Weight Lifting Is a Waste of Time : So Is Cardio, and There’s a Better Way to Have the Body You Want by John Jaquish
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’d heard of this “controversial” book and saw it on Kindle for $7.99 (I think, it’s even cheaper now).
Interesting read. True that, as expected, it is mostly an elaborate ad for their fitness device, the X3 bar, told largely through anecdotal experience. But skim over those parts and there are some compelling ideas around fitness, diet and the fitness industry and the untruths associated with them. It promises a more efficient pathway to the body you want via hypertrophic training for around 20 mins per day. Heard similar claims before? Me too.
I actually went on to buy their X3 product in mid-2023 and have been using it for a year. It’s no joke. The workouts are hard and going to hypertrophy is a psychological battle. While I was already reasonably fit as a part-time martial arts instructor, I found that the system does actually produce results. I have achieved improved strength and noticeably better definition (I even received a fair few comments early on in the journey about that!). And that was just by using the device. I don’t follow the strict and, in my opinion, rather extreme diet recommendations proposed in the book. I don’t use their supplements or take testosterone. I eat healthily and stick to a few supplements that have suited me for time (mainly tongkat ali and Himalayan shilajit). Seems to be fine.
The book sells the idea you can build elite, body builder levels of muscle/performance with minimal input. If you are out of shape, I think there is the potential for huge transformation. If, like me, you’re reasonably fit already, the gains are likely to be more modest. I think it is more akin to the 80/20 principle, achieving 80% of the results from 20% of the inputs. And as an amateur with a regular day job and life commitments rendering me increasingly time poor, I’m pretty happy with where it’s got me.
Whether you buy the X3 bar or not, this book will probably have you rethinking how you work out – and you will be happy with what it says.
Associate links provided.
No affiliation with X3.
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