Official Review: Fast Track Muscle Building by Chris

[PashaRu]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Fast Track Muscle Building" by Chris.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Do you want to have a better physique, but don’t know where to start? Do you want to improve your appearance through weight lifting, but have never so much as picked up a barbell? Is the world of bodybuilding like a black box to you, but a box you’d seriously like to crack open? Then Fast Track Muscle Building might be the book for you.

Fast Track Muscle Building by Chris, apparently the surnameless person alluded to in the subtitle, “professional body builder reveals proven strategies to intense muscle building,” is a no-frills, beginner-level discussion of all the basics of weight training. It covers everything from exercises, workout routines, foods, and meal plans to recipes, supplements and competitions. It is a quite comprehensive, although basic, introduction to bodybuilding. The ebook comes in at 119 pages, with many pages containing little text, so it is a fairly quick read.

When I say no frills, I mean no frills. The typeface appears to be Courier, giving the appearance that it was written on a typewriter. There are no photographs whatsoever in the book, just a few simple drawings, and nothing (save the cover) is in color. You’ll run across a few typos and grammatical errors, but these do not affect the meaning of the text.

The first chapter introduces the subject. I found this chapter to be helpful, but not specific enough. For example, it is explained that there is a difference between “strength training” and “weight training,” but this difference is never really delineated: “Strength training focuses on increasing muscular strength and size. Weight training is one type of strength training using weights as the primary force to build muscle.” The next paragraph says that the principles for these two types of training are “pretty much the same,” and that’s about it. Reps and sets are mentioned, but there is no mention of the difference between more reps/less sets and less reps/more sets. These are different approaches to weight training, depending on the results desired. Finally, the equipment used in weight training is given only a passing mention. I would like to have seen a more in-depth discussion of the equipment itself, including a discussion of free weights vs. weight machines. Overall, this is a good, basic discussion, but more detail and explanation would be helpful, as this book is clearly intended for the novice.

The next chapter deals with the weight exercises themselves. There are nineteen different exercises discussed, with an explanation and illustrations for each. Each exercise features two illustrations: the starting position and the finishing position. The written explanations are not always clear, so the illustrations are helpful. But again, this is no frills: the illustrations are simply line drawings, and about the quality you’d expect to see in a junior high school yearbook. The people are quite awkward-looking, and in a few instances it was apparently deemed unnecessary to include the person’s face! This is about as bare-bones as it gets. But, as stated earlier, the illustrations are helpful, as the written explanations are not always easy to follow.

More of these awkward illustrations accompany the next chapter, which covers workout routines, including a seven- and a three-day plan. There are helpful suggestions sprinkled throughout the book, interesting “tips” from a person who obviously has experience in weight lifting and body building (why exercise before bedtime isn’t good; why fat is important to your routine; why a positive nitrogen balance is important, and how to attain it; when you should eat carbs & protein, etc.).

The following chapters discuss power foods, meal plans, and 25 different recipes. These 40+ pages were, for me, the most interesting part of the book. The author has a very good knowledge of food and nutrition and the effect of these on the body. Carbs, glucose, fiber, protein, and fat are ably discussed, along with dietary recommendations and no-no’s. (What? No alcohol, pizza, or burgers??) And you’ll want to try some of the recipes (such as Grilled Chicken Asparagus Rolls, Fiery Chicken Deluxe, Worcestershire Tuna) even if you’re not training. The importance of proper nutrition comes through loud and clear. I liked this section because it not only tells you what to eat and what not to eat, but also why.

Supplements such as creatine, glutamine, protein, nitric oxide, and steroids are discussed. Again, this is ably handled and proves quite an interesting chapter. Once again the author has a good knowledge of human physiology and explains quite well what these supplements do. If you choose to use supplements, this chapter will be helpful in deciding which ones, how much, and how to take them.

Body building for women is briefly discussed, and the last chapter deals with competition. General information about competing is covered, and then various competitive poses are explained. At this point I started wishing for more of those awkward pictures, as the explanations are sometimes not clear. Arms crossing here and there, flaring elbows and lats, wrists being grabbed – it sometimes was a bit confusing, and pictures would have helped.

Overall, Fast Track Muscle Building is good book for novices. It provides helpful information about the main aspects of weight training and body building, and is more than enough to get anyone on the way to a good exercise routine. Diet, nutrition, meals, and supplements are well handled and, in my opinion, the real strength of this book. Better illustrations (and more of them) wouldn’t hurt, and would probably encourage prospective buyers to take the book a bit more seriously. This is certainly not an exhaustive discussion of the subject. For someone who wants to start body building, this is a good start, but he/she will soon move on to other books and resources. But for what it is – a beginner’s guide – it does a good job. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars.

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Fast Track Muscle Building
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Like PashaRu's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Kappy]

Excellent review. Regarding books on health-related subjects, I consider it essential to see a picture of the author, and I also give a strong preference to books written by older people (at least 40 years old). There are many millions of young people in the world who consider themselves to be in "perfect health."

[PashaRu]

Thanks for your comment. I agree that care is needed when considering health-related matters, and the source should be given significant consideration. There are a lot of self-proclaimed "experts" out there.

[bookowlie]

Great review. You brought up many good points. The book does seem to be a nice tool for beginners. It's probably worth reading just to get a recipe for Chicken Asparagus Rolls.

[gali]

Thank you for the nice review.

[PashaRu]

Thank you for the nice comments. This was actually my first review for this site, although it wasn't published for many months because the book was actually never published in this form. Kappy brought my review up out of the basement.

[bookowlie]

Thank you for the nice comments. This was actually my first review for this site, although it wasn't published for many months because the book was actually never published in this form. Kappy brought my review up out of the basement.

Well, it's a well-written, thoughtful review, especially considering it was your first. Hail to the Ru!

[PashaRu]

Haha! Thank you!