Body for Life - repackaged weight training?

[billpritjr]

My wife has the Body for Life book she bought a few years ago before we got married. I have the Bill Pearl book "Getting Stronger." Now, shame on me for being reading alot but doing less, but I am trying to fix that now

ANYWAY, the Body for Life book, while being a bestseller with lots of people who subscribe to the teachings, appears to be no less than 1) Eat better 2) Increase Cardio and 3) Basic weight lifting

am I wrong?

also, I lean towards Pearl's program, can anyone provide comments/tips, etc?

thanks

[teenpumper]

Yes these are the basic ways to get into better shape. Does the book have any workout examples?

[Firehawk]

Having done BFL, I think its a great way to LEARN how to work out. But it is only going to take you so far. The diet is great. The cardio is great. I dont like the weightlifting though. But its good for beginners.

[teenpumper]

I do not encourage someone else's workout. I prefer making my own. Only use other people workout if you are forced to for sports or if you are a beginner and don't know your body. After you get to know your body then create your own workout because nobody knows your body more than yourself.

[tweeter]

Originally Posted by Firehawk

Having done BFL, I think its a great way to LEARN how to work out. But it is only going to take you so far. The diet is great. The cardio is great. I dont like the weightlifting though. But its good for beginners.

Firehawk nailed that book correcto. i agree with everything he said, cardio, excellent, diet, excellent, but yes the lifting part will only take you so far in your gains. if you are a big guy(lots of fat) go with this lifting because really it isnt that tough. IMHO, keep the cardio and diet, find your own lifting routine :

[Firehawk]

Well I wouldnt say the weight training "isnt that tough" lol. Its very fast paced, and there are too many muscle groups done per day. 5 for upper body, 4 for lower body. You get 1 minute rest between sets, and then you have to do your last 2 sets with no rest. Its too fast. I made superior gains on my legs doing squats, but otherwise I made very little progress as far as strength is concerned.

Also when I first started, i was very very out of shape, including cardiovascular-wise. The weightlifting sessions acted as weightlift-cardio which I feel weightlifting is not for. But, the workout sessions taught me a great deal about how to work out, I got my form down on alot of the exercises, I got used to timing my lifts etc. So for beginners its very good.

But I got tired of it. Im not built for lifting light weights and burning out my muscles like that. Im structured to lift alot of weight and I was getting sick of lifting their way. Ive switched to MAX OT and feel much better now, and am making alot more progress as far as strength.

But let me just say again, Body for life goers are usually in the business of losing fat. In this case, that program is great. It teaches you how to eat properly, and portion your food. Its a great balanced program. I still do the eating and cardio methods they recommend, Just not the weightlifting part.

[tweeter]

yea good point, lol for a big guy the time frame would be a little ruff because i remember i was always looking at the clock! just wasnt for me either, i 2 switched to max-ot(gained 7lbs!!!) would of loved to start it sooner but now its time for the cut! now im on HST training.

i wish i knew about this site when i was in high school,lol

[teenpumper]

Originally Posted by tweeter

yea good point, lol for a big guy the time frame would be a little ruff because i remember i was always looking at the clock! just wasnt for me either, i 2 switched to max-ot(gained 7lbs!!!) would of loved to start it sooner but now its time for the cut! now im on HST training.

i wish i knew about this site when i was in high school,lol

I always used to go exactly 1 minute rest periods now i just go when i feel rested (more strength geard now).

[Firehawk]

I cant stand resting only 1 minute. That means lighter weight. F that . I love heavy weights. I take 2 minutes for sure. I am making much better gains too .

[DaRkAnGel]

You could try less reps/increased interval with high weights. That is what i am doing today and manage to squat 85% of my 1rpm 3 x for 5 sets with 3 warm up sets all 30 seconds rest intervals. It felt great.

[tweeter]

yea right now me and my bro are doing supersets but in the 8-10 range, we also make sure that you need the other on the last 1-2reps so you can just explode with the exercise and know that you have someone helping you. we are keeping it fast pace, doing 3 muscles on all days except wednesday/weekends our rests are when we are done with a set of 3 muscles worked.

[BM.TK]

read my signature , that says it all...

;-)