Arnold's Bible Isn't Only For The Hardcore!

Why am I reviewing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s book The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding, an 800-page “bible of bodybuilding?” Simply because I am often asked to recommend a couple of books to people who weight train and this one is always first or second on my list.

Who will enjoy this book?

If it is second it is because the person asking me is a man or usually a woman who has no idea if she will like lifting weights or I know will be so intimidated by this mammoth book, she won’t work out. I will usually recommend anything by Joyce Vedral (for women) in that case. Does that mean this book is not for beginners and only for bodybuilders? Not at all. I recommend this book to beginners and definitely to people who are not competing but who just enjoy the sport of weight lifting.

This book is so comprehensive that there is almost nothing left uncovered which is why, in my opinion, it has broad appeal. It certainly isn’t a book you will sit down and read. You will use it as a reference tool, for information and guidance and to figure out workouts and how to do an exercise perhaps the trainer at the gym mentioned and showed you but you have forgotten what it looks like.

About the book:

Originally written in 1985, it was updated and revised in 1998 with the help of Bill Dobbins. Although it sounds like it would be a highly technical book with bodybuilding jargon you won’t understand, that isn’t true. If there is something that the average person may not understand, the authors have managed to explain the concept, phrase or word carefully.

It is broken into 5 Books and within each book there are chapters. In order to make this review manageable I will tell you the name of each book and the chapters in it and then give you an overview of the contents of each Book.

Book One: Introduction to Bodybuilding with the following chapters:

1. Evolution and History
2. The ABCs of Bodybuilding
3. The Training Experience
4. The Gym
5. Getting Started

The whole book is filled with extraordinary pictures of both bodybuilders posing and various techniques. The beginning of this book that talks about how bodybuilding evolved and its history not only has wonderful pictures but is very interesting to read. Even if you don’t weight train but are interested in the history of a sport, you will enjoy this section. You will read about and see Charles Atlas (in 1921), along with Joe Weider (in 1967), founder of Muscle & Fitness among others, and Arnold himself in many, many pictures including Mr. Universe (in 1968) up to today’s bodybuilders and a discussion of the future of the sport.

This Book is a very easy to read section on basics such as how to tell the difference between pain and muscle soreness, how to choose a training partner and important to many the question, “How different is bodybuilding training for women than it is for men?” Arnold’s answer is this, “In my opinion, not very- which is why I am not devoting space in this book for dealing with training for women separately.” My training partner is my husband and although he can lift heavier weights we do virtually the exact same routine. (I don’t do shrugs – that is the only difference.) Please don’t let the bodies in here scare you. Few people really look this Arnold or Monica Brant. If that is your goal, that’s great but you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. This is just my opinion.

For those of you who wonder if you should wear belts, gloves or what kind of athletic shoes are best, you will find the answers in this Book also

Between Book One and Book Two there is a wonderful 23-page spread on “The Bodybuilding Hall of Fame” with pictures of John Grimek and Steve Reeves all the way to Flex Wheeler and Nasser El Sonbaty.

Book Two: Training Programs contains the following chapters:

1. Basic Training Principles
2. Learning Your Body Type
3. The Basic Training Program
4. Advanced Training Principles
5. Building a Quality Physique: The Advanced Training Program
6. Competition Training Program
7. Mind Over Matter, Mind, the Most Powerful Tool

Anyone who has been to a gym or lifted a weight has heard the terms reps, sets and full range of motion. In this Book you will learn how to weight train and what the terms mean. You may wonder what progressive resistance is or training to failure. It is explained in a very simple way and unless you have no interest in lifting a weight this will be helpful to you. Stretching is full covered here with 11 pages of pictures and explanations of stretches.

You will get many, many exercise programs in this Book from Level 1 and II exercise programs to more advanced training programs which involve splitting body parts (which means not working your whole body in a day); when to move on to the more advanced programs and techniques such as forced negatives and supersets.

Book Three: Body Part Exercises includes the following – it is not set up as chapters:

1. The shoulders
2. The chest
3. The back
4. The arm (biceps, triceps and forearm)
5. The thighs
6. The calves
7. The abdomen

This is a great section. Not only do you get the obvious pictures of exercises but also you will read about the muscle and its function. There are 20 pages dedicated just to exercising the shoulders! Each exercise is shown from several angles with the purpose of the exercise and how it is executed discussed in detail, without so much detail that you will get bored or not understand. I disagree with Arnold here, though. He shows behind-the-neck presses and I urge anyone who gets this book, that unless you are an advanced bodybuilder or are working with a trainer do not do this exercise. It can be harmful to your neck. All exercises, of course can be harmful and please see your doctor before training if you never have and are over 40 years old or have health problems, but this particular exercise can be dangerous in healthy people. I stopped doing them years ago.

I have referenced this book more times than I can count. I have used it to plan a workout program and also to get ideas for new exercised that I might not be doing. I also will look at it if I think I may not be doing an exercise properly or to be reassured that I am.

There are 29 pages on a discussion of the abdominal muscle. (really just two muscles – in the front and on the side. The side muscles are called obliques. I am making this point because so many people talk about upper and lower ab muscles when it is actually one long muscle but you can work the lower and upper portions of it.)

Book Four: Competition included the following chapters:

1. Posing
2. Total preparation
3. Competition strategy and tactics

I am not going to get into this Book for a few reasons. I think that the chapters are self-explanatory; I think that if you are competing you already have this book or don’t need it; and finally, as I said before, most people are not competing. If you have to know some of what is in here I will tell you that you will learn about the use of posing oil, how to dress and how often to compete.

Book Five: Health, Nutrition and Diet includes the following chapters:

1. Nutrition and Diet
2. Weight Control: Gaining Muscle, Losing Fat
3. Contest Diet Strategy
4. Injuries and How to Treat Them

This is a great Book, although one of the shorter ones because there are no pictures and it isn't as detailed as it could be. Although not detailed you will find a lot of information on carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and age and body fat. You will get several suggested menus. This is not a big part of this book. Unlike Bill Phillips, Body for Life, which is as much how you eat as it is how you train, this book is more of how you train with a small amount on how you eat.

The section on injuries and how to treat them is very well done and discusses injuries to each part of the body. Remember, though, to see a doctor if injury lasts for more than 72 hours and immediately after injuring yourself, use the RICE method (rest, ice, compression and elevation). Of course if your injury is more than just some soreness you may need to see your doctor immediately.

The price:

I have the hardcover book which lists for $50.00 but I bought it at amazon.com a couple of years ago for $25.00. It also comes in paperback and can be bought at half.com for $18.00. At amazon.com the prices are as follows: $17.50 for the paperback and $35 for the hardcover. The hardcover used is $29.99 at amazon.com.

List Price: $25.00
Illustrated
832 pages
Simon & Schuster Trade Paperbacks
ISBN 0-68485-7219

The author:

Arnold Schwarzenegger is well-know for his career as an actor in films such as The Terminator, Total Recall and Twins. He has won more bodybuilding titles than anyone else in the world including 3 Mr. Universe titles. He is married to Maria Shriver (Kennedy). Other books by him include: Arnold, The Educator of a Bodybuilder and Arnold’s Bodybuilding for Men.

Final Thoughts:

This is a 5 star book but it is not for everyone, obviously. Most books aren’t! If very muscular bodies turn you off, you won’t like this book. If you don’t do any weight training and have no intention of ever doing any, you won’t want this book. If you do weight train, whether just starting out or a veteran, this is a book that should be on your shelf. Although not perfect, especially around diet, you are getting a huge amount of information in 800+ pages for $18.00 (give or take).