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The Muscle Experiment Review
Mike Thiga transformed himself from a scrawny 148 pounds to a massive 187 pounds. In slightly less than 6 months, he packed on 39 pounds of solid muscle, all without ever lifting a weight or going to the gym. Learn how he did it in The Muscle Experiment: Lost Secrets Of Bodyweight Training For Mass Revealed
Mike Thiga Interview
Q. Can you give us some background about yourself?
A. My name is Mike Thiga. I was your typical computer geek, sitting around at the computer all day with really no outside life. I was skinny and unfit. Plus, the fact that I was born with a withered right arm with one finger gave me some really bad self esteem issues. But my life changed a couple of years back when my eyes got opened to a whole new world of muscle building. And it was there that my limits of impossibility were shattered and my life changed for the better.
Q. What got you started in muscle building?
A. When I was a kid I used to watch lots of wrestling on TV and I remember thinking how much I wanted to be a "big guy" like those wrestlers. But I really didn’t do much to change my skinny status until my uncle who was in the military flipped my whole reality. I mean this guy was HUGE. And the way he used to train was so different from the way most other guys used to train. So he basically took me under his wing and showed me the way he did things, and why he did what he did. I really learned a lot from him. And when I finally started to apply the stuff he had taught me, everything changed from that point on.
Q. What is it about muscle building that you love so much?
A. I love the training…I love the feeling that comes after the end of each workout…the pump, the stretch. I love the feeling that rushes through my body when I step on the scale and see it move up a few extra units. I just love the whole experience. It really can’t be explained in words as much as it can be felt by the trainee. It’s just amazing.
Q. What are your favorite and least favorite exercises?
A. My favorite exercise is probably Wide Grip Pull-Ups. I like the stretch it brings to the lats during the lifting phase. And its mass building capabilities are just mind-blowing. As for my least favorite exercise, I’ll be honest… I don’t like calf raises very much. I have an obsession for compound movements, and calf raises just seem to dampen my workout tempo. But they are very important and I still do them regardless.
Q. What are your tips for the beginner, intermediate and advanced?
A. Here’s my advice for beginners: start slow and don’t expect to become a 400lb monster in 7 days. Muscle gains will come consistently. Just train hard and keep strong. Set realistic goals and stick to them no matter what. I started off at 148 pounds and the reason I made massive gains was because I made the decision to let nothing stop me from achieving my dream physique.
As for intermediate trainees - many intermediate trainees seem to be stuck in that intermediate level…they seem to have stagnated and can’t put on any more muscle mass. My advice would be to re-evaluate your exercise protocols: are you advancing or is your workout load at the same level that it was one month ago? Have you possibly over-trained and need a week’s break? Try to evaluate the elusive obvious.
And for all you advanced trainees, all I can say is keep the fire burning. I think every one of us who has been training for some time has gone through one of those dry phases where we just don’t have the drive to do it anymore. The motivation seems to have disappeared somewhere along the way. Just look at how far you have come. Imagine where you’d be right now had you not stared this great bodybuilding journey. I think you have something to be proud of.
Q. Where do you stand on the use of steroids and supplements?
A. I do use supplements, albeit very carefully. The reson is simply because many supplements out there are just pure hype – so I’m extremely careful when selecting which ones to add to my nutritional schedule. There are some great ones out there, but I strongly believe that they are not the chief reason for your muscle growth…they simply give you a ‘boost’ where your diet falls short.
As for steroids, I am NOT for steroids. I have never used them, and I’d advise anybody training to stick to the natural. I’m living proof that you can build massive amounts of muscle even with several disadvantages stacked up against you.
Q. What are your future goals?
A. My goal is to hit 220 lbs within the next 70 to 80 days or so. Right now as we speak, I weigh in at 198lbs. If things go well, I hope to hit my 220lb mark target by mid April. Then after that, who knows? I basically want to get as big as I can possibly get, one pound at a time.
Q. What is the toughest part about muscle building for you?
A. In the beginning the toughest issue was training with a withered right arm. I was born with a weak right arm which had badly atrophied due to lack of use. And when I first started training, I would really get frustrated because the weakness and fragility of this arm would really slow down my progress. But eventually my arm got stronger and now I don’t have the same problem I had back then.
Q. Tell us about The Muscle Experiment?
A. The Muscle Experiment is a training program designed to help people build muscle using purely bodyweight exercises. A number of the concepts in this program are based on what I learned from my uncle as well as what I discovered when I got into serious training.
It’s not what you’d get from your typical bodybuilding program. This program is unique in so many ways, and especially because it shows you how to build muscle using bodyweight training protocols. You’d be surprised how many people want to build muscle but simply don’t have access or time to go to a gym. My program is perfect for such people.
One thing that’s for sure (and I bet you’ve noticed this as well) is that most bodyweight training programs that exist only focus on issues concerning "fat loss" or "conditioning". Nobody really talks about the bodyweight protocols that regard building serious muscle mass. And that is exactly what I deal with in The Muscle Experiment program.
Something I keep telling people is that muscle building is more than just doing a bunch of exercises. There are so many factors that work together in synergy to create a freak-status physique. And if you just focus on one area (many people focus on exercises and neglect everything else), you won’t make half the amount of gains you’d have made if you did everything in synergy.
The concepts in the program are extremely powerful, and even weightlifters can use them to increase their muscle gains by a good amount. For more information on The Muscle Experiment, feel free to check out The Muscle Experiment: Lost Secrets Of Bodyweight Training For Mass Revealed