Poliquin - Healthy. Lean. Strong.

Training Articles

Tweet Print

Book Review: Huge and Freaky

A look inside a massive bodybuilding book that sets a new standard of excellence in fitness journalism

There are two qualities that set apart Muscle Mag bodybuilding books from others: 1) They make a great first impression, and 2) They make a lasting impression. A perfect example is the latest muscle building resource by Robert Kennedy and Dennis B. Weis called Huge and Freaky: Muscle Mass and Strength Secrets (Kennedy Publishing).

What I mean by a great first impression is that these books do an excellent job with the layout, the quality of the competition and training photos, and the readability of the text. They focus on the practical aspects of training, and they don’t befuddle the reader with such nonsense as claiming that a special chest exercise was used in the final weeks before the Mr. Universe contest “to bring out his lower, inner, middle portion of the pectorals that rests at the edge of the Howard Sternum.” These books carry important messages, use credible sources, and are extremely readable and often entertaining.

What I mean by a lasting impression is that the authors honor the history, or more actually the evolution, of bodybuilding. Their books often, and justifiably, pay tribute to those who have inspired and taught us throughout the years: from physique champions such as Reg Park to Arnold to Ronnie Coleman to Jay Cutler; and from coaches Vince Gironda to Don Ross to Charles Glass to Milos Sarcev. Huge and Freaky is no exception; it’s a welcome mix of old school meets new school.

Putting this book together was a labor of love, an ambitious project that contains 47 chapters and nearly 500 pages. Huge and Freaky covers a wide variety of topics about everything bodybuilding. You’ll find extensive instructions on how to perform basic movements such as squats and deadlifts. But you’ll also find advanced topics such as Rep Contraction Tempos, Cryokinetic Ice Massage, Cross the Line Soviet Shock Training Tactic, and Psycho Workouts. As the authors say about their book, “It is specifically designed for the advanced bodybuilder who has performed serious training for longer than a year and a half.”

Although this book is bulging with tons of practical information to help your muscles grow and grow, I strongly suggest, regardless of your current physical condition, that you start by carefully studying the first section, Book 1: “Huge and Freaky Muscle Mass and Strength Program.”

Divided into seven chapters, Book 1 provides a crash course in bodybuilding theory: It covers loading parameters that are key to program design, such as reps, sets and rest periods. It then goes to the logical next step by discussing such basic concepts as training splits and workout progression. It also has an entire chapter devoted to training concepts specifically related to muscle fiber type, an important consideration that has been pretty much ignored by the bodybuilding community. These seven chapters are excellently produced and are worth the price of the entire book.

After learning the basic concepts of training in Book 1, you can skip to any of the other 14 sections, as they are independent of each other. One of my favorite sections is Book 10: “29 Red-Line Intensity Manipulation Techniques.” The authors preface this material saying, “Here are some unique and easy strategies that are sure to provide you with optimal muscle blasting.” And they aren’t kidding! For example, you’ll find pre-exhaustion, extended sets, forced reps, giant sets, rest-pause, pyramid training, supersets, 21’s, trisets, and the brainchild of the late Irvin “Zabo” Koszewiski, riot bombing.

An extension of Book 10 is Book 11, which is called (you’ve got to love these titles) “Super Muscle and Strength Specialization.” The five chapters in this section are devoted to specific methods to help bodybuilders bring up weak areas. Note the authors, “When you notice that a particular muscle area isn’t responding as it should you should use specialization for bringing that lagging muscle group up to par.” Besides covering training theory, this section also shows how to build on the information by presenting sample workout programs. Chapter 39, for example, gives you 60 such workouts, focusing on everything from chest to traps.

Another great section is Book 13, “Cherry Bomb Exercise Tips.” Why it’s called Cherry Bomb, I don’t know. What I do know is that this section provides seemingly countless variations of ways to perform great bodybuilding movements. Take calf training, for example. Just as I believe one sign of a great gym is how many calf machines it contains, one sign of a great bodybuilding book is how much attention it places on calf training. Let’s look at the exercise names: Calf Stimulation Method I and II, Alternate Heel Raise, Flexed-Knee Squat Heel Thrust, Hack Machine Heel Raise, Missouri Donkey Calf Raise (which I assume is much more effective than Rhode Island’s Donkey Calf Raise), Don Howarth’s Leaning Heel Raise, Larry Scott’s Two Tricks for Better Calves, and Gary Strydon’s Standing Calf Raise. And throw in an extensive discussion about calf symmetry and you have, well – Wow!

Kennedy’s and Weis’s Huge and Freaky is an amazing resource that any serious bodybuilder will want to own. Unquestionably it’s a top achievement by two respected writers, but I also predict it will be considered the standard that all other bodybuilding books will be measured against.