Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have tried taking up bodyweight exercise for a long time and read most of the well-known books on the subject, but I never seem to get past week 1 or 2. “Convict Conditioning” convinced me that bodyweight exercise is the way to go, but the writing was over the top and the progressions were simultaneously too slow (one month of wall pushups) and too extreme (I will never be able to do a one-handed handstand pushup). Al Kavadlo's books are beautifully photographed and seem to have good progressions, but they lack schedules and routines that novices like me need. Besides, I want to buy one book on this topic, not 3 or 4. “You are Your Own Gym" is a nicely-polished 'cookbook' of bodyweight exercises, and is very popular but it was actually my least favorite of the group. I had never heard of BJ Gaddour, but he sure knows his stuff. While the writing could be a bit more polished, this book is absolutely my favorite of the bunch. His approach, including the pairing of pushing and pulling exercises, makes a lot of sense to me. The book is centered on 8 main bodyweight exercises with 5 “Levels” or progressions in each. I am starting on level 1 of all 8 (see the Table of Contents for specifics), and I think they are good exercises for a relative newcomer like me. The progressions seem logical and each main exercise includes 3 subtle “Regressions” and “Progression” to make the exercises slightly easier or harder. His explanations on how to position your body are excellent, probably the best of any fitness book that I have ever read. They might be a bit too detailed for someone who is more experienced with bodyweight exercises, but I found them very helpful. There are a couple chapters on other bodyweight exercises (including an entire chapter on burpees) that I will probably reread in a month or two, but I am going to focus on the 8 main exercises for now. I would have loved a few pages on cooling down/stretching after the workouts, but that’s not the purpose of this book. I like the formatting on the Kindle version quite a bit. Everything is linked, including the index.