You might think that the subtitle, "The World's Most Authoritative Guide to Building Your Body," is hyperbole, but The Book of Muscle from Men's Health delivers as promised. Australian strength coach and former powerlifting champion Ian King and Men's Health fitness director Lou Schuler cover everything you want to know about your muscles and what makes them grow, complete with dietary recommendations, exercises for every muscle group, and exercise routines. Each muscle group is illustrated and discussed, with 149 pages of clearly described, well-photographed exercises using a variety of equipment. A section on workout routines helps you put together your own program, from beginner to advanced. Schuler's guy-talk style makes the book enjoyable to read, even on days when you have no intention of going to the gym. The artistic drawings of muscle groups, full-color photographs of beginning and ending positions of every exercise, and stunning close-ups of buffed body parts make The Book of Muscle is as beautiful as it is practical and motivating, an exceptional gift for the fitness guy in your life, and well worth the price. Highly recommended for men wanting to get in shape or stay there. --Joan Price
The World's Most AUTHORITATIVE Guide to Building Your Body
You probably know a lot about building muscle. You know which curl is the best for your biceps, you do every possible exercise for your abdominals, and your 20-set bench-press routine is the envy of everyone in the gym. So why haven't you gotten the results you want?
This book has the answer. In fact, it probably answers every question you've ever asked about how your muscles work: What makes them grow? What makes them show? Why didn't that champion bodybuilder's routine work for you?
But The Book of Muscle does more than just explain how your muscles work. It also gives you comprehensive muscle-building programs from a world-class trainer.
Ian King has spent 2 decades as strength coach to world-champion and Olympic athletes. He is in wide demand as a lecturer on athletic preparation and physique development, and he is a popular contributor to Men's Health magazine and T-mag.com, the most popular bodybuilding Web site on the planet. Now, for the first time, he brings his extraordinary knowledge and unique muscle-building systems to a book meant for regular guys who like to work out and want to see better results than they've gotten from conventional programs.
Here's what you get from The Book of Muscle that you can't get from any other book:
Three complete 6-month, progressive workout programs created by Ian King to optimize muscle growth by juxtaposing opposing muscle actions
Ian King's revolutionary training-age system to help you determine which program is right for you
Complete abdominal training that ensures you'll not only get that coveted six-pack but also develop the muscles that prevent injuries and produce better performance on the field--any field
Vital advice on warming up, stretching, and recovering between workouts
The latest and best information on how you need to eat to make your muscles grow
If you've never before bought a workout book, this should be your first. And if you've tried all the others, this is the one that finally delivers everything you have ever wanted to know but couldn't find in one place.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ian King is an Australian strength coach and former powerlifting champion who has trained world-class athletes on four continents. A certified strength-and-conditioning specialist, he has a bachelor's degree in movement science and a postgraduate diploma in education from the University of Queensland in Brisbane. He lives in Brisbane with his wife and two children.
Lou Schuler is fitness director of Men's Health magazine and a certified strength-and-conditioning specialist. He is coauthor of The Testosterone Advantage Plan and The Men's Health Home Workout Bible. He lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with his wife and three children.
From the Back Cover
BUILDING MUSCLE is both a science and an art. The science allows you to understand how 650 muscles and more than a quarter-billion individual muscle fibers conspire to set a human body in motion. The art is the magnificence of movement itself as well as the result of that movement--strong, lean, healthy, energetic muscles, the very image of the ancient gods and warriors.
This book is the first to combine the science of muscle building with the art of muscles themselves. Inside, you'll find:
Three total-body muscle-building programs, one each for beginner, intermediate, and advanced exercisers-- a total of 18 months' worth of workouts
Complete descriptions of more than 100 exercises
The most detailed and innovative exercise photography ever contained in a workout book
About the Author
Ian King is an Australian strength coach and former powerlifting champion who has trained world-class athletes on four continents. A certified strength-and-conditioning specialist, he has a bachelor's degree in movement science and a postgraduate diploma in education from the University of Queensland in Brisbane. He lives in Brisbane with his wife and two children.
Lou Schuler is fitness director of Men's Health magazine and a certified strength-and-conditioning specialist. He is coauthor of The Testosterone Advantage Plan and The Men's Health Home Workout Bible. He lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with his wife and three children.
