The Bookworm: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weight Training

Though I have been lifting weights off-and-on since high school, I did not know much beyond the very basics about weight training and the commonly known exercises. So last summer I decided it was high time to learn more and do more than bench and curl. I wanted a simple beginner’s guide that provided all the fundamentals and found The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Weight Training at Defunct Books. It turned out to be a very useful and fun read.

Weight Training covers just about everything I wanted to know about weight lifting and then some. Not only does it provide step-by-step instructions and photos for each exercise, the authors cover stretching, choosing the right gym, gym attire, healthy eating, injury prevention, interesting physiological tidbits, developing a workout regimen, reps and sets, and safety. And all of it is written in a down-to-earth, affable style with a lot of humor mixed in. The authors are serious about weight training, and serious about helping you gain strength safely and efficiently, but they are thankfully far from pretentious and technical. That was one thing I was not expecting and one of things I liked most about the book.

Of course, I also liked the details and instruction provided for each exercise. Each muscle group is covered in its own chapter and the authors include six or more exercises for working each. The authors explain the benefits, the movements, and the dos and don’ts. They also dispel myths or potentially harmful assumptions about certain exercises or weight training in general. In a nutshell, they are very helpful and the exact people I want training me (which they kind of are, I guess).

This is a short review because there is not much more to say other than the fact The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Weight Training is a very useful book. If you want to learn more about weight training, gain strength, and get a little leaner, this is a good book to pick up.