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HomeMade Muscle: All You Need is a Pull up Bar

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A true story that will motivate you to get in the best shape of your life with a proven, simple and do-anywhere bodyweight exercise program.

Prepare yourself for a touching story of a journey into a true hero’s deepest despair to his ultimate triumph. One of the most amazing stories you will read that will take you through Anthony’s tragic life-changing event.


From his darkest moments to the turning point when he made the most courageous life-altering decision - having his leg amputated. From a long recovery to finally reaching a place of peace, fulfillment and the best physical shape ever imagined.


This book offers lessons of how to maneuver your way around life’s obstacles in order to achieve your greatest bodyweight and strength training accomplishments all just by utilizing the miraculous tools (a/k/a “your own personal body”) that you have been already given. This book will inspire you to face the most daunting challenges and fears you could imagine with strength and courage resulting in confidence, fulfillment, and most importantly, a healthier you! The exercises in Anthony’s program are self-tested and proven successful. Anthony will walk you through every phase of his exercise program to train you on proper form, technique, diet, nutritional supplements do’s and don’ts, training video’s and much more. This program will help you increase your strength, burn fat and define your muscles.


For those who would rather not invest in expensive gym memberships and the hassles the gym brings, Anthony’s program offers convenience, clear instructions and endless tips, tricks and advice on how to reach the pinnacle of your strength training! Anthony has a special innate quality like none other that will encourage you every step of the way.


Included in this book
HomeMade Muscle contains a step-by-step blueprint for becoming strong and lean without going to the gym. In this ebook you will find out:
Video Tutorials: Exercise guides, progressions and variations for every level.
Muscle-building exercises Which are the best muscle-building bodyweight exercises
How to get that Six-pack: Tips, tricks and the best bodyweight exercises for a flat defined stomach
Arms, Chest and Back: Which are the most important bodyweight exercises for developing your arms, chest and back muscles
Which diets really work How to lose weight without starving yourself to death
Which supplements work: you need supplements to build a lean and mean physique? Which ones work according to science.
Motivation & Goal-setting tips: How to stay motivated, overcome Injury, Illness and Extended Life Challenges Get started today
Stop making excuses...


Stop being hassled into lifetime gym memberships...


Stop overanalyzing your workout routine....



Build the body you want by using the body you already have.

Would you like to learn more? Download HomeMade Muscle and get motivated to start your own journey to a stronger and healthy body.


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199 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2015

208 people are currently reading
208 people want to read

About the author

Anthony Arvanitakis

8 books20 followers

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5 stars
128 (35%)
4 stars
144 (39%)
3 stars
75 (20%)
2 stars
10 (2%)
1 star
4 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
39 reviews21 followers
February 19, 2016
Unfortunately, there are (currently) no reviews with quality information here on Goodreads.

tl;dr I like the book, though it has its fair share of flaws. Wouldn't recommend it to someone who has never worked out, though.

Part 1
-----
The book starts with Anthony telling us about the story of the accident that lead to his leg amputation. This is an interesting read and gives you a lot of motivation to start / keep working out. His determination to get healthier and stronger is admirable, fierce.


Part 2
-----
Here some basic concepts of exercises are introduced: concentric, eccentric, isometric, rep ranges, importance of rests, etc. He also talks some about training mindset, points out advantages of bodyweight (BW) workouts, tries to dismantle some myths in the fitness world, etc -- a lot of this is his personal opinion and I believe you should read this critically; that said, I agree with him in basically everything he believes regard BW exercises (as I have seen its effects on my body).


Part 3
-----
This is where Anthony's workout programs are listed: Beginner's, Basic and Advanced.
He covers the importance of warmups before exercises and basically just gives you the list of exercises you should do in each workout programs.

Progression is not really clear here, a lot of spelling and grammar errors make it difficult to understand, for example, when should you transition from Beginner's program to Basic. In the table for the Beginner's program he lists rep ranges for pull-ups and push-ups between 5 and 15. Then further in the text he says that if you can do 5 pull-ups and 5 chin-ups (or maybe it was push-ups, not sure right now) you're good to go to the Basic program. This is completely unrealistic, as in the Basic program you are already doing Handstand Push-ups (which are insanely difficult to start with).

I think some "honing" is in order for this part of the book.

But one important thing you will see in his programs is the deload week. Seriously dudes,
that's EXTREMELY important if you want to avoid injuries. I always deload after 3 weeks of intense
workouts -- gives me a great energy boost.


Part 4
-----
Talks about Intermittent Fasting (IF), points out the myth "breakfast is the most important meal of the day", talks a bit how you can "cheat" to feel more satiated when eating and makes some comments on the use of supplements.

There's a lot of good tips here, specially if you are new to proper nutrition.


Exercises menu
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Gives a lot of tips on how to perform the exercises and progressions. The problem I had here is that there are a lot of YouTube videos and I couldn't watch on my Kindle )-:. I just watched the videos on my PC, after I read the text.

Conclusion
---------
Maybe this is a biased review since I love BW exercises, but this is a good book. Sure, there are a lot of grammar and spelling errors that make reading it a bit of a pain (I believe this could be easily corrected if Anthony asked more people to proof read his book). But there is really good information here and it is just nice to see his love for BW workouts through his words.
On a side note, I think he tried to cover many topics in this book, so that's what might have added
up to the difficulty of writing it.


It would be nice to include static holds in the workouts, though. I really missed planks and hollow holds in this.

I'll trying following some of his tips for workouts (specially the rep-ranges and number of reps) in
the following months and we'll see how it goes. I hope I'll be able to come back here in a few months and say "Damn, that worked!".
Profile Image for Aurélien Thomas.
Author 9 books121 followers
June 17, 2018
A book in two parts, both equally interesting. The first retells not only his accident and following amputation, with all the consequences on his health (physical and mental) but, also how he picked himself up, and instead of whinning and let go battled to keep in shape. The second goes straight to the point: what exercises to do to keep fit, how to perform them properly, giving variants, and explaining the benefits of each.

Simple, clear, here's an inspiring and relevant book for every guy wanting to keep lean without falling prey to all the bs fed by a questionable fitness freak culture. Intense yet perfectly workable if you are dedicated enough (no pain no gain, as they say) I truly love it!

7 reviews
June 5, 2015
I've read quite a few books on bodyweight training and this one comes out on top! It provides a well structured actionable plan and has a lot to offer for every level. In fact, I would suggest anyone new to calisthenics/bodyweight training start with this book first. Anthony also writes very well and makes the book easy to read and understand. Two thumbs up!
Profile Image for Trent.
384 reviews8 followers
November 25, 2020
Can I rate the value of a book like this before enough time passing to see results from following the program? I do plan on following the plan. Maybe I'll have to circle back in a year and re-evaluate my rating and review. :)
But I will say there are a ton of typos throughout that could easily have been caught. As such, it may not come off as polished for a published book. But for this type of book, the value has to be in the content. So we'll see.
6 reviews
June 15, 2020
When you are not gym rat, who don't idolize fancy gym and its equipments, then this book is for you.
Why body weight exercise is must for everyone is clearly and comprehensively explained. Workout plan chart is progressive from beginner to advanced. Body weight exercise is vital.
72 reviews2 followers
August 29, 2021
An interesting bodyweight training program that one can follow from home. Anthony does well to cut through a lot of the crap found on the internet about building muscle and training at the gym. He also outlines his story and he recovered from his injury to become extremely fit.
Profile Image for Tam .
1 review1 follower
August 1, 2018
It’s a good book to read if you’re a beginner in body weight training
Profile Image for Invictus.
2 reviews1 follower
July 13, 2019
Great book

Great read for anyone doing calisthenics. Truely beneficial in all aspects for self development of the body and the mind
Profile Image for Vladimir Vázquez.
Author 0 books11 followers
January 15, 2017
Buen libro, me gustó la historia del autor, muy inspiradora.
Sin embargo depende mucho de los videos para ser útil. Pienso que debería encontrar otra manera para explicar los ejercicios para aquellos que no disponen de una conexión de Internet.
Profile Image for John Hyde.
6 reviews
July 28, 2016
The author did a good job on this book. His story is definitely a tough one to read though encouraging to hear all the same. In summary, he's a very athletic young man who in one car accident loses his leg. Of course as these things go it's not soon after the accident, and instead only years later that the leg is amputated, with a lot of pain and mental anguish along the path. It's a story worth hearing as he really bounced back.

Regarding the workout. The content is very sound advice and will likely be underestimated by people since it's so simple. This isn't a book to get you "swoll" or have massive "gainz." It is a book about how to let your body in a more functional manner get to your genetic cap without relying on shortcuts, extraordinary time in the gym, or taking out a second mortgage to pay for GNCs latest supplement. The work outs are simple, and there is very well mapped out progression for getting to the exercises you need to do. There's also basic nutrition which helps demystify what you need to build up muscle for strength. All in all, if you're looking for a good strength regime to do at home while keeping your body in a good athletic zone then it's worth picking up.

I'm impressed at his command of the English language since it isn't his first, though the next revision of the book could use a little more editing for typos and readability. It's an OCD thing, though makes what would be a fully professional book into one that's a little more homegrown. Tough love on that one, and I look forward to the next revision where those errors are removed. :)
1 review
October 9, 2016
Being into calisthenics for a while now, this book was a refreshing read. What I like about the approach of Anthony is his scientific perspective backed up by his experience.

I tried different plans before this one, You Are Your Own Gym being one of them. While I don't think that the program of YAYOG is inefficient, this one got me way better results.

I highly recommend checking out Anthonys other stuff, mainly his content about Mind to Muscle Connection. If you are into meditating, mindfulness and working out, he is your man.
Profile Image for Ryan.
5 reviews
February 21, 2016
Worth reading if you're interested in improving strength and physique without a gym. The authors story is also inspiring following a bad road traffic accident in his early 20s.

I would have preferred the technique section to be covered earlier in the book and the nutrition was very basic but otherwise impressed with the book. Make sure to check out his YouTube page as well which is a wealth of knowledge.
12 reviews
December 19, 2015
Great Book

This author did a lot of research in writing this book, and I appreciate all the work he put into it. It going into my list of books I'll have to re-read. Thanks Anthony!
Profile Image for Karl Nordstrom.
55 reviews1 follower
March 6, 2022
This is possibly the best starting reference for bodyweight exercise.

If you have been doing bodyweight workouts for a while and are having trouble making progress, I recommend Overcoming Gravity by Steven Low.
5 reviews
May 27, 2015
Το καλύτερο βιβλίο καλλισθενικής γυ��ναστικής και το μόνο που χρειάζεστε.
Profile Image for Salomon.
150 reviews3 followers
December 14, 2015
Good book, Great workout program! Really worth the time and money. Very recommended.
1 review1 follower
January 11, 2016
Anthony is inspirational. He has described the body weight exercises in detail although additional pictures could help.
Profile Image for Tony.
19 reviews
May 10, 2016
Amazing story. The author did a good job with research and benefits of home training. Worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews

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