21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It is possible to create a great body at home, September 22, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Home Bodybuilding: Three Easy Steps for Building Your Body and Changing Your Life (Paperback)
I almost quit working out (again) if it weren't for Home Bodybuilding. I have two kids, a full-time job and no time for a gym and I needed to find something that would help me keep in shape. I'm so happy that I found this book.
The book has five parts and they are:
Part I--Getting Started
Part II--Nutrition
Part III--The Basics
Part IV--Body Specific
Part V--The Mind
It is also broken down into giving workouts and advice for women and men (a good thing since I have no desire to have big muscles) and it has lots of good workouts and exercises you can do at home or in the gym.
It seems to cover all the basics by featuring exercises and workouts you can do with barbells, dumbbells, machines, no weights and exercises with just your body and even using infomercial equipment.
Yeah, I admit it. I bought the Total Gym a year ago and after a few months of using it (it now sits in the garage, thank you) it's more like the Total Joke, but that's a whole different review.
Anyway, this book has been really helpful and if anyone is looking for a no non-sense way to get themselves in good shape and do it at home, this is the book I'd recommend.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read the reviews carefully, September 9, 2004
This review is from: Home Bodybuilding: Three Easy Steps for Building Your Body and Changing Your Life (Paperback)
I've read the reviews on this site about Home Bodybuilding and have a few observations people may find helpful.
First of all...
1) If a book is rated five stars, look to see if it's rated with just one five star rating or many. Chances are, if there's more than one glowing review, many other people have found the book equally as helpful.
2) When there are negative reviews, check and see how many there are and if there are commonalites between each of them.
I bought this book many months ago along with the Men's Fitness Home Workout book and have found each to have their strengths and weaknesses.
While the Men's Fitness book has more photos and exercises, it lacks much of the periphery elements of the mental components of motivation and just how hard it is for many of us to get started and stay motivated working out--especially at home AND by yourself...HELLO!
I like both both books very much. There must be a reason why amazon.com pairs Home Bodybuilding with the Men's Fitness book. They compliment each other quite well.
Finally, I'd like to give a few observations on what the reviewer "Judge Knott" wrote regarding the Home Bodybuilding book and how this reviewer must not have read the same book I'm looking at right now as I write this review. Specifically:
"There are many exercises shown that can only be done if one has access to expensive, complicated gym machines. (Yo! Isn't this supposed to be for h-o-m-e workouts?)"
If this reviewer would've read the book and understood its purpose, the author Robert Wolff states in clear language that he wants to give readers exercises they can do with freeweights (barbells and dumbbells), without weights (bodyweight only), with machines (if they have those in their home), and even informercial equipment.
"There is a sloppiness and an imprecision in the way many of the exercises are described."
I've got a library full of nutrition, exercise and physiology books and the exercise descriptions and illustrations Wolff uses in Home Bodybuilding match how the others illustrate how the exercises Wolff Describes should be done.
"The whole book is written at a reading level equivalent to that found in "The National Enquirer" or "The New York Post."
I'm reminded of a quote that a 20-plus million copy bestselling author once said, "Don't worry; If you write for the seventh grader, the Ph.D. will understand it too."
"It's also filled with cheerful, peppy, Oprah-like self-help sayings and anecdotes that recall Dale Carnegie in an extremely good mood. They bored and annoyed me."
Look at the other reviews who seem to greatly enjoy this author's writing style. Then click on reviewer Judge Knott's other reviews. For such a scathing review of this book, it was surprising how many of this person's reviews fall into the scope of fine arts and NOT nutrition, fitness or health. Perhaps returning Home Bodybuilding and getting a book on the order of the "New York Metropolitan Ballet of Workouts" might be a better fit?
My purpose is not to deride of belittle the above reviewer. All of us are entitled to our own opinions. However, when coming to this review forum, my only request is that any of us have a fully formed and educated opinion that doesn't selectively omit the good or not so desirable points of any book. That way, we can all learn and be helped by what anyone says--good or bad.
For my money, Home Bodybuilding was money well spent. Thanks for letting me have my two cents worth. Best to all!
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the best book for working out at home, August 6, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Home Bodybuilding: Three Easy Steps for Building Your Body and Changing Your Life (Paperback)
I was looking for a book that was geared for people who want to work out at home and couldn't find anything until I found Home Bodybuilding. The format is based on three steps which are the mental, physical and nutritional. The book also has separate sections for men and women as well as exercises with weights, without weights and even infomercial equipment. I liked the author's straight forward approach which doesn't have any agendas like other books I've read (i.e. like Body For Life which the author of the book is also the founder of the supplement company EAS which is promoted in his book) and he provides lots of good information which works. He is also very motivational and the book is filled with inspiring observations, quotes and affirmations which are helpful. The last part of the book is devoted to the mental aspect of being successful working out at home and while being a bit apprehensive about it at first, I'm a believer now. All in all, a well done book I'd whole heartedly say "get".
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