The Year One Challenge for Men: Bigger, Leaner, and Stronger Than Ever in 12 Months (The Bigger Leaner Stronger Series)

I'm in week 8 of the Year One Challenge, and it is working! I look and feel better, and I haven't even adjusted my eating habits yet (I know, I should have done this already). I'm following the workouts as closely as I can; I have a weight machine from years ago, and the workouts are designed around dumbbells and barbells in a gym, so I have had to adjust some things, but so far, there isn't anything I can't halfway copy with my weight machine, since I don't want to spend the $$ on a gym membership with a machine sitting here unused. The Year One Challenge, and the Bigger, Leaner, Stronger program overall, is designed for guys (and girls, but you have your own Year One book, don't get this one) who have not previously worked out or who have not done so very seriously. It tells you exactly which workouts to do on each day and how to know how much weight to use. Nothing here is cutting edge but that's why it works. It is tried-and-true, simple workout strategies. Michael Matthews isn't selling you some fad diet that will blow out by next year, and he isn't using his book to sell products (he does sell products on his website, but I haven't bought anything from him other than the books and you won't need to, either). You don't need to keep buying things for this to keep working. All you need are a gym membership, protein and determination. That's it. He is telling you real workout truth, so if you are already a gym guy who has seen good results in your lifts, you probably won't learn anything you don't already know. However, if you are new to the gym, maybe thinking about a membership as a New Year's Resolution, and you don't know much about how to work out properly so you see good gains without injuring yourself, this book is for you. (Get the paper version, not Kindle. You have to be able to write in this like a journal.) Michael has made everything very clear and simple; there is very little to have to figure out. Exercise has become way overly complicated because there are thousands of 'fitness gurus' out there and anybody and everybody is telling you something different. I can tell you, this program works. There are no shortcuts, and no instant results. Year One is only your starting point. Fitness is a life-long endeavor with life-long benefits. This book goes along with Bigger, Leaner, Stronger by Michael Matthews, a no-nonsense approach to effective weight lifting. I highly recommend getting both, along with The Shredded Chef. All three together form the Bigger, Leaner, Stronger program. You can get the other two books in Kindle versions (which is especially nice with the cookbook for quickly finding recipes), but for Year One, you definitely want the paper copy.

Having a workout plan already written down makes it very easy to stick with your workout routine and track your progress. The previous workout routines I've done kept switching the exercises around and I wasn't keeping track of how much weight I was lifting. Even though this workout journal keeps the same X number of exercises, it's awesome to watch yourself get better at those lifts and you can hold yourself accountable for getting better with this journal. I have been using this journal for about 6 months now and I've made considerable progress on my lifts. I had been lacking pretty badly on my squats and deadlifts and I'm happy to say that I'm doing a lot better now. Keep in mind I've been working out already for 4 years straight, so no newbie gains here :) Stats at beginning -> 6 months in: 5' 7" 151.5 lbs 12% BF -> 156 lbs 13% BF Bench: 170x5 -> 205x5 Overhead Press: 105x5 -> 135x5 Squat: 155x5 -> 225x4 Deadlift: 200x5 -> 280x4 As far as the squat and deadlift goes, a lot of the progress can be attributed to my form getting a lot better (plus I took it a bit easier at the beginning to get used to the lifts). Consistently doing these exercises helped me get much better at these lifts and helped me push more weight just from improving my form alone. In summary, I really like this journal because it holds you accountable, the workouts are consistent, and you can ensure you are progressing with your lifts.

This sure beats writing everything down yourself! I'm not sure I'll bring this to the gym for the same two previously mentioned reasons: (1) it's bulky size, and (2) the...well...um...picture that makes me a little self-conscious. I'm not sure how I'll go about it - probably write down everything the night before and memorize it or take a pic of the page on my phone. Maybe there's a smaller version out there???? I started my journey to weight loss and heath on New Year's Day 2013 and am down about 165 pounds to date (from 350 to 185). At first it was diet only, and then I added more and more cardio as I was able. After a few more months I realized that I had better do some weight training or I'd end up weak with a lot of muscle loss in spite of all the hard work and discipline. As I asked around and started reading about exactly what to do and why to do it I found a lot of confusing and contradictory voices coming from all sorts of sources. Eventually I found Bigger, Leaner, and Stronger that cut through a lot of the malarkey and made a lot of sense. I felt the author brought a good balance of personal experience and research homework to the table and concluded that he is one of the good guys worth listening to. He confirmed many things I had already figured out but gave me several new things to try and corrected a couple of things I had been doing wrong. I'd rate my current weight training regimen as "adequate" so I'm going to take the plunge and change things up. When school's out this May I'm going to begin the year 1 challenge, peeling myself more away from the machines and make friends with the barbell (especially the dead lift and the squat). At 45 years old I'm now back to my high school weight and stronger than I was then - and now I have a program to take me to the next level. I'm really looking forward to it, and this log book, though not quite what I had hoped for, should serve as a great tool to stay on track and monitor my progress. Thanks for being one of the good guys in the fitness world.

First off, this is a companion training log for the Book "Bigger Leaner Stronger". It will NOT make sense if you have not read the book. Having said that, it is a great training manual. First the pluses: ---I LOVE that the cover feels like it has some kind of thin laminate on it that seems to protect the manual from dampness (e.g. sweat). My other training logs didn't have this and caused the book to deteriorate before using it completely. ---The exercises are limited which I kind of like. I don't think that you need to have 20 different exercises per bodypart in your program to be successful. ---Calves are scheduled to be worked out mulitple times per week. Maybe there is a reason my calves look emaciated and under-developed.... ---the exercises and set numbers are already documented, so you dont have to write them down. This is VERY important if you are not a very disciplined trainee. Sometime, you can show up to the gym and be like "I'm kind of tired today. I think I will just do 3 sets of bench and 3 sets of dips and call it good. When you look down and see 4 warm up sets, 3 work sets of x, 3 work sets of y, and three work sets of z, with 2 sets of an optional exercise, and a calf workout, you just start doing the work outlined and check it off as you go. It helps you get through the workout because it it written down. Now, what I think could be improved: ---The book is too large. it feels like it is 8.5 x 11. Most training logs I had were more like 6 x 8. Not a deal breaker as I dont care what I look like when I work out. However, someone who is self conscience may be worried about how they look toting a book sized training log around. Like I said, I dont care but someone else might. ---- It would be helpful if the book was spiral bound. However, spiral bound training logs have a different problem to overcome. The pages can tear away from the spiral over time as the book is used. Overall, this is a great training journal that will help anyone follow the Bigger Leaner Stronger philosophy of training. Highly recommended. Just make sure to buy the book so you know how to use it.

I can't believe how lucky I am to have this book! It is EXACTLY what I needed. I read some of the other reviews, and developed some apprehension after I ordered the book. However, after it arrived, I was very pleasantly surprised. To wit: 1. This book is EXACTLY the right size to use IN THE GYM to record your workouts as you go. 2. This book is EXACTLY the right size to use IN THE GYM to record your workouts as you go. 3. This book is EXACTLY the right size to use IN THE GYM to record your workouts as you go. 4. The cover is not embarrassing unless you want to fool people into thinking you created your own routine because you are a genius. I couldn't care less about any of that crud. I just want to be stronger, healther, and look better, and I got help from the best, and I don't give a hoot what other people in the gym think when they see this book in my hands and see me referring to it and writing in it. This is the best body building methodology I could find, recommended by multiple men's health sources, and this accessory workout log book is EXACTLY what I wanted. Day by day the list of exercises to do and a place to record them in an easy to use format. Just take it to the gym, do what it says, and build strength up faster than anyone else there. Michael Matthews put a lot of thought into this log, based on his extensive experience in the gym. I would recommend this to anyone. There isn't much more to say. It has one purpose, to show you the exercises you need to do each workout, and give you a place to record it. It's as simple as that.

I am 14 weeks in and I have not missed a week. Physically I am improving and the sense of accomplishment thus far has been great. Noticeable results! I prefer a book that I have to fill out. It keeps me accountable to the program. I can forget about an app. This book sits in my home where I see it each time I enter and exit. I do not carry it with me unless traveling. It is well thought out. I use the 5-day plan and I am looking forward to completing the entire program.

So let me start off by saying I've read Mike's Bigger, Leaner, Stronger and thought it was a great book with NO BS content and got to the point. That being said, sometimes writing out workout plans the night before can be a bit tedious or you just don't get to it. So when this book came out, I jumped at ordering it. The fact that it has his program laid out was perfect since I followed it to a T when I did it. When I did receive it, I was a little disappointed and contemplated returning it. The content inside is perfect with bits of advice, layout to all workouts for a year however bringing something of this size to the gym is not realistic. Yes I could use this as a template and write out my workouts and then log them back in this book, but the whole point of buying was to avoid that. I think Mike offers great education, and great products from his Legion line but this book wasn't what I expected. I was hoping maybe a spiral bound book smaller in height with a more durable cover that would survive the day to day throwing in a backpack and carrying around. Even if I had to pay more for it, I would have. Also, the front cover is a bit loud. I don't need everyone in the gym knowing I'm tracking my one year challenge with a picture of what I want to look like. Maybe I'm being particular but figured I'd leave my two cents, and know that sometimes constructive criticism can help in the long run. Again, I'm a big fan and supporter of Mike and his products but this book didn't do it for me.

A very complete journal with 52 weeks of workouts to track for 5 day, 4 day and 2 versions of 3 day workouts. I am about to start this journey but I did look through the whole book and its a perfect way to track your progress. There isn't new material in this if you bought the book, it is a helpful companion to your challenge. Could you use this without the book? Yeah probably, but I wouldn't suggest it. It is organized by cycles and has the workouts for each grouping within. So for each cycle it is organized as such: 5 day plan weeks 1-6, then 4 day plan for the same 6 weeks then 3A and then 3B. Then it has cycle 2 in the same format through 52 weeks with the special weeks planned in. Its well made, spiral bound and looks very professional. I need to decide if I will rip out the unused pages so that I don't have to skip through empty pages when reviewing I didn't use because I was doing 4 or 5 days and not the others, but at least being spiral bound it wont be a bad thing if I do.

Michael gives you an easy to follow workout schedule for an entire year. You can make notes in this book to keep track of your progress. It gives me the opportunity to train in an effective way.

Good one !

Awesome book. helps me keep track of my workouts. I received my book a little damaged but the book itself is great if you have read Bigger Leaner Stronger.

I had the original version of this workbook and this one is a vast improvement. Before you look at buying this, you should know this is a workbook, essentially a workout journal that is to be used in conjunction with the Bigger Leaner Stronger book. It is really not a standalone book for learning about Mike Matthews workout system. So, assuming you buy (and read) the Bigger Leaner Stronger book then this is a really great journal to track your progress with. The spiral bind is a vast improvement on the old normal binding and much more durable for the workout room. Definitely worth the buy !

La mejor guía para una rutina para ganar músculo para principiantes. Ojo, cuando digo principiantes y como dice el libro, se considera principiante al que no haya ganado 15-25 lbs de puro músculo, si no has logrado eso aún eres principiante y esta es la rutina perfecta