Weight Training Workouts that Work [Paperback]

First off, be aware that this book is designed for the entry-level lifter. It assumes you either (a.) seldom/never lift free weights or (b.) have been out of lifting for a while. This book is perfect for that gym-goer who is afraid of leaving the Nautilus/cardio areas of the gym.

It starts you off relatively slow with total body workouts and by the second month has you working a more typical bodybuilding schedule grouped by muscle area. The schedule has you working out three days a week, and most workouts can be completed in about 30-45 minutes assuming you don't have to wait for any machines/benches.

Orvis doesn't cover cardio or nutrition. While that would be a nice addition, the book never makes the pretense of being a comprehensive fitness book - it solely delivers weight training workouts.

What I enjoyed most about Orvis' plan was the all-inclusive workout style. When so many programs tout one or two methods of lifting (pyramid, inverted pyramid, super sets, drop sets, etc.), he covers every one of these, rotating through different training styles every couple of weeks. The lifting variety will keep the program interesting and will also prevent your muscles from growing accustomed to a single routine and plateauing. Having worked out for some time, I was impressed when my muscles were sore after starting the super set training week.

The main problem I found was that Orvis' program sometimes overlooks certain muscle groups for an entire week. Often I found myself adding a bicep curl, French curl or calf lift to the week's schedule because the book overlooked it. I can see overlooking secondary muscles for a week, but not biceps or triceps. Doing bench presses or lat pulldowns won't give my arms a sufficient workout for an entire week.

Overall, I found the book to be GREAT! It's very portable and I've recommended it to a few folks I've met at the gym who are stuck in "Nautilus Land." I would recommend sitting down at the beginning of the week, looking over the schedule, taking a mental inventory of which muscles you will be working on and compensating if any certain group is overlooked. His workouts tend to be a little more oriented toward lower body development, so you may find yourself adding some upper body sets on occasion.

Orvis' workouts are limited to just the major (common) lifts. If you're more than just a beginning weight lifter, I would strongly recommend purchasing "Strength Training Anatomy" or "The Encylopedia of Modern Bodybuilding" in addition to this book so you can get a better idea of what alternate lifts you can do to better work certain muscle groups or add more variety to your time at the gym. When paired together, I actually found this program to be great once I got past the first month. The super set/drop set/pyramid weeks are a blast.

I would love to see Orvis publish a book oriented toward bodybuilders who have more time to devote to lifting and require more comprehensive muscle training.

It also works on the big compound exercises such as squats, bench press etc and doesn't put to much focus on isolation exercises. I know that one reviewer said that this program misses out whole body parts for a week at a time. This is not true, as the big compound exercise work all the major muscle groups and as a beginner this is what you should be focusing on. Even Arnold says that all body builders should start the first few years on the big traditional compound exercises so if your starting out and are serious about lifting weights this is as good a book to start as anywhere. If you think there is not enough isolation exercises or bicep curls etc, your wrong you don't need them, all you will do by focusing on isolation exercises is injure yourself.

What's also great about the program is that most of the sessions are only 45 mins long so most ordinary working people can do it without taking away all their free time . My only criticism of it is that in order to get the most out in terms of gains and safety you should buy another book that shows you correct form and how to ensure you don't injure yourself when training to failure. This book can't be everything and although it does give you a run down of the exercises I would say buying something like "the insiders tell-all handbook on weight-training technique" would be the icing on the cake and the killer combination.

With regards the weight lost aspect that it sells a lot. this is not strictly true and I just think its gone on the marketing band wagon here which is a shame as this book has so much to offer in its own right. If you have a weight problem this book will not stop you from over eating or help you lose a lot of weight. But what it will do is give you more pride in your body and make you stronger and fitter which may give you the motivation to lose weight.

This is not your typical "Juicer" program and there is no muscles freaks showing you how to do the exercises, promising you muscles you have no chance of getting without chemical enhancement and 5 hrs in gym everyday. This book is for those 99% of us who want to gain muscle and do it as quick and as SAFE as possible while still being able to live our everyday lives, the best of it's kind and a must for anyone starting off in the gym.

Essentially, this book is great for the total beginner - someone who literally has never been shown any techniques for lifting weights of any kind. It covers quite a few of the basic lifting motions that will get you started.

Anybody who has ever lifted weights at all, who has consciously made a named weight lifting movement (something as simple as a dumbell curl) I would strongly discourage you from purchasing this book as all it does it explain, with some pretty bad black and white pictures, how these motions work.

I was hoping to kick start a weight lifting plan with this book to get in shape for the summer. Very disappointed.