The Complete Book of Abs : Revised and Expanded Edition

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Summary: Overall, an excellent source of information
Review: All in all, this was a pretty good book. It included nutrition and general fitness as well as many, many exercises for each section of the abs. The section on the anatomy of the stomach was rather lacking, but that can easily be remidied with a quick look in an anatomy book. Also, there was not too much detail in the routines about such things as how long to hold the contraction, isometrics, pulses, etc. Such information was briefly mentioned, but I felt there should have been a whole section devoted to this in detail. Despite these two minor problems, I felt this was an excellent source to develop a top notch ab routine. I would definitely buy it again, and I will probably buy the other two books that Kurt has written on the lower and upper body.

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Summary: Wellness at its best!
Review: Anyone interested in wellness and sick of boring routines should invest in this book. Filled with hundreds of exercises that work the various parts of abdominal muscle, it also contains chapters on nutrition, physiology of the abs, as well as a section on general wellness. Those with lower back problems should not shy away from this book. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in beginning a workout program or anyone who needs to "spice" up their current routine.

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Summary: This book is so far from complete....
Review: Don't buy this book if you are an intermediate to advanced fitness enthusiast. I just made the mistake. The first half of the book deals with wellness, like what you should eat, the importance of cardio. The second half shows a bunch of ab exercises but fails to tell you which is most effective. I was hoping to be told. "This particular situp is the best one for suchnsuch..."Instead they were all lumped together, none standing out above the rest. It was like the author had a competition to see how many different movements he could come up with. While I may not be elequent in writing this, since Im so steamed at wasting money on such a terrible book, believe me when I say this is a waste of money:) Instead I would recommend Arnold's Encyclopedia or I think there was also a good one by Joe Weider-both of which say...there are a lot of dumb situp movements that do nothing...but these will give you the best results....thats what I was looking for...

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Summary: This has got to be the definitive books on abs.
Review: Easy to use and comprehensive, the best thing about this book is the detailed Routines chapter. The authors know their stuff, and they present their knowledge concisely and usefully. This is the only ABs book you'll ever need.

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Summary: ABsolutely FABulous!!!
Review: Have you ever looked at the trainers in your gym? If they're anything like the ones in mine, then their bodies contain more fat than they do muscle. Always use a trainer's body as a guide to whom you will select. The cover of this book speaks for itself. It is the body of Kurt Brungardt, the author. Inside THE COMPLETE BOOK OF ABS is a very complete book of abs. The pages are filled with photos and descriptions of over 100 abdominal exercises for ALL FOUR of your abdominal muscle groups. A chapter on complete wellness illustrates stretching exercises, preceded by a chapter devoted entirely to the lower back. Diet, nutrition, and proper training technique are also included in this wonderfully resourceful book. THE COMPLETE BOOK OF ABS is a must for anyone serious about fitness. I bet those trainers at the gym would double their clients if they'd read and follow it!!

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Summary: Arguably your best chance to build real abs!
Review: Hey, I'm no spring chicken in terms of real fitness, no bodybuilder or top-athlete either. And my body is my temple, a good one. Provided you know how to excercise and eat right, this book will take you step by step to ab stardom. It is a thoroughly rehearsed guide, someone tried it all before instead of concocting a recipe with its bum on a chair. It works. Slowly and methodically. It senses your moods, giving you phrases of encouragement at the right time. There are also lots of additional chapters that will be quite enlightening for the enthusiast or novice. My advise is buy it. It is a great reference book. Follow the plan for at least 4 months - provided you are not obese - and you will have a six-pack that won't go away even if you stop excercising. Okay okay, all this does not come free: First, you will have to work bloody hard, but since the program is very well structured you will not really notice the load increase. However, the 15' a day claim is a joke. You will clock up 20' at start-up and about 45' mid-progam, if you do the excercises right instead of bouncing up and down. The book is also tainted by some stupid typos midway through the program (level 3 I guess), which require patience to sort out. Have a pen handy. To finalise, the 'ultimate abs' level is bloody dangerous. I went twice up there and screwed my neck so badly that still hurts. I accept some blame for doing these at home with makeshift stuff. Overall, as said, top book. Once you try this you will realise that you possibly never did any decent ab work in your entire life, no matter if you are an amateur or a fitness pro. I have surprised many well seasoned coaches and personal trainers with the routines I learned in this book. hAB fun! -Adrian PS Kurt, send me your other books so I try them too!

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Summary: great fast results
Review: Honest, well-written, and thoughtful. Includes a routine for people who experience lower back pain.

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Summary: Back Pain Sufferers...
Review: Honest, well-written, and thoughtful. Includes a routine for people who experience lower back pain.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic book
Review: How many times have you seen those annoying ab infomercials where a totally ripped guy goes on about some plastic contraption that will turn your beer belly into a 6 pack with the amazing "AB-ripper", 5 minutes a day 3 times a week. At the end of the day the only way to get great abs is through hard work and this book creates no illusions about that. I've had weak abs all my life and it's finally dawning on me how important abs are. I've been working and active all my life, but ironically if there's one part of the body you should be working on above all others, it's your abs and back. I'm about 8 weeks into the 24 week program in the book and the results are astounding. It's not about getting a 6 pack it's about completely changing the core strength of your body. Everything feels better, even walking down the street. My only criticism of the book is that although they do a great job outlining exercises for people with bad backs, they need to create a parallel program work working out your back too. There is a chapter dedicated to back exercises, but they need to emphasize that it is crucial to be doing those back exercises each time you work on your abs. I don't think they make this clear. Otherwise this is a spectacular book and I only wish I'd bought it when it first came out 10 years back.

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Summary: Everything but the kitchen sink approach to building abs
Review: I am sorry to say this book was a complete dissappointment. In his book Kurt Brungardt takes an everything but the kitchen sink approach to building abs. He inundates you with over a hundred ab excercises without giving any real insight as to which ones he prefers or why. I don't need an expert to tell me every excercise out there, I need an expert to give me the benefit of his experience and narrow the list down to only the most effective excercises and techniques. I was further dissapointed that Kurt says that genetic pre-disposition has a lot to do with developing great abs, and instead points out all of the other health benefits to ab work. While the part about other benefits may be true, lets face it, the reason we want rock hard abs is hardly for better posture. The nutrition portion of the book was written by a registered dietician and seems to follow the typical RDA, behind the times, advice without getting down to the nuts and bolts of perfecting your diet. So, if you want a book with lots (and I do mean lots) of ab excercises then this book may be for you. If you are looking for direct, simple advice on getting your abs really cut, then you might want to look elswhere. P.S. In fareness, the photos, and instructions on performing all those ab excercises are pretty good.