Men-s Health Home Workout Bible- A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Burning Fat and Building Muscle Description:

Men's Health Home Workout Bible: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Burning Fat and Building Muscle review:
5 stars (Excellent Overall) - Provides basic understanding of exercise physiology and diet.

Provides basic understanding of muscles and their functions.

Provides the nuts and bolts of dos and donts with respect to form, routines ( when to and how to change routines ).

One of the only few books out there which would tell you what exercise equipment to use and what to expect from that equipment.

Also one of the only books which has divided ALL exercises ( dumbell, free weights and cable ) into beginner , intermmediate and advance level.

If you are new to weight training this is a must have and probably the first one to have.

My only complain is that the author has strongly discouraged the use of SMITH MACHINE. I understand the rational but if you are like me i.e. exercising at home without the spotter and do not want to get injured then you got to have this machine.

After doing weight training for one and a half year my last comment about the ultimate machine "the dream machine" is

Get a SMITH MACHINE with Free weight capability and integrated cable system. Get a cheao 40 lbs each two adjustable dumbells from Walmart and you are set to be at the next level. Good Luck!




3 stars (Pretty good for men thinking about adding muscle and willing to pay the price) - This is a traditional, intro pumping iron book for men. The only slight twist is, as the title says, it's for men looking to workout at home, not the club. My wife and I have both read it and this is our combined feedback ("See all my reviews" for additional feedback).



Our 3 star rating is actually an average. I give it 3.5 and she gives it 2.5.



To be blunt, in our oppinion the book is targetted at men with little or no weightlifting experience and are interested in doing a "body make-over" to become the chick-magnet they always knew they could be. To us, it's not a health and fitness book but an intro pumping iron book. If you are self-motivated, respond well to setting a goal and working hard to achieve it, this may be the perfect book for you and might rate it higher.



Positive: We like the honesty by the authors, especially regarding the costs involved in acquiring your own fitness equipment. They don't sugar coat it. The compendium of resistence exercises (half the book)is excellent, a good reference, particularly for men. The book is a good value- there is a lot of informative content, not like some books we've seen that are little more than fluff and pretty pictures between two covers. The book provides about 60 pages of various progress chart templates to get you started and progressing.



Negative: It's not really a "workout bible." Little attention is given to anything but pumping iron. Again, we're not talking long-haul health and fitness so much as building a beef-cake temple. It seems to be written with the assumption the reader has a fair amount of money and time to burn (some people do, most don't). It doesn't provide much help dealing with the real-world challenge of motivation beyond the first two weeks. We're afraid a lot of people will spend a bunch of money on equipment and then watch it collect dust after the first two weeks of euphoria passes. The misses quickly tired of the macho and sexist writing style. But it is from the people of MENS HEALTH magazine, after all! (She's right. They lay it on too thick for my taste as well). The attempts at humor could also be eliminated.



In summary, a useful book for a relatively narrow audience, or one to add to a fitness library for its compendium of resistence exercises.



Hope this feedback helps you in your buying decision!
4 stars (Workout Bible is a Must Have) - If you're new to strength training this book is a must have. It's loaded with good explanations and advice for the beginner. Everyone tells you to consult with your doctor before starting an exercise program; well, I'd add this book to the list of things you need before starting a strength training program. The book has good illustrations that show you how to do exercises properly, using good form, which is important in preventing injuries.