Product Description

This encyclopaedia offers the keys to your training success. Unlike other books, this one acknowledges your individuality, and teaches you precisely how to train yourself. Become your own personal trainer. Whether you are male or female, a beginner or very advanced, young or not-so-young, want to train at home or in a public gym, this book is for you. The author has over 25 years of training experience, has had over 300 articles published and edited Hardgainer magazine since 1989. Act on his expertise and you will achieve your full potential for muscle and might.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #505396 in Books
• Published on: 1999-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

About the Author
Stuart McRobert

Customer Reviews

THE most comprehensive book on the topic.
At just under 500 pages, BEYOND BRAWN is, bar none, THE most comprehensive book I've ever read on the topic of bodybuilding, and I¹ve read several hundred books.

BEYOND BRAWN is written in very non-technical language. With 22 total chapters, no aspect of productive weight-training has been overlooked. Section 1 is entitled "Establishing a secure foundation" and discusses general information of value for those who are embarking upon the goal of adding muscle mass.

Section 2 is the real meat of the book and is entitled "How to train." At almost 200 pages, Stuart has left no topic uncovered with regards to safe and productive training. Topics include setting up a training cycle, exercise intensity, exercise selection and technique, intensity cycling, personalizing your program, overtraining, and others. Only topics of true importance to the average trainee are discussed in this book. Unlike most bodybuilding books, which are no more than simple fluff, BEYOND BRAWN actually accomplishes the goal of providing tons of useful, no-nonsense information for genetically average trainees who want to increase their strength and size. BEYOND BRAWN is not an overly dogmatical tome which espouses a single way of training for everyone. It presents numerous interpretations in terms of set and rep goals, length of a cycle, training intensity, and exercise selection, to accommodate needs of all types of trainees. Ultimately, I guess the best thing I can say about it, repeating from above is this: "BEYOND BRAWN is, without a doubt, THE most comprehensive book ever written on the topic of strength training and bodybuilding for the genetically average individual." And, again, keep in mind that that statement comes from a guy who¹s read several hundred books on the topic of strength training in the past ten years. So my endorsement does not come lightly.

All that you need to know
This book is not a lone voice in the wilderness of body-building, nor is its advice "new." It is one author's practical guide to the principles of effective body building for people without genetic advantages. Numerous experts and professional trainers in the field who have been buried under the avalanche of muscle magazine hype, supplements, and steroid abuse -- the best-kept non-secret of the bodybuilding world -- share this philosophy. These people are finding a voice on web sites..., but this is one of a precious few books that puts a great deal of that knowledge at your fingertips for easy reference.

If you are someone who doesn't want to do illegal drugs, your genetics DO matter. So does your capacity to recover between intense workouts. Most people can't go to the gym 4-6 days a week and expect muscle-building results that will continue to pile on over months or years. I'm living testament to that, having done typical training methods for three years and getting nowhere after my initial beginner's gains. Tweaking my workouts and nutrition in various ways had little effect if any at all. Then I followed the principles laid out in this book and (so far) have gained 7 pounds in seven weeks that wasn't fat. Sound like a gimmick? It isn't. The gimmicks are in the hyped-up marketing campaigns of the bodybuilding industry. BEYOND BRAWN is about safety, sanity, hard work, getting the most out of the hand you've been dealt, and the fine art of knowing when you are doing too much and thus hindering your progress.

I will agree with the previous reviewers that there is a lot of repetition. It's a small inconvenience to pay for all the valuable information you get, but probably a necessary thing to a reader who has done high-volume training for years and may be tempted to hold on to counter-productive elements of their ingrained training style.

Another earlier review made the bizarre claim that you will get fat using this approach. You do not get fat from adopting an abbreviated, high-intensity weight-training program - you get fat from EATING TOO MUCH. Nutrition and aerobics are covered in the book and specific strategies are discussed for figuring out what your optimal caloric intake should be for adding muscle. If you get fat, you weren't following the directions.

Since everyone's body is different, the author presents a loose enough framework for the reader to figure out what works best for him or her, but if you fail the basics (proper training, nutrition and rest) then you won't see gains and you run a higher risk of injuring yourself.

If you are serious about training, get this book.

It works, but....
I've been following a routine in this book for three and a half weeks. My body weight is up 10 pounds; my arm size increased by an inch; my waist size remains the same.

The weight increases also translated into stregnth increases. My TBDL increased 55 lbs, Dips increased 27 lbs, and chins increased by, well, only 4 reps. But I am repping with 10 extra pounds.

Needless to say, there's a ton of good information in here.

However, I can't give it five stars for the following reasons:

1) The author is too repetitive.

2) The author goes into unnecessary detail sometimes.

3) There's too much sermonizing against 'improper' ways of training. (I personally think this is a turn off.)

Don't get me wrong. This is still a great book. My results speak for themselves. It's just not perfect.

Bottom line. Highly recommended.

One more thing. Contrary to popular opinion, the author does NOT recommend only training twice a week with no aerobics. To be more precise, the author doesn't ONLY recommend training twice a week with no aerobic exercise.

What's so great about this book is its flexibility. It doesn't try to offer one solution to everyone. Depending on time and genetics, the author recommends training anywhere from once a week to three times a week. He also universally favors aerobics, both for fat loss and overall health and wellness.