Customer Reviews

The Men's Health Gym Bible

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

 

 

The topics covered in the book are wide ranging and informative but the editing in some parts leave little to be desired. For example, in chapter 13 on the Muscle-Building Workout, the instructions and the actual layout of the workouts don't coincide. The instructions say the leg workouts should be done as straight sets but in workout B, the first two leg exercises are listed as A1 and A2, suggesting a superset. Also, the instructions explained the workouts as upper body/lower body, upper body /lower body but the 1st upper body workout includes the Bulgarian Split Squat and the 2nd upper body workout includes Cable Pull Through, both leg movements. The 2nd upper body workout also has Lateral Raise as part of an arm tri-set. I'm guessing it should've been in the shoulder portion instead, where it shows a superset of Hang Clean and DB Shoulder Press.

Other errors I noted were the illustrations of the various machines. The Seated Calf Raise on page 212 looks an awful lot like a Preacher Curl Machine to me and is that really a 45 degree Leg Press Machine on page 208? On page 282, that doesn't look like a Glute Hame Raise Machine. There are others but you get the idea.

There's a lot of good information in this book but unfortunately, the editing mistakes may leave novice lifters confused about what machines they're actually looking at in their gym and whether they're conducting their exercises in the proper order.

This book has a wealth of information useful to someone who recently joined or is considering joining a gym. The book is well laid out and very easy to read. This book was perfect for me. The exercises are well illustrated. Information is presented concisely. The book is free of one person's opinions. Too much authoritative lecturing is a problem that plagues many books in this category. This book avoids that mistake. I can highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering joining a gym or already belongs to one and wants to maximize the benefits of membership.

This book does a very good job of de-mystifying the gym work out. There are quite a few devices and gizmos that I was never quite sure how to use, and this book explains what they do and how to use them. Also, it does a very good job of categorizing different exercises, providing many ways to work different muscle groups. For instance, chest exercises using no weights, free weights, bars, benches, cages, machines, etc. Having more options at my disposal makes it easier to work out. There are some editing problems, as noted in another review. The most annoying for me was the inconsistency between some of the charts and the written-out explanations for certain routines. Specifically, the muscle-building exercise program in chapter 13 is exactly what I was looking for...except that the chart and the workout expalanation don't match up. They are inconsistent regarding when to superset, the order of the exercises, and duration. I actually went to some online body-building forums to get some ideas on how to best implement the routine. But the bottom line is that the book has been helpful, and has provided me additional motivation to get to the gym and try different things.

I've always viewed "Men's Health" as more of a fashion magazine than a real resource for health and fitness. Their (many) books seem to be no different, focusing on style over substance. "The Men's Health Gym Bible" actually does contain some useful information, but if you've spent any amount of time working out in a gym, it's old hat to you.

A friend of mine was looking to start working out and just wanted some basic info to get him started. He was like most guys and still had the fitness knowledge he learned in high school. Unfortunately this book was too basic for even him. The limited info on any given subject and gratuitous praise for certain brands of gym equipment are just ridiculous.

There are many many better resources out there. Skip this one.

Men's Health Gym Bible educated me on what different gym equipment looked like, how to use them effectively, and how I could best use them to get specific body results. I needed this book to know how to use the gym since membership is not cheap and I dont want to throw away my money. I would highly recommend this book. It's inexpensive and very handy to anybody who needs to learn about gym equipment and how to put together a cusomized gym workout routine.

This is an excellent resource book. I've been lifting since 1987 and often get stuck in a rut. Sometimes I like to pick up a book like this as inspiration. While I had previously heard of most of these exercises (not the Bradford Press or the Suitcase Deadlift though) it was good to be reminded of their specifics. I liked the descriptions and also the pictures used for individual movements. The book provides solid and serious advice for beginning and intermediate weight lifters.

This is a concise and straight forward text. The illustrations and context are simple. That is all you need. No wasted time with unnecessary information. That means more time to workout. Try also the other "Men's Health" books. These are the best I have read and are still using. I've been working out ever since high school, college, and into the present in lacrosse, Brazilian jiu jitsu, muay thai kick boxing, snowboarding and mountain biking. If you're not into reading long drawn out "how-to" books and want nothing but the meat and potatoes get to the point workout aides then this is it. Get it done and stay in shape with this! This is for weekend warriors to hard core health fanatics!

This is a very helpful book to get some new routines into your gym workouts. The illustrations are really good and helps make use of the gym facilities. Being able to see which groups of exercises help to benefit the different muscle groups is very helpful. I've used this book to incorporate variety into the gym routine and my son hass checked it out and likes the ease of use with the book. The organization is very good for the novice or intermediate gym rat. If you don't have a personal trainer than this book will do the trick. Recommended for gym rats of all ages.