Review Of The Critical Bench Program By Mike Westerdal

Review of The Critical Bench Program by Mike Westerdal

When you’re looking for quick and measurable results, you want a program that gives you what you can expect – the number of pounds you will gain or the added pounds you will be able to lift if you follow the teachings.  Instead of giving you general information, you want to use a program that knows it can deliver exactly what you need in the time frame that suits you.  You don’t want vague promises; you just want results.

Mike Westerdal’s The Critical Bench Program is just that eBook.  With a subtitle like ‘Increase Your Bench Press 50 Pounds in Ten Weeks,’ you know EXACTLY what you’re getting if you follow the advice inside.  Westerdal is a certified personal trainer with years of experience helping others that wanted to increase their muscle mass as well as their strength.  But this eBook presents the information in a way that is not only engaging and exciting, but also simple to understand.

Price: $37 / £18.00 Fitness Level: Beginners to intermediate level Benefits: price, detailed information, emphasis on one particular exercise to measure strength, eleven bonuses Downsides: a lot of information to consider, not suitable for people who want a full weight and muscle gain program Read more on the Critical Bench Program

The key to this weight training program is that Westerdal wants readers to realize that more training does not necessarily mean that you’re going to be getting more results.  Over training is one of the main causes of burnout for bodybuilders in addition to muscle injuries that can hinder further training.  Readers are taught the idea that muscles grow when the body is at rest, rather than when it is being stressed.

To do this, The Critical Bench Program reminds readers that they can not fatigue the muscles used in the bench press before they start their lifting regiment.  Westerdal says that doing things like tricep curls or shoulder presses will fatigue the muscles too much, hindering their ability to perform the bench press effectively, which then decreases the effectiveness of each repetition performed.  So, in addition to resting between workouts, readers are taught to rest before workouts and during them.

One of the unique aspects of Westerdal’s The Critical Bench Program is the idea of warming up and stretching prior to a workout.  Other muscle building eBooks don’t even mention that idea of doing this, but Westerdal makes a strong case for the use of such a warming up program – even giving a detailed way to do this without adding too much time onto a workout.  When the reader follows the stretching program, they will have a lessened risk of injuries and muscle strains.

Another interesting point that other muscle building books have introduced, and that Westerdal introduces is the idea of lower repetitions.  However, unlike other books, The Critical Bench Program focuses more on the idea that lower repetitions create more strength in the muscles which when produces greater gains in the muscle groups.  Other books tend to focus on the idea of building bigger muscles, regardless of strength – but this is flawed thinking that can confuse a newer reader.

The idea of the bench press as a mental exercise is another concern that Westerdal addresses.  By guiding the reader though a process of mental toughening (the Iron Mind), readers will learn how to break through their own mental blocks and increase their bench press weight by more weight at nearly every workout.  The truth is that strength is gained in every proper workout, so you should be able to lift more at each attempt – but mental blocks can make you see the larger number of weight or the additional weights are being heavier than they really are.  The Critical Bench Program is an excellent manual for working through these blocks – who knows you might be able to start at a heavier weight that you thought you could.

Other areas that Westerdal addresses in great detail are the idea of using a workout partner, how long to rest during a workout, using assistance exercises to significantly increase muscle strength, etc.  This book is jam packed with great ideas, realistic ideas, and scientifically sound methods that allow any level of exerciser to get from their current bench press weight to over four hundred pounds and more.

While The Critical Bench Program sounds like another scam for those that are interested in bodybuilding, the program does work and it can work for you too.