Review by Mark:

Many of the reviews on here seem to be from people who are just starting or who gave up on Scrawny to Brawny. I went in determined to do the whole four month program and am proud that I finished it up through the last day.

MONTH ONE

Phase I is the Corrective Phase and, I feel, the best part of the whole book. A series of precise tests show you your weak points and then you spend 2 to 6 weeks correcting them. This is especially important for skinny guys who can seriously hurt themselves if they start squatting loaded barbells without the underlying tissue support. The stretches and small lifts are HARD work and I really felt my ligaments and support muscles getting stronger. I had a "bum knee" which tended to feel weak or have pangs before I started this program and since I finished it, that never happens. Great workouts.

The food portion was far less successful. Similar to others who have mentioned this, I could not humanly consume the amount of calories they wanted each day. On the very first day, I found myself laying on the sofa groaning in gut pain at 9pm because I was so engorged. And I was still supposed to eat another meal before bed. I cut back just enough to make my consumption actually possible without vomiting from then on, but my body fat still soared in this first month. I continued to monitor food amounts each month as directed by their Decision Making Matrix, but it was shocking to start off the program with the first serious paunch I'd ever carried.

MONTH TWO AND A HALF

It was in this month that I strained my back doing one of the lifts and had to take a couple weeks off and start using a lifting belt to continue. Keep in mind that most lifts are illustrated with a single photo and the description of how to execute them assumes some familiarity with the equipment and proper form. I'd taken a weight training class in college and used dumbbells a lot before but strained my lower back lifting a barbell above my head and arching too much. If you're going to sink the significant amount of money that's called for (see below) into this program, you might also plan on a once-a-month meeting with a personal trainer just to assure you're doing everything properly, unless you're versed on full body barbell lifts.

Also, they wanted me to do several chin-ups at a time during my workouts and I could barely do one. There was no guidance on what to do if you're not ready for an exercise yet. Do fewer? Do them halfway? Who knows?

On the plus side, people started making comments about how much bigger I was this month. One co-worker even flattered me that I was getting "huge".

MONTH THREE

This month focuses on building strength for the last big push of muscle enlargement. Good workouts with noticeable growth on my legs and butt.

MONTH FOUR

This was the weakest part of the program. Workouts moved up to four a week to increase growth and left me feeling tired most of the time, even on days off. I'd start workouts not feeling 100% because I was still tired from my last workout. Muscle growth kind of stalled as a consequence, even though I really put everything I had into it and was still eating enough to keep my body fat higher than average.

PLUSES

The general info presented here (less the excess calories) is solid. i learned a lot and appreciated the mix of technical info with practical tips. Although not a lot larger, my legs and butt are more shapely than ever before- I don't have chicken legs for the first time. And the corrective phase was very effective in building a strong core.

MINUSES

I have a partner who is pretty independent, no pets nor kids, and I work half-time. Still, the shopping, preparation, storage, packing, unpacking, cooking, and washing up after the meals took almost all of my free time. Commute and changing time at a public gym would be added to that for those who don't work out at home. If you have a full-time job, a spouse who wants date nights, kids and a pet, you will find it very, very difficult to complete this program.

Between equipment and extra groceries, I probably spent a couple grand on this program, and that was getting super, lucky deals on used equipment via craigslist. At the end of the program, you're just left with the suggestion to sign up for their expensive online extension rather than any practical plan on how to convert what you've learned into a normal lifestyle.

The diet of almost all lean proteins got very monotonous after a while, even for someone who has spent much of his life in the food business and knows how to make simple food tasty. Before you even think of ordering this book, prepare and eat six meals tomorrow, all of them primarily consisting of lean protein (fat free yogurt, chicken breast, fish, turkey burger, 95% or more lean beef, egg whites...). Protein shakes do not count- those would be on top of your six meals if you had them. Then imagine doing that for four months straight, seven days a week.

Finally, the low amount of carbs in the diet really affected my energy level and mental quickness by month four. I just hadn't had the easily convertible energy of carbs for so long that I felt generally hazy and tired. After one day of going back to my normal eating patterns, I was surprised by a noticeable jump in my alertness, interest in intellectual pursuits, and energy for everyday activities.

RESULTS

My neck, thighs and calves are the same at the end of the program as they were at the beginning (although all did peak larger at different points along the way). My shoulders gained four inches, my chest gained two inches, my waist gained three inches, and my butt and arms both gained an inch. My body fat ended one percentage point higher than when I started.

Review by Golden Pharaoh:

Absolutely fantastic! The frustration over being an ectomorph is something that only the truely skinny can understand. I had just healed after two sessions at the gym that took me a week to recover. During that time, I reevaluated my weightlifting; what was I doing wrong? I had eaten good foods and trained at least 3 time a week with only a little definition to show for it. Then, I heard about this book. I ordered it not expecting much but, boy, was I wrong. The information in this book specifically directs its focus towards us skinny guys. The emphasis is on compound lifts in the body of the training program but they also use the first four weeks to level out your muscle groups to prevent injury and so you look more balanced (this cured my weak back muscles!).
A nice thing too is that the book devotes half of itself to nutrition. Other books will only give you exercises and have you go on your way which always leads you to thinking what you're doing wrong. They list out how you should eat and when; let it be known that this portion is a major lifestyle change.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve their body. So what are you waiting for "skinny"? Get to work!

Review by Franklin Joyner:

I have had this book for about 9 months now. I recently completed the intermediate program and made great gains. I followed the nutritional advice given in the book and gained 20 pounds. 20 Pounds may not sound like much, but it is a total body transformation when you go from 169 to 190...and it is all muscle.

The workouts are designed in such a way that you stress your muscles very hard and then have ample recovery time to get bigger and stronger.

I ran a marathon and a week after finishing it I started this book. So I basically started from scratch.

Starting I could bench press 40 pound dumbbells for a max 8 reps. After the six month intermediate workout I lifted 80s for 8 reps.

Shoulder press went from 65lbs barbell press for 5 reps to 120lbs for 5 reps.

Squat was the biggest improvement. Started at 65 for 10 reps. Finished at 185 for 10 reps.

The best exercise there is in my opinion I never knew about before this book. It is the DEADLIFT. The deadlift made me bigger and stronger overall than anyother exercise. And it focuses on a common weakness for most people, the LOWER BACK.

Deadlift start was 65 for 5 reps. Finish at 225 for 5 reps.

The key to this book is that it takes you through a cycling approach. By taking you through stages with varying sets, reps, and exercises, you muscles are always in a state of shock and always responsive to the workouts.

I am doing the intermediate workout again. After I complete it a second time I will advance to the advanced workout. You will never need another book for fitness. This is the best book I have EVER read and APPLIED for an extended period of time. The authors have done a wonderful job with writing. Again, the workouts are great and because of the cycling approach the author takes with the workouts, you can continure to do them and never have to switch to another program.

I got very good results from following this book exactly as the authors prescribed. I am continuing to make gains in strength and size by following this book. Ian King and Lou Schuler have put out what I consider the best book ever on the topic of getting strong and gaining size. The bottom line is that you WILL get injury-free results if you follow this book.

Review by GymGoddess:

On the plus side, this is probably the best book I've ever read on the subject of weight training. On the down side, boy, there is so much to each work out that it is overwhelming.

I've been weight training for over 5 years and have used Body for Life and a number of the Men's Health training books. This volume, far and away, has the greatest number of new exercises to be used each week. In the intermediate program, e.g., there are 3 separate workouts to be alternated. Perhaps if someone has a half an hour a day to review the exercises, another 40 minutes to do them (and to tote the handsome volume to the gym), these are reasonable....but for someone who has other responsibilities, kids, job, home, this is a fairly time and concentration intensive program.

That being said, I would certainly endorse this book for anyone who wants a genuinely serious, long term program. Too often, the Men's Health "Bibles" are limited programs, leaving the lifter who is committed with wondering "what next". This book provides enough variety and different routines to make it a great long term investment.

Review by MARKUS:

I recently bought this book in hopes of supplementing it with another Mens Health book, 'The Testosterone Advantage'. First off, the book is nicely written and laid out. I agree ,though, with other reviewers who thought the book was nothing new and right from the pages of Mens Health. There are a lot of different exercises and a diet plan. The workout choices are great but I have yet to try the diet.
One reason I have not completely bought into the book is because many factors in this book completely contradict the previous book I have been using (The Testosterone Advantage). For instance this book advocates aerobic activity for fat loss. It also has a high carb to protein diet. The Previous book condemns aerobic work all through it and has a high protein, low carb diet. This and many other factors have left me in a world of confusion. You would think that two books endorsed by the same company with the same affiliations ( Lou Schuler) would have some sort of continuity. Wrong!!!Come on Lou, men wanting to get in shape need references they can count on.
This book will work and so will the other for the beginner or someone who is out of shape.
I have found both from personal experience and from friends that almost any diet and exercise routine will work in the early stages if they are adhered to. It is when you get past the the beginner stage that a regimine proves itself. Until Mens Health writers get on the same page, they will never truly advance past entry levels.
I have used the previous book and have lost a lot of weight. Twenty five plus pounds to date. If I had bought this book first I would say the results would have been similar. As I said almost anything will work in the early stages.
If you are a beginner buy it. Intermediate or advanced, forget it.

Review by :

Written in the style of "Men's Health" magazine, this book purports to give you a 12 week plan designed to improve your body. And it supposedly is written so that the beginner, advanced, or intermediate athlete will find the program right for him. The problem with it, is like many articles that appear in "Men's Health," this book is written to espouse certain beliefs the authors may have about weightlifting (they tell you to eat substantially less protein, for example, than you'll read in any other program), and in general, it's not quite clear that this book really is for anyone but the beginner. If this helps someone get their butt off the couch and start lifting, fine. If you're anything but a beginner, you've probably read better articles in "Muscle and Fitness" or any other book that targets you. "Men's Health" in general doesn't seem to really take into account the needs of the non-beginner, and that's a problem in all of their books. Still, there's no "bad" information here, per se. In fact they're virtually endorsing what veteran lifters know as HIT (High Intensity Training), which is almost a shock based on the traditionally bland and unsophisticated approaches of the magazine. This sounds like I'm trashing the book, but I'm really not. If you're a 30-something who wants to get in shape, this is a good book for you. If you've been lifting for more than a year, you'll probably find a lot of this pedestrian and uninspiring.