Product Description

If you thought Arnold Schwarzenegger put Graz, Austria on the bodybuilding map, how about Stuart McRobert and Nicosia, Cyprus? Imagine, one man, on a Mediterranean island no less, who has the audacity to directly challenge most contemporary bodybuilding advice. Instead of being another me-too bodybuilding book, Brawn is unique: its tone is serious, its manner evangelical, but most importantly, its focus is on things that actually work for the average trainee. "Drugs are evil and the scourge of bodybuilding," says McRobert, in effect "and forget about Mr O-type training - it just won't work for most people. I'll tell you some things that do work". Brawn has most bodybuilding books beaten hands down in the depth department, but its biggest contribution just might be in breadth: Brawn introduces you to over 90 percent of the factors that will determine your ultimate success in the gym. This is a very useful book, which can help a lot of people to make tremendous bodybuilding progress.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84254 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 230 pages

Customer Reviews

A good dose of common sense
A brilliant book. I can recommend this book for anypne wishing to train. It has everything in there, written by a person who has had that struggle with the iron. However he does say, Beyond Brawn has more detail in it. I recommend you buy either one now if you wish to gain size, muscle and strength.

Star rating can't do this justice.
Get this book and if the author reads it, get it translated into ALL languages.

You will learn "Abbreviated training" as constucted by people like Arthur Jones and Mike Mentzer. McRobert was the Editor of "Hard Gainer" and it's designed for those of us who want a worked body but DON'T TAKE DRUGS/are not big build i.e. genetically gifted.

Alot of those routines you see in the gym exploded in post 1960s when steroids took off, and are considered "finishing" routines - ones that are not going to work for you. I quote from the book:

"Don't worry about the "chiseled" look of an advanced builder until you are so big they become significant. While the easy gainer can get to the targets at the top of this document quickly the hard gainer cannot. Just to get to those goals is a major task, involving almost total focus upon those single goals. For the hardgainer getting even moderately big is such a mighty task that detail work is not only a distraction but it's an utter irrelevance. If all isolation exercises were to disappear from the face of the earth, then all bodybuilders other than competition ones in the advanced "finishing" stages would benefit greatly. There would be more stress on the "building" exercises and the great mass of bodybuilders would have a much greater chance of getting what they need the most - a substantially increases muscular mass and strength."

It lists the main exercises to focus on to get a nice athletic body - and the ones to avoid: "This means squats, not leg extensions; bench presses or dips, not flys or crossovers; deadlifts not hyperextensions; overhead presses not lateral raises et cetra" and gives you target to work for.

It highlights the need to squat big: "Once you get the main musclular structure of the body growing, the rest of the body comes along far more easily. Once you can squat a rep or two with 400lbs - and deadlift with more than 400lb your arms and shoulders will respond more receptively. Try to get big arms and shoulders while only being able to squat with 200lbs and you'll be onto a loser".

It also outlines "Intensity Cycling" and "Periodization" - Google them before you begin to read it. How did I get on with out these two I don't know. Don't be the guy who is forever struggling with a 100kg bench press and just can't get over it. As you will learn, to jump from a struggling 100kg bench press to 110kg is just plain wrong.

If you are new to this game, do get Arnie's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilder. McRobert's book jumps into lifting terminology and assumes you are at a level of knowledge that doesn't require explanation. You will also learn a lot about correct resting (excellent chapter) and nutrition. Get Beyond Brawn too... I'm reading that now, and the Tell all book on good form.

In summary what you will Learn:
1. People are doing routines in the gym designed for those who already have 17 inch arms = waste of time and WASTE OF MONEY.
2. Get the correct food
3. Get the correct rest - using these hard exercises will usually mean a trip to the gym three time in two weeks to be able to recover and stimulate growth.
4. Do the correct exercises that will make you grow (deadlift/squat/bench press) AND do them using INTENSITY CYCLING. Read chapter 7 on this multiple times and get this sorted. Open a word document and map it all out in tables and follow it.

Review of "Brawn"
After having finished reading this book last time, I was immediately spurred on to review it.

How it comes across to me is that this author has written a few hundred pages of thoughts that have come out of his mind with little real order. He seems to ramble on about his ideas, his experiences & what he thinks without any real explanation or clear organisation.

He does mention lots of good sounding training ideas briefly but without explaining why they work, or how to implement them.

This book would confuse the hell out of me if I was starting afresh & had not read better material. My end summary is that I will ignore it in general. It will go to the bottom of my bookcase until maybe one day I wish to adapt the odd idea from it.

I generally agree with his thoughts about many trainees overtraining & how less but more intense is better & do the big exercises i.e. squates, deadlifts etc.

But I would not buy any more of this blokes books. I would however recommend "HIT the Mike Mentzer way" for a clearer, simpler & better laid out book (even if it is philosophical at times!)