“Body by Design” By Kris Gethin Book Review and Reflection
As a long time active member of Bodybuilding.com and BodySpace, I was one of the first to receive a copy of the "Body by Design" fitness book by author Kris Gethin. It is currently about $14 dollars on Amazon and is worth a peek if you are looking for some extra motivation.
Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Body-Design-Complete-12-Week-Transform/dp/1451602170
The Book
"Body by Design" it its core is a transformation book. It is crafted to get you off the couch and for a more active and healthier lifestyle. It runs you through four parts. The first part is The Promise. In this section, there is a strong focus on finding motivation and setting the foundation of what your overarching goals will be. Setting the theme for the book, you dive into the details in the next three sections.
Part II is labeled The Four Pillars of Power, this section focuses on will power and why people fail. Most people come up with excuses on why they will not workout today and attempt to push off what they can do today to tomorrow. Understanding and acknowledging the influences that impact your long term goals can mentally prepare you for the long hard battle ahead.
Part III is the specifics, The Body by Design Plan. Kris Gethin walks you through a detailed workout and nutrition plan that will give any beginning a starting base for developing their own workout plan in the future. Personally, I feel he overemphasizes cardio and isolation movements but I have vastly different goals than most beginners. He also provides some nice diet tips to help you stay on your chosen course.
Part IV or Never Look Back ends with motivational words to help you turn a goal to a lifestyle. I personally feel that working out should not be a task to do, but a lifestyle choice incorporated as a natural extension of your day. Once you achieve this level of comfort, all the building blocks will fall into place itself. At my point in life, I have no worries about diet. I can eat whatever and drink whatever while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I found my balance and so could you.
The Message
The book itself isn't earth shattering. Many of the concepts and tips are reasonable but not new to the industry. What differentiates the book is the stories inside and how the book was created. The book is based on BodySpace, which is the key takeaway. Inside each chapter includes stories of real people, people that I have personally crossed paths with in BodySpace. BodySpace is an extension of Bodybuilding.com. It is the social networking portion of the website that lets people keep track of their progress and learn from their peers.
Bodybuilding.com chose average people with extraordinary success stories from BodySpace and peppered the book with their message. It may just be a fitness book, but it dares you to take the chaos of your own life and find your center.
The book contains the stories of the following people:
- Claudio Ramos
- Kassandre Harper-Cotton
- Tiffany Forni
- Peter Czerwinski (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBh8cqabrWo) - For three years I have watched him make a name for himself in the industry and is now one of the top competitive eaters in the world.
- Errol Hannigan
- Judi Hannigan
- Rochelle Ford
- Brad Spencer
- Ricky Howell
- Monica Gregerson
- Steve Poyner
- Charlotte Quillen
- Sarah Murdick
- Ed Cook
- Amy Barnes
- Nick Scott
So what is so great about this group of random people? You can go online to BodySpace and ask them a question. These are not fake smiles behind a fitness magazine, they can be easily reached with a simple click of a button. If you are looking for extra motivation and need some help, these are the people to talk to.
BodySpace
Honestly, the book itself is a nice introduction to the ever evolving BodySpace (http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/). As the book described, the best way to take the little steps is to give yourself accountability. Go online, layout your plan for the future, join a community where people are having the same challenges, these are the people that will help you dig deep inside for the motivation to destroy it at the gym.
Three years ago, I joined Bodybuilding.com not knowing what I was doing.
Since then I have made significant progress in the community. Everyone needs to find motivation somewhere. I find my motivation by keeping an online log of my chosen lifestyle. Whatever you do, make yourself accountable for your choices and actions.
January 7th, 2012 - 19:05
This book is a complete fake! If you think that ALL of these people got the results they got with DIET and EXERCISE ALONE dont be fooled! Several of the men profiled in the book (especially the older ones) got the results they got by using STEROIDS! Not by diet and exercise as they want YOU to believe. That is something they do not want you to know and it is not mentioned in the book. Learn to ask the questions that they do not want to answer and they will cringe. This is just another cheesy way that these people use so that you buy their products. I hope that this book flops miserably as it should. Start telling the public the truth instead of lies. More people would love to know where/how to get the same steropids used by the people in the book- not some crappy diet plan.
May 6th, 2012 - 06:58
Doing the program myself. No need to get the book the 12 week trainer is online and free. Already was in decent shape, but am getting super cut up. It works, no need for steroids… results are what matter who gives a shit about what other people look like in the book.