Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha (54 page)

  Place a dumbbell on the floor underneath a chin-up bar.

  Grab a chin-up bar with an underhand grip that's about shoulder-width apart, and then “hold” the dumbbell in your feet.

  Hang at arm's length and pull your shoulder blades down and back so that your shoulders are as far from your ears as possible.

  Hold at the top position for a second, then slowly lower your body back to the starting position and repeat.

 

Alternate A1 and A2 for a total of 5 sets each. There is no need to time your rest periods, but try to get back to work when you feel you're fully recovered. For most people, that's 2 minutes between sets.

Pick a weight that you can complete 5 reps with on the first set. The weight should be challenging, and, in fact, you shouldn't be able to complete 5 reps on all 5 sets. For instance, you might complete 5 reps on the first two sets, and then 3 reps, 2 reps, and 1 rep. If you complete fewer than 14 total reps on an exercise, lower the weight; otherwise stay at the same weight as you perform more total reps with each passing week. If you can perform 25 or more total reps, then increase the weight you're using.

After your last set, proceed to workout set B.

 B1 
Barbell Bench Press
5 reps

  Lie on your back on a bench. Grasp a barbell with an overhand grip that's just wider than shoulder-width and hold it above your sternum with your arms completely straight.

  Lower the bar straight down in a controlled fashion. Make sure you keep your elbows tucked in close to your body so your upper arms form a 45-degree angle to your body in the down position.

  Pause, and then press the bar in a straight line back up to the starting position.

 

 B2 
Alpha Deadlift
5 reps

Alternate B1 and B2 for a total of 5 sets each. There is no need to time your rest periods, but try to get back to work when you feel you're fully recovered. For most people, that's 2 minutes.

Pick a weight that you can complete 5 reps with on the first set. The weight should be challenging, and, in fact, you shouldn't be able to complete 5 reps on all 5 sets. For instance, you might complete 5 reps on the first two sets, and then 3 reps, 2 reps, and 1 rep. If you complete fewer than 14 total reps on an exercise, lower the weight; otherwise stay at the same weight as you perform more total reps with each passing week. If you can perform 25 or more total reps, then increase the weight you're using.

AFTERWORD

I, Alpha

TAKING THE FIRST STEP AS A NEW MAN AND MAKING IT LAST

“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.”

—
BOB DYLAN

“Follow your bliss.”

—
JOSEPH CAMPBELL

W
hen you began this journey,
you were a permanent inhabitant of the Ordinary World and—at best—a visitor and outsider to the Special World.

Despite having a place that felt familiar, you never really had a place to call your own. That's because you were searching, hoping, or wanting a life that was better. A life that was incredible. A life that was Alpha.

And now, after having the courage to follow our steps, this became your journey. What started as a story about our lessons has become a book about you and the influence you'll have on your world and others. This is about
your
ability to rise up and become stronger. And your decision to accept that a good life is great, but an unreal life is the true quest of the Alpha.

Your individual rise will spark a charge that can put an end to the current state of the ordinary man. Your ability to become Alpha—to be confident, assertive, and driven to help others is what will make you a better man, and this world a better place.

Whether you realized it or not, this has been your goal from the beginning. When you picked up this book, it was an acknowledgment of a desire to reach Apotheosis and become the best version of yourself. Now that you're here, you should take pride in what you've accomplished.

Reaching a moment of Apotheosis isn't a given; it's something that requires work and struggles. In order to reach Apotheosis, the hero must go through the Ordeal. This is the final step on the Road of Trials, and it's your ultimate challenge. It's the big boss at the end of the video game or the final battle in any movie.

For you, that battle is both internal and external. During the course of the next sixteen weeks, you'll be engaging in battle every day—with both your body and your mind. You'll have to calm your concerns, ignore what you “know” as reason, and abstain from your old behaviors. You'll have to challenge your body and do workouts that might be harder than anything you've done in your entire life. You'll have to integrate a new diet approach that, while extremely beneficial and enjoyable in time, can have a difficult adjustment period.

These are challenges meant to shape and change you—tools that you can use to metaphorically kill the old version of yourself so the Alpha version can arise.

By accepting and embracing fear and not backing down, you'll reach Apotheosis. You'll experience a moment when you realize that you can change anything in your life. If you can change your body, why not your job? If you can abstain from bad food decisions, why can't you avoid bad decisions with women? If you can consistently make your way to the gym, why can't you consistently find happiness in your life?

We don't mean to imply a direct correlation between visiting the gym and happiness, but the dedication needed to seek self-improvement is no different than the effort needed to achieve happiness. And that's the parallel you need to draw with the decisions you've made and the person you will now become. Any success you create for yourself should build confidence to create other success. And because nothing is more challenging or inherently tied to your sense of being than your own body, mastery over your appearance is the catalyst for confidence, success, and happiness in any and all areas of your life.

 

THE ALPHA REVOLUTION

This is what happens when you've joined us at one of the final stages of the Hero's Journey: the Ultimate Boon.

During this phase the hero either receives or gives a gift to the world at the conclusion of the final battle. Sometimes it's tangible like a chest of gold or a magic sword; other times it's intangible like bringing peace to the world or reestablishing balance to the Force.

To an Alpha, the Ultimate Boon is knowledge. It's both tangible and intangible. The tangible aspect is your new body. Your hormones will be optimized. Your mind and body will function better than ever. And you'll be healthier from the inside out. But you already know that. What you now must realize is that not only do you know how to build and maintain your body, but you also know how to help others.

As your body changes, you'll start to be asked—constantly—about what you're doing and how you're making these radical shifts. Now you are
the
inspiration to others. Your transition to the Alpha will empower your friends, family, and peers to begin their own journey and
believe
they can have success. Remember, psychological hurdles are oftentimes the biggest barriers, but your presence as the Alpha can help others overcome that significant obstacle.

One of our success stories, Claudio, lost more than sixty pounds of fat, gained twelve pounds of muscle, and added thirty to forty pounds to every single one of his lifts. For Claudio, those were the tangible benefits. However, the intangible rewards began to surface too. We keep in touch with all our clients, and to date, Claudio has inspired four of his friends to get in shape. Not by speaking of his program or convincing them, but just by living the Alpha lifestyle. That presence made his friends want to begin their own journey. Two of those friends signed up to be coached by us, and a third has lost 100 pounds on his own.

Claudio's transformation—the death of his old body and the rise of a new one from its ashes—has inspired everyone around him to live a better life. That is the greatest gift you can give to others—and one of the distinguishing factors that separates Alphas from a-holes; you can help others accomplish what you achieve during this program.

 

I'M ALPHA, SO WHAT'S NEXT?

The next-to-last phase is the Master of Two Worlds. In mythology, this is a character that can live in the physical and spiritual worlds after reaching Apotheosis. For you, it means actively balancing the demands of the Ordinary World that you have left and the Alpha World you have entered. At the conclusion of the program, many of our clients are unsure what to do. The most natural question is, should I continue on the program?

If you choose to continue on this program, that's fine. But we recognize that many people feel like they are ready for something else. And yet the fear exists that, if you are no longer following our plan, you will be unable to stay on track.

Don't fear that. Remember, you're a new man now. You don't need us.
^*
You just need to remember the lessons you learned and remind yourself of the person you are.

You are
Alpha
. You've gone through all the stages. You've confronted all the challenges that have held back men stuck in the Ordinary World. The hard work is done. You have to see your track record of success, your willingness to venture into the unknown, and your ability to lead others down the same path.

You no longer need us because now you are us. You are the Alpha.

You know the Seven Traits of the Alpha. You can balance cockiness and confidence, and you understand the difference between vanity and conceit. Most importantly, you are in control.

And because you are in control, you will be able to enter the final stage of the journey—Freedom to Live—with confidence. This is sometimes known as living in the moment, as you'll possess a new mind-set in which you're neither anxious about the future nor regretting your past.

Experiencing Freedom to Live means that you are free from the ties that previously prevented you from being happy and living the life you want. The Alpha realizes that fortune favors the bold and that any great achievement comes with the risk of failure. But after going through this process, you now understand that failure isn't a bad thing; it's a necessary step on the path to success. You know this because you are the Alpha. You have gone through the trials and overcome the hurdles on your path, and you now understand that this is the ultimate truth.

More than anything, you will feel in control of your body and more in control of your life and what you can accomplish. You won't have those nagging questions that have burned inside us all: Is there something more? Can my life be better? Those uncertainties arrive when you are a visitor in a land that doesn't feel like your own. That was then; this is now. Now, you have the knowledge and wherewithal to create the life you want and face anything—the good and the bad—with an unshakable swagger.

Armed with that knowledge, fortified with that swagger, you'll become who and what you were always meant to be. If we may be so bold as to paraphrase Tyler Durden once more, you are now ready to look how you want to look and fuck how you want to fuck; you're smarter, more capable and free in ways that you were not. That last part is the most important: you're free to do anything.

Think big. Think bold. Kick some ass and do what you've always wanted. You have the mind and the body built to take on the world with the type of confidence needed to succeed. Your reality is no longer clouded with questions but rather is open and free. A canvas of unprecedented and limitless opportunity awaits you . . .
the hero
. The present and your future have never looked better.

Welcome home, Alpha.