Ian King has me a bit puzzled

"Mike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

I've started on Ian King's routine in "The Book of Muscle", and while I
do like the nice illustrations and form tips, the work-outs leave me
scratching my head.

I'm still the 'beginning' stages and a few things are sticking out:

Abs/lower back seem extremely under-emphasized (at least in the early
stages). It may simply be that I from previous training I placed
emphasis on the trunk, but I'm not sure.

Time. Not counting my warm-up, I was probably lifting for an hour and
half, and didnt even do multiple circuts. The rest time alone given
for one particular workout adds up to 15 minutes. Thats with 1 circut,
1 set. By the end you are supposed to do 2-3 circuts and 2-3 sets.

Am I doing something wrong, or does anyone else think this is an odd?
Does anyone have any recommendations for other books/work out routines?
I'm looking mainly for strength-building for martial arts (looking
good is a nice side bonus). I do a fair bit MA, which can be
cardio-intensive, so I wonder if circut training is the best answer?

I started with the last phase of the beginner routine. It all works out
toward the end of the intermediate. It's all about building weaknesses prior
to heavy lifting.