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Rating:  -
I still can't believe that people get sucked in to the nonsense Joe Weider has been churning out over the years. This book along with his muscle magazines will only waste your time and money. Time= He'll have you training 6 days a week and probably twice a day for zero results unless you want to get in to the mess of drug abuse. Money= He'll make you believe that you can only get results if you use his latest super supplement. Both of the above are highly unnecessary.As a sidenote when i first got into lifitng in the early 90's Mr.Weiders magazines were heavily touting suplements such as chromium picolinate, yohimbe bark, mct oils and a host of others. How many of these are being heavily touted now, NONE. why cos the people who took them realise they don't work so now they need to tou new ones.
Furthermore, most of his "principles' (on this book) are ridiculous- for example the 'instinctive traing principle' where a lifter just switches, chops and changes routines whenever he feels like! This is absurd cos it disregards the most fundamental of weight trainig principles-progressive overload where you stick with an exercise and increae weight streadily and consistenly to stimulate your muscles to it's maximum size, this is the heart and soul of bodybuilding and strength training. Lifitng weights is ridiculously simple, lift progressively bigger weights over time on the big basic exercises and get really strong in the process. Later you can maintain the mass built and refine it using isolation exercises. But read this book and you will be hopelessly confused and waste a chunk of your life in the process. Please read sensible and hardhitting books by stuart mcrobert and ellington darden all available on this site to get great results in minimum time-drug free and you will also have a life outside the gym.
Rating:  -
Yes, I've read quite a few: Ironman's Encyclopedia, Arnold's Encyclopedia, Power Factor Training, Bodybuilding 101, and while most of these books do provide great advice, the ultimate game plan for mass and strength is printed in this book, waiting to be read by the confused bodybuilder, like I was.
From what I've read in this book, the training principles like the flaming "supersets" and the blood-gushing "giant sets" can be easily found in this book and I have had excellent results with mass/strength gains from other Weider Principles.
What makes this terrific encyclopedia unique is that you aren't reading any other pro bodybuilder's routine that supposedly makes you gain great mass because it did for them. Not like that here. Weider has split the sections of the book into beginner, with appropriate training principles and great advice on how to increase resistance (weight) within a reasonable amount of time; an intermediate bodybuilder section about supersets/confusion/instinctive principles; the advanced bodybuilder with double split programs and the Tri-Set Principle with even more, like the Resto-Pause Principle--extreme way to pump up your biceps, especially in the motivational advice of Weider.
I also love reading the bodypart sections. You'll read Mike Christian's way of training the back and chest, Samir Bonnout's philosophy of building bigger biceps. They tell you like it is.
There's a very fine line between a bodybuilder who loves to change routines often and a bodybuilder who sticks with it like Arnold and Larry Scott have. I chose to go back into the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" routine, where if a certain exercise works for you at a certain weight/reps, stick with it! If not, follow Lou Ferrigno's intriguing way of varying reps/weight/princples and exercises. You can't decide until you read Weider's principles and advice!
From what I've read, Joe Weider is probably one of the most traditional bodybuilding professionals out there, his advice isn't like the "that's too good to be true". No. His advice has been used by professional bodybuilders from the mid 1960s up to now.
It's working for me, and it should for you too! Really, you will figure out the perfect routine for yourself, all in this book!
Rating:  -
It's definitely a core book for the professional genre, but for the rest of the human population, about 50-60% of the book is probably useless. It does, however, provide a good and very thorough overview for anyone who is thinking of competing professionally and what that legally entails before ever stepping up onto a stage wearing a thong brief--of course it's still plainly evident today that a few underground/criminal connections might help your winning capability too.
Joe W. is still unfazed in this one-of-many of his books: it seems he wants *everyone* to oil up, diet and exercise ferociously, and eventually hop up onto a stage to take their rightful place on top of the world. But is he naive enough to believe that all the top bodybuilders have won within the bounds of the law? Arnold (his star pupil) has publicly admitted to dipping below the law on national television! But I regress at this point.
But what about the plodding nine-to-fiver who never has any intention of hanging up on their careers for which they've 'trained' long and hard for too? Who wants to give up that hard-sought-after security? It's interesting to note that most of the competitors described in this book have their very own gymn in California. Not everyone has such financial security that allows them to devote a major portion of their lifetime to weight training.
There are some of us who have to start exercising again before or because of the medical bills piling up--such as myself--after a long lay-off from any attempt at bodybuilding--ten years--and are still more or less looking for the holy grail of bodybuilding: Time-honored guidelines for beginning, sustaining, and cycling workouts for a lifetime of non-competitive bodybuilding.
Should this book be part of a normal person's itinerary? Perhaps, but only as a source of reference to get a more indepth overview of the various exercises that they are using already and to get an idea of what's involved with training for the ultimately extreme end of bodybuilding: the professional competitor.
Rating: -
As someone who has actually been tossing around the iron for longer than I personally like to admit (try 1960 on for size), I have always found this particular book to be a wonderful reference book for the practicing bodybuilder, one he or she can employ to solve persistent problems, answer a technical question, or browse in search of alternative exercises working a particular muscle group from a specific angle. For example, the fact that each exercise emphasizes not only how to correctly perform the exercise, but also stresses which aspects of the muscles are most stressed, hence which are likely to most benefit from regular use of the exercise in a complex routine.
There are many aspects of the book which could use to be revised to improve it, such as its reference to newer machines and new technology in general is a bit lacking, and it also is a bit dated in that it trades heavily on Weider's long association with famous bodybuilders of the classic period of the 1960s and 1970s. For old horses like me, that is neat, but it may not play well to some of the younger enthusiasts. Yet the fundamental facts found in the book are still quite credible, and the fact that it is a paperback issue you can actually drag along to the gym with you is to its credit. I recommend it for the reasons I mentioned, although I would also suggest you purchase a copy of Arnold's own version of a how-to manual, as well as Bill Pearl's superb "Keys To The Kingdom". The more recent Iron Man version is also an excellent resource, especially for the intermediate bodybuilder ready to spread his wings and intensify his workout. Enjoy!
Rating: -
Anyone who does not want to waste money and time in the gym should avoid this book like the plague.
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