Weight lifting and working out in general is an area I need to improve on yet know nothing about. This book was so simple and easy and I was able to work out with most of the weights. I didn't have to spend a lot of money on equipment. I really liked this book.

Good guide for true beginners. Starts with background info and where to lift and what you'll need (essentials and nice to have items separate). The second part of the book reviews exercises, grouped by body area. Each is described in instruction steps, dos and don'ts, a couple of illustrations, tips, and "try this" - usually an alternate way to accomplish the exercise. Part 3 of the book puts the exercises together with rep and set counts and warm up and cool down into 4 weeks of daily plans, increasing in difficulty.
There's a lot of info in the book that is useful, but I found myself wishing for some additional things. I would prefer photos of people doing the exercises instead of the drawings. Some of the body area exercise groups had warm up or cool down included, but not all. It seemed like quite a few of the exercises were not using weights, also (you were just doing something with your body). I didn't find great specifics on whether men vs. women should lift differently or how to do this. And since it is a true beginners book, I would have appreciated a suggestion of how much weight to start with for exercises.
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fantastic book for beginners.

I've only dabbled in weight lifting in order to loose weight and feel better about myself. This book gives you the bare bones without making you feel stupid for not already knowing it. The exercises are simple but easy to modify for different levels. The purpose behind each one is given and nutrition is also touched on. I am excited to give the four week exercise program a shot and would definitely look into more exercise books written by this author.