3 out of 4 stars
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The Real Life Superman: Training Guide to Become Faster, Stronger & More Jacked than 99% of the Population! Vol.1: Strength & Conditioning is a nonfiction book about fitness and nutrition written by Markus Kassel. He shares his optimal fitness and nutrition plan based on twenty years of experience.
I jumped at the opportunity to get a copy of this book because I thoroughly enjoy learning about fitness and nutrition. I thought that his many references to superheroes were to motivate you to strive for their physique, but it is clear that he wants to inspire people to be more than physically fit when he explains that he began training to “rise above the rest and come as close as possible to developing superpowers… to live like the superheroes of my childhood, with passion and intensity.” It is evident that he has had a lifelong passion to be physically and mentally the best that he could be and wants to inspire others to adopt this lifestyle. This is more than a workout book to him; he wants you to “develop your full potential, to open your eyes to the world of possibilities.”
Markus explains why long distance running or monotonous sessions on cardio machines are not necessary to lose weight. His exercise plan starts off with walking for thirty minutes, then progresses into HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and MetCon (Metabolic Conditioning). He covers in detail why HIIT and MetCon are effective and how to do them. There are photographs of him breaking down the steps for every exercise move, but they are not professional quality: Some photographs include random people in the background, are taken at an odd angle, or are blurry. The captions are not all directly aligned with the pictures that they describe; it is confusing to figure out what move you are looking at. The workout plans also get lost in the pages as long lists. It is hard to keep track of what moves you are supposed to do and which set you are on, especially when you have to go back and search for the photographs to figure out what to do. A chart with photographs of each move would be more visually pleasing to see what each workout session is composed of.
He teaches you how to fuel your body with the right types of food, explaining how carbohydrates, fats, and proteins affect our body. I took his information lightly because there are no references to scientific research to back him up. He learned everything by reading and doing it himself. I do believe that his workouts and diet is effective based on his physical appearance in the photographs, but the lack of professional citations lessens his credibility.
I give this book a 3 out of 4 because the photograph section needs improvement and there are a few grammatical errors. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more about bodyweight strength training, effective cardio sessions, and eating a Paleo diet. There are many different ways to stay fit, and to eat healthy; once you find exercises that you enjoy doing, and learn how to fuel your body, then it becomes your way of life. Commit to his fitness plan and paleo food guide for 100 days to see if this will work for you. This book could be the fitness journey that you have been searching for. You do not need gym equipment and can do the workouts at home. It is worth a try.
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Real Life Superman: the Training Guide to Become Faster, Stronger and More Jacked than 99% of the Population
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