A Heavyweight Among Bodybuilding Books
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As a trainer, I like reviewing weightlifting books and found this one to be most interesting. First of all, the book is written very well, interjecting humor that makes it hard to put the book down. Having said that, however, I did find it a tad bit disorganized at times- and I say that mainly because I had to flip around a bit here and there.
Anyway, the book is divided into two basic parts. The first is training to gain, which discusses the four part training phases. They're much too detailed to go into but they do give the reader a set path to follow that is well laid out. Part two? That would be "need to feed" which is the diet and eating part. Here again, its very detailed but emphasizes the reader getting enough calories- which the book says is absolutely essential to packing on the muscle.
Other goodies are interspersed throughout the book, such as discussions of determining what body type you are and determining your calorie needs. All in all, the book has a fun writing style and is clearly based on a certain amount of research that is cited here and there to back up its claims. Also recommend "Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff" for weightlifters struggling with a torn cuff or shoulder pain.
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good but a little overwhelming fro a complete beginner
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As a complete beginner to weight training I found this book to be a little overwhelming in that covers a huge amount of training and nutrition thoery. Also putting together the initial programs requires quite a bit of puzzling things out. If this was the only reference I had I would probably have needed a month to absorb it all before I actually started doing any excercise !.
Having said that, now that I have had time to go through it properly, I feel there is very little about the relevent training physiology and nutrition that I dont know and it is probably a book that everyone doing any training should have in thier library.
If your a complete beginner though I recommend first getting something like "the new rules of lifting" which seems to have much the same core philosophy (i.e. emphisis on compound excercises and nutrition) but is much more accessible and conducive to just getting started with some excercising - more of a "user guide" to this books "reference manual" style.
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Useful
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You won't get any before/after pictures of guys endorsing a product and the style is a little asinine at times but the work out routines are demanding and give results (for me 17kg gained in 4 months). The approach may sem a little unorthodox at times and you'll need a gym with a decent of equipment not your executive nautilus machines but the work out definately work. The nutrition advice is sound, which condensed means eat about double your current amount of useful calories which I followed and it worked. The book gives 4 programs building you up in stages and will have you doing exercises not many do, such as squats and the like but if you stick through it, you will make some very solid gains.
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From a Beginner
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I brought this book with so high expectation.
As it seem to of gotten so good reviews.
Although the book provide loads of information it was not really user friendly, You could not really match diagrams and charts to the text with out reading the page to see what was being explained.
This book does seem to give good information, it you have the time to STUDY it. And I am sure you will learn a lot about Health and Fitness it acts like a personal trainer.
It would have been nice it was laid out better for the new comer.
I would suggest before buying this book to read it in a book shop and see if you can understand it first.
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Excellent book
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Loved the book, would recommend for anyone interested in learning how to add some muscle to their frame, goes into both the nutritional and physical aspects of training.
Excellent read, well structured, definately worth buying
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