Customer Reviews

Ripped: The Sensible Way to Achieve Ultimate Muscularity

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Ripped is the sort of book you want to keep on your shelf when you feel that you want to take your diet to a whole other level for a short period of time (or longer if you can do it). Clarence Bass should also be congratulated for telling it like it is. He just comes straight out and says "I have taken steroids to keep from loosing muscle when I diet". He talks about his cycles. I read this book in day. It is only 88 pages. Probably the big question is what he eats to look like that. The answer is actually quite obvious. He eats hardly anything. But before we get to that, let us talk about Clarence, and his classic book Ripped. Basically Clarence got into bodybuilding late in the game and entered the over 40 contents for Mr. America and Mr USA. He wins a lot of them because he isn't just ripped, the guy is etched. His abdominals are chiselled. So naturally there are those out there who want that look and he tells you straight how he did it. He figured out how to diet down and keep muscle while involved in weight control experiments with NASA who took an interest in him. He also describes the water tank displacement method of calculating body fat percentages (BF%). However he does talk a bit about training and a lot of stuff has changed. Basically he tried bulking and cutting but lost all his muscle when he dropped his BF% to the low figures using traditional bulk and cut methods. So he took steroids next time and he kept his muscle. That is basically what he did and so for natural bodybuilders the book sort of stings when you read this. You are not going to learn how to keep lots of muscle and drop your BF% down to 2.4% without roids by using the advice in Ripped. However a lot has changed since then with regards to bulking and cutting and trying to stay lean while not getting too fat. Clarence obviously got too fat and so lost a lot of muscle he gained because he had to cut drastically. Nowadays bulking and cutting is more controlled than what Clarence did in the late 70s. So apart from that the only real reason to get Ripped is for his mad cutting diet that will strip everything off you to make you not just Ripped, but etched! So for the etched look he recommends some eggs and cereal for breakfast, peanut butter sandwich and yogurt with an apple for lunch. Some eggs, toast and a salad as big as you can eat for dinner. The evening meal has milk, some supplements and decaffeinated coffee. He has some other diets in the book, but not many and they are really borderline crazy like what you have just read there. Nobody would seriously think about these kinds of diets unless they really want to go from very slim to extreme and that is where this book works. It is all very extreme dieting (for people with defined abs who want to bring out other parts that are rarely seen!) and good to know how to shave of a few extra lbs. It is all extreme stuff but if it is extreme you want it is extreme you will get.
*Updates*
- Saccharin is included in his diet. Saccharin can cause cancer. Replace with berries or something.
- Instead of wheat germ you can use oats.
- You can also use oats instead of the fyblend fibre supplement.

I first started reading and following the ripped program two years ago. I grew up a chubby kid and had weight problems as an adult. growing up on refined foods. since i was a "guy" it seemed to be no big deal. i was just husky. I lost a bunch of weight 10 years ago. mainly because i cut down on the beer, and heavy breakfasts. I was 5'11" and weighed 230lbs, and dropped down to maybe 180. Still i was kinda flabby. i have tried diferant programs over the years with no real benifits. the infomercials always looked so good. i always wanted that chiseled/ripped look, but NEVER could obtain it. I thought maybe it was just me, and it was not possible. well let me tell you IT IS. With Clarence Bass's aproach you will succeed. It is really easy which of course is important if you want to stick to it. he is VERY thorough, and has done his homework. being an attorney i guess it is in his nature. i have all but one of his books, but this is the one i am reveiwing. since it was his first and mine. all CB's books are awesome. i have read them all over and over till i practically had them memorized. his "three pronged aproach" is his/the secret. one day i started noticing that is was getting Ripped. i could not belive my eyes. i swear i would look in the mirror and think who is that. and all the guys/girls in the gym were looking at me too. i am not kidding. it is really easy to follow and understand. buy all of Clarence Bass's books! you will not be sorry.

The sport of bodybuilding is filled with conflicting information on what the body needs to achieve muscularity. It can be frustrating if you rely on trial and error. Instead I got Ripped, Ripped 2 and 3. I'm really glad I did. I lost a lot of fat and have a diet that is sensible. Clarence Bass has been in the sport of bodybuilding for a long time and has been meticulous in documenting what works and what doesn't. His washboard abs are living proof.

Clarence provide and insightful look at his diet and training to get his incredibly ripped (low body fat, muscular and vascular) physique. He details his experimentation with diet, exercise and steriods -- yes, he is candid about the benefits and draw backs of steroids ...and comes out against them on balance.
Lean for Life might be a better book from the same author for non-body builders (although this is a good book too) and it is a little more up to date and more targeted to a wider audiance.

First...Angelbaby'smom is my wife! I have ALL of bass's books and have read them many times. Yes, the first ripped book was short and to the point.....not necessarily a tradjedy. Yes, he took steroids...In '78 and '79 ONLY. He very quickly relized it was a fool's game. By the way, he got them through his physician (legal at the time) and took them in rediculously small doses compared to what today's bodybuilding clones do. His advice in all his books is timeless and simple. A fool might confuse that with it being "outdated". Truth is never outdated. Clarence is an awesome charachter. If you find his diet too bland or restictive then YOU have a problem....you are weak. Don't blame your weakness on Bass. Don't be jealous of his ability. Try to do as he does.....that's what his books are all about. If you think you can't walk the walk, you're probably right. Go buy the Atkins book and suffer for your ignorance with the other weak fools who want an easy answer.

Twenty plus years ago I read Clarence's column in M&F. It was so impressing and inspirational I bought this book. Years later I had all that he had written. Then I finally became a vice-president, no time for serious working out, etc. His books went in garage sales and such. Now that I've retired it's time for me again. After a few hundred dollars and many new ideas, I wondered if Clarence Bass books might just be available used or what ever. Amazon has done it again! They're all here, and new, no less. These are the best available, bar none. I've given them a well deserved five star rating. But realize that Clarence, like all writers, except me for now, only has so much gas in his tank. His last couple of works lack the meat of his earlier works, but so what. One of the books I bought directly from him was autographed by Clarence. I'll pass on to you what he said to me "Get Ripped."

If I had to buy just ONE of Clarence's books it would not be this one. It's the shortest and the others are simply packed with more good info. But if you value solid, real-world, no-hype information then buy ALL of his books. If you want fantasy buy a Joe Weider book. I do have all of Clarence's books except Great Expectations. Each one adds new info that Clarence has picked up along the way. He is a logical man who has been doing this for decades. While he did do small quantities of steroids for a very short time. He learned that in the end they were not something of benefit. He has been steroid free for decades and this is the only book where they are mentioned. What is mentioned in all of his books is rock solid, scientifically backed information. To say that Clarence is a seasoned veteren dedicated to the cause would be the understament of the century. If ever there were an ambassador for the sport/lifestyle it would surely be Clarence. He most definitely walks the walk. His words have been rattling around in my head for over 20 years. I am truly grateful for a writer like him. We live in an age where most things are basically crap. So many half baked theories are thrown around these days only to quickly end up on the scrap heap. Clarence's work is timeless. He also has a website. Check out his pics at age 70. He's as bulky and ripped as he was at age 40.

Fitness books, like trendy clothes and fad diets, come and go. (Anyone remember John Travolta's "Staying Fit!"? How about Rocky Graziano's "The Rocky Road to Physical Fitness?") Clarence Bass' "Ripped: The Sensible Way to Achieve Ultimate Muscularity," now in its ninth printing, breaks the mold in this: it has stood the test of time.

First released in 1980, the book focuses on three years in the bodybuilding life of fitness enthusiast Clarence Bass, (a now retired) attorney from Alburquerque, NM. It's the story of his quest for the Mr. America and Mr. USA titles, both of which he won in the past 40 short class (in 1978 and 1979, respectively). Mr. Bass shares what he learned along the way: about training, diet and supplementation; about achieving ultimate muscularity with an amazing 2.4 percent bodyfat; and about dealing with the many challenges he faced along the way. Informative and inspirational, this benchmark book has served as a bodybuilding guide for twenty years. And, classic that it is, it will undoubtedly inspire fitness enthusiasts for years to come. Highly recommended.

This is really a pretty good little book regarding bodybuilding diets, etc. It has some references about steroid use. Just remember this book was written in late 1970's - early 1980's. It's got some good diet hints.