John Romaniello - Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha: A Real World Guide to an Unreal Life: Build More Muscle. Burn More Fat. Have More Sex

For my mother, Linda Romaniello,

who taught me first to have strength,

and then how to use it,

and

Alvin Batista, my Obi-Wan,

who long ago gave me a book

sort of like this one.

JR

To my parentsIra and Sandywho always understood that being the Alpha was about becoming a better person and helping others, and who raised me in a way that allowed me to share that message with others.

AB

Contents

I t 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 wed 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.

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 wasnt 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, its 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. Weve 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 and Roman 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. Theyve 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, its been an incredible experience. Ive 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 that happens 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 like the old days, only instead of doing chin-ups on trees and hoping for results, I was using advanced concepts backed by science, methods to increase testosterone or manage insulin. I was using some of the concepts you will read about in this very book.

Adam and Roman are smart guys who are dedicated to expanding their knowledge so that they can help you improve. They know what they are talking about. I wouldnt have asked them to lead the charge with the fitness advice on my website if they didnt. If you follow what theyve written in this book, you will be using advanced concepts backed by science; methods to increase testosterone or manage insulin.

This book, 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. 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.

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. Its a concept that goes beyond human evolution and explains the social hierarchies of the animal kingdom. But dont think this is about turning yourself into a silverback gorilla hybrid, pounding your chest as you ruthlessly intimidate your weaker counterparts.

Its about being happy, fit, and ready for anything. Its about finding your self-confidence and continuing to push yourself every day. Its about being hungry to be the best version of yourself.

Becoming the Alpha is different for every man. Maybe its traveling across the Atlantic to become the worlds 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.

You picked up this book because youre 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 turn the page and start finding it.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

TAKE THE FIRST STEP, AND YOUR MIND WILL MOBILIZE ALL ITS FORCES TO YOUR AID. BUT THE FIRST ESSENTIAL IS THAT YOU BEGIN. ONCE THE BATTLE IS STARTLED, ALL THAT IS WITHIN AND WITHOUT YOU WILL COME TO YOUR ASSISTANCE.

ROBERT COLLIER

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Y ou are not your fucking khakis .

You were built to be strong, fearless, confident, and powerful. You were designed to tame wilderness and carve canals through mountains, to conquer nations and build empires, to cross oceans and walk on the moon.

These are great things that great men can do and have done: achievements that require strengthand the wisdom to use it judiciously. While these examples loom large in history and may not seem immediately applicable to you, all men have what it takes to accomplish great things, and to be great themselves.

But examine the ordinary man and you wouldnt know it. Most men do not understand the levels of greatness they can achievenot because they havent triedsimply because they have no conception of the limitations they are facing, limitations they are creating.

The reason is a simple but hard-to-swallow truth: most guys unknowingly live their lives in an ordinary world with no thought to leave it.

Chances are, you are one of those guys.

This is not a judgment. We have no doubt that you bust your ass and strive for excellence. Of course you do; men, by nature, are driven to succeed and pursue greatness with their entire being. Theres a certain swagger to being a man, a swagger that is built into your physiology and coded into your DNAa swagger that is both created by ambition and simultaneously propels it.

But look at the ordinary man, and none of those traits are readily apparent. You dont see physical prowess; you see bad posture and high body fat. Talking to the ordinary man, you dont hear confidently spoken words giving voice to intelligent ideas; you hear clipped, half-developed thoughts, oftentimes expressed in a timid nature that undercuts the speakers manhood.

The ordinary man is no longer impressive. We dont expect the ordinary guy to be particularly strong, particularly smart, or particularly fitor successful, driven, funny, or confident. We dont expect him to be particularly anything.