Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy

My boyfriend is in love with this book. He doesn't use any gym equipment and is solely reliant on his own self to do strength training. He had studied other books in the past but he said that he learned lots from this book in regards to muscles targeted and areas he was unknowingly neglecting.

I own Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy by Bret Contreras, You are Your Own Gym by Mark Lauren, and Your Body is Your Barbell by BJ Gaddour. This review refers to the Kindle versions of each book. I would recommend buying either the Contreras or Gaddour book; however, I feel the Lauren book is not worth buying unless you are collecting books on the subject. I would actually recommend buying both the Contreras and Gaddour books as they complement each other well. Neither book is perfect, but together they cover the topic very thoroughly.

This review covers the following elements:

Exercises: Number and variety of exercises.

Programming: The sample routines given in the book as well as basic templates for building your own programs.

Progressions: Making a particular exercise easier or more difficult so a person of any level can benefit from the exercise as well as allowing progression in strength and ability.

Educational value: How well the book teaches the reader to understand how the body works and how the exercises work each part of your body.

User friendliness: How easy it is to use the Kindle book.

Exercises:

All three books provide a large variety of exercises, however Contreras is the best here. My problem with the Lauren book is that it is not much more than an encyclopedia of exercises and doesn't do a good job of explaining why you should be doing any particular exercise. Also, he gives many of the exercises goofy, unwieldy names that sometimes don't help you understand what the move actually is. Gaddour only provides major compound movements and skips the core and isolation exercises. On the other hand, Contreras covers exercises for the arms, core, glutes and even the neck. Gaddour and Contreras both cover metabolic training and full-body exercises. Gaddour gets extra credit for an excellent chapter devoted to burpee variations, culminating in the Rolling Pistol Squat (a backward, one-leg burpee). In my opinion, this chapter is worth the price of the book (yes, I like burpees).

Programming:

The Contreras book is the best in terms of programming. He gives you workout templates and suggestions for what exercises to use. The explanations of each exercise in the book will help you decide what exercises to select. He also provides sample “metabolic” (HIIT and MRT) workouts. The Gaddour and Lauren books only give you set routines to follow without much flexibility. However, the Gaddour book is better because he presents you with various styles of routines, such as for maximum fat loss, maximum strength, and so on. The Lauren book has little variety in the routines.

Progressions:

Gaddour is definitely the big winner here. In fact, I think this is the biggest strength of his book. He gives you eight basic types of exercises. With each exercise, he gives you five levels of difficulty. Within each level he provides three “microregressions” and three “microprogressions” that allow you to fine tune the exercise as appropriate for your skill level. Anyone who's ever engaged in strength training knows how helpful it is to progress in small increments. Contreras also gives examples of progressions and regressions, but not with the detail found in the Gaddour book. Lauren is weakest here. To be fair, he does give ideas on how to make an exercise more difficult, just not as well as the other two.

Educational value:

The only area where the Contreras book is lacking in educational value compared to the others is regarding nutrition. Lauren and Gaddour both cover nutrition to some extent, whereas Contreras doesn't mention it. The Gaddour and Lauren books both have chapters devoted to exercise nutrition, the former written by a PhD from Pennsylvania State University.

Contreras' muscle diagrams are outstanding and they really allow the reader to understand how the body works and how the muscles are being used. He breaks it down by primary and secondary muscles worked. I was surprised to learn how many upper-body movements involve the trapezius, for example. Contreras also does a good job explaining training variables such as intensity, density, and periodization. Lauren discusses these topics to a lesser extent.

User friendliness:

Lauren is last is this category. The book is laid out poorly. Although the exercises are organized by body part, the Kindle book does not provide links to the separate sections, as in the Gaddour and Contreras books. Lauren has an alphabetic index at the end but, particularly with the odd names he gives the exercises, it's difficult to find exercises for specific body parts. For example, if you want to find three exercises to work your thighs, you will have to go to the non-indexed Exercises section and flip through the pages until you get to what you want. This is a major headache on a Kindle. Contreras and Gaddour both provide extensive hyperlinking to get to where you need to go in the book. Contreras provides links organized by body part and specific exercises – he does the best job here.

Contreras strengths:

Muscle diagrams
Isolation exercises (especially glutes)
Customizable routines
Most user-friendly Kindle version

Contreras weaknesses:

No discussion of nutrition

Gaddour strengths:

Progressions
Burpees chapter
Nutrition chapter

Gaddour weaknesses:

No specific core exercises
No isolation exercises

Lauren strengths:

Chapter on using household items to workout can be useful

Lauren weaknesses:

Poor Kindle formatting
No full-body or metabolic training exercises
No discussion of body mechanics

If I had to recommend only one of these books, Contreras would win by a nose, with Gaddour a close second. This was a tough choice as they are both excellent books, but going by the “teach a man to fish” concept I think Contreras does a better job of explaining things such that you can design your own workout programs rather than merely following what someone else has shown you. That said, I highly recommend buying both of these books as each complements the other quite well. Combined, they're nearly perfect.

03-09-16 Update:

I would like to add that if you already own the print edition of the book the store will sell you the Kindle version for only $2.99.

i have read many of pavel statsoulines books and many others and i am convinced that most of them just read a book like this and took a few exercises out and put it in their own. you would need 20 other authors books to get all the coverage of this book. This is just a technical book, there are no chapters on self gloating and their blah blah blah stories. For body weight training start with this book and save yourself 100s of dollars on there other ones.

Love the illustrations showing what muscles are being worked, truly a bodyweight workout using with some utilizing household objects, detailed and with accommodations for easier or harder versions of the exercise. Highly recommend!

Clear, anatomically correct directions on how to use your own weight to strength train. This book takes for granted that one is strong enough in arms and legs to begin this intermediate book. Novices be careful. Get this book once you have completed some strength training already.

I haven't been through this book completely but what I've read so far I like. The book gives many bodyweight exercises, the proper way to perform the exercise and the muscles involved with the exercises. So many people post exercises that they do to prove "beast mode" but they don't post the proper way (for "dummies") to perform the exercises. I'm an exercise and sports science major and I appreciate informative exercises.

The kindle version of this book is laid out very well. I'm a big believer in how important body weight exercises are. So my recommendation is to purchase this book. You won't be disappointed.

Great resource, but a bit basic. Covers the fundamentals well. Some of the suggestions for advanced variations are fairly large jumps in level of effort. All the ... Anatomy books are great, if you already have a knowledge of programming. Otherwise they are only so helpful for those looking to begin working out, or developing their own training routine. Also not crazy about the author's suggestion of using tables or desks for bicep curls or inverted rows, but if there are no other options, you do what you gotta do.

i have read many of pavel statsoulines books and many others and i am convinced that most of them just read a book like this and took a few exercises out and put it in their own. you would need 20 other authors books to get all the coverage of this book. This is just a technical book, there are no chapters on self gloating and their blah blah blah stories. For body weight training start with this book and save yourself 100s of dollars on there other ones.

I love the subject matter of fitness. Many 'authors' peddle garbage that won't increase fitness...only thinness...or flat out only have shallow knowledge! This guy knows his stuff well enough to properly explain. He has sample programs and teaches you how to design your own program! He shows the muscles and explains movement...he is an athletic scholar and I love that!

The Glute Guy blog is good too!

Well organized book separating exercises by concentration area. Clear illustrations except I would have liked to have seen them show final position in addition to the initial position shown in order to see the full range of motion. Bodyweight training is completely different if you are used to using machines at the gym, which I am, so it will take quite awhile to get used to the difference but I really like the ability to do workouts anywhere as I travel frequently and hotel gyms usually suck.

Clear, anatomically correct directions on how to use your own weight to strength train. This book takes for granted that one is strong enough in arms and legs to begin this intermediate book. Novices be careful. Get this book once you have completed some strength training already.

I was very impressed with the quality and breadth of Contreras' work. One of the bigger issues with attempting to do full-bodyweight work is that several muscle groups are difficult to either stimulate at all (think biceps) or to stimulate with enough resistance to keep growth happening. Contreras has put together a comprehensive guide that has clear graphics that make any movement easy to visualize before that first attempt. The relative difficulty levels assigned to each movement are accurate, and there are beginning workout plans provided to assist in adding these movements to an established or new program.

Overall, there's a lot of value to be had in this book. I recommend it to anyone who would like to get away from the equipment and begin bodyweight training.

I really like the way this book shows you exactly which muscles you are targeting with each exercise ( who knew push ups hit so many!). I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting more knowledge of which exercises they want to use to work on their own body. Can't wait to show it to a trainer friend for even more targeted work.

This book is awesome. A must read for all levels. Even though I work out at least three times a week and am in good shape (5.10, 170, 32 waist) I found excellent new material and long lost old favorites I am now supplementing my gym routine with great home exercises. The narrative is spot on, there are a variety of exercises and the diagrams are easy to follow. I highly recommend this book

Great book by one of my favorite fitness experts. I think anybody from any fitness level can benefit from this book. I also like that he explains the importance of exercising the glutes, which most fail to mention in other books. My only complaint is that I would've liked better illustrations of the exercises but not a big deal.

I received my copy of Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy, and it's just what I wanted. I like to work out for 30 minutes or so before going to work, so driving to a health club isn't convenient. Also, I'm living on a budget so I don't want to buy fitness equipment for my home. With this book I'll be able to get a good workout anytime, anywhere. The exercises are rated from #1 (beginner) to #4 (advanced) so it's unlikely that I'll "outgrow" the exercises anytime soon. (Just try the Pistol Squat on page 122. You'll see what I mean.) The full-color anatomical illustrations are amazing, and show which muscles you're working. I know there's lots of misinformation circulating on the web about proper training technique, but Contreras seems to know what he's talking about.

Everyone who has ever thought about training someone, a group, or even yourself should own this book. The breakdown of the book tells you everything from the demostration to the level of difficulty of each of the many bodyweight exercises. I promise you, no gym is needed to accomplish your goals unless you want to add a little weight. Buy it

this book has great description, pictures, and modifications for the exercises. I only wish that there would be more of the different types of exercises. But the book does have a lot of great information. Not disappointed just expected a little more. however definitely would recommend this book to everyone who wants to look a little dipper into the anatomy of bodyweight exercises.

Alright book.has alot of useful information.the only two things i didnt like was that it didnt talk enough about proper form and didnt talked enough about the smaller individual muscles.instead just focusing on them as a whole.if you are new to bodyweight training this book will prove useful but if you already have prior fitness experience it will only add little new information.

Well organized book separating exercises by concentration area. Clear illustrations except I would have liked to have seen them show final position in addition to the initial position shown in order to see the full range of motion. Bodyweight training is completely different if you are used to using machines at the gym, which I am, so it will take quite awhile to get used to the difference but I really like the ability to do workouts anywhere as I travel frequently and hotel gyms usually suck.