138 of 140 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A review by someone who did the whole program, October 5, 2009
This review is from: Scrawny to Brawny: The Complete Guide to Building Muscle the Natural Way (Paperback)
Many of the reviews on here seem to be from people who are just starting or who gave up on Scrawny to Brawny. I went in determined to do the whole four month program and am proud that I finished it up through the last day.
MONTH ONE
Phase I is the Corrective Phase and, I feel, the best part of the whole book. A series of precise tests show you your weak points and then you spend 2 to 6 weeks correcting them. This is especially important for skinny guys who can seriously hurt themselves if they start squatting loaded barbells without the underlying tissue support. The stretches and small lifts are HARD work and I really felt my ligaments and support muscles getting stronger. I had a "bum knee" which tended to feel weak or have pangs before I started this program and since I finished it, that never happens. Great workouts.
The food portion was far less successful. Similar to others who have mentioned this, I could not humanly consume the amount of calories they wanted each day. On the very first day, I found myself laying on the sofa groaning in gut pain at 9pm because I was so engorged. And I was still supposed to eat another meal before bed. I cut back just enough to make my consumption actually possible without vomiting from then on, but my body fat still soared in this first month. I continued to monitor food amounts each month as directed by their Decision Making Matrix, but it was shocking to start off the program with the first serious paunch I'd ever carried.
MONTH TWO AND A HALF
It was in this month that I strained my back doing one of the lifts and had to take a couple weeks off and start using a lifting belt to continue. Keep in mind that most lifts are illustrated with a single photo and the description of how to execute them assumes some familiarity with the equipment and proper form. I'd taken a weight training class in college and used dumbbells a lot before but strained my lower back lifting a barbell above my head and arching too much. If you're going to sink the significant amount of money that's called for (see below) into this program, you might also plan on a once-a-month meeting with a personal trainer just to assure you're doing everything properly, unless you're versed on full body barbell lifts.
Also, they wanted me to do several chin-ups at a time during my workouts and I could barely do one. There was no guidance on what to do if you're not ready for an exercise yet. Do fewer? Do them halfway? Who knows?
On the plus side, people started making comments about how much bigger I was this month. One co-worker even flattered me that I was getting "huge".
MONTH THREE
This month focuses on building strength for the last big push of muscle enlargement. Good workouts with noticeable growth on my legs and butt.
MONTH FOUR
This was the weakest part of the program. Workouts moved up to four a week to increase growth and left me feeling tired most of the time, even on days off. I'd start workouts not feeling 100% because I was still tired from my last workout. Muscle growth kind of stalled as a consequence, even though I really put everything I had into it and was still eating enough to keep my body fat higher than average.
PLUSES
The general info presented here (less the excess calories) is solid. i learned a lot and appreciated the mix of technical info with practical tips. Although not a lot larger, my legs and butt are more shapely than ever before- I don't have chicken legs for the first time. And the corrective phase was very effective in building a strong core.
MINUSES
I have a partner who is pretty independent, no pets nor kids, and I work half-time. Still, the shopping, preparation, storage, packing, unpacking, cooking, and washing up after the meals took almost all of my free time. Commute and changing time at a public gym would be added to that for those who don't work out at home. If you have a full-time job, a spouse who wants date nights, kids and a pet, you will find it very, very difficult to complete this program.
Between equipment and extra groceries, I probably spent a couple grand on this program, and that was getting super, lucky deals on used equipment via craigslist. At the end of the program, you're just left with the suggestion to sign up for their expensive online extension rather than any practical plan on how to convert what you've learned into a normal lifestyle.
The diet of almost all lean proteins got very monotonous after a while, even for someone who has spent much of his life in the food business and knows how to make simple food tasty. Before you even think of ordering this book, prepare and eat six meals tomorrow, all of them primarily consisting of lean protein (fat free yogurt, chicken breast, fish, turkey burger, 95% or more lean beef, egg whites...). Protein shakes do not count- those would be on top of your six meals if you had them. Then imagine doing that for four months straight, seven days a week.
Finally, the low amount of carbs in the diet really affected my energy level and mental quickness by month four. I just hadn't had the easily convertible energy of carbs for so long that I felt generally hazy and tired. After one day of going back to my normal eating patterns, I was surprised by a noticeable jump in my alertness, interest in intellectual pursuits, and energy for everyday activities.
RESULTS
My neck, thighs and calves are the same at the end of the program as they were at the beginning (although all did peak larger at different points along the way). My shoulders gained four inches, my chest gained two inches, my waist gained three inches, and my butt and arms both gained an inch. My body fat ended one percentage point higher than when I started.
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25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extremely Solid Workout and Nutritional Information!, June 24, 2007
This review is from: Scrawny to Brawny: The Complete Guide to Building Muscle the Natural Way (Paperback)
This is my first review on Amazon, and the only reason I decided to write one on this product was because of how excellent it turned out to be, and because some of the negative reviews that I read might scare some people away from a geniunely useful book.
I've owned it for about two years now, but I've been working out for a lot longer than that for my high school and college athletic careers, with very little to show for it. S2B has dramatically changed the way that I work out-the frequency, the types of exercises, and the volume I incorporate in my workouts. On this program, I went from 6'2 170 pounds to 6'2 195 pounds in about a year on this program, and got vastly more strong. I now do reps with weight that I used to be unable to lift once.
I've seen a few reviews that claim that they have gotten very fat etc. from employing the nutritional advice advocated in the book. There are a number of reasons why this might have happened, but the authors explicitly say that it is an outcome-based nutritional process that you update every two weeks. If you are gaining too much fat--then stop and adjust the diet! Perhaps some of the authors of these comments are not lifters in the true ectomorphic, high-metabolism "hard-gainer" mold or they did not perform the workouts with the proper intensity. I know that if you use the nutrient partitioning/timing that Dr. Berardi recommends, and you eat a lot of nutritious food (aka load up on salads, very lean beef, chicken, fruit) and perform the workouts just as they appear on a consistent basis with hard effort, you will put on muscle and while it is impossible not to put on a little fat with it, in most cases it is barely noticable.
Even if you are not a prototypical ectomorphic hard-gainer, the advice offered in this book is great for building strength and size. The authors advocate a focus on compound lifts using free weights, without a lot of machines or smith machine work that might be good for the ego but aren't good for working the joints or the multiple stabilizing muscles throughout the body. All in all, a solid, informative, entertaining and easy to read book. I would highly recommend it, although the information can be slightly disorganized and the many interesting research references contained in the book are not cited. (There is a book called Njtrient Timing that describes the principles Dr. Berardi employs for sale on Amazon that is also a great book and sheds a little more light on this very interesting and useful subject). Hope this helps!
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36 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Skinny bodies are a thing of the past!, May 8, 2005
This review is from: Scrawny to Brawny: The Complete Guide to Building Muscle the Natural Way (Paperback)
Absolutely fantastic! The frustration over being an ectomorph is something that only the truely skinny can understand. I had just healed after two sessions at the gym that took me a week to recover. During that time, I reevaluated my weightlifting; what was I doing wrong? I had eaten good foods and trained at least 3 time a week with only a little definition to show for it. Then, I heard about this book. I ordered it not expecting much but, boy, was I wrong. The information in this book specifically directs its focus towards us skinny guys. The emphasis is on compound lifts in the body of the training program but they also use the first four weeks to level out your muscle groups to prevent injury and so you look more balanced (this cured my weak back muscles!).
A nice thing too is that the book devotes half of itself to nutrition. Other books will only give you exercises and have you go on your way which always leads you to thinking what you're doing wrong. They list out how you should eat and when; let it be known that this portion is a major lifestyle change.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their body. So what are you waiting for "skinny"? Get to work!
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