Fitness books are a dime and dozen, and in my opinion, will continue to be so. Why? Because we love our bodies (well, at least some of us) and will do whatever it takes to achieve peak physical perfection. Either that or we have dreams and are looking for a way to make this physical perfection a reality. Of course, perfection doesn’t exist, so off we go chasing a never ending goal… which isn’t always a bad thing because it keeps us on our toes till we wither off and die. Awesome.

So today I’ll be reviewing a hard cover book, courtesy of Price World Publishing.

Book Name: Pure Physique
Publisher: Price World Publishing
Author: Michael Lipowski
MSRP: $14.95
Availability: High (Amazon & Bookstores)

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. Well I don’t know who “they” are but screw “them”, because as far as I know, a book is a product… and a product needs to sell and if the presentation is shit, the sales will be shit. Simple marketing 101.

So my first impressions of the cover were pretty positive. It looks very pro and I’m a fan of the “dark” stuff. Dark designs, dark layouts etc. Even my blog’s default personal setting is dark (for those who don’t know, you can change it VIA the dark/light switch up top). So it’s fair to say if I was wandering around Chapters or some shit, I’d def give this a peek. So marketing mission accomplished. Next!

Next we have the layout itself, this is where it hiccups a bit. The writing margin is kinda messed up, it’s all printed “into” the book. There is a ridiculous amount of space on the outsides so it makes reading for long periods a little awkward since you have to literally pry the book open so you can see everything. Something to think about.

The backside has a decent little summary to it, and it seems that the author has decent credentials. Michael is a certified fitness clinician, president of the International Association of Resistance Trainers, INBF competitive natural bodybuilder and contributes to a few magazines such as Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness. Cool, but can he really write? Let’s dive in.

Thoughts After Reading The Book:

For those who know how I write reviews, this is where I either start with the good or the bad… well I flipped a coin and I’ll start with the bad. I won’t pussy foot around, this thing reads like a damn text book. Which means it reads like 90% of the other factual books out there. Sure it gets the job done, but when you have to force yourself to read it… it’s kind of a bummer. Who ever said that factual books can’t be entertaining to read? Who? You tell me who, and I’ll directly punch that guy in the face. Bam!

Next, the beginning is VERY repetitive… it’s like “god damn it man, get the point already”. It’s just on and on. But, that’s me and it would be unfair if I didn’t mention that for complete newbies, this might be necessary info. Can’t blame him for covering his bases.

Now lets get technical. The thing about this whole fitness industry is that there are SO many ways to get shit done. It’s not like, say… the automotive field where you have one part for the right job and the room for arguments and bitching is very small. But in fitness, there are plenty of disagreements and I have quite a few with some of the stuff in here.

First being the muscle fibre types. Yes, the author explains the difference between fast-twitch and low-twitch very well but he makes it sound like you are STUCK with this setup when in fact you are NOT. Your muscles can adapt and change to the way you workout, so if you predominantly loaded with slow-twitch fibres, you can start working out explosively and your muscles will adapt and change accordingly – speaking in very basic layman terms.

Then there’s chapter 3, which is supposed to show you how to create an effective training program. Ugh… to be honest, the information is so sparsed out, only very few people will be able to “apply” it and create and effective routine out of it. I mean, 20 pages in and I was still like… “ok, can you put this together?” He fails to summarise it for easy, step-by-step actions and fails to provide one good example of a workout program. In fact, there are NO pre-made workout programs in this book.

I understand he’s trying this whole “teach a man to fish” mentality but for fucks’ sakes, give an example and let the people modify it according to their needs!

Next is an important gap in information. On p85 the author writes…

“Most people in the gym usually move very quickly, banging out reps and then setting (or dropping) the weight down. This is precisely how not to perform the exercise. When moving at this quick pace (one to two seconds up and down) the muscles are not working as hard as they could or should…”

This is only partially true. It was shown that the eccentric phase of an exercise has a greater effect on triggering muscle growth than the concentric phase… 6.6% vs 5%  to be exact [Higbie 1996]. So a slower eccentric phase is good, but that 5% for the concentric phase? Yeah that’s an “explosive” movement. So technically, the most beneficial rep you can do is 3-4 seconds down, hold for one second, then push it back up explosively. [Tempo of 41X for those that know how to read it]

One other piece that really stands out is the contradiction on p118. The author writes…

“Regardless of whether a diet is low-carb, low-fat, low-glycemic, high-glycemic, vegetarian, all-beef, or nothing but Snickers bars and macaroni and cheese, if the individual is calorie-deficient, fat loss will occur…”

But after a paragraph, he follows up with this…

“For those who were getting excited about trying the Snickers/mac & cheese diet: forget get about it! This diet, or any other diet that does not meet your macronutrient requirements will be unsuccessful in helping you lose the body fat and keep it off…”

Uh, correct me if I’m wrong Mr.Lipowski, but didn’t you JUST say that as long as there is calorie deficit, you’ll lose fat regardless of what you consume? (Like Snickers and mac & cheese?). But now you’re saying the macronutrient ratios do play a role in fat loss? So the quality does matter? Go figure!

The problem I have is that for a newbie, this would be a total mind-fuck. His second paragraph that I mentioned is actually correct, but that first one… man I was in complete shock. I re-read it and was like “did he just write that?” If you eat mac&cheese but are still in a calorie deficit, weight loss will occur, but most definitely not fat loss. Big difference! What’s funny is that he actually spent a great deal of time trying to explain such a difference to the reader. lol!

Alright enough bashing, because besides these weird little insertions of information, the book does pickup near the end. There is some valuable information on how to drop the water weight and even I learnt a new technique of getting that “dry & shredded” look for photo shoots. For me, a technique he mentions that “wont” work actually works for me, but its nice to pick up new things along the way. There is also a decent information on the following topics:

• Goal Setting
• Mental Motivation
• Calculating your daily caloric requirements VIA Harris Benedict formula
• Explanation of carbs, fats and protein & how much you need
• Supplements that will actually help (minus “nitric oxide” – I can’t believe he mentioned that. N.O supplements are complete bogus Mr.Lipowski… read my reviews)
• Cardio

Conclusion:

You know what, overall this is a decent book for someone who is totally new to weight training (or any kind of training) and is looking to get a ripped look. You WILL see results if you are able to follow Michael’s advice… but the problem will be putting a routine together all by yourself.

Michael is in excellent shape himself and is no doubt a good Personal Trainer, but he needs to learn how to teach… if that makes sense. This book needs to fix it’s structuring, fix the cracks in it’s armour and lay out a  clear step-by-step plan along with a few solid examples. There is a saying that goes like this: “I listen… and I forget. I see… and I remember. I do… and I understand.”

Unfortunately, this book reads as if all you’re doing is “listening” the entire time. There is very little to “see” and nothing to “do”. I give it a 3.2/5 stars.

Click Here To Check Out More Details On Pure Physique

- FitJerk

———–
© 2010, By FitJerk. FitJerk.com is a division of Flawless Fitness Media – All Rights Reserved – No part of this post is to be republished without author consent under any forms of media (including print, internet, video or audio transcription). Doing so is a violation against copyright law and should be punishable by a punch to the face. All images are copyright of their respective owners.

Only LOSERS have nothing to say or discuss. Put your thoughts, comments or general rants in the comment section below. FJ does not use censorship but obvious racial slurs and over-the-top stupidity will be deleted.