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Great Expectations

His latest is Great Expectations—Health, Fitness, Leanness Without Suffering, which documents how he does it, but it’s much more than a how-to to me. It’s a monumental motivation manual for those in their 40s and beyond. Bass is a true inspiration, and his diet and exercise philosophies are sensible and simple. They’re also based on the latest nutrition and exercise science.


Clarence Bass is the author of the renowned Ripped book series, which documents his efforts in the 1980s, when he was in his mid-40s, to get his bodyfat percentage down to an astounding 2.3 percent. No low-carb diets here; he did it with lifestyle eating habits that he’s maintained for decades. Even more impressive is that he recently turned 70 and has kept his bodyfat in single digits since that first book.

His latest is Great Expectations—Health, Fitness, Leanness Without Suffering, which documents how he does it, but it’s much more than a how-to to me. It’s a monumental motivation manual for those in their 40s and beyond. Bass is a true inspiration, and his diet and exercise philosophies are sensible and simple. They’re also based on the latest nutrition and exercise science.

He thoroughly discusses proper, healthful eating and then outlines portion reduction during a balanced diet to reduce bodyfat stores, as opposed to reducing one of the macronutrients, like carbs. He contends that carbs are necessary to burn fat and quotes the research to back up his statements. You’ll see Bass’ exact approach to staying lean for life, which, by the way, is the title of another of his great books.

You also get his ideas on exercise and his complete training routine. As amazing as it sounds, he trains with weights only twice a week, with brief, high-intensity workouts, yet at 70 he has a physique most 30-year-olds would envy. You’ll find lots of references to and discussion of Arthur Jones’ ideas and Jones’ Nautilus training style. While Bass does exercise six days a week, his other four sessions consist of walking or some type of high-intensity cardio training.

You also get loads of motivation from exercise physiologists and scientists who state emphatically that falling apart as you age is not a fact of life but pure hogwash. To prevent it, you simply have to put in some effort, as you do at any age, and have a positive mind-set—expect the best. Hence the title of the book, Great Expectations.

Now that Bass is 70, his wisdom is even more applicable to men and women in middle age and beyond. All you have to do is look at him to know that his principles work. As he says toward the end of the book, “The bottom line is that you’ve got to understand what you’re doing and believe it will work.” Easy. One look at Clarence, and you’re a true believer.

Editor’s note: Great Expectations—Health, Fitness, Leanness Without Suffering is available at www.Home-Gym.com.

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