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Summary: Totally complete information in all areas of bodybuilding.
Review: This book is awesome! It contains everything from the history of bodybuilding to proper presentation of your posing routines. It will satisfy the hardcore muscleheads, while still remaing exciting and interesting to the beginners. I can't put this book down and you won't either!
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Summary: An amazing book for all bodybuilders.
Review: This is a great book for all bodybuilders and indivuduals who are into weight training. It has full details into workouts for all bodyparts, including pictures of the actual workout along with great details on each body part and how each exercise works that body part. I recomend this book highly
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Summary: this book encapsulates bodybuilding from start to finish.
Review: When entering the section involving bodybuilding leave all other books on the shelf. This is the end all of training manuals.
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Summary: this book is very informative and well written.
Review: I love this book and use all of the forms and tips arnold gives in this book. I like to know about how arnold got big.
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Summary: Best book there is on bodybuilding.
Review: This is the best book I have ever read on bodybuilding. It contains valuable information for everyone, from begginers to professional bodybuilders. If you want to just learn how to get in shape or want to learn more advanced bodybuilding, this is the book to read.
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Summary: Great book, but lots of misinformation
Review: I am a powerlifter. Here is my honest review of this book:The book has a great history of bodybuilding, pictures of lots of exercises, and deals a great deal with contest preparation, and what not. The downside is that some of these exercises can cause injury to muscles and joints. The training programs supported in this book lead to overtraining. To make muscle and strength gains less training is more . . . doing 20-30 sets per muscle group per week is too much. To get strong one must push heavy enough weights(55-85% of 1 rep max), but keep the reps low (30 reps or less). Lots of lighter weights with lots of reps leads to muscular weakness, joint problems, and muscle tears.
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Summary: Great Fitness Book
Review: Great reference book for anybody who is serious about fitness or body building.
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Summary: For those who want a complete physique.
Review: What appealed to me about Arnold's training program is that you develop the entire body from different angles, you create shape and a quality that can not be achieved by these HIT and HEAVY DUTY PROGRAMS or other abbreviated training systems that limit you to a few sets and few exercises.
Arnold proved that this is the best way to create a quality physique. In 1972 Sergio Oliva sent Arnie pictures of himself taken in Florida while Oliva was training for that years Mr. Olympia with Athur Jones Nautilus system aka HIT aka HEAVY DUTY. Oliva's arms were bigger thanhis head and his thighs were bigger than his waist! He was rock hard and tight.
Contest day, Arnold blew away the myth only because Arnold was more complete. More balanced. Oliva had taken the grotesque to the extreme and was freakish. Arnold looked a sculpted Michael Angelo statue.
In 1980, Arnold would do the same thing. Training only 7 weeks after a five years absense from competition, Arnold packed on 30 pounds of muscle and even in only 85% of his best shape beat Mike Mentzer, Boyer Coe, Frank Zane, Chris Dickerson and all the youngins who thought they were ready to replace "The Austrian Oak."
Point? Arnold's system works. It's better than anything you have ever tried before and it's better than anything you have never tried before.
If you want quality muscle, try Arnold's system. It works!
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Summary: It all depends on what your goals are.........
Review: In reading some of the reviews, I can see that so many people are trying to judge this book based on what is best for them, not necessarily what is best for everybody. But first of all, let's take a look at who wrote this book and his accomplishments...ARNOLD!
I met Arnold back in the 1970's. What fascinated me most was his his honesty about anabolic steriods, a subject everyone was anxious to ask him about. Arnold indicated that all of the top bodybuilders use steriods but at best, they only help about 5%. Arnold also went on to say that he won his first two Mr. Universe (Mister Un-E-Verse as Arnold would pronounce it) without steriods.
Arnold also indicated that he had to "shock" his muscles by working from different angles and changing routines. Sometimes he would start off his chest routine with bench presses. Other times he would let bench presses slide and do inclines instead.
Off season, Arnold trains a bodypart (or at least did back then) twice per week but would move that up to three times per week pre contest to bring out maximum muscularity. I understand that this is the way Arnold trained for his Terminator movie as well and Arnie gained 12 lbs of solid muscle ina very short time while reducing his bodyfat level. This guys system works!
When Arnold came to the US back in 1968, it wasn't steriods that transformed him as some reviews have indicated. As Arnold himself said, Steriods only help about 5% and take away the steriods and the top guys would still be the top guys even without steriods. What really transformed Arnold was his change in training technique. Training a bodypart more times per week (from twice to three times), training the calves heavy, working up to 1,000 lbs on calf raises as advised by his hero the great Reg Park. Doing aerobic exercise like running 2 miles along the beach three times per week, doinga double split routine, training twice per day to burn up more calories. Hitting amuscle from many angles, using cables and isolation exercises etc.
Arnold was also focused on becomming the greatest ever. After a narrow loss to Sergio Oliva in 1969, Arnold became obsessed with dethroning Sergio and he did in 1970 defeating Sergio twice in two weeks and then again in 1972.
Probably the one thing that made Arnold the big star that he did become was his mental attitude which carried over well to making Arnold a huge film star, best selling author and now governor. The man wins at everything he sets his mind to because he is like a machine and once he sets a goal he stays committed to it. We all can learn from that alone.
Arnold's system works. Look what it did for Arnold and his buddy Franco Columbo not to mention countless others. It may very well transform your physique as well. And perhaps you may make a movie, smoke a cigar, write best selling books and run for governor too (only kidding)!!!
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Summary: The Only Bible you'll ever need.
Review: I have over 30 books on bodybuilding and this book is truly the best book on bodybuilding there is. The only book that comes close is the 1st edition of this book from 1985 which I also have. Arnold lays it all out on how to build a great body. The book has a great history lesson on bodybuilding covering how bodybuilding evolved from strength shows into it's own seprate sport. The book is packed with inspiring pictures of all the bodybuilding greats past and present. Arnold then gives you 3 types of training programs (basic, advanced, & competition) each with 2 levels of intensity. Some complain that these workouts are too much and lead to overtraining. If you can't keep up just add more rest days. Likewise you have to realize that numbers on a page don't convey how hard you have to train in order to get a great body. You really have to go beyond the numbers and put everything you have into training. This book explains every training principle & exercise allowing the reader to exercise their brain and make a custom routine. He even takes a little knock on page 203 against his rival Mike Mentzer's training plan Heavy Duty (now called HIT, by the way Arnold crushed Mentzer at the 1980 Olympia after only training for 8 weeks. Mike was so distraught he claimed a conspiracy, retired and remained bitter until his timely death). This book then gives great information on nutrition and how to eat in order to get big and ripped. Want to know how to pose or win a contest this book takes you through the paces. This book has everything you'll ever need in order to be Mr. Olympia or simply look good with no shirt at the beach. This is a great book and perfect for anyone interested in bodybuilding. Other great bodybuilding books I reccomend are Blood & Guts by Dorian Yates. A Warriors's story also by Dorian Yates. Also pick up Ronnie Coleman's new book Hardcore and CEO Muscle by Jay Cutler. Arnold's Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding is the only bible you need to guide you in life.
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