Gobbla's Guides: Blue collar reviews from a guy that isn't connected to CRAP!
It seems to me like their are folks out there that are concerned that the reviews and advice that they are given are coming from people with a vested interest in seeing products succeed. While I don't have a strong position one way or the other on the integrity of the industry, I believe that if you're selling products then it's about the $$. This thread is me voicing my views on fitness products. I'm not a professional. I'm not an expert. I'm a consumer. I don't get paid or respected by a positive or negative review. I don't give a damn if people like the product or review. My thoughts unchained.
One review per week every Monday. If anyone has a particular product that they want reviewed shoot me a PM and I'll look into it. If it's not freaky expensive or stupid then chances are I'll get it. If a professional wants to volunteer a product to have reviewed from an outsider, shoot me a PM and we'll talk.
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Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable. -- Sidney J. Harris
Great idea. I think most of us know who's selling what, so I weigh those posts accordingly, but outside opinions will help. And we all know our pal Gobbla isn't one to pretty things up.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Irish> You squeeze them. If they squeeze then they work as advertised. I'm not sure how deep we can go on that one. Not saying that it won't ever happen, I'll give'em a look, but that seems like a one trick pony right there.
Alan> If it's OK w\ you I'd rather do a new one. I'm going to use an actual system that can be used across the board to make things a little more standard and coherent.
Since we've got THE "Alan Aragon" in here taking an active interest, we'll give him pole...piss on Chad .
Alan Aragon's "Girth Control, the Science of Fat Loss and Muscle Gain" = 14 May 2007
Good idea G, looking forward to it already.... Mondays are going to be great with this AND the MMMM
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Walk on
With hope in your heart
And You'll Never Walk Alone
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There's no free lunch, especially when it's served with special sauce (lostdog)
***************************** My Log - PC Plod
.....Since we've got THE "Alan Aragon" in here taking an active interest, we'll give him pole...piss on Chad .
Alan Aragon's "Girth Control, the Science of Fat Loss and Muscle Gain" = 14 May 2007
Okay, sounds good, but do Chad next after, wouldja?
I really appreciate you doing this, consumer reviews from a known entity are to me much more valuable than industry endorsements and reviews, though those from individuals one respects can be useful too.
Nice idea gobbla. Looking forward to see a straight up opinion.
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"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
"Don't spend your life wishing. Spend it doing." -FishrCutB8
"You're a mutant, like a snake with two heads or a cat shy one nipple. Be thankful that your mutation is helpful." - LD
Alan Aragon – Girth Control, The Science of Fat Loss and Muscle Gain (1st edition reviewed)
Alan Aragon has over 13 years of success in the fitness field. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Science in Nutrition with top honors. Alan is a continuing education provider for the Commission on Dietetic Registration, National Academy of Sports Medicine, American Council on Exercise, and National Strength & Conditioning Association. He speaks to a broad audience including universities, scientific conferences, and major corporations. Alan recently lectured to practitioners at the FDA and the annual conference of the Los Angeles Dietetic Association.
What does this product claim?
Quote:
This book is a compilation of what I've learned in my decade-plus in the fitness field. It's based on the latest scientific research, combined with my personal experience with hundreds of clients. It's a wealth of information that does, has, and will continue to remodel average physiques into truly exceptional ones.
This is a spiral bound book 8.5x11” with sturdy paper. The spiral binding is nice as it allows easy reading without the destruction of the book. The paper isn’t special by any stretch. There is some bleed through but not enough to be concerned about. It is sturdy enough to feel comfortable with everyday use
Layout\Format
The layout is relatively standard book formatting. It appears to be about a 12 font standard spaced book. There is very little white space and a lot of information per page. The chapters are logical with no noticeable repeat information or filler.
Does it do what it says\Thoughts
Alan Aragon is the James Dean of Nutrition. He plays buy his own rules and is cool enough (barely) to pull it off. Alan starts the book by mentioning his bias towards research proven methods. The man wants proof and backs up his arguments with cold, hard data. Here’s the down and dirty.
Part 1: Provides background information to scientific terms, practices, and a brief history of nutritional science. For the most part I wanted to gouge out my eyes reading this. It’s not so much that Alan presented it poorly as me just not fucking caring. It’s interesting to a point, there’s just a lot of big words that I just don’t get and concepts that I could die not knowing and not feel cheated about. For those of you that are interested in a crash course in research, you'll be in love. My gut feeling says that there's going to be a lot of people skipping this section.
Part 2: Gives you the information on Carbs\Fats\Proteins, different studies on assembling these, and supplements. This part was interesting. You get the basic information that YOU NEED TO KNOW about the macros (What they do and don't) and various assembly information. Most of this is pretty cut and dry, concise information. Every so often Alan tosses a unique thought out there, but for the most part he simply presents the research that he has deemed relevant to your dietary world. The supplement section is a presentation of different substances, how\if they work, and concerns. It’s more of a reference than something you’d actually want to read. There’s quite a bit of shit reviewed in there so if that’s your thing or if you're curious about something…rock on.
Part 3: Something that I like to call the “Putting it all together” section. This covers your nutrient timing, workouts, plateaus, macro\calorie breakdown, and fad diets. Many people could and will likely just skip to this part. It’s essentially everything that you need to know to set up your diet (part 2 told you what the tools are, now you use them). There’s tables and diagrams and all sorts of handy dandy shit in there. It’s a little more involved than your standard BWx14 fare…bring a calculator.
So that’s “Girth Control” in a nutshell. Notice that there is no “7 steps to X” or any promises of anything but how to set up your diet to meet your needs. There should be a sticker on the front that says “bullshit free zone” because their isn’t any. It’s not a gimmick. It’s not even entertaining. It’s a manual to tell you everything you need to know about your diet. Borderline textbook “OMG this is boring” part 1 aside this IS the first nutrition book that I’d recommend anyone buying. It’s what you NEED to know. If you want a diet, don't buy this or you will be disappointed. If you want an educational resource from a master of theory and application then you'll be satisfied. It will make you smarter.
Alan Aragon’s, “Girth Control – The Science of Fat Loss and Muscle Gain”
__________________
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Walk on
With hope in your heart
And You'll Never Walk Alone
*****************************
There's no free lunch, especially when it's served with special sauce (lostdog)
***************************** My Log - PC Plod
I promised Gobbla a free copy of my upcoming book, lose 20 lbs in 20 seconds. I don't know why I'm taking so long to finish it, basically you just stick your leg out in front of a moving train.
But seriously, the objectivity & time you put into this is much appreciated Gobbla.
I promised Gobbla a free copy of my upcoming book, lose 20 lbs in 20 seconds. I don't know why I'm taking so long to finish it, basically you just stick your leg out in front of a moving train.
Oh, c'mon, you expect me to believe that?
The average leg weighs a lot more than 20 pounds. Unless you figure only the lower leg gets lost. I can already see your system is imperfect.
So, Alan, moving to the next step beyond broader education, what do you then tend recommend for attaining particular results from nutrition, either losing fat or adding muscle?
The average leg weighs a lot more than 20 pounds. Unless you figure only the lower leg gets lost. I can already see you system is imperfect.
So, Alan, moving to the next step beyond broader education, what do you then tend recommend for attaining particular results from nutrition, either losing fat or adding muscle?
The 1st chapter is a little more realistic, you can lose at least 10 lbs in 10 seconds by sticking your arm out instead of your leg. The numbers have to be the same, it's just more memorable & catchy, who cares about accuracy.
As far as what I tend to recommend, I guess the answer depends on the individual's current stats & goals (casual vs extreme), food preferences, food tolerances, etc, etc. Its really depends, and there's a huge range of possibilities. So I guess you can say I don't have a particular tendency per se. For the long term, I believe in eating the maximum amount of cals/carbs that will still allow for fat loss. This can vary between individuals by 100%. Nonlinear cal consumption can be psychologically more freeing than strict linear. Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans. It's tough to nutshell the answer, but that's my best shot for now.
I have read Alan's stuff that he has online, have printed it for friends, and Alan has been very generous with his time on these forums to answer very specific questions of mine. I don't know HOW I have forgotten to order his book, but I will go and do so now.
So, one book already sold from this review, even if it was mainly due to the "reminder" effect!
For a future segment, might I recommend Mike Roussell's "Naked Nutrition Guide"? It sounds like some of the same territory is covered and I would be interested to hear your views from a comparitive perspective.
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"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
Thanks for the review gobbla. I'm glad you're doing these. I think in the future we're going to wish we could find these reviews, so I hope we come up with a way to organize and link them. Here's my first idea and someone else might build on it or have a better one.
Each review could be a new thread that includes the name of the book being reviewed. Each review could include a list of links to past review threads at the end of the first post. The FAQ section could have a one-post sticky called Gobbla's Guides that was simply a list of links to all the review threads.
__________________
*****************************
Walk on
With hope in your heart
And You'll Never Walk Alone
*****************************
There's no free lunch, especially when it's served with special sauce (lostdog)
***************************** My Log - PC Plod
Great review - I actually want this book, and I have never purchased a nutrition-oriented book. When does it show up for free in the PubMed textbook library???
Thanks for the review gobbla. I'm glad you're doing these. I think in the future we're going to wish we could find these reviews, so I hope we come up with a way to organize and link them. Here's my first idea and someone else might build on it or have a better one.
Each review could be a new thread that includes the name of the book being reviewed. Each review could include a list of links to past review threads at the end of the first post. The FAQ section could have a one-post sticky called Gobbla's Guides that was simply a list of links to all the review threads.
I think what could be done instead of making separate threads for each book is simply edit a table of contents into the 1st post of this thread, each with a link to the specific post of the review within this thread. Or something like that.
I have read Alan's stuff that he has online, have printed it for friends, and Alan has been very generous with his time on these forums to answer very specific questions of mine. I don't know HOW I have forgotten to order his book, but I will go and do so now.
So, one book already sold from this review, even if it was mainly due to the "reminder" effect!
Oh, and very entertaining review!
I got your email, Vance. it's all taken care of. Thanks very much (this includes Josh & everyone else who got the book - big thanks).
Gobbla's Guides
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