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The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique

The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $16.97
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stuff you'd learn on your own in 15 years.
Review: Theres nothing really more to say.

He tells you how to lift weights, then he tells you stuff only those old guys in the corner of the gym would tell you if they weren't so anti-social. Technique, tips, ideas, and great concepts.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very Good Book...One Reservation
Review: ... It is very helpful and well written. The instructional photos are also excellent. The one thing that keeps me from giving it a 5-Star review is that McRobert states--more or less--that if an excercise is not included in the book then it isn't safe. I find this to be an overly wide-reaching concept. There are lots of safe weight-training excercises not covered...especially if you're a beginning or intermediate bodybuilder. McRobert spends considerable time indicating how he has sustained some chronic injuries from weightlifting. He also indicates that he has a physiological condition or two that makes weightlifting a little more risky than for the average bear. I suspect that these injuries, and his own unique physiology have colored his assessment of what is a "safe" excercise; and justly so. However, I wouldn't avoid an excercise that isn't included in this book. Staying injury-free is the bodybuilder's own responsibility. Listen to your body. If it's complaining, try and figure out what you're doing wrong and adjust it. If you're more of an advanced bodybuilder, the information in this book is more suited to keeping you healthy, since you're more likely to be throwing around huge poundages. Overall, an excellent book and [conditionally] highly recommended.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A waste of money
Review: All of the information in this book is common sense. If you need to be told when to breathe during an exercise it may be of slight use to you. I seriously injured myself following the bizarre advice on how to perform the bench press. "press from your chest to above your eyes".

Please avoid this book at all costs unless you want to get injured.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The book every weightlifter should own
Review: Considering the fact that an injury could cost you hundreds of dollars, this book is a great investment. This book is written for real people without outstanding genetics.
Every single weightlifter without exception should own this book. It is amazing that 90%+ of weightlifters use form on lifts that leads to injuries, joint damage, etc. If you talk to someone who has lifted consistently for a long time, it is almost gaurenteed that they have had a lifting injury.
After reading this book, I have been able to lift with a new level of confidence and break through a plateau.
This book will keep you healthy and strong, which should be the goal of any weightlifter.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Unfortunate Title -- Unequalled Teaching
Review: Don't let the lurid title put you off. This book is not a tabloid-style mishmash of misinformation. It is a sound, sane instructional manual that will teach you how to lift weights safely.

Most of the advice you get in the gym is worth exactly what you pay for it--nothing! Even when you pay for it, you oftentimes get garbage. I once had a personal trainer in a gym show me the "correct" way to benchpress. The result? Severe rotator cuff tendonitis. When I read this book, it explained exactly what was wrong with the personal trainer's advice and why I wound up injured.

Some folks think you make "progress" by toughing it out and working through injuries. The way to make progress is to do the exercises properly and not get injured in the first place. If you want to make maximum progress, read this book and apply its principles. You can't go wrong.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Contains what most other books don't.
Review: First off, let me state that I am not a 'hardcore' bodybuilder. I like to do it to stay fit and strong, but like most people, I also have a life; meaning that most of us cannot devote every waking thought and minute to bodybuilding and exercise.

Most bodybuilding/training books DO NOT focus enough on correct form. And as the author, Stewart McRobert, points out, most other books do in fact include exercises of dubious value, or, often enough, exercises that are of no real value or exercises that are just plain dangerous.

I think I fit the 'hardgainer' type that this book is targeted at, but the real value is that this book very specifically shows you good form. I would also like to point out that it nicely complements Charles Poliquin's book 'The Poloquin Principles.' This book has what Poloquin's book lacks, that is, very good descriptions and pictures of the proper way to do these exercises. This book is a good investment for anyone who is interested in bodybuilding or being fit, not just 'hardgainers.'

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Informative, but not "insider info." at all
Review: Hello.
This book is very informative, but the claims that this information isn't available elsewhere are incorrect.

I have lifted weights seriously--and drug free--since 1987. I've read almost every book on weightlifting/bodybuilding to assist me in my training. All of the books I've read for serious weightlifters have also given detailed descriptions on proper form. In my humble opinion, the Ironman Magazine books are among the best, but so are the Joe Weider and Robert Kennedy tomes.

Also, I find the author's vociferous condemnations of certain exercise techniques to be offensive. For example, elite-trainer Greg Zulak recommends that a person doing squats would benefit from placing five-pound plates under his heals. Mr. McRobert assails that opinion, arguing that it increases skeletal risk. Ok, he is entitled to that decision, however, if someone reads the effusive praise of the other reviewers and uses this book as his only source of training information, he will be denied the chance to attempt a variation that may be quite helpful.

The book is filled with these strident opinions. Mr. McRobert's book is a valuable contribution to someone entering the "iron game." However, a new athlete should not use this--or any other--book as his only source of information. Instead, devour as much information you can from the Internet, magazines, the library, Amazon.com, of course, and other bodybuilders. (Most people are honored to have their opinion sought out).

In conclusion, this is a valuable addition to your training information; it should not be the only source of information for you.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Informative, but not "insider info." at all
Review: Hello.
This book is very informative, but the claims that this information isn't available elsewhere are incorrect.

I have lifted weights seriously--and drug free--since 1987. I've read almost every book on weightlifting/bodybuilding to assist me in my training. All of the books I've read for serious weightlifters have also given detailed descriptions on proper form. In my humble opinion, the Ironman Magazine books are among the best, but so are the Joe Weider and Robert Kennedy tomes.

Also, I find the author's vociferous condemnations of certain exercise techniques to be offensive. For example, elite-trainer Greg Zulak recommends that a person doing squats would benefit from placing five-pound plates under his heals. Mr. McRobert assails that opinion, arguing that it increases skeletal risk. Ok, he is entitled to that decision, however, if someone reads the effusive praise of the other reviewers and uses this book as his only source of training information, he will be denied the chance to attempt a variation that may be quite helpful.

The book is filled with these strident opinions. Mr. McRobert's book is a valuable contribution to someone entering the "iron game." However, a new athlete should not use this--or any other--book as his only source of information. Instead, devour as much information you can from the Internet, magazines, the library, Amazon.com, of course, and other bodybuilders. (Most people are honored to have their opinion sought out).

In conclusion, this is a valuable addition to your training information; it should not be the only source of information for you.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The only book on technique that you will ever need
Review: I bought this book a year ago, after accumulating many other books by "big names" in the weightlifting field. This book is the best, by far. The descriptions of the exercises are very, very detailed, with plenty of pictures. The author has no "axe to grind" - he doesn't sell vitamins, supplements, or equipment. I have not opened up any of my other similar books since I bought this one.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not really essential
Review: I got this book because of the rave reviews written here. The book has some good points on bench press, squat, and stiff-leg deadlift, but it is not essential. If you already have a weight training book, skip this one. If you got injured from the current training, then you probably train with too much weight. This book will not help you in this regard. You just have to lighten up the weight and find your comfortable grooves. The book covers a lot of non-essential things like equipment and very redundant. In addition, it is difficult to illustrate techniques with words. A better way to learn is to get some videos.


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