Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy Paperback – Illustrated, 6 Sept. 2013

This is a great book teaching to do the basic exercises properly. The illustrations are great about which exercise work which muscles. The exercises range from basic to advance. There is a meter at the top saying what lever the exercise is supposed to be set for.One of the misconceptions I want to clear up. Yes we can all do press up, however as the author states there are dozens of variations of press up, a change as slight as changing from normal to knuckle press ups work different muscles. In this book Brent does give different variations (not every variant) ranging from popular to challenging. He does give a breakdown of how to work your way up to the Handstand press up by doing less challenging variants to strengthen muscles needed to pull the Handstand press up off. There are a lot of great tips like this to make body weight training more challenging either through repetitions, intensity, or by stringing different excises together.He does give his advice into creating a personal training program, what to look for and what to try to avoid. Then he talks about exercises he recommends that work well together or complement each other; especially in the total body workout section.The largest section of the book is devoted to legs which does make sense as they are the biggest, and a core muscle groups; also in keeping with his reputation as the "Glutes guy". He does talk about the whole leg including the calf muscles, to the Glutes and everything in between. He does mention about joint safety and personal differences in body types and genetics. He talk about safety being first, but he does also recommend many exercises where people pull ups under tables or door frames. Maybe there are studier tables in America, but these exercise do not really appeal to me personally. I would recommend getting a pull up bar rather than this. I fairness he do say this as well if you are not happy with the sturdiness for the equipment you are using.This book is great for anyone looking to train from home, if you are a specialised athlete and looking for a book improve you particular discipline this is probably not the best book, except learning through the illustrations to target specific muscles groups you might want to improve on. Having said that a number of gyms I have been in recent have been setting aside larger areas for functional or bodyweight training, so the information in this is useful. I would mainly recommend this book for people like me who do not have as much time as we used to get to the gym and want to train from home, or people who want to improve their personal and functional fitness.

The book is different to others in explaining exactly which muscles are worked by each exercise and many exercises are illustrated and explained. It is not a fully “no equipment” book in that several exercises such as pull exercises use a table or chairs or a broom handle. However it doesn’t require extras like dumbbells. There are example routines in the book to get you started.

If you are starting with body weight exercises you might appreciate this book. The author opens up with a description of how confused he felt when he started at 15 yo and how slow his progress was because he worked out randomly and didn't know how to design a program and progress correctly. And that, I dare say, applies to most people who start from scratch.In the book Bret Contreras describes exercises for each body part. The illustrations are rather precisely executed drawings that show which main muscles are working ( but omitting distracting details). In the last chapter he offers some ideas how to plan your own program.All exercises can be done just with body weight. It shows how to use props like a table, a chair or a door. However, you might choose to install a proper chin up bar for pull ups if you plan to work out regularly at home. No other equipment is used, just a few props i.e.a towel.The book might support also new instructors who search for a simple yet clear manner how to explain exercises and their purpose to other people whom they train ( even if it is just a small group of neighbors who decide to work out together).The simplicity of this book might be deceiving. If you have a long experience you hopefully know all this stuff already. Or?

Really good read to compliment my new bodyweight training. Filled with loads of exercises that will keep your routine fresh and exciting for months to come.I bought this along with some gym rings I bought off Amazon which are a great bit of kit;Olympic Wooden Gymnastic Rings With Numbered Buckle Straps - FREE EXERCISE MANUAL - Ultimate Upper Body Workout - Perform Multiple Exercises: Bodyweight, Suspension, Endurance, Crossfit, CalisthenicsAlso check out these two books;Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight StrengthandComplete Calisthenics: The Ultimate Guide to Bodyweight Exercises

I feel that this book is ideal for anyone that feels the benefits of stretching but introducing a strengthening competent to a routine. Exercises are rated by difficulty and are accompanied by explanations and good graphics. Worth purchasing for anyone with an interest in stretching and strengthening to deal with niggles and recovering sports injuries.

Illustrations are highly detailed and there are an abundance of exercises to select from. This book does however lack IN DEPTH description on form, avoidance of injury and exercise progression compared to similar readings. After studying Bodyweight Strength Training I broadened my knowledge on calisthenic variation, imaginative household alternatives and anatomy but learned next to nothing about how to develop from easier movements to much more advanced techniques. Common sense and experience filled in the blanks but what good is that to the novice?

Excellent and thorough book. There's nothing much here for an already experienced bodyweight trainer but there are lots of good exercises that work for beginners and intermediates. I've been doing mainly bodyweight training for a couple of years now, with a PT, but even so I picked up a couple of new exercises from this book. The diagrams are excellent - very clear. Recommended.