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Body by Science: A Research Based Program for Strength Training, Body building, and Complete Fitness in 12 Minutes a Week Paperback – December 11, 2008
Purchase options and add-ons
Building muscle has never been faster oreasier than with this revolutionary once-a-weektraining program
In Body By Science, bodybuilding powerhouse John Little teams up with fitness medicine expert Dr. Doug McGuff to present a scientifically proven formula for maximizing muscle development in just 12 minutes a week. Backed by rigorous research, the authors prescribe a weekly high-intensity program for increasing strength, revving metabolism, and building muscle for a total fitness experience.
- Print length312 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherMcGraw Hill
- Publication dateDecember 11, 2008
- Dimensions7.38 x 0.71 x 9.13 inches
- ISBN-100071597174
- ISBN-13978-0071597173
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From the Publisher
Doug McGuff, M.D., owns the state-of-the-art personal training facility Ultimate-Exercise. He lectures on exercise science all over the world.
John Little is a columnist for Ironman magazine and the innovator of three revolutionary training protocols, including Max Contraction Training. He and his wife, Teri, own Nautilus North Strength & Fitness Centre and have supervised more than 60,000 workouts.
Learn more at www.bodybyscience.net
About the Author
Doug McGuff, M.D., owns the state-of-the-art personal training facility Ultimate-Exercise. He lectures on exercise science all over the world.
John Little is a columnist for Ironman magazine and the innovator of three revolutionary training protocols, including Max Contraction Training. He and his wife, Teri, own Nautilus North Strength & Fitness Centre and have supervised more than 60,000 workouts.
Learn more at www.bodybyscience.net
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Body by Science
A RESEARCH-BASED PROGRAM FOR STRENGTH TRAINING, BODY BUILDING, AND COMPLETE FITNESS IN 12 MINUTES A WEEKBy DOUG McGUFF JOHN LITTLEMcGraw-Hill
Copyright © 2009 Doug McGuff and Northern River Productions, Inc.All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-07-159717-3
Contents
Chapter One
Defining Health, Fitness, and ExerciseStrange as it may sound, fitness is a state that lacks a precise definition. Most of us use the term without really knowing what it is we're talking about. The fitness industry offers no definitions, nor does the medical industry.
A similar problem arises when one attempts to obtain a valid definition of health. In preparing to write this book, we looked extensively into the scientific literature, including many medical textbooks, to seek out a definition. We were surprised to discover that the terms health and fitness—while bandied about liberally within the fields of medicine, health care, and physical training—have never been given a universally agreed-upon definition. When examining his textbook from medical school, The Pathologic Basis of Disease, Doug discovered that while this book had no difficulty defining pathology, it never once presented a definition of health.
The balance of catabolism and anabolism
People routinely refer to health and fitness as if the two concepts were cojoined. The popular assumption is that as one's level of physical fitness rises, the level of health rises along with it. Unfortunately, no direct scientific link between these two conditions exists. The human body, you see, is never static; it is a dynamic organism that carries on a perpetual balancing act between breaking down (catabolism) and building up (anabolism). This is how your blood-clotting system functions, for example. It is continually breaking down and building up clots, keeping a balance between your blood viscosity and coagulability to ensure a smooth flow and still stem any bleeding that should occur (but not so aggressively as to produce clogged arteries and infarcts). Your pH balance, blood gases, hormone levels, electrolytes, fluid levels, and innumerable other complex processes are constantly shifting and changing as well within these catabolic and anabolic processes. Life, in essence, depends on this precise balance between a catabolic state and an anabolic state, and this balance is what defines the health of the organism.
In brief, these states can be summarized as follows:
Catabolic: Anything that results in the breakdown of the organism.
Anabolic: Anything that results in growth and differentiation of the organism.
Looking back at our species' hunter-gatherer days, we know that there were long periods when starvation was a real threat. During those times, a catabolic state would have predominated. Despite the obvious negative effects, research into calorie restriction and life extension has revealed that during such catabolic states the vast majority of DNA repair occurs. The lesson here is that a catabolic state is a necessary component of health, rather than something to be avoided. Knowing this, we must factor the catabolic and anabolic processes into any definition of health that we create. Health implies a disease-free state, and so the definition must acknowledge this component as well. Thus, given the lack of a working definition from the fitness and medical worlds, we cautiously offer the following:
Health: A physiological state in which there is an absence of disease or pathology and that maintains the necessary biologic balance between the catabolic and anabolic states.
The body's ability to sustain this balance between the catabolic and anabolic states manifests in an ability to make adaptive adjustments, thereby allowing for survival. Each and every day, your body must face numerous challenges, such as exposure to the various elements, muscular exertion, and the presence of pathogens. If it does not successfully adapt to these challenges, it is ill equipped to survive. Fitness, then, can be said to be the body's ability to withstand, recover from, and adapt to environmental threats in the form of stress-producing agents that act upon the organism. Or, stated another way:
Fitness: The bodily state of being physiologically capable of handling challenges that exist above a resting threshold of activity.
What is exercise?
To fully understand the relationship among exercise, fitness, and health, it is necessary to know precisely what exercise is, as opposed to mere physical activity. The important distinction is that exercise is purposefully directed activity that stimulates the body to produce a positive adaptation in one's level of fitness and health. Physical activity in general, while yielding the potential to produce certain adaptations in one's fitness and health, can unfortunately also undermine one's health. Therefore, we advance the following as our definition of exercise based on known facts:
Exercise: A specific activity that stimulates a positive physiological adaptation that serves to enhance fitness and health and does not undermine the latter in the process of enhancing the former.
Thousands of activities are popularly thought of as exercise, ranging from walking and running to calisthenics, weight training, and yoga. However, many of these activities do not qualify as exercise by our definition, either because they are inefficient at stimulating the mechanical and metabolic adaptations necessary to benefit the fitness (and, to a large extent, the health) of our bodies or because their continued performance results in an undermining of bodily health.
It is for this latter reason that we must exclude activities such as jogging and running from being considered as exercise. This determination may be upsetting to some, particularly those who run or jog, but the hard truth is that those who select running as their modality of exercise are taking a huge risk. Studies have documented that 60 percent of runners are injured in an average year, with one running injury occurring for every one hundred hours of performance.
The damage caused by running will often manifest after a period of fifteen to twenty years of performing the activity, such as when runners who started in early adulthood reach the age of forty or fifty and find that they are no longer able to climb a flight of stairs without their knees aching; or they experience difficulty in lifting their arms above head level because of osteophytes (bone spurs) that have formed in the shoulder joint; or they can't turn or bend anymore because of chronic lower-back pain. These are progressive conditions, rather than immediate ones, and are consequences of inappropriate activities and activity levels that are chronically catabolic and are performed far too frequently to allow an anabolic state to manifest.
Even activities that are considered "mild" can become problematic in this respect. For instance, the thousands of rotations of the shoulder and elbow joint that take place over a career of playing recreational tennis can lead to osteoarthritis, even though the actual weight being moved in a tennis racket is modest. Any activity that is highly repetitive has wear-and-tear consequences that will sooner or later override the body's ability to recover and repair itself. If these types of activities are performed frequently (many times a week), they will typically manifest sooner.
Health and fitness-what's the connection?
When we looked at the scientific literature, we found not only a lack of definition for fitness and health but also, and even more surprising, a minimal (at best) correlation between exercise and health.
Many people have it in their minds that athletes are healthy because they are fit. However, if you look across the board at the professional level of sport, and if you analyze the statistics and health profiles of these athletes, you will find that, while they have supranormal levels of fitness, the means they employ to achieve this level of fitness may actually undermine their health. Most athletes who compete at a world-class level do not achieve that level of world-class performance in a way that enhances their health, and this is simply because it is not possible to do so. This is particularly the case if the sport in question is looking for a level of physical performance that is not necessarily part of the natural evolutionary background of our species.
A classical example is the tale of Euchidas, which comes down to us from the famed Greek historian Plutarch (C. A.D. 46–A.D. 120). After a Greek victory over the Persians at the battle of Platæa in 479 B.C., Euchidas ran to Delphi and back:
... Euchidas of Plaæa, who promised that he would fetch fire as quickly as possible, proceeded to Delphi. There he purified his body, and having been besprinkled with holy water and crowned with laurel, took fire from the altar, set off running back to Platæa, and arrived thereabout sunset, having run a distance of a hundred and twenty-five miles in one day. He embraced his fellow citizens, handed the fire to them, fell down, and in a few moments died.
And then there is the oft-told legend of Euchidas's contemporary, another distance runner named Pheidippides, which was originally reported by the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484 B.C.–C. 425 B.C.), and transmitted to future generations by Roman historians such as Lucian (C. A.D. 125–after A.D. 180).4 According to the legend, a Greek runner by the name of Pheidippides ran in excess of 145 miles (from Athens to Sparta) in roughly twenty-four hours, which was quite a display of ultraendurance athleticism. Pheidippides followed up on this feat by running an additional twenty-six miles from Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory. When he reached Athens he proclaimed (depending upon which ancient historian you read) either "Nike!" ("Victory!") or "Be happy! We have won!" Regardless, the ending to this tale is the same as that of Euchidas's: Pheidippides then fell to the ground—dead.
It's little wonder that an athlete's health would be gravely impaired by such an activity. According to the account of Herodotus, in that first run, from Athens to Sparta, Pheidippides completed the equivalent of back-to-back ultramarathons totaling more than two hundred kilometers.
Even more mind-boggling is the fact that, rather than being put off the notion of running such distances because of the health dangers, people instead raise monuments to the memory of Pheidippides by staging "marathons" and even the International Spartathlon race, which has its athletes running over purportedly the same 147.2-mile route from Athens to Sparta. To no surprise, some modern extremists in the realm of fitness have either met the same premature end as their Grecian counterpart (such as the author and running guru Jim Fixx) or suffered a host of ailments that are not compatible with long-term health and survival. The scientific literature is filled with data that strongly make the case that long-distance runners are much more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, atrial fibrillation, cancer, liver and gallbladder disorders, muscle damage, kidney dysfunction (renal abnormalities), acute microthrombosis in the vascular system, brain damage, spinal degeneration, and germ-cell cancers than are their less active counterparts.
Unaware of the anabolic/catabolic relationship, or that the pursuit of fitness can result in decidedly negative health consequences, most people still associate fitness (or exercise) with health. Instead of recognizing health as a delicate balance of opposite yet interrelated processes, they believe it to be something that is expressed across a broad continuum that never caps out. They assume there are increasing degrees of "better" health, as opposed to picturing health as the absence of disease. In reality, fitness and health are not extrinsically linked; as one goes up, the other does not necessarily go up with it.
With the correct modality of exercise, health and fitness can in fact track along together, at least to a point. However, simply performing physical activity can create a physiological situation whereby fitness levels rise, but health actually declines. This is the consequence of attempting to drive a level of specific metabolic adaptation for fitness that results in an imbalance between the anabolic and catabolic states.
We evolved as an organism that had to expend energy to acquire energy. This was the work-based way by which we acquired food and shelter to survive. It required a minimal level of activity, with intermittent high levels of muscular exertion and intensity. A balance was struck between the catabolic state that was a by-product of the exertion necessary to sustain ourselves and the anabolic state of being able to rest and recoup the energy required to obtain the nutrition needed to fuel the activities involved in our survival.
Fast-forwarding to our present-day situation, rather than a food paucity, there is a food abundance, and laborsaving technology relieves us from needing to expend as much energy to obtain that nourishment. As a result, there has been a compromise in our health that is the exact opposite of the problem that the endurance athlete faces; that is, there is now a huge portion of the population whose physical activity is of such low intensity that catabolism doesn't occur to any meaningful extent. There is no mechanism by which to drive a physiological adaptation for health or fitness.
It has been assumed that physical activity, per se, is responsible for health enhancement, but that assumption is flawed at the core. Such "health" benefits as might occur result only from one's current activity levels being so subnormal compared with our species' DNA blueprint that even a slight increase in activity produces some improvement. Raising one's muscular effort from a near sedentary state to a level slightly closer to what our species' DNA has encoded over tens of thousands of years (and which has changed significantly only in the past forty or fifty years) is by no means an optimal route to health.
People who believe that there is a constant and linear relationship between fitness and health are akin to a person who decides to measure water levels while standing at the beach. He takes the first measurement at low tide. When he sees the tide turn, he takes another measurement and notes that the tide rose five feet in twenty minutes. He checks it again and discovers that it has now risen fifteen feet in thirty minutes. He then concludes that in two weeks, the whole continent will be underwater.
This is the nature of the mistake we make when we observe increased activity levels supporting a slight upward tracking in the improvement of health. Health will improve—but only up until it rises to a normal physiological baseline. One thing that quickly becomes apparent from studying the scientific literature on overly active groups such as extreme-endurance athletes is that, in their quest to achieve higher and higher tiers of dominance in their field by extending their physical activity level to its limit, it is entirely possible (and probable) that the methods they typically employ in their training, combined with the rigors of long competitive seasons, will result in serious compromises in their health and shortened life spans.
The good news is that science now has a better understanding of how the human organism adapts and recovers. With that understanding comes the knowledge that it is possible to participate in a form of exercise that produces supranormal levels of fitness without compromising health and that, in many ways, serves to enhance health. This scientific knowledge has been gained through rational analysis, understanding, and application, based on the variables of volume (amount of exercise), intensity (effort and energy expended), and frequency (how often the activity is performed). When applied to an exercise program, these findings can result in the achievement of supranormal levels of function, in terms of fitness, while simultaneously maximizing health so that it reaches its natural peak.
The quest for longevity
As we grow older, we naturally desire to grow older still. In this pursuit, we associate life with health, and health with fitness. So, it seems natural to inquire as to what exercises, what nutritional supplements, and even what drugs are available to aid us in our goal of living longer. It should be acknowledged that longevity, as with fitness, is not necessarily linked to health. It can be, but the important thing to remember is that health is ultimately linked to DNA—the self-replicating molecule that creates our bodies. The purpose of the body from the DNA's standpoint is merely to function as a vehicle to carry it forward into the future.
In our species' hunter-gatherer days, health was important to the degree that it allowed us to survive, as what brought us down most of the time were environmental factors such as disease, predators, childbirth, and trauma. Those are events that occur irrespective of one's level of fitness. Only through the application of human intellect and technology did longevity ever become an issue, or ever have an opportunity to track along with health.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Body by Scienceby DOUG McGUFF JOHN LITTLE Copyright © 2009 by Doug McGuff and Northern River Productions, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Product details
- Publisher : McGraw Hill; 1st edition (December 11, 2008)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 312 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0071597174
- ISBN-13 : 978-0071597173
- Item Weight : 1.15 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.38 x 0.71 x 9.13 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #27,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #47 in Sports Training (Books)
- #47 in Quick Workouts (Books)
- #51 in Weight Training (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
John Little is uniquely suited to the task of relating the philosophy of Bruce Lee and his approach to life. Little has a degree in philosophy from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, is the author of two books on health and fitness (having spent over fifteen years as a writer for several fitness magazines), and is himself a student of Lee's art of jeet kune do.
Selected by the Bruce Lee estate, Little is the only person who has ever been authorized to review the entirety of Lee's personal notes, sketches, and reading annotations and to edit books on the subject of Lee's martial art and its far-reaching philosophical underpinnings. Little's keen awareness of the subtleties of both Eastern and Western philosophy coupled with a respect for the preservation of the essence of Lee's words and meaning give this book an integrity that is all too rare.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book provides a clear discussion of fitness and health. It explains exercise and diet protocols that most people can follow. They find it easy to read and useful for fitness hobbyists. The exercises and techniques described in the book are effective and produce positive results. Readers mention it takes minimal time to exercise, saving them time and preventing injury. They consider the book a worthwhile purchase and say it's worth the cover price. Customers also mention that the exercises help them feel better and look better with less wear and tear. They mention losing weight and feeling more youthful.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book helpful for understanding the difference between fitness and health. They appreciate the explanation of exercises and techniques, as well as the detailed descriptions of exercise and diet protocols that most people can follow. The physiology presented in this book is more extensive than what they've seen in traditional weight-lifting. The book provides an excellent source of scientific and medical information on the science of building your body to your genetics. It does an amazing job of elucidating the science to solidly make the case for committing.
"...The chapter on biochemistry was fenomenal...." Read more
"...This book has been very helpful to me as I realized when I first started working out that I was overtraining...." Read more
"...weight enthusiast trains... Plus, all of the health benefits of weight training in general, as laid out so well in this book, argue that weights,..." Read more
"...The improvements in strength and muscle tone are dramatic. I have not been injured at the gym even once in two years...." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read, with clear explanations of basic concepts. They say it's a useful resource for fitness hobbyists and a great companion to other books. The book provides hard science in an understandable format for most people.
"...This books is a great companion to the other books I mentioned but also to Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint and Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad..." Read more
"...made everything (standing, walking, doing chores around the house) easier and effortless. Many of the weird aches and pains I had went away...." Read more
"...amazed by our blood and micronutrient tests, bone scans, mental clarity...." Read more
"...Despite the criticisms, I think this is a useful book for fitness hobbyists to read...." Read more
Customers find the book's exercises effective. They say it provides a foundation and proof that the exercises work. The book gives them an idea of how and why the most efficient exercise works. It seems to work great for about a year, with non-speculative results you can measure. Customers appreciate the improved efficiency in results for a lower time investment. They mention working out once a week or less, and don't have joint pain.
"...Using the protocol in this book I have seen much better results in a few weeks than what I was doing for the past two years...." Read more
"...The workouts, if done correctly, are hard, but because there is so little impact, the recovery is also very swift...." Read more
"...But in my opinion the improved efficiency in results for a lower time investment is worth the short-term pain...." Read more
"...exercise story of slow, smooth reps, smooth turnarounds, and working to muscle failure...." Read more
Customers find the book's workouts effective and time-saving. They say it provides maximum results with minimal effort, using a careful pace and minimal time between sets. The exercises are described as simple and efficient, leaving them more time to read and do other activities.
"...And best of all, it takes MUCH LESS time to exercise. Just make sure you don't quit ahead of time, push it to the inroad as stated in the book...." Read more
"...Slowing down the eccentric portion, specifically, is valuable in producing optimal microtrauma, which means more lean muscle during the rebuilding..." Read more
"...The great thing about this is it's as efficient as you can get if you want to stay healthy while spending minimal time working out...." Read more
"...This is a slower program, but the progress seems to slowly accumulate. It is a bit like meditating...." Read more
Customers find the book offers good value for money. They find the arguments convincing, and the references worth the cover price. Readers mention that a small investment of time and energy can yield great benefits. However, some find it very taxing and not suitable for sleepless nights.
"...Now I learned that it is more efficient and economic to let your new muscle do the fat burning for you instead of the long chronic cardio hours...." Read more
"...It was well worth the price. P.S. Another request for the next edition...Where does the protocol stop?..." Read more
"...need I even say, promoting healthy aging, this small investment of time and energy pays enormous and disproportionately positive dividends." Read more
"...It was well worth the money...." Read more
Customers find the exercises in the book effective for improving their appearance and feeling better without excessive wear and tear. They report hardly ever feeling sore, and are not afraid to truly experience pain. The book provides evidence for the positive effects of jogging and running, which results in more lean muscle.
"...Slowing down the eccentric portion, specifically, is valuable in producing optimal microtrauma, which means more lean muscle during the rebuilding..." Read more
"...experience, that I have eliminated tendonitis completely, and lessened joint aches to the point they're hardly noticeable, simply by plateauing..." Read more
"...They have all been very happy with these methods. They are stronger, happier, healthier and injury free." Read more
"...If you do this correctly, your muscles are literally exhausted...." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the weight loss. They report losing fat, gaining muscle, and getting stronger. The exercises help them build lean body mass, allowing them to carry heavier weights without claustrophobia.
"...Yes, weights are important, especially for that last component...." Read more
"...I have hit a point now where I am adding muscle and losing a little weight. I am 56 years old, male, 5 foot three inches...." Read more
"...What I mean is if you are 20 or 30 years old and have a great body fat percentage and incredible strength and endurance and can run three marathons..." Read more
"...I've lost fat, put on some muscle and have gotten stronger...my log book shows a perfect progression...." Read more
Customers have different views on the exercise intensity. Some find it useful for those with limited time to exercise and improve strength, athletic performance, and general well-being. Others dislike the workout routines, finding them ridiculous and slow. While the exercises are short and infrequent, they still require a lot of effort. The book only starts showing exercise routines on page 71.
"...This does not mean taking time off, but means just holding steady in my training so my muscle's supporting tissues can catch up...." Read more
"...that the physiology is presented in a manner that deconstructs traditional concepts of exercise...." Read more
"...For people in Group 2, this program greatly reduces the amount of time spent in the gym while still producing the primary goal of increasing..." Read more
"...The workout is brief (15-30 minutes) and only consists of a few exercises (The Big Five)...." Read more
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It won't work for everyone... and you may get hurt...
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2012This books was recommended by a friend on who I have seen notable changes in the past two years. Since I am an engineer and I tend to look on the scientific explanation on why things work, I gave this a try. This is the first fitness book that I've read that really explains why your movements and your diet are working to create muscle and strength. Not only why but how to perform the movements and what NOT to eat to achieve the results. I was tired of reading books that tell you just how many reps and sets to perform without any scientific backup. I was always suspicious on how they came to those numbers and why it would work for everybody given each one is different. The chapter on biochemistry was fenomenal. Everything I learned on highschool's biology class came to mind immediately and made so much sense.
Since I don't have access to the Nautilus machine and I hate paying gym fees, I follow the HIT Super Slow protocol on plain body weight. I use other books as reference, like Convict Conditioning and You Are Your Own Gym. This way I can perform the exercises increasing the difficulty depending on my results. Of course it would be easier just to add weight on the machine but I much rather use my own weight which seems more natural. The only pieces of equipment I use are a medicine ball, a pair of small dumbbells and a door bar, all easily available for less than 60 bucks.
Using the protocol in this book I have seen much better results in a few weeks than what I was doing for the past two years. And best of all, it takes MUCH LESS time to exercise. Just make sure you don't quit ahead of time, push it to the inroad as stated in the book. Now I learned that it is more efficient and economic to let your new muscle do the fat burning for you instead of the long chronic cardio hours.
I have to be honest and tell you that this is not the only thing I am doing for my health. This books is a great companion to the other books I mentioned but also to Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint and Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories. I am on a low carb diet, more like a Paleo diet and I am also doing HIIT once a week. I try to vary my HIIT as on sprints, elliptical and rowing. It takes another 12 minutes of HIIT once a week. 3 minutes warmup, then 8 intervals of 30 seconds intensity and 30 rest, and cool down.
So my whole fitness regime is HIT Super Slow (as in Body by Science) bodyweight strength training, 12 minutes every 5 days and I insert a HIIT (sprint, elliptical or row) in between those 5 days, giving a rest day in between HIT and HIIT. Also following a Paleo diet, and it is working much better than the chronic cardio and my strength routines I used to do for over the past two years.
Forget the grains, forget the sugar, forget the long training hours of chronic cardio. Do your HIT Super Slow, your HIIT sprints, and have more active fun the rest of your free time.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2017This book is truly amazing. I have been doing Spinning HIIT training for years until I had a baby and got out of shape. This book has been very helpful to me as I realized when I first started working out that I was overtraining. I knew I was overtraining because I had no energy after a workout and I wasn't building muscle after weeks of hard work. I followed the book's recommendations and I saw improvement in both strength and muscle tone in one week. It's important to remember that building muscle and getting into shape will take months, not weeks, and sometimes less truly is more. The workouts, if done correctly, are hard, but because there is so little impact, the recovery is also very swift. I'm so happy I found this book :)
Update: I have been following the protocol for a little less than two months and I have increased my pulldown strength by a whopping 20 pounds! I hit a plateau after a few weeks so I let more time pass between workouts (10 days instead of 7) and I have continued to improve. I have been able to do this while caring for a very active toddler full-time. My main objective for joining the local gym was to quickly gain strength and muscle, and this book has helped me achieve my goal. Thank You Dr. McGuff :)
One major lifestyle difference that I noticed after the first few months was that my posture had improved dramatically. This made everything (standing, walking, doing chores around the house) easier and effortless. Many of the weird aches and pains I had went away. Standing up straight with my shoulders back was effortless; my clothes looked better too.
2nd Update: I have been following the McGuff protocol for the past seven months (6 exercises until failure, every 1-3 weeks). Here are my results:
My first workout (that I have data from) was on 7/22/2017. The percentage differences below are based on the weight differences between my first workout and my workout on 2/17/2018.
Seated Row: Increased strength by 50%
Chest Press: Increased strength by 40%
Pulldown: Increased strength by 44%
Overhead Press: Increased strength by 50%
Leg Press: Increased strength by 67%
This works and I will continue to follow the protocol and post my results :)
Update: After about a six month break from my strength training routine, I have started back up again. I became very ill for a few months (from severe morning sickness) and I'm currently five months pregnant.
I'm curious to see how my numbers change and how frequently they change, given that I took a break and am now coming back. The book indicates that people that take breaks and come back tend to get back to their prior strength pretty quickly. I plan to strength train as long as I'm allowed (per my OB). I did my first workout back on 9/21/2018, and I started with my baseline numbers, but I maxed out in 3/5 categories (failure was after 90 seconds for each exercise). I did not max out with these weights during my first ever strength training workout, so I am stronger now than I was at baseline, but not by much. I will not increase the weights for a week, to let my body adjust to weight lifting again, but I will post results as time goes on.
Top reviews from other countries
- Hugh JanusReviewed in Canada on October 10, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Probably THE best book ever written on building strength and losing fat.
I'm a big fan of strength training books. I have many. This is probably the best out there and in fact numerous books that I have all point back to this book when they want to explain the science. If you want to argue with your friends about the science behind strength training and fat loss then this is the book to get. I always wondered why Personal Trainers and Fitness mags would tell you one thing when basic science pointed in another direction. Get a BioChemistry book from any University Library and compare it to any book from any of the big Personal Training organisations and you'll see that the non university books seem to dismiss the science - and in fact get it wrong so many times. THIS book is one of the few in my library that follows the actual science. The book is awesome and the training regimen works. No fluff. If you want to get strong and lose fat and also want to know the science of why what you are doing works then get this book.
- george kozmaReviewed in France on January 2, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for serious training
Great book if you want to become efficient in your training wether your a beginner or advanced athlete, young or old
- Amit GuptaReviewed in India on July 14, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Read it for a good health not for strength
Not for strength but for diabetes and cv issues
Amit Gupta
Reviewed in India on July 14, 2019
Images in this review -
haginodai senseiReviewed in Japan on November 5, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars 20 minutes oncea week? What's not to like?
A well put together book. Rather technical in places, but the non-scientifically minded can skip over those bits, tho the descriptions of cell activity are amazing and a reminder of just how wonderfully complex and beautifully made the human body is.
There are 5 core exercises and if you do them to failure as recommended, you get a good cardio workout as well (tho be sure to read the bit where the author explains that there's no such thing as cardio!). It's best to use machines for these exercises, as that is safer (do overhead presses to failure with dumbells and you could brain yourself!) and also you can easily increase or decrease the weights to suit. I've been doing this HIT for nearly 2 months now, once a week. So far, it takes me 7 days to recover. I'm slowly increasing the weights until I find my limit. I'm 60 years old, so I'm looking to slow down muscle loss and if at all possible reverse it, rather than building a body-builder's physique.
- ReaderReviewed in Australia on March 21, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating.
Details the science behind gaining muscle and losing weight in a very readable fashion. Helps you understand why a lot of commonly recommended ideas don't work and how to tweak them so they do. Also explains why your body reacts the way it does from an evolutionary standpoint. If you care about your long term health, you need to read this book.