Weight Lifting Is a Waste of Time: So Is Cardio, and There’s a Better Way to Have the Body You Want

From reading the synopsis of this book I expected to be exposed to the latest science on physiology of muscle and strength. Instead this book appears to be an infomercial for a product called X3. It details the inventors' stories and their "quest" for a new way of building muscle mass, and the use of their product. There is the usual chapter on nutrition that is ubiquitous in all books on weight lifting. Then there are the personal success stories complete with grainy black and white photos supposedly documenting changes in physique and muscle mass. Its difficult to tell from the poor photographs what changes there actually were compared to just changes in lighting and shading in the photos.The "brilliant" discovery is that lifting weights has limited effect because the joint angles and muscle length change during a lift. This means that certain portions of a lift will require less force than other portions. Therefore the amount of weight lifted can only be as great as the weakest part of the lift, which of course means that for most of the lift the muscles are not working at maximum. As an example, when bench pressing the hardest part of the lift is starting at chest level. As the weight rises the lift gets easier as the joints straighten and less force is needed to continue moving the weight upward.This not a new idea, and is exactly why nautilus machines were invented half a century ago, to overcome this phenomenon of force variation during the lift. The old Soloflex machines by nature of using elastic bands also achieved an unintentional low tech variation on this theme, with the start of the lift being easier and the force needed increasing as the bands were stretched. (This was actually a criticism of the Soloflex at the time.)Neither Nautilus or Soloflex proved to be massive improvements in building muscle or strength. The X3 product being promoted in this book appears to be an elastic resistance band coupled with a bar which again creates a variable resistance during lifts.Its difficult to tell, but it appears the authors are biomechanical engineers. There are some citations to scientific papers, but certainly there is no exhaustive discussion of new scientific discoveries that might lead one to conclude that weight lifting doesn't work or that there is a "better way." I would not call this a science--heavy book. The forward is written by an MMA fighter. The authors' credentials only highlight being associated with celebrity Tony Robbins. However there is no endorsement by credentialed exercise physiologists that would carry any weight as far as validity.At any rate, the X3 resistance band may be a great product. What I was hoping for, however, was an introduction to new science on muscle hypertrophy and strength gain that was outside what we have all read and been led to believe. That was the promise of the book, a promise it failed to deliver on.

Pros - Ive been following Dr. Jaquish and the X3 system since Feb 2019. I love the X3 and it has really put some muscle on me and ive gotten low body fat using the carnivore method and Intermittent fasting methods that are discussed in this book. I am at 11% body fat and the best ive ever felt. I also am a fan of his other inventions as well. Dr. John Jaquish follows the science and that had led to a huge discovery. It amazes me how many people write this off as another fad, but as someone who buys a ton of home fitness equipment, ive never bought something better then the X3.Cons - I was upset that he didnt even mention the GH Accelarator in the entire book! It makes me think that he doesnt believe in it as much? I purchased it, looked into the research of WBV myself and am really impressed with it. I did a body scan a month ago and I was at 11% body fat, I got the GH Accelarator the next day and in the last month ive gained about 6lbs and I believe its all muscle because I didnt change anything and im still looking ripped. I also wish he explained why the exercises he chose are the best. He explains how to do them, but I wanted to be sold like Coach Paul Wade sells you in Convict conditioning.Final Verdict - I honestly have not seen any other person or product get bashed on the internet as much as the X3 in comments by trolls. The truth is anyone who has ever tried it generally falls in love with it. Ive gotten at least 3 other people to buy an X3. I definitely recommend this book and the X3, GH Accelarator, Osteostrong, In-Perium, Fortagen. This man knows his stuff.

Vert misleading. This isn't a book per se, but an extended advertisement for a product that you would buy separately. I'm not disputing the research it presents etc, but the book itself isn't of any value outside of convincing people that the product is a useful tool. If you expect to find anything here to help you, you will be disappointed. I won't but the X3 simply because I can't trust anyone pulling a sketchy ploy like this

About 1/3 of the way through the book it becomes clear this book is really a written commercial for the X3. Some workout information protocols are shared, but nothing new for exercise enthusiasts. Unproven, bogus, and maybe even harmful information about diet is also promoted. I recommend books by Dr. Neal Barnard for diet and books such as "One Minute Workout" by Martin Gibala for an understanding of exercise and how to do it.By the way, the X3 is being sold, at least on the authors website, for ~$500. This book is garbage!

Varying levels of strength and fatigue was hit upon by Arthur Jones and his Nautalis machines had the cam to reflect that.Louie Simmons pioneered bands for changing the strength curve and speed training.Check out the kit this guy is selling on line, and the price. This book is just an advert for that. Buy bands out then on the machines or bars to vary resistance save yourself about £400!!!

This book is nothing more than a sales pitch for the X3, you're paying to read an advert. This really doesn't sit well with me and has really put me off of anything to do with X3.It's an obvious attempt at squeezing as much money as possible out of people given the ridiculous price of the X3.

I’m a 56 year old male who has competed in body building tournaments in my twenties. So I’ve been around fitness a long time. I have a degree and have therefore studied this subject to quite a high level.Anyway I feel that reading this has turned my world upside down and I’m fine with that as the theories presented make total sense!In fact they make more sense than anything I’ve previously learned and believed.I’m going to try the 12 week program for myself and post results on Social media.I’m already totally convinced on zero carb after trying every way of eating and getting amazing results from the carnivore diet.

I enjoyed the book, and devoured it the day it arrived. If I could I'd give it 4 1/2, but there's not a 1/2 star mechanism. The sole detraction I have is in the diet section where it talks about 16:8 and no studies on showing the importance of breakfast. This is incorrect. Chronobiology is admittedly a niche field, but one I am acquainted with, and there is an abundance of evidence for eTRF (early time restricted feeding, or skipping dinner) being metabolically advantageous over any other pattern of feeding, including in human studies.But still, otherwise an excellent book and very well researched.(I also actually own the X3 and love it - get the carry case, it's worth it).

The summary sounds interessting, but it turns out to be just a sales pitch for the X3 training bands. Disapointing