Hardgainers' Bodybuilding Handbook

by Hugo Rivera

Pack on muscle mass quickly and get bigger and stronger now---an essential guide for the everyday weight trainer. Are you tired of working out with nothing to show for it? Are you pumping iron but not... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578261864
• ISBN13: 9781578261864
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: Hatherleigh Press
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Good price and fast shipping

This book is in perfect condition and arrived very fast. Much faster than I thought it would. A++ seller. Thanks!

RESULTS!

The success I'm having with this book amazes me. I'm on week 12 of the 21-week training program and my thigh measurement has increased one inch (2.54 centimeters). My lats have grown incredibly too - thicker. As background: I'm 49 years old. I've been skinny. I've seriously followed several bodybuilding routines, with varying degress of success. I know success when I see it. The exercise plan in this book (chapter 3) is the most successful I've ever followed. Other reviews of this book have mentioned frustration with access to equipment during busy times at their gym. Yes, it's true the exercise plan uses supersets. (Rant) But frustration with your overcrowded gym is NOT a limitation of this book. (End Rant) I'll admit to swearing under my breath when some pretty young thing sets up housekeeping on equipment I want to use. I've gotten pretty good at flaring my lats a little, smiling, and asking to jump-in for just one more set. These supersets work for me and I'm sticking with 'em. The chapter for 'Mass Building Nutrition' was somewhat interesting. It caused me to make minor adjustments. As opinion, I believe it might be a bad choice for me (at age 49) to begin eating +4,000 calories daily. I've begun gaining about 1 pound (0.453592 kg) each week. As opinion, I believe this gain comes from (A) doing less cardio and (B) allowing more recovery time between days when I lift. That being said - I admire the way the nutrition chapter is laid out. I wish the information for developing a meal plan had been available to me 25 years ago - back when 4,000 calories would've been a good choice for growing. BOTTOM LINE: This book delivered what it promised. This book genuinely is for the guy who has tried everything to bulk up, but nothing has worked.

very helpful

easy read and the program works. wish I knew about this book sooner

Fantastic guide on training, nutrition, and supplementation for us skinny ones trying to put on weig

The Hardgainers' Bodybuilding Handbook is a fantastic guide for hardgainers like myself. For the first time I read a book on the subject that has all of the information that I needed to accomplish my goals. This book covers everything, from setting goals, to providing an exact workout routine that one can follow and that changes every so often in order to maximize results. The author calls this method periodization and he explains why this works better than just trying to constantly add weight to ones' exercises. Also, the best exercises for mass building are provided and Mr. Rivera even gives a solid explanation of why some exercises like the squat are better than others, like the leg press for instance. Rivera says that everytime you move your torso through space (as in the squat) more fibers are needed to move the weight so therefore the exercise is more effective and you build more mass. In addition, nutrition is really explained in detail with sample diets, nutritional information for foods and even shows you how to design and personalize your own diet. The supplement chapter I found to be extremely valuable as I used to go to the nutrition stores and buy everything and anything spending a fortune every time. Now by using Rivera's Essential list of supplements and some creatine and glutamine I have cut down on my supplements bill dramatically. I did not realize how much garbage I was getting that was really doing nothing. In addition to this, the book also has fantastic illustrations with realistic looking models and detailed exercise descriptions. While I did find a mistake on page 154 since it had the wrong illustration for the exercise I went ahead and sent an e-mail to the author (his website is listed on the book) and though it took him 7 days he did got back to me personally and set me straight. I was surprised that I got a personal reply from him as I am sure he is pretty busy. That alone made the purchase of the book worth it as I have bought many other bodybuilding books and #1 they do not cater to hardgainers and #2 the authors can never be reached. Another thing I liked about the book is how nicely organized the information is. If I need to refresh my memory on nutrition I just go to that chapter. For training I visit the training chapter and so on. Also the appendices on the back help with easy access of info too. I'll conclude this review by sharing that since I started the program in 10 weeks I have put on 15 lbs of solid muscle by following the advise from the book. My wife cannot believe the changes and neither do my co-workers. While the book advises to only work out 4 times a week, it is really hard work and the book indicates so from the get go; Rivera does not sugar coat things. Also while at first I was a bit scared as the volume of the training is higher than what I have seen in other hardgainer books, as long as you eat as advertised and rest you do grow. So if you are a hardgainer and really n

This book ROCKS!!!... Well worth the price

After having read dozens of strengthtraining, weightlifting and bodybuilding books, and having trained with collegiate strength training coaches with advanced degrees in exercise physiology, I can assure you that Rivera knows his stuff. The great thing about this book is that it has lots of useful routines to help you add variety, with ample but concise explanations about exercises and key points. The rountines are already laid out for you, and they show that Rivera deeply understands principles of building strength and mass. His rountines apply principles of periodization and they're very effective for increasing strength, size and improving your overall physical condition. If you want intense workouts that will help you reach your genetic potential, this book is for you. One of the best out there. Others that I would highly recommend are Pavel's Power to the People and Bompa's Serious Strength Training. They don't provide routines like this book, but they'll help you design your own routines, and they both have essential information that every weightlifter should know.