A compound exercise like the bench press, for example, is going to stimulate the muscles in your chest, shoulders and triceps. I'd be really interested to know how much of this is still recommended in the modern day with what we've learnt about physiology and exercise. The whole concept of this book is all about bodybuilding and expanding the different topics involved. Plus, consuming content online can become a bit of a headache, which is why it’s a good idea to utilize information from more traditional methods, like books, from time to time. Arnold dedicates probably half of the book to the history of bodybuilding, to how to compete in bodybuilding, and on and on.

For example, the largest section, "Body Part Exercises," goes into great detail about various muscle groups of the body and the exercises that work them, with a multitude of photos to guide readers. Then I’ll lay out the routine in full, so you can see which exercises you’ll be doing on which days, as well as how many sets and reps to do. Bigger Leaner Stronger is Matthews’s practical guide to strength training, based on the fundamentals of losing fat and building muscle, and utilizes time-tested, science-backed strategies and programs.With him being a bodybuilder, this also entails that the priority of certain movements is also subordinate to aesthethic ambitions. It is obvious he believes in the positive power of fitness as a tool for self betterment and as a way of life. That said, maybe don't attempt the training plan laid out in here right out of the gate; Arnold is no mere mortal, after all. It’s the same story with shoulders and arms day, where you can do a set for your biceps, followed by a set for your triceps, and so on.

As one of the most famous bodybuilders of all time, there are always lots of questions about what Arnold Schwarzenegger’s workout routine looked like back in the day. Growing up, my dad was a powerlifter (like a body builder but focused on raw lifting power as opposed to sculpting the body into a perfectly symmetric form) so I pulled down his copy of Arnold's tome and poured over it.For example, both preacher and concentration curls are a great bicep isolation, so it would have been nice to see them compared and contrasted and the pros and cons of doing one over the other. Because each workout focuses on just one or two specific muscle groups, the number of sets you do for each muscle in any given workout is relatively high. It’s the same story with the deltoids, which are trained directly twice a week on shoulders and arms day. Just as I recommend flexing and posing the muscles between sets, I also believe in stretching certain muscles between one set and the next. If you are naturally leaner (and comfortable with maintaining that body type) you can still use this Encyclopedia to keep your body firm and to maintain your bodyweight, just do not expect to look like a bodybuilder that has bulging biceps and six-pack abdominal muscles.