Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

In September of 2016 I started weight training based on the suggestions in this book. The photo below shows the simple setup I use. This program has you training with weights in time proven methods and it has you dieting to do one of 3 things: Bulk up - get bigger to feed muscle growth Maintain - stay at a current body fat percentage Cut - lean down to show off your wares. Some cool features of this program: 1. You can do it at home with minimal investment in gear. This is my method and recommendation. 2. Your workouts are only 40 minutes or so to start and can actually take you quite far as a novice. Even now my workouts are not much longer. 3. 75% of your training session will be resting,,I'm not kidding and yeah it seems weird at first. 4. You can do cardio, you don't have to; I don't. Read more about that at the end of my review below. Observations and tips for this book: This book was difficult for me as a beginner only because I feel the writer assumes the reader is already familiar with some fitness lore to some extent. Example, I didn't know what 1 Rep Max or a cable fly is yet it's used as though it's common knowledge. You do eventually find you are directed to other books that address exercises, lifting techniques etc. That means this book is incomplete but the author makes it very clear of this and that such a conclusive book would be a tome. I'm not meaning to make it sound negative and it's my only niggle with this book. The book is dry and not so exciting. One reviewer actually gave it a 3 star rating saying the book was boring and missed the point of fun. This is ridiculous. Folks weight lifting and reading about it isn't so much fun - it's science, facts and methods. Leave fun for video games and Putt-Putt. Getting serious, lifting and becoming healthy and reading about it isn't so much fun but feeling good is certainly enjoyable. When you're walking down the beach and feeling confident that's definitely fun. In the book the author often sells himself as a writer, trainer, producer of supplements, podcasts - the book can be construed as a sales pitch. If you're offended by capitalism you may not like this so much, I say 'so what' as the gold gleaned from this book is invaluable and in the end the products and pitch of Mike Matthews are genuine and excellent. Edit: Mikes podcasts are fantastic - he speaks very clearly and is on point. His reviews, methods, 'Motivation Monday' and guests are a great free way to get your learn on. Plus his sites are full of useful information that supplements the book. If you're a piker you could probably troll the site and get all the info you need - buy the book, it's portable and laid out in a logical way. That's the minor negatives out of the way. Buy this book and read it,,,twice, then again and refer to it until you're an expert and all the concepts are clear and still read it along the way for reference as you progress. The reasoning for this is simple - you want to do things correctly, not get hurt and achieve the results which you absolutely will. The science and references are behind it and look at Mike Matthews - it does work. Tips: As I said, read the book, more than once. Follow the program in the book, don't stray even if you don't get results so quickly. It was only when I kept focused on definite regimens I progressed. You must find a regimen that fits your schedule. Mike's book gives you options as do others - I'm saying stick with one when you latch onto what works. In my experiences with others on the FB blogs the biggest difficulty I see people have with this program is people getting hung up on the dieting,,don't do that! Here's the whole rub on this - Make Yourself Strong 1st, period! The book and tenacity will get you there! The muscles are there waiting under your fat I promise; Just get strong first and cut down when you're ready. Getting strong 1st is really important for an old guy like me with aches, pains and mobility issues. Dieting down to lean yourself is how to show it off. Allow yourself to look and feel as good as possible in life. In my opinion this is the definition of aging gracefully. I've read many examples of 60's, 70's 80's folks literally lifting themselves out of wheelchairs and eliminating osteoporosis - how amazing is that? When you tell your bones to sit all the time (actually a disease in itself) they adapt and become porous. Conversely when you start squatting, pulling and lifting weights the bones become dense. This is the body adapting to the environment. Don't get hurt! Do NOT be in a hurry to raise your weights and progress past good form and good judgement. This I think is especially true of older lifters like myself. I tore a groin on a bad squat. That injury has taken nearly a year to completely heal. It was such an injury that I was still able to continue the program,,,carefully, and it didn't affect my life so much after the injury but it really hurt - a lot! As mentioned earlier I recommend a home gym set up. I obtained all my gear off Craigslist at a total investment of about $500. This includes bars, weights, a power tower and the rack you see in the photo. Honestly this will carry me very far. The advantages of a home gym are paramount in that you don't have to mess with gyms full of humans which are a distraction is so many ways from their inconsiderate practices to their free advice and over perfumed (or foul) presence. The only proviso is safety - I have no safety bars and I'm vying for a bigger cage with all the safety bars. Since I'm alone when I work I use 2 safety measures: 1. I don't use collars - If I get into trouble I can lean the weights off one side and do a somewhat controlled crash,,,not great but indeed a safety valve. I've used this once on a bench press,,,it was loud! With the exception of the standing press I don't lift weights to failure - bad idea with no one around. 2. Again, wisdom in your weights - stay on point with your routine and only raise weights when you're well and comfortable with your present weight. 3. Keep a log book! You'll learn this is most important, nuff said! 4. Warm up. Not doing stretches or yoga but doing the exact bar exercise with less weight and progress up to your working weight. Details of this can be found on Mike's site. 5. Do cardio apart from your training routine. Example: Your weight routine is in the morning and your cardio in the evening. As I mentioned I don't do cardio at this point but this is what I've read from Mikes' information. Thanks for reading, best of luck, buy the book and get strong.