New Body Plan: Your Total Body Transformation Guide

For those quickly interested in the numbers I'll mention I lost 12lbs in 6 weeks on this plan (see pic attached). For those interested in a bit more detail read on..The New Body Plan book is an 8 week weights based workout book. The strength of the book is in the layout, not just of the workout plan itself, but the parts of life that help compliment a workout routine such as nutrition, sleep and mindset.If, like me, you're a total novice in the gym this is perfect. To have it all laid out so easily means i could approach the plan with confidence and, although it was tough, i enjoyed it more than i can explain.For me though this wasn't just about a body transformation. Starting at just over 101kgs I was never going to achieve the kind of transformation the author did in 8 weeks (see book cover!).For me this was all about resetting myself on a personal level. Having had a pretty rubbish couple of years and having had a bout of mental health issues, getting fit, and giving myself this 'midlife overhaul', was all about getting back to, well, normal. And in that sense the book has achieved that and more. Making myself accountable on the plan on social media and keeping in touch with the author (who is good enough to spend time offering advice and guidance to followers) has given me renewed focus and the workouts got me feeling great again. Other people following the plan and offering encouragement has been great too.So not only am I fitter, stronger, more focused, sleeping and eating better I'm also finding that I'm achieving bigger and better things in work while out of work ive started coming up with plans for my own business. And yes, this has all happened in just over 6 weeks and, while some may doubt this, the proof is there for all to see.I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book and if you go ahead and purchase make sure you get in touch with the author online for any advice, he's a good guy.For anyone wondering why I didn't finish the plan, it's simply that I'm going away but I'll be back to do it all again on my return. Good luck to you on your fitness journey!

Not a bad read, well laid out and no BS which was refreshing. There's no preaching and is ideal for anyone starting through to intermediate level. Great graphics clearly show the individual exercises etc and finished off with a nice bit on nutrition and supplementation.Well worth a read

Having flirted with getting & keeping fit for a number of years (I'm now 42) and now having two young boys who keep me on my toes I saw this small book on twitter and read snippets of Jon's story so thought for the £9.99 it was back in June it was time to get fit once and for all. Jon's story rang so many bells and I'm quite sure it will with many others about why he wanted to get fit. I am now 6 weeks in & quite honestly it is unbelievable how simple yet very effective these training sessions are. The book will appeal to people just starting out to others who want to try something detailed but different.The change in my body shape/stamina these past 6 weeks has been amazing. I'd never have believed anyone that what i'm seeing could actually happen if you are dedicated to hit the gym & give it your best shot, also the meal plan advice is beyond simple too so don't get worked up about scales etc.I now have 2 weeks left and even though i'm pushing hard you just can't wait after your rest days to hit the gym again again another thing I'd never experienced. The whole plan is a hugely positive experience with so many benefits I couldn't list them all but please if you want to try and regain or start to get fit this booklet is a MUST for you. If you want any advice or help Jon and Joe are always happy to drop you a tweet and i'm also happy to help if i can. You'll find me on twitter @KingOfClobber.Enjoy!

I have been working out about 4-5 times a week for about 18 months or so and initially saw a lot of weight loss and have had consistent strength and muscle gain. Weight loss has slowed a lot though and I wanted to get a programme to help me lose that last 7kg or so to get good muscle definition and the all important six pack abs. I read the reviews of this book thought I'd try it out, an 8 week intensive and prescribed programme with the guess work taken out seems ideal.Firstly, this is an exercise programme only, in terms of diet advice and planning it is very light indeed so I would advise buying another book for the diet aspect.Exercise wise it is as you would expect, a very detailed programme clearly laid out with good photographs and instructions that are almost idiot proof to follow. It specifies specific routines for each session for the full eight weeks, based on upper and lower body exercises, 2x of each per week with different exercises in different orders each time. As you progress the exercises introduce more advanced movement and inclusion of specific gym equipment. Throughout there is a focus on using body weight and free weights, in other words it is good sense stuff.All good then... well, not exactly. Where this book falls down a little is that I have found some of the sessions to be a bit imbalanced. For instance, week 1 session 1 features Lunges with dumbbells, and using say a reasonable 12.5kg in each arm (for me) these are very tough and deep with the suggested form (which is correct by the way). I found them challenging and I am reasonably fit and strong, no problem with that because that is the point right? Yet, in the same session it prescribes 3 x sets of 12 crunches with 60 second rests, which feels very inadequate compared to the lunges! I ended up doing 30+ crunches in each set to get a burn with 60 second rests.This carries on throughout the book, some exercises within the same session are challenging, like dumbbell shoulder raises, yet others are very basic and hardly stress your muscles at all to the point where I don't think they are right.Like a lot of guys who go the gym I have been working my upper body pretty hard with isolation exercises for a while (probably too much focused on upper) so I found the upper body routines in the book a bit underwhelming. I like the strategy employed of mixing things up and I am incorporating that into my sessions but the length and intensity of the upper body routines suggested in the early phases has not been right for me.However, I have found it beneficial to do far more lower body stuff than I had been doing, particularly getting away from relying on the standard leg press machine, towards more body weight and core related moves.My take on all of this is that the book is really aimed at beginners who are using very low weights for exercises. However, as a rank beginner to exercise and starting a bit overweight you'd be very hard pressed to get the body that the chap in the photos has in only 8 weeks. (Actually it would be impossible.) Getting arms like he has takes at least 6 months of hard work and the right kind of diet. This makes me suspect he had already trained regularly and hard before following this plan; OK, he was overweight at the start but it looks like he put on the weight over a well trained body in order to lose it, which is not where most people who buy the book will be starting from.After trying it out I have come off the programme a bit and I am using the lower body routines adapted for my level of fitness and strength and continuing with upper body routines I has been using before. (So not really following the book properly.)I am seeing results and I believe this change in approach will give me what I want, so for me the book has been useful, it's just that it is really aimed at beginners so buy with that in mind.