Ironman's Ultimate Bodybuilding Encyclopedia

Rating:
Summary: Very Good Book
Review: This book is a compilation of articles from Ironman Magazine. They've been carefully chosen by the editor, Pete Sisco. The articles on training are the best ones that the magazine has to offer. As with all bodybuilding books, you'll want to pick-and-choose which routines and advice you want to adopt. I thought the book was a 4-Star book rather than a 5-Star book for the following reasons: 1) The section on Nutrition was weak. It didn't really address cutting edge nutrition questions, but focused--unusually, I thought--on variations (e.g., vegetarianism), and 2) it's a 2-color book. This is probably a nit, but the magazine is 4-color, and 4-color photos reproduced as 2-color lose something (especially if they haven't been "color corrected"). But these aren't really slams on the book as a whole...4-Stars is pretty good. The one thing I wanted to say above all else, is that Pete Sisco has done the bodybuilding world a huge service by including the anonymous interview with a "Top Pro" bodybuilder and his use of steroids and other drugs. What an eye-opener. [Good job, Pete.] This chapter will let you see why steroids and other drugs are such a disaster for the long-term health of bodybuilding athletes. I hope younger bodybuilders will read that chapter especially, and make the commitment to train as "naturals". It's a really good book, and you'd do well to have it in your bodybuilding library.

Rating:
Summary: Great information
Review: This book is packed with useful information that's immediately applicable to anyone who's considering weight-training. The information is easy to understand, not overly technical, yet highly interesting and accurate. This volume stands out as one of the best books of its kind.