Customer Reviews

Beyond Crunches

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, let me say that this is a good book, BUT, it is too expensive. A better solution is to buy the video version (same title)which costs only $29.95! I also recommend the video because some of the exercises are harder to visualize by reading the book where as the video does a better job at explaining the movements. Keep in mind the following points though; 1. These exercises are more advanced than many other regular abdominal exercises. 2. There is only about 30 minutes of info on the video... half of it spent on an exercise called the Junda situp. 3. I do not agree with the author slamming other conventional abdominal exercises such as the regular crunches: even though his exercises may have advanced benefits, many strong mid-sections were built with regular exercises.

My final point is... if you have to have this info, buy the video and skip the book... use the extra $5.00 (or so) to go to a nice movie.

Pavel delivers once again! This book details the mechanics of abdominal and oblique development in an easy to understand, user friendly format. Learn to either build up your midsection, tone it up, get a prominent six-pack, and/or increase your punching and throwing power by learning to integrate your powerful midsection! There is one particular exercise that I found to be super productive in adding to punching power, and this is the only book that has it... Pavel also answers some FAQ about ab training, such as how to get a six-pack, how to make your waist smaller, why crunches and training for the "burn" are no good, and what to do instead. Also included are training guidelines for every day training or just twice a week, and how to adjust your training to fit you schedule. All the exercises are illustrated, and he even touches on what to eat during your program. Guidelines for aerobic training for fat loss and cardiovascular health are also included, as well as the cardio-plateau buster "anaerobics". It is extremely simple and easy to understand. Pavel explains how to protect your spine and perform the "perfect" situp. All in all a great book by a great author, definitely a must-have for any fighter and lifter. My punching power and deadlifting strength went up very quickly on this program and I am very pleased and I know you will be, too.

Here are some points in addition to those made by the other 5-star reviewers:

The punchy, humorous, confident style of writing appeals - especially to my 18 year-old son. We work out together with Pavel's routines and laugh along together with his hyperbole.

The book deals not only with abs, but also the entire body core.

Yes, the book is pricey, but it is economical with words. You'll be able to throw out the other abs books you've been accumulating over the years - even Brungardt. If you measure value in terms of quality of ideas rather than in numbers of pages, this would have to be the cheapest abs book on the market. It takes you out of the rut of neighbourhood gym fitness, into the elite world of international-level athleticism.

The exercises are great fun, too! All have full range of motion - very satisfying. I'm 51 and can do one "evil wheel" and ten "dragon flags", demonstrating that you don't have to be an athlete to get started with Pavel's routine.

Pavel does a good job of explaining the different factors that play in when you exercise your abs. Though I've been an ab exercise addict for years, I found a lot of new knowledge in this book, and not the least a host of exercises that can give me the stimulation crunches can't.

On the downside, he does have too many illustrations - and yet too few! The full contact twist, for instance, would have benefited from a series of small pictures showing the stages of the movement. But the pictures were too many in the sense that they crowded out the text. The Janda sit-up, for instance, deserved more of an explanation and technique description than Pavel gave it. It is a very difficult exercise to get right on your own, so a little list of 'signs that you do it wrong' and a how-to of correct technique would have been very welcome.

All in all, I recommend the book, despite a somewhat steep price. But I still wish for more.

This is an awesome book. There is a related video that makes many of the exercises even more clear.

I have found that combining many of these exercises with the overall program listed in The Complete Guide to Navy SEAL Fitness by Stewart Smith is a winning combination. Mr. Tsatsouline's exercises are more efficient and when worked into the overall program in Mr. Smiths book produce great results.

I've bought the TV adverstised training devices and a bundle of ab books--tried them all. But, doing the routines Pavel T. presents in this book is the way I have achieved solid abs! Pavel offers a great deal of knowledge in an easy to digest manner. His writing, while colloquial, is founded in research and deep understanding of physiology and kinesthetics. I highly recommend this book.

As someone who has been crippled twice by injuries to my spine and had to rebuild my body from scratch twice, I have two things to say: 1) serious abdominal conditioning is *mandatory* for anyone with back pain and anyone who intends to push their body in sport or martial arts and 2) Pavel's book is, by far, the best book I've seen on this vitally important and neglected subject.

This book took me from having a back that everyone told me was too weak to ever do heavy lifting and that was in almost constant pain to no back pain and new PR's in the deadlift and Squat. Pavel's ab exercises are the stuff champions are made of. Clear, concise directions and radical new ideas make this book well worth the money spent. And it's for every trainee with a desire to succeed. I've heard that you must already be very advanced to begin the exercises in this book, but I recently began training my 50 year old father-in-law using these techniques and after about a month he was doing Janda situps with the best of them. Not to mention he no longer complains of back pain and has better posture. Get this book and through out all of your others on abs!

Pavel does a good job of explaining the different factors that play in when you exercise your abs, and though I've been an ab exercise addict for years, I found a lot of new knowledge in this book.

On the downside, he does have too many illustrations - and yet too few! The full contact twist, for instance, would have benefitted from more small pictures showing the movement. But the pictures were too many in the sense that they crowded out the text. The Janda sit-up, for instance, deserved more of an explanation and technique description than Pavel gave. It is a very difficult exercise to get right on your own, so a little list of 'signs that you do it wrong' and a how-to of correct technique would have been very welcome.

All in all, I recommend the book, despite a somewhat steep price. But I still wish for more.

i had read on the weights.net digest that this was good book to get for abs - it was wrong.

the information is limited, the exercises are for the most part too advanced for most trainees, and $35 is pretty steep for a book that at 121 pages is mainly filler.

i also found it interesting that for all his boasting about training his abs so hard, there is not ONE PICTURE of his abs!