The Mens Health Cover Model Workout
Owen McKibbin is one of the most-recognized faces and bodies in men’s modeling. He has appeared on more Men’s Health covers than any other model–covers that have been the best seller’s in the magazine’s history.
- Carve incredible abs in less than 5 minutes a day
- Build total-body muscle in 3 hours a week
- Stay injury-free with Owen’s unique integrity workouts for your body’s trouble spots
- Eat more to fire up your metabolism and fuel your muscles
- Get off the treadmill and hit the stairs for short, intense fat-burning workouts
- BONUS: THE AMAZING ABS workout POSTER
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Great workout program
Despite the goofy name, the program is very good.
I’ve used this program many times after being derailed from regular lifting routines.
The workout is in phases, which I have used as stated in phases 1 and 2. Usually by phase 3 I am well into my own adjustments, using Owen’s program as a guideline.
Pros:
It takes you from the couch to a regular program and descent shape.
Everyone comments on visible results before I can tell myself.
Workout is phased and progressive
Recommends alternative exercises in case you do not have some equipment available.
Cons:
Goofy title
5 Stars Great workout plan
Owen McKibbin has obviously accomplished a lot in his life…just his bibliography was an exciting read. More importantly to the function of the book, though, I found great workout advice, too. The concepts he outlines are great. I’ve been following phase 1 for a few weeks now, and I’ve seen noticeable results in my physical fitness. I’ve been lifting for almost 6 years now as it is, and I can say that this program, when executed correctly, MUST give results.
3 Stars Highly Motivational, but Lacking “Average Joe Photos”
I use “Body for Life” for technique and motivation; I use “Cover Model Workout” for even more motivation. Since I can’t rate this “3.5 stars”, I’ve rounded down to “3 stars”; I feel that books such as “Men’s Health Belly-Off Program” and “Body for Life” have significantly raised the bar for health/fitness program books by showing many before-and-after photos of Average Joe’s who’ve followed the program. “Cover Model Workout” mainly shows pictures of Owen McKibbin in perfect shape, who is the centerpiece of the book. If the program works, then the book should be able to present before-and-after photos of Average Joe’s, while still presenting Owen McKibben as the developer/inspiration/philosopher behind the program who lends it credibility via his career and accomplishments. I’d like to see a second edition of “Cover Model Workout” with a large number of before-and-after photos of those who followed this program!
2 Stars It’s OK but there are MUCH better resources…
I’ve been using the principles of the “Ab’s Diet” and then wanted to bump it up a notch and then purchased BFFM (Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle) online which the Ab’s Diet seems to be “based” on – ok, basically they ripped it off. I’ve gone from 215 to 178 pounds in roughly 5 months with some really nice changes in my physique…I would highly recommend both related programs…the Ab’s Diet simply makes BFFM more commercial/palatable plus it gives you some great smoothie recipes.
Now, with that said, I previewed and then returned this book by McKibben & Garrett. It’s based on the same principles as the Ab’s Diet (Men’s Health) and BFFM but it’s really thin in terms of useful information compared to the other two sources. Also, while somewhat inspirational, you have to understand that McKibben has been lifting since high school and he has the time to concentrate on his physique so don’t expect to look like him at all. The only thing I got out of it were workouts that I could use to change things up while building muscle. I also don’t like the Abs Diet’s over-reliance on muscle to burn fat over cardio when, in reality, I do agree with McKibben that they should be valued equally because while they burn fat in different ways they compliment each other.
The bottom line is that you should get BFFM and the Ab’s Diet and only read McKibben’s book if you can get it cheap and/or free. It’s a lite version of the other two programs. In fact, if you were to purchase these items get the Ab’s Diet first (not because it’s better by the way!)…then buy BFFM (the BEST resource on fat loss by far – but it is involved – like getting a graduate degree in fat loss)…and then get McKibben’s book if it’s offered on the sale rack for next to nothing just for reinforcement/entertainment/limited information.
5 Stars Inspiring Story and Solid Workout and Eating Plan
I’ve got to admit that when I first saw this book in a store, I laughed to myself, “Cover Model Workout, they MUST be joking!”.
I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever seen!
For some reason though, every time I’d see it in that same book store I was becoming more and more curious to see exactly what it was about. For kicks, I decided to look at it here and there and even looked up some reviews on Amazon. There were enough positive reviews to make me try to find out more about it.
Then I decided to see if I could take it out via my local library system. I actually liked it enough to go back to that store and purchase it.
I find Owen’s story to be very interesting and inspiring. He definitely had more genetic difficulties to overcome than most people I know (in terms of propensity to heart problems and obesity, not to mention his spine).For a person with all that going against him to achieve a world class physique in spite of that is remarkable. It’s easy for us to look at him now and think that it came easy to him, but unless he’s completely making this stuff up, he had a lot to overcome. He is also brutally honest about his shortcomings of the past regarding the idiotic things he did in his younger days and how he learned to transcend them as he grew into a more mature person.
As far as the workouts go, I have to admit that it’s rare that I follow any particular plan in a book to the letter because I’ve been working out for a long time (well over twenty years). I have found that using various combinations of disciplines works best for me. I do Pilates and Yoga every day and also weight train twice a week. I do an intense upper body workout on Saturdays and then an intense leg workout on Wednesdays. I use some pretty high intensity techniques so two weight training days is all I need in addition to the daily Pilates and Yoga.
My main interest in a book such as this is for extra motivation (one can never have to much of that) and I always pick up something I can use. I’m sure at some point I’ll give some of those workouts a try to mix things up, though with all the Pilates I’m set in the Abs dept.
Anyway, while I can’t give you the play by play results from doing this workout program I found the book definitely has a lot of positives. One of the best things about it is that you get to hear from a guy who looks like a human being instead of a “juice monster”. I appreciate the fact that he’s truly attained his physique naturally and that the strongest supplements he recomends are Whey protein and vitamins. That sort of thing is rare in these days where “so called” natural bodybuilders are using all sorts of crap that are far from natural, perhaps they aren’t illegal (yet) but they are far from natural!
Also Owen’s approach to eating is more of an overall approach to the subject rather than a specific food program. This makes it infinitely more practical and doable. His approach to nutrition is very similar to Baron Baptiste’s in his incredible book “Journey Into Power” which is a book written about Power Yoga (though it’s more of a complete healthy lifestyle approach than just a Yoga book). I’ve kept my weight within five pounds of my target weight for many years thanks go Baron’s concepts and Owen’s approach is very close.
So, if you can get past the whole deal with the book being called the “Cover Model Workout”, I think you’ll find there’s a lot of good food for thought in this book. It’s written in a very conversational tone which I find makes it an enjoyable as well as informative read.