| Kurt Brungardt was at the front end of the abdominal obsession. His Abs of Steel video was a bestseller, and the original Complete Book of Abs, published in 1993, was considered the bible of midsection exercises for trainers and fitness enthusiasts. The obsession has only grown since then, manifested by dubious infomercial products, a burgeoning fitness-magazine industry promising readers great abs with almost no investment of time and effort, and (perhaps because of the shortcomings of the first two phenomena) a boom in the demand for legitimate nutritionists and personal trainers. Even Brungardt himself came out with a 1998 book, 3-Minute Abs, to take advantage of the craze. With all that going on, it seems hard to believe that there's anything new to say about abdominal exercise. Indeed, this revised version of The Complete Book of Abs doesn't really try. There is a new prebeginner midsection routine, which leads into the more advanced exercise regimens described in the original book, and a handful of new exercises. But other than that, the expanded sections are in nutrition (several new pages of recipes) and total-body fitness (new photos demonstrating exercises for body parts other than abs). Still, the original package is a terrific deal: more than 100 exercises, numerous training routines, and lots of basic information about exercise and diet. Each abdominal exercise is rated for difficulty on a scale of 1 to 3 and how risky it is to the lower back. The routines are complete and thoughtfully compiled, and there's not a bit of advice in the entire book that isn't scientifically legitimate. That's why this book--in either edition--remains indispensable for those serious enough about fitness to need information that goes beyond the basics. --Lou Schuler END |
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 Arguably your best chance to build real abs! |
| Review Date: September 24, 1999 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Hey, I'm no spring chicken in terms of real fitness, no bodybuilder or top-athlete either. And my body is my temple, a good one. Provided you know how to excercise and eat right, this book will take you step by step to ab stardom. It is a thoroughly rehearsed guide, someone tried it all before instead of concocting a recipe with its bum on a chair. It works. Slowly and methodically. It senses your moods, giving you phrases of encouragement at the right time. There are also lots of additional chapters that will be quite enlightening for the enthusiast or novice. My advise is buy it. It is a great reference book. Follow the plan for at least 4 months - provided you are not obese - and you will have a six-pack that won't go away even if you stop excercising. Okay okay, all this does not come free: First, you will have to work bloody hard, but since the program is very well structured you will not really notice the load increase. However, the 15' a day claim is a joke. You will clock up 20' at start-up and about 45' mid-progam, if you do the excercises right instead of bouncing up and down. The book is also tainted by some stupid typos midway through the program (level 3 I guess), which require patience to sort out. Have a pen handy. To finalise, the 'ultimate abs' level is bloody dangerous. I went twice up there and screwed my neck so badly that still hurts. I accept some blame for doing these at home with makeshift stuff. Overall, as said, top book. Once you try this you will realise that you possibly never did any decent ab work in your entire life, no matter if you are an amateur or a fitness pro. I have surprised many well seasoned coaches and personal trainers with the routines I learned in this book. hAB fun! -Adrian PS Kurt, send me your other books so I try them too! |
ABS-solutely a MUST!
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| Review Date: August 9, 2000 |
| Reviewer: Ng Chon Hsing, Singapore |
| Many bodybuilding enthusiasts hate working out their abs. The abs are arguably the least fun to work out. Having said that, the abs are the first part that catches the eye - whether washboard-ripped or flabby. More importantly, from the point of wellness, the abs are the most important part that needs to be kept strong. The abs are the centre of the human body and hold up the entire skeletal structure. If you have only time to work out one part daily, make it your abs. I have been using The Complete Book of Abs for 2 years now. It was a fabulous gift from a friend, a fitness buff. Let me just say that this is THE book on working out the abs! This book tells you why one should work out the abs; describes the muscular and skeletal anatomy in respect of the abs; the nutritional aspects; warm-up, stretching and other support exercises; the specific exercises in respect of the abs, and the different systems and routines one can incorporate for various purposes. In other words, this book is truly "The COMPLETE Book of Abs". There are lots of photographs illustrating the various specific exercises for the various parts of the abs. I found this to be highly helpful and definitely of great assistance to the newcomer to working out. My favourite part of this book is Chapter 4 which discusses The Mind. The Mind is where all success in life begins. Success in working out is no different. To succeed, it takes planning, mental focus, self-motivation, visualisation and mental-programming. I supplement my reading of this book with Antonio Sabato Jr's No Excuses: Workout for Life, which I would also highly recommend to the workout enthusiast. |
Essential Book for Fitness Enthuasists
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| Review Date: November 25, 2000 |
| Reviewer: Luis Hernandez, New York, New York, USA |
| The first book in the three-part Brungardt brothers' series, "The Complete Book of Abs" is an essential must-have for any fitness enthusiast. The difficulty of working the abdominal muscles is one of the most challenging routines anyone who works out faces everytime. With a combination of a good, low carbohydrate diet and plenty of abdominal exercises, it usually becomes an easy task of obtaining six-pack abs within a period of time. "The Complete Book of Abs" divides exercises accordingly to the three main abdominal regions: lower abs, obliques, and upper abs. Using a rating system of 1-3, (1 being the easiest, 3 being the most intensive) the author teaches readers of how to use a mind-body connection where the person focuses their mind on the abdominal muscles whenever they are working them out. This method, which has been successful in my case, works the abdominals to their fullest. With a this book, a great diet, and maybe even a workout video to use from time to time, you'll be able to reach your desired goals within a matter of time. The newly revised edition is great since it adds to the original 244-page edition released back in 1993. If you liked this book, then I recommend that you also try the other two books in the Brungardt brothers series: "The Complete Book of Shoulders and Arms," and "The Complete Book of Butt and Legs." Overall, an excellent book to reach your fitness goals.
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I Finally Got Rid of My Little Bulge!
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| Review Date: August 23, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Roseann DiBona, Yonkers, NY United States |
| I have been thin all my life but I have always had a little bulge in my lower ab region that I thought I had to just live with. I even considered having a tummy tuck. But as one last resort I ordered this book and for the past 6 weeks I have been doing the lower ab exercises for 10 minutes, 6 days a week. After 3 weeks I saw some serious changes happening. Not only were my lower abs started to flatten but I saw that the rest of my stomach was toning up as well. Now after 6 weeks my stomach is almost completely flat. Just a few more weeks of doing these workouts should make my abs completely flat. Thanks so much for writing this book. You helped me avoid painful and expensive surgery! |
A suberb book!
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| Review Date: February 12, 2000 |
| Reviewer: , |
| I think this book is an excellent one for someone looking to improve their abs. it has over 100 exercises seperated into 4 chapters: Lower abs, upper abs, obliques, and combination exercises. I am disappointed in the review that says this book was a waste of money. It is worth every penny! Not only does the author say what area each exercise targets, but he also has a rating for difficulty and a rating for low back risk for each and every exercise. He also has dozens of routines from coaches, trainers, and bodybuilders. He also has chapters on nutrition and wellness with quite a number of recipes. There's also a system called "Fifteen Minutes a Day to Ultimate Abs." It's definately a complete book and lacks nothing. |
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