Publication Date:March 1997 Shipping:Eligible for Super Saver Shipping Promotion:Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout.Terms and Conditions Availability:Usually ships in 24 hours
By comparing over 10 abs books, I concluded...January 31, 2008 7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I purchased about 10 books from Amazon on abs in order to compare them. This one is unique for recommending different routines for people who have the different goals of fitness, strength, or power. The idea of strength vs. power workouts was a late 90s fad in sports training, which isn't to say it was wrong, but you won't find any chapter here called "Wellness: The Big Picture," like you will in one of the books published in 2006. If you want to know how these compare, here are my conclusions...
If You Want to Trim Your Waistline: You can't trim your waistline without losing fat, and you can't lose fat around your waist without losing it everywhere (focusing on a muscle group like the abdominal muscles doesn't burn fat in that location, just a little bit of fat from everywhere on the body). So, if you want to trim your waistline, skip the ab workout books and go with a good, proven overall weight loss and fitness book like Bill Phillips' Body for Life. The Abs Diet is a similar program, but like all the Men's Health publications, it advertises a 6-week transformation, which is just a little unrealistic. Plan on more like 12-24 weeks to see really noticeable changes if you are fat.
If You Want Sculpted Six-Pack Abs: If you are overweight at all, see above--you can't get a six pack while you're overweight, and you can't lose abdominal fat by doing an ab workout, so go for overall fitness. However, if you are already lean, see below.
If You Want to Strengthen or Build Your Ab Muscles: If you're trying to improve for work, play, or rehab, you might consider the following books: The Body Sculpting Bible for Abs Deluxe DVD Edition contains decently up-to-date information and tells you exactly what to do and when to do it, based on a six-week fitness course. If you're looking for a similar book with more information, you can choose from The Complete Book of Abs or The Complete Book of Core Training. The Complete Book of Abs (1998) is a little out of date in terms of its dietary/nutritional recommendations, but it focuses more on exercises that develop the external abdominal muscles (the ones you see in a six-pack), including lots of variations on leg lifts, bicycle motion, and sit-ups. It will also give you more resources for creating your own program, and, if that's what you want to do, go with this one instead of The Body Sculpting Bible. The Complete Book of Core Training (2006) focuses more on the functional body core, including internal abdominal muscles, legs, etc., and includes more trendy exercises using medicine balls, exercise balls, yoga, etc. A different sort of book is Stronger Abs and Back (1997), which was written before the current fad of selling "core training," but contains the elements of core training because it gives good functional sports-focused advice. Its dietary recommendations are out of date, but it recommends a 24-week workout plan, which is much more realistic than the 6-week plans advocated by many of the other books.
If You Have Back Pain: See your doctor, and if he prescribes abdominal/core strengthening, see above.
My one-book recommendation: Body for Life. My two-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back. My three-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back + The Complete Book of Abs. My four-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back + The Complete Book of Abs + The Abs Diet.
Hope this helps!!
Really great workoutsSeptember 8, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Excellent workouts that bring you from beginner and increase in intensity as you get stronger. As long as you do them on a regular basis there is no way you can't get firmer abs!
A good reference on ABS and Back strengh and deveopmentJuly 12, 2006 7 out of 7 found this review helpful
A complete, concise and comprehensive reference with 165 different exercises for ABS and Back. The book will help you identify how best to integrate optimal train for both form and function.
This book is useful for anybody, either and athlete or a fitness enthusiast, showing exactly how to train your center of power, as a first step to develop total body power, and reach your goal: speed, quickness, agility, coordination or just a great set of abs.
Each exercise is fully illustrated and described in detail, including setup, action, and safety information.
"Do you want to be big and bulging, lean and sinewy, flexible and functional? What about pain free?" No matter what your goals are, you will learn to get there with all the information contained in this book.
If you are looking for a even more friendly and practical language approach to train your ABS, you may like "The Complete Book of ABS" by Kurt Brungardt.
Stronger Abs and Back: 165 Exercises to Build Your Center of PowerDecember 5, 2005 5 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a Brillant Book. The best book for abs & back exercises. People of all Fitness levels will find this useful. Excellent clear instructions and brillant pics. My back pain has eased a lot since following these excellent work outs. Best book in the Market. Buy it.
not just more crunchesSeptember 13, 2005 5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Because abs is one of my weak areas, I decided to get a book devoted to the subject. I haven't thoroughly read all the contents yet but have at least skimmed everything and looked over all the exercises. Overall, this is looking like a very good book for its intended purpose.
It starts with a good overview of why a "strong core" is important for many different reasons. This includes examples in sports such as basketball, wrestling, and running. The introductory sections also include some welcome primers on a few sports jargon terms such as automaticity plus coverage of abs and back physiology.
The introduction also covers what NOT to do, e.g. some of the more dangerous Roman chair positions and also movements that can damage the back -- very welcome and useful advice.
The core of the book is sets of exercises and stretches in the areas of warmup/stretching/cooldown, trunk stabilization and balance, fitness, strength, and power. Each area usually includes exercises covering upper/lower midsection, obliques and back. The template for an exercise includes one or two photographs, a PREPARATION section describing the starting position, and then an ACTION section that tells how to perform the exercise. These descriptions are clear, concise bulletpoints that are very easy to follow. For applicable exercises, exact timings are given for holding positions.
Some of the exercises require a pulldown bar, medicine ball, Roman chair, TheraBall, etc. But there are plenty requiring no equipment, especially in the fitness section.
Lastly, there is a short but decent set of workout programs oriented towards one of fitness/toning, strength or power. Actually, I think this one of the weaker areas of the book, at only a few pages -- could have used more information here. I liked the focus on doing a variety of exercises with low numbers of sets and reps but making sure to be consistent and do the routine regularly. This is a nice way to avoid boredom!
Review entitled "More crunches" from 1998 is WRONG. Are we reading the same book here? This book has a lot more than just crunches.
