Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132290 in Books
• Published on: 1987-03-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 736 pages

Synopsis
Including advice from the best bodybuilders in the world on their areas of expertise, as well as from experts in the field of physiology, nutrition and medicine, this book contains in one volume all the knowledge and expertise that is required to make one the master of one's physical structure.

Customer Reviews

Apsolutely Amazing!!!!!
WOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!
the stuff contained inthis book is apsolutely insane !
rookie bodybuilder, experienced bodybuilder or just an arnie fanatic you can learn alot form this book!
he teaches you step by step the basics of bodybuildeing all the way through to the advanced stuff of the pros !
as i said rookie or advanced get this book you will get great results!
many thanks

A fountain of knowledge from a man who knows his stuff.
This is one of the most thorough books on bodybuilding available. It covers every aspect of bodybuilding, including training, sample workouts (with a very detailed section on correct form, with many photographs), nutrition, and even the all-important, often overlooked psychological aspect of adopting a healthier lifestyle with resistance training.

As with everything, there are multiple points of view on bodybuilding and this is just one. The workout plans in this book, even for the beginner, are fairly heavy-going, to an extent that many would consider "over-training" today (not many days of rest). Despite it's shortcomings in that respect, if the reader can approach the book with their own common sense, the techniques and insights offered by Arnold can help anyone achieve their dream physique.

At 800+ pages, the book can seem a little daunting, but the actual hard paragraphs of text are very much less than that. The book features hundreds of photographs, and the pure-text pages are in single narrow, manageable blocks.

Probably the only book you'll ever need on bodybuilding, providing you monitor your progress and aren't afraid to make adjustments based on your own results.

No what its cracked up to be
I find it hard to write a review for this book. It's a book I have read cover to cover many times and found much of the content both fascinating and inspirational. It's worth buying if you are an Arnie fan, but not if you want to build a great physique.

The problem is the advice in this book will only work for genetically gifted and/or trainees who take illegal substances. I bought this book 6 years ago and spent 4 years of my life following the advice training as hard as I possibly could. The results I got were hugely disappoiting, and I didn't build anything near the physique I craved.

The fundamental problem with this book is the more = better approach. Training 4,5 and 6 days a week will result in chronic over training for the vast majority of individuals and this means little progress. A couple of years ago I switched to a far more abbreviated approach, focusing on core lifts (deadlifts, squats, dips, chin ups etc) and suddenly starting adding muscle (30lbs to date). This flies in the face of the advice given in this book, I just wish it hadn't taken me 4 years to see the light.

If you are after a first class book on weight training I would suggest 'Beyond Brawn' by Stuart McRobert. Although Schwarzenegger is undoubtedly one of the greatest bodybuilders ever, the advice in his book will not help you build a physique anything like his.