Anyone have some fave bodybuilding reads?

I don't really strictly adhere to any of these, I just kind of browse through for tips on workouts and nutrition.

"The Action Hero Body"
Jorgen de May
Some good meal planning tips and a good ideas on how to structure your workouts so they don't fall by the wayside.

"The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding"
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Dobbing
Tons of exercise ideas.

"Bruce Lee Library Vol.4 The Art of Expressing the Human Body"
Edited by John Little
Detailed accounts of Bruce Lee's fitness regime, very inspiring when you see all of the muscle gains Bruce Lee made over the course of his career.

"Men's Health" Magazine
Various
Plenty of small tips and tricks.

For me the best book I ever had on body building which I consider the absolute ultimate Body Building guide in the world, is

Joe Weider's Body Building System by Joe Weider
ISBN 0-945797-00-1

It is no longer in print and has since been replaced by others, however to me this is the best book ever. Why, because this is what got me started, it had complete routines for 9 months that took me from beginner to intermediate. Not only that it made a noticeable difference in my life, not only with my physical appearing in 9 months but the ladies took notice as well. Joe Weider made me a happy man. ;-)

I still have the book it sits on my bookshelf I cracked it open a few months ago when someone asked me to help them get started, I used the same routines and that person has made great gains as well. However the Nutrition information is off some as this book comes from the early 90's but still it is a good solid start for anyone starting out.

I do also have the DVDs from the Joe Weider Split training system however a big warning to that one do not even bother unless you have been been lifting the heavy free weights for several years or more. Which if you have then you already know about the brutal split system. The reason I say unless you are a very experienced lifter for several years and have developed your mind muscle connections to every muscle in your body the split system would take you into over training mode and tear your body down in a couple of weeks providing you could do it for more than a week. It is rough. To give you an idea it is training twice a day, 6 days a week. You target only one muscle group each session and work it to total exhaustion.

I also have, as mentioned above
The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding and I use that as a reference when I designing a new routine. Full of good exercises

The only other one I have is
Strength Training Anatomy by Frederic Delavier
ISBN 0-7360-6368-4

I use that one again when designing new routines, it really does a good job detailing with pictures the exact muscles you are working. I wish it had more exercises because I love the format. But it always is a great reference and several times an exercise makes it into my routine because that book shows me the exact muscles it will target and I can actually see it.

Then for updates Muscle and Fitness magazine primarily again a Joe Weider Publication.

Now one thing I would like to mention though, books are great to get started body building, at least they give you some guidance. The weider book, well many of the things in it I still use to this day. This is 15 years later of body building and the Methodologies in there I still use today heck most personal trainers and so on use many of these methodologies. In Fact I used some tonight. I have read articles on like Xreps and Static training, Forced reps, drop sets, and a variety of things, I mix techniques in a little here or a little there as needed. However, those beginning should concentrate on form over anything else. Start Slow I do recommend some nice easy starting routines, too many people try to go too fast they either get hurt or burned out. Follow someone else's beginning routine like the Weider ones. The other reason I liked the Weider book is it opened my eyes and explained why I was doing certain exercises in certain orders. It also taught me how to create my own workouts. Unless you are experience you can not just walk in and start lifting weights, they must be done in order. It also forces you to develop good habits early. Like keeping a training log. Like I said 15 years later I do not step in the gym without my notebook. I have forgot it before and got in the locker room only to leave and go home and get it. I still have every log book form when I started. Except in about 2000 I started keeping spread sheets so I could throw the books out. But a log book is very important. How can you know where your going if you do not know where you have been.

Body Building books can only get your started really to truly body build you must get to know your own body and what it responds to and how to work it and what manipulates it. Every person will be different you must learn your own body once you get to an advanced level well your basically on your own. I am not trying to brag or anything but it is the only example I can give you, myself, I know my body so well I can manipulate my fat levels in months to my advantage. I recently after bulking hard all winter long found myself to be carrying 40 lbs of extra fat as well, it wasn't really noticeable on me though 40 extra lbs of fat and you could still see a 6 pack but I had lost some vascularity and some lines. So at the beginning of June I decided to cut it off. So with a change to my routine some slight modifications to my diet now getting close to the end of August I am down 35 lbs of fat. None of it is water weight, as I am well hydrated still drinking 2 gallons of water a day roughly. Not only that I am eating good and full, heck I am still taking in 3000 calories a day, but burning fat at that high of a level. It is just in 15 years of body building I have learned to manipulate my exercises for specific purposes, I have burned 35 lbs of fat and I only do a half hour of cardio a week. Cardio never worked for me. I only do it really to exercise my heart the the heavy lifting I do really pumps it as well. However on the flip side, my Nephew at age 20, slightly overweight, I started him body building and he wasn't loosing fat very well, he gained some muscle and strength but wasn't burning the fat so we experimented with adding more cardio and the pounds just started melting off him. Again everyone is different. So there is only so much you can learn from a book. The rest you have to learn yourself by doing it, it just takes time and patients and hard work.

A quote from a body builder I read somewhere, unfortunately I can't remember his name or I would give him credit. But He summed up my feelings exactly. If you want to get to the top of Mount Everest, you can either take a helicopter, or you can get to work and climb it and learn you way up the mountain. What way do you think is going to be more satisfying to yourself when you reach the top.

Basically a story about his life in Graz Germany when he won his first title while being in the army and then flew to LA LA land in California with Ben and Joe Weider to become a legend.
Dan Amzallag
Certified Personal Trainer with National Academy of Sports medicine and Weider institue of health.