Rating: 
Author: Will Brink
Recommended For:
Beginners-Advanced
Price: $47
Format: E-Book (Electronic Delivery)
Bonuses: Lifetime Inner Circle Membership, Training Manual, Nutrition Manual, Supplements Manual, Online Diet Planner, Online Video Exercise Database, Polyquin’s Mass Gain Training Programs, Build Muscle at Home Ebook
| Skip down to the “Bottom Line” |
I’ve reviewed Will Brink’s Bodybuilding Revealed (BBR) many times over the years. I can remember back when it was titled “Muscle Building Nutrition” (when I first bought it sometime around 2003?).
At that time it was primarily focused on nutrition and supplements and, even then, it was a wealth of eye-opening information.
Today, BBR has evolved into a complete program, training included. In my mind, it is without question the most complete look at intelligent bodybuilding training available anywhere.
As a bit of a disclaimer, I am a huge Will Brink fan.
When I first started training with the intention of putting a little muscle mass on my bony physique, I was doing everything wrong and getting zero results (that same old tired story that virtually all long-time trainers can tell – blah blah blah – but sadly true and overwhelmingly frustrating). Brink was one of the guys I started reading who got me turned around and helped me finally get some muscle to stick.
So, forgive me if my praise for Brink gushes a bit – I just think he is a huge asset to the bodybuilding community.
Brink is a legitimate smart guy, Harvard educated and all that (check out his bio – Will Brink Bio – not too shabby, eh?). He is never going to be confused for one of the pretty-boy-fitness-model-spokesperson types who seem to be fronting the majority of top selling muscle building systems these days (with most of those systems being absolute crap).
Brink is substance over style.
But it’s one thing to be a smart guy, it is a completely other thing to be able to quickly and effectively communicate what you know to those who need to know it.
This is the unique value presented by Brink in the Bodybuilding Revealed package…
With Brink’s help, those of us without a nutrition and science background, who haven’t spent the last 25 years in the gym and all our spare time pouring through the mountains of research in trade journals, can make intelligent bodybuilding training decisions just like we had.
This is perhaps best evidenced in BBR’s supplement section. This is a massive section with full reviews of every supplement being sold today as an aid to muscle building, everything from arginine to ZMA.
The reviews tell you which supplements can help you build muscle and which are all hype. Brink examines the studies that have been done on each supplement and then tells you what those studies ACTUALLY show and don’t show with regards to muscle building.
The ugly truth in the supplement industry is that many worthless supplements stick around because the supplement companies trumpet studies whose results have since been disproved, studies which simply aren’t credible or are being misrepresented, and/or myths and just plain bad nutrition theory.
BBR’s dieting section is just as comprehensive. Brink examines the relevant research from the perspective of a bodybuilder. He does take you deep into the complicated world of nutrition, getting into the particulars of things such as the Glycemic Index and the thermic effect of food. But, don’t get scared, he makes sure you don’t get lost.
You emerge with a great understanding of what it will take to fuel your body for muscle growth.
Six or seven years ago I would have probably said BBR’s training section was weak. This is no longer the case.
Brink provides a very good guide (very detailed as is his way) to the basics of muscle building training and then hands the reigns off to Charles Polyquin. Polyquin’s “Individualization of Mass Gaining Training Programs” is excellent for trainers of all levels.
The above is all top-notch, but my favorite part of the package is the “Inner Circle” member’s area. While many programs have member’s areas, many of those offer very few resources.
This isn’t the case with Bodybuilding Revealed. This is what a member’s area should be: Full of Resources – Pre-made diets to choose from, tons of videos, printable wall charts and training logs just to name a few.
But my favorite part of the member’s area? The message boards.
Yes, there are hundreds of freely accessible bodybuilding message boards out there. The problem with those boards is the lack of any accountability. As a result, they are a breeding ground for the myths and bad information.
There are exceptions, of course, some “real” trainers do inhabit the free boards and give solid guidance. But, honestly, they are far and few between.
Every time I visit the BBR boards I am amazed to find Will himself working a member through the maze of getting low testosterone treated or some other problem. And even when Will or one of the other moderators isn’t involved in a thread, it is pretty obvious this is a different type of board…
It is actually a place full of solid information and discussion as opposed to the anonymous free boards where cool avatars, egos and high post-counts too often become the focus.
The Bottom Line
5 of 5 Stars: Will Brink isn’t for everyone. If you are the type who doesn’t really care to know the ins and outs of why you are gaining muscle, if you just want to get on a solid program, then there are less detailed programs (less learning and thinking) that will suit you better.
I mean, the Bodybuilding Revealed Program alone is 670 fluff-free pages (a pleasant but long read). You have to really be into bodybuilding to get the most out of BBR.
To get the most out of it, BBR requires you to take an active role in your training. Whereas other programs may have many absolutes for the sake of simplicity, BBR supports individualization.
If you are the type who likes to know the specific reasons why it is best to do something one way and not the other; if you like to tinker a bit with the conventional in an effort to do better than average, then you are going to love BBR. You will find a program and a like-minded program and community that will greatly aid your bodybuilding efforts.
