Reddit reviews Built for Show: Four Body-Changing Workouts for Building Muscle, Losing Fat, andLooking Good Eno ugh to Hook Up

My main regret in recent years when it comes to this topic is that I didn't clean bulk. HERE is a great article that goes into detail about bulking and destroys some widely-held opinions about it. I went all my life with a clearly defined six-pack until I bulked with lots of dairy and whatever else and then, for the first time in 40 years, I had a gut. And it's been a bitch to get rid of. I finally did it, but it took months and was a pain in the butt. And those fat cells never go away, ever. So now it's always going to be harder for me to retain my abdominal definition and not put on fat there.

Anyways, that's more of a warning than any instruction, per se. As far as lifting goes, I like the Stronglifts program to start out with. It's a great program for gaining strength regardless of your starting physique, although once you've been at it for a while it's a better program to stick with for underweight people than for overweight people.

There is a book called Built For Show that is very good for someone looking for a program that is more detailed than Stronglifts.

Anyways, the main points I'd give about gaining muscle and looking good would be these:

• Clean bulk. Eat a lot, but don't pig out on dairy or junk food. If you want to lose fat, do a low-carb diet with lots of vegetables and count your calories.
  
  
• Use mostly free weights. If you can exercise a muscle group with free weights instead of a machine, do it.
  
  
• Fill your workout time with lifting heavy and pushing yourself, rather than doing lots of different exercises.
  
  
• Always do the big lifts—squats, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press—as a part of your weekly routine.
  
  
• Don't believe the bullshit about avoiding cardio. The fittest people in history have always done regular cardio.
  
  
• Do push and pull exercises to keep your muscle development even and avoid injuries. E.g., if you do a pushing exercise, like bench press, also do a pulling exercise like rows.
  
  
• What you exercise will grow. Put the time into the places where you want to see the most development.
  
  
• Abs are more of a product of caloric balance than exercise, although exercise is an important factor. If you want to lose fat here, go low-carb, watch your calories, and keep lifting.
  
  
• Find ways to make it enjoyable for you. Don't worry about what everyone else does in this respect, because what motivates them may not motivate you.
  
  
• Warm up, because it sucks to have to stop working a muscle group for a couple of months while your body recovers from an injury.
  
  
• Consistency and effort are the main things.

Definitely.

www.scrawnytobrawny.com

The reason I have so much faith behind it is because Nate Green and Dr. John Berardi are behind it.

http://www.scrawnytobrawny.com/about

There's also a great book by Nate called "Built For Show" that is very similar to Scrawny To Brawny. If you dont want to spend the $99/month on a personal coach, then I'd say BfS is the next best thing.

I've been following this:

Built For Show by Nate Green

http://www.amazon.com/Built-Show-Body-Changing-Workouts-andLooking/dp/1583333193

Check out Nate Green's Built for Show book.

http://www.amazon.com/Built-Show-Body-Changing-Workouts-andLooking/dp/1583333193

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/built_for_show