Customer Reviews

Stronger Abs and Back

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is the perfect book for the athlete who truly wants to improve the abs and/or back muscles. If you stick with the program as recommended by the authors and give it time, you will notice the differences in a few weeks. I had a herniated disk due to an accident. My lower back was in pain for much of the time. In about 3 weeks the pain had disappeared and I noticed that whenever I turned my torso, I felt a since of power. I then lent the book to several friends and they have all given thumbs up to the book.

I initially bought this book in 2003 to get a 6-pack (haha), but I never really looked at it until I started experiencing severe lower back pain in October 2004. As a background, I started doing Mixed Martial Arts training early 2004 and slowly but surely my back pains started. I ignored it for as long as I could, but in September 2004 I was training hard for a submission wrestling tournament and my back was in constant pain.

My girlfriend's a PT and for long term maintenance and pain relief she advised me to strengthen my core. I showed her this book and she recommended I do the exercises with progressive difficulty.

Beforehand I used to do my weight training first and only do abs if I had the energy or "time". However in November 2004, I started doing the exericses in the book before my weight training sessions (4-5 times/week). I started with the stability exercises for 2 weeks. Once I got a grasp of that, I moved on to the ab fitness exercises for another 3 weeks and only now am I gettting to the strength exercises. The thing that impressed me was how detailed the instructions were. I was training smarter rather than harder. I ended each session with some good lower back stretching (shown in the book) for 5-10 minutes.

And I am very happy to say in December 2004 my lower back pain is completely gone!!! Consistency and good advice/exercises was the key! If the authors read this review, thanks very much!

This book is a MUST for Personal Trainers as well as self trainers. I refer to it constantly for variety and challenge. The pictorials and step-by-step instructions are easy to follow. You won't need another torso book. It has everything!

This is an excellent book. I've always found that some abdominal exercises hurt my back and some back exercises I'm unable to do. You may think that 165 exercises is overkill, but the nice thing is that you can pick the ones that work for YOU. Then as you progress, you can try others. I only do about 6 exercies right now, but I tried about 50 to find these 6. I have adjusted several times.

The exercises are well described and pictures are good. In most cases, there is a final picture and not a progression of the exercies, which would help in a few cases.

I read this book not from the bodybuilding perspective, but from a back pain rehab perspective and I am pleased. It has been more helpful than most back pain relief books, and I have read dozens.

I purchased about 10 books from Amazon on abs in order to compare them. This one is unique for recommending different routines for people who have the different goals of fitness, strength, or power. The idea of strength vs. power workouts was a late 90s fad in sports training, which isn't to say it was wrong, but you won't find any chapter here called "Wellness: The Big Picture," like you will in one of the books published in 2006. If you want to know how these compare, here are my conclusions...

If You Want to Trim Your Waistline: You can't trim your waistline without losing fat, and you can't lose fat around your waist without losing it everywhere (focusing on a muscle group like the abdominal muscles doesn't burn fat in that location, just a little bit of fat from everywhere on the body). So, if you want to trim your waistline, skip the ab workout books and go with a good, proven overall weight loss and fitness book like Bill Phillips' Body for Life. The Abs Diet is a similar program, but like all the Men's Health publications, it advertises a 6-week transformation, which is just a little unrealistic. Plan on more like 12-24 weeks to see really noticeable changes if you are fat.

If You Want Sculpted Six-Pack Abs: If you are overweight at all, see above--you can't get a six pack while you're overweight, and you can't lose abdominal fat by doing an ab workout, so go for overall fitness. However, if you are already lean, see below.

If You Want to Strengthen or Build Your Ab Muscles: If you're trying to improve for work, play, or rehab, you might consider the following books: The Body Sculpting Bible for Abs Deluxe DVD Edition contains decently up-to-date information and tells you exactly what to do and when to do it, based on a six-week fitness course. If you're looking for a similar book with more information, you can choose from The Complete Book of Abs or The Complete Book of Core Training. The Complete Book of Abs (1998) is a little out of date in terms of its dietary/nutritional recommendations, but it focuses more on exercises that develop the external abdominal muscles (the ones you see in a six-pack), including lots of variations on leg lifts, bicycle motion, and sit-ups. It will also give you more resources for creating your own program, and, if that's what you want to do, go with this one instead of The Body Sculpting Bible. The Complete Book of Core Training (2006) focuses more on the functional body core, including internal abdominal muscles, legs, etc., and includes more trendy exercises using medicine balls, exercise balls, yoga, etc. A different sort of book is Stronger Abs and Back (1997), which was written before the current fad of selling "core training," but contains the elements of core training because it gives good functional sports-focused advice. Its dietary recommendations are out of date, but it recommends a 24-week workout plan, which is much more realistic than the 6-week plans advocated by many of the other books.

If You Have Back Pain: See your doctor, and if he prescribes abdominal/core strengthening, see above.

My one-book recommendation: Body for Life.
My two-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back.
My three-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back + The Complete Book of Abs.
My four-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back + The Complete Book of Abs + The Abs Diet.

Hope this helps!!

When I first purchased this book I was hoping to make a modest performance gain in my sport. However after reading and performing several of the exercises over a period of 6 weeks I was able to run easier and faster. The biggest bouns is that I no longer wake up each morning with any back pain whatsoever. This is a really good ab and back book and I would recommend it to anyone.

This is a great resource for those wanting to strengthen their midsection. The book contains a number of chapters, covering the importance of a strong body core, warm-up, stretching, and cool-down exercises, training guidelines, and exercises categorized into trunk stabilization and balance exercises, ab fitness exercises, ab strength exercises, and ab power exercises. About half of the exercises can be performed anywhere, and the other half require equipment such as a TheraBall, ab bench, barbell, etc. Each exercise is accompanied by a photograph and the proper steps to performing the exercise. The book is balanced nicely with different sections on setting goals, muscle physiology, proper exercise guidelines, and the like. A few sample programs are given at the end of the book, from which individuals can tailor their own program. All in all, this book has everything you need for a successful ab fitness program.

This book takes ab workouts to an entirely different level. There are three training systems used in the book; ab fitness; ab strength, and ab power. The ab power is designed for top perfoming athletes, and in all honesty, the excercises prove it; they are way out of my league. This book goes over ab and lower back fitness in depth, as well as warm ups and cool downs. Don't look for this book to "make" you start doing workouts. Try self-help books for that. This book is for those people who have the drive, and want no-nonsense excercises to get what they want.

A complete, concise and comprehensive reference with 165 different exercises for ABS and Back. The book will help you identify how best to integrate optimal train for both form and function.

This book is useful for anybody, either and athlete or a fitness enthusiast, showing exactly how to train your center of power, as a first step to develop total body power, and reach your goal: speed, quickness, agility, coordination or just a great set of abs.

Each exercise is fully illustrated and described in detail, including setup, action, and safety information.

"Do you want to be big and bulging, lean and sinewy, flexible and functional? What about pain free?" No matter what your goals are, you will learn to get there with all the information contained in this book.

If you are looking for a even more friendly and practical language approach to train your ABS, you may like "The Complete Book of ABS" by Kurt Brungardt.

The only thing negative I would say about this book is the suggested meal/diet plan. Otherwise, the authors have outlined an excellent plan for strengthening your core. After seriously injuring my back over the Christmas holiday, I had been experiencing chronic lower back pain. Three weeks of core work-outs at the Fitness Level (the lowest of the three levels) and the back pain has already subsided. Plus there is a visible difference in my abdominals (my diet and cardio has helped in this area, too). As a former High School/College athlete (wresting & Judo) and now a coach, I would recommend this book for athletes in any sport. It will work if you use it!