Men's Health Better Body Blueprint: The Start-Right, Stick-to-It Strength Training Plan (Paperback)

~ Michael Mejia C.S.C.S. (Author)
Key Phrases: prone dumbbell row, lift your upper arms, dynamic flexibility drills, Power Surge, Queens College, Unilateral Romanian (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The ultimate training manual for beginning or returning exercisers  Drawing on the foundation of Men’s Health magazine, this superb guide explains everything that inexperienced or lapsed exercisers need to know to tailor a fitness program to their individual goals and abilities. The ability to personalize a workout plan allows readers to achieve quicker results and spend less time with ice packs and sore muscles.
Unlike other books that lump beginning exercisers into one group, this program differentiates among beginners, such as:
   • high-schoolers with newfound interest in lifting
   • 30-year-olds who want to get back the bodies they had when they played college sports
   • 50-year-olds who work out only for the first few weeks after New Year’s resolutions every January
Michael Mejia, contributing editor to Men’s Health magazine and coauthor of Scrawny to Brawny, thoroughly explains the fundamentals of fitness, including strength training, cardiovascular activity, and nutrition. He provides self-assessment tests to help safeguard against injuries by identifying muscular imbalances, decreased flexibility, or other weaknesses—and then shows how to correct these problems.
Whether readers are "Newbies," "Ex-jocks," or "Seasonals"; hope to build muscle or increase strength; are willing to work out every day or are able to spare only a couple of days a week, they will find the blueprint for their better body in this book.

About the Author

MICHAEL MEJIA, CSCS, former co-owner of a sport-specific training center in Port Washington, New York, focuses on helping young athletes improve their speed, agility, strength, balance, and flexibility. The coauthor of Scrawny to Brawny, he lives in Plainview, Long Island.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Rodale Books (July 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594863326
• ISBN-13: 978-1594863325
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #478,676 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good guide to successful practical weight training but contains many flaws, October 10, 2008

By	Mr. Brendan Sheehan "Veridian" (Kilkenny, Ireland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are used to following or reading about bodybuilding style weight training programs then this book will be a breath of fresh air. I wish I had come across this book years ago and given my experiences with unnecessary sports injuries over the years I was keen to follow this book to the letter. At the time of writing I am currently in the "Muscle Building" section of the book and I have to say that so far things are going pretty good.

What I particularly like about the book is the emphasis it gives to correction of bodily alignment and posture. This is the most important aspect of weight training and of any exercise activity bar none. After all if a sport or exercise activity is not done correctly with correct muscle activation patterns then it is best not to proceed at all.

There is a major criticism with this section however. The tests provided are sufficient to identify any aspects of posture and muscle activation that need correction. If you can afford it however or know of someone experienced in the area then it is probably best to get an external opinion when performing these tests. We tend to fool ourselves when it comes to judging our abilities.

If corrective action needs to be taken then the exercises prescribed, while useful and relevant, are not sufficient. It is probably best to get the advice of a good physio, physical therapist, chiropractor, podiatrist or rolfer. Corrective action takes a long time to have an effect and should be continued when you move on to the other sections of the book.

I don't really know why diagrams of exercises are repeated in the book in each section. It would be better to save paper and have an appendix at the back.

20 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unfortunate choice of cover design despite plenty of common sense exercise strategies., July 25, 2006

By	Mohamed F. El-Hewie (Hackensack, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Very commercial approach to exercising by virtue of glamorizing machines and muscle isolation. The chapter on corrective exercises is infuriating. The author suggests corrective measures for kyphosis, lordosis, front head, and pronation of feet, winging and elevation of scapulas. That is totally unfounded and should be stricken out of the book. Though exercise alleviates living with deformities, it does not correct them since deformities entail genetic elements, bone and cartilage elements, ligaments and muscle elements, and finally, habitual factors, their correction is formidable. Corrective measures (better be called rehabilitating measures) should be a long term aim rather than a snap shot remedial solution.

The author's common sense strategy is demonstrated in the discussion of periodization, progressive incremental strengthening, and balancing aerobics with anaerobic modes of training. The author is very motivational in instructing beginners on how to get started, stick to a plan, and avoid unrealistic expectations (other than correcting deformities).

The strongest aspect of the author's expertise lies in his stretching, flexibility, and isolation exercises, his weakest being compound exercises with floor to overhead range. In an ugly photo of overhead shoulder press, the lifter is caving his chest, standing unevenly, holding the bar far in front of the vertical plan through the heels, and without adequate lumbar arching. That is similar to the cover photo where the elbows are bent and the shoulders are lowered when the barbell is overhead. The right posture should portray well-thrust chest, elevated shoulders, straight arms, and bar positioned in a plane behind the head and vertically over the low back and heels.

The tests on flexibility, strength, and endurance are reasonable except that on the overhead squat where the author is unfamiliar of the mechanics of performing such highly technical move. It could cause injuries if people hold a bar overhead and start squatting without realizing the need for warming up the shoulder and lumbar regions adequately before tackling such move. Some of the inconvenient injuries of overhead squat by unwary persons are rotator cuff tears, and low back, neck, and elbow injuries.

The repetitive description of exercises in multiple sections of the book makes it dizzying. The same exercises are viewed over and over, yet there is no consistent plan to link them together. The book leaves me with a nagging question: Why everyone in the book is an old man (over 21)? Why young people are neglected so long? For those, running, push ups, chin ups, and jumping suffice for a blueprint of a great body.

"Burn Baby Burn" could be done easier than the book suggests. Just eliminate bread and simple carbohydrates from food (processed carbohydrates). That would deplete the fat pool effectively and do away with intestinal distension that hinders the individual's cardiopulmonary function. Losing weight is easier than the fad portrays it to be.


Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I like this book, March 7, 2009

By	Healthy Dude "Healthy Dude" (FL, USA) - See all my reviews

I thought this book was great. It's very helpful for the absolute beginner and it's a great refresher for experienced health enthusiasts. There's a lot of information in here to help motivate you, get you started, and keep you going.