Built For Show is written by Nate Green of The Nate Green Experience. The book contains Four Body-Changing Workouts for Building Muscle, Losing Fat, and Looking Good Enough to Hook Up. It’s specifically written for the young(er) male population who train for vanity purposes as opposed to athleticism.
The books foreword is written by Lou Schuler, who authored The New Rules of Lifting for Women. I highly respect Lou as a writer and when I heard he endorsed the book I was quick to pick up a copy.
There are three sections in the book.
Part 1: Cutting Through the B.S. – This section is mainly about why we(guys) train and what we believe that building an attractive physique might do for us. Many guys simply train to look great naked and there is nothing wrong with that. I will be the first to admit that as I don’t have a sport to be in shape for anymore nor do I have anyone to compete with.
This section also covers some of the mistakes guys make when starting off in the weight room such as only training the mirror muscles. I see guys every week training chest and arms while never, ever doing a row, squat, deadlift or chin up. This is a huge mistake and I am glad Nate addresses it.
Nate also covers some silly stuff we tend to believe when it comes to this whole training and diet game. Many of the hardgainer, endomorph and ectomorph myths are debunked here.
Part 2: Building the Head-Turning Body – In this section, Nate reveals some interesting data from studies looking at what women look for in the male physique. Here is a little hint: they aren’t as interested in the mirror muscles as you are.
This is also the section where you will find the workouts Nate has written out.
Part 3: Feeding, Clothing and Showing off the Body You’ve Built – Nate briefly covers the nutritional portion of his programming in the last section. He explains why he feels breakfast to be non-negotiable, as well as why the post workout meal is essential to getting the most out of your sweat and effort. He provides some general guidelines on the topic of what healthy food is and why you should consume more of it rather than the processed counterpart. This, I can appreciate.
He makes a statement that I really dig: “if your grandparents and great-grandparents would’ve recognized it as ‘food,’ it’s probably good for you.” If you are looking to eat a healthy diet, rich in whole foods, this is a great statement to live by.
Nate and I have similar tastes in great beer. His general guideline is that you are allowed 5 drinks per week and how you choose to consume them is up to you. You either drink all 5 on Friday night with your buddies or 1 with dinner 5 nights a week.
He also covers some dress code for the fashion inept. He points out a few ways that skinny guys can make themselves look bigger and how fatter guys can look slimmer with a few wardrobe tweaks. Good stuff.
Finally, he touches on some ideas regarding self-confidence and how to act the part when you are out and about seeking the opposite sex; after all that is what you are training for, right?
My Thoughts
When I first picked up the book I wasn’t sure what I was in for. I immediately expected to see bro-splits and suggestions to work each body part once per week. That is so far from the truth. The actual training program is an upper/lower split, very similar to what I use. It’s really great and I am putting a new client on a modified split from the book next week.
This book does not provide anything revolutionary or groundbreaking but we all know there’s nothing new under the sun. However the book is a great resource for those who need some direction/accountability or those who need a specific plan to put into practice.
I really enjoy Nate’s work. I like his writing style and it’s refreshing to see a guy my age doing what he is doing in the fitness world. I should also mention that his writing is pretty entertaining as well.
If you have never heard of Nate, I highly encourage you to check out his blog and then go to the book store and check out Built For Show.
FREE copy of my No-BS Approach
to Looking Great Naked.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Gotta agree on the training program. It’s an elegant methodology.
I think I might have to pick this one up. Great article.