Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha

the opponents we know we can beat. Success is a drug. And we’ve mentioned many times that creating success is the key to experiencing more success. But there’s a caveat. Success only has value if it’s earned. That process of overcoming an obstacle or becoming better at a process is what gives you real confidence—not a façade of machismo—that allows you to control your universe. Don’t settle for the easy path just because it’s easy. Don’t be afraid of failure. Because even if you fail, it can lead to something so much greater.
    That’s what happened to Rocky. Once he took on a real challenge—“Clubber” Lang—he was easily defeated. *
    This was the road Rocky needed to take to become a real champion. He had to find something that created fear. And for him—that was the fear of losing. This allowed him to start training with Apollo, get back that eye of the tiger, get in ridiculous shape, and box like a fucking boss.
    It was the failure—and the fear—that made him better. And it’s what will make you better too.

    EMBRACING YOUR REALITY: BE THE UNDERDOG
    The Road of Trials is the reason why we like underdog stories. It resonates on a deep psychological level. We like to see a group of ragtag kids defeat the bad guy because we like to see development. It’s inspirational. We love the process of taking the impossible and watching it become reality. But before reaching success, we have to deal with many struggles. And along the way, the obstacles become more difficult, thus preparing the underdog for success.
    This same concept is played out in every aspect of life. To win the Super Bowl, you have to play well in the regular season, defeat a bunch of difficult opponents in the play-offs, and then peak for one sixty-minute game on the biggest stage. In baseball, you start on home base—and even if you knock it out of the park, you still have to run the bases. In relationships, you don’t marry the first person you meet. You learn something from each relationship that helps you find the one.
    The same holds true with fitness. You don’t start out bench-pressing 300 pounds. You have to set benchmarks. You have tests and a journey. If you start at 135, your first goal is hitting 225. Then you’ll progress up to 250, then 275, and finally 300.
    Our goal in this book is to ensure that you actually experience a Road of Trials so you can guarantee success. We don’t want you to be frustrated, but much like video game developers, we’ve devised different phases that will help you prepare for your final battle—having a body that looks fucking amazing and living an unreal life. Those are big goals, which means you need big tests. This goes beyond giving you hard workouts. You need to earn your way to this existence. And by doing so, you’ll not only experience success, but more importantly, you’ll be the one in control of maintaining, sustaining, and continuing your progress so your unreal life becomes your reality—rather than a fleeting moment in time.
    E NGINEERING THE A LPHA
    S UBJECT: Mitch Hurn
    T HE O RDINARY W ORLD
    When this all started I weighed 293 pounds. I had completed one of Roman’s programs before, but then I fell back into back habits. After a terrible six months I gained a lot back. It was a frustrating experience and one that needed to change. I could either take a temporary approach, or go in with a new mind-set. I decided it was time to leave the old me, and my comfort zone.
    A CCEPTING THE C ALL
    This time it was going to be different; I had a better plan than before, and higher drive to become the best version of myself. I wanted to be an Alpha. My personal goals were going to be difficult but attainable, and I went in with eyes wide open. I knew it was going to take a lot of hard work, new challenges, new eating strategies, and the drive to do that one last set or rep. I accepted a new approach to my health, and I believed in what I could become. I knew I was making progress when I was at the gym doing goblet squats and the weight I was using was higher than the amount of weight I have lost.

    A LPHA S TATUS
    It’s a whole new life for me. I feel better, look better, and have loads more energy than ever before and look forward to coming home at night and going to the gym. Other than marrying my wife, starting Roman’s program has been the greatest decision of my life. I’ve already lost fifty pounds, lost five inches from my waist, and while I used to be an XXL, I