• I purchased 10 E-Books (Electronic Books) and actually implemented and shortlisted 4 of the best workouts into my own program.
• I trained on average 3 hours per week most weeks (3 sessions for 3 hours.) Some weeks to ramp up I went to 4 days around 4 hours.
• My goals were to lose weight and gain lean muscle mass. Later I also wanted to feel more conditioned ie fit and athletic as opposed to just aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
• All of the shortlisted books were written by successful trainers or body builders. They all have profiles in the media and/or fitness qualifications and regularly write for top magazines like Men's Fitness.
• My program today is a mixture of free compound weights, unconventional body weight exercises and interval training. They all contribute to keeping me slim, feeling fit and looking muscular. All of my techniques are advanced fitness techniques that are effective for both sexes.
• Nutrition is something I was getting totally wrong. I was shocked to find I was not eating enough even though I wanted to get leaner and this paradoxically was causing my metabolism to slow therefore my fat loss was hindered.

• Great For:
• Body Building
• Lean Muscle
• Nutrition
• Fat Loss
• Time Required:
• 1 hour day x 3 days
• Where:
• Gym or Home Gym

The No.1 Program in my opinion on the Internet for muscle building, full stop. It is also the best selling E-Book on this subject with many genuine write-ups from other advanced trainers and in the media.

Sean is a former skinny teenager turned body builder that perfected through trial and error the best body building techniques for the greatest gain in the shortest period of time. His ideology is to limit your time in the gym to around 3 days per week for 3 hours to ensure you get maximum intensity and don't overtrain your muscles and hinder progress. His focus is on weight training for both men and women to promote weight loss and maintain and grow lean muscle mass . Sean has unique ideas on the type of exercises that will give you the best bang for your buck, the repetitions, and the nutrition you require to feed your muscle. Overall this is a complete 300 + page book on body building, nutrition, muscle biology, growth, supplements and optional cardio. Cost is $77.00 and its worth every cent. Note: Sean offers a Cardio add-on specific to his program which is based on HIIT and is highly recommended.

• My Rating
• Body Building - 9/10
• Fat Loss/Cardio - 8/10
• Nutrition - 9/10
• Overall Value- 9/10
• Click Here for My Full Review

• Great For:
• Fat Loss
• General Fitness
• Lean Muscle
• Time Required:
• 1 hour x 3 days or more
• Where:
• Gym or Home Gym.
• Dumbbells preferred but not necessary on Deluxe Program

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and author of many articles in magazines such as Men's Health, Men's Fitness, and Maximum Fitness.

Turbulence Training is primarily a fat loss and strength conditioning program that works on circuit style superset dumbbell weights and body weight training mixed with high intensity interval training for maximum fat loss. These circuits are done with little rest so combined with interval style cardio the idea is to create 'Turbulence' in the body to get significant fat loss and lean muscle.

Workouts range from get off the couch basic circuit style training progressing to advanced superset free weight and body weight workouts with HIIT cardio (Short Fast Sprints and Rests). Variety is a also a key principle for fat loss in Turbulence Training so workouts need to be changed up every 4 to 12 weeks in order to avoid the body adjusting a to a routine and then reaching a plateau.

Overall Craig's E Book was my second favorite behind Sean's. This book comes with a huge number of workouts in a circuit style that can be adapted for a gym or home gym. They include mainly barbell or body weight exercises mixed with HIIT. If your looking for intense fat loss, athletic conditioning and lean muscle there is no one better than Craig Ballantyne. Craig also gives you the option of upgrading from the Standard Edition at $39 to a Deluxe Package $97 that includes 5 bonus books for no equipment bodyweight exercises that you can do anywhere. I would highly recommend these bodyweight exercises for overall fat loss, athletic conditioning and particularly for your abs. I still use some of these programs weekly.

• My Rating
• Building - 7.5/10
• Fat Loss/Cardio - 9/10
• Nutrition - 7.5/10
• Overall Value 8.5/10
• Click Here for My Full Review

• Great For:
• Fat Loss
• Circuit Training
• Paid support
• Time Required:
• 20-30 minutes Day
• 4 -5 times Week
• Where:
• Gym or Home Gym.
• Best suited for home or gym with dumbbells and med ball

Shin is a sports conditioning coach and trainer for local athletes in Los Angeles

The main thrust of Shin's ideology is short but intense circuit and cardio workouts of around 20 minutes not including a warm up. His workouts do include dumbbells and barbell resistance and weight training exercises but also many other circuit style exercises using body weight resistance like lunges and using a medicine ball. He also tacks on high intensity interval training (short sprints, followed by rests)

The E Book itself is only 120 odd pages long and is mostly packed with workout routines for 90 days training from a beginner to intermediate to advanced level. The workouts are detailed and very clear including pictures of Shin performing each exercise.

Overall the exercises are great for fat loss and most of the book is just that, the workouts themselves. It does not go into a lot of detail about why your doing the exercises. The cost is only $39.95 but I will warn you that when you purchase the e book you automatically become a member of his Maxworkouts Club and be billed $27.00 every month unless you cancel it within the first month. If your looking for a detailed fat loss program and want online support through a forum and are happy to pay the monthly fees then Max Workouts is the program for you.

• My Rating
• Body Building - 6/10
• Fat Loss/Cardio - 8.5/10
• Nutrition - 3/10
• Overall Value - 7/10
• (Note this rating is for the E Book only. Members also get access to the website which has a lot more detail on Nutrition and Workout Information.)
• Click Here for My Full Review

• Great For:
• Nutrition
• Fat Loss
• Longer cardio + weights
• Time Required:
• 40 minute weights 3 days
• 30 -40 minute cardio
• 3-4 days
• Where:
• Gym or Home Gym with weights

Tom's book, Burn the Fat Feed The Muscle has been around for a long while and is probably one of the most popular fat burning E books around. Tom is a Body Builder that focuses big on Nutrition and Cardio to maintain a very low body fat percentage.

The main thrust of this book is Fat Loss. Specifically nutrition. In fact I would say about 80% of the book is all about proper nutrition (not diet) In saying that Tom is very clear that his program is actually about combining nutrition with exercise. There is no better way to increase your metabolism and sustain permanent healthy fat loss than with this combination.

Furthermore Tom tells us that its only when you combine Nutrition, Cardio and Weight training that you get a magnified result that is equal to more than the sum of its parts. In terms of Cardio and overall workout times, Tom still advocates steady state cardio of 40 minutes or so 3-4 times weekly for maximum weight loss mixed with some HIIT on time poor days. As such there is somewhat more time needed in the gym which Tom insists is necessary to get big significant fat loss results.

Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle is a comprehensive 340 page E Book on maximizing Fat Loss through Nutrition, Cardio and Weight Training . The Book is well written and is definitely packed with lots of information on every aspect of nutrition, including measuring body fat, why diets don't work and much more. Overall if your looking for maximum fat loss with a lot of information on Nutrition, mixed with cardio and weight workouts then Tom is your man. Cost $39.95.

• My Rating
• Body Building - 7/10
• Fat Loss/Cardio - 7/10
• Nutrition - 9/10
• Overall Value 8/10
• Click Here for My Full Review