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Bullet-Proof Abs : 2nd Edition of Beyond Crunches | 
 enlarge | Creators: Pavel Tsatsouline, Andrea Ducane, Robert Pearl, Derek Brigham
Publisher: Dragon Door Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $21.92
You Save: $13.03 (37%)
New (28) Used (16) from $18.88
Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 114536
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2 Revised
Pages: 128
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 10.6 x 8.3 x 0.5
ISBN: 0938045253
Dewey Decimal Number: 613
EAN: 9780938045250
ASIN: 0938045253
Publication Date: December 1, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served.
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Product Description
Fry your abs without the spine-wrecking, neck-jerking stress of traditional crunches -- using this radical sit-up designed by the world's leading back and muscle function expert, Professor Janda from Czechoslovakia. No one -- but no one -- has ever matched Bruce Lee's ripped-beyond-belief abs. What was his favourite exercise? Here it is. Now you can rip your own abs to eye-popping shreds and reclassify yourself as superhuman.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
A Decent Training Manual July 20, 2008
Jonathon Wright (Area 51 - B)
I would like to preface this review with the statement that the price of the book is, as with almost everything else Pavel has produced, completely ridiculous. The book itself is good, but I would recommend obtaining it via friend, as the actual substance, while useful, is not the bulk of the text.
That being said, it's possible you're wondering why I gave it four stars instead of, say, three, and my justification is that the six areas of truly useful information it contains detail the only four accessory exercises necessary for a complete 'functional' abdominal component in a decent routine (which, by merit of already containing Squats and/or Deadlifts in some form, already includes some level of 'core' stimulation), and two breathing 'exercises' that are very useful for improving the effectiveness of the valsalva maneuver (for general heavy lifting) and exhalation strength.
However, the bad first:
1) The entire Janda Sit-Up section after the first ~3 pages is a very long infomercial and product manual for the gimmicky Ab Pavelizer, a $170 piece of steel that allows you to do Janda Sit-Ups (outlined in the book) without a partner. The issue is twofold - one, no non-business entity is ever going to spend that much on such a device, and two, even if you lack a partner, it's easy to put together a setup that accomplishes the same thing. The exercise itself is very good; the infomercial, not so.
2) There's a fairly large segment devoted to integrating ab function with the rest of the body once you've gotten to the stage that you can do the Janda Sit-Ups without dying. This is completely superfluous, since anyone who can afford $170 for the Pavelizer can also be reasonably expected to have access to free weights, and most worthwhile free weight exercises involve full-body stimulation, with the midsection providing stabilization. Having an entire section devoted to exercises that aren't necessary is extremely annoying.
3) Much of the last quarter of the book is just ads for his other books and videos, plus more stuff on the Pavelizer.
4) The useful information is really just a more elaborate version of stuff you can find in a number of other places; bodybuilding.com, while normally useless, has some version of every one of them in its exercise directory (except possibly the suitcase single-side deadlift).
Yes, that's right - approximately two-thirds of the book is completely useless. However, the remainder is fairly good, going into some reasonable detail on form for:
Janda Sit-Ups (to the same end as the regular sit-up, but with better abdominal isolation and vastly reduced back stress)
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Saxon Side-Bends (superior to the regular side-bend primarily in that smaller weights can be used to great effect, due to the longer lever arm)
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Full-Contact Twists (arguably the most useful core exercise from a functional perspective, and easily the best twisting exercise)
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Single-Side Suitcase Deadlifts (used primarily to stimulate the quadratus laborum, and helpful for back injury prevention and improved grip strength)
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The Stomach Vacuum (used by older bodybuilders to reduce the apparent size of the stomach and emphasize the chest; it's fallen out of favor now, but can help to reduce the midsection size in those who are already lean)
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"Bending the Fire" (breathing technique; the picture of Pavel inflating a hot water bottle is a pretty good explanation of the benefits it can have for strength of exhalation).
The two breathing exercises also have some carryover to the Valsalva maneuver, frequently used by powerlifters to increase the weight they can lift through increased pressure inside the torso, which helps to stimulate stronger muscle contractions when used.
The descriptions and form details for these exercises are fairly good (if you ignore the fact that most of the Janda Sit-Up chapter requires the pavelizer to be useful), though short, and while you can probably find screenshots of the useful pages online, and the information on either the normal versions or some variants can be found on bodybuilding.com, the book itself is, surprisingly, more useful.
As stated above, it's not worth the price, and, as a few reviewers have failed to realize, it isn't intended as a scientific text. It's a training manual, and should be treated as such. However, if you can get a copy used or for free (ideally through legal means, though I'm told that you can download most of Pavel's books in eBook form for free), or at least obtain scans of some of the pages, the information actually worth having is very useful. As stated above, between the four non-breathing exercises, you've got everything you'll ever need for training forward-bending, side-bending, and twisting movement patterns, and if you train in high-weight, low-rep, high-set schemes, you will indeed have 'bullet-proof' abs within about six months of adding the movements as accessory items in a decent routine.
 Another Pearl of info June 10, 2008
Jamie P. Tierney (Maine)
Overall I recomend this book. I like Pavel's stuff.
However I would say that the one bad thing about this book is that if you
wrote it in normal size type, and did not have huge pictures on every page, it would be a pamplet, not a book! Once again I am a fan of Pavel and I have made huge gains in working out from his material however it is like digging for pearls in oysters.
I have Enter the Kettlebell, Bullet Proof Abs, and The Naked Warrior and I think all these could be made into one book. That being said I plan of buying more of his stuff.
 By comparing over 10 abs books, I concluded... January 31, 2008
cxlxmx
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
I purchased about 10 books from Amazon on abs in order to compare them. This one takes advantage of people who think that there are better "hidden" ways to do things or who believe in the myth of exceptional Soviet training. The book is mostly about selling the author's personality and advertising his own ab exercise machine. His most effective ideas seem to be found in some of the other books anyhow, and he doesn't address the importance of nutrition and fat loss for ab work. If you're looking for a good book to help you with your abs, here's my conclusion from comparing books...
If You Want to Trim Your Waistline: You can't trim your waistline without losing fat, and you can't lose fat around your waist without losing it everywhere (focusing on a muscle group like the abdominal muscles doesn't burn fat in that location, just a little bit of fat from everywhere on the body). So, if you want to trim your waistline, skip the ab workout books and go with a good, proven overall weight loss and fitness book like Bill Phillips' Body for Life. The Abs Diet is a similar program, but like all the Men's Health publications, it advertises a 6-week transformation, which is just a little unrealistic. Plan on more like 12-24 weeks to see really noticeable changes if you are fat.
If You Want Sculpted Six-Pack Abs: If you are overweight at all, see above--you can't get a six pack while you're overweight, and you can't lose abdominal fat by doing an ab workout, so go for overall fitness. However, if you are already lean, see below.
If You Want to Strengthen or Build Your Ab Muscles: If you're trying to improve for work, play, or rehab, you might consider the following books: The Body Sculpting Bible for Abs Deluxe DVD Edition contains decently up-to-date information and tells you exactly what to do and when to do it, based on a six-week fitness course. If you're looking for a similar book with more information, you can choose from The Complete Book of Abs or The Complete Book of Core Training. The Complete Book of Abs (1998) is a little out of date in terms of its dietary/nutritional recommendations, but it focuses more on exercises that develop the external abdominal muscles (the ones you see in a six-pack), including lots of variations on leg lifts, bicycle motion, and sit-ups. It will also give you more resources for creating your own program, and, if that's what you want to do, go with this one instead of The Body Sculpting Bible. The Complete Book of Core Training (2006) focuses more on the functional body core, including internal abdominal muscles, legs, etc., and includes more trendy exercises using medicine balls, exercise balls, yoga, etc. A different sort of book is Stronger Abs and Back (1997), which was written before the current fad of selling "core training," but contains the elements of core training because it gives good functional sports-focused advice. Its dietary recommendations are out of date, but it recommends a 24-week workout plan, which is much more realistic than the 6-week plans advocated by many of the other books.
If You Have Back Pain: See your doctor, and if he prescribes abdominal/core strengthening, see above.
My one-book recommendation: Body for Life.
My two-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back.
My three-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back + The Complete Book of Abs.
My four-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back + The Complete Book of Abs + The Abs Diet.
Hope this helps!!
Former physiology Teaching Fellow rating.... September 27, 2007
Patrick D. Goonan (Pleasanton, CA)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
I am a former physiology teaching fellow, personal trainer and biochemist. Currently, I am employeed in the psychology field, but I maintain a personal interest in fitness, new developements, etc. I have had back surgery, herniated disks in my neck and other problems some of which are related to sports in part or in full. So... I have some academic credibility as well as personal experience in this area.
With this context out of the way, I want to first say that I got some good ideas from this book and I don't doubt that a lot of the suggestions would be extremely effective. On the other hand, I wouldn't necessarily say the same for safety. If someone has perfect technique and doesn't bite off more than they can chew, they will probably be OK. On the other hand, I would check with a doctor, chiropracter and/or physical therapist before embarking on this program or at least the more risky exercises.
Many of the exercises that appear in this book are recycled from other places and are not new or innovative. The content is rather light and as other reviewers have mentioned there is no suggested routine, reps, sets or anything else. Given the price of this book and this man's reputation, I expected much more for the cost.
In fairness, I would rate the book a 3.5 on the strength of gathering some very useful material in one place. The hard reality for a lot of people is that washboard abs may be out of reach genetically. It doesn't really matter how many abdominal exercises they do or for how long. Dieting might be very helpful, but even then fat distribution patterns are largely genitically determined. Contour liposuction and moderate exercise without risking a need for back surgery might be a better option for some. This reality doesn't seem to be emphasized enough in this book.
I must admit that I was also turned off a lot by all the marketing hype particularly at the end of the book. It certainly didn't help the author to establish credibility in my eyes that some of the information is a general reference to soviet scientists, an unnamed doctor, etc. I would prefer to have heard more personal accounts with depth or even routines, reps, sets, days a week of exercise and results obtained.
For the money, there is very little content here. I would say 50% or more could be found in a yoga book or other abs books. My personal experience working with others doing abs training is that functional integration achieved by using the body in a coordinated way along with developing strength through progressive resistance is the shortest path to the goal.
I don't personally believe doing more than 20 reps of anything is useful for the abs, but adding weight gives you more bang for the effort if you can do it with good form. Also, exercises like squats and deadlifts strengthen the abs substantially by having them work against increased internal abdominal pressure from bearing weight. Pushups are also excellent for the same reason and the abs must also hold the viscera in place against gravity.
I applaud the author for including some yoga exercises. These have been empirically tested for thousands of years and even used in back rehabilitation e.g. see Back Care Basics: A Doctor's Gentle Yoga Program for Back and Neck Pain Relief. Also, the author Judith Lasater gathered real references from the Journal of Applied Physiology on the plank and variations. Almost counterintuitively, these are some of the best abs exercises and it's great that the author of this book includes them and gives a short explanation of why they work.
If I judge this book against other books in this genre based on content, density, added value, I think saying it's a 3.0-3.5 is very generous. Dollar for dollar, my favorite author in this area is Stuart McRobert. In particular I like the following: Build Muscle Lose Fat Look Great: Everything You Need to Know to Transform Your Body and the The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique. Another very good book on correct technique is Starting Strength: A Simple and Practical Guide for Coaching Beginners.
In summary, if you are new to weight lifting or body building, I would steer clear of some of these exercises and perhaps the entire book. If you are advanced lifter, you will get much more out of it and you will already know about the potential safety hazards of some of these exercises from your experience. Personally, I think the author was remiss in not focusing more on technique, safety and a progression through the various exercises with guidelines about when it is safe or reasonably safe to tackle a more difficult variation.
All of this is simply my own opinion. There are people who know more about bodybuilding, physiology, etc. However, I am an expert on my own experience, I read a lot and I am more knowledgable than the average layperson in this area. I wrote this review to provide some balance to some of the other reviews and I offered my honest opinion. It is not meant to replace other reviews, but rather to compliment them with a different perspective.
In summary, there is some added value here in terms of a number of innovative techniques and why they work. However, overall this book is simply unbalanced. Instead of using so much space for marketing, I wished he used those pages to add more detail on the fine points of the exercises or included suggested routines, sets and reps.
With respect to the proprietary exercise equipment the author recommends, I'm not convinced that you really need it or can't achieve the same result in other ways. I'm sure it works, but you can get the same result with a yoga block between your knees and exercise bands attached to your ankles for much less cost.
Bullet-Proof Abs - review August 24, 2007
Chad Goble (St. Louis, MO USA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The focus of the book is on the use of the Pavelizer exercise equipment. There are some other exercises described, but they are fringe exercises to be performed in addition to the Janda sit-ups.
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