Sculpting Her Body Perfect (Paperback)

by Brad Schoenfeld (Author) "Before setting out on your training odyssey and beginning the High-Energy Fitness system described in this book, it is important to familiarize yourself with certain..." (more)
Key Phrases: physique heaven, bodysculpting techniques, contract your biceps, High-Energy Fitness, Bodysculpting Tips, Sculpting Her Body Perfect (more...)

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

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Human Kinetics Publishers; 2 Rev Sub edition (November 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0736044698
• ISBN-13: 978-0736044691
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #481,673 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

157 of 159 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.

88 of 88 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.

57 of 57 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.