Built from Broken: A Science-Based Guide to Healing Painful Joints, Preventing Injuries, and Rebuilding Your Body

Comprehensive, recommended reading for strength training (experienced, or inexperienced, or injured). I’m over 65, and bought this book when a 20-something ‘trainer’ nearly broke my back with barbell squats. I wanted to know what when wrong, and so purchased a lot of training books to study the issue. Guess what, 90% of training books are based on unfounded science and ‘trainers’ who are already fit, but don’t really know what they’re doing.So, this book goes into how muscle and connective tissue is generated, inflammation after injury, nutrition recommendations for repairing injured connective tissue, what exercises you shouldn’t do (i.e., remarkably benches, barbell squats, and other heavy exercises), etc., all for someone who is looking at just building strength over a longer term (not necessarily for ‘muscle beach’ type people. There’s even a long-term plan for training. Are all the exercises given described correctly – no, world’s greatest stretch is actually an advanced exercise for someone older like myself; and one should actually consult the Stuart McGill’s back training book for how and why to do bird dog, cat-cow, bridges, etc. exercises for the back – especially if one is building back from a back injury.But overall, this is probably the best training book of the over 15 books I’ve purchased. I wish I had read this before I started training after a slight layoff. I was already fit, but not trained properly – so this book would have helped me a lot – especially the advice not to listen to any 20-somthing trainer who doesn’t read, and says the exercises are obvious.

Feel great after a session. Just finished another Built from Broken session and feel great. I’ve been using the book off and on for a couple of months, on days when the winter weather is too bad for me to actually ride my horse. So, I’m not exactly on schedule, but am gradually progressing through the beginner workouts. My body definitely feels happier, stronger, more balanced, and more capable in spite of injuries over the years. (I probably wouldn’t have gotten injured if this book had existed!) Many of these exercises I’ve never seen before. I like the variety. You will need some simple, inexpensive equipment, but a lot of it I already had because of other books I have tried. I took my paperback of Built from Broken to the office store and had them cut off the spine and three-hole-punch it to stay open in a binder because I kept losing my place going back and forth between the workout exercise list and how to do the exercise. (I probably should have bought the spiral-bound version.) I also marked page numbers on the workout exercise lists and created sticky note tabs to mark each exercise for easy lookup. The author/publisher should create a high-quality, high-contrast, high-resolution printing of this book, with exercises tabbed, workouts tabbed, built-in bookmark ribbons, etc. The font and print quality could be better, and even if a high-quality print/tabbed version were pricey, it would be worth it as a lifetime investment. To give you an idea of how much I like this book, I also have the Kindle version, so I can adapt exercises when traveling or do keyword searches, e.g. “sore shoulder” or “core”. Great, helpful book!

Read whole book, then focus on tidbits you need. This was a book someone recommended to me, and I’m so glad they did!You need to read the whole book for the information it gives. As you read, you can bookmark and/or note page numbers in the table of contents for easy reference. Please practice a bit of humility and follow through this book.The basic stretches are an invaluable help for me to overcome much of my muscle discomfort. My flexibility as an adult is also improving. It reduces the appointments I need, and my quality of life is improving again. With both this book and my appointments, I can finally live without muscle discomfort and pain for most of the year again. I know it’s initially a hassle to get into the good habits, but its better than my alternative of the time and financial cost of not doing so through this book. Without the book, I had to earn the profit (after taxes and other expenses) to pay for even more appointments, pay gas to drive to the appointments, and take spare time from work to make it to my appointments. Not to mention you can’t buy back good health and there is value to your quality of life.I would recommend this book for anyone. It also explains what you can prevent getting worse with age, and what age some specific things may begin declining (such as age 30), so parents may be interested in this book for that reason too. I also recommend this book for farmers. Once they overcome the time obstacle to read through the book once, they can focus on the few stretches that will help them, to avoid accidentally stretching or tearing something preventable, and will be more comfortable too. Gardeners will also benefit, as gardeners have various seasonal motions throughout the season. There is also a stretch to do to prevent problems when your not used to moving heavy furniture. Following this book, I had to refine how I walked and used my feet. Compared to my former ‘kick legs ahead of me’ and not focusing on rotating my hips at all, using the book means I’m putting less unnecessary stress onto my knees. I do the stretches first thing in the morning. I walk however long I can spare before going to work, but ideally would do 30 minutes or more of walking daily. Sometimes I only get my 30 minute walk in on the weekends. I purchased the smaller dumbbells, cut a stick to use for one of the stretches (or you can use a broom handle), and plan to either buy or make the ‘step’ later on (you step on and off it like a staircase).

Read whole book, then focus on tidbits you need. This was a book someone recommended to me, and I’m so glad they did!You need to read the whole book for the information it gives. As you read, you can bookmark and/or note page numbers in the table of contents for easy reference. Please practice a bit of humility and follow through this book.The basic stretches are an invaluable help for me to overcome much of my muscle discomfort. My flexibility as an adult is also improving. It reduces the appointments I need, and my quality of life is improving again. With both this book and my appointments, I can finally live without muscle discomfort and pain for most of the year again. I know it’s initially a hassle to get into the good habits, but its better than my alternative of the time and financial cost of not doing so through this book. Without the book, I had to earn the profit (after taxes and other expenses) to pay for even more appointments, pay gas to drive to the appointments, and take spare time from work to make it to my appointments. Not to mention you can’t buy back good health and there is value to your quality of life.I would recommend this book for anyone. It also explains what you can prevent getting worse with age, and what age some specific things may begin declining (such as age 30), so parents may be interested in this book for that reason too. I also recommend this book for farmers. Once they overcome the time obstacle to read through the book once, they can focus on the few stretches that will help them, to avoid accidentally stretching or tearing something preventable, and will be more comfortable too. Gardeners will also benefit, as gardeners have various seasonal motions throughout the season. There is also a stretch to do to prevent problems when your not used to moving heavy furniture. Following this book, I had to refine how I walked and used my feet. Compared to my former ‘kick legs ahead of me’ and not focusing on rotating my hips at all, using the book means I’m putting less unnecessary stress onto my knees. I do the stretches first thing in the morning. I walk however long I can spare before going to work, but ideally would do 30 minutes or more of walking daily. Sometimes I only get my 30 minute walk in on the weekends. I purchased the smaller dumbbells, cut a stick to use for one of the stretches (or you can use a broom handle), and plan to either buy or make the ‘step’ later on (you step on and off it like a staircase).

A must read if you are in your forties. I loved the book! Insightful and actionable. I had been suffering from lower back pain for years and in two or three months of applying what I’ve learned with the book and following one of it suggested routines (with minor changes) I’m feeling great. I rarely feel any pain at all. I learned that the problem was not actually in my back, but in my weak glutes and harm strings. Life changing.

Such a great resource. This book has given me hope about my overall body health. It has shown me the reasons things work in my body in regards to the benefits of health, as well as how to maintain this vessel. If you are a visual person, tons of exercises show in detail on how to preform them. Also a detail workout routine for you to follow. If you have had lack of knowledge of how to workout, this book is excellent at helping you. I don’t feel like a bumbling idiot in the gym anymore. This book is worth your time.

Insightful. This book is super helpful for rehabbing against movement dysfunction and injury. Athletes and non athletes will find this book well worth it for strengthening and stabilizing in all 3 planes of motion at each joint.

Amazing and crystal clear reading. Through explanations with great examples. Well written!

The Smarter Way to Build Strength That Lasts. Built from Broken completely transformed the way I think about fitness, pain, and recovery. Scott Hogan explains the science behind rebuilding your body in a way that’s easy to understand and apply. His approach focuses on smart training, not just harder workouts. This isn’t just a fitness book; it’s a manual for reclaiming your body and confidence.This book completely changed how I approach training. Scott Hogan breaks down how to build a body that’s not just strong, but sustainable for the long term. His insights into recovery, mobility, and muscle balance made me realize how much potential I was leaving on the table by ignoring the basics. I’ve been lifting and training for years, and this book still taught me things I’d never considered. The guidance feels practical, science-based, and surprisingly motivating. It’s a must-read for anyone who wants to train smarter, stay healthy, and keep performing at their best for years to come.

Wide open reference that lays flat so you can pump up. Great information incorporated into a “wire bound, lay flat” design! This very affordable modification compared to the original bound format is so much easier to reference during a workout! I added tab markers to mine so that I can focus more easily on my proper technique without having to put a weight on a page to keep it open. Plus, the wire binding (not really metal, but instead, a durable plastic) allows a more compact reference in your gym bag when you need the book to be already referenced to an exact page/exercise.