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Summary: The handbook for a healthy body...
Review: Supplements, gym memberships and exercise equipment are expensive. Before you spend any more money on these things, buy this book! I've lifted weights off and on throughout the years, but never got the results I was wanting. After I read Frank Melfa's book, I realized that a lot of my sets, technique, diet and exercises were wrong. Now I've been able to gain 9 pounds of muscle, for the first time. Even people at work have noticed the difference. There is so much info packed into this book, there's no way you can learn it all in one reading. I find myself referring to it often, even after owning it for 5 months. I even copied the exercise regiments on posterboard and hung it up in my basement-gym so they're easier to refer to. I've completely changed the way I eat. I was shocked to learn that I wasn't consuming nearly enough calories to gain muscle. Frank recommends logging food intake as well as exercises. This is hard at first, but well worth the effort. I also enter my weight, calorie intake, and carbs-protien-fat intake into a graph to see what trends are developing. Of course, the real measure of sucess is the mirror! Frank Melfa is a real guy, and this shines through in his writing. He has to squeeze his workouts and healthy meals into a normal busy life, just like all of us. But if you have a question about something in the book, Frank will even respond personally to your e-mail! The book includes pictures of Frank during his various competitions, as well as his appearance today. I think that pictures of the author should be a requirement for any exercise book. I bought this book for my sister, also. She's always had trouble gaining muscle mass, and this book has helped her as well. As Frank points out, changing the shape of your body is a difficult thing to do. For many of us, our body is the result of our habits and lifestyle. If you truly want to change the way you look, you will need to change your habits. For me, this has been a very fulfilling and worthwhile change...and it only gets better from here!
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Summary: A Great book for Beginners and advanced bodybuilders
Review: I've been working out now for about a year and a half. There has been a lot of books written about bodybuilding and training. But these books depict unrealistic training methods and physiques.Often times, these people use steroids and Growth hormone drugs.Frank Melfa's book takes you through in a realistic way whether you are just starting out or are planning on competing in a bodybuilding contest. He explains about understanding your body type and how this will determine what your goals may be. Whether you want to lose weight and tone up or if you want to gain muscle and lose fat, it will all be explained to you in a simple way. Some folks simply are'nt sure how much weight they should use, how many reps, sets, and how many days in week they should train. Again, it will all be explained to you in simple terms. Frank wants the reader to know that building muscle is not easy and that it will take hard work and good eating habits and working out consistently to see good results. This is one of only a handful of bodybuilding books out there that tells it like it is.If I were just starting out, this is the book I would buy. You will keep referring back to the book many times as I have. I have made my gains by working hard and eating right, so can anyone with the samedetermination and patience. Good luck and God bless America.
Rating: 
Summary: The title sums it up
Review: A very good book that delivers what it promises. The book is intelligently broken into topics that cover the exercises, the grouping of exercises into workouts, how often to exercise, how many reps to perform and nutrician. Each section is written to cover people who what only to tone up, people who want to loose weight and those who want to gain weight/bulk up. His advise on all this really is 'realistic'. He stresses the basic exercises (bench presses, squats, pull ups, etc) to build a good foundation before progressing onto the more specialized exercises like cable crossovers. He points out that suppliments are not only expensive but aren't necessary if you simply eat the right foods at the right times. Although the end of the book covers various aspects of competing, I think the book is best used by beginners to intermediates. It is the only bodybuilding book that I will need buy.
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Summary: Excellent, Superb Guide!
Review: I am a complete beginner to lifting weights--just started a month or two ago to look more attractive to women. I was looking for a basic introduction to weight training that was easily understood, down-to-earth, no BS, and no gimmicks, just hard work and discipline. I found exactly that in this book! Mr. Melfa writes with clarity and precision describing different exercises, about how to achieve different goals, nutrition and eating habits, stretching, posing, contests and more. Aside from the clear description of different exercises, I think what I have found most helpful in this book is Mr. Melfa's knowledge and experience regarding which specific exercises one should perform to meet one's goals (such as muscle size), how often, how many sets and how many reps. I also appreciate his comments about which exercises are most effective for different muscle groups. I think this book is ideal for a novice like myself but it also seems like it would be helpful to an experienced body builder who wanted more guidance and advice about nutrition, food, posing and contests. One more thing: I had an important personal question about my own wieght training which my lifting-buddy wasn't sure about. I e-mailed Frank Melfa on his AOL address listed here and got a VERY helpful and warm reply THE NEXT DAY! His personal advice was very worthwhile and exactly what I needed to know. THANKS FRANK!
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Summary: This book changed everything for me
Review: I have lifted weights on and off for 25, sometimes pretty seriously, occasionally achieving quite a lot of bulk and definition, but this book finally gave me a real plan suited for guys like me - athletic nerds who want to be in shape. It really is realistic; it is complete (diet, "dungeon" (basement) workouts, and - importantly - safety, are covered thoroughly), easy to follow, and the pictures are great. Many times, the author says "Look, I've done this excercise tens of thousands of times, and this is how you really have to do it. Watch out for X, Y, and Z, and don't fall into the various traps of bad form that can result in injuries, slow development, or uneven development). The writing is friendly yet never verbose. The reader is encouraged at every step of the way, and the sample workouts and diets make things concrete.
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Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: I think this is the book for working people who want to build muscle/tone them/loose weight etc. Most books seem to be considering that the reader is into professional body building. So, even if you start the program, you end it soon because it is just too much effort. This however is really a realistic approach and thus, you can continue it and getting results. I started with Arnold's book and the 5 set approach. That was just too much as I never had enough time for the same. Eventually after a month or two, I left the program. Then later on, after several years, I got this book and this was a no-nonsense approach, which I can adopt easily with my extremely busy work schedule and part-time graduate degree even!
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Summary: No nonsense book
Review: This book is the best bodybuilding/weight training book I have read. It is a no bull approach that gives you the straight details without all the frill. This is not a catalog of grunts posing, it is a real book for real people who want to get into weight training. Melfa is direct and honest on what you need to do. The nutritional information is the easy to understand and gives you a complete break down of how to eat for either muscle building or fat loss. I found the nutritional section to be much more consise then most other books. Considering that eating right is more the 50% of weight training, I don't know why so many other books have skimped on this section. The excersises are consise and clear. Melfa explians all aspects from beginner up to advanced competive training with clear photos and detailed examples for performing each excersise. I've checked out just about every book in the library about body building and this is the one I wanted to buy. I am constantly referring to it, any and all questions are addressed. If you want glossy, full color printing in a large bound book so you can gawk and dream, then don't buy this book. If you want to be serious about getting into a training program and progressing, this is the book to buy.
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Summary: Just the FACTS mom!
Review: This is one of the only complete weight training books on the market. It is good for beginners and hard core bodybuilders. Very easy to read and get the sense of it. It's backed by good illustrations and practical advice on how to gain the most out of weight training. This book does not leave you perplexed by bodybuilding jargon, it's all explained in a lay man's term. VERY WELL WRITTEN. If I had bought this book ealier I would have saved a fortune on weight training books, equipment and cut all that FAT........
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Summary: Best book for lifting, bar none!
Review: This book is not based on a fad weight routine, it is a true guide to weightlifting. If you are afraid to go into the weight room because you don't know what all the equipment is for, this book will show you. Frank writes in a really relaxed, down home style that makes it feel like he's your older brother showing you around the gym. No tricks, no gimmicks, just the facts about what it takes to build muscle and stay healthy. I cannot recommend this book enough. Even if you work out a lot, it will benefit you because he shows the correct stance and posture for performing each exercise. After reading this book, I noticed how many people at the gym are doing things all wrong. Even if you never work out after buying it, it's worth it just for the read.
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Summary: Solid Book on Bodybuilding
Review: This is truly a comprehensive book on bodybuilding. I've been doing fitness training now for almost 3 years, starting off on the Body for Life program and moving to a few other programs. I am giving Frank Malfa's book 4-starts because although it's good and worth the price, time and effort to go through his approach, there are several areas for improvement. First, let me say that the weight training aspects of the book are outstanding. Malfa covers this aspect comprehensively and does a great job. One thing he could do is explain when you might want to use one exercise over another, e.g., when would you do a flat bench press versus an incline bench press. Malfa introduces the various exercises but doesn't really explain how they should be mixed up or incorporated into your program. Having said all this, I have been using various parts of his lifting approach and have been very happy with the results so far. Second, the nutrition section is good, but not excellent. He does have good examples, and does have good calculations on BMI and other aspects of nutrition, but I guess I'm comparing this to Body for Life where the nutrition section is highly detailed with lots of rules of thumbs. One excellent aspect is that Malfa does not push supplements (which I agree with) and doesn't overdue it on the protein shakes (which Body for Life does to excess). Third, on the cardio, this is just fair. I think this is one key area Malfa should go into greater detail. He really should give some more guidelines and advice on the how-to side. I believe cardio is a crtical part to total fitness but Malfa skims over this too briefly. Lastly, one major problem, is this steroid section sitting in the middle of the book. HUH? Malfa doesn't condone or condemn them but goes through the nuts and bolts of the various types of steriods, when and how their used. I question having this section in the book at all, but if you're going to throw it in, then Malfa owes the reader a philosophical overview of why someone would want to use them.
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