Customer Reviews

A Flat Stomach ASAP

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

What Darden advocates in this book is a reduced calorie eating plan, drinking a whole lot of icy water, and a series of intense, deliberate, strenuous mussle building workouts. The three work together to produce amazing fat-loss results. I'd note that while the diet is somewhat restricted, it is macro-nutrient balanced in carbohydrate, fat and protein, unlike many fad diets. However, becasue of the reduced caloric intake levels, it is not an eating plan designed to be kept after the program. Those looking for other dining options and recipies can check out Darden's "The Nautilus Diet" for options that work in conjunction with the ASAP plan. P.S. I'm a strong proponent of the ASAP plan, becasue it worked amazingly well for me. This program, and specificaly the SuperSlow exercise techniques, alowed me to build many pounds of muscle mass, without any type suplementation. I also lost nearly 20 pounds of fat.

I liked this book despite the "ASAP" part of its title (ASAP being an acronym for some principles the author presents). Darden presents a program that lasts for 6 weeks but can then be adapted over the long term to improve overall muscular strength and weight of all muscles, not just abs. The key to the exercise component is to do a small number of exercises (some with weights, some without) at a very slow and controlled pace until individual muscles are fatigued. I have had good luck with this approach in strength training and think it works well to develop muscle without causing you injury.

As a book on using the "super slow" strength-training approach to exercise, it is quite clearly written with good instructions. I found the diet parts less interesting, in that there really isn't anything new there, though recommendations for diet are clear. It basically says you need to cut calories by eating certain types of food to lose weight, and can do so most efficiently in combination with exercise.

This is a very good exercise book that is effective, easy to understand,and that comes at a good price. I would recommend it highly.

This scientific approach to a flat stomach is logically presented and fairly easy to read and understand. I've been using some of his principles (the super hydrations technique and the exercises) with some success.

There are two reason why I didn't give this book 5 stars: 1) The diet is just too rigid. I mean very rigid. You have to buy a certain brand of bagel and THAT'S IT. There were no substitutions on the menu. I can't live like that. And 2) There was very little about a maintenance program to follup up with. The exercise program looked progressive, but the diet part of it wasn't.

As a long time reader of this author, Ellington Darden puts out another book that gives the reader a very practical and simple guide on how to sculpt your body that goes against the dieting guidelines proposed by these "fad diets". I've been on the ASAP diet for 4 weeks now and the results are amazing and most importantly, YOU DONT FEEL HUNGRY!!! Incorporating a calorie reduced eating plan, super-slow weight training, and a superhydration schedule, Darden does it agian in this book, "A flat stomach ASAP" Get the book, it really works!!!

UPDATE:

I've been on the ASAP routine since late February (it's now late June) and lost a total of 31 lbs and my bodyfat percentage went from 22.2%(49.5 lbs) to 14.5% (28 lbs). I still feel that Darden's workout and eating plans are on mark and even though I may slip occasionally, it's easy to get back on the right track. I still reccommend reading the book. As I said before ASAP works.

I liked this book and would recommend it for a few reasons.
(1) There are documented results here (pictures and measurements of real people). That was highly motivating to me, and gave me inspiration that if they could do it I could too.

(2) The workouts are real. In other popular book published workout programs, the results of the participants shown in the book may or may not be related to the actual workout the book publishes, in Flat Stomach ASAP, the workouts were carefully monitored. I could duplicate the results and be certain that my results would be similar, without having to try and "figure it out".

(3) The whole plan works. Yes, it does take some getting used to, but so does any workout plan. With patience, each part of the book carefully applied does work together to bring you the best body you can personally get. AND, it is very time efficient - a huge boon to anyone with a busy schedule or not.

Ellington Darden's program for a flatter stomach is highly effective for those who have the discipine to follow it. When I started the program I was the heaviest I have ever been at 250 pounds. I was unable to wear most of my clothes. Within two weeks of starting the program, I was able to fit into most of them. I was actually able to go to the beach and not wear a shirt without feeling self-conscious.

The five "mini-meals" a day plus drinking a gallon of water a day really made a difference. Everything Darden explains is very logical and has given me new perspective on how the body burns fat. It wasn't easy at first, but over time I was able to not feel hungry. The results achieved made everything worthwhile. After 6 weeks, I was down to 210 pounds.

The Darden books are typically aimed at people with a significant amount of exercise experience so there is an underlying assumption that the reader is not a novice or dilletante relative to workout programs. The point is that the program described in the book WILL work though its not often that a beginner to exercise could stick to it during the six weeks and maintain the restricted diet described in the book.
On the other hand once you get the hang of eating 4-5 smaller meals a day then you can carry this habit with you for a long time and get a lot of mileage out of it whether or not you stay on the exercise regime.

If you are a new to exercise and dieting then you probably want a more introductory program and work your way up to more targeted
forms of exercise. Newcomers to exercise need to focus on a holistic approach which will yield results though in a longer time frame than six weeks. Unfortunately in our quick fix society lots of people bail out of their regimes long before they
have had the chance to realize the better results. Thats a shame since exercise combined with a reasonable diet WILL ALWAYS yield results. People who claim that it doesn't "Work for them" usually
aren't complying with their program.

In any case I think this book is probably good for the person
with experience in exercise especially those who might have been
out of they gym for extended periods of time and are looking to get back into their personal zone so to speak. For those who haven't exercised in years then perhaps you might want to just get back in the gym for a few months before attempting the program described in this book. I think lots of people want a six-pak without really working for it but with discipline you can
get there

I went from 175# at 5'-8" tall to 145# in 12 weeks. I lost 20# in the first 6 weeks and 10# in the second. I also did not feel it was a struggle. The program does require a change in your attitude toward food. The reprogramming of my attitudes has stayed with me. I feel like I now have control of this aspect of my life. The change in my appearance is amazing. I am in no way connected to the author.

Darden's new books tend to be revisions of his previous books, meaning you don't need to buy this if you already have one of his 1990s books.

He was the first author to advocate diet and strength training. He was the first author to employ safe NON-DRUG thermogenic techniques for fat loss. "Flat Stomach" shows how to use synergy -- combining all these things -- to turn into a fat burning machine.

"Flat Stomach" is a good book. I kinda wished it had the writing quality, beautiful layout, and extensive tables and diagrams that distinguishes his best diet book, "Living Faster Stronger." But, "Flat Stomach" has the newest, most thorough explanations of the components of synergy.

Moreover, it includes the "Quickstart" program and is for both men and women to lose fat very quickly.

It's not a "fun" program. But, it is sensible and safe. More importantly, nothing works better.

This book enabled me to get to a point where people noticed: "Did you lose weight?" "Your face looks skinnier!" "You look thin!" ... were among the few comments I received within 2 months of following the advice. In those two months, I can attest that IT WORKS, even though I still ate big dinners (I love to eat!)

But after that, the workout routines don't offer much for variation. Psychologically, I got bored, and therefore missed some workouts. I felt I had no other options ... this book made me feel that this is what I had to do for the rest of my life! As a result, I abondoned the "systematic approach" for achieving my short term goal. I gained my weight back, and 1 year later have not gone back to that initial goal.

BOTTOM LINE: This book will get you to your short term goal as effectively as it promises. You just better be prepared, after achieving your goal, to know how to MAINTAIN it: motivationally, variationally, practically. Fortunately, it's taken me 1 year to re-group, and I now have a plan I will execute ... the plan includes this book's techniques on superhydration and physiological cooling approaches to increase caloric expenditure. However, I am not using the superslow lifting techniques ... at least for this stage of my plan.

This books is a tool in your toolbox.