Review of Marc David's No Bull Bodybuilding System by Mike Westerdal of CriticalBench.com
Marc David says that he was once a "135 pound weakling," who today is a 200-pound plus bodybuilder who has helped thousands to build muscle, get lean and become fitter than they ever thought possible. Besides being an accomplished trainer and coach, Marc has also developed his own training system: Marc David's No Bull Bodybuilding System. I recently had a chance to take a good look at it and gave it a try. I'd like to share some of my thoughts about Marc's ideas and concepts.
First, I like the fact that Marc found his inspiration among bodybuilding's all-time greats like Arnold and some of the others. He's not pushing some "new" high-tech program that promises that you can "gain huge amounts of mass and get lean without breaking a sweat," or some other ridiculous promise.
Marc starts out with an extensive "before you begin" chapter, which provides a lot of information for the beginner. It covers the basics like goal-setting, caloric intake, figuring out much protein you need, gym membership versus home gym, proper breathing, staying motivated, gym etiquette and more.
Chapter two moves on to nutrition, providing thorough discussions about topics like: determining your daily caloric needs; the importance of tracking your daily food intake and others. Again, like the chapter before, this section is ideally suited for the beginner. The chapter provides some good information and "reminders" for the more advanced athlete too, so you definitely don't want to overlook.
In the next chapter Marc moves on to discussions about training techniques-packing a lot of information into its 46-pages. Variety is the foundation of Marc's bodybuilding philosophy. If you know anything at all about bodybuilding then you already know that this is sound advice that yields big time results. Our bodies quickly become accustomed to routines and if we keep doing the same thing over and over for too long, the gains come to a grinding halt. In this chapter Marc discusses a variety of different training techniques and also provides a lot of great tips about how to vary just about any training routine. For example, he has a section entitled, "Nine simple ways to increase the intensity of any workout," which is great.
Again, like every other chapter in the book, this one is really thorough and comprehensive. In it, he gives a great overview of a variety of different training programs and answers just about any question that a beginning or aspiring bodybuilder might have. He's even got a great section about weight training for women. Also, just like in the book's other chapters, Marc includes an assortment of handy tips, tricks and links to resources.
The ins and outs of supplementation are covered in chapter four. Here again the more advanced bodybuilder might be tempted to skim through this chapter but don't sell yourself short. There is some useful and sound information here that shouldn't be overlooked.
The rest of the book's chapters move pretty quickly. I really like his "5 simple steps that work for everybody." It's one of the shortest but most important sections in the book-putting it all together. This is where most people fail. They've got all this great information in their head but they fail to use it. Here, Marc gives you 5 steps to avoid that common pitfall.
The section on establish and maintaining the proper mindset includes a quiz that can help the beginner or advanced bodybuilder keep things in the proper perspective. This is followed by a chapter dedicated to workout recovery-often overlooked by beginners and experts alike. The resources section is exceptionally well done and includes some incredibly useful information and links to some great tools. He wraps up the book with a handy glossary and a list of some foods that you should be eating.
Overall, I think Marc's book is well-done and worthwhile. He provides a ton of practical, real-world information that if applied properly will translate into results. At 263 pages, No Bull Bodybuilding is a lot longer than most training system books. Because Marc does provide so much information for total beginners, you might be tempted to skim over a lot of the earlier pages in the chapters. Don't make that mistake though-these sections include some information and links to tools that even a knowledgeable bodybuilder can find useful. Particularly if you are looking for a really comprehensive A to Z guide, then you really ought to consider getting a copy of the No Bull Bodybuilding System.
Chapter two moves on to nutrition, providing thorough discussions about topics like: determining your daily caloric needs; the importance of tracking your daily food intake and others. Again, like the chapter before, this section is ideally suited for the beginner. The chapter provides some good information and "reminders" for the more advanced athlete too, so you definitely don't want to overlook.
