TBK Fitness

by Dr Tamir Katz

Why the review?

There are so many bodyweight exercise books out there, some of them subject to nauseating sales hype and almost cult-like status. So the question is, how does a cheap, humble little book like TBK Fitness stack up against far more hyped and expensive bodyweight books. After all a squat is squat and a pushup is a pushup - isn't it?

Do we really need to fork out $30+ for books on pushups & squats when $4 will do?

Trust me I'm a Doctor

"I am a graduate of SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine. I attended college at Cornell University, majoring in biology. I have been studying different diet and exercise systems through books, journal articles, and practical experience since 1993. However, I don't expect any of you to take my word blindly. Educate yourselves. Read the suggested articles and books on my Recommended Reading section. Do your own research. Always question the rationale and the evidence behind any diet or exercise program you follow."

It's not often that you get exercise books written by an actual doctor, mostly they are done by self proclaimed 'coaches' with no medical qualifications at all. Not that it's essential by any means, but it does lend extra gravitas to the TBK book.

What's in it?

It's basically a paleo diet + bodyweight exercise book. Does that ring any bells? There are similar health books and regimes out there that cost from 30-100 bucks!

TBK Fitness is divided into five parts:

Captain Caveman

The diet half of the book is about the Paleo diet, Stone Age diet, Hunter Gatherer diet, Caveman diet or whatever. It's a low glycemic meat, fruit, veg and berries type thing. There are loads of books and websites out there on this stuff, notably the writings of Dr Weston Price who studied the effects of 'primative' diets on indigenious populations. The basic premise is that man's ideal diet is that of a hunter-gatherer, and that our digestive systems have not evolved to digest modern processed foods. The theory is that modern diets are responsible for modern ailments like heart disease, diabetes and obesity. If you're not familiar with this type of diet, the book is a fascinating read and well worth the $4 on it's own. In the 82 pages devoted to diet, Dr Katz introduces the topic very well. For you anthropological minded SFUKers just google-up more info on hunter-gatherer diets.

Bodyweight exercise program

There's lots covered here. Calisthenics isn't rocket science and Dr Katz doesn't feed you any bollocks about 'making you as strong as a gorilla in the wild' or similar nonsense. Katz lays out the many advantages of bodyweight training (cost, time, safety etc) without feeding you some distorted marketing schpeel about it being absolutely the best way to get big and strong.

The exercises themselves are a mix of basic PT (running on the spot, star jumps etc), calisthenics, yoga positions and self resistance exercises (what John Peterson would call DSR). Over 60 exercises means that most of the best exercises from other books can be found here (notable exceptions would be chins, dips and pushups between chairs - all which require 'equipment' but can be improvised easily.

The routines themselves are pretty simple and to be trained 5-6 days a week - many are to be interspersed with wind sprints. Incidentally he doesn't like jogging, most aerobic exercise machines or excessively high reps (anything above around 150 reps) as he feels you may get a repetitive strain injury.

Beavis & Butthead

The exercise illustrations are pretty funny. Drawn in a crude, er Butthead style, you know, kinda like schoolboy charicatures of teachers - what they lack in anatomical draftsmanship they more than make up in cool humour. If the book had been priced at $30 then it would have been fair to bemoan a lack of quality photos, but at this price any illustrations at all is a bonus.

Bodyweight Exercise vs Free Weights

Unlike other authors, Dr Katz isn't anti weightlifting, he takes a moderate, sensible stance and recognises weights are great for some things...

"So what are weights good for? Many things! Nothing packs muscle on a skinny frame like heavy, intense lifting. Nothing is better for increasing brute strength and power - the kind used to lift a heavy box, open a jar that's stuck, tackle a 210 pound running back running at the speed of light, smash a homerun over the Green Monster at Fenway Park, or throw the discus record distances. However, you should choose useful exercises that work many muscles at the same time, exercises such as cleans, snatches, jerks, presses, squats, and deadlifts, using barbells, dumbbells, or sandbags..."

Kool for Katz:

Uncool:

Summary:

You get the overwhelming impression that Dr Katz is not writing this for the money. There's no arrogance, no hype, no gobshite, no hard-sell. Katz will not sucker you into believing that his book contains secrets that will transform you into some kind of superman. You will not magic away fat overnight, nor become tow truck strong. Dr Katz just believes in his common-sense based system will help you get healthy and by arming you with knowledge, keep you healthy.

He gives you an obviously well researched diet and a simple step-by-step method on how to incorporate it into your lifestyle. He then packs the book with some of the best basic bodyweight exercises you can do and adds a load of inventive ones for good measure. You get routines, a-plenty, enough to avoid boredom plus guidelines for frequency and progression. And the plenty of pep talking good advice on making it all work for you.

All this for less than $4 bucks a punt - that's just a tad over 2 quid! That price doesn't even sound right - there must be a catch right? Well no, there isn't. This is an excellent, stand alone book. OK, it's not strictly a fight conditioning book like Enamait's, nor a bodybuilding book like Peterson's, but it covers much from both (and a lot of info the others don't have). There's a danger that this book is so modest that you'd past it by or not take it seriously. Your loss.

A good, honest, and very cheap training book written by a doctor - it's like a thumb-in-the-eye for overpriced-snake-oily-fitness-guru-windbags. You should buy TBK Fitness for this reason alone.

SFUK links:

Bodyweight Exercises: