Review of 7 eBooks
by Nick Nilsson
So today, we're going
to be reviewing all 7 ebooks written by one of our own...Nick Nilsson.
Nick is our Director of Online Operations here at Staley Training
Systems as well as a contributor to our weekly newsletter, The PR
Zone.
If you like unique exercise
information, Nick is an innovator and definitely not one to follow
the "norms" when it comes to weight training. Click
here to check out his articles and you'll definitely
see this for yourself (that link will open in a new window, btw).
So anyway, as I mentioned,
today we're going to be doing a quick review of each of his 7 books
(listed below).
Definitely check out
each one - he's got some really interesting ideas when it comes
to training. Some VERY effective stuff, here.
Here are the books...
Muscle
Explosion - 28 Days to Maximum Mass
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As you can probably gather from
the title, this book is targeted for fast gains in muscle
mass and strength.
The program itself consists
of 28 days worth of training, combined with some very specific
nutritional techniques that match up with the training.
This is a very powerful concept
- targeting your training based on what nutrients you're eating
and how your body reacts to those nutrients. It's very interesting
to see how Nick has incorporated this into a mass-gaining
program.
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So here's a quick rundown of how
this program works...
1.
You start with a full week of low-calorie dieting
And here's a big thing sets this program
apart from a straight-up high-calorie mass-gaining program. You
actually START the program with a full week of low-calorie dieting!
Sounds bizarre but the rationale makes a lot of sense.
If you think about it, what happens
to you when you come off a low-calorie diet and start eating like
a hog? You gain weight FAST. It's called rebound weight gain and
this program actually USES that to your advantage. I won't go into
all the full details of the dietary regimen of the first week but
it's got some interesting twists. You'll definitely see some fat
loss in this first week, which is also unique on a mass-gaining
program.
During this one week of dieting, the
training is designed to basically kick the crap out of you. You'll
come close to overtraining just in that first week alone - and that's
the idea!
As Nick puts it, you don't know what
your body is capable of until you push it to the edge and then over
that edge. This training sets up the training for the following
week.
Because that one week of dieting leads
directly to...
2.
Five days of training with just ONE exercise
THIS is the part that is really cool
- the actual training protocol is somewhat similar in concept to
EDT but taken in a whole different direction. You're going to be
working just one exercise every day for five days in a row. It's
a volume-based program and you don't go to failure. The best exercise
for this according to the book, is the deadlift - couldn't agree
more.
Now, because your body is coming back
from a strict diet, it's primed for serious rebound weight gain.
And so you stuff yourself silly during the week and do deadlifts
every day for high volume. Plus you load up on creatine and pile
in the protein.
I'm sure you can just imagine what's
going to happen to your lean mass during THIS week of training.
3.
Fascial stretching is next
But it's not standard fascial stretching.
You'll actually do it WITHIN the training itself, not as a separate
stretching session. This is invaluable if you're lazy about stretching,
which I'm sure nobody reading this right now is...
The idea behind stretching the fascia
(which is the tight connective tissue "bag" that surrounds
the muscles to keep them in place) is that your muscle growth is
generally constricted by these "bags". To expand them,
you stretch them while the muscle is full of blood.
Nick's taken this concept and ran
with it. The logic behind this section of the program is very strong,
too. Not only are expanding the fascia, your body is still recovering
from the 5 days of the one exercise (you can use other exercises
than the deadlift, too) and continues to build muscle and strength.
CONCLUSION:
Bottom line, while not every single
concept in this program is fully backed by research, the rationale
behind is definitely tight. Dieting for a week then piling on the
food and heavy training really makes a lot of sense - it has a lot
of potential for ANY trainer but especially someone who has a hard
time gaining muscle mass.
Excellent program and definitely highly
recommended.
Click
here to read more about Muscle Explosion...
Metabolic
Surge - Rapid Fat Loss
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When it comes to fat loss, generally-speaking
most trainers and dieticians recommend slow and steady.
That is NOT what this book is
all about.
If you've got a goal, why not
align every aspect of your training and eating to achieve
that goal as quickly as possible rather than purposefully
slowing down the process!
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I mean, if you think about it, who
really WANTS to diet? Why drag it out?
THAT is what Nick is trying to achieve
with this program. This is not a lifestyle program...it's about
targeting your training and eating a very specific goal - fat loss,
while preserving muscle mass.
Keeping that in mind, this program
is not designed to make you comfortable. Over the course of
the 36 days it runs, you'll actually be INCREASING your training
volume. It gets progressively harder as you move through it.
Nick also takes full advantage of
the concept of nutrient rotation. You're basically switching back
and forth between low-carb eating (with training targeted to how
your body performs while eating low carbs) and higher-carb, low-fat
eating (again, targeting the training to higher carbs).
This is a really cool approach to
fat loss - by bouncing back and forth like this, you can keep a
reasonably big caloric deficit going without hitting a plateau.
Switching the nutrients constantly like this keeps your metabolism
from getting accustomed to the caloric intake.
It also activates the right hormonal
systems at the right time...insulin during the short phases
when the goal is muscle growth (best way to preserve it is to build
it!) and Growth Hormone during the phases where fat loss is the
primary goal.
These things, coupled with the increase
in workload over the course of the program, keeps your metabolism
"surging," so to speak...
One thing I would have liked to have
seen in this program is less focus on a bodybuilding type of bodypart
split (i.e. back, biceps, triceps, calves, etc.) as opposed to a
more whole-body athletic type of approach.
I asked Nick about this and he said
he's actually planning a big update to the program that includes
not only a lot of bodyweight training but a more athletic approach
to the program. That'll be available as a free update to those who
buy the book.
CONCLUSION:
This is a really well-done program.
Because you're targeting your training so specifically to what you're
eating, you'll covering a lot of different training styles. If you
get bored easily, this will really light up your life.
I'm definitely in favor of the focused
approach to training for fat loss. Dieting for fat loss isn't nearly
as fun as eating for weight gain...
So bottom line, this fat loss program
looks to be extremely effective. The nutritional approach combined
with the specific training has a lot of merit.
Click
here to read more about Metabolic Surge...
The
Best Abdominal Exercises You've Never Heard Of
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Now, when you think of abdominal
exercises, probably the first image that pops into your head
is either some skinny dude doing a thousand crunches on the
floor or some late-night informerical plugging a screwball
ab gadget.
That's definitely NOT what this
book is all about.
Nick's approach to ab training
is that the abs aren't designed for high-rep BS types of exercises.
The abs are designed to stabilize and to provide POWER to
the entire body.
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These exercises will do just that..
You won't find high-rep ab training here. It's about using resistance
and hitting the abs HARD, just like you would any other muscle group.
The thing about this approach is that
it's true.
High-reps do very little to develop
the abs. You're much better off using resistance and performing
exercises that require a lot of strength and power from your core
muscles.
Using resistance WON'T make your abs
thick- the abdominal musculature is so thin compared to other muscles,
it simply doesn't expand that much, even with heavy training. You
might be used to seeing the big, bloated midsections of pro bodybuilders
- that's not from heavy ab training...that's from heavy chemical
training.
What resistance WILL do for you
is accelerate your progress in the midsection.
The exercises themselves in this book
are really inventive. Not all of them are practical for everybody,
though. I mean, the Wall Walker Sissy Squat has a catchy name but
you won't catch me doing those! (that being said, the concept is
really interesting - check this one out if only out of intellectual
curiosity).
There is a great range of exercises
to be found in the book that target different aspects of core training.
Quite a few them (more than 25, I think) can be done without any
equipment at all - great if you train at home.
CONCLUSION:
If you're looking for some unique
ab/core training exercises, this is an excellent book to grab. It'll
keep you trying out new stuff for a LONG time.
Click
here to read more about The Best Ab Exercises...
The
Best Exercises You've Never Heard Of
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Now, if you love getting strange
looks at the gym because you're doing exercises nobody has
ever seen before, you will definitely LOVE the stuff in this
book.
Covering exercises for every
bodypart, "The Best Exercises" is all about incorporating
alternative movements into your training in order to force
adaptation.
Granted, you SHOULD keep some
continuity in your training program. Nick even mentioned to
me that, even with as many crazy exercises as he comes up
with, at least 75% of his training actually consists of the
basic stuff like deadlifts, squats, etc.
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This is a book you'll really have
fun with...and after all, training SHOULD be fun!
If you've been training a long time,
you might recognize a few of these exercises, but even advanced
trainers should have plenty to play with here. If you're closer
to beginner or intermediate, you'll really learn a lot about how
to adjust exercise technique to maximize the effect on your body.
CONCLUSION:
Nick covers 53 unique exercises in
this manual...plenty for each bodypart. Lots of unique stuff to
keep your training fresh for quite a long time. Great value for
the price.
Click
here to read more about The Best Exercises...
Hybrid
Training
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Hybrid Training is definitely
a departure from the "usual." This one is all about
how to combine mulitple forms of resistance in order to better
adjust to the specific strength curves of each exercise.
Yep, that's a bit of a mouthful.
Basically, picture the bench
press. You know it's harder at the bottom and easier towards
the top? Well, this book is all about making it equally harder
all the way through!
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Combining resistances to adjust to
the strength curves of exercises is not a completely new thing -
powerflifters do it all the time with band training, e.g. hitching
bands to a barbell and pressing up against the bands as well as
the weight.
In Hybrid Training, Nick has extended
the concept beyond the squat, bench and deadlift and has really
put forward some interesting ideas.
In fact, he's come up with some of
the only useful stuff I've even seen using a cable cross-over machine!
Take, for example, the cable-dumbell
press. Picture a dumbell bench press - you've got more resistance
on the muscles at the bottom of the movement and less as come up
to the top.
Now picture the cable flye exercise
(lying on your back on a bench - not a standing cable-crossover).
It's pretty much no resistance at the bottom and a LOT at the top,
when you bring the handles together.
Now imagine what happens when chocolate
meets peanut butter...
You not only hold the two dumbells
in your hands, you hold the cable handles in your hands (or use
alternative means, which Nick describes in the book). When you're
at the bottom, you get full resistance from the dumbells. As you
press the dumbells up, you get less resistance from the dumbells
and more from the cables (pulling directly outwards).
Your muscles get NO break and you
can press the dumbells as fast as you can - the pull from the cables
means you don't have to slow the dumbells down yourself.
THAT is what Hybrid Training is all
about...challenging your muscles in ways they've never been challenged
before. It's like taking the concept of cams in a machine (which
adjust the resistance to keep more constant tension on the muscles)
but taking away the machine and using free weight so it's a whole
lot more useful.
CONCULSION:
If you're looking to shake up your
training significantly, you'll really enjoy the concepts in this
book. It's excellent stuff, covering Hybrid exercises for every
bodypart, including band training for squat, bench and deadlift.
Click
here to read more about Hybrid Training...
Gluteus
to the Maximus - Build a Bigger Butt NOW!
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When I saw the title of this
one, I had to ask Nick is there really a big market for this
kind of thing?
The answer is "absolutely."
Building the glutes is not only
a popular goal from an aesthetic point of view, building the
glutes and learning how to activate them is actually crtical
from an athletic and overall muscle-development point of view.
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Think of it this way...the glutes
are among the largest and strongest muscles in the body...if you
want to maximize your squats or deadlifts, you have to develop the
glutes as a prime mover.
You won't be able to move nearly as
much weight if your glutes are underdeveloped and not activating
correctly. Not being able to take your squats and deadlifts to the
limit will compromise your results in all aspects of training in
the long run. It's a critical muscle group.
And from an aesthetic point of view,
well, I don't have to tell you about that. Everybody wants to look
their best, whether it's coming or going.
CONCLUSION:
Nick's done a very thorough job covering
many different aspects of glute development. Lots of programs to
choose from, good nutritional advice, everything you need if your
goal is bigger glutes. Even a few things that you may not have realized
you needed to do.
If a bigger, better butt is your goal,
this book fits the bill.
Click
here to read more about Gluteus to the Maximus...
Specialization
Training
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Specialization Training is a
quick read. It's got six programs that are...you guessed it...all
about specializing on specific bodyparts or goals.
If you've got certain aspects
of your body that you're not happy with or lifts that are
lagging behind the others, you need to specialize on them
in order to bring them up in relation to everything else.
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These six programs are quick and dirty
methods of achieving targeted results like this.
One program that really stands out
to me is the Daily Specialization program. Basically, you do one
set of one exercise twice a day, every single day, without fail,
trying to get more reps on the exercise every time you do it.
You might think that's too often to
train an exercise but because you're doing so little training volume,
the high frequency is actually just fine. In order to get good at
something, you've gotta practice it and this program fits the bill.
Not only can you get very specifically
stronger with this technique, you can experience some very noticeable
gains in muscle size in the target bodypart.
I think the example Nick uses is handstand
push-ups...a tough exercise by any standard. The first time he used
this program, he couldn't do a single full rep. By hammering away
at it every single day, within a few months, he was able to hit
40 reps!
This performance-oriented style of
training definitely fits in with our philosophy here at Staley Training.
You can use this daily program to see some pretty spectacular gains.
I know Pavel Tsatsouline has written about something similar, which
he refers to as "greasing the groove" - high-frequency
training of an exercise in order to fine-tune the nervous system
to perform that exercise.
CONCLCUSION:
Bottom line, this book is a great
value for the money (less than 10 bucks). If you need some ideas
to get your lifts moving or if you want to train up a specific exercise
or bodypart, these programs will certainly get the job done.
Click
here to read more about Specialization Training...
About
The Author of the 7 eBooks
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Nick Nilsson is the Director
of Online Operations for Staley Training Systems. He has
a degree in Physical Education and Psychology and has been
inventing powerful new training techniques for more than
17 years.
Nick is the author of a number
of bodybuilding eBooks (listed below) all available by clicking
here and has written for a variety of publications
including Men's Fitness, Reps, Musclemag, Bodybuilding.com
and many others. He can be contacted at nick@staleytraining.com.
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