names "Romaniello" and "Bornstein" kept floating to the top. They've spent their careers inspiring people to live better lives.
We got to know each other when they collaborated with me on my website to share the latest information and to spread our message as far as we can. For me, it's been an incredible experience. I've seen the fitness industry move from the workout pamphlets I used to staple together and walk to the post office to the lightning-fast sharing over Twitter and Facebook. We can cast a much bigger net these days.
Within just a few months of connecting with Roman and Adam, I had applied some of their ideas to the oldest and most reliable testing ground I know: my own body. For me, it was very much was like the old days, only instead of doing chin-ups on trees and hoping for results, I was using advanced concepts, backed by science, to increase testosterone or manage insulin. I was using some of the concepts you can read about in their book Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha.
<A New Approach to the Old Dream
As you can probably guess, the techniques worked, or I wouldn't have written the words you're reading; I wouldn't be endorsing Roman and Adam as strongly as I am. These two are the pioneers of the new wave of fitness. They are innovators who have worked tirelessly to discover new ways to motivate and continue the crusade that I started before they were born.
Man 2.0: Engineering the Alpha is the latest weapon in their arsenal. It is filled with information that can help you train more efficiently, melt fat as you build muscle, and harness your hormones to rediscover your inner alpha. It's a new approach that men need to consider—hormones. They aren't shy about sharing all of the shocking benefits that can come from naturally boosting your testosterone. And of course, they give you a blueprint to achieve those benefits.
The research and methods contained here are cutting edge, but the foundation is timeless. Every man, no matter how primitive, has dreamed of channeling his alpha. It's a concept that goes beyond human evolution and explains the social hierarchies of the animal kingdom.
But don't think this is about turning yourself into a silverback gorilla hybrid, pounding your chest as you ruthlessly intimidate your weaker counterparts. It's about being happy, fit, and ready for anything. It's about finding your self-confidence and continuing to push yourself every day. It's about being hungry to be the best version of yourself.
Becoming the alpha is different for every man. Maybe it's traveling across the Atlantic to become the world's best bodybuilder, becoming an actor or a politician, or even transforming into the gladiator you once dreamed of being. This is your shot at something bigger.
If you pick up this book, it's because you're searching for the same thing I was when I sat under the stars after a long day of big visions in the Austrian countryside. So grab a copy and start finding it.
What Will You Learn from Engineering The Alpha?
Engineering the Alpha focuses on ways to boost your hormones naturally using a combination of training, diet, and supplements.
For example: The most surprising supplement to boost your hormones? It's probably vitamin D. After all, studies are indicating that men don't get enough sunlight. And this has nothing to do with having a great tan. The sun provides your body with vitamin D, and recent research indicates that more than 50 percent of men are deficient in vitamin D. This wouldn't be an issue if vitamin D weren't so essential to your health. Low levels have been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, and depression. And in terms of your muscle, low levels of D could be hurting your big T—testosterone.
Research from Canada now shows that people with higher levels of vitamin D also have lower levels of body fat. Less body fat is connected with more testosterone, and the connection isn't a coincidence. Vitamin D helps you feel fuller because, according to Australian researchers, it helps you release more leptin, an important hormone that controls your hunger. And it also helps you store less fat by decreasing parathyroid hormone, which is what makes you hold on to lard. Best of all, vitamin D literally burns more fat by reducing production of the stress hormone cortisol, which is another testosterone killer.
Whether you're in the sun or not, Vitamin D appears to be a good choice for any supplement protocol.