Book Review: Pure Physique

I had the opportunity to preview Pure Physique, a book written by Certified Personal Trainer and natural bodybuilder Michael Lipowski.

If you take one look at Michael (that's his picture, over on the right), you would have to assume that this man knows a thing or two about fitness.

My initial impression of the book upon fanning through the pages however was not positive. Very wide margins and minimal graphics led me to question whether or not I would garner anything of value from this read. I’m somewhat of a research geek, and most of what I read in regards to fitness and nutrition is filled with charts and graphs and a ton of end notes.

It took a few hours to read the book cover to cover and overall I thought the content was good, but I was also left feeling that some individuals may feel let down by this read if they're looking for someone to hand-feed them a workout and diet plan.

There is really a lot that I like about Pure Physique. The author stresses the importance of many of my favorite topics including rest and recovery, setting realistic goal expectations, measuring progress beyond the scale and the importance of number crunching in regards to nutrition.

Again, if you’re looking for specific training programs or meal plans, this is not the book for you.

The best way to look at Pure Physique is as a blueprint that will enable you to continually modify your time in the gym to meet your changing needs (goals). With that in mind, I feel this is really a pretty good primer for anyone interested in learning how to create individualized workout programs.

Chapters include:

- Getting the Proper Perspective on Training
- The Components of a Training Program
- Creating an Effective Training Program
- Performing
- Aerobic Exercise
- Use Goals to Get You There
- Nutrition: Fat loss and Muscle Gain
- Physiological Aspects: Where the Real Training Begins
- Peak Conditioning: Looking Your Very Bet on the Day it Counts

One of my favorite components of this book is how it stresses the importance of focusing training on quality versus quantity. Michael stresses the value of structuring workouts in a way that will allow you to produce the best results in the least amount of time.

You can take the information you learn from this text to pinpoint the best workout program to help you meet your goal, be it Turbulence Training, TACFIT Commando, Circular Strength Training, Stronglifts, Eric Cressey’s Maximum Strength Training, et al.

Remember, give a man/woman a fish and they eat for a day. Teach them to fish and they eat for a lifetime!

Pure Physique is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and will begin shipping March 1, 2010.

Train hard; stay strong.

Peace.

Susan