Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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 This one is a nice hard-cover book that is out of date (it was written over a decade ago) in its recommendations, especially its recommendations about diet and nutrition.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!!

This book is not going to teach you magic tricks on how to lose weight and look better, this book is going to tell you the truth, even if it hurts, and the truth is that you have to work out and it does an excellent job at showing how to excercise, it has pictures of every excercise, a difficulty rating, and a summary of it. I would recommend it to anyone that is willing to work hard on achieving the body they want...

This is a great book for those who have been "dormant" and who want to get in shape. The book serves as a guide to motivate you, tell you what foods you can enjoy eating without doing harm to yourself, and provides a grand list of exercises for abs, arms, back, legs, and more. It has scenarios of typical cases (people on the run, people who are obese) and tells how each scenario can be resolved by specifically referring to certain exercises.

Pick up this book if you want to get in great shape, quickly.

I purchased the book and I would like to say that so far it has delivered as promised and kept me from hurting myself. It is pretty honest about what is happening with your body and is a safe guide to getting you to where you want to be. For what it is worth, it has helped me establish a better, liveable diet and a reasonable exercise routine that doesn't leave me feeling dead and starving the next day. I tried the eat right and exercise plan before but wasn't educated on how the body works. That is what this book has done for me, it has educated me in this area. It has helped me achieve the results I was looking for.

Throughout high school I was very athletic with the metabolism of a rabbit. As soon as school ended, I stopped all my activities except for occasional weight lifting. By the time I started college, I had gone from my slender 32 waist to a comfortable 34. After several years of college and a beer diet, I had gained 15 pounds and had a 36 waist. Now at 20, I decided to get back into shape again. This book was great for helping me get back to where I used to be. It is very motivating and lets you know there are no easy ways to lose weight. However, if you have a little determination and time, this book defintetely works. The only problem I found was that it only gave mere suggestions for aerobic and weight lifting excercises, but does not put you on any type of set program. Additionally, this book is for getting in shape and living a healthy life style. If you are looking to bulk up like Arnold Schwarzeneger, this book isn't for you.

This book is incredible. It has been a companion of mine since it was first introduced many years ago. This book was designed for just about anyone in mind, any age, any physical shape. It teaches you the importance of diet and nutrition, stretching and exercise, with plenty of examples for those of us with little experience at these subjects. This is a book for anyone who cares about the health of their body. So get the book, and then get motivated.

The text is mostly magazine-type chatter, not without some good information, but the workout sections with photos are very good. I've been doing the excercises for three months and I'm very pleased with the results.

March 2003: now six months on these excercises; when you get bored there are lots of suggestions of other forms of working out that you can follow (eg; running, in-line skating, boxing, etc.). I keep a core routine from this book, however.

I saw a "complimentary" copy of this book at a Veteran's Administration hospital. My first thought was, "Banish your Belly. What a thought!"

I have no intentions of being a he-man, sports athlete, bodybuilder. But I am interested in a healthy diet, exercise and a good figure.

I might buy this book from elsewhere, like [...]. Provided that the book is cheap enough at that site.