Cory Everson's Life Balance [Paperback]

Cory Everson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998

A six-time Miss Olympia and host of ESPN's "Gotta Sweat," renowned fitness expert Cory Everson understands the pain of self-defeating thinking, crazy exercise habits, and fad diets. To combat it, she created LifeBalance, a more productive, fulfilling regimen that includes a new way to look at exercise and eating. She also provides easy mind/body techniques for coping with the stress, wasted effort, and negative self-image so many women carry in their lives. LifeBalance includes:* mind/body empowerment without the mystery * LifeBalance workouts including yoga, strength training and the Walkfit Plan * fine tune your fitness mode and use it to reach your goals * Emotional Connectors: get over your past and move powerfully into the future * stress survival techniques * create a journal as a blueprint for success * get in touch with the real you and lead the life you truly love

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Early on in LifeBalance, Cory Everson tells a story about a woman she knows. This woman, a personal trainer, works out like a fiend year-round. She always looks like she's ready to pose for the cover of a fitness magazine. Most days, she's so tired from her exercise program that she goes home and collapses. She has no energy for friends, lovers, family. No life--except on the Fourth of July, when she wears a stars-and-stripes bikini at a party and has all the men panting after her. All that work, to be the center of attention one day a year.

Everson, a former bodybuilding champion (back in the era when female bodybuilders still looked like women), is regarded as one of the genuinely nice people in the fitness world, where relentless self-promotion and rival deprecation are the standard business model. In LifeBalance she comes off as a trusted friend who understands obsessions--whether they be about work, workouts, boyfriends, or housekeeping--and knows they inevitably lead to burnout.

And so this book is chock-full of advice to women for moderating extreme behaviors and beliefs; for finding some joy in fitness if you've previously considered it drudgery; for cutting back if you've been living in the gym; for shutting down the little voice in your head that tells you you can't do things. Everson punctuates these lessons with tales of her own negativity (believe it or not, as a kid, she hated her muscular, athletic legs, and other kids made fun of her almond-shaped eyes), some research on how people really end bad habits and begin new ones, and solid advice about exercise and nutrition.

Of course, she also fills the book with pictures of herself and her perfect body, which may, for some readers, negate the message of balance. Fortunately, she's very open about the fact that this was the body she was born with and all she's done is work with what she already had. The message of LifeBalance is that all women can do the same. They won't all get the same body, but they can achieve the same satisfaction with life. --Lou Schuler

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Perigee Trade; 1st edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399524444
• ISBN-13: 978-0399524448
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,811,913 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A realistic, balanced and healthy approach to fitness., July 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cory Everson's Life Balance (Paperback)

Cory Everson, 6-time Ms Olympia, has written a book that offers a realistic, balanced and healthy approach to fitness and nutrition. Cory deconstructs the myths that surround fitness and well-being by sharing her OWN stories, along with others, of struggles and triumph. Cory tackles the often neglected topic of having a healthy mind as well as a good body image. By showing examples of how to identify negative mind-sets and steps for overcoming them; she uses her warm tone to make the information easily accessible for readers of all levels of fitness. It is also particularly heart-warming when Cory shares her own personal accounts of feeling inadequate and insecure - the book is strengthened by her personal anecdotes and stories. As a personal trainer, I recommend this book to all my clients and as an individual, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a clear, concise and honest approach to mind vs body fitness.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is spot-on!!, May 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cory Everson's Life Balance (Paperback)

I think it's great that such a super athlete like Cory, who has "been there and done that" has written Lifebalance. It's all about rethinking why we're all trying to lose weight and exercise--is it to (a) be thin or (b) be good to yourself?? By telling so many stories about herself you can see that she walks the talk. I could certainly relate to so much of what she said, and now I'm putting it into action and REALLY getting results from my (already)low-fat diet and regular workouts.

Highly recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cory Has Changed 180 Degrees from the Beginning, December 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Cory Everson's Life Balance (Paperback)

I've followed Cory's career from the beginning and I've seen how much she's changed. She was once a gung-ho bodybuilder who refused to rest and take time off. Now she's finally grasped the concept of true LifeBalance and I absolutely love the change. She shows you how to stay in shape while living a life! She shows you how to look great by working out LESS, and by not being obsessed with it. She even shows you how to cheat on your diet and feel great about it! Yes, she has changed. You go, Cory!