Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body (The Bigger Leaner Stronger Series)

I read the other reviews and thought I would give this book a go.I have experience of Power Lifting from my youth but due to serious injuries have been unable to return to lifting those sort of weights, and inevitably the weight piled on due to poor diet, lack of exercise and my love of beer !!!!!So I turned 40 and decided to return to the gym. I trained for about 9 months and lost a good amount of weight. and began to enjoy training and started to eat more healthily and drink far less. Then my weight loss stopped and my training was going OK but I was not seeing any gains etc.So I looked here on AMAZON and looked through the books and purchased this title. I am so glad I did. The book arrived in good time and when I got home from work I picked it up and could not put it down. It reads really well and explains everything simply and in depth. I had the book finished by the time I went to bed and it was probably the fastest I have ever read a book, just such a natural read for me.The book explains in depth about training for gains and training for cutting. It has training plans and the diet explanation is spot on !!!!!! I am currently in my third week of my new routine and diet following this books plans and have seen great progress already. My weight training routines are showing great gains and my diet is going much better with increased Protein and carbohydrate intake etc. I have been following the cutting plan as I want to shred some more belly fat. When I started training back in October 2012 I was 16 stone 7 lbs, through training and eating less junk and drinking less beer I dropped to 14 stone 7 to 9 lbs. I just could not shift anymore weight. So now into my 3rd week of following the cutting plan I am now 14 stone exactly. Feeling great and loving the training.After reading this book I now realise the mistakes I was making in my previous training, but now understand fully what to do.A great read and a must have for anyone who is interested in any form of training.The author also includes his E-Mail address and I have mailed him on a few occasions and you get a response answering your questions.A life changing book for those serious about training !!!!!!!

I've been spurred to write this review having just read some of the misinformed one star reviews which seemed to have been written by people trying to demonstrate their own highly questionable expertise. When Matthews responds with a scientifically supported reply they seem to withdraw into their shell. Funny that.What I like about the bookMatthews evidences his approach with plenty of references to scientific studies. He's a very smart guy (and a savvy entrepreneur) and I believe he really knows what he's talking about.He debunks the myths spouted by health magazines. I stopped buying Mens Health mag the month I got this book and my life is the richer for it.Similarly he rips into dodgy supplements. I've started using a core set of products he recommends and I've found that having researched them, they are the ones that are most popular amongst the lifters who know what they are doing.He's realistic. No silly promises about how quickly or easily things will happen. He emphasises clean building takes time, effort and discipline.His routines are focused, achievable and can be done in 45 minutes - and together they cover all the major muscle groups.It works. Don't get me wrong, Mr Matthews would never want me for a before and after pose but I have made definite improvements in strength and size. As an example my bench press PB increased from 60kg to 85kg over the last year. That's after years being stuck at 60. So I'm not huge but as a man well into middle age I am delighted to have made progress.Matthews genuinely engages with his readers and provides tons of free resources via links and his own website. And yes he includes affiliate links to products but usually very good ones I;ve been grateful to be pointed towards. I've had several conversations with MM by email, Twitter and Facebook and always (I mean always) had a friendly and helpful reply. Goodness knows where he finds the time.What I didn't likeThe glossary chapter felt like a bit of padding.I got the audio book version and the reader sounds like one of those awful meatheads you sometimes meet. In print however Matthews comes across as educated, considered and calm.That's it.I guess when you come across an approach you like you are going to defend it and perhaps even become a bit closed minded about other alternatives. In the end you have to choose the one that works for you. And this one works for me.