Banish Your Belly: The Ultimate Guide for Achieving a Lean, Strong Body-- Now [Paperback]

Kenton Robinson (Author), The Editors of Men's Health Books (Author), Dragomir Cioroslan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1997

Every man wants to look better. To have a flatter belly, a more angular torso, better definition in the arms and legs. Being strong and lean means being healthy, having energy, feeling positive about the world. Now, from the writers and editors who bring you Men's Health magazine comes the first guide to the lean lifestyle written exclusively, entirely for men.

Inside you'll find the perfect blend of advice to guarantee that you reach your personal weight and strength goals. You'll discover more than 160 exercises custom-built for body shaping and weight loss, each featuring step-by-step photographs, ratings for difficulty, plus "Do It Better" tips to keep things challenging for even the most accomplished athlete. You'll also find customized workouts for your own personal fitness goals, including:

* Developing a stronger back (page 186)
* Taking off the pounds and keeping them off (page 171)
* Fine-tuning a body that's already in excellent shape (page 176)
* Overcoming obesity (page 180)

But Banish Your Belly is more than just the greatest exercise book you'll ever own. It's a total lifestyle program that offers the best advice for eating, dressing, and living lean. Inside, you'll learn:

* The "lightbulb" trick for calculating serving sizes (page 43)
* The difference between hunger and appetite-- and how to tell them apart (page 11)
* How to enjoy a tasty and satisfying low-fat meal at your favorite hamburger joint (page 63)
* The 40 best all-around foods you can eat (page 61)
* Why wedded bliss sometimes turns men into wedded blimps (page 90)
* How to dress to make yourself appear leaner (page 95)

Written in the straightforward, entertaining style that has made Men's Health magazine the number one source for health and fitness information for men today, Banish Your Belly is the ultimate guide to living leaner, stronger, and healthier.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Banish Your Belly

Every man wants to look better. To have a flatter belly, a more angular torso, better definition in the arms and legs. Being strong and lean means being healthy, having energy, feeling positive about the world. Now, from the writers and editors who bring you Men's Health magazine comes the first guide to the lean lifestyle written exclusively, entirely for men.

Inside you'll find the perfect blend of advice to guarantee that you reach your personal weight and strength goals. You'll discover more than 160 exercises custom-built for body shaping and weight loss, each featuring step-by-step photographs, ratings for difficulty, plus "Do It Better" tips to keep things challenging for even the most accomplished athlete. You'll also find customized workouts for your own personal fitness goals, including:

* Developing a stronger back (page 186)
* Taking off the pounds and keeping them off (page 171)
* Fine-tuning a body that's already in excellent shape (page 176)
* Overcoming obesity (page 180)

But Banish Your Belly is more than just the greatest exercise book you'll ever own. It's a total lifestyle program that offers the best advice for eating, dressing, and living lean. Inside, you'll learn:

* The "lightbulb" trick for calculating serving sizes (page 43)
* The difference between hunger and appetite-- and how to tell them apart (page 11)
* How to enjoy a tasty and satisfying low-fat meal at your favorite hamburger joint (page 63)
* The 40 best all-around foods you can eat (page 61)
* Why wedded bliss sometimes turns men into wedded blimps (page 90)
* How to dress to make yourself appear leaner (page 95)

Written in the straightforward, entertaining style that has made Men's Health magazine the number one source for health and fitness information for men today, Banish Your Belly is the ultimate guide to living leaner, stronger, and healthier.

f0How good are these workout programs? Frankly the best-- because we got the best to build them. Dragomir Cioroslan is the national team coach for the U.S. Weightlifting Federation and was head coach for the U.S. weightlifting teams at the 1996 Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and World Championships. Cioroslan crowned his outstanding career as a world-class weight lifter by taking a bronze medal for his native Romania at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He also captured three bronze medals over the years in world championship competitions.

About the Author

How good are these workout programs? Frankly the best-- because we got the best to build them. Dragomir Cioroslan is the national team coach for the U.S. Weightlifting Federation and was head coach for the U.S. weightlifting teams at the 1996 Olympic Games, Pan American Games, and World Championships. Cioroslan crowned his outstanding career as a world-class weight lifter by taking a bronze medal for his native Romania at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He also captured three bronze medals over the years in world championship competitions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (September 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0875965016
• ISBN-13: 978-0875965017
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,649,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent, but repetetive, November 15, 2000

By 

Emerick Rogul (Belmont, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Banish Your Belly: The Ultimate Guide for Achieving a Lean, Strong Body-- Now (Hardcover)

This book does contain some decent information on losing weight, aerobic exercise and body-building. Unfortunately, the entire book is written in a very repetetive style that makes reading several chapters in a row quite a chore. In addition, there's a lot of evidence of cut-and-paste editing throughout the book as well. For instance, the book may mention "Dr. Joe Bloggs" in 8 or 9 different chapters. However, in every chapter, the writers will "re-introduce" as though this is the first time he/she has been mentioned, and with nearly identical text: "Dr. Joe. Bloggs, a PhD from Harvard University and a world-renowned physioloigist who also won the Nobel Prize in 1978 and is currently teaching at Brown, had this to say ..." It seems like a minor annoyance, but after several chapters with several of the same experts, it becomes quite monotonous.

The book does have good information, as I mentioned, but there are simply better books out there.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Banish Your Belly: The Ultimate Guide for Achieving a Lean,, April 5, 2000

By 

Kevin J. Karpel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Banish Your Belly: The Ultimate Guide for Achieving a Lean, Strong Body-- Now (Paperback)

This is an excellent book that is geared towards those who are serious about losing weight and getting into shape. If you are looking for any magic tricks or fad diets, this is not your book. But if you want a realistic plan to properly exercise and diet, then this is your ticket. The book also has a humorous side, that makes it easier to read than your average textbook.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars By comparing over 10 abs books, I concluded..., January 30, 2008

By 

cxlxmx - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Banish Your Belly: The Ultimate Guide for Achieving a Lean, Strong Body-- Now (Hardcover)

I purchased about 10 books from Amazon on abs in order to compare them. This one is a nice hard-cover book that is out of date (it was written over a decade ago) in its recommendations, especially its recommendations about diet and nutrition. Your money will be wasted because it could have been spent on something better. If you're looking for a good book to help you with your abs, here's my conclusion from comparing books...

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!!