Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Powerflex is a Great Addition to any Fitness Library, January 22, 2006
This review is from: Powerflex: Unleash the Power in You! (Paperback)
Description:
POWERFLEX is 160 pages written by Mr. Jim Forystek and published by Bronze Bow Publishing. Both Jimmy and Johnny Forystek model the presented exercises. The new POWERFLEX course features 40 self-resistance type exercises. It employs an animal allegory for each exercise to inspire motivation and visualization. The course features 5 exercises per muscle group and is divided into 8 muscle groups: chest, abs, spine, neck, back, legs, shoulders, and arms. It also includes 5 speed, energy, and endurance workouts. It takes the guesswork out of which exercises to do and how many repetitions of each exercise to do. Five exercises are what you do for each muscle group. The course suggests for people starting the program to perform the chest workout for eight weeks and work out the remaining seven muscle groups one a week for 7 weeks.
Good Points:
This course provides a clearly defined system that is easy to follow. It clearly lists the exercises for each body part and proscribes recommended repetitions. It does not, however provide recommended sets. Jim does address the issue of sets on the first page of the chest workout by letting people know that it is ok to break up the repetitions into sets and allow for rest in between. Jim places emphasis on tension more than the amount of repetitions.
Mr. Forystek's sons are in really good shape and do a wonderful job in posing. Both Jimmy and Johnny made excellent models and demonstrate the effectiveness of the system.
I personally found the acknowledgment section interesting and somewhat inspiring. It's too bad that Jim Forystek never asked his dad where he found the six-foot metal pole in the woods.
Suggested Improvements:
I feel that Jim should have provided a couple of pages on a recommend diet plan.
POWERFLEX often times uses three pictures to demonstrate exercises. I believe that several of the Flexes should have 4 or five photos per exercise.
More examples of speed, energy, and endurance workouts should have been provided. Information on how to combine the different drills for a week or month schedule would have added a lot of value.
Bonus:
This book serves as an excellent complement to other bodyweight exercise books. This course offers a new approach with emphasis on flexing rather than on calisthenics. Purchased with other books that primarily focus on calisthenics, POWERFLEX provides many excellent complimentary exercises and fitness information, but with very little duplication of material.
Score:
I gave this exercise manual a rating of four out of five stars. I highly recommend its purchase. It's a great addition to any fitness library.
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51 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Can't Recommend, January 20, 2006
This review is from: Powerflex: Unleash the Power in You! (Paperback)
Sorry, but from somebody who has decades of experience in working out, I just cannot recommend this book. While the principle of pitting muscle against muscle is a valid way to exercise, there are too many things that trouble me about Powerflex. Thanks to Amazon for allowing me to return what I feel is a flawed program.
For starters, I have no way of knowing if the cover photo is actually of the author as no face is shown. It probably is, but it certainly doesn't reflect the photos of him shown inside the publication. There, you will see the author in a baggy t-shirt hiding what has to be at least an extra 15 pounds around the waist. But hey, we all gain a little weight every now and then lol.
However my main concerns are about the actual program. Following the exercise routine as published will have you working your chest every week for 8 weeks. Your legs will be exercised only one week. The rational for this is "It is important to do the chest workout for all 8 weeks because these exercises will force you to breath deeply, which will trigger muscle growth & development throughout your body".
Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of exercise knows if you want to accomplish the above, leg exercises are the key, not chest exercises. Compare the size of your pectorals to the size of your thighs. Want to breath deep and trigger muscle growth throughout your body? Work on your legs, not your chest. One week out of 8 for legs, eight weeks out of 8 for your chest? Don't think so!
Another no-no recommending that you workout "at least" 5 times a week. Bad advise if you are working on the same body parts every workout (and assuming that you are actually extending some intense effort). Your body needs time to heal and strengthen between workouts. If you were doing a "split" routine, (lower body one day, upper body the next), that advise would be OK, but you would still need to rest a couple of days.
Sit-ups (potentially dangerous) instead of crunches. Most advise against sit-ups and have done so for a number of years. The list could go on, but I think you get the idea. The author is a big man and no doubt is strong as a horse. Can you say genes? Look at the size of his ankles and wrists! I just think he misses the mark with his book; there has to be better ones out there.
Whether naming exercises after animals is a turn on for you is a personal thing. I do know that it's not feasible to have an astounding transformation following this program 15 minutes a day as one reviewer claims! Having said all that, ANY exercise is better than none, and if this gets you up & moving your still ahead of the game!
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great new slant and package on Dynamic Tension excercises, November 28, 2005
This review is from: Powerflex: Unleash the Power in You! (Paperback)
Charles Atlas and his Dynamic Tension excercising has been around for over 80 years and have helped countless people to incorporate physical fitness into their lives. Well, in Powerflex, Dynamic Tension excercising meets the 21st century and it's packaged nicely enough for the young and older to embrace the movments and incorporate them into a new, non-equipment workout that will sculpt physiques into the shapes you've desired.
Powerflex is set up by bodygroups, like the Atlas course and John Peterson's(who actually does the forward to this nice book) Pushing Yourself To Power. Each gorup is set up with 5 great excercises and from there Powerflex lays out a routine that can be followed in the same premise of grouping bodygroups together to follow an 8-10 week regimine, much like the Atlas course.
Apparently, Jim and his two sons have been Atlas students for their whole lives. Powerflex has a nice appeal (using animal names and imagery for the movements) designed for getting youngsters and teenagers to embrace what can be said to be..."It's not your Grandfather's Atlas anymore". It's core is basically the same as Atlas but it expounds in so many more areas and has many movements and excercises that Atlas does not have.
For young and old, male and female, Powerflex is a wonderful book and a great laid out plan. The photos explain the Atlas related Dynamic Tension excercises even better than the old Atlas course does as there are a series of 3 photos for various stages of each movement. Very well done.
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