Articles: 
 From The Desk of Clarence Bass

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To purchase any of these items please e-mail (cncbass@aol.com )or call 505-266-5858  We do not ship internationally.

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Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great (Stuart McRobert)

First and foremost, it may be the most complete book ever written on building the body in a safe and healthy way. McRobert covers literally everything, thoroughly and accurately. If you’ve ever wondered about something related to training, it’s in Stuart’s new book. If he strays at all, it may be that he sometimes tells readers more than they want to know. That’s preferable, of course, to leaving important questions unanswered—which Stuart strives mightily to avoid.

Topics covered include: muscle-building jargon, anatomy, how to begin training, gym etiquette, handling weighs safely between exercises, using small plates, rep range and speed, variations on core exercises, an extremely detailed 12-month program (discussed below)—and much more. He explains proper performance of basic exercises in great detail, warning against some movements that he considers dangerous. He, of course, covers nutrition, health benefits, aging, recuperation, cardio, fat loss, high intensity techniques, arm and ab training, injuries, and training for women. (He even explores the sex appeal of big muscles.)

Talk about complete: The Program which integrates the massive amount of information in the first 439 pages into a 12-month training plan is COMPLETE! If you have never lifted a weight before and don’t know a gym from a gem, Stuart tells you absolutely everything you need to know. What’s more, he also provides counsel and guidance to help the advanced trainee optimize his or her results. He shows both beginner and advanced how to train productively and efficiently, with safely. It’s a win-win program for everyone.  See Clarence's comprehensive commentary:  StuartMcRobert.htm

SOLD OUT

Legacy of Iron (Brooks D. Kubik)

Attorney Brooks Kubik, author of the 1996 book Dinosaur Training and a serious student and practitioner of functional weight training, has done something ingenious and new in Legacy of Iron. He wove historical facts into an appealing narrative about weightlifting in America before World War II. Most of the action takes place in 1939, with flashbacks to the turn of the century. The plot is a clever upgrade of the ubiquitous Charles Atlas ad where the scrawny kid takes up strength training and gets revenge on the bully who kicked sand in his face at the beach in front of his girl friend. Kubik’s principal characters are fictional, but the transformation and redemption are accomplished with help and encouragement from legendary Iron Games personalities that most of today’s weight trainers know little or nothing about.

An important book, must reading for anyone who lifts or wants to start.

For more of Clarence's commentary GO Legacy of Iron: A Novel Based on Weightlifting in 1930's America

Trade paper back, 305 pages, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, $24.95 plus $7.95 priority shipping or $4.60 media rate. Order your copy now, while they last. cncbass@ol.com .

Legacy of Iron: Clouds of War

The second volume in the above series set in the spring of 1940 - one of the greatest periods of American weightlifting (think lifting legends like Stanko, Grimek and John Davis).

See Clarence's commentary on this sequel GO
 

Trade paper back, 305 pages, 5 1/2 X 8 1/2, $24.95 plus $7.95 priority shipping or $4.60 media rate.

LEGENDS of the IRON GAME: Bill Pearl’s Reflections on the History of Physical Culture and Strength Training (3 Volumes)  - but we are sold out., but include this here because of its value to the Iron Game.  Check for copies at used bookstores online.

Eight years in the works, Bill Pearl’s “walk through history” began as a one book project and blossomed into a three volume blockbuster, with over 1000 pages and a like number of photos. When we received our copy, it took a full day just to page through the 3 volumes—the “legends” and the awe-inspiring photos stop you over and over. The trilogy, wider than it is tall (11 X 81/2) with the highest quality paper and meticulous indexing, is almost three inches thick and weighs about nine pounds.

Legends covers the physical culture scene from as far back as ancient China’s Chou Dynasty (1121 to 249 B.C.) through a carefully chosen mix of strongmen [and women], gymnasts, acrobats, weightlifters, vaudeville acts, and bodybuilders, up to 2010.  People (Legends) are covered in chronological order based on their date of birth. For example, Volume 1 begins with Thomas Topham, born in 1710, and ends with Jack LaLanne, who was born in 1914. Volume 2 covers George Redpath (1915) to Sergio Oliva (1941). Finally, Volume 3 begins with Franco Columbu (1941) and ends with Dexter Jackson, who was born in 1969; it also includes major physique photographers, historians, and major contest winners. For more details, GO to Clarence's commentary.

(If you’re not familiar with Bill Pearl’s unparalleled career as a bodybuilder and his earlier books, see my commentary on his Beyond the Universe autobiography http://www.cbass.com/BillPearl.htm )

For more details on each volume--and to actually page through the first volume--visit www.billpearl.com

The Sport of Olympic-Style Weightlifting:  Training For the Connoisseur by Carl Miller (with Kim Alderick) (Sunstone Press, 2011)

This book consolidates Carl Miller's extensive knowledge gained while pursuing his life's work in Olympic-style weightlifting. There are scientific principles behind Olympic-style weightlifting, and Miller's 50 years of lifting, researching and coaching provide valuable insight into the process of Olympic lifting. Whether you are an advanced lifter or a novice, Miller equips you with the tools to become a champion, even if it's in your own mind. For those lifters with the desire to compete, Carl's book will inspire you to immerse your body and mind in the intricacies required to be a winner.  This book provides the athlete with a comprehensive review of the critical elements that mold a champion. Winning isn't simply about lifting technique, eating the right food or visualizing lifts. You will discover the importance of body levers and the nuances of adjusting for your own unique body measurements, you will learn the finer points of planning the different phases of your training, you will be enthralled with the diverse programs available to incorporate in your routines, and you will grasp how your mind contributes to your accomplishments at critical points along your trajectory.

To learn more about Carl Miller's unmatched background in Olympic weightlifting GO

Paperback, 118 pages, 8.3 X 11, $22.95 plus $7.95 priority shipping, or $4.60 media rate.
 

The video came out first, so I guess we can call this the companion book. It complements the video nicely, beginning with an interesting section on the history of Russian kettlebell lifting. The book has much more detail on kettlebell training and the performance of the various lifts. Pavel starts with the basic two-arm swing, moves on to the two-arm snatch pull, the one- and two-arm clean, the one-arm snatch, the clean & jerk, many pressing variations, and ends with the very advanced and difficult bent press. I found it helpful to be able to study the pictures in the book along with the full-motion movements in the video. The book ends with excerpts from the official Soviet weightlifting textbook system of kettlebell training and the official rules of competition.

Pavel calls kettlebell lifting the "working-class answer to elitist weightlifting." You might say it’s a cross between Olympic lifting and Dr. Len Schwartz’s HeavyHands. Olympic lifting is far more demanding and probably more effective, but kettlebells are easier to learn and more practical for most people. "Although many pieces of equipment claim to promote ‘all-around fitness’, "says Pavel, "only K-bells delivers strength, explosiveness, flexibility, endurance and fat loss..., all in one tight package." He cautions, however, that kettlebell exercises can be dangerous. You can boink yourself on the head, sprain your wrist, drop it on your foot – or worse. So be careful. Start light and pay careful attention to Pavel’s instructions on proper performance. 153 pages (excluding advertisements), 11 by 8 ½, $34.95 plus $4.60 shipping media class or $7.95 priority.    

Sandow The Magnificent (David L. Chapman, in hardcover)

A statuette is presented each year to the winners of bodybuilding's top professional contest, the Olympia. Eugen Sandow posed for the original sculpture. This is his biography. The German-born Sandow (1867-1925) was the first bodybuilding superstar, the Arnold Schwarzenegger of his day. The first man to achieve worldwide fame based mainly on his muscular physique and posing ability, Sandow combined his good looks, magnificent physique, intelligence and business savvy to forge a fitness empire. After reading this book, Clarence wrote author-historian David Chapman: "I first heard of Sandow when I was a teenager, but I didn't really understand his place in bodybuilding history until I read your obviously well-researched book.... I loved reading about the character flaws of this great man along with his many triumphs...." A great read, heartily recommended to anyone interested in the rich history of physical culture.
217 pages, $40.00 + $4.60 (media class) or $7.95 (priority) shipping.  [Size, 6 x 9]

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