BOOK REVIEW: DAN JOHN’S “THE ARMOR BUILDING FORMULA: BODYBUILDING FOR REAL PEOPLE”

**INTRO**

Get ready for another instant classic

Dan John has once again released another book, and I, once again, voraciously consumed it, because Dan John could write instructions on a tube of toothpaste and I would read every single word of it.  In turn, I’ll save you all the suspense of reading this full review just to say: yes, BUY Dan’s latest book, because irrespective of if you run the program(s) in it, the book itself is pure concentrated Dan John gold and absolutely worth any price tag.  And, since the book JUST came out and I JUST finished reading it, I want to be clear that I am not reviewing the PROGRAM(S) in the book, but just the book itself.

 

But I certainly see myself using what’s in the book someday.

 

**WHERE AND WHAT**

I constantly have this question

 

To start, you can get the book here

 

https://danjohnuniversity.com/bookstore

 

There are 3 books listed.  Do yourself a favor and buy all 3, BUT, if you want the one I’m talking about, it’s the one listed “The Armor Building Formula: Bodybuilding for Real People eBook”

 

And that, in turn, describes WHAT this book is: bodybuilding for real people.  In that sense, bodybuilding does not mean “bodybuilding”: the competitive event wherein you put on posing trunks, step out on stage and get evaluated on your physique, nor is this a book to achieve the goals OF that event.  This is a very classical sense of the word bodybuilding: to build one’s body, through the concentrated effort of resistance training, in order to specifically achieve an increase in the size of one’s muscles (and, ideally, muscles that are pleasing to the eyes of others).  And by “Real People”, he’s referring to those of us that live in the real world and have real world obligations (work, family, school, etc) and don’t get to live the influencer lifestyle of being able to train for hours a day everyday.

 

There’s a fair chance that YOU are a real person who is also more interested in Dan John’s bodybuilding than in “bodybuilding”, so you may find that the contents of the book appeal to you.

 

**WHAT YOU GET**

Nor should you with this book

Inside the book is THE Armor Building Formula, which is Dan John’s bodybuilding program that is entirely reliant on just kettlebells.  Before you stop reading because you don’t have/don’t like kettlebells, there is a section with barbells too, I’ll talk about that too.  But yes: you get Dan’s program in this book.

 

“Armor Building” is here because it references an idea Dan has regarding “armor building” in the athletic sense: putting on the muscle in the right spots that allow a collision athlete to be able to handle what is thrown at them.  BUT it ALSO references Dan John’s “Armor Building Complex” (ABC), which is a kettlebell complex that does a fantastic job of accomplishing this very goal of building armor.  The ABC is comprised of 2 double kettlebell cleans, 1 double kettlebell press, and 3 double kettlebell front squats.  It is a fantastic full body complex that hits just about everything, and can be used to absolutely blow out your lungs, finish out a kettlebell certification, get strong AND, in the case of this book, bodybuilding.

 

The OTHER half of the Armor Building Formula is the kettlebell clean and press, with Dan providing 4 specific pressing variations to satisfy to ADHD demands of any trainee.  Dan makes a compelling argument for WHY the KB Clean and Press reigns in the world of physique building, specifically referencing how a pair of big strong shoulders and well developed glutes tend to be the secret to a wonderful physique.  Given my own prescription in “Chaos is the Plan”, you know I’m a fan of this philosophy.

 

In the book, Dan details an 8 week program to follow for the Armor Building Formula.  In true Dan John style, there are no prescribed weights, reps or sets: merely guidelines BUT, with an end goal in weeks 7 and 8: 30 ABCs in 30 minutes, and 100 KB clean and presses.  Very similar to Mass Made Simple, you know the goal going in (squat your bodyweight for 50 reps) and you know the method: it’s on you to do the work.

 

**BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE**

Fun fact: he literally NEVER said that.  Go Mandella effect

 

Also contained in the book is “The Barbell Armor Building Formula”: a program that can be run with just a barbell.  Dan John’s Barbell ABC is premised around 2 movements: the “continuous clean and press” and the front squat.  For those of you that speak strongman, the continuous clean and press is “clean each rep and press”, as opposed to “clean and press away”, wherein you clean the weight once and then do all your presses.  With this, Dan gives you 3 programs to be run sequentially for a total of 11 weeks, followed by another 8 week barbell program that includes a few more movements (curl, press, row and deadlift) which, with some breaks, totals out to 20 weeks of training. 

 

On top of THIS, Dan ALSO gives you a prescription on how to perform the ABC if you only have one kettlebell, along with what to do if you only have mixed loads (no 2 KBs of the same weight). 

 

He ALSO includes methodology on including his “Easy Strength” program into these bodybuilding programs, which I personally appreciated because it meant I wasn’t absolutely off my rocker when I combined Easy Strength with Mass Made Simple.

 

Dan ALSO includes a few other programs in the book, one simply titled “A Bonus Program”, which requires a bit more equipment (most notably, a machine row), one of Reg Park’s programs, a sample of Frank Zane’s programming (more as an example of what the book ISN’T…but hey, it’s still there), and some helpful warm up instructions too.

 

**WHAT YOU ALSO GET**

 

This is a total turkducken of a book

Just tons and tons of nuggets of Dan John wisdom, all on the topic of bodybuilding for sure, but also very easy to expand into the realm of for real training in general, and life as well.  Dan goes into topics on warming up, cooling down, the value of walking, nutrition, the science of muscular development, historical precedents, strength standards, etc.  It’s 198 pages, and they’re all pretty awesome.

 

**WHAT COULD BE DONE BETTER?**

If you're served a plate of newts, eat the biggest newt first

 

If you are the kind of guy that just wants someone to lay out a program for you: that’s not this book.  It takes a LOT of reading to even get to the program in the first place, and once you get there, it’s in a narrative style, rather than a prescriptive style.  I, personally, PREFER that manner of delivery, and, in turn, enjoyed the hell out of this book, but I know that some folks are going to get chapped about this.

 

I’ve heard Dan speaking about this book a bunch on his podcast, and he actually almost quoted whole sections of it in answering some questions (which is awesome, because it’s like you have a printed copy of his podcast), but despite all the time and effort reading, reviewing and editing, there’s still a few typos and sentences that start and end the same (something like “lifting weights is one of the greatest ways to achieve physical transformation is lifting weights”).  Given my blog (and most likely this very review) is full of these issues, I’m not one to judge, but those paying for a product might be put off by it.

 

Some of the sections in the book are just blatant reprints of articles previously written by Dan.  They’re still incredibly on topic and value added in the book, but if you’ve already read them before, it can feel like you got stiffed out of content.  But, of course, that’s a GOOD thing as well: the fact I was upset there wasn’t even MORE content there means I enjoyed the hell out of it.  I’ve read my fair share of books that I wished would just be over.

 

The only thing keeping this from being a for real “all in one” manual is a lack of actual instruction on how to perform the movements in the program.  Mass Made Simple contained that, which I felt was pretty awesome.  In addition, I WISH Dan had released this book in 2020, for his sake and the sake of the world, because he would have made a killing giving people full on programs they could run with just some kettlebells or a barbell, and we all would have gotten a lot more jacked if we had this resource.

 

**WHAT ABOUT MASS MADE SIMPLE?**

Yes, have some!

 

That’s the most immediate question: why would I read and follow THIS Dan John bodybuilding book and not his other one?  This is just plain different from MMS, and that’s not a bad thing.  MMS is another fantastic book also full of Dan John wisdom on the subject of building mass, but his audience there is less “real people” and more “real athletes”.  To run that program, you have to be ready to really do some suffering and put in the work in the gym and at the table.  You also have to be willing to set aside 6-7 weeks of your life to really dedicate yourself to the effort.  In turn, I honestly like the idea of new trainees taking on MMS, because it’s a very solid gut check, recalibrates expectations of the self, and Dan does a great job walking the trainee through the entire program, to include instruction on the movements themselves. 

 

The Armor Building Formula seems far more sustainable than MMS.  Dan recommends MMS be run, at most, 2x a year, whereas the ABF definitely has legs to go on for long stretches.  ABF is more akin to a baseline 5/3/1 program, while MMS is more like Super Squats, if I were to employ analogy.

 

**SHOULD YOU GET IT?**

 

Absolutely, 100%.  No matter your goals or your equipment, you are sure to get something out of this book.