Stronger Abs and Back: 165 Exercises to Build Your Center of Power

Rating:
Summary: Your abs will scream!
Review: I found this book to be very effective in helping me develop my core. I was soon playing much better tennis. I consider this book to be my secret weapon in the sports that I play.

Rating:
Summary: For every athlete
Review: I found this book to be very effective in helping me develop my core. I was soon playing much better tennis. I consider this book to be my secret weapon in the sports that I play.

Rating:
Summary: Eliminated my back pain, thank you!!!
Review: I initially bought this book in 2003 to get a 6-pack (haha), but I never really looked at it until I started experiencing severe lower back pain in October 2004. As a background, I started doing Mixed Martial Arts training early 2004 and slowly but surely my back pains started. I ignored it for as long as I could, but in September 2004 I was training hard for a submission wrestling tournament and my back was in constant pain.

My girlfriend's a PT and for long term maintenance and pain relief she advised me to strengthen my core. I showed her this book and she recommended I do the exercises with progressive difficulty.

Beforehand I used to do my weight training first and only do abs if I had the energy or "time". However in November 2004, I started doing the exericses in the book before my weight training sessions (4-5 times/week). I started with the stability exercises for 2 weeks. Once I got a grasp of that, I moved on to the ab fitness exercises for another 3 weeks and only now am I gettting to the strength exercises. The thing that impressed me was how detailed the instructions were. I was training smarter rather than harder. I ended each session with some good lower back stretching (shown in the book) for 5-10 minutes.

And I am very happy to say in December 2004 my lower back pain is completely gone!!! Consistency and good advice/exercises was the key! If the authors read this review, thanks very much!

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: The only thing negative I would say about this book is the suggested meal/diet plan. Otherwise, the authors have outlined an excellent plan for strengthening your core. After seriously injuring my back over the Christmas holiday, I had been experiencing chronic lower back pain. Three weeks of core work-outs at the Fitness Level (the lowest of the three levels) and the back pain has already subsided. Plus there is a visible difference in my abdominals (my diet and cardio has helped in this area, too). As a former High School/College athlete (wresting & Judo) and now a coach, I would recommend this book for athletes in any sport. It will work if you use it!

Rating:
Summary: Great book ... it works if you use it.
Review: The only thing negative I would say about this book is the suggested meal/diet plan. Otherwise, the authors have outlined an excellent plan for strengthening your core. After seriously injuring my back over the Christmas holiday, I had been experiencing chronic lower back pain. Three weeks of core work-outs at the Fitness Level (the lowest of the three levels) and the back pain has already subsided. Plus there is a visible difference in my abdominals (my diet and cardio has helped in this area, too). As a former High School/College athlete (wresting & Judo) and now a coach, I would recommend this book for athletes in any sport. It will work if you use it!

Rating:
Summary: More crunches.
Review: This book has a wonderful introduction, explaining why strong core muscles (abs & lower back) are necessary for athletic performance, however, the exercises explained in the book are simply variations of a crunch. After 3 months of doing the exercises in this book religously, I felt that I had made very little gain, and in fact I felt as if my posture was becoming worse and worse. The authors definetly realize the importance of the core, but they do nothing to help with strengthening it.

Rating:
Summary: Your abs will scream!
Review: This book is a MUST for Personal Trainers as well as self trainers. I refer to it constantly for variety and challenge. The pictorials and step-by-step instructions are easy to follow. You won't need another torso book. It has everything!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for the serious and goal minded athlete
Review: This book is the perfect book for the athlete who truly wants to improve the abs and/or back muscles. If you stick with the program as recommended by the authors and give it time, you will notice the differences in a few weeks. I had a herniated disk due to an accident. My lower back was in pain for much of the time. In about 3 weeks the pain had disappeared and I noticed that whenever I turned my torso, I felt a since of power. I then lent the book to several friends and they have all given thumbs up to the book.

Rating:
Summary: I was very impressed.
Review: This book takes ab workouts to an entirely different level. There are three training systems used in the book; ab fitness; ab strength, and ab power. The ab power is designed for top perfoming athletes, and in all honesty, the excercises prove it; they are way out of my league. This book goes over ab and lower back fitness in depth, as well as warm ups and cool downs. Don't look for this book to "make" you start doing workouts. Try self-help books for that. This book is for those people who have the drive, and want no-nonsense excercises to get what they want.

Rating:
Summary: I was very impressed.
Review: This book takes ab workouts to an entirely different level. There are three training systems used in the book; ab fitness; ab strength, and ab power. The ab power is designed for top perfoming athletes, and in all honesty, the excercises prove it; they are way out of my league. This book goes over ab and lower back fitness in depth, as well as warm ups and cool downs. Don't look for this book to "make" you start doing workouts. Try self-help books for that. This book is for those people who have the drive, and want no-nonsense excercises to get what they want.