Customer Reviews

Fitness for Life

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Matt Roberts' Fitness for Life is a fitness reference manual of exercise and nutrition to change the body and sustain health. The book is ideal for beginner who not only wants to get fit but to stay fit and maintain a healthy life. The book features over 20 different fitness programs for men and women, including 3-week detox, sustained weight loss, lunchtime workout, six-week beach body, building mass, fitness during pregnancy, men's general fitness, and women's general fitness.

Each exercise is illustrated with numerous pictures and explanations. The fitness programs always begin with a full-page illustrations of all the exercises involved, or the exercise library so users can get a very clear idea of what to expect in a workout and how to gauge the progress. Each workout provides a small "trigger" picture and a page reference that will tell user where to find each exercise demonstrated step by step. Sometimes user will see the exercises used in an exercise library, and different detailed charts will tell user how to use the exercises in the workouts. All workouts come with time, fitness levels, possible interval training, and repetition maximums.

Besides fitness programs, the manual details the guidelines for healthy eating including the components of a healthy diet, food guide and meal suggestions. One of the aspects that is most overlooked in resistant training is stretching. Matt devotes a full section flexibility and explains the significance of stretching through flexibility test. The advice on resistant training, in addition to the basics and exercises targeting specific muscle groups, also includes techniques and selection of weights. The book emphasizes on trying new training technique in order to introduce into training routine and ensure one to challenge muscles in different ways - to strive to achieve muscle overload.

My favorite program and the one from which I benefit most is the men's general fitness, one that provides comprehensive overall workouts that will keep me trim and maintain good muscle tone. The program is not only easy to follow but also keeps challenges the body to get the most out of it - in a way it achieves sculpting the body. The program helps to keep weight stable while I follow it alongside a healthy balanced diet. For example, exercises included in this program are squat, push-up, leg curl, shoulder press, leg extension, lat pull-down, ball squat, pec fly, power lunge, lateral raise, upright row, back extension, full crunch, oblique bridge, bridge, walking/running, cycle, row, dips, and bicep curl.

Exercises in this book do not always require huge gym machines so it is perfect for beginners and those who do not have access to gym membership.

2004 (18) © MY

This is a good book intended for those which want to start training. It offers a set of workouts well suited for most men and women's aims. Nutritional guidelines are great and are never based in supplements or drugs!
I think that the main drawback is the lack of information concerning periodization and exercise selection (you will not know what to do after finishing some scheduled workout).
As a paralel reading or further reading, I suggest Delavier's book (Strength training anatomy) and another one by Kraemer (Designing Resistance Training Programs).