Books Name: Rank 1-10: Description
(In Alphabetical Order, with Ten's in red)
"Arnold-The Education of a Bodybuilder": 8: An interesting story of his rise to the top however it does avoid the fact the he used roids. It is inspirational to a point, but like "Pumping Iron" Arnold appears stuck up.
Arnold's "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding": 9: His training methods are too intense for the clean athlete however he gives descriptions of almost every exercise that can be done.
Arnold's "Pumping Iron": 10: This is a movie not a book, but it is must see, however Arnold is extremely cocky in it and rude, but he is amazingly funny and intelligent. Buy this.
Bill Pearl's "Keys to the Inner Universe": 10: This book has every exercise that can be done. Buy this.
Bill Pearl's "Getting Stronger": 9: Wide variety of exercises and routine for various sports. A good book, however he believes that training to failure is not a good technique and that cheating through a lift is a better idea and I disagree with this point however it would make an interesting question for next month.
Bodyopus, by Dan Duchaine: 9: I don't personally follow the strict ketogenic diet much but others swear buy it and its results.
Bob Paris's "Gorilla Suit": 10+: A candid yet passionate view into the life of a bodybuilder and what it takes to succedd in bodybuilding- the opposie of Arnold's stories of great times, Paris slams the corruption and drugs involved in today's competitions. Buy This.
"Championship Bodybuilding":9:A good book with sound ideas yet it overlaps the other book extremly in nutrition.
"Confessions of a Unlikely Bodybuilder":10+: BUY THIS. READ IT. READ IT AGAIN. Then you may come back. (Written by Samual Fussell) This book is a lot of bodybuilding. One warning it tends to be a little whinny/emotional at some times. Fussell without bodybuilding is kinda a bitch.
"Everything you Need to Know About Fat Loss":10:This is a book ( mail order only) that is by renound trainer Chris Aceto, it is excellent and well thought out. It is effective yet rather non-extremist like most diets.
Johnny Parker's Ultimate Weight Training Program: 8 : From his days as the strength coach of the giants this book has varying programs to try, however you can't find this book anymore.
Louie Simmons Workout Tapes: 10: I own all the secret tapes (s/b/d) and both sets of w.o. tapes (s/b). AWESOME!!
Mastery of Hand Strength: 10: John Brookfield's book covers tons of useful info on how to train and how to build implements you will need. Remember your forearms can be see almost year round so why not make the Popeye sized.
Muscle Blasting: 6**: The book is like REPS but it has an amazing section on how to do strongman feats. I picked it up at a discount bookstore for 2 bucks and for that section it's worth 10.
Reps: 7: A book with a good variety of styles to try but many will quickly result in overtraining, and some of the information presented in it is dated.
Sports Speed: Dentman and Walts: 10: Great book on how to find what part of your speed you need to improve on. If you wanna get faster buy this book.
"Thinking Big":5: Thinking Big is a "self help" style book that shows you, through goal setting, how to reach your potential. I'm no longer into this mental focus crap, leave it to the martial artists.
Periodization Training for Sports, Tudor Bompa: 8: A good book with great information, however after following Mr. Simmons methods I question traditional periodization.
Portrait of Dorian Yates: 6: Alright but unless you are a big Dorian fan skip it.
Power Factor Training: 5 : Not very useful, can be used for varity but don't make it the majority of your w.o.'s.
Powerlifting Texas Style: 10: A great read informative and funny, if you are new to powerlifting or want a funny tale of Texas, then buy this book.
Parrilo (diet and bodybuilding packets): 6: I don't believe his eating suggestions are practical for drug free lifters, but his fascia stretching concepts and his lifting form suggestions are excellent. If u are a juicer and you want to tweak your body to perfection and you are willing to dedicate your all of your time to this lifestyle then his concepts may be practical.
"Weight Training": 9 :(Stone & O'Bryant) This is the book Berry Merriman suggests and I found it an excellent read thorough but concise. Any advanced bodybuilder should read it.
Will of Iron, a Champions Story: 0: This book sucks, I was expecting a book about bodybuilding like muscle or gorilla suit. This guy is a fairy wimp, which is surprising seeing he grew up in Hell's Kitchen. I wasted 10 bucks on this crap.