Mass!

by Robert Kennedy

You've just finished another grueling workout. Your heart is racing; your muscles are swollen, yet you stand in front of the mirror and realize that you haven't made any gains in what seems like... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809249405
• ISBN13: 9780809249404
• Release Date: January 1986
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary
• Length: 262 Pages
• Weight: 1.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Surprised

Even though this book was written in the 80's it contains alot of awesome training ideas, some quiet advanced. Fun read and a great piece to add to your library.

Still relevant 21 years later.....

Even though this book was written 21 years ago it still has a lot of good information. Anyone who has read muscle mags knows that the latest hype of the day seems to come and go like fashion in favor of the newest hype that can gloss a cover. But this book has a lot of information that has stood the test of time. He covers most areas that bodybuilders will need schooling in with straight forward, easy to understand advice. Some of the actual routines may be a little dated but no one can really agree on "the best" ways to train anyway. There are a lot of motivational photos and it does not try to fool you into thinking its a blueprint to turn you into a pro bodybuilder. If your looking for a book to help you see where many of todays ideas evolved from this may be of interest to you.

One of Kennedy's best books

I am thankful to the authors for not wasting hundreds of pages showing how to do common exercises. Afterall, how many books do I need that will show me how to do a bench press? You probably already know the most common exercises anyway if you are looking at purchasing this book. If you want an encyclopedia of exercise variations, I would recommend Bill Pearl's book, Keys to the Inner Universe. Mass goes beyond other Bodybuilding books in ways too numerous to list. Just as one small example, many books give example workout plans for beginner, intermediate, and advanced bodybuilders. However, this book goes one step further by telling you when you are ready to advance based on what percentage of your body weight you can lift in various exercises. The book tells how to target different muscle cells, numerous ways to structure your workout, different ways to specialize on lagging body parts, numerous tricks for increasing intensity, how to cycle intensity, tips on nutrition and weight loss, recipes for mixing your own protein drinks, etc. Makes a great companion to Beef It, one of Kennedy's other books. In fact, I would recommend reading numerous books, including books by other authors such as Vince Gironda and Fred Hatfield. Information is power. However, if you have to start with just one book, you could do far worse than to pick this one. I agree with the previous reviewer that this is a book you won't read and then toss. You'll keep coming back to it. BTW, Kennedy's co-author on this book, Dennis B. Weis, has a great web site with free training tips and articles. I asked Mr. Weis about the book, and here is what he said: "Actually I wrote the entire book and Bob Kennedy was so kind as to supply all the interior support photo's and most importantly of all get us a book contract. Regarding the book Raw Muscle! It continues on where Mass! left off so to speak and likewise Anabolic Muscle Mass continues on where Raw Muscle left off. Thanks again for your comments. Please check out my monthly Q & A column in MuscleMag International." Chapters: CONCENTRATION - THE BODYBUILDER'S WAY THE SCIENCE OF REPS AND SETS TRAINING MECHANICS - MUSCLE OVERLOADING STRUCTURING A WORKOUT SCHEDULE BODY-PART SPECIALIZATION OPTIMUM MUSCLE-BLASTING TECHNIQUES THE WISDOM BEHIND PHASE TRAINING A TREASURY OF BODYBUILDING SECRETS THE CHAMPIONS' SECRET - AEROBICS MUSCLE INJURIES - CAUSES AND TREATMENT THE NUTRIENT FACTOR ESTIMATING YOUR ENERGY EXPENDITURE SOME FACTS ABOUT BODY FAT A GUIDE TO LOSING EXCESS BODY WEIGHT OVERCOMING WATER RETENTION TEN TIPS FOR GAINING MUSCULAR BODY WEIGHT CARBOHYDRATE LOADING BLENDER MAGIC THE FINAL COMMENT

I keep going back to this book!

I have read and tossed out many many books and magazines on Bodybuilding over the years. I only have three books I refer to over and over again, and of the three, this is by far the most comprehensive and easy to understand. I refer to it so often that it is never put away back on the shelf. I don't write reveiws here often, but I owe so much to this book that I felt obligated to let others know how good it is.