7 X Your Strength Gains Even if You’re a Man, Woman or Clueless Beginner Over 50: Bodyweight Training Exercises and Calisthenic Workouts

I was very impressed with (1) the author's emphasis on how body-weight exercises spread the strain to adjacent muscles and thereby reduce injury risk as well as providing a more complete, natural workout; and (2) pre-workout warmups (to which I've added trunk twists) and post-workout stretches. This morning I did, barely and not beautifully, 8,8,8 of both diamond and pike pushups, along with other prescribed exercises. Very happy that the author shared this wisdom!

There are many good recommendations in this book. If you are inexperienced in setting up a work-out plan, the system advised here is a solid starting point. If you are experienced, you can still gain some good ideas.

There are so many books available on bodyweight training. The author admits that Kindle is not an optimal format for presenting a workout plan and this is what the book lacks. You will have to do a lot of planning to follow the routine but the concepts and exercise seemed sound. It’s worth a read.

Fitness consultant Rex Bonds has targeted the 50+ set with a back to basics bodyweight fitness plan that can be done anywhere by anyone with minimal available equipment. He offers a program that focuses on a progression of pulls, pushes, squats that will take a committed person from the state of I can move to a position of solid strength. Bonds also provides sound advice on eating healthy and maintaining proper hydration.At the outset, Bonds refers to his experience as a weightlifting bodybuilder, but suggests that the regimens that bodybuilders use to get cut are not what the average person needs to do in order to be fit and get strong. For the common man, he suggests natural, compound movements. Making progress is easily observed and highly practical as one increases the number of reps one can do of pushups, headstand pushups, pull ups, squats, etc. This work fits in the same genre as Paul Wade’s Convict Conditioning, Josh Bryant’s Jailhouse, and Pavel’s Naked Warrior. While it doesn’t have the edgy “bad boy” backstory, the approach - a limbering warmup followed by sets of six basic exercises is similar. Each exercise has a wide range of variations from easy to difficult to accommodate a wide range of strength and skill. This book is more straightforward than many others in the genre.A complete workout, with recommended rests, will take about an hour to an hour and half and will get results.

I am a personal trainer, but I am addicted to fitness books. I wanted to see what this one had to offer.The book was well written and easy to read. I like how the author touched on all the important aspects of fitness.The exercises he chose are the best if you want to work a good portion of your body with minimal moves.I liked his progression on each exercise. I personally struggle with pull-ups, and I will use his suggestions.I would recommend this for anyone who wants to strengthen their body and get stamina without a fancy gym membership.

Good book for beginners or a refresher for people who have been away from fitness for a while. Nothing new for folks who work out regularly.

What I like most about this book is that you can tailor the i formation presented to fit your own needs. I am generally at an intermediate fitness level, but there are some exercises I will need to start at the beginner level. Conversely, there are a couple I could start at a higher level and then really push myself (looking at you, down and back up bridges ;)). Good book, I highly recommend for anyone wanting to increase their strength and overall fitness.

Nice book but has very few diagrams of the calisthenics the author describes.

Hi. I'm 68 and have had my share of health problems but have been training (mostly weights) for many years, changing to body weight training in more recent times. I've tried/read many books on the subject and followed lots of workouts with mixed results.This book gets mixed reviews but having read it through and having some experience of the subject, I have to say, I think it's a good read at a very affordable price.In the early pages it introduces the reasons and benefits of bodyweight training with minimal ( but important) waffle. It clearly explains the exercises and how you should train, especially as a beginner or an older trainer. It's probably not what an experienced athlete is looking for, but is a comprehensive, realistic and most useable guide.I do not pretend to be an expert but if I was asked to recommend a training manual that a beginner or older trainer could use to get them started AND follow then this would be high on my list. While we're at it, don't take my comment about "beginner" or the " older trainer" to heart. I'm an "older trainer" and if I was a " beginner" I'd be looking for something like this to set me off on the right road. Affordable and very informative.

Good book for beginners..simple and basic..remember basics are the key..easy to read..easy to understand..the author could have done much better

Having just read this book from cover to cover I am impressed with the level of detail the author goes to, I particularly like the emphasis on hydration food sleep and breathing correctly, the progression principles while common sense when someone points it out to you often get ignored by beginners, overall I think this is a very good guide for anyone wanting to get fitter and stronger, but of course requires commitment and consistent participation .