Brawn, 3rd Edition
by Stuart McRobert
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Book Summary Information
Author: Stuart McRobertEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-09
ISBN: 9963916317
Number of pages: 230
Publisher: C S Publishing
Book Reviews of Brawn, 3rd Edition
Book Review: Ok, but certainly not the way to build maximum muscle in minimum time
Summary: 3 Stars
This book has some useful information, but I found nothing new. In regards to the workout plan itself, most of it is just the same old rhetoric we've read and heard for years; unless you're a total newcomer to weight-lifting or bodybuilding. The biggest compliments the book has gathered seem to be due to the fact that the author is honest and straight-forward in his attempt to provide the average man (i.e. one not on steroids, and maybe not genetically gifted anabolically)with a workout plan that will get him the body he wants in as little time as possible.
But this workout plan falls short of that goal, primarily for one simple reason: the book does not provide the correct definition for "intensity",as it relates to strength-training. In fact,I found no definition for intensity at all in the book. And the #1 secret to getting big and strong as quickly as possible, in as little time as possible, is to generate "maximum intensity" for every weight-lifing exercise that you do. But without the right definition for intensity, you most likely will not know how to generate "maximum intensity" when you perform any given weight-lifing exercise. And without maximum intensity, you will not achieve maximum muscle growth in minimum time. It's that simple.
So it's no surprise that almost none of the exercises that McRobert recommends (including the squat and bench press) will enable you to achieve maximum intensity, and thus maximum growth in the muscles used for those exercises. And the idea that compound exercises like the squat and the bench press are the most effective exercises for building muscle is nothing new anyway. We've been hearing and reading that for many years, even though it's actually a false belief.
For example,the bench press is not really the "king of chest exercises" as many claim it to be. The bench press is overrated, because it's impossible to generate maximum intensity (and thus maximum muscle growth) in the pectoral muscles when doing it. And those who believe otherwise are either using the wrong definition for intensity, and/or they are unaware of what really happens in the pecs when doing the bench press. In any case, there are much more effective (and safer) ways to "pack on the pecs" than by doing the bench press, even though this book doesn't point that out. Also, those who ardently believe that you have to go through a full range of motion to obtain the best results in regards to building muscle may be surprised to learn this: using a full range of motion is impossible to achieve when doing the bench press. In fact, the bench press allows you to go through only a fraction of your full range of motion for that particular exercise. But this book doesn't point that out. But then no book that I've read does.
Another shortcoming of the book is that there are no photos or diagrams, which I believe any such book should have to help people(especially novices)perform the exercises correctly.The format of the book could also be better organized.
Another problem is that the author totally neglects a number of important motions that need to be done with weights, in order to recruit and develop the muscle fibers that come into play only for those particular motions.
But in all fairness to the McRoberts, those shortcomings are also shortcomings of nearly every other bodybuilding book out there. For example, no published book yet has provided the correct definition for "intensity", as it relates to strength-training. And that's why no published book has yet provded us with a workout plan that builds maximum muscle in minimum time. The book that comes closest to accomplishing that is "Max Contraction Training" by John Little.
In sum, this book has some useful information, especially if you're totally new to bodybuilding. But it certainly doesn't have everything you need to know to get the body you want in a minimum amount of time, as some claim.
Summary of Brawn, 3rd Edition
If you thought Arnold Schwarzenegger put Graz, Austria on the bodybuilding map, how about Stuart McRobert and Nicosia, Cyprus? Imagine, one man, on a Mediterranean island no less, who has the audacity to directly challenge most contemporary bodybuilding advice. Instead of being another me-too bodybuilding book, Brawn is unique: its tone is serious, its manner evangelical, but most importantly, its focus is on things that actually work for the average trainee. "Drugs are evil and the scourge of bodybuilding," says McRobert, in effect "and forget about Mr O-type training - it just won't work for most people. I'll tell you some things that do work". Brawn has most bodybuilding books beaten hands down in the depth department, but its biggest contribution just might be in breadth: Brawn introduces you to over 90 percent of the factors that will determine your ultimate success in the gym. This is a very useful book, which can help a lot of people to make tremendous bodybuilding progress.Bodybuilding & Weight Training Books
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