Customer Reviews

The Complete Book of Abs: Revised and Expanded Edition

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been thin all my life but I have always had a little bulge in my lower ab region that I thought I had to just live with. I even considered having a tummy tuck. But as one last resort I ordered this book and for the past 6 weeks I have been doing the lower ab exercises for 10 minutes, 6 days a week. After 3 weeks I saw some serious changes happening. Not only were my lower abs started to flatten but I saw that the rest of my stomach was toning up as well. Now after 6 weeks my stomach is almost completely flat. Just a few more weeks of doing these workouts should make my abs completely flat. Thanks so much for writing this book. You helped me avoid painful and expensive surgery!

I have never been overweight, but my waist region was quite resistant to my attempts to get it in real good shape.
The book is divided in six weeks periods - I am now at the third level and will stay with it, no need to move to level 4 (too tough and time consuming). Results started to show on Level 2, (about 5 weeks into the program), first on the "obliques". A slight definition first, now I can say that at age 42 I am on the top of my shape, better abs than I had at 18! You gotta do it & be committed: You won t be disappointed!

Yes, this book should be yours; as people recommending it already pointed out, the book is full of very useful excercises. I have not even read the suggested plans for exercises, just included the exercises in my normal training schedual, and guess what - the belly is shaped now in my fourties much, much better then when I was 20 (the people recommending the book was also right about that). But notice one very important thing: pay attention on diet - the book will also teach you about it. Principles exposed in the book are 100% ok and proven. Go for it!

Honest, well-written, and thoughtful. Includes a routine for people who experience lower back pain.

I have been using the book for about 8 weeks and I can feel the results. I've only lost about 5 pounds during that time but my waist has gone from a 40 to a 36.(Not bad) The only knock I have is there is a lack of sufficient instruction concerning the routines. The instructions regarding rest times are a little confusing and the instructions for the more complex exercises could use some more detail. Otherwise this is a great book for anyone looking to reduce their waistline with minimal cost and effort. I also have the shoulders and arms book (which is ust as good) but I am waiting to start those routines till after I am finished with the abs.

I am sorry to say this book was a complete dissappointment. In his book Kurt Brungardt takes an everything but the kitchen sink approach to building abs. He inundates you with over a hundred ab excercises without giving any real insight as to which ones he prefers or why. I don't need an expert to tell me every excercise out there, I need an expert to give me the benefit of his experience and narrow the list down to only the most effective excercises and techniques. I was further dissapointed that Kurt says that genetic pre-disposition has a lot to do with developing great abs, and instead points out all of the other health benefits to ab work. While the part about other benefits may be true, lets face it, the reason we want rock hard abs is hardly for better posture. The nutrition portion of the book was written by a registered dietician and seems to follow the typical RDA, behind the times, advice without getting down to the nuts and bolts of perfecting your diet. So, if you want a book with lots (and I do mean lots) of ab excercises then this book may be for you. If you are looking for direct, simple advice on getting your abs really cut, then you might want to look elswhere. P.S. In fareness, the photos, and instructions on performing all those ab excercises are pretty good.

If you want maximum results this is NOT the book for you. Yes it includes "100's" of wonderful and easy looking exercises, although many of which to be blunt are poor. For maximum results there is no need for 100's of exercises but a few which taget the correct areas i.e. lower abs. I won't divulge into this now. If you want pretty pictures and to have spent £16 and still have a gut, this is not the book for you. As they say no pain no gain and this book isn't painful in the slightest.

Over 100 exercises, routines already made ranging from the beginner to the most advanced, nutrition info,... that's what you can read from other reviews and the general info about the book. I personally rate this book as the "look no further, this is all you need" book for abs. The exercises are simple and explained in great detail, they even put pictures to illustrate them. I strated with the most simple routine, the one for beginner's, and I have to say that it works great. I have been an active runner for most of my life and this simple but well thought out routine was still challenging. The stuff in this book gives near-to immediate results in only 10 minutes. I'm serious. Everything new you try will give a quick burn, be it a roll out gizmo or a mediocre ab routine. The difference with this is that it keeps giving you results at your own pace and it feels awesome after you egt into it. A definite must for anyone looking to get a great work out for their abs.

The first book in the three-part Brungardt brothers' series, "The Complete Book of Abs" is an essential must-have for any fitness enthusiast. The difficulty of working the abdominal muscles is one of the most challenging routines anyone who works out faces everytime. With a combination of a good, low carbohydrate diet and plenty of abdominal exercises, it usually becomes an easy task of obtaining six-pack abs within a period of time.

"The Complete Book of Abs" divides exercises accordingly to the three main abdominal regions: lower abs, obliques, and upper abs. Using a rating system of 1-3, (1 being the easiest, 3 being the most intensive) the author teaches readers of how to use a mind-body connection where the person focuses their mind on the abdominal muscles whenever they are working them out. This method, which has been successful in my case, works the abdominals to their fullest.

With a this book, a great diet, and maybe even a workout video to use from time to time, you'll be able to reach your desired goals within a matter of time. The newly revised edition is great since it adds to the original 244-page edition released back in 1993. If you liked this book, then I recommend that you also try the other two books in the Brungardt brothers series: "The Complete Book of Shoulders and Arms," and "The Complete Book of Butt and Legs." Overall, an excellent book to reach your fitness goals.

This book is fabulous, and I recommend it very highly! It gets right down to business with something like 130+ exercises, accompanied with good photos, directions and trainer's tips. There are a couple of photos for each so the range of motion is clear. Routines for all levels are included, so it was easy to pick a routine at my level for the areas that I wanted to work. There is a good array of exercises so it is easy to adapt my routine with a few more exercises. The section on routines (56 pages) was interesting in itself. I also really appreciated his sensible advice on diet, recommending health foods; and about exercising in moderation, but enough to get good results. I liked that most of the exercises can be done without any special equipment, although there were a few pages on machines.

Although this book is aimed at men, it is also great for women. I've found most exercise books aimed at women pretty insulting to the intellect (No thanks, I don't need fashion advice or a 200 page pep talk!) After a month of diligent work with this book, I look and feel a lot better and feel much stronger. I had soft spots around the waist and upper hips that didn't go away even when I was running 4 miles a day. But now, in the last month I lost 3 inches in my waist! There was also a ton of other useful information in here from various trainers, on form, how long to pause between sets, the order of difficulty in the routine, etc. I've loaned this book to 2 other women who also really liked it. The cover and the illustrations inside were a little embarrassing though.