What if a health professional that has a honors degree in kinesiology and is a world class bodybuilder, can give you a complete workout and nutrition program, including videos of the specific exercises? This is why MI40 (Mass Intensions 40) could be exactly that program and I’ll tell you why.
Ben Pakulski has over 15 years of expertise and top achievements in the bodybuilding world, and he has developed a specific training and nutrition routines for the natural bodybuilder – the average Joe with normal recovery ability. Unlike some of the professional bodybuilding programs, this program puts accent on the body as a whole as well as the importance of PROPER exercise execution.
Ben Pakulski’s MI40 is a very popular program and one of the most marketed ones. But does it really deliver what it promises? Let’s do an overview and take a look at the cons and pros of Ben Pakulski’s MI40:
How good is Ben Pakulski’s MI40 ?
Take a look at Ben, he is a professional bodybuilder and a top level competitor. He obviously takes high amounts of anabolic substances to sustain the muscle mass he gained. This type of body will obviously never be attainable by using natural methods. If someone says that a program, supplement or book can get you the results that Ben has, they are a 100% playing with you.
However…. 90% of Ben’s clients are natural, drug free trainees and the program obviously works for them, and works quite well.
As Ben himself states – “no matter what you are taking, if your body isn’t treated as a whole organism, maximizing recovery, controlling inflammation, and balancing hormones, it’s going to BREAK DOWN very, very quickly. Your gains will be limited and very short-term.”
As I mentioned above, the guy is a health professional, holds a honors degree in kinesiology, trains tens of natural bodybuilders, so he must know something about building muscle. This was exactly the reason why I bought the MI40 program, and it was ABSOLUTELY worth it for me.
What does MI40 even mean?
Like I mentioned above, MI40 comes from “mass intentions 40”. The Term “Mass Intentions” refers to the technique of intentional muscle control when lifting to build muscle mass. The number 40 is related to a few other variables:
- The number of days in the workout cycle is 40
- Each workout lasts 40 minutes
- The number of exercises in the program is also 40
Ben Pakulski’s MI40 program overview
MI40 is a complete 40-day resistance training program aimed for individuals looking to build muscle mass. The package also contains full nutrition and supplementation manuals as well as demonstration videos of every exercise and specific movements.
You need to know that this is a really intense program that is not meant for absolute beginners or the ones that can’t tolerate hard and intense workout sessions.
MI40 resistance training
This is the part that makes the program really stand out from the others. Ben focuses on 4 aspects of resistance training:
- Neurological Overload Sets (NOS) – designed to create the maximum overload possible on the muscle
- Time under tension
- Full range of motion
- Increasing muscle “torque”
Each workout is a weight training session containing 6 to 9 exercises. Each session lasts approximately 40 minutes. Most exercises contain 4 sets of 8 reps. The last set of each exercise is a Neurological Overload Set.
MI40 Nutritional program
The nutritional program is a very good one if your goal is to build mass. The protein intake is medium to high and there is no strict restriction of fats and carbohydrates. The scheme about the macronutrient intake is really sensible; the largest amounts of carbs are consumed mostly around the workouts etc. There are even full made meal plans based on the number of calories so that even an inexperienced (in regards to nutrition) trainee can pick and follow a plan pretty easy.
MI40 Supplement program
I was worried that this manual would be full of ads from Ben’s sponsors, but I was wrong. The recommended supplements are the basic ones really : whey protein, casein, BCAAs, creatine, omega3, vitamins, minerals… These are all time tested supplements, stuff that was proven to build muscle over and over again… And they weren’t even from the brand that sponsors Ben.
What exactly do you get when you purchase Ben Pakulski’s MI40 package ?
#1 – Training : The 40-Day MASS Intelligence Training Manual
This is the training part of the package. It introduces you to the training system, it shows you how it works and what you can expect from it. This is the place where Ben shows you some of the hypertrophy training methods that work the best with his clients.
# 2: Nutrition : The 40-Day MASS Consumption Nutrition Manual
Ben Pakulski’s 3-Phase Nutrition – Within the nutrition manual, you will discover all the diet factors contained within a 24 hour day and how to manipulate them in order to create anabolic environment. You will learn pre-workout, intra-workout and post-workout techniques to build muscle. With its 53 pages in length, this section of the MI40 course will be a big wake up call to many trainees, even the experienced ones.
# 3: Exercise Videos: The 40-Day MASS Instruction Workout Videos
You’ll get a step-by-step demonstration videos of each MI40 workout and a detailed explanation of the all the exercises and techniques that Ben teaches.
#4: Exercises guide : The 40-Day MASS Proportions Exercise Execution Guide
This 52 page guide contains detailed information and pictures showing how to do each of the 40 exercises, along with key points as well as tips, and warnings.
# 5: The 40-Day MASS Prescription Printable Workout Sheets
You’ll also get printable workout sheets showing you exactly what exercises to perform, how many sets and reps, lifting speed, rest breaks, when to apply “Intentions” as well as the Neurological Overload Sets.
#6: The 40-Day MASS Pursuit Calendar
A very convenient printable calendar that has all the 40 workouts marked, showing you exactly what day each workout needs to be done.
#7: The 40- Day MASS Supplement Stack Protocol
Like I mentioned above, you’ll get a 19 page guide, in which Ben reveals all the supplements used with his clients. The goal of using supplements is to reduce inflammation, speed up recovery, increase strength and eventually speed up the whole muscle building process.
#8: Size Secrets Audio Interrogation
This is an audio file of Ben explaining different techniques and tips that have helped his clients build muscle and strength.
Pros and Cons of Ben Pakulski’s MI40
Let’s start with the positive stuff first:
Pros
- You’ll get a VERY solid muscle building nutrition program that can be used by beginners as well as experienced bodybuilders.
- The training part is the place where Ben really put the focus. Some of the techniques he uses in the manual are absolutely brilliant. And even though you will be using some intense lifting, safety and injury free training are the top priority of the program.
- The videos of the exercises are detailed and graphical – Ben has paid attention even to the smallest details.
- The amount of highly specific and actionable information that you receive with the program is somewhat mind-blowing
- From my own experience, this program can work for anyone that is willing to consume a bit more calories than usual (of course, total beginners should not attempt this program )
- MI40 has a no-questions asked 60-day money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the package you can simply return it and you’ll get your money back.
What are some of the negative sides of the program ?
- This is not a beginner program. You need to have a couple of years of training under your belt to be able to follow the intense techniques described inside.
- “Twice the muscle in half the time” is a misleading phrase. You should know from the start you can’t magically build tons of muscle in a short period of time. You should expect 3-4lbs of muscle a month if your diet and training are good.
- Some of the science behind the timing of the meals and carbs is actually broscience and not backed up by research, but this is nothing that can harm your body.
- It does take a long time to go through all the manuals and all the video materials, which can be boring.
- Like in many digitally sold products, you will be pitched multiple add-ons (something like upgrades) after your purhcase, which could feel a bit intrusive.
Conclusion
The MI40 is easily one of the best bodybuilding programs on the Internet. The nutrition part is pretty solid, the training part is AWESOME, and anyone that is ready to follow it strictly should be able to get good results.
Of course this program is not for beginners as it involves some really intense techniques that you need to be familiar with before applying.
