Stephen Cabral

Most of the useful information I have about weightlifting comes from The New Rules of Lifting for Men by Lou Schuler (a blurber on this book) and Alwyn Cosgrove, which has been my bible for about two years running. But, if held to a fire, I'd admit most any such workout book is fine, as long as it gets off the shelf.

Stephen Cabral's entry distinguishes itself from the book above with its quantity of planned workouts: seven, plus two starter workouts to Schuler/Cosgrove's three. Each workout also has a page with instructions and pictures and a Training Tip, my favorite recurring feature through the whole book because it hones in on the usefulness of the exercise and common problems with form.

My only complaints are minor. The "Pure Strength" and "Strength and Power" workouts would need a marketing professional to tell them apart. And the "Core Power" and "Hardcore Body Weight Training" chapters, though solid, will be novelties to your average aspring musclehead.

I'll keep this book around to supplement my months-long journeys through Schuler and Cosgrove's Hypertrophy and Strength programs. Cabral has a lot to offer here, but his programs are not the long, multi-stage adventures I prefer. They'll make great supplements between those programs.… (meer)

I’ve been using free-weights for over ten years so I consider myself an intermediate lifter. While I can’t attest to the book’s cover claim to “Transform Your Body in 6 Weeks,” (I really dislike cheesy claims like that on fitness books.) I can say it’s a decent book for beginners.

The book is divided into a dozen different programs and routines to meet your specific fitness goals. Most exercises require some equipment, mostly dumbbells and barbells, so these workouts are better suited to a gym but you may be able to adapt them for home use. The movements are all straight-forward and there’s nothing too exotic or beyond the capabilities of most. The publisher did a nice job on the layout of this manual. Each exercise is on a separate page, includes simple step-by-step instructions and has a photo for start and end positions.

One thing that really bothers me about this book is the number of wasted pages to bulk it up. If an exercise is used in multiple programs, the instruction page for that exercise is repeated. For example, dips are presented on pages 96, 187 and 227. So as you flip through the 270 pages of the book, it looks like there are numerous exercises but this is deceiving because of the duplication.

I think this would be a decent book for someone just starting out. If you already have a few books on weight lifting, you won’t find anything new here.… (meer)