Customer Reviews

Men's Health Maximum Muscle Plan: The High-Efficiency Workout Program to Increase Your Strength and Muscle Size in Just 12 Weeks

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

 

 

I bought this book over a year ago and have read and followed it ever since, and right now I'm in the best shape of my life so far. I believe I'm in a good position to write a review for it. What I like about the book is that:
- It describes a large number of exercises in great detail (along with "make it easier" and "- harder" versions)
- It included traditional as well as newer exercises
- Useful for beginners as well as advanced lifters
- Includes topics like nutrition, cardio-workouts, sports specific fitness etc. in reasonable details
- The book doesn't make any unrealistic promises. (The results you achieve depend on the efforts you put in; a book can only guide you along the path)
- Gives injury prevention tips
- Makes an excellent reference guide
- Although the title says "Men's health", it can be used by women too (My wife often looks up exercises from it)
- Offers advice based on science-backed wisdom
- Useful if you want to do strength/weight training (as opposed to ONLY bodybuilding)
- Doesn't promote any brand-named products

This book helped me a lot when I was a total beginner and I still look it up when I feel like changing my routine or to check if my form is correct. Although I have used other fitness books, this book remains the backbone of my lifting plan. Over all, I'll highly recommend this book if you are serious about fitness and weight-training, even if you are a beginner.

This book is exactly what I've been looking for. As an ex-college athlete, I still play in three sports in amateur city leagues and take fitness very seriously. Prior to getting this book my main lifting regimen was basically the same as I did while in college, without the supervision. I basically hit a plateau and improvements were hard to come by. Since getting this book, I've jazzed up my lifting routine a lot. A vast variety of exercises a presented for every muscle group, and there is very good literature on the physiology of the muscles for optimal results. The weekly plans are a good trade-off of quality and quantity, with good variation to hit all muscle groups and have enough recuperation time between. I do not like the previous review stating that the models in the book had skinny legs. As a matter of fact, I thought the models looked very athletic. The athletic build is very different from a power-lifter or weight-lifter build. Bulky legs with fat calves and a small acheles heel seen on a lot of weightlifters actually hinder athletic ability (agility). Though the extra literature on body types, sport related workouts, back pain etc where sparse compared to core workouts, I still found the info very useful for people involved in weight-lifting not only for bulky muscles, but for everyday muscular efficiency. I think the exercises and plans in this book will suit anyone who wants to look athletic with reasonable size (not overly hunky), and also be able to apply the size/strength gained in everyday activities and athletics. Five stars all the way.

This training manual will teach you everything from how many calories you should eat each day, to overall healthy habits.

I bought this book about 2 years ago. I wanted to brush up on my lifting and gain a more thorough understanding of the intricacies of lifting. This book is designed for one purpose. To get people, (men) big. It does just that. The advice, the programs, the food and supplement info, even the injury prevention and rehabilition are top notch. Try it you will see results.
Special things to note about this book. It understands that low rep, heavy weight, and short workouts are the fastest most efficient way to size. You may have to read between the lines and get creative on your own. It encourages you to come up with your own training splits. I have found that the exercise programs listed take about 45 minutes. Personally I feel the most benefit splitting my workouts further keeping them at around 30 to 35 minutes. But using his workout plans I have popped up to 205 from 190. Looking at the programs it may be a shocker to see 3x2 in a workout. But it has the benefits. This is a book that will work for everyone. Forget the insane volume programs endorsed by bodybuilding greats Arnold Schwarzenneger and Bill Pearl. Its not necessary. Furthermore they are less efficient. If I were to recommend program to anyone I would start with this book.

This is a great guide for the new or experienced lifter who has the interest and motivation to stick with a regular, self-directed fitness regimen. It presents itself as a complete guide for the lifter, addressing a little muscle science, motivation, hundreds of exercises broken down by body part, suggested workouts to achieve a variety of ends (size, strength, hybrid), and addresses diet/nutrition, gaining or losing weight, and workouts tailored for specific situations (overweight, arthritis, back pain, etc). At just short of 400 large pages, and crammed with excellent b&w photos, there is a lot here.

The strongest part of the book for me is the presentation of the many different exercises, with accompanying photos showing proper form for each one. True, a lot of the different exercises are essentially the same movement using dumbbells, cables, or tubing; but even so, there is tremendous variety here. Further, there are suggestions on making easier or harder almost all of them. For lifters who fall into a dull regular routine, there is a lot of material here to help shake up your workout and stimulate new growth.

Also good are the suggested workouts based on the lifter's goals, be they for straight strength and powerlifting, or body building, or for the improvement of individual sport performance.

The areas I found weakest are the sections on nutrition, which is not covered in the kind of detail I would have preferred to see. It's nice that the reader is not being urged to buy specific brand-name supplements or the like, but in the case of this book some more directed information would I think have been useful.

All in all, the book is outstanding if the reader is a lifter who enjoys building and rebuilding his workout routines. The advice is realistic - you get out of a fitness regimen what you put into it and nothing more - and the book is not going to promise some overnight physical conversion. It gives the reader a lot to chew on, and what you do with it is entirely up to you.

This book has many different workout plans for total body, arms, shoulders, etc. It also has a ton of good information on calorie intake, health habits , and tools to create you own, powerful workout plan.

I love the magazine and the book is no different. Packed full of usefull information. I've been into fitness and bodybuilding for years so I was familiar with a lot of this stuff from the get go but still it is quite the handy little guide. Anyone looking to better their body will appreciate this book. I am a RN and found the anatomy lessons in this book were right on and should be easy for anyone to understand. Truly a great tool to add to anyones workout.

This book is well written and well organized with lots of great info and exercises! But, if you are a beginner, you might find yourself overwhelmed, undermotivated and uncertain how to begin. At least that was my experience.

This book is full of useful and accurate information. It is well-organized and well-written. The book is full of useful advice such as "the fastest way to lose weight is to spend a lot more time in the weight room." p. 314). (As opposed to cardio).

This book is not one of my favorites but is a great resource. This book has a lot of great ideas but in my opinion does have some flaws. There is a section on cardio and eating which is good, the workout programs in the book are good but not my favorite. Over all I would say this bood is a worth while book on strength training and most people would learn at least something from the book to make it worth your money.