Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good (not great) program for bis and tris, April 11, 2002
This review is from: Essential Arms: An Intense 6-Week Program (Paperback)
Ahh, the appeal of the monster bicep. Guys want them, girls want the guys that want them. And all you have to do is EVERYTHING to get them. This book crushes the "spot training" myth (despite it's alluring title) and, quite properly follows the rationale that big arms require a lot more work than curls, curls, curls. Brungardt's program incorporates a lot of "core" (abdominal, low back)and leg training for larger arms, which while absolutely correct, will probably scare off the uninitiated. "Essential Arms" is, in its basic form, a 6 week quad/bi/tri/ab program, requiring 2 days in the gym. Hopefully, serious readers will use the other gym days to work chest, back and shoulders. Otherwise, you'll be able to spot the "Essential Arms" guy across the gym - he'll be the disporportionate one. Use this book as a tool for a full workout program, or look at one or two exercises to incorporate into your regular workout, and it has value. Overall, however, most of these exercises are included in other sources (primarily "Men's Health Hard Body Plan", who are also the publishers of this book), and a book that includes entire program structures, including cardio and diet makes a more sensible purchase.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lots of Routines, September 30, 2003
This review is from: Essential Arms: An Intense 6-Week Program (Paperback)
I have read a few body-building books and think this one, along with the other books in the same series (chest, legs, abs, etc), are the best to date. One reason for this is the insistence upon good form. Like a lot of people, I have in the past gotten carried away with adding more weight and not paying attention to form. This is still a temptation but the message on good form presented in this book is finally starting to stick. I especially was impressed by his argument for paying attention to the negative part of the exercise. Another STRONG point of the book is that it provides you with lots of routines. After finishing the books 6 week course, you are supplied with an additional 4 or 5 good routines for future use. As the author states, it is important to change routines often, so that your muscles do not get too used to a given exercise (and you dont get bored). However, I am very lazy about putting together routines and tend to stick to one. Thanks to this book this is no longer a problem, because it does it for me; I now have complete sets of routines that I can follow and am beginning to see important gains as a result. The book also does a good job of covering the basics of good nutrition, rest and, for all of you gym rats who would ignore it, aerobics (ever see those pudgy cro-magnon loking guys in the gym who claim their bloated tummies are muscle)!!!! He doesn't cover supplements though and that is understandable given the controversy and hype surrounding so many of them.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing Book! You Will Learn &Your Arms Will Be Huge!, October 17, 2008
This review is from: Essential Arms: An Intense 6-Week Program (Paperback)
This is a book that is very pragmatic and flexible for most of us with busy schedules. It will introduce you to techniques and bodybuilding facts that build muscle. This is a well-written and concise workout book with a regimen that every man interested in having defined muscular arms can use.
I am almost forty and have not worked out in a while and I am very proud of the results!
I highly recommend this book without reservation!
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