Amazon.com
Arnold Schwarzenegger hasn't competed as a bodybuilder since he won the Mr. Olympia title in 1980, but he remains the sport's No. 1 icon. He hosts an annual bodybuilding contest in Columbus, Ohio, and allows a column to be ghost-written under his name in a muscle magazine. Today's bodybuilders may have bigger muscles than Arnold ever did, but everyone inside and outside the iron game gives him credit for exponentially broadening the popularity of physique training.

With this updated Encyclopedia (it was originally published in 1985), Schwarzenegger wraps his huge arms around the entire sport. He hits the history of bodybuilding, the champions (he's quite generous in his praise of predecessors, contemporaries, and successors alike), the training systems.Some of the information is more bodybuilding lore than science; for example, exercises are said to "expand the rib cage" or develop the "inner" or "outer" chest, all physiological impossibilities. But they're still good exercises, and the book includes every movement imaginable for every muscle group.

If you love the sport of bodybuilding, you'll want this book in your library, if for no other reason than to feast your eyes on the hundreds of photos of the best physiques in the history of the sport. And, in a pinch, the 800-page encyclopedia can fill in nicely for a missing dumbbell. --Lou SchulerBook Description
From elite bodybuilding competitors to gymnasts, from golfers to fitness gurus, anyone who works out with weights must own this book -- a book that only Arnold Schwarzenegger could write, a book that has earned its reputation as "the bible of bodybuilding."

Inside, Arnold covers the very latest advances in both weight training and bodybuilding competition, with new sections on diet and nutrition, sports psychology, the treatment and prevention of injuries, and methods of training, each illustrated with detailed photos of some of bodybuilding's newest stars.

Plus, all the features that have made this book a classic are here:

• Arnold's tried-and-true tips for sculpting, strengthening, and defining each and every muscle to create the ultimate buff physique

• The most effective methods of strength training to stilt your needs, whether you're an amateur athlete or a pro bodybuilder preparing for a competition

• Comprehensive information on health, nutrition, and dietary supplements to help you build muscle, lose fat, and maintain optimum energy

• Expert advice on the prevention and treatment of sports-related injuries

• Strategies and tactics for competitive bodybuilders from selecting poses to handling publicity

• The fascinating history and growth of' bodybuilding as a sport, with a photographic "Bodybuilding Hall of Fame"

• And, of course, Arnold's individual brand of inspiration and motivation throughout

Covering every level of expertise and experience, The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding will help you achieve your personal best. With his unique perspective as a seven-time winner of the Mr. Olympia title and all international film star, Arnold shares his secrets to dedication, training, and commitment, and shows you how to take control of your body and realize your own potential for greatness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (283)

A MUST HAVE.
Come on....its Arnold were talking about.If you into fitness and proper technique....this is your book.

Lots of information on bodybuilding.
I bought this book for my husband because he is into bodybuilding. He reads it all the time.He has found out so much information that he did'nt know and some that confirmed what he did know.This book shows proper techniques to use in order to get to the body you would like to be. It also has plans and charts to go by which is a good way to keep up with your training and progress.

A must to have on your shelf
Very analytical and a the same time simple to understand guide to bodybuilding and fitness

NO RATING
Ordered this book for our nephew for Christmas present on the 22nd November 2007, today is christmas and did NOT receive it yet. I'm very disappointed and disguted with the service I got.

best for steroid users and genetic freaks, not the best reference for everyone else, science and research say so!
This book does contain some great information and material. Unfortunately, not enough of it is based on research and science. If you want to know the truth about natural bodybuilding, its best to consult ACSM ( American College of Sports Medicine) or NSCA (National Strength & Conditioning Association). The routines and training frequency in this book are only suitable for the genetic elite and users of steroids and other harmful but effective performance enhancing substances. I began lifting using this book as a bodybuilding bible. I started at 175 pounds! I did make significant gains.....Initially. But I later learned I could have lifted fruit baskets and gained muscle mass with my low body weight. I am now 230 pounds 12% body fat (no exaggeration) and I could put on more muscle and lose fat if life permitted. But this progress is directly the result of books like "Power Eating" and "Brawn" and "Strength Training". The truth is, for continued progress in bodybuilding, this book is not a good book. Remember that Arnie did finally admit to taking just about any steroid or substance he could find, just before he became the governator! I have nothing against him, I sincerely respect him. But there is much more reliable material available. ... Read more

Book Description
Sculpt your physique like you never thought possible! Withfull-color, detailed anatomical illustrations of exercises, combined withstep-by-step instructions on how to perform them, BodybuildingAnatomy is the ideal resource for gaining mass and defining yourmuscles.

Focusing on the primary muscle groups of shoulders, chest, back, arms,legs, and abdominals and targeting muscle zones and hard-to-work areas,Bodybuilding Anatomy can make the difference between bulking up andsculpting an award-winning physique. You will also learn how to modifyexercise technique to influence results and individualize training programsaccording to your specific needs.

Combining the expertise of MuscleMag International columnist,bodybuilder, and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Nick Evans with the talent ofacclaimed bodybuilding artist Bill Hamilton, Bodybuilding Anatomy isthe ultimate training guide for bodybuilders and dedicated strengthtrainers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great Book
This is an awesome book to get the knowledge of the human body. Plus, if you're studying for any test dealing with the human body, it's a great study guide. I recommend this book for the novice to the advance & whomever wants to know about the human body.

Much Less Useful Than Strength Training Anatomy
I checked out this book because I was very impressed by Strength Training Anatomy I was hoping that this book would be a nearly identical counterpart except with emphasis on developing mass over strength.I was quite disappointed because the book was written on a very, very basic level. This text will only be beneficial to those who have zero or little experience with bodybuilding and even then, you'll find that you'll grow out of it fast.I feel that a few issues of Muscular Development magazine will give you everything this book gives you and more.

That being said, I think that purchasing Strength Training Anatomy is a must for beginners and experts alike.It contains an immense amount of information in a handy no-nonsense format.Its a great quick reference and far surpasses the quality of this book.

Bodybuilding Anatomy
Very nicely illustrated book for the novice bodybuilder...May be usefull to Kinesiology & Exercise Physiology students....

Excellent reference.
An excellent guide to people wanting to take over their workouts.Simple language and beautiful illustrations will provide you the required information to know how to move yourself when performing an exercise, what you can vary, how and what to avoid.Some technical language is used.Highly recommended.

Not what I expected, but still informative!
The book doesn't go "in-depth" on any of the movements, just takes two pages to explain each exercise (step-by-step, trajectory, grips, range of motion, things like that) along with anatomical illustrations. Note that the book is kinda small when it comes to dimensions, so it doesn't really include THAT much information for a book that's almost 200 pages.

It really doesn't touch on anything outside this basic premise.

Still, I think this is an *essential* book for beginner and intermediate bodybuilders and health enthusiasts, the science is simple and easy to understand, the illustrations are PERFECT and very informative, the book is nicely organized.

My favorite thing about the book is how it explains different grips and position and how subtle differences in technique can target different areas and help you make the best out of your workouts, very handy reference.

To summarize, while book doesn't offer anything too complex or advanced; I still think it's essential for anyone who takes the sport seriously, and at $13.5 (at the time of this writing), you can't go wrong!

EDIT: I borrowed "Strength Training Anatomy" from a friend, and I must say, it contains much, MUCH more information than "Bodybuilding Anatomy". But that's not to say it's better or worse! Here are some key differences:

*As stated, STA has much more information than BBA, they're not even comparable in this department.
*The drawings in STA are more complex but sometimes less informative.
*STA has much more information on the given exercise, while BBA focuses more on different grips and trajectories.
*STA also covers more ground when it comes to injuries and such (something BBA doesn't really touch on at all).
*BBA is much easier to read through and understand, it's much more "user friendly".
*BBA explains how the muscle group works and how it is composed before starting with the exercises. STA has none of that, goes straight forward to exercises.

Which one should you get? If you're a beginner/intermediate lifter, go with BBA, otherwise, go for STA. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (24)

#1 BBS Manual: "Training to Failure" - D.I.Y Hercules for Everybody
*Note* There is a revised edition of this book.

The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding is the largest tome of bodybuilding information found in any publication, finishing up at around 800 pages with approximately 1000 pictures and weighing in at a whopping 5.8lbs, making it the only book that gives you a workout while reading it. Arnold divides his massive manuscript into a number of sections, starting with the history of bodybuilding, competitions, the gym experience and training techniques (the core exercises) before rounding up with various poses and additional information on bodybuilding supplements and diets. Arnold advocates trying to find pictures of a bodybuilder who fits your size and figure and then aiming to replicate their results. Arnold himself used Reg Park as a model for his first teenage foray in the gym while in subsequent years built each body part up using different bodybuilding models to achieve his own unique juggernaut definition. This is but a tiny fraction of the kind of good quality recommendations that the Encyclopedia comes up with. Bodybuilders (bbs) everywhere refer to the `encyclopedia' for its awesome display of photographs of superhuman bbs throughout the ages. There is no lack of snaps that detail the human anatomy. You will likely run through the book many times to find that muscle group or separation that you missed the first time. It is startling how much anatomy you need to get around before you can understand what impact each exercise has on the developing muscle. This is a fully fledged subject that will have your attention for years to come and there is no better place than to start here. Combining this book with the movie "Pumping Iron" on DVD will give you a much better idea of where the information is coming from and you will see most of the faces in this book actually exercising and involved in many of the competition photographs that are on display here. Arnold's description of the muscle groups and how to work them is coupled with illustrations and photographs to show the kind of development you should be aiming to achieve. Creating striations on muscle groups like deltoids and pectorals are topics that will cause you to go back to page one to re-examine everything you have read and seen. Anatomical research coupled with exercising methodology and application with dieting will transform your physique over the course of even a few months. As a lifelong hobby you will be bulking up before your first year is out. A few years will have you at competition level. The whole point is get into the gym to work off that fat to reveal your true shape, a shape that can be defined and built upon with muscle. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and other world-class bodybuilders, advocate more than one set per exercise called High-Volume Training, HVT, the traditional method of using multiple sets to train to failure by training each set to failure, resting, and then repeating the set to failure, as many times as it takes before you just can not do anymore sets for that body part. You will build muscle no matter what kind of genetics you have if you stick with HVT. Hypertrophy is the scientific term for the enlargement of muscle tissue caused by a specific amount of intensity needed for the hypertrophy to occur. No intensity, no hypertrophy, no gain. HVT achieves hypertrophy every time because each muscle group is trained to failure. This is the key to building muscle. You must get that straining feeling where you just can't do another repetition. If you find yourself doing lots of repetitions (more than 10) then you need to add more weight. Arnold includes various Power-Training techniques to help shock the body into being able to lift heavier weights. They work.He also includes increasing intensity techniques by utilizing `forced reps', `negative reps', `isolation training', `supersets' and `stripping methods' among a host of others to learn about. There is much more here then any review can hope to explain (and look at the length of mine!). That is why it is 800 pages or so. Apart from the five stars which it deserves the book does have some major drawbacks. The first big drawback is that all the photographs involve drug use. There are only a few photographs of bodybuilders who have not used steroids and the reason is obvious. It is the little dirty secret that hides behind all the bigger muscle on display. You simply will not get as big as these legends without doing drugs. However you will certainly be able to achieve the same definition and still have very big muscles without drugs. The bodybuilders who did not do drugs are at the start of the book in the history of bodybuilding. Look at the photographs of everybody until you reach Reg Park. After that it is all drug users. Achieving the same sizes without drugs is near impossible apart from the exceptionally genetically gifted person. There is also a lesson to learn from this drug experimentation. Don't do it if you put any value on the most important muscle of all... your heart. All of the guys in this book are much older now and you can see them in the bonus material of the "Pumping Iron" DVD. Sadly they don't look good (sadly some are in wheelchairs) and even Arnold has had a bypass. Just go with food type supplements like 100% Whey Protein and Creatine and stay away from all forms of steroids. The other major drawback is that the 70s bodybuilding era did not give much regard to what is called perfect form. Perfect form is all about doing the exercises the right way to avoid injury. A lot... and I mean a lot... of the exercises in the Encyclopedia are considered very dangerous, mainly because of back arching. These include nearly all of the `Rows'-type exercises (Bent-Over Barbell Rows, Bent-Over Dumbbell Rows, T-bar Rows and the One-Arm Dumbbell Row) which are abandoned today. A `Straight-Leg Deadlift' is something you must do right or you can injure yourself. The `Goodmorning' is considered iffy. Using a Smith-machine for the `Vertical Machine Press' is bad because it has a set path. Triceps `Extensions' are a problem. Take care with `Dipping' and avoid `Sissy Squats'. Arnold's book does not do perfect form so well and in most cases just comes up with plainly dangerous material. This is not to say that you can not do the exercises now and again. Most you can, but in the long term you will only get an injury. Avoiding injury = gain. It is as simple as that. So learn perfect form. How to do this? If you want to learn perfecting form then read "The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique" by Stuart McRobert. This book clearly explains how to perform Back Extension, Cable Row, Calf Raise, Close-Grip Bench Press, Crunch Abdominal Work, Curl, Decline Bench Press, Dumbbell Row, Finger Extension, Grip Machine Training, Incline Bench Press, Leg Press, Lever Bar Work, L-fly, Neck Work, Overhead Lockout, Overhead Press, Parallel Bar Dip, Partial Deadlift, Pinch-grip Lifting, Prone Row, Pulldown, Pullover, Pullup/Chin, Pushdown, Rader Chest Pull, Shrug, Side Bend, Squat, Stiff-legged Deadlift, Thick-bar Hold and the Wrist Roller Training. Get it along with this book and you will not be disappointed with what you can learn between the two. Getting that perfect form right is something that you can learn from the latter book and start doing better in a year than the bb who has been in the gym for ten years. It is that important. Slow and controlled exercising does not avoid injury. Injury has nothing to do with the speed or control of the exercise. Injury occurs because of bad form. So get the form right, learn what Arnold teaches you about developing muscle groups and stay away from drugs to live until you are 90 with a darn near perfect body. It can be done!

A Classic but dated
I bought and read this book about ten years ago. I used it to start a weightlifting program. There is alot of good information in this book. However, the book is somewhat dated. As I learned from other serious, competitive body builders, there is too much training advised in this volume. Even people who juice don't train this much - and you don't have to to achieve great results. For example, Dorian Yates trains alot less than what Arnold advises in this book and he was Mr. Olympia for a number of years. Consequently, you better off purchasing a more recently published book.

Great Book
This book was the original motivator to get me into the gym in the early 90's.I recall sitting day in and day out reading and re-reading this book.While it might not be the most up-to-date, it still hits all the key areas.Let's face it, there are only so many different workouts you can do to hit a particular muscle.This book covers them all.Lacking in diet information should not sway your decision to purchase, as you can find in depth diet information from EAS for free.I lost the book and am finally ordering my second copy.Can't wait to start looking it over again.

This book is the best body building book on the market.
After searching the book stores for a descriptive book on body building and i have finally found one. Arnold know's what he is talking about when it comes to working the body to severe extremes.I have found it useful inthe gym. When questions have aroused on how to work a body part,i just flipto a page that specifies on that body part.I am so impressed with thephotographs on every page showing a more indepth view of a work.I havebrought this book to everyone's attention. If you have not already lookedinto this book, please do.

Good book but beginner beware!
I like the section on the history of bodybuilding.It shows how people went from being fat powerlifters to creating a cut physique.Most of theseguys are big but don't have veins all over them, which is better than someof today's "champs."I have to commend Arnold for building a bigbut still proportionate body.Arnold's "beginner" programs willkill a beginner and may even stress an experienced bodybuilder intoovertraining.Good book, lots of different exercises, good photos,interesting history. ... Read more

Book Description
"This massive and authoritative Master Blaster book is the greatest bodybuilding book ever written, primarily because it is firmly based on the training principles of the Weider System of Bodybuilding, which have been followed by literally every bodybuilder in the modern history of the sport. I began developing my Weider System back in the 1930s and continue to refine and add new Weider Training Principles to it. You can rely on the information I present in this book to improve your physique. Good luck!" -- Joe WeiderOn Instinctive Training"One of the most fundamental secrets of successful bodybuilding is getting to know your body and how it reacts to various training and nutritional practices. Unless you have finely honed your instinctive training ability, it will take many weeks, even months, to evaluate each experiment. It definitely pays to master the Weider Instinctive Training Principle." -- Franco Columbo, two-time Mr. OlympiaOn Progression"The key to building massive, powerful muscles is to doggedly increase the training weights you use. But it is only good to increase training poundage if you do so in perfect form. There is a direct correlation between the amount of weight you use with perfect biomechanics in an exercise and the mass of muscles that move that weight." -- Lee Haney, three-time Mr. OlympiaOn Muscle Confusion"Once I reached the advanced level of bodybuilding and started entering competitions, I discovered that I quickly became bored with a set training program. I began to use the Weider Muscle Confusion Principle, changing to a new and more challenging routine every time I came into the gym to bomb a particular body part." -- Lou FerrignoOn Supersets"Since supersets constitute a big jump in training intensity, I always tell bodybuilders new to the Weider Supersets Training Principles to experiment with supersets, compounding movements for the biceps and triceps, or forearm flexors and forearm extensors." -- Albert Beckles, IFBB World Pro Grand Prix Champion ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Dedicated
Being a MAJOR gym rat i have always looked for new angles at which to improve my workouts and my knowledge. My first peice of literature that actually brought tried and tested full proof results was The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding : The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised. I bought Joe Weider's "Ultimate Bodybuilding" thikning that since he trained Arnold for a breif period there might be overlapping information between the two books and few things that might have been left out. As far as a walk through, if you know absolutely nothing about a gym, i mean dont even know what a Bar-bell looks like this book will tell you. It is very repeatative, very dumbed down, has to many pictures and is hard to process article information due to the constant citations from interviews with Pros. Up until the advanced training the book holds little value...

BUT! if you are an advanced body builder and need specific info on how to increase your mass, learn overtraining and treat injury then buy this book. The exercise routines are incredibly detailed and very informative, but holds value only to those who understand how to apply these workouts to their already rigorous routines. Part III and IV are the only chapters worth studying, all else is time better spent in the gym.

P.S. You will NEVER get as big as the men in these books that are pictured, it is fact and can only acheive this through Anabolic steroids but that does not deem any peice of lituarature useless. Dont let something like this detour you from ultimate knowledge or health.

Bodybuilding for the Thinker
Learn the secrets used by bodybuilders worldwide in this book.Also find out why some techniques work, and others don't.

The Ultimate Bodybuilding Book
"Advanced bodybuilders often increase training intensity by decreasing rest intervals between sets."It is this kind of insight and personal experience that makes this book more than just a boring "how to" book.This massive and authoritative book of the principles of bodybuilding is the greatest informational book on the sport ever written.This is primarily because it is based on the principles and insight of Joe Weider, an icon to musclemen everywhere.The author goes into specific detail on techniques and principles that have been used by literally every bodybuilder in the modern history of the sport.Plus, he introduces the human aspect - he discusses his past failures and successes.It is bodybuilding for the thinking man, because it explains the whys and wherefores, and exactly how your muscles respond when you do certain things to them.I really suggest this book to read if you are interested in the sport of bodybuilding.It is one you can definitely rely on to improve your physique!

Very useful
I actually used to carry this book with me to the gym. It's that helpful, and it covers just about anything you can think of, including diet. Unlike all those books and magazines today that are strictly all about being GQ in the gym, and edit and rewrite their articles just to make a buck, this book covers the down-and-dirty, all-original methods of improving, building, and maintaining your body. One of the better bodybuilding books of yesteryear, coming from the one who knows best, Joe Weider.

Great reference for anyone serious about bodybuilding
This is a comprehensive, fully illustrated, fully described, and straight to the point reference on exercises, principles of training, programs, and nutrition for serious bodybuilders and anyone looking to gain muscular mass without injuring himself.

This book is useful for anyone, no matter how much time you have being lifting weights. It has dedicated chapters with information and tips for novice, intermediate and advanced bodybuilders. ... Read more

Book Description
The complete program for building and maintaining a well-conditioned, excellently proportioned body -- for a lifetime of fitness and health.

In Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men, legendary athlete Arnold Schwarzenegger shows you how to achieve the best physical condition of your life. For every man, at every age, Arnold outlines a step-by-step program of excercise, skillfully combining weight training and aerobic conditioning. The result -- total cardiovascular and muscular fitness.

Arnold's program of exercise features stretching, warm-up and warm-down routines, and three series of exercises, each more ambitious than the last, all calculated to help you progress at your own speed. In addition, Arnold contributes important advice about equipment, nutrition and diet, and getting started on your program of exercise.

Special sections of Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men cover training for teenagers, exercises designed to keep you in shape on the road or when you can't get to the gym, and the regimen Arnold followed to win his seven Mr. Olympia titles.

Illustrated with hundreds of photographs of Arnold and other top bodybuilders, Arnold's Bodybuilding for Men will help every man look great and feel terrific.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

More emphasis on overall fitness
You get a balance of bodybuilding, cardiovascular fitness and flexibility from these programs, - geared a little more to overall physical fitness than it is to building maximum mass and competitive bodybuilding.It was motivating for me and did a good job in promoting bodybuilding as a part of good physical and also spiritual health as it helps reduce stress, tension and depression.

The programs have you going through continuous circuits for the whole body, not resting between exercises, and only resting briefly at the end of each circuit, once your conditioning is up to it.This benefits cardiovascular conditioning by keeping the heart rate up, and it saves time.
I have found sometimes it can be hard to jump immediately from one exercise to another this much in a commercial gym with different bodypart stations/areas spread out over a large area, and if it is crowded, having to wait for equipment.It might work better in gyms set up for circuit training or a home gym, or, it might be easier to cut out rest periods by super-setting just two opposing body parts at a time, such as with Arnold's super set program in Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder or The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding.

The importance of warming up before exercising and stretching is covered and shown.Also the importance of a well balanced diet for best health.It tells you to consult your doctor before beginning any new strenuous physical activity such as this.

There are some great photos of Arnold in top shape doing each exercise of his competitive program broken down by the days of the week and morning and evening (double split routine), and some good shots of his posing.The details of his competition program are better explained either in his Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, or even in Arnold: The Education of a Bodybuilder.

Great for the price
I had looked at his other book thru a friend and the amount of information was way to much. I was looking for something a bit more moderate and productive.This book was very helpful. The exercises in here work for both levels with a limited amount of equipment.Local gym memberships were expensive around (85) a month and I had some free weights and a bar. This was the solution he even has a guide for buying equipment stating that you can get everything you need for around $300.

Timeless Advice That Works Well Today!
I got this book almost 15 years ago and it really worked for me.I used it to start my own workout regime and I got results within weeks.I still do many of the stretching exercises that I'd learned from this book today at the gym although I don't have as much time as before to do all the weight training exercises.I find both the stretching and the abdominal exercises here to be first class - easy to do and extremely effective - and should time permit and I get more time say at least 3 hours to spare at the gym, I'll try to restart in full the routines outlined in this book.This is highly recommended for anyone who has always wanted to get fit through weight training but didn't know how to start.

it works
I have been working out for over 10 years and never did any sort of workout like this,but it works. I had a surgey and found myself in the weakest shape of my life, so i bought the book read it thaught it was stupid, but gave it a try anyway and now have been doing it for 3 months and can do the circuit with no problem 3 times in 45-50 mininutes with heavey weights.
give it 4 weeks it works

Effective routines despite many erroneous explanations
A great bodybuilder yet a lousy and lazy author and communicator, Arnold could have shrunk this book into one forth of its length and hired a well-educated editor to present more compelling and accurate information. In this book, Arnold sounds more submissive to the cynicism of wealthy, lazy, and late starters from Santa Monica. He is pictured with his trainees in-person in the simplest and most ridiculous exercises that a mature adult could contemplate doing. Thus, the entire book is geared for those late starters that are hard to motivate who need the simplest routines, in a nutshell.


Though the book was first published in 1981, it was then well known that endurance training and strength training affect muscles in different ways. Arnold contends, on page 11, that Bodybuilders and Weightlifters were found to have less healthy hearts and lungs compared to runners. That is one of many of his erroneous interpretation of physiological issues related to exercise. Based on that false conclusion, he proposes adding an aerobic component to strength training. The fact is that aerobics enhances the cellular respiratory mechanism and has no impact on making healthier hearts or lungs.

His effort to explain how strength training benefits rehabilitation is limited to the versatility of applying resistance to the desired region of the body and at the desired rate. He does not delve into the desired enhancement of metabolism by activity that is beneficial to cell growth and repair. His dumbest interpretation of the effect of weight lifting on high blood pressure is claiming that pulsating blood massages the walls of arteries and prevents their hardening and that strength training strengthens the heart and keeps arteries flexible. That is not true unless the person's entire lifestyle is conducive to healthy living, the heart was not already diseased, and that there were no other causes of essential hypertension that are not preventable by exercise.

The rest of the book deals with progressive strength training, from Series I thru III and ending with competitive bodybuilding. I doubt that any late starter would be able to advance through the three levels unless completely committed, wealthy, and jobless.The three series has a common feature. They entail: (1) stretching with 5 exercises, (2) warm-up with 5 exercises, (3) warm-down with 5 to 7 exercises, (4) weight training of 5 regions of the body with 2 to 4 exercises each, and (5) abdominal training with 5 to 7 exercises.

The choice of exercises for each body region shows the depth of experience of the author. This is the positive aspect of this book. He assigns the Clean and Press and dumbbell lateral raises to the shoulders, bench press and dumbbell press to the chest, chin-up and bend-over rows to the back, arms curls and triceps press to the arms, and squat, lunges, and calf raises to the legs. As you go through the transitions from Series I through III, he suggests adding more weight, more exercises, and accomplishing the workout in lesser time intervals. This is another positive contribution by an experienced athlete.

The pictures are outdated, too large, unnecessarily fill whole pages, and there are a lot of blank tables to fill next to each picture. I never understood why this book was written for men only. May be that was the trend in 1981.




... Read more

Product Description
This current edition should also be supplemented with bodybuilding's the follow-up edition with 14 all-new chapters with Extreme Muscle Enhancement 2nd Edition. In addition to its original wealth of step-by-step workout regimens, eating plans, supplementation protocols, and advice on staying healthy and focused over the long term, this deluxe Second Edition contains new chapters on everything you need to know to compete in bodybuilding events, including show strategy, contest dieting, posing techniques, and more, plus updates on the latest drugs the pros are using, post-workout nutrition, an overview of the bodybuilding lifestyle, and plenty of underground facts and real-world case studies you won't find anywhere else! Check out Extreme Muscle Enhancement 2nd Edition for additional 14 All New Chapters! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

Great workout info but a tad hypocritical
This book is a must read for those wanting to get big. The workout and diet info is second to none. The author is a bit technical so if you are dumb you should start out with something simpler. Great analytical information on body types and how to design the most effecting program around your own type.
The author pushes for the natural body builder (which I highly applaud), and puts down steriod users, but he then praises pro-body builders who are juiced to the gills. Also his section on steriods is filled with false information. This would be a five star book if all the information was accurate.

** MAKE SURE YOU GET THE 2nd EDITION!!!**
dont make the same mistake i did!! this is the first edition - do NOT buy this one --> get the 2nd edition!!! its the same price but has alot of new material!!!

Required reading for all seruious trainers
If you are serious about bodybuilding and don't use steroids you need to read this book.It has all you need to know about getting results in the shortest time period. Excellent information about nutrition and supplements.I prefer the training advise of Body Sculpting for Men which incorporates supersets and periodization training techniques.I have plenty of muscle mass from 20+ years of lifting so the body sculpting techniques are more what I am looking for at this time.Would recommend to new trainees the routines that Dr Colker has in the book.

Great Pump
I really liked this book. Its got hardcore insider info on how to build lean mass. It focuses a great deal on what a Catablic vs Anabolic State is and why and how you should avoid catabolic and stay anabolic. Sometimes it goes too in depth but that is good and you can take it or leave it.I would have liked to see more illustrations though.

Good workout suggestions.
Dr Colker gives some valuable workout tips in this book. Well worth the price for that. I felt it was a little light on nutrition specifics, but that may be because he has covered that in detail in other writings. ... Read more

Book Description
Get better and bigger results than you ever thought possible without using illicit or unhealthy drugs. Natural Bodybuilding provides the best training and nutrition prescription available for gaining mass and defining muscles the healthy way.

Detailed programs and workouts, specific techniques for particular lifts, proven dietary guidelines, a weeklong precompetition plan, and true inspirational success stories will help you reach your potential. See what great results you can achieve without incurring the expense and physical toll of a chemically crafted body.

IRONMAN columnist and champion natural bodybuilder John Hansen covers every facet, from the gym to the training table to the competitive stage. Get bigger the right way, with Natural Bodybuilding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Natural Bodybuilding
I found this book a little to broad.
When it comes to bodybuilding i am old school.
Very simple movements Arnold style.

The nutrition tips are kind of sophisticated ( too many numbers and statistics) and the pictures are not so great either.

Very Basic
This book is too basic for an intermediate or advanced bodybuilder.It is a good read for a newbie however.

Usefull and informative
I am beginner, 40. I found this book usefull and informative on training exersises, routines and nutritions. Following the suggestions I get constant size increase. Each exersise is well described with safety suggestions and tips on effectivness; one exeption is "power cleans" is mentioned for shoulder routine but I could not find its descriptions so far. Multiple sample routines are well thought and work for me. In nutrition section I found informative how protein, carbs, fats work together. Body types are well described. Supplements are included in the book. Please consider that this is my first book on this subject.

Good book-Better training advice in other books
It is a good book to add to your library.I found the contest preparation to be the best part of the book and worth the cost of the book.The training advice is standard and I feel there is better in other books such Body Sculpting Bible and Extreme Muscle Enhancement.

Achieve Your Goals
The natural way to maximize your muscle mass and minimize fat is right at your fingertips in this helpful guide.Everything from exercise to contest preparation is included. ... Read more

Book Description

Prepare to look, feel, and perform better than you ever have before!

Why bodybuilding? Put simply, lifting weights--or resistance training--is one of the best ways to achieve total body health and fitness. Research has shown time and again that pumping iron provides a host of benefits: Bigger muscles, of course, but also greater strength, higher bone density, and deeper cardiovascular capacity. Adding muscle also naturally ignites your body's internal fat-burners, increasing your metabolism while lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol. Oh yeah, and you'll look terrific.

Here's all you need to start building serious muscle, including crucial information on:

• Complete workouts and techniques to maximize results
• Specific tips on achieving more defined abs, arms, legs, chest, and back,
• How bodybuilding is different and better than other training methods
• Basic anatomy and physiology
• “Gym jargon” via a special decoder
• How long and often you should work out--and how much recovery time your body needs

Book Description
Continuously published since 1936, Ironman is the dean of bodybuilding magazines. Ironman has been showcasing every major bodybuilder, training technique, and scientific advance, along with other aspects of the iron game, longer than any other bodybuilding magazine. With articles by and photos of the greatest names in bodybuilding, the Ironman archives represent the best of bodybuilding in the 20th century. Here, in one definitive, information-packed volume, you have the best that Ironman has to offer. The articles and photos reprinted in Ironman's Ultimate Bodybuilding Encyclopedia are of enormous and enduring value to beginners and experts alike. A tour de force of bodybuilding information with stunning photos of unrivaled quality, this massive volume covers every aspect of bodybuilding with authority and depth. Included is complete information on:

• Bodybuilding fundamentals
• Bodybuilding physiology
• Shoulder training
• Chest training
• Back training
• Arm training
• Abdominal training
• Leg training
• Training with a system
• Training with the champions
• Tricks and secrets to boost growth
• Training for mass
• Training for power
• Mental aspects of training
• Natural bodybuilding
• Bodybuilding nutrition
• Bodybuilding injuries
• Drugs in bodybuilding

Customer Reviews (9)

Should be a part of every bodybuilders library.
Although dated this book contains good information and guidelines to advance your training. Every new bodybuilder should study this book!

Informative and Enjoyable Compilation of Ironman Articles
I've been reading this Ultimate Bodybuilding Encylopedia for the last few weeks and I find it very useful and motivating.

This is very different than Arnold's encylopedia, not better or worse just different. If you want a systematic and comprehensive guide to bodybuilding exercises and their performance then Arnold's is what I would recommend. Note that (in my opinion), many of the routines are geared more for someone w/ performance enhancing drugs and would severly overtrain most natural bodybuilders. Still, Arnold's book is incredibly comprehensive and has been updated since the original release.

The Ironman encyclopedia is more of a collection of articles from Ironman issues over the years. The great thing about that is you get a variety of points of view and approaches which is excellent.
The price of the book is VERY inexpensive compared to what one would have to pay if you were to buy the same volume of valuable information in magazines.

Personally I'm not a big fan of the overall direction bodybuilding has gone with the extreme juice monsters, but this book has a mix of material that can cater to a natural bodybuilder as well as those into the more extreme aspects of the sport. In addition to the many excellent articles, there are photographs which contain bodybuilders from both "schools" of bodybuilding which is not something you find very often.

I've recently purchased the Ironman Natural Bodybuilding Book which is also excellent for those interested in focusing specifically on a drug free approach (though certainly some of the extreme supplementation used by "natural" bodybuilders almost approaches a middle ground between completely natural and pharmaceuticals).

For me the most important thing has been learning the difference between how to approach training from a natural point of view. I train for health and appearance, but not even remotely with the idea of competition, and it's been great to learn so much about how to workout hard without overtraining, especially for someone drug free like myself.

A lot of attention is paid to the fact that natural bodybuilders/weight trainers really have to learn how NOT to overtrain, something I most definitely did many years ago. I worked out way too much and really hit a wall.

Anyway, the different articles contained in this book has a plethora of interesting information that I think most people interested in pumping iron will find useful and enjoyable to read.

Another thing I really appreciate in the book is the honest discussion of the various drugs being used by non-natural bodybuilders. I especially liked the fact that Ironman had the guts to have interview with the anonymous IFBB Olympia competitor who frankly discusses the insane drug combinations he uses to stay competitive and the dangerous health issues he faces from that use. It's such an over the top interview that it actually had me going "Is this for real?", but most certainly it is. I've talked with several athletes who have used performance enhancing drugs and they suffered greatly from the side effects so this interview rang true to me.

It still amazes me that the IFBB hasn't tried to clean up and legitimize this sport into a sport that people can take seriously. Instead, they've taken a great sport and turned it into a freak show. They've created an environment that is horrific for the athletes, men and woman who should exemplify health and instead exemplify drugs. This Ironman book, while still featuring many "juiced up" bodybuilders, at least doesn't shy away from the truth about these drugs where many other publications have a "don't ask don't tell" approach.

Highly recommended!

Very Resourceful
I always rely on this book, scanning over and over certain mass-gaining strategies, like the featured article, "Compound Aftershock", which is an awesome biceps/triceps program that potentially explodes your arms.

This book is awesome because it includes 3 to 5 pages of weightlifting stories from classic natural bodybuilders like Bill Pearl, Larry Scott, Mike Mentzer, Arnold, Tom Platz, and others too.For instance, Tom Platz explains how he made his legs huge and musculur.Also, how Larrymade his football-sized biceps grow so huge with his routine.One bodybuilder will tell you that a good triceps exercise for gaining triceps mass is the decline barbell extentions, which is very effective for me when I superset it with dumbell kickbacks.I've never seen this type of growth before.

I've only read half of the book so far and yet I'm gaining mass.

If you have trouble gaining mass, scan over the "Training With A System" section.It makes you see your mistakes with the possibility of overtraining, using too much weight, inefficient diet, or too much strees.This article shows you how to prevent it.

Ironman's section on the mental aspects of training is especially motivating and convincing--making you eager to workout and get huge.

The Nutrition aspect of this book is weak though.One article is about vegetarianism, which I have no clue why they introduced such an inappropriate diet for a bodybuilder.However, they still give a few pages of bodybuilding type diets that you can gain mass upon.

This book will never bore you because I find that I am always reading new ways to build mass from reading this book and that has helped me eliminate worthless workout routines.Anybody who bodybuilds naturally should get this book, as this book unleashes very clever and strategic workout routines.Buy it now and you will become more motivated that ever!

Terrific Paperback Compendium For Workout Enthusiast!
Other than regular access to a good gym with all the right equipment and all the necessary nutrition, nothing is so important to the aspiring bodybuilder than information, and everyone from the neophyte to more experienced muscle bombers will find everything they need to grow into the body they dream of in this wonderful bodybuilder's encyclopedia. Culled from a variety of sources from deep within the culture of the west coast bodybuilding havens of Venice Beach and Santa Monica, this compendium of relevant information and sage advice has been produced by veteran bodybuilding coach Peter Sisco, who used extensive interviews with bodybuilding stars and the mounds of information produced by research technicians associated with Ironman magazine, who also produced a wide variety of helpful publications such as this one. You will find everything you need here, from the best way to flare your quadriceps to the best way to widen your shoulders by bombing the lateral heads of the deltoids.

Given all this, the book is both highly informative and quite inspirational, showcasing a number of recent bodybuilding luminaries, using both photographs and drawings to illustrate correct exercise performance, useful training techniques, and the latest in scientific breakthroughs that are on the very cutting edge of what contemporary bodybuilders are using to constantly attempt to get even bigger, stronger, and more striated and cut. Using the treasure-trove of Ironman's photographic archives, Sisco has produced one of the best single volume works covering the waterfront of bodybuilding yet. It compares well to the standard Weider's "Ultimate Bodybuilding", Schwarzenegger's version of the book, and even Bill Pearl's superb "Keys To The Inner Universe". This is a book that works well for the bodybuilding enthusiast wanting or needing a handy reference volume he can throw in his gym bag and read between sets at the local iron dungeon. Enjoy!

Very Good Book
This book is a compilation of articles from Ironman Magazine.They've been carefully chosen by the editor, Pete Sisco.The articles on training are the best ones that the magazine has to offer.As with all bodybuilding books, you'll want to pick-and-choose which routines and advice you want to adopt.I thought the book was a 4-Star book rather than a 5-Star book for the following reasons:1) The section on Nutrition was weak.It didn't really address cutting edge nutrition questions, but focused--unusually, I thought--on variations (e.g., vegetarianism), and 2) it's a 2-color book.This is probably a nit, but the magazine is 4-color, and 4-color photos reproduced as 2-color lose something (especially if they haven't been "color corrected").But these aren't really slams on the book as a whole...4-Stars is pretty good.The one thing I wanted to say above all else, is that Pete Sisco has done the bodybuilding world a huge service by including the anonymous interview with a "Top Pro" bodybuilder and his use of steroids and other drugs.What an eye-opener.[Good job, Pete.]This chapter will let you see why steroids and other drugs are such a disaster for the long-term health of bodybuilding athletes.I hope younger bodybuilders will read that chapter especially, and make the commitment to train as "naturals".It's a really good book, and you'd do well to have it in your bodybuilding library. ... Read more

Book Description
From the pages of Muscle & Fitness magazine comes Bodybuilding 101, a complete motivational how-to guide based on Robert Wolff's immensely popular column in the world-renowned fitness magazine. Covering everything from nutrition basics, common training mistakes, and powerful mental strategies to specialized training for your body type and the 22 best machine exercises, Bodybuilding 101 appeals to men and women of all ages, from beginner to advanced fitness enthusiast--anyone who desires a stronger, firmer, and shapelier body but does not have the know-how to achieve it. In order to help explain exercises step-by-step, Bodybuilding 101 contains more than 200 photos by the best physique and exercise photographers in the industry.Robert Wolff is a true fitness and motivation authority who has helped thousands reach their absolute best. Let him show you the way to achieve incredible, lifetime-lasting results in the quickest way possible.Robert Wolff, Ph.D., lectures throughout the world on fitness, motivation, and high-level success principles. He has worked with such fitness legends as Arnold Schwarzeneggar, Lee Haney, Steve Reeves, Lou Ferrigno, Rachel McLish, and Cory Everson and has been published in Shape, Men's Fitness, and Flex. "Of all the writers who have written for my magazines, one of the best who's changed the lives of people through bodybuilding and motivation is Robert Wolff. He has the uncanny ability for discovering the subtleties that turn a good exercise into a great one and for cutting through the hype to explain it to the average man and woman in easy and motivating ways that they'll understand and remember." --Joe Weider"No other physical activity can change your body faster than bodybuilding, and no other writer and book can give you the real priceless jewels of training wisdom learned from years of gym workouts and working alongside the greatest names in the sport like Robert Wolff and Bodybuilding 101. This book will be a guide that you'll refer to time and time again because Robert Wolff's inspirational message is timeless." --Cory Everson, six-time Ms. Olympia and bestselling author"Robert Wolff is in a class of his own. Few writers can capture the muscle and soul of bodybuilding like him. You're holding a book written by the man who can give you a priceless world of knowledge and save you much wasted time and frustration." --Lee Haney, eight-time Mr. Olympia and world champion bodybuilder"What a breath of fresh air it is to have someone who really knows his stuff come along and write a book with information that works incredibly well. Robert Wolff is such a writer, and Bodybuilding 101 is a book that can get you in great shape much quicker than you ever thought possible." --Rachel McLish, two-time Ms. Olympia and bestselling author"Robert Wolff shares the same passion for the sport of natural bodybuilding that I have, and he has intuitive understanding of and in-the-gym knowledge about all aspects of training. It's with pleasure that I highly recommend his book. His message and book will change your physique and your life!" --Steve Reeves, former Mr. American and Mr. Universe ... Read more

Customer Reviews (48)

Come Back to Weightlifting
If you're wanting to get back into weightlifting, this book will give you the inspiration and tips you need.This book is the perfect supplement to your class or personal trainer

Additional Reading Required
The title of this book makes it sound like a beginner's college course in the subject of body building. In my experience, a course like this should have one of two thrusts.

1. An Overview: The book should cover all aspects of the subject, but in a very broad, somewhat superficial way. Bodybuilding 101 covers training and diet, and it covers intermediate and advanced techniques. But, if it's supposed to be an overview, I'm surprised there isn't a section about posing, and competitive body building.

Or:

2. A Beginner's How-To: The book should present detailed information for a beginner to have a clear picture of what to do if he/she wants to start down the road of a bodybuilder. If that's the case, there just isn't enough information to start a weight training program. The book serves as a good supplement for someone working with a trainer or a workout partner with more experience.

If you're a total beginner, and want to learn to workout on your own, the book offers inspiration and some useful information, but you're going to have to buy some other books or do some research to really get an understanding of proper form with the exercises he promotes. I've lifted before, and bought this book because I was coming back to weight lifting. For where I'm at, it's a pretty enjoyable book. He has good suggestions on what exercises to focus on, and he doesn't get bogged down in scientific theory. I also like his views of challenging yourself, and constant experimentation, and stressing we're each unique with different needs and different paths to success. I can't complain about the way information is organized. It's very perusable. However, if you're the type of person who wants to be told step 1 on page 1, then step 2 on page 2, etc., you'll be pretty frustrated.

My biggest complaints are with the detail. He doesn't give enough info about form for the individual exercises. More photos would be very useful. For some exercises, he has a couple photos showing beginning and ending positions. Other exercises will only have one photo, and a few exercises don't have any photos associated with them at all. There are a few useless photos in sections about rest and eating habits that I'm sure were just stuffed in there for no other reason than to break up the copy.

Overall, I'm happy with the book, but if you're an absolute beginner, and think you'll be able to start a lifting program with nothing other than this book, you'll be dissatisfied.

Bodybuilding 101: C+

Would have earned five stars with some change in attitude.
The author has compromised his hard work and insightful views by relishing his machismo. It portrays Bodybuilding as a mindless activity obsessed with sex, muscle mass, and physical appearance at the expense of graceful fitness, as follows.

1-The book cover is repulsive to a great segment of readers (in my opinion). It further conveys a sense of physical emptiness. That obsession of showing sexually attractive, yet mentally shallow, is prevalent in the book photos.

2- The first page of the book shows a person laying his shoe on the barbell. That is both demeaning to the sport and unhygienic. The part of the barbell that touches the lifter skin should not come in contact with the sole of the shoes.

3- The very second page shows a hunk squatting in 135 lb barbell and wearing a belt. Waist belts are the worst advertisement for bodybuilding. The rest of the book will amplify thas philosophy of stiff and inflexible lifters.

4- The most annoying part of the book is the photos of young people drinking, eating, laying on grass, and thinking.I am not kidding!That made me resists spending the $17.95, though I liked many things about the book. I might change my mind though and give it a ride home. The book does have many good ideas.

5- Many photographed people in the book look weird, either drugged or otherwise. Many faces look pathetic, not because of lack of physical attraction but rather of angry facial expressions. It conveys a sense of an endemic psychological disturbance among bodybuilders.

6- The unfortunate trend in the book is the total lack of stretching, flexibility, or sound skeletal fitness.The whole book is about getting big, strong, and cut. Many bodybuilders achieved those goals yet subjected themselves to spinal injuries, life-long joint disease, and unhealthy overweight.There is no single lift in the book that started from the floor and made full travel overhead, which is ironic, unscientific, and unfortunate.

The positive contribution in the book is plenty as well.

1- The author is clearly well organized with high abstract skills. His chapters are beautifully written, concise, rational, and focused. The author is genuine and knowledgeable. He does not sell the moon or the stars, but rather conveys what he has learned and what worked for him. That is where the worth of author's experience counts. I suspect that the author bought into someone's ill advice for the design of his book cover for commercial purpose.

2- The book offers very effective methods of excelling in bodybuilding by its emphasis on intensity. It is realistic in stressing that 90 days would not do the magic that others claim. It is realistic on exercise planning, except its obsession with peripheral muscles. I wish the author revisits Newton's laws of mechanics in order to figure out why huge arms and shoulders, with insecure low back, is not the best way to educate people about building muscles.

3- The invaluable wealth in the book is its emphasis on constant changing of routine, plenty of sleep and rest (that is the best approach), and its simple and clear understanding of the fundamental exercises such Squat and Deadlift. I dreaded the front squat with crossed arms. It is not right to wait until you lose shoulder flexibility and become unable to flex your elbows and shoulders in such improper front squat.

4- Many exercise photos in the book are inspiring to beginners.It demonstrates that physical improvement is feasible with behavior modification.

5- The peak triumph in the book is the discussion of exercising all body parts with different exercises of different ratios of sets and repetitions. Here, where you learn some lasting knowledge from an experienced author.

One might argue that engaging in bodybuilding is more productive than succumbing to sedentary living, drugs, smoking, or alcohol. Yet, the many years bodybuilders devote bulking up should not be wasted in compromising future health with inflexible joints, damaged internal organs, and irreversible side effects of overweight. High mobility and full range of motion of joints should improve the quality of life of bodybuilders. The top bodybuilders I followed in my over 40 years of training either struggled with kidney problems, lower back and knee problems, high blood pressure, or loss of great opportunities of professional and educational gain because of the extreme indulgence of building massive muscles that are hard to keep atop.The sadistic drive for big and strong should be substituted by graceful and strong. And habitual smiling comforts the soul as well.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

Disappointed - it says do it, but doesn't say how to do it.
I bought this book recently and I'm disappointed at it. It only has one page with the exercise plan just listing the exercises you should do in the beginning phase. But, IT DOES NOT EXPLAIN HOW TO PERFORM THEM. It only shows pictures of just some of the exercises he lists. All in all, buy this book for advice and stories about the weight training life rather than how to do it.

5 stars?You gotta be kidding me..
How is it that Wolff's books get such great reviews?I'm not going to rehash the negative points.Search the reviews for the scant few that gave less than 4 or 5 stars.I think there is some kind of "circle of friends" going around giving 5-star reviews and then going back saying that they found each other's reviews to be helpful.The books certainly are not helpful. Reviewer SBJ400, while having some good reviews on other products, has basically cut and pasted reviews from one Wolff book to another and given them all 5 stars.If you want to get started-out in weight training I'd suggest anything from the "Men's Health" line of products or anything that Lou Schuler has been associated with (even though he is no longer with Men's Health).As far as I'm concerned, "The Book of Muscle" has been pretty much the seminal treatise on weight training for the past couple of years.I've read probably 50 other books on the subject, and none of them has any information that one doesn't have in it. ... Read more

Book Description
"If you're really into the great sport of bodybuilding, getting massively huge and 'shredded' is great. If you're an athlete from any other sport, getting as big as you need to be in order to improve your total sports performance capabilitities is the name of the game. Dr. Hatfield has given you the ultimate bible of bodybuilding greatness." -- Tom Platz Two-time Mr. UniverseDr. Fred Hatfield, bodybuilding guru and bestselling author, brings together the latest advances in bodybuilding science in this comprehensive guide to achieving optimum gains in muscle mass and power through personalized nutrition and training programs. Based on the premise that strength is the foundation upon which you can build the ultimate physique, Hatfield presents an innovative training system, using his state-of-the-art "ABC workouts" (muscle-specific, targeted-set, and holistic-set workouts). Add the most up-to-date information available on nutrition and exercise technique to this highly personalized training system and you have a breakthrough program that guarantees explosive growth and strength--achieved naturally, without the use of drugs. Loaded with photos, training logs and charts, psychological strategies for staying motivated, tips on contest preparation, and solutions to common problems bodybuilders face, Hardcore Bodybuilding also presents methods for determining body-fat percentage and metabolic rate and reveals the truth behind many bodybuilding myths--making it a must for anyone interested in serious weight training. Frederick C. Hatfield, PhD, has written more than 50 books and hundreds of articles on sports training, fitness, bodybuilding, and nutrition, including Bodybuilding: A Scientific Approach, Power: A Scientific Approach, and Ultimate Sports Nutrition: A Scientific Approach to Peak Athletic Performance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

just book
just couple minds about training. All of this you can find on dr sqat website. Dont buy.......

Lacking in practical training value
Dr. Hatfield's enthusiasm is infectious, his attitude positive, and his anti-steroid stance a very, very good thing. The photography was likewise above average. Beyond that point, however, the value of this book falls off rapidly. The training seems rather random and not at all soundly reasoned in it's structure; in determining his recommended set/rep/workout frequency combinations, Dr. Hatfield even reassures the reader he's "done the thinking for you". Pronouncements lacking solid rationale (excepting an occasional referrence to the Eastern Bloc trainers with whom he studied) on the "hows" & "whys" of training like so abound. The section on nutritional supplementation contains a bit of what can only be called Dr. Hatfield's personal voodoo. As one example, he stands virtually alone in recommending inosine supplementation, the value of which has long ago been debunked and summarily forgotten amidst bodybuilding's "latest and greatest". For the positives listed above, it certainly doesn't warrant a single star rating. For the negatives that come along with them, however, I can't justify more than two.

Put half inch on upper arms in 2 months
I got good results with this book.Carefully following his diet and workout plans, I increased my upper arms measurement by half an inch in just 2 months.I'm not promising it will work that well for everybody, but I am one satisfied customer.

Maybe you could find all this information on the web, but because of the nature of the web, information tends to be in small articles or discussion groups and mixed in with a fair amount of misinformation, conflicting opinions, and advertising.So, I think it is best to read a few books like this one and then supplement with the internet information.

This book is not just an encyclopedia of every conceivable exercise and variation (if you want that, there are other books out there), it's not just a bunch of unrelated magazine articles shoved into a book format (there are plenty of those kinds of books too), it's not just a bunch of fluff with a picture of a grunting bodybuilder on every page (although it is adequately illustrated), and it's not just the expression of one person's bodybuilding philosophy based purely on anecdotal experiences (Hatfield has tremendous experience, but also makes every effort to modify his methods based on the latest available scientific information).

Hardcore Bodybuilding shows you how to cycle intensity, how often to work out, recovery time for different body parts, recommended exercises for different body parts, how to do the exercises, what to eat, how often to eat, how to cycle your diet to lose fat and gain muscle, how long it will take, how to estimate percentage body fat, what supplements to take, etc.You are expected to develop your own plan of attack to fit your schedule and goals, but all the concepts are there with examples to get you started.

Hatfield's honesty may scare off some people.He makes no bones about how hard it is to be successful at bodybuilding with no drugs and does not promise over-night success.If you are not willing to put in a significant amount of time and effort, you may not be satisfied with his approach.On the other hand, he does present work out plans for beginner-to-intermediate bodybuilders too, so you can grow into it.However, that is not the focus of this book.

The book could stand some updating.For example, the author promotes the use of aspirin during training, but recent studies suggest aspirin (and other similar pain killers) may inhibit protein synthesis.Also, Hatfield recommends not eating immediately before or after a workout since this supposedly inhibits growth hormone.However, more recent scientific studies seem to suggest that a post-workout meal actually has the opposite affect.(This still seems to be a controversial subject on discussion forums.)

Also, I have noticed that for some reason, the book doesn't discuss neck specific exercises.I am talking about exercises using a neck harness, wrestler's bridges, or other exercises specific to the neck.I'm not talking about traps.(I think it is interesting that Hatfield includes trap exercises in his shoulder section and another famous author, Bill Pearl, puts these into the back category.Many people seems to think of them as neck muscles.)Maybe some of these neck exercises can even be dangerous and Hatfield just considers them unnecessary.However, it seems to me that a book on hardcore bodybuilding should not ignore this body part.

Don Ross's book, Muscleblasting!, refers to a technique he calls "Breakdowns", saying it was a "...variation of step-bombing... devised by Dr. Fred Hatfield and Mike Quinn..."This is essentially what Hatfield says to do for "C" workouts in his ABC system.You can read about the ABC system on Hatfield's web site, but I think it would be difficult to fully understand the system without reading this book.

Anyway, this is still an excellent book (I think one of the best on the topic).So, buy and read the book, then check the website (and/or other books) for additional guidance.Just keep in mind that science does not stand still, so even a scientific approach cannot be written in stone.

Encylopedia for Weight Training
Great book for all levels. Great fundamentals, and more indepth coverage than most can handle (lots of biology). I first bought this book in college, but a few moves later it was lost. I recently bought this book thru amazon as a handy reference, especially when I get bored of a routine and need to look for alternative weight exercices. I'm not trying to get bulky, just toned and fit ~ this book is great even if you don't want to be Mr/Mrs Universe. On the down side, it is a bit dated, and could include new research and weight routines.

Best Book on Bodybuilding I've seen yet.
I can't believe the people that have complained about this book. I will answer them all. First off I have owned this book for 10 years and still get new information out of it. It has been the best 15 dollars that I have ever spent.

One guy said the program is too rigid.

What? You are supposed to use the information to come up with your own program. Didn't you even read it. This book will tell you "how" to create a great body. It is not a simple do this type of book. No. This book is for people who want to know why they are supposed to do things, not just a simple recipe to follow. But even then, yes, the most in dept routine (as an example) is there for you to study. It is there so you will understand the concepts so you can create your own system. Why do you think there are 425 pages on information in this book? It is not so you simply follow the example routines on pages 55-60. It is so you will learn how to develop your own system depending on what your goals are.

One guy said there are better books out there.

Yeah right, I've been looking for ten years. I foolishly bought books from other "name" people in bodybuilding and they were almost useless. Sure they went over how to do certain exercises and had many pictures in them, but did any of them have a break down of every type of skeletal muscle fiber and the best way they respond to movement (exercise)? No, not one of the "other" books did. The only books that I saw that anything even near the amount of fundamental knowledge about bodybuilding in them were medical in nature and cost over 50 bucks. None on the market have this much vital information for only 15 dollars. That's why in ten years it's the only bodybuilding book that I still have. I gave the other ones away to people who wanted some info. I have showed my book to about 30 people but I will not lend or give this one away.

If you want to work on your body and you have 15 dollars, then there is no better book out there. Period. There are certain section that you may want to get more information on, which is how the web site is helpful and why there is so much information there. Together, you can't bet it. The web site is free and the book is only 15 bucks. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

They were having fun
I got this book as a gift but flipped through the pages before wrapping it.The gift recipient is a big fan of Dave Draper and Arnold and all the rest and just LOVED it.A lotta fun to read.Great pics, too.

Muscle UP!
If you are seriously into the fun & history of the good times in Bodybuilding. Then you can't go wrong buying this book. It's written with an easy going style that helps the reader feel the vibe ,sweat & good hard workouts of these very strong men. You'll learn a lot about why these guys worked out so hard & enjoyed it!
What they did,,how they trained, what they added to Football, Boxing & other sports, Well they just made sportsmen & women faster & stronger. Lift some weights, feel the buzz come alive. Ladies & gentlemen these guys were ahead of their time. It's a good read.

o.k. book
This book is good for those who want to hear stories about body building from the 60's era. It does give stories of The Oak, but I wish it covered more of the 70's era, like Pumping Iron.

OLD SCHOOL!
If you're a newcomer to bodybuilding and all you know is what you read in "Flex" or "Muscular Development", you need this book.

Set in the laidback style of the 60's and early 70's, Tyler shows us what it was like to be on Muscle Beach, or Gold's Gym (not the spas they have now). Written in the easygoing prose of the time, it does a great job of transporting you back to that time and place, even if you've never been there (like me).

You won't find the latest workout tips here. Instead you are whisked away to the culture and place where bodybuilding first hit the big time in the USA. No six figure paychecks here, just hard work and hard iron.

At 48, I'm constantly on the lookout for books and videos to keep me motivated for daily workouts. "West Coast Bodybuilding Scene" fits the bill from every angle.

Wanna be Inspired?
This wonderful book gives a backstage pass to the life and times of some of bodybuilding's greats!Just to name a few, we have Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dave Draper, Franco Columbo, and Mike Katz.Pages of beautiful photography accompany this explicitly written novel, one of my all time favorites. Dick has the unique ability to take you back in time, show you the real men of muscle, and give a bird's eye view of what their lives were really like on a daily basis.Lighthearted humor and truthfulism is expressed throughout.This book is enlightening, inspiring, and motivational.This is the genuine article, a definite keeper.Special thanks to my great friend Karen DeCoster for giving me this, the best birthday present ever. ... Read more