Customer Reviews

Maximum Strength: Get Your Strongest Body in 16 Weeks with the Ultimate Weight-Training Program

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eric Cressey knows how to get people bigger and stronger, period. I got to do the Maximum Strength Program last summer and during that time I had my 1RM deadlift go from 275 to 400lbs in four months. I am more mobile than ever and I am no longer in pain (used to be low back). I now have great posture and have built a great base of strength.

This book outlines the four phases with multistep pictures of the exercises (both strength training and mobility/warm-up). Also there is a nice section dedicated towards nutrition as well.

Eric is 110% correct when he says you need to get stronger to get bigger. If you have stalled with your progress and want to get bigger and stronger, there is no better way then with Maximum Strength, for under $15 you can not go wrong.

This book is a must-read. I heard a lot of hype about this book before purchasing, and I'm glad I finally bought it. I did the entire 4 month routine and honestly, my body feels better than it ever has in the past.

I was used to the traditional bodybuilding bodypart split of chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, Arms on Wednesday, etc etc. For years, I just accepted that this was the way to train your body. I just dealt with back pain and shoulder pain as part of the "price of working out." Doing 5 exercises for your back in one day, and 5 exercises for your shoulders in one day is the absolute wrong way to train your body, unless you are an actual bodybuilder, but for the average fitness enthusiast, that just doesn't apply.

Eric's book outlines splitting your routines into upper body days and lower body days. The routines are easy to follow. Full detailed pictures, and explanations. One of the most important things he advocates is varying the rep range each week within the 4 week routine. You probably never have done any exercise of 8 sets of 2 reps or 10 sets of 3 reps. You have to keep in mind Eric is a Strength & Conditioning Coach with the goal of getting you stronger. I was hesitant, but you have to open your mind and try it.

My body feels stronger, and more balanced. There are a few non-traditional exercises that you probably have never heard of, or are hesitant to try out. My advice would be to do everything in the book to a T. It works. You may be reluctant to do so much deadlifting and squatting. You may have never hear of scapular push ups, walls slides, face pulls, or behind the neck band pull aparts. Open your mind. Follow the routines exactly and you will be glad you did. I know I am. Your body will feel so much stronger, more balanced, and your posture improves. I hope this doesn't sound like a 3 a.m info-mercial testimonial for the latest fitness product, because it's not. I'm a Certified Personal Trainer and a Certified Gym Rat who has been lifting for 11 years. Open your mind, try the routines, follow to a T. Your body will thank you.

Eric Cressey delivers on his promise to get you stronger in 16 weeks. I know because as a former client I completed the Maximum Strength program and posted personal bests in all of my lifts. Which lifts? The ones that matter, that show true strength. Completing Maximum Strength, I would have been pleased if only my bench press numbers increased, and they did, but so did my deadlift, squat, and chin-up (my broad jump increased, too).

The 16-week program is not the only reason to buy "Maximum Strength." Eric does a phenomenal job of showing how to perform each exercise correctly, which a) eliminated bad habits I picked up in the past and b) keeps me injury free.

It's the old story of teaching the man how to fish: Eric provides a program that increases strength and sets a path to continue getting stronger after those 16 weeks. If you're serious about strength training, you need to read "Maximum Strength."

In Eric's introduction to this book, he describes his aspiration to be strong and fit, but not huge. The introduction alone is worth the price of the book. This is a man that deadlifted 650 lbs in competition at a body weight of 181. He knows how to get people strong, yet keep them healthy. His entire program is designed to progress in power, speed and absolute strength while addressing many commonly flawed movement patterns.

I'm a 47 year old male that has begun to find it difficult to move without pain and stiffness. I am now 9 weeks into the 16 week program and I have progressed to the point were my passive ROM in my joints has improved as well as my mobility. I haven't benched in 4 years due to shoulder pain and had all but conceded that I would never again be able to, but I'm now benching without pain. I just can't say enough positive things about this book and for the price is a steal.

A fine treatise on the fundamentals of strength. It is precise, well researched and innovative. Also, I really liked the voice of the book....casual and humorous but informative.

This guy is close to genius on the subject. A free thinker that backs his theorys with science. He draws heavily on research and builds his program from the fundamentals. That combination together with the innovative style makes a unique approach plausible and possibly the bible on the subject.

A great holistic approach to increasing strength. You get warm-ups with foam roller and mobility exercises, 4 day a week upper/lower body split routine, nutrition suggestions and even a chapter on the "muscle between your ears". I plan on finishing the 16 week routine by end of October and then repeating it next February.

I have a library of lifting and fitness books. You name it I have it.

This is the best book that I've seen in a long time. When I was a beginner and had no clue there may have been some books that added more immediate value, but for those people that have done some lifting and want to do it right, and make some serious improvements, THIS IS THE BOOK.

The explanations are great, as are the illustrations. I judge my purchases on whether it was worth my money, and this definitely gets 5 stars.

This is a great book for people interested in improving their strength (which should be everyone - man and woman). The author lays out why strength training is superior to the bodybuilding routines that most people (probably unknowingly) use in the gym. I think his actual 16-week program is more for the intermediate lifter who has experience with barbell free weight lifts such as squats and deadlifts, and has stopped making gains on their beginner program. (For beginners try Starting Strength by Rippetoe or stronglifts dot com)

I have been looking for a solid warm-up routine in print or online for years, and have finally found it (two to be exact). Cressey's soft tissue work and mobility exercises will keep you healthy and mobile, and this routine is worth the cost of the book alone. Consider buying a quality foam roller when you purchase this book so that you can participate right away. He also offers excellent nutrition advice which is pulled from Precision Nutrition.

In a time where most muscle books don't put out anything innovative any more, Eric Cressey delivers something genuinely fresh. Obviously powerlifting style routines like the one in this book are not brand new, but putting one in a more mass market package like this is. Cressey makes powerlifting accessible to your average weight lifter and even to those who may not have much experience with resistance training at all.

The 16 week routine presented in the book makes use of a number of common and uncommon movements, many of which are not known to the average gym goer. Each movement is well explained and given to the reader in an unintimidating fashion. Cressey also presents a full chapter on dynamic flexibility warm-ups and soft tissue work with more depth than I've seen in any other book. Including those concepts in the program not only insure that the book's reader will get bigger and stronger, but that they'll improve their posture and remain injury free. Those factors are often overlooked in books like this but are very important to a resistance training program.

The book introduces a focus on lower repetition work like no other book I've read. For those of us that are interested in fitness from BOTH an aesthetic standpoint (looking good) and a performance standpoint, this book is a must have.

This book is outstanding. Eric has generated a program that will help nearly anyone get stronger, no matter where you're starting out at. The warm-ups themselves are worth the price of the book, and the program itself is amazing.

The exercises are clearly described and the pictures really help illustrate the intent of each exercise. Overall, a very, very good product.