Bodybuilding

Book excerpt: This is the first book to gather scientific findings about progressive resistance training and to translate them into relevant and understandable training advice. Author of Powerlifting: A Scientific Approach and an editor for Muscle & Fitness magazine, Dr. Frederick C. Hatfield has written an invaluable book that analyzes training systems and techniques, progressive resistance exercises, nutrition and diet regimens, bodybuilding psychology, and muscle-growth pharmacology in light of actual scientific findings. Whether exploding misconceptions concerning isolation exercises or heavy-duty training; explaining the causes of overtraining, muscle soreness, muscle growth, and muscle shaping; or providing a pictorial history of bodybuilding (along with a history of certain bodybuilding principles), Bodybuilding: A Scientific Approach addresses the real concerns of the serious bodybuilder in a language that can be readily understood. Through use of recent research, charts, graphs, tables, and photos, Dr. Hatfield delivers vital, new information no bodybuilder--male or female--should be without. Rare photographs of early bodybuilding contests Listings of winners from all major contests Advantages and disadvantages of free weights and exercise machines Vitamin and mineral charts listing best sources of nutrients for bodybuilders Pros and cons of steroid use Efficacy ratings of ergogenic aids Latest research findings on relaxation and tension control techniques Frederick C. Hatfield, PhD, has authored over a dozen books, including Aerobic Weight Training, and scores of research reports and articles.