Saturday, November 13, 2010

Review of Robert Cheeke's Vegan Bodybuilding


What this book is: This book is 2 things at the same time. It is both a narrative of Robert Cheeke's life, and it is a manual of how to get started and thrive at bodybuilding on a plant based diet.

Who this book is for: This book is marketed mainly toward people in the vegan community who enjoy physical activity and physical culture. I believe that Robert is trying also to sell the idea of bodybuilding on a vegan diet to meat eating critics.

Things I liked about the book: This book is a decently well written story of Robert's journey from skinny youth to a bodybuilder. He tells this story pretty well and involves meticulous detail about his dietary and training habits. He also provides a lot of experiences with meeting others in the physical culture and adapting their ideals to his vegan lifestyle. Robert even goes into detail about how to court sponsors to fund your bodybuilding endeavors. I also like the many pictures that Robert included of his progress as a bodybuilder and as a vegan activist.

My criticisms: While this is a good narrative it is not a great manual for training or diet. The meal plans that Robert outlines are a bit outlandish in their caloric guidelines, and while he does offer several variances on the diets, some of them rely relatively heavily on processed food (which I don't necessarily condone). Also I disagree with his training philosophies, but that being said they have worked for him. My other criticism is the length of the book. I believe that it is a bit too long.

In closing, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an inspiring story, or a motivation to go out and train. I would not recommend this book as a sole source of information when designing one's diet or training program. 

No comments:

Post a Comment