Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book/Honest
Review: I am very happy that I found this book, It's informative
helpful and honest. This is and will remain like a bible to me when it comes down to strength training. I work out at home but I also belong to a gym. My preference is at home workouts since I own the basic equipments needed, with this book achieving results has made it very simple and easy,simply put. Frank doesn't tout supplements just the bare facts that's what I wanted and that's what I got.
Rating:
Summary: STRAIGHTFORWARD TEXT YIELDS REAL RESULTS
Review: This book really lives up to it's title...it provides no-nonsense information and advice on nutrition, exercises, supplements, etc., along with many photos of proper exercise form. It has helped me shed 35 lbs of body fat in less than 9 months, and I have never had an exercise program or played sports in all of my 40+ years! His chapters on 'dorm' or 'dungeon (basement)' workouts prove you don't need expensive and elaborate equipment, or a membership at a gym full of designer sweats and imported water! This book and some motivation will really make a difference in your body and self-esteem. Go for it!
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I am a beginner when it comes to lifting weights. I have tried in the past to lift weights (without any guidance) but got tired of it because I didn't see the results that were promised. After reading Frank's book, I realized everything wrong that I was doing. I bought this book in conjunction with another one ('Weight Training Workouts that Work' by James Orvis) because I was afraid this book might be too advanced, but it wasn't. If I had to do it over again, I would only buy this book. This book is great for the beginner to moderately advanced person. It has pictures of all the many exercises suggested. I would recommend this book to anybody who was interested in bodybuilding or just lifting weights to stay in shape. I even emailed Frank with questions that I had after reading his book and he was courteous enough to reply the very next day.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book - Great book for the Beginner
Review: I am an active duty US Navy LT currently stationed in Maryland and I received this book as a gift in July 2001. At that time, I was in decent shape from running and cycling but was struggling with my weight some due to an Achilles tendon injury. While my injury healed, I decided to start weight training for the first time to stay in shape and hopefully lose some weight. This book was a tremendous asset in getting me started on the right path. By following this simple to read book, I started weight training and eating healthy and I have seen steady results every since. I am 6'2" and have lost approximately 15 lbs but more impressively over 3 inches from my waist. I have also increased my chest size by two inches and all of my shirts are much tighter in the arms. More importantly for me, I am running and cycling better than ever due to the increase in both lower and upper body strength.
I plan to continue to follow the author's proven advice and I would just like to say - "Thanks Frank! You have helped make me a healthy person."
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring and sensible
Review: I bought Frank's book about two years ago now. In common with many other women today I had always struggled with my body image. This book is the first one to motivate me not just to change my body but more importantly to change my attitude towards it. I am not a serious body builder by any means but this book certainly inspired me to improve myself and also to realise that it is possible to be in control of eating and body image.The book is full of down to earth advice and I still refer to it from time to time now to get my technique right or for a bit of motivation. I now consider myself to have a balanced attitude towards exercise, food intake and its impact, and my body - this certainly wasn't the case two years ago. I would strongly recommend it for anyone considering improving their physique - I was a total novice and it was easy to follow and not in the slightest bit patronising. Thanks Frank.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is over-rated
Review: I was a little disappointed by this book after reading all the positive... reviews. The book has its good points, offering no nonsense tips which would be useful for beginner body builders. As someone who has been working out for a while, I found the book did little but confirm what I already knew. The book is basically one guy's story about what has worked for him over the years. The editing is very amateur. The book contains basic spelling mistakes and is not very well organized. I felt this made the book harder to follow.
Rating:
Summary: www.bodybuildingbyfrank.com
Review: This is a great book! It's well written and easy to understand. It gives a good comprehensive information to realistically achieve the body's fullest potential; offering guidance for both beginner and advance. This unique book is a must for anyone interested in bodybuilding. (Bodybuilding: A Realistic Approach by Frank Melfa) is the only publication to explain step-by -step how to build muscle using basic and advance exercises.
Rating:
Summary: Best workout book out there
Review: Frank Melfa's book takes a realistic approach to bodybuilding that anyone can appreciate. Even a non-competitive bodybuilders will appreciate Frank's real world advice to stay in top physical condition. Frank keeps things simple with core exercises and basic nutrition; in my opinion the best way is simplest. Moreover, this book goes beyond just excellent bodybuilding instruction but addresses everything from working out while in school to bodybuilding and sex! You won't find a better book on bodybuilding and physical fitness out there.
Rating: 
Summary: I Don't Know...I'm Ambivalent About This One
Review: Melfa has written a rather large book on bodybuilding. He has attained some amateur wins in contests. He has a good build, and could generally be considered successful at this. However, I think his book is only a 3-Star. He eschews almost all nutritional supplements as being a waste of money, and advocates positive eating habits. This is okay. But then...believe it or not...there's a near-primer on steroid use. Huh? What? Why? He neither advocates nor condemns their use, but there's all this info. I sure didn't like that part. Bad for kids. I guess on the positive side: The excercise descriptions are helpful; there are some good tips on proper form. As stated earlier, you can get some useful stuff from the nutritional bits, and motivationally he seems on track. Organizationally the book needs a Developmental Editor (as opposed to a Copy Editor), but that's just the way it is with bodybuilding books. He has a section near the end with reminiscences of his amateur days, which is neither here nor there as far as I'm concerned. You may like it. I didn't care. 3-Stars...that's it. There are better bodybuilding books out there (some by Chris Aceto, Bill Pearl, and others). You can safely avoid this book...it seems a little over-hyped if you ask me.
Rating:
Summary: 11 months later
Review: A little about me before I delve into the review. Before I bought this book, I never was into fitness ever in my life. I thought people who ran every day were crazy and that lifting weights was for athletes. When I graduated high school in 1993 I was probably about 180. I stepped on a scale in April of 2000 and I weighed in at 240 which was the largest I had ever been (I am 5' 11"). It finally dawned on me that I was fat and really had to do something about it or my health would be seriously compromised, but I had no idea how to start. I mainly bought this book because lifting weights seemed like the 'guy' way to lose weight and I absolutely hated aerobic excercise(which I do regularly now). Thus, I bought a book on weight lifting that was rated highly on Amazon. The best thing about this book is that it is highly motivational and it is an easy read. I probably finished it in 2 days after I bought it. I could scarcely put it down. He got me really excited about exercise and made me believe that I could lose the weight, and motivation is a big chunk of the battle. As far as the weight lifting goes he does a great job. I had some esteem issues because of the weight and am naturally a pretty shy person anyway. I could never get myself to sign up for a class to teach me how to use the equipment or free weights. Because of this book I never had to. His pictures and descriptions of how to do the exercises properly were excellent. He also covers how to work out for a wide variety of fitness levels and schedules. Beyond weight lifting he really covers all the bases for people who need to lose more weight. His nutrition advice and suggestions for aerobic activity were in general good. There are a couple minor that I would like to see added to the book. He recommends 3 sessions of aerobic activity for 30 minutes each per week. This is probably enough for cardiovascular fitness and for someone who is just starting out(this it what I did when I started) and needs to get in shape. If you want to lose weight faster, more certainly helps provided you can handle it. Once I was in better shape, I gradually increased my regemin to 5 or 6 sessions of 45 to 60 minutes each per week along with my strength training. He recommends only 10% of your diet to be from fat. I am not saying you should go overboard on fat and if you can do it, that's fine, but for people like me 30% is probably that maximum you should shoot for. I think a 10% restriction is probably suited better for professional bodybuilders and athletes. For someone who is really trying to lose weight, fat is your friend because it is more satisfying and the key, for me anyway, to not overeating is to not feel starved -- not overeating is much more important than not eating fat. If I don't eat enough fat I will feel hungry and that is a recipe for overeating -- a sustainable diet is one that is satisfying but not excessive. A bodybuilder on the other hand has to eat a lot of food to really build big muscles and consequently should probably lower their fat intake. Really these points are very minor though and I think this book is great for its motivation and content. It also seems to provide a lot of content useful to more skilled people, but my perspective is one of a beginner. Anyway 11 months later I am about 45 pounds lighter (and still losing) and have gained quite a bit of lean muscle mass to increase my metabolism. I feel great, look better, and have much more confidence! This is the book that got me on the right track.
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