Customer Reviews

Bigger Muscles in 42 Days

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Using the principals in this book, I was able to go from a mere 138 pounds to a very lean and muscular 163 in only 6 weeks and my bodyfat went from 16.7% - 11.4%!! My arms went from 14&1/2" to 16&3/4" in the same amount of time!! I loved the way some guys in the gym thought I had to be on steroids because of the gains I was making...for a guy who used to get teased for how skinny he was, it feels nice to have people ask ME "What's the best way to do this, how's the best way to do that, what do you do for your arms?..." The beauty of it is that working out this way gets you the size, shape, stength, and look you want and to some extent need. This is the only way I'll lift weights now...the "regular" way feels as in-effective as I now know it is. First impressions count in life. The way this routine will make you look is going to leave a picture that they'll be talking about for a long time. Dr. Darden discovered a better way of trainig that has for me, and others I've shared this book with, stood the tests of both time and scrutiny.

This book (and some of Darden's others)has very useful information on strength training and bodybuilding.The principles in this book are the best I have yet tried,and they are completely safe.I gained an inch on each arm in less than a month of training,and I didn't follow the routine to the letter,just Darden't principles of training.I know another trainee that packed on 60 pounds of solid muscle in a year following this book WITHOUT the benefit of anabolic drugs. You CAN gain substantial muscle size and strength in a relatively short period of time and without spending hours a day at it.My only gripe with the book is that the routines include exercises that can't be done in a home gym due to lack of space for the equipment.

This book is not for the beginner as it does not present basic conditioning for someone starting from scratch. For more advanced lifters, the suggestions in the book might be fun. The contra-lateral theory he presents is nearly laughable though.

Darden trains and tracks the progress of two people using the routine described in "42 days". I wish he tracked a larger group of persons and those who are a little more 'ordinary'. He trains one person who is already an accomplished amateur bodybuilder and another guy who is 18, of a hefty frame, and an athlete. I would like to see Darden train someone who isn't a newbie, but who also isn't already a bodybuilder. I would also like to see this routine work on persons of slimmer build and who have a difficult time gaining weight.

I first got this book in the early 90's, when I was in my early 20s and weighed about 150lbs. Putting these principles to work over these many years has brought me up to 275lbs, very strong, very solid, but not ripped. But that is the point. If you are a guy who wants to "get big" without drugs, without blowing wads of money on useless supplements, Darden has the plan (which he earlier discussed in his book "Big"; this is basically a refinement of that). Lift heavy, but not too often, do negatives (meaning you have to have a spotter, making it safer), eat nutritiously and well, and get plenty of rest. If you read the preface to his earlier book, "Big", he makes the point that he dislikes the ripped look. So do I. I prefer the fullness and naturalness of the look of the old-time strong men who were 100% natural, not ripped to the bone and pumped to the gills with drugs.

Darden's method will give you a healthy, solid, big, firm physique whose foundation is hard work, smart training, and good nutrition. And don't be put off by the "bulking up" aspect of his method. You can always lose much of the fat after you have gained muscle, but Darden and other smart, drug-free lifters know that you cannot cut up and build big at the same time. They also know that the bigger your muscles get, the harder it is to be really lean, naturally. That is just a fact of life. You have to feed your body well to enable it to grow slabs of muscle. Weightlfting approached that way, as a lifelong hobby and pastime, can be the foundation of years of good health, strength, and yes, sex appeal!

I used the information in this book along with the diet for 12 days. I gained almost 4 pounds of muscle. If it was not for the diet I would have given this book five stars. Along with my muscle I also gained some fat. I don't recommend the diet in this book. Darden recommends that for every pound of body weight you have to times it by 20, and add 500 calories. This meant my diet started at 4500 calories. Then he recommends adding 300 calories per week for 6 weeks. Lets just say the diet sucks. You need to eat the hole day, and I felt sick trying to eat that much. When I stopped the diet portion of my program I lost about 2 pounds. I think it was water weight. The diet aside the lifting portion of this book is hard. You know when you walk out of the gym you got a good workout.

Excellent book. Destroys many bodybuilding myths while providing proof Darden's work. Especially like his insistence that supplements are not needed to gain size. Great pictures. Only drawback to book was silly Contra One-Sided Training. Methinks Darden had space to fill and cooked this up. Speaking of that, receipes were excellent as well

No average human being can eat as many calories as Darden recommends in this book without getting sick, and/or fat. For a 175 person to gain weight, you're eating 6000 calories by the end of this program. It's absurd, and completely ridiculous to consume that many calories, unless you're in the Tour De France or something.

The workout section of the book is fine. A workout is a workout. Any routine you do will yield you results, as long as you get enough sleep, hydrate properly, and eat enough nutrients. My beef is with the diet portion of this book, which is 100% the reason for getting "bigger" in 42 days.

If you have a bottomless pit of a stomach and can consume 5000+ calories a day, then you'll get HUGE from this program. Why? Because over 50% of the weight you'll put on will be bloat, water, and fat. If your goal is to get as big as possible, then maybe you'll want to force feed yourself 6000 calories.

For me, this program was impossible. I'm a natural ectomorph (skinny guy w/a skinny frame) and consuming even half the recommended calories was tough on this program. As I approached the suggested calories, I just got nauseous, and was burping and sluggish all day long. No way to live, just to gain a few lbs of mostly fat.

I bought this book about four years ago and still keep it handy for ready reference. Sure, there are some negatives to the book such as the contra-training routines (I think Darden found himself needing to fill space with this zinger). However, most else is truthful and helpful. I love the idea of gaining weight, strength and size without drugs and supplements. I basically went from 205 lbs to 228 lbs. in a couple of months. Being a family man with two sons, it was impossible for me to exactly follow prescribed diets, workouts and daily routines but I tried to fit all within my responsibilities and lifestyle. I think the pictures are great; very inspirational. It just strikes me as a more "common sense" approach to weight training and gaining.

We gained 30 pounds in 42 days! We noticed hugediffrence in our biceps. We gained 3 inches to our 13 in biceps. We never gained inches in the waist either!

I can say I was a little disappointed with this book. There seemed to be numerous misleading facts...(pg. 101, Darden claims there's 15 grams of protein in an egg white!). How's that possible when half the protein is lost from discarding the yolk? Furthermore, his Contra-Lateral training idea seems hardly realistic when applied to exercises like one-arm dumbbell shoulder presses. How can one stable himself in a seated position using a single heavy dumbbell raised over his head (injury waiting to happen!) I did find his "Indirect Effect" theory quite interesting, but there wasn't any scientific facts to back it up. Darden, a Ph. D., doesn't offer a name or any detail on the specific hormone/s that supposedly spills over onto other nearby muscles, thus promoting muscle growth on muscles not being trained directly. Mainly I felt this book, who's guarantee of results were based on only 2 bodybuilders and one which was a real bodybuilder, won't be of much help for the regular slim Jim looking to gain some mass. Overall, if you like reading about weight training and are up for new ideas - buy it. If you're looking for a new workout, here's one for 6 weeks that'll keep you busy. And if you happen to be fans of David or Keith, here's their training log!