Excellent pictures and descriptions. Though I am not a bodybuilder, I do participate in powerlifting. This was a very helpful book! ( )

This book has very clear, informative illustrations that show exactly what individual muscle and muscle group is worked by a particular exercise.The majority of the illustration is black and white, with the targeted muscle shaded in color for clarity, with different colors used to designate primary and secondary muscle groups affected by the exercise, and also affected connective tissue. The author also includes in the diagrams the names and locations of each group. Correct body posture and foot position are also clearly shown.

The text is straight forward and minimal while still being informative. The author does not include excess information- just the basics for each exercise- instructions for proper and safe execution, the primary and secondary muscles involved, hand spacing, proper grip, trajectory, body position, and range of motion.

The index is fantastic and very useful- you don't always see that anymore, and it is to be appreciated. The chapters are broken down by the area of the body that the cover- shoulders, chest, back, arms, legs, abdominals.

The about the author section of this books says that the author is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports injuries, and that he is an expert on musculoskeletal anatomy. ( )

This was a great book! I really enjoyed the attention to detail not only in the descriptions but the illustrations as well. Everything is broken down very clearly and was very easy to follow (even for someone who is just starting out like me) and I found the foot position diagrams to be very helpful as well. I think I'm going to get a lot of use out of this book! ( )

I absolutely love this book!!!! I teach anatomy and physiology (A&P) and feel that the descriptions and pictures in this book are excellent. I really appreciate being able to see the location of the muscle in the body, while a particular exercise is being demonstrated. It really helps to bring home the point about structure and function, which is the whole idea behind A&P.

The amount of detail is sufficient without being overwhelming, and the anatomic focus section, which emphasizes things like body and hand position, range of motion, and grip is extremely helpful. I also enjoyed seeing the different variations for certain exercises that will allow all to benefit.

Overall, I found this book to very worthwhile and beneficial. It makes the study of A&P both educational and fun. I believe exercise physiologists will enjoy this book, as well as experienced and novice fitness enthusiasts, who want to experience the wonderful world of muscle anatomy and physiology. ( )

This is a very informative book with much detail about many exercises. I thought the drawings were a little awkward, but it drives home the point of what muscles are being worked for each exercise. The book has good detail about proper form and the proper form for variations--which is very nice.

There was one turn off for me--the introduction. It had very little substance and sounded more like a meathead pep talk than anything else. ( )