Sculpting Her Body Perfect [Paperback]

Brad Schoenfeld (Author), Kiana Tom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1999

This is a guide to a system of training designed specifically for women. It has profiles and training tips, and chapters on pregnancy and maintenance programmes.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you're a woman who's serious about strengthening and sculpting your physique, expert trainer Brad Schoenfeld provides a progressive program with a variety of resistance exercises for each muscle group. This second edition of Sculpting Her Body Perfect updates the 1999 book and adds new exercises, notably many that can be done at home rather than at a gym. The exercises, using free weights, machines, bands, and cables, are well illustrated with clear photographs. Personal stories and photos of female fitness competitors and body builders make it seem as though this book is aimed at women aspiring to the competitive level, although it does start with a beginner's program and progresses through the advanced level. The abdominal section still focuses on creating visually appealing abs with no mention of core conditioning (also known as functional training or stabilization), which trains the abdominals for daily life. (For that approach, see Athletic Abs by Scott Cole and Tom Seabourne.)

This book is a fine addition to your training library, whether you want a progressive program or simply an assortment of exercises to choose from. It's recommended for serious exercisers who want a varied strength program. --Joan Price --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

"A clearly written book with a wealth of information for both beginners and advanced female exercise enthusiasts or personal trainers." -- Shannon Meteraud, Miss Super Fitness

"Brad has provided a valuable and accurate system of fitness training, outlining techniques that are essential to sculpt a lean body. The compound movements and supersets are terrific for conditioning, endurance, and flexibility." -- Lori Ann Lloyd, Extreme Fitness Champion

"Brad has written the ultimate book on women's bodysculpting. It is a must-read for any woman who wants to change her physique for the better." -- Debbie Kruck, Ms. Fitness USA

"Wow! Seldom have I read such a comprehensive and well-researched source on women's fitness. Not only does the reader receive an excellent selection of optimum exercises for each body part, but the kinesiology and logic behind the selections is outstanding." -- Lovenia Tuley, IFBB Fitness Pro

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 195 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics (Trade) (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736001549
• ISBN-13: 978-0736001540
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,623,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm best known as a fitness author, educator, speaker, trainer. Fitness is my passion, and I've devoted the better part of my life to helping people get into shape. I consider myself lucky that I actually make a living at what I enjoy most. I am committed to helping people achieve their fitness goals and welcome the chance to interact with readers on Amazon.com. You can check out my books, SCULPTING HER BODY PERFECT and 28-DAY BODY SHAPEOVER, here on Amazon.com. For my complete bio and lots of cool fitness info, visit my website at www.lookgreatnaked.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

168 of 170 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book!, March 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Sculpting Her Body Perfect (Paperback)

Sculpting Her Body Perfect is one of the best women's weight training books I have ever read. There is a lot of great information about isolation versus compound exercises, push-pull muscles, cardio training and weight training intensity.

Sculpting starts by outlining why women's body sculpting is more challenging than men's body sculpting, and provides reasons why women should do weight training. He then moves to his body sculpting program, which he claims will provide tone but not bulk to women's bodies. There are three phases, and in each phase you weight train 3x per week, with cardio 3-5x/week. What changes is how the weight training is structured.

Phase one is a body conditioning phase, and includes three full body days. Each day includes one exercise per body part, changing the exercise for each day. (E.g., for day 1 quads you might do squats, day 2 lunges, and day 3 leg press.) For each exercise you do 3 sets of 15 reps, at 75% maximum weight. Each body part is worked 3x per week. This stage is to build muscle -- he stresses that you can't shape muscle unless you first have muscle. He recommends staying with this phase for 3-6 months, and says you will reach 50% of your potential with this phase.

Phase two is the toning and shaping phase, and lasts at least 6 months. Here the body is split into two: e.g., day 1 - chest, back, shoulders and calves; and day 2- biceps, triceps, quads, hamstrings and abs. You still do weights three days a week, but alternate day 1 and day 2. Each body part is worked 3 x every two weeks. You use two exercises per body part in a superset, still doing 3 sets of 15 reps for each exercise. The intensity of the weights is increased in this phase. The goal is to create muscle symmetry and proportion, and he says you will reach 90% of your genetic potential with this phase.

Phase three is targeted body sculpting. The body is split into three - e.g., day 1 - chest and back, day 2 - shoulders, biceps and triceps, day 3 - legs and abs. Each body part is given three exercises in a superset. You still do 3 sets of 15 reps at high intensity, and you are still training 3 days a week, but now each body part is worked one day per week. He claims you will reach your full potential at this stage, but he stresses that you need to have gone through the first two phases for this approach to work.

Overall, it is a great book - well written and seems very well researched. The weaknesses are that there is nothing about diet, there is a strong preference for gyms over home workouts, and he doesn't provide exact workout schedules (but he does provide examples.) I would love to see a video series that uses this approach.

90 of 90 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great advice for any woman who works out, March 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sculpting Her Body Perfect (Paperback)

Before I joined a gym six months ago, I had not worked out for five years. I began weight training with a personal trainer, but after my sessions were up (and I ran out of money) I was nervous about being able to maintain a steady routine on my own. I purchased this book and was very impressed with it's training advice and recommended workout routines. There are many exercises with pictures and explanations that that have proven to be very effective for myself. This book also explains how to work out intelligently- how to incorporate cardio exercises, how to allow muscle groups to recuperate, and how to concentrate on the muscles being utilized in each exercise. The routines suggested are designed for a woman's body but do not lack in intensity and endurance. This is a fantastic book for any woman who just joined a gym as well as those who would like to improve upon their current routine. I'm very pleased with my results and I attribute them to the advice and information provided by Mr. Schoenfeld.

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the Best Fitness Book I've Ever Read, June 7, 2000

By 

Debbie Johnson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sculpting Her Body Perfect (Paperback)

Fitness is my passion and I'm always reading books and articles about fitness. After a while, a lot of the information starts to sound the same. What a refreshing relief to have found this book! This is the first book that I can say that I really learned something from in years. It is divided into three parts; body conditioning, toning and shaping and advanced bodysculpting. While there is good info throughout the book, I found the advanced bodysculpting chapters to be of particular benefit. These chapters show how certain exercises can be combined to achieve optimal definition. The sample routines are great and demonstrate exactly how to incorporate the concepts into a total fitness program.

Overall, the book is very well written and easy to understand. It's a great reference that I'll use time and again.