Cardio Sucks: The Simple Science of Losing Fat Fast...Not Muscle (Muscle for Life)

Great book. Best description of the components that make up a healthy diet that I've ever read. Order of importance: 1. How much you eat 2. Macronutrient balance 3. What you eat 4. Diet timing I've never read it explained quite this way before. A diet pyramid that makes sense, is easy to remember, and it works. I've tried lots of diets like low-carb etc. I've read lots of books about diet, nutrition, and exercise. As explained here, anything based on what you eat or when, is a diet doomed to ultimate failure. I've improved my physique, gained muscle, eat better than ever, and have lost a stubborn 10 lbs. Excellent. Good no-nonsense writing. Great tips on exercise and how different workouts affect your body.

Although this book is only 56 pages long, and I already knew most of what the author was describing, I still think it is a worthwhile book to read especially for those who find themselves strapped for time and need to remember some very important points. One of the most important suggestions the author makes is to find an activity you really enjoy that helps burn fat and retains (or builds) muscle so that you stick to it. So many health clubs, fitness centers and gyms aggressively promote their memberships and really overbook COUNTING on the fact that a good many people will sign up, earnestly attend a few training sessions and/or classes and then slowly, quietly (if not abruptly) drop out never to be seen again with the health club "member" still liable for membership fees they have legally signed a contract agreeing to pay. That is why I was so SIMPLY DELIGHTED when the author included Chapter 11 DANCE THE FAT AWAY WITH ZUMBA. Now THIS was an activity I personally found and was able to stick with! Whatever you do the point is to keep active. Cardio DOESN'T HAVE TO suck! From Chapter 6 BOX YOUR WAY INTO SHAPE to Chapter 14 HEAT THINGS UP WITH HOT YOGA, 15 JUMP ROPING CAN DO WONDERS FOR YOUR BODY. 17 TRAIN LIKE THE BRITISH ARMY and 18 THE CARDIO CORE BLAST there is something for most everybody. There is even a BONUS REPORT 12 HEALTH & FITNESS MISTAKES YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE MAKING. Significantly the author does not neglect the importance of nutrition in helping an individual lose weight and/or improve their health and fitness. He emphasizes that "No matter what anyone tells you getting ripped boils down to nothing more than manipulating a simple mathematical formula:energy consumed versus energy expended." (otherwise known as calories in, calories out). "Healthy fat loss isn't as simple as drastically cutting calories, however." the author tells us "If you eat too little, your body will go into 'starvation mode' and sure, it will lose fat, but you will also lose muscle. Plus, worst of all, your metabolic rate will slow down and once you start eating more, you'll quickly gain the fat back (and sometimes even more than you lost). This is what leads to yo-yo dieting." Finally in thie second chapter the author emphasizes "...doing cardio doesn't equal burning fat. It can accelerate fat loss by burning calories and by speeding up your metabolic rate, but whether you actually lose fat or not will be determined by your daily caloric intake and expenditure." I would like to have seen this book a little longer and more developed. There is a little bit of cookie cutter mentality to it (one solution fits all). For instance, I disagree with him about genetics. I think it really IS harder for some people to lose weight because they come from families where historically people tend to be larger and more prone to being overweight eating habits notwithstanding. A number of these people will make valiant attempts to lose weight, eat properly, exercise vigorously on a regular basis and "do all the right things" and STILL not lose a great deal. Also, the whole issue of women, especially post menopausal women having difficulty losing weight was never really addressed. That being said the book is still a nifty little GENERAL guide on helping people lose their disdain for cardio and embrace it as something they can really enjoy and benefit from. For this I would recommend it.

I bought this book mostly as confirmation that I was on the right track. For over a year now I regularly do HIIT classes (more specifically full body metcon relying mainly on bodyweight and kettbells): pleased with the results, as over the course of 6 Months I must have dropped 6 to 7 Kgs. Then since the start of the year I took up weights again (based on Mike's other book BLS), so now my plan is 3 days BLS/week and 2 days HIIT/week. Overall a great book, easy to read, clear and to the point. Also some great advices in regards nutrition. Few recommendations from my side though: I think it would be great if the book would also highlight all the less "visible" benefits of cardio: e.g. benefits to the heart, benefit to energy levels, positive attitude/mindset, and stress reduction to mentino a few. Certainly, when I started off Hiit, I saw first hand my energy levels going through the roof, and my positiveness going way up, and my stress levels going down.

I just finished this book a few minutes ago and I really enjoyed it. It's more of a follow-up, in my opinion, to the BLS (Bigger, Leaner, Stronger) book. Cardio Sucks! really focuses on the HIIT exercise program, which I'm going to start to incorporate into my workouts. I'm a huge fan of Mike Matthews. I own several Legion supplement items, and I own 3 of his books. Now if I can get the courage up to ask him for an autographed copy of a book that I don't have yet, without looking creepy, that'd be great. Final line: This book is a quick and easy read and I recommend it to anybody looking to expand out from weightlifting to help lower their body fat percentage.

I choice this book because I wasn't sure if I was headed in the right direction in my journey to lose fat and maintain muscle. After reading this book I have much better understanding of how to do just that.

Michael touches every topic required for a successful fat loss.There are topics covering cardio's why,what,when.A good chapter has been done on flexible dieting and i believe this is the correct flexible dieting.Good amount of cardio workouts and meal plans has been given.It's great if you want a book to bust myths and start your plan correctly.Why a four star then...I felt a week by week guide plan on tweaking diets could have been given.Here is the part"The author answers your question directly through his site".And you will love it....

This book is really complete and talk about several types of cardio... This will make you to forget about routine and also help you to get in shape!

Excelente, muy recomendado para todas aquellas personas que realmente deseen cambiar la manera de hacer ejercicio y sus hábitos alimenticios.

A good book, I like this book alot, its easy to understand and follow the advice for a novice. I've read a few exercise and weight loss books before this and to be honest they try too hard to impress and are inclined to ramble on too much developing into a science lesson, thats in no way meant as faint praise of this book mind you, because metabolism, proper nutrition, biology, exercise etc are adequately covered in it, the point is its presented in a way that is understandable. The paragraphs are short and sweet and every subject is broken down and not jumbled together which makes for a good read, I took a great interest in the first three chapters about fat loss and how to eat right, this has helped me recognise where I have been going wrong so I'm beginning to take on board the advice within these pages. There are plenty of exercise routines described to burn those calories but, no drawings/pictures showing you how to do them, however they can be easily found with a quick search, (I know the author has had this brought to his attention elsewhere and is considering it), to sum up its a very useful, inexpensive guide full of concise info on exactly how to go about the right way of fighting the flab.