The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding : The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised Paperback – Unabridged, November 5, 1999

I can't say that there isn't a better work available out there.I CAN say that in years past I've purchased a couple of books such as "The Weider System of Bodybuilding" and "Bodybuilding: The Weider Approach." And this "New Encyclopedia" is so much better than these it isn't even close.This book is marketed as one that is equally necessary for both the novice and amateur bodybuilder as well as the champion Mr. Olympia. I kind of find that a silly approach and since I'm NOT a "Mr. Olympia" and very definitely won't be becoming one any time soon, how great it is for champion bodybuilders is unimportant to me.I'm reviewing this book according to my own need: an encyclopedia of weight training exercises; the muscles that each exercise works; photographs to demonstrate each exercise; and suggested workouts to help a bodybuilder put the exercises into his or her own workout. And to that end, the book simply is excellent.For the record, I didn't see a single picture of a female bodybuilder (apart from when they happened to be standing next to the men). So "designed for women bodybuilders" hardly fits. But I submit that a woman could look over the exercises and put together a training routine just about as well as a man.Many (but not most) of the 800 pages are devoted to aspects of bodybuilding that I simply don't care about, such as posing and being photographed in such a way to make your muscles look their best. I'll let other people discuss how good those sections are and just stick to what I bought the book for. All I wanted was an encyclopedia of bodybuilding exercises.The pictures are all black and white, but there are a LOT of them. It's a great work for the photographs alone.The thing that I will say is that, having looked at the exercises and the description on how to do them and the muscles that are involved (for instance, what workout would you do to maximize the impact of your INNER chest?), I believe that this book will get regular use in my library. And if there's a better book out there to this end, I'll buy it too and still be glad I got this one.

I have this book in both paper and electronic form. The paper one I got more than a decade ago and its size is just unwieldy for bringing to the gym, plus finding just what you need quickly can be challenging. The Kindle version is perfect for that since it allows easy bookmarking and highlighting, and it is my gym companion these days.The book is very well written, easy to read, and very comprehensive. Arnold leaves no stone unturned when it comes to bodybuilding. Weight lifting exercises, nutrition, programs for beginners, intermediates and competition-grade experts. There are also plenty of photos of his glory days and interesting and funny anecdotes. The tone is very approachable and conversational.After trying a couple of exercise fads lately, I am back to basics, and who could be a better teacher than Arnold? He covers a lot of ground and the exercises are illustrated and explained well.The book is not without shortcomings: Arnold assumes that you would spend hours in the gym 6 days a week. Even the beginner series can easily take 2 hours a day (in my experience, at least, especially since I am new to some of these routines). After consulting other books, I decided to stick to his 6 days program and prune out some of the exercises which did not cover major muscle groups or were somewhat redundant to bring the duration of each workout down while still building strength. Lastly, this is not a general fitness or even weightlifting book: it is a bodybuilding book; Arnold assumes that your goal is to look like him and that photos of top bodybuilders would be motivating. While my goals are different, this book is still one of the best resources on strength training and associated nutrition.Highly recommended in electronic format.

I had purchased 1 or 2 workout books previously. They were somewhat adequate , but each author had differing opinions as to technique of weight lifting and omitted a lot of detail. I had my doubts that there could be any published book on fitness that would detail all aspects of weightlifting until I found Arnolds' "Encyclopedia". It could be compared to the bible, but for weightlifting. 800 plus!! pages of Arnolds' decades with lifting in one massive book. There is no detail left out. Every facet . Every learned movement on lifting has been noted and included. I found the format and layout of each chapter simple and easy to follow. Starting with the very early history of body builders in the early 19th century and ending with details for dieting and training for competition, Arnolds' book is a very interesting read. I found the chapters on "Body Types" and how genetics control muscle development extremely informative. The chapters on working out each part of the body and the exercise to stimulate muscle growth included dozens of movements for each. Accompanying all chapters are photo's for each instruction and movement. Arnold is a firm believer in not allowing the body to become complacent. This happens when the muscle group is conditioned for a repetitive routine from doing the same exercise all the time. Arnold states that the muscles must be confused and "shocked" with alternating routines. I found several of his routines new and interesting. I'm enjoying this book immensely. If you would like more information on how to exercise I whole-heartedly recommend this book. It is more than worth the present cost of $12 for a new book here on Amazon.