Customer Reviews

The Fat-Burning Workout: From Fat to Firm in 24 Days

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

In 1993, I was fat, out of shape and somewhat hopeless. I had tried running, stair-stepping, and cycling to little avail. I would lose 5 to 10lbs and while my body was smaller, it really didn't look that much better. I was cardiovascularly fit but physically I seem to have little to show for the hours I spent sweating in the gym. In a desperate search for some real help, I found Joyce's book in a public library. It was a book that profoundly changed my life.

For a former couch potato and self-proclaimed nerd, this book was perfect for bringing me quickly up to speed on how to reshape and redesign the body I thought I was stuck with. Joyce described the importance of aerobics, good nutrition, and good form. Plus she made it simple enough to avoid intimidating a person as ignorant about fitness as I was. (Prior to her book, I had believed that if I lost weight once and then stopped working out the weight would never come back)

I liked the way she detailed a workable plan that wasn't overwhelming. The cheerful and informative way she wrote the book made it a text I relied on for years. I've loaned this book to friends and occasionally still reread it when I'm in a fitness slump. While I don't believe her claims of Fat to Firm in 24 days, I do believe in her high-rep low-weight superset routine. I now have a definition and shape that my friends (fit long before me)only dream of. Some of it is natural propensity but the other is Vedral's innovative technique.

Although it took me longer than her book claimed(I didn't follow the diet exactly) I did lose 30lbs and gained a lovely, symmetrical sturdy shape. I swear by her abdominal routine which defines my serratus lines.

My discovery of this book was a turning point in my life and I highly recommend it to anyone who's just starting out with fitness. It gives you an excellent fundamental knowledge and a results-producing plan.

Let's face it--an excess of fat will kill you, and there is no denying it. Fat is not healthy. It will cause your body to work harder than it has to simply in order to survive. In this book, Joyce lays it on the line and says things that may not be popular or what we want to hear... but according to the doctors I've had to consult, they're absolutely true. The menu guidelines that Joyce espouses mirror my American Diabetes and American Health Association cookbooks, and the weight training regime does, indeed, boost one's metabolism as well as facilitate lipase transport... Joyce has made practicing good glycemic control easy for me.

Twenty-four workout days represents about six to eight weeks of four-day workout cycles, and the proof is in the pudding. Check out the before-and-after success stories in her books and on her website (and even amongst these reviews). These are real people, and every one of them is happier for having changed their lives. And they saw the changes in the time that Joyce said they would.

I know my future is definitely brighter than it's ever been. The message I get from Joyce's books is this: revel in your beautiful soul, but take care of the temple it lives in. Be as aware of your physical health as you are of your mental health. This, to me, is not representative of obssession with the Body Beautiful, but an outlook of symmetry and serenity.

I have tried all sorts of weight training workouts, but this one is the most effective and least boring of them all! By eliminating most of the rests between sets, Joyce Vedral has created a high-intensity muscle-building AND aerobic workout, something most fitness "experts" claim is impossible only because they have never tried the workout in this book! Because of the limited rest times, the workout is over in 20 minutes, instead of the usual 60 minutes for a regular weight-training session. And the results are fabulous! I not only built muscle, I also achieved superior definition, even on particularly troublesome bodyparts for women (ie. back of thighs). Believe it or not, all this can be achieved with minimal equipment (dumbbells and a weight bench) at home! I recommend this book to anyone who wants the maximum results for the minimum of time and money invested!

I purchased this book nearly two years ago, on a friend's recommendation and I'm still using it (or any other of Joyce Vedral's weight-training manuals. I started working out in the slow build-up she suggests, but at about the time I start to get discouraged and think nothing will happen (about 4-6 weeks) I noticed two unprecidented benefits - my tension headaches had more than halved in frequency and I could see visible muscle in my arms. After that, continuing improvements in bldy tone over my whole body kept me going. For someone who has never been in the least athletic, it was amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to get visibly in shape without a gym or expensive equipment, in less than half and hour a day.

I am a woman in her 50's who had given up on her body. I purchased this book, took a deep breath and started working out to it. It is easy to follow. It gave me a new body. I was shocked and my husband was in awe. Love this workout. It works when you stick to it and you do see results in 24 days.

Thank you, Dr. Joyce Vedral! When I made the commitment to begin a weight training program, the decision was strictly the ends justifying the means. Tone and firm muscles, lose fat,increase metabolism, increase lean to fat body mass ratio, build strong bones. But, WOW, I like this workout. I feel motivated and empowered. I've already started reading Bottoms Up! so I can vary my workouts once I complete six weeks on the Fat Burning Workout. Fantastic! I would recommend this guide to anyone.

I purchased this book approximately 2 weeks ago and after 5 days of doing the Iron Woman Workout I can see and feel the difference. My athletic background in track and field gave me a tight firm well sculpted body coupled with intense joint pains and several knee surgeries. Exercise for me meant pain - and alot of it. A year ago after my last knee scope I became discourged and gradually stopped exercising. I could'nt find a workout that actually did it all - burn fat and defined muscles while giving me the cardio that I so badly craved (I was addicted to running and step aerobics). Along came Joyce Verdal's "The Bathing Suit Workout" and voila, my prayers were answered. I was scheptical at first but the more I read - the more I did and I'm seeing results. My moto of NO PAIN, NO GAIN has changed to ALL GAIN, NO PAIN! Keep up the good work Joyce. And for those of you with your negative comments (ie:comments from person in Cambridge, it is obvious that you did not read the book in it's entirity thus failed to grasp the concept. These books will not "babysit" you, they will motivate with truth. You must first accept the truth about your body in order to change it. The truth can be at times - painful. Get beyond the denial and get working. It only takes about 30 minutes a day.

What is ultimately fat burning about this weight routine is the fat-burning muscle it builds but it isn't itself a fat-burning (aerobic) workout. I am happy to be able to find this book to buy here for the second time. I tore out the pages of the first one to put together a workout notebook which has since disappeared. I have many videos and books on exercise and fitness but this straightforward workout helped me achieve results in a short period of time. It was the first time I'd seen pyrmading or exactly how to split the body parts over the days of a week. Everything was spelled out for me so that all I had to do was get busy with the free weights. I was able to methodically work my way from light to heavier weights, something I hadn't been able to achieve with my aerobic & strength combination videos. I didn't follow the diet because I never do and I added aerobic exercise via step and hi-lo videos. I'll always have a copy of this for when I need an efficient, no-fuss plan.

Fat-Burning Workout and her Bottoms Up book are both useful as part of an overall lifestyle changing plan, that you stick with. And thats the key. Stick with the program!

If you are more than 20 lbs overweight then be sensible and realize that both of these books will help you IF you use them along with a change in eating habits as well as being more physically active, like walking more. Using free weights, or weights in general, helps immensely in firming you up as you lose the weight so you have less flab.

Yes you will see results with her books/program with a week or so. But also realize that she didn't get that awesome fit body overnight and she doesn't pig out now that she has it. It takes great discipline. But I recommend this and her other books.

And buy them DON'T just check them out from the library, because they are great reference books that this year and in years to come you will use over and over.

To be honest, my body looks even better than it did in high school. I had picked this book up when I was 20 years old and pregnant (this is William's wife Jen) and I was already planning ahead to try to get a descent body back. All of the women in my family had basically let themselves go after popping out a kid, and I didn't want people thinking that I was pregnant three years after the baby had been born. I started working with this book (almost all weight training with very little cardio, maybe 2 hours of step aerobics a week) when my baby was 2 weeks old, and I followed a sensible diet (not the one in this book since I'm a veggie, but something similar). By the time I had my next doctor's appointment (6 weeks postbirth), my weight was lower than prior to pregnancy, my body looked better than when I had been in high school, and my blood pressure was the lowest that it had ever been. This book and its philosophy has given me the best body of my life (not to mention more time for myself and the kids since I don't have to do endless hours of ineffective cardio)! My husband loves my cut but not massive body and girls ten younger ask me how did I get into such great shape. After this book I moved on to the "Perfect Parts" which gives greater results, but this is definitiely the one to begin with.