Body by Science: A Research Based Program to Get the Results You Want in 12 Minutes a Week

I have been lifting weights for about 2 years on a multiple times per week basis. I have a home gym with both a Vectra machine and bench and free weights. I am a victim of Dr. Kenneth Cooper's aerobic revolution of the 70's and 80's, now with bad knees and bad ankles and chronic tendinitis and 2 herniated disks and spinal arthritis, which is what brought me to weight training in the first place. Over the years I have tried my own program, and I have purchased several programs from the "Guru's" and I pretty much always wound up either injured or I would make progress for a while and then it would seem I would start going backward. My most recent program was the New Rules of Lifting program which I have found to be a very good program. I've done that for a year and have made progress and remained injury free. That program is basically a two or three times per week program and I noticed that I needed the rest between sessions to keep improving. Sometimes I would go down to one session per 5 or 6 days and I found when I lifted next it was easier to make an advance. That couple extra days allowed a more complete recuperation. The exercises in the new rules program are basically the big 5 that is described in the Body by Science program, so over the course of the year I have developed good form with each exercise and a good knowledge of how my body feels during the lift and post lifting. When I read this program it seemed to fit well with what I had been doing. I was of course skeptical of the 12 minute claim as the New Rules program is a timed set of reps across the exercises of about 45 minutes per session. In the New Rules program if you were anal about the timed aspect you would be forced into an anaerobic state of metabolism which I think is desirable in a workout. You can tell you've gone anaerobic when you quit lifting and ten minutes later your respiratory rate is still elevated. Your body at that point is working off the metabolic acid load it accrued during the anaerobic activity and converting it to CO2 and that extra CO2 load is being expelled by your increased resp rate. I could tell the by the way I felt that was the hormonal changes and increased metabolism associated with micro damage. I decided to give slo mo pumping as described in Body by Science a whirl. What it claims is true. I do 6 exercises bench press, reverse grip pull down, overhead press, seated row, squats and dead lifts, using the time under load method of accounting and trying to maintain 10-15 seconds during reps and it kicks my hind end. I go deep into anaerobic metabolism as I start huffing like a choo choo. I can also tell I am going deep into anaerobic metabolism because I get hot and start to sweat, signs of big sympathetic outflow and my heart starts beating like a trip hammer. I can tell the muscle micro damage and metabolic changes are greater with this slo mo methodology and I find I NEED a week to recover. I could probably compress that to

I'm a little perplexed by the reviews stating that this book isn't very scientific. But I was more amused than perplexed by one of the pieces of "evidence" presented - that the book was incorrect in stating that walking and running use about the same number of calories. Actually, it IS true that, in general, walking and running use about the same number of calories (within 10% or less, depending on your walking and running speeds, body weight, etc.) as long as you're counting them over DISTANCE, not time, which is what this book states. Don't take any one person's word for it - there are dozens of reliable sources for this info. If you walk or run the same amount of TIME, you'll burn more calories running, but that's another matter entirely. All this is, of course, not really relevant to the real content of this book. It IS, as its title suggests, a book about the SCIENCE of fitness. If the book itself isn't scientific enough for a particular reader, perhaps the 125 or so sources referenced in its extensive bibliography, most of which are research papers, would be a good place to begin to "dig a little deeper", in which case some admission of the fact that he or she is perhaps ever so slightly outside the intended audience of the book might be appropriate. I don't claim to be an expert in the field of high intensity training, but the authors of this book do. In that light, the book is extremely effective in presenting a case for their viewpoint, and is an excellent read. If you're looking for a book that recommends the "old school" of 3-6 workouts of 30-90 minutes each per week, well, as the saying goes "There's a million of 'em." If you're looking to explore the science of high intensity training, there may be better books out there, but I don't know of one.

This is a dynamic, very unique fitness book. It strips away the mythes of fitness and weight loss and replaces it with true science. Turns out all the running and lifting we've done over the years has only injured us, made us unhealthy --- not built us up, made us fit or made us healthy as we had hoped. Now we know that in just a few minutes a week, anyone, at any age and in any condition, can grow strong, can function a their peak and actually enjoy good health as a result. Moreover, you can lose body fat doing high intensity training in a few minutes a week. Spending hours on machines, lifting and running are not only unnecessary, but bad for you. I didn't like the fact the author pushed the Natalus machines. Turns out, he owns a Natalus center. Moreover, he assumed everyone went to a gym to workout or had someone with them when they worked out. It didn't adequately address the person who works out alone in his home. He also didn't address other forms of resistance, such as rubber tubing. After all, the body doesn't know if you're lifting a bath tub, weights or rubber tubing. A word of caution: Doctors being who they are can't resist writing in a manner that's hard for the average human to understand. Yes, this is a book based on science. So it can be excused. But be prepared for some dry gunk and do as I did in many cases --- just drive on by. Unless, of course, you enjoy that sort of thing. Highly recommended. - Susanna K. Hutcheson UPDATE: After using this method exclusively for several months, I've noticed an astounding difference in my strength. I can lift much more than when I was working out at least three times a week, often more. I discovered it almost by accident. I was seeing I could lift heavy items without even noticing how heavy they were. Moreover, I lifted weights that heretofore I was almost unable to lift. So I can now tell you from practical experience that this method does work.

I had read "Power of 10" by Zickerman and was intrigued by the prospect of a once-a-week workout but wanted some more meaty information. I ordered "Body by Science" after reading the very thorough reviews posted here, and found it hard to put down. I have done a small amount of weight training in the past and find that my body usually responds well to it. Knee pain has made it difficult for me to exercise in my usual ways (walking or running) and time and energy constraints have made it difficult to get into any kind of a routine. (I own my own business painting houses, which is very physically tiring work) Everything about "Body by Science" resonated with me. I'd actually been doing a workout adapted from "Power of 10" for about 4 weeks but after reading about the "big five" I switched to rows, lat pulldowns (with my palms facing up), squats, bench and shoulder presses. The first day I tried these I worked so hard that I had to lie down for awhile. . .my muscles were too shaky for me even to drive my car. I was glad I'd read that sometimes it even takes longer than a week to recover, because the next week I could only do a couple of reps each of 2 sets. But by the third week, I was eager to lift again. I've been following the protocol as closely as I can. (By the way, I do have a Marcy Smith weight cage and full complement of free weights in my dining room! : ) The bottom line for me is this: over the past 6-8 weeks of doing "Power of 10" and "Body by Science", this middle-aged, overweight woman is feeling muscles everywhere, even at rest. The best part for me is that for a few years now I haven't been able to stand up from a low seat without pushing off with my arms. About a week ago I noticed that I can now stand up without using my arms. . .and without the huge "groan" that used to accompany that procedure. Best of all. . .a 20 minute once-a-week workout is something that I can and will actually do. My body feels good and strong. Now I just have to start following the nutritional advice (sigh.)

If you buy only one book on exercise this year, get this one. If you buy only two books, get a second copy of it because you're going to want to share it with friends, and if you're a trainer you're going to want to keep one at work to show clients. Body by Science explains the how and why of high intensity training, balancing enough scientific background to convey key principles and concepts without overwhelming the lay reader, and practical in-the-gym how-to. It is well organized, well researched, and well written, and an enjoyable and informative read. Every one of its eleven chapters contains a wealth of information, clearly explained with the assistance of numerous graphs and diagrams. The chapters include: 1. Defining Health, Fitness, and Exercise 2. Global Metabolic Conditioning 3. The Dose-Response Relationship of Exercise 4. The Big-Five Workout 5. The Benefits of the Big-Five Workout 6. Enhancing the Body's Response to Exercise 7. Tweaking the Exercise Stimulus 8. The Genetic Factor 9. The Science of Fat Loss 10. The Ideal Training Programs for Athletes 11. The Ideal Training Program for Seniors The book thoroughly and conclusively debunks the belief that aerobics or "cardio" is necessary for cardiovascular fitness or fat loss, and provides scientific explanations for why high intensity strength training is the most effective way to accomplish both of these. For those of you still harboring doubts about this, Body by Science will put them to rest. McGuff and Little also explain why high intensity strength training is the safest and most effective exercise protocol for improving: * resting metabolic rate * glucose metabolism * insulin sensitivity * body composition * cholesterol levels * blood pressure * bone mineral density * symptoms of arthritis * lower-back pain * and enhancing flexibility All of this is backed up by properly performed studies published in reputable, peer-reviewed scientific journals, comprising nearly 30 pages of references contained at the end of the book. Body by Science goes into great detail on the dose-response relationship of exercise and proves just how little high intensity exercise is actually required for best results - far less than many people believe - also backed up by scientific research and the results of a combined 30 years of supervising and tracking the progress of thousands of trainees through tens of thousands of workouts. While the book is not heavy on routines - and once you'll read it you'll understand why it doesn't need to be - it offers a solid starting point along with recommendations for variations using different equipment and for more advanced trainees. It also covers the appropriate use of advanced high intensity training methods such as forced reps, partials, static holds, rest-pause, negative-only, SuperSlow and Max Contraction. Body by Science also explains the numerous genetic factors determining indiv