Anyone who has followed the bodybuilding or powerlifting scenes for any period of time knows who Starnes is. He is an IFBB professional bodybuilder, a successful powerlifter, and one of the best nutritionist out there. He is a magician when it comes to optimizing nutrition and consistently getting his clients peeled to the bone.
Starnes’s newest book, "The Healthy Bodybuilder & Powerlifter," diverts its attention away from
purely performance and aesthetic based nutritional guidance and explores
the much less talked about, while significantly more important, topic of
overall body health.
Most people begin their weight training careers with one
of two goals in mind; either improving their performance in a sport or as a
means of improving or maintaining their health. Once someone begins to
transition towards one of the extremes, such as bodybuilding, powerlifting, or
strongman, attention to one’s health can quickly go out the window.
The iron sports, as Starnes calls them, are literally predicated on the idea of pushing the body to its absolute limits and reaching those limits often requires tools that achieve their desired result at the expense of one’s long-term overall health.
The iron sports, as Starnes calls them, are literally predicated on the idea of pushing the body to its absolute limits and reaching those limits often requires tools that achieve their desired result at the expense of one’s long-term overall health.
Starnes’ book provides a clear and concise guide to
managing your health. He breaks things down into seven systems:
cardiovascular, liver, kidney, adrenal, thyroid, dietary and digestive, and
orthopedic. For each system he discusses:
- the conditions that the athlete is most susceptible to
- why the athlete is at an elevated risk for these conditions, whether it’s from training, nutrition, supplements, or even drugs
- how the athlete can monitor his/her health with respect to these conditions by discussing different tests the athlete should perform or should have his/her doctor perform
- how to understand and interpret the results of these tests, including discussions of normal and expected results, and what out of range results mean to your health
- what can be done to negate or at least minimize these risks, whether it’s through nutritional changes, lifestyle changes, or supplementation
I can’t dive too much
deeper into the specifics of what is found in the book because that would not be fair to
Starnes. While this might not be the most exciting book you have ever read, it
could ultimately be the most beneficial long term. It might not add an extra 50 pounds to your squat over your next training cycle, but it just might help keep you healthy so that you can continuously train at 100 percent, and that over time might add an extra 50 pounds to your squat (not to mention years to your life).
The book is an easy to understand
guide to your overall health and presents a lot of tools and changes that can
be easily implemented to improve your health. This is definitely a book I believe is worth
having on your digital bookshelf.
No one wants to be dead at 50 due to their pursuit of 22
inch arms or a 2200 pound total. Not to mention that maintaining your health is
one of the key factors in being able to consistently train at 100% year after
year. If you constantly forced to take time off due to sickness and injuries,
then how can you continue to progress? A health body will always perform better
than the alternative.
For more information:
Purchase the book from Starnes' site here:http://www.shelbystarnes.com/store.html
No comments:
Post a Comment