Muscle Mechanics

Rating:
Summary: pros and cons of MUSCLE MECHANICS
Review: Having read and purchased dozens of books on weight training I have come to the conclusion that no one book is going to cover everything, let alone cover everything well. The situation is this: 1. The fitness boom has created a market and publishers and authors are trying to profit from this new market. 2. Some books are just a rehash of old ideas and exercises. 3. Some books actually offer new material or points of view. 4. All books are missing information that can be found in other sources. 5. Weight training can and is used by many people with different objectives. The novice who wants no more than to reduce the size of his/her waist and add a few curves will have different goals than the powerlifter who wants to bench press double bodyweight or more. So there exist more than one audience or market for training books. Beginner, intermediate, and advanced might seem like logical divisions, but it is not enough. Olympic weightlifters and powerlifters employ training regimens that would be unnecessarily orthopedically risky for other trainees even though all groups might use some of the same equipment and exercises. 6. As one reads more and more weight training books it becomes more difficult to find books that don't cover material one has already seen. 7. Given the above facts, building a weight training library becomes a daunting challenge. Naturally, the novice would want at least one book that covers the beginning stages well. Several books are adequate in this regard, but as someone once said,"There are no secrets in bodybuilding, but there are shortcuts." and if one continues to train, new information can be acquired that will maintain continued progress and interest. 8. There are too many weight training texts to read or purchase. Some sytematic rating system is desirable to guide the reader or purchaser. Hence foreward in my ratings I will try to give: a. audience rating for beginner, intermediate, advanced b. audience rating for general fitness, bodybuilder, powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, athletic conditioning c. pros -- what the book does well d. cons -- what the book does poorly including omitted critical information , misinformation, and lack of precatuions or warnings that should accompany certain exercises or speed of movement e. value -- even though there is a proverb that says "Knowledge is finer than fine silver." sometimes one might find that the price for the knowledge determines whether it was a bargain or a bad buy.

With this in mind I let me list the pros and cons. Pros: 1. By using two colors of ink(black and cyan/blue) the diagrams that show the muscles used in each exercise are excellent. Better than 98% of the books I've seen. 2. The author has credentials including a bachelors degree in exercise science as well as experience as a competitive bodybuilder and coach and in the exercise business. 3. There is a strong emphasis on good exercise form. 4. Although there is not an overabundance of exercises, all the major muscle groups are covered. 5. The author presents three programs to build a sound foundation and progress safely from beginner to intermediate stage. 5.Some of the equipment shown is different than that more commonly seen. Experienced trainees might be interested in seeing Cybex's version of a hip abduction machine for comparison to Nautilus's. 6. The author takes a kinesiological approach to naming exercises. One may or may not appreciate this "orthopedic surgeon's approach" to naming exercises. 7. There are exercises for the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulder and their importance in injury prevention is exercised. This is a an feature lacking in older texts. 8. Usually two different versions -- machine and free weight -- for exercises are given. One or two omissions, but the effort is there and most exercises get both coverages. Cons: 1. Commonly used names for common exercises are not given. See 6 above. In effect, the author has created a whole new language which allows the reader to sound pedantic, but not be able to communicate with other trainees or cross reference his text with other exercise texts. 2. I saw no caution against holding one's breath while exerting a strongs effort to lift a weight. This is surprising given the general emphasis on safe technique. 3. I applaud the author's mention of pelvic tilt for safe body positoning. However, it should have been emphasized more. Enlarging portions of the two illustrations showing good spinal positoning and bad (lordosis) and pointing out the difference in the tilt of the hip bones would have been a good idea. 4.In early 2001 Newsweek magazine covered SuperSlow training protocol which was trademarked by Ken Hutchins in 1992 and I first saw used in 1984. Given its radical departure from traditonal weight training tempo and the fact that Wayne Westcott has modified his Nautilus instructions to incorporate it because of its effectiveness and safety makes one wonder why Everett Aaberg makes no mention of it. But then few authors outside of Ken Hutchins, Ellington Darden in some of his more recent books, and Matt Brzycki cover SuperSlow. I regard it as a serious omission.

I checked this book out of our library first and thought enough of it to buy it. If I were on more limited budget or less impulsive, I would not have. It's a good read, but if one already has a good introductory text, then the next purchase should be something else. Authors wishing to write a training book should definitely read this. It's nicely illustrated, well written, and the author does cover some new ground, but still it could be improved. Borrow what's good and fill in the blanks. That's your job.

I think all levels of trainees will find something to like in this book, but beginners more so than advanced. Whether or not they should by it is a different question. For about $20 the book is not overpriced at all.

Rating:
Summary: Great resource tool
Review: I am a certified post rehabilitation specialist and exercise therapist, and assist a diverse group of individuals with an array of conditions. This book is a great tool for me to use with individuals so that he/she has the information concerning a specific exercise at his/her fingertips. This book helps to clearly demonstrate and explain indications and contraindications with easy to follow guidelines so that exercise may become a lifestyle habit for a beginner and or advanced exerciser.

Rating:
Summary: What muscle are we really using?
Review: I am a personal trainer with a very deverse group of clients. My elderly clients need different muscles strengten than my 26 year old clients. This book has open my eyes to being sure that I am giving each client the proper exercise to produce maxium results. An execellent book to start any execrise program.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent, illustrated learning tool
Review: I'm an exercise science student and I happened to see my professor going through this book one day--it makes the leap in applying all those anatomy classes to resistance training in one place. There are excellent drawn diagrams that show which muscles are used, and even pictures that show correct postures and positioning for the exercises. If there is one thing the book lacks, it is an explanation of exactly why certain muscles for seemingly similar exercises are or aren't used (variations in positioning are an obvious cause: Deciding if the development of those muscles is what is desired is left up to the reader, and making the leap in understanding that the smallest variations can lead to different results). The book outlines basic biomechanical concepts, and has pictures for everything--and that is a great strength! This is a required text for any exercise science and/or athletic training student, and probably helpful to others too!

Rating:
Summary: All the Right Moves
Review: If you feel totally clueless whenever you step into the strength-training section of a gym, then "Muscle Mechanics" is the book for you. For many bodybuilding and fitness novices, learning the proper form or way to lift, pull, or push bars, pulleys, or other gadgets that are commonly found on a gym floor can be a task itself. Without the assistance of a personal trainer, which can be an expensive investment, weight training can be very difficult, if not hard for most.

Unlike many other books on the market, "Muscle Mechanics" is a perfect companion to those who want to really get into the move of things. Using photographs, and easy-to-read type, the book surpasses many professionally written books by top name fitness gurus because. In plain English, this book is similar to a "Dummies" or "Complete Idiot's" guide to weight-resistance exercises. Although I am much more of a pro when it comes to training, this book was helpful in helping me learn several exercises that I was not performing correctly. Overall, the book's design, setup, and price are all added pluses when it came to me in purchasing it.

So, if you're looking for a simple, yet thorough book on weight training, this book is the right choice.

Rating:
Summary: Tells Exactly What Muscles Are Worked!!!
Review: If you want to maximize a single muscle or muscle group this book will pinpoint it with very nice graphics. Aaberg stresses form as do all pros. If you are lacking technical terminology and want a well organized, easy to study book with suberb drawings and photos, get this one. If you don't know the info in this book, you probably don't that much about body building. Chapters 2,3 and 4 will allow you to learn the proper vocabulary of motion and physiology in a graphic manner. This is a very nice book to suppliment your workout programs.

Rating:
Summary: A complete guide to specific muscle exercises
Review: No intimidating photos of overdeveloped bodybuilders! This book shows how to correctly perform some 73 different exercises for a full body workout, complete with an anatomy diagram showing which muscles are worked in each exercise. This book has been a great aid to me in designing a variety of workouts with different exercises (to prevent boredum) to target all the muscles for an efficient full body workout. I have shown this book to several friends, that are into self improvement, and they have all purchased it.

Rating:
Summary: Not bad. Very good step by step explanation to perform cor
Review: The large number of exercises covered are well explained in a step-by step fashion. I just wish the models were not so wimpy looking! Good book for beginners or intermediate exercisers.
Use it in combination with a book showing in detail which muscles are targeted

Rating:
Summary: Not bad. Very good step by step explanation to perform cor
Review: The large number of exercises covered are well explained in a step-by step fashion. I just wish the models were not so wimpy looking! Good book for beginners or intermediate exercisers.
Use it in combination with a book showing in detail which muscles are targeted

Rating:
Summary: Very good beginning...
Review: This is a very good book for the person beginning to get into the key points of working out. However, I found that it missed many common exercises. Although it catalogs which muscles are used in each exercise, it does not get very specific about to what extent those muscles are used. The quality of the printing of the diagrams on a couple of pages of my copy was not very good. I recommend this book if you want to learn the basics of a workout program or if you want to learn more about how each exercise works your body so that you can improve your existing routine.