Customer Reviews

The Complete Book of Abs

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased about 10 books from Amazon on abs in order to compare them. This one has quite a bit of information, good lay-out and organization, and is well-written for this type of book. My conclusions on how it compares with the other books follow...

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 The Complete Book of Abs (1998) is a little out of date in terms of its dietary/nutritional recommendations, but it focuses more on exercises that develop the external abdominal muscles (the ones you see in a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!!

Hey, I'm no spring chicken in terms of real fitness, no bodybuilder or top-athlete either. And my body is my temple, a good one. Provided you know how to excercise and eat right, this book will take you step by step to ab stardom. It is a thoroughly rehearsed guide, someone tried it all before instead of concocting a recipe with its bum on a chair. It works. Slowly and methodically. It senses your moods, giving you phrases of encouragement at the right time. There are also lots of additional chapters that will be quite enlightening for the enthusiast or novice. My advise is buy it. It is a great reference book. Follow the plan for at least 4 months - provided you are not obese - and you will have a six-pack that won't go away even if you stop excercising. Okay okay, all this does not come free: First, you will have to work bloody hard, but since the program is very well structured you will not really notice the load increase. However, the 15' a day claim is a joke. You will clock up 20' at start-up and about 45' mid-progam, if you do the excercises right instead of bouncing up and down. The book is also tainted by some stupid typos midway through the program (level 3 I guess), which require patience to sort out. Have a pen handy. To finalise, the 'ultimate abs' level is bloody dangerous. I went twice up there and screwed my neck so badly that still hurts. I accept some blame for doing these at home with makeshift stuff. Overall, as said, top book. Once you try this you will realise that you possibly never did any decent ab work in your entire life, no matter if you are an amateur or a fitness pro. I have surprised many well seasoned coaches and personal trainers with the routines I learned in this book. hAB fun! -Adrian PS Kurt, send me your other books so I try them too!

Many bodybuilding enthusiasts hate working out their abs. The abs are arguably the least fun to work out. Having said that, the abs are the first part that catches the eye - whether washboard-ripped or flabby. More importantly, from the point of wellness, the abs are the most important part that needs to be kept strong. The abs are the centre of the human body and hold up the entire skeletal structure. If you have only time to work out one part daily, make it your abs.

I have been using The Complete Book of Abs for 2 years now. It was a fabulous gift from a friend, a fitness buff. Let me just say that this is THE book on working out the abs! This book tells you why one should work out the abs; describes the muscular and skeletal anatomy in respect of the abs; the nutritional aspects; warm-up, stretching and other support exercises; the specific exercises in respect of the abs, and the different systems and routines one can incorporate for various purposes. In other words, this book is truly "The COMPLETE Book of Abs".

There are lots of photographs illustrating the various specific exercises for the various parts of the abs. I found this to be highly helpful and definitely of great assistance to the newcomer to working out.

My favourite part of this book is Chapter 4 which discusses The Mind. The Mind is where all success in life begins. Success in working out is no different. To succeed, it takes planning, mental focus, self-motivation, visualisation and mental-programming.

I supplement my reading of this book with Antonio Sabato Jr's No Excuses: Workout for Life, which I would also highly recommend to the workout enthusiast.

The first book in the three-part Brungardt brothers' series, "The Complete Book of Abs" is an essential must-have for any fitness enthusiast. The difficulty of working the abdominal muscles is one of the most challenging routines anyone who works out faces everytime. With a combination of a good, low carbohydrate diet and plenty of abdominal exercises, it usually becomes an easy task of obtaining six-pack abs within a period of time.

"The Complete Book of Abs" divides exercises accordingly to the three main abdominal regions: lower abs, obliques, and upper abs. Using a rating system of 1-3, (1 being the easiest, 3 being the most intensive) the author teaches readers of how to use a mind-body connection where the person focuses their mind on the abdominal muscles whenever they are working them out. This method, which has been successful in my case, works the abdominals to their fullest.

With a this book, a great diet, and maybe even a workout video to use from time to time, you'll be able to reach your desired goals within a matter of time. The newly revised edition is great since it adds to the original 244-page edition released back in 1993. If you liked this book, then I recommend that you also try the other two books in the Brungardt brothers series: "The Complete Book of Shoulders and Arms," and "The Complete Book of Butt and Legs." Overall, an excellent book to reach your fitness goals.

I have been thin all my life but I have always had a little bulge in my lower ab region that I thought I had to just live with. I even considered having a tummy tuck. But as one last resort I ordered this book and for the past 6 weeks I have been doing the lower ab exercises for 10 minutes, 6 days a week. After 3 weeks I saw some serious changes happening. Not only were my lower abs started to flatten but I saw that the rest of my stomach was toning up as well. Now after 6 weeks my stomach is almost completely flat. Just a few more weeks of doing these workouts should make my abs completely flat. Thanks so much for writing this book. You helped me avoid painful and expensive surgery!

I think this book is an excellent one for someone looking to improve their abs. it has over 100 exercises seperated into 4 chapters: Lower abs, upper abs, obliques, and combination exercises. I am disappointed in the review that says this book was a waste of money. It is worth every penny! Not only does the author say what area each exercise targets, but he also has a rating for difficulty and a rating for low back risk for each and every exercise. He also has dozens of routines from coaches, trainers, and bodybuilders. He also has chapters on nutrition and wellness with quite a number of recipes. There's also a system called "Fifteen Minutes a Day to Ultimate Abs." It's definately a complete book and lacks nothing.

Over 100 exercises, routines already made ranging from the beginner to the most advanced, nutrition info,... that's what you can read from other reviews and the general info about the book. I personally rate this book as the "look no further, this is all you need" book for abs. The exercises are simple and explained in great detail, they even put pictures to illustrate them. I strated with the most simple routine, the one for beginner's, and I have to say that it works great. I have been an active runner for most of my life and this simple but well thought out routine was still challenging. The stuff in this book gives near-to immediate results in only 10 minutes. I'm serious. Everything new you try will give a quick burn, be it a roll out gizmo or a mediocre ab routine. The difference with this is that it keeps giving you results at your own pace and it feels awesome after you egt into it. A definite must for anyone looking to get a great work out for their abs.

How many times have you seen those annoying ab infomercials where a totally ripped guy goes on about some plastic contraption that will turn your beer belly into a 6 pack with the amazing "AB-ripper", 5 minutes a day 3 times a week. At the end of the day the only way to get great abs is through hard work and this book creates no illusions about that. I've had weak abs all my life and it's finally dawning on me how important abs are. I've been working and active all my life, but ironically if there's one part of the body you should be working on above all others, it's your abs and back. I'm about 8 weeks into the 24 week program in the book and the results are astounding. It's not about getting a 6 pack it's about completely changing the core strength of your body. Everything feels better, even walking down the street. My only criticism of the book is that although they do a great job outlining exercises for people with bad backs, they need to create a parallel program work working out your back too. There is a chapter dedicated to back exercises, but they need to emphasize that it is crucial to be doing those back exercises each time you work on your abs. I don't think they make this clear. Otherwise this is a spectacular book and I only wish I'd bought it when it first came out 10 years back.

I have never been overweight, but my waist region was quite resistant to my attempts to get it in real good shape.
The book is divided in six weeks periods - I am now at the third level and will stay with it, no need to move to level 4 (too tough and time consuming). Results started to show on Level 2, (about 5 weeks into the program), first on the "obliques". A slight definition first, now I can say that at age 42 I am on the top of my shape, better abs than I had at 18! You gotta do it & be committed: You won t be disappointed!

i am a 17 year old and before i got this book i was doing 1000 sit-ups a day for two months with pitiful results. it took forever and was a huge inconvenience. when i use this books system it takes me only from 15-20 minutes per workout and after about a month and a half with it,i have a very defined six pack. the cardio plan in the book also helps to keep the rest of my body in shape. i reccommend this book to ANYONE who truly wants a nice set of abs.