Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Average Customer Rating:

Brilliant!	Customer Rating:
I wish I had purchased this book years ago. As far as gym training goes, this is exactly what the doctor ordered!

Great book	Customer Rating:
I have had this book for years. It is very clear and detailed and explains each exercise very well. Has great detail about what muscles are worked. This book explains how to lift weights/use machines properly which is something not many people do.

In a word: Essential

Customer Rating:

As the review title says, this is an essential reference tome for any bodybuilder's bookshelf. Unlike most other bodybuilding books, this one doesn't feature photographs of famous people, with physiques the typical reader is unlikely to ever achieve, competing at this-or-that competition. Nor are there are suggestions for workout routines, nutrition etc. Therein lies much of its appeal. Delavier instead gives us detailed anatomical drawings, much like you might find in a medical textbook, and I imagine this broadens its appeal to include those sports people who view weight training as an adjunct to their other training rather than as an end in itself. Additionally, there are a number of sections dealing with particular (one assumes commonly occuring) injuries, which make for interesting reading. Admittedly, there are a number of exercises I'd like to have seen included in the book, and a few I don't think warrant inclusion, but I'm still unreservedly giving it five stars as I find it a unique publication for this field.

==Lots of Strengths==

Customer Rating:

With over 450,000 copies sold, this book is arguably the best book of its kind. What's it useful for? Mainly to help the reader (from the weekend athlete to the athletic trainer to the professional bodybuilder) figure out what exercises work what muscles. It's neatly divided up into sections (arms, shoulders, chest, back, etc.), so all you really have to do is flip to one of these sections and it will have detailed pictures of various exercises and exactly which muscles are involved. A great reference to keep have around, I give it five stars easy. Readers who lift weights regularly might also be interested Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff to avoid shoulder problems a lot of lifters eventually get.

Excellent!!!	Customer Rating:
This book really is as good as they say. The illustrations are superb and make it a worthwhile read just to appreciate the anatomy of the human body, but more importantly of course to understand what happens to which muscles during strength training. The little sections explaining common injuries and how to avoid them are also a great benefit. Highly recommended.