ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Very rarely is any book (and particularly one on exercise) the result of a sudden stroke of genius on behalf of its author. In the case of this title the author was fortunate to have lit his lamp from many different torches, the two brightest being Mike Mentzer and Doug McGuff, M.D., the latter being in the author’s humble opinion the brightest mind in exercise science today. To this end the author is beholden to these gentlemen for sharing their bounteous knowledge with him and allowing him to work with them on various books in the past. While the presentation of the facts contained within this book may be new to the lay reader, the student of exercise science will recognize much of the material and understand that very little is new, save for arrangement. If there is anything truly original here it will probably be unintentional and most likely regrettable to the author in later years as new data comes into the physical sciences. In any event, the author has done what he could to bring some perspective to the bigger picture of what exercise can and cannot accomplish for the vast majority of human beings.

The author would like to thank the following personal trainers for taking the time to contribute to the illustrations that appear in this book. Their (or their clients’) demonstrating these protocols is not meant to imply that they use or advocate my methods, as many of them have evolved their own approaches to resistance training that are different from the author’s. That they would nevertheless lend their time and image to these illustrations is considered a gesture of kindness and goodwill on their part for which the author is very grateful.

The following trainers are among the best in the world at what they do and if the reader finds his or herself in their neighborhood, you would do well to book an appointment with any one of these individuals:

Doug McGuff (Ultimate Exercise): http://www.drmcguff.com; Bill DeSimone (Optimal Exercise): http://www.optimalexercisenj.com; Bo Railey (Exercise Inc.): http://exerciseinc.com; Jeremy Hymers (who has no web address because he actually works for a living—or so he tells me on a weekly basis); Blair Wilson (Medx Precision Fitness): https://medxpf.com.