The Superhero in Me

Elijah is an everyday kid and a superhero. His assignment is to help the readers of the book to become an everyday superhero. He narrates what he knows about building confidence, character and muscles in ways that make it sound cool and doable for any kid to become a superhero.

The concept of a superhero is attractive to many boys and is used here to instill self-esteem and character traits important for leadership and for making positive contributions to society. The book begins with principles, ideas, techniques in weight lifting and bodybuilding, and includes character-building motivations that can be applied to any sport, and to life in general. Weight lifting is a way to build muscle and be physically powerful. Mental and emotional power are necessary too for strong and confident leadership. The connections between mind, body and character are, therefore, reinforced in the book.

This book was designed specifically to address physical and character development in boys, ages 8 to 19. The superhero content, the illustrations and level of the writing will likely appeal most to boys, ages 10-16. We include a special section on 8X Mr. Olympia, Mr. Lee Haney, and his journey to becoming a bodybuilding superhero. His principles for weight lifting and bodybuilding are taught within his International Association of Fitness Sciences (IAFS). This is a unique contribution of the book. Boys who read this book thoroughly and practice its principles and techniques will be well-positioned to study and obtain personal training certification with IAFS when they become adults. The link to information on IAFS is listed in the references.

Nutrition basics are covered to help boys understand the importance of making healthy food choices, and for connecting what we eat with how we feel, our ability to focus on learning, and our overall growth. Weight training consumes a large portion of the book. There are definitions and rules for safety and effective lifting to build and strengt