Training for Mass, Second Edition Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I'm a pretty big fan of the first book, so I was curious about what would be different with the 2nd edition. What I like is that there's more detail about the finer points of actual training. Beforehand I still had a few questions about reps, like how many are ideal, and about how things like rest-pause are supposed to work. This book spends a lot more time going over this. The first book was mostly about selling the idea of low volume, high intensity training. The second also gives a better description of the logic behind that, but the real changes are in training specifics. I also like that the book has a new part listing all the main points of how to train and why, followed by a section listing the opposite...training myths.

The chapter about injury seemed to be expanded a lot, and I have to say that it's a lot more powerful now that there's an actual list of famous bodybuilders who tore muscles. That's another change from the first that I like...that before the author would mention unnamed people in bodybuilding, regarding bad advice, etc. In this book he also mentions specifically who a couple of these people are and what they have to say. I think this is important, because there's a lot of terrible advice coming from bodybuilders. These people need to be called on it.

Like the first book, there's no pictures, which I like. The author in the intro complains that it's kind of an insult to your intelligence when a bodybuilding book is filled with pictures, with not a lot of info. I agree with this. I'd say this is definitely worth picking up, even if you have the original.

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Product Description:
Praise for the first edition

...gives the reader a comprehensive and informative look at how bodybuilding should be performed: in a high intensity manner. Training for Mass provides the best rationale ever published as to why this is true.
-David Robson,
Staff Writer, Bodybuilding.com
Co-author, Heart of Steel: The Dan Lurie Story

...stands in a class by itself...Written in clear prose with logical explanations, this is an essential book for the thinking bodybuilder.
-Timothy Shanahan, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy, Loyola Marymount University
Author, The Evolution of Darwinism

...boldly steps out on its own, with confidence and intelligence, and provides you with an essential, must own, bodybuilding classic.
-Steve Shaw
Staff writer, Muscleandbrawn.com

...this book opened my eyes and made me think. What a difference! Training is fun again and it takes far less time. I'm getting stronger again...each week.
-Warren Moore, DC

A revised and expanded update of the original

Most bodybuilders operate under a simple misconception: To build muscle, you have to wear yourself out with long, draining workouts. The first edition of Training for Mass showed that this notion is false - and it explained how growth comes instead from the stimulation of brief, highly intense exercise. The Second Edition brings an even greater depth of analysis to what may be the most effective and efficient strategy of mass-building ever devised. Just like the original, the Second Edition is not a picture book. It's filled instead with serious information and thoughtful analysis - all aimed at challenging its reader to think.

High-intensity training was designed to exploit the scientific finding that intensity is the only important factor for muscular growth. The Second Edition of Training for Mass explains, in detail, this mechanism of growth stimulation. It also describes the ideal way to apply this knowledge in the gym. But this isn't all armchair theory. The author and several other notable figures have used these techniques to become champion bodybuilders. At least one achieved the status of world champion by using these methods.

Changes for the Second Edition: Several key sections have been revised. A good deal of attention is now paid to the technical details of working sets, all the way down to the character of individual reps. There should now be little doubt about what an ideal workout should look like. The chapters dealing with intensity, duration, and specificity received an overhaul. Several other chapters, including Working sets, Volume and injury, Free weights vs. machines, Range of motion, Nutrition, and the conclusion have been rewritten and/or expanded. Almost every part of the book was changed at least somewhat. There are also some new appendices covering controversial topics, including a section on steroids. The new version also has 35% more content overall than the original. Beyond that, it's the same basic book: It emphasizes the use of logic in determining training routines and methods, with advice based on a combination of rational consideration and real-world experience. Like the first edition, it s full of unusual insight and instances of dry humor. It s like no other training book on the market.

Sample chapters and a bonus chapter can be found at the TrainingforMass website.