“Building The Classic Physique The Natural Way” by Steve Reeves with John Little and Bob Wolff is a special book to me for several reasons. Steve Reeves was an idol of mine and I have always admired his physique. If one could be called the most perfectly developed and muscular man, Reeves has to be at the top of the list, or near the top in anyone’s poll. Another reason I like this book is because it mentions the School for Deaconesses in Helena, Montana. My grandmother worked at that school when Reeves attended. He was “one of her children” from her, as she puts it. I have a picture of her with “her hers boys” of her and Reeves is one of them. While we lost Reeves in 2000, she lived to be 98 and died in 2010. And the last reason the book is special to me is that it reminds me of our phone conversations sometimes in the 1990s. Motivational book on health and fitness, with lots of great photos of the god as Steve Reeves and some biography on him, this is a great book to have in your library.

The first part of the book is called “My Life in Bodybuilding” and details a brief sketch of the bodybuilder-turned-actor’s life. In just a few chapters you learn a bit about her parents, her early life in Montana, and yes, my grandmother also remembered the 1935 earthquake, her move to California, how she discovered bodybuilding, early training, her time in the military, and his bodybuilding career. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t go into his movie career, but it’s mostly a book about fitness, not just about Reeves.

The second part of the book, beginning on page 45, deals with the science of bodybuilding. The chapters are short and, like the first part of the book, there are plenty of photographs of Reeves that should, if nothing else, motivate anyone to exercise. The chapters focus on topics such as preliminary considerations, metallic aspects of training, training logic, classical physics, and routines for various parts of the body.

Part Three contains additional training considerations such as Super High Intensity Training, Pyramid System, Opposition Exercise, Muscle Control and Posing, Power Walking (Growing up Reeves focused a lot on his Power Walking) , nutrition and body loss. fat.

The fourth part is titled “Questions and Answers” and is full of tips and more motivational photos. The questions about steroids remind me of when I asked him about steroids for a research paper I was writing during my college studies in the early 90’s. He was against steroid use, and he is one of the influences that kept me from trying them. The book concludes with several appendices that share information on exercises, bodybuilding principles, awards and titles, one of his first discovered routines, what the press said about Steve Reeves, and some feedback from mentors and friends.

Again, I don’t know how anyone could not be motivated to exercise by looking at the pictures in this book. It’s packed with good basic training tips and some history on some of the most perfectly symmetrical and classical physics in the world. If you are interested in Reeves or natural bodybuilding, this book should be on your shelf to read and use in your own quest for health and fitness.