Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body (The Bigger Leaner Stronger Series Book 1)

I am not a body builder, but an average Joe, who has enjoyed sports and exercise throughout my childhood and young adult life. I really enjoyed this book for several reasons. First it was a quick read, I think I read the whole thing in a day or two and absorbed most of the information I wanted to apply. I have not lifted "heavy" in many years as I attributed it to greater chance of injury. While I was familiar with the overload concept, I don't think I had practiced it in sometime, choosing to mix cardio and weights to mostly stay in shape. The second thing I liked is it gave a very simple workout plan, basically 3-4 exercises of 4-6 reps per workout. I have been using the variation suggested for 4 workout/week schedule, adding triceps to chest day and biceps to back day and eliminating the separate arm day. My arms get enough of a workout on these days and are big enough that they don't need their own day. Less than a month in I have had tremendous strength gains. To be fair, there was a time that I was much stronger than I am now, so these gains are not above and beyond where I have ever been, but they certainly are above and beyond where I was. I also found the in detail explanation or certain important exercises and the reference to bodybuilder.com for video explanation of exercises to be an excellent reference. Certain exercises require good form to prevent injury and to achieve the desired results of the exercise. I mostly workout by myself, which is unfortunate as I am aware that having a partner would benefit me in many ways as the book suggests and have found this all to be true in the past. One of the problems I am working through is my comfort level with the exercises at heavier weights (often using the Smith machine, which is frowned upon in the book for good reason). The diet information is okay, but I don't feel I should comment too much on it as I have not been following it. I eat relatively healthy, since the book I have been much better about post workout nutrition, but I am not a moderation kind of guy. So when I am eating healthy I eat healthy most of the time and then I eat a large pizza and a ice cream and cookies for dessert one night. Most importantly the results. It has been less than a month and so far they have been excellent. I weigh around 185 and about 5'10". I don't have a six pack or a gut, but have definitely lost some body fat since beginning, but probably not that much because of my diet or lack thereof. My strength gains have been great. I can deadlift and squat over 300lbs. and bench 265 (on smith machine, so a lot less on free weights). On top of this, I have lower back issues, but have been asymptomatic for many years now, instead of hurting my lower back, I believe deadlifts, squats and the core/ab exercises have significantly strengthened by lower back. Overall very happy with workout and information provided in the book as well as its "readability." Of note, I also find Mike's website to very informative. And Mike himself appears to be very available as well, responding to my only email so far within 1 day. I also bought his cookbook (shredded chef), which I flipped through, if one can do such a thing on a kindle. I was hoping it would inspire me get into a better diet routine.

Great book that offers more of a lifestyle than a fitness routine or "get fit quick" scheme. Mike offers clear direction and guidance on nutrition and fitness that anyone can implement and follow. The program is adaptable to any level of fitness, age, and available resources, i.e. home or local gym. Nutrition options are provided for cutting, bulking, and maintaining depending on your goals and weight. Strength training is distilled down to the basics, with 3-, 4-, and 5-day options depending on your available time. Mike also provides insights into the mental aspects of training and overall fitness, along with exercises to help discover your inner "why" for embarking on a lifestyle change. I appreciate the straight-forward writing style, and depth of information provided (research-based with sources quoted.

I really appreciated what Michael Matthews attempts to deliver with this book. I'm 40 and have been in the gym regularly for probably the last twenty years. Its really only been in the past four or five years that I've identified what works for me and what has been a waste of time. I've often thought, man, I wish somebody had just taught me this stuff twenty years ago. Especially because the "what works" really isn't that complicated. I think if I'd read a book like this a long time ago, I would have avoided wasting a lot of time in the gym or at least gotten more out of my time there. So I think anybody interested in getting fit would benefit from reading this book. The writing style is very accessible and conversational. The book is intended for guys who want to get fit - not guys who want to be competitive body builders. Matthews starts the book by defining a lot of the common terms one hears around the gym. That part is a little dry, but a necessary section of the book. The workout advice is very simple and straightforward. I was actually surprised by how little of the book had to be dedicated to "workout plans". It makes sense though, because that's pretty much the point. Your gym workouts don't NEED to be complicated. You just need to do a few very basic exercises consistently, with good form and with the correct goals in mind. The dieting advice is a little more complicated, and this is one area I would express some caution. If you are just getting started with getting in shape or getting back in shape, I really think these meal plans are difficult. They seem geared more to somebody who is in good shape and trying to go that extra mile to get "shredded" or whatever. Its just a thought. I did like the diet advice and looked at the meal plans as a guideline I could use to come up with something realistic for me. While I would still highly recommend this book, if you're more of a newbie, you might take a look at Nate Green's "Built for Show" book which was a big help to me in that "get going" phase. I found the dieting advice in particular there was very realistic in that phase. Really good book. Even as a guy who has been working out regularly, and doing fairly well the past few years, I got some good tips from this book and things that I'm trying and incorporating into my own routines. I'm looking forward to checking out his newest book soon!

I stumbled upon Bigger Leaner Stronger in late 2022, after purchasing a power rack and barbell. Prior to that, my workouts consisted mainly of dumbbells and a pull-up bar. However, I found myself getting bored with the same old routine and was seeking a new challenge. After buying the power rack and barbell, I was unsure how to proceed with barbell training. During my search for workout programs, I discovered Bigger Leaner Stronger and purchased it on Kindle (at the time, I wasn't aware of Thinner Leaner Stronger). What I appreciated most about the book is how Mike cuts through the noise and provides a clear, evidence-based foundation for training and nutrition. The chapters on nutrition were particularly insightful, emphasizing the importance of dialing in your diet to achieve your goals. Whether you're trying to lose weight or build muscle, Mike provides actionable advice on how to make sustainable changes. The free bonus workout programs and meal plans were golden. Considering the wealth of information provided, the value far exceeds the $2 I paid for the kindle version. Best $2 ever spent. Results: I followed the 4-day program, making adjustments as needed since I'm a woman. I also utilized the Legion website to determine the correct body fat percentage ranges for cutting (reducing body fat while maintaining muscle mass) or lean gaining (building muscle while minimizing fat gain). I was impressed with the results. After two years, my 1RM numbers are 180lbs Squat, 147lbs barbell bench, 226lbs deadlift, and 87lbs overhead barbell press. As a testament to my progress, I even received compliments on my physique while hanging out at beach and pool this summer – a great motivator to continue pushing forward!

This book was expertly crafted! it contains everything you would need to know to formulate a customized diet and nutrition plan and strength training regimen. Before I picked up this book my diet and exercise regimen was all over the map. I did not know where to go or who to believe in terms of getting the right diet and exercise advice. You see I'm a 47 yo male. I've tried all types of exercise over the years, but I never really knew what I was doing or how to achieve any results. In the past few years I had accumulated quite a bit of excess weight. I was barely exercising at all and eating a lot of junk food . So in April I started a weight-loss program and managed to knock off about 35 pounds which put me in a much better place. People were already saying how much younger and better I looked, but I knew the puzzle was not complete. I knew I had to incorporate a regular exercise program in my life for all of the obvious reasons. I feared if I just continued doing cardio type exercise I would continue to lose weight but also muscle and would end up looking like a skeleton at the end of it. When I started researching I was finding all sorts of conflicting information and I did not see a lot of current training/exercise programs ( no more than a few years old) available out there. Anyhow when I came across Mike Matthews' book, Bigger Leaner Stronger, I got very excited because it was the answer to my prayers. Now , I was not sure at first about starting a weight training program. I never thought it was my style or that I ever needed to bulk up in that manner. But when I started reading this book I realized that training and proper diet were so much more than just "bulking up ". You are not only going for looking aesthetically pleasing, but you are improving your overall health in many different ways as well as increasing your strength and stamina. And let's face it if you look kind of nice at the end of the whole thing that's not a bad thing is it? So anyhow the book covers the whole gamut, the whole ball of wax so to speak. He covers everything such as detailed medical and health terminology, muscle building and fat loss myths and mistakes, ideas on willpower and motivation, detailed diet and nutrition info (including pre and post workout nutrition and preparing your own diet plans for getting bigger or leaner), and of course a complete training and strengthening program including 3, 4 or 5 day training regimens. He also includes a separate section on Supplementation, which covers the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to supplements and those who make them. I think this section was a great addition, because most people are interested in taking them with the hopes of achieving better training results or simply optimal health. Mike helps you sort through the mess and come out with what is really worth taking and how it should benefit you. Two other things. One, Mike tries to back up almost every important claim or statement he makes by citing some study that was done or other reference. He has an almost 40 page reference section in the back of the book citing all of his sources section by section. This man has done his research, put the time in, and is giving us sound, no nonsense advice. And second, I've seen other reviews where it's mentioned that the author promotes his supplement line, customized meal plans etc. I absolutely do not see the issue with this at all. First of all when I read the information the first question I asked was where can I get the supplements or how can I get help with this. Thank you Mike for offering these things for us in the event we are interested. And why should he not promote his things in the books that he writes. They are his books, he wrote them and he should be able to promote whatever he likes. And he does not force feed this information to you, he just makes it available for you if you are interested. We are all adults and if we opt not to purchase anything then we simply do not have to. OK I hope I have proven my point. I am very very happy with my purchase. I have started the program and am happy with how I feel and the results I'm getting. I plan on publishing my success story with before and after photos, so hopefully you'll hear from me again. Sincerely, Neil

I bought this for my Kindle and read it. As a lifelong gym-rat who just turned 49 I can say yes, a lot of what's in the book I already knew but had forgotten and/or stopped practicing a long time ago. I can also say I'm glad I was "reminded" of these things by the book as well as all the knowledge I now have particularly in terms of diet. At times I felt I was reading about myself. Even though I work hard in the gym I never bothered to track my workouts, nor did I track what I ate and as such I've just been more or less going through the motions with no real plan of action. This is now changing and what an eye-opening experience. This book does not try to re-invent the wheel. It lays it all out in a simple, easy to understand format. All one has to do is follow it and "do the work" as it's laid out. The plan is simple in nature but not always easy to execute. Do not get the two mixed up. You have to do the work and you have to pay attention to your diet, plain and simple. If you are like me you will discover many things you are probably doing wrong or not doing at all in terms of what to eat and just as important, when to eat it. Also, when and when not to do cardio. This information alone is worth the price of the book in my opinion. I took a week off to prepare for the change in my workouts and only started yesterday so not a lot of data to draw from yet. After my first two training sessions I'm liking the change. In and out of the gym in 60 minutes including warm-up. The workouts have been intense and I believe using an app on my smart phone will provide motivation to set goals for improvement and track progress. The biggest thing for me is the amount of rest between sets. I'm used to only resting 30-40 seconds so 2 minutes seems like an eternity but I understand the reasoning behind it. I actually did dead lifts today for the first time in decades.....literally. I know barbell squats are out for me due to my lower back but I can still do leg presses and dumbbell squats so I can work around that. I was very happy to discover I can do dead lifts with no problem. This is a game changer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to start training properly or those who feel stuck in a rut and wondering why they are not changing even though they are working out and doing loads of cardio. If you fall into these categories I urge you to read this book. You will likely be surprised at how difficult it is to eat enough food during the day. Yes, I said "enough" food. When you eat the right way it is difficult, for me anyway, to eat enough lean protein, good carbs and the right amount of fats. The money I used to spend on booze I now use for supplements to help meet the dietary quota each day. I'm giving it 5 stars not only for the quality of information but for helping me focus and rededicate myself. The plan is in place, now I just have to work the plan. I also hope to update this after a few weeks when I have more experience with it. Cheers and happy training.

As any obese guy in his 40's with a toddler I became concerned about my health. It's not that I have been sedentary my whole life. I used to ride my bicycle religiously in the past. I was riding between 60-100 miles per week which was a lot of fun but also time consuming. Then came our first child and that threw my routine out the window. I stopped working out altogether for a few years. I wanted to become active again but was never able to because of work or not being able to get a consistent routine going. On top of that my blood pressure was reaching the pre-hypertension stage as a new normal, and my sleep apnea worsened, and sleeping with a cpap as much as i tried i could not get it right. I was able to start going to the gym again. I had no idea what to do and like any newby at the gym I was using the cardio machines, treadmill, and weighted machines which I thought helped muscle growth. I was doing exercises from random websites doing various plans here and there but I felt I was going nowhere. I found a few routines at bodybuilding.com which looked good but I wanted something more concrete made for dummies. I decided to look for a workout plan but I didn't want to have a monthly subscription fee and I came across "The Year One Challenge for Men: Bigger, Leaner, and Stronger Than Ever in 12 Months". I got the book and it was intimidating seeing all these exercises many of which I am unfamiliar with to begin with. I never lifted weights before and throughout my life I always focused on cardio activities. So while I was looking up how to go about starting the one year challenge it was recommended that before going into that work out routine I read this book. I decided "sure, why not? more knowledge the better". I just wish I had waited a few weeks because this book went on sale for 99 cents on kindle shortly after I got it. I got the kindle version anyway but I paid the full price. I can't comment from an experienced weight lifter point of view on this book but I gotta say that this book it's a good intro for those who are new to weight lifting. Of course it doesn't cover all there is about weight lifting but it touches on a lot of important subjects and it's much better than reading articles from different sources that contradict each other. As a beginner you look for information out there but there is so much of it that you have no idea what is useful and what is not and it can become overwhelming. I've been lifting seriously for about 3-4 months now and I am still learning and I am expanding my weight lifting knowledge into different horizons. This book goes into the basics of nutrition, energy balance, body fat composition, supplements, motivation, resting, meal planning, exercises, buffing up, shredding, and it even gives you a few workout routines. I did not use any of the work out routines in this book since I already had the "year one" book. Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who is new to weight lifting. Maybe even some of the more advanced weight lifters might be able to get something out of it. The information provided in this book has helped me get seriously started and invested in working out and making progress. I have not made significant gains to the point that i would post shirtless pictures on Facebook but health has improved. My blood pressure is within normal limits and I feel as if I have more energy.

Overall I enjoyed this book. Mike has a pretty clear vision for what it takes to get muscley and the book contains quite a bit of information from workout techniques to diet to attitude. There is a lot of valuable information here and quite a bit of material is dedicated to debunking myths and building a more proven approach. I don't know that any of the ideas here are terribly groundbreaking, but Mike does claim that it is all backed up by the latest science, research, and personal experience. Actually, for me, that's the first place the book falters. Mike claims that his approach is based on facts, not myths, but he fails to provide any references to research that supports his claims. For example, he states that you want to consume easily digested proteins right after your workout so your glycogen starved muscles will get the nutrient boost they need to grow. However, there are no references given to legitimate scientific studies to back up this claim. And if you do a little research on your own, it's not hard to find people who make reasonable arguments that totally refute it. I'm not saying that Mike's claims aren't backed by legitimate science (in fact I know that this particular claim is), however if Mike really wants to sell this stuff, references to actual studies must be included. As it is, there's too much "trust me, I know what I'm talking about" and "if I had a nickel for every time I've seen some guy to A, B, or C totally wrong". Why should I believe him? Just because he's saying I should? Personal experience and anecdotal evidence does not equal science or even a convincing argument. The other problem I have with the book is that the layout really needs work. There's a lot that can be done to organize this book so it drives the important points across better (and I don't mean just CAPITALIZING IMPORTANT WORDS) and makes finding critical information easier. The book does have an overall progression of theory, to practice, to diet, to supplements, but it meanders along the way. Too many of the chapters (especially the diet related ones) seem kind of arbitrary and perhaps could be consolidated and clarified. Most of the book is just a big wall of text and it's pretty hard to thumb back through it and pick up the important points. Finally, I really wish he had given a sample weekly diet. He does give a good formula for calculating how much protein, carbs, and fat you should eat per day based on whether you are bulking, cutting, or maintaining, and that is extremely valuable information but taking that information and applying it to create a viable meal plan would be a great addition. He did this with training exercises, why not diet? I know I complained a lot, but I really did enjoy this book and I am actually planning on following its recommendations. I think if there was a little more emphasis on backing up claims with research and a better layout, this book could be great. And if it turns out that I "dramatically transform my body faster than I ever though possible", then I will wholeheartedly recommend this book and probably change my review.