Customer Reviews

Getting in Shape: Workout Programs for Men and Women

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Getting in Shape does a wonderful job of taking you gently from doing no exercise through a complete and well-explained path to being in shape. There are eight different levels of workouts, arranged in order from easiest to hardest, plus special workouts for focusing on particular areas of your body or dealing with special challenges (like traveling or having no time to work out). The easiest workouts are designed so that even people with significant health or weight problems can start exercising at a level appropriate to their current abilities.

Each workout has recommended stretches, strength training exercises, and aerobic exercises (with a number of different options presented, depending on what you enjoy doing). The instructions are clear, and the increases in difficulty gradual enough that I actually began to enjoy working out, rather than dreading it.

Everything is designed so that a minimum of equipment is required even at the most advanced levels: a weight bench, a few basic weights, and decent shoes for your aerobic workout of choice are about all it takes. This is the best book of its kind, in my opinion: it is a practical and reasonable guide to getting in shape for those of us who have lives that otherwise don't include exercise.

This book has it all. If you could only have one book to get into shape with, this would be it. It has many excellent basic programs for all around fitness which include lifting (weight training), moving (aerobics), and stretching. In addition to the basic fitness programs, it has "fine tuning" programs which are total programs that focus on specific body areas, and it also has programs for people with special medical conditions, i.e., arthritis, pregnancy. You can also find programs for people with busy schedules, and a program to do when you're traveling. It also has information about diet, health issues, and tips for staying fit and healthy. The illustrations are great. This book is perfect for the average Joe (or Jane) who doesn't want something too overwhelming but wants to be fit and healthy. It's written in a very straightforward manner, is enjoyable to read, and is jam-packed full of totally useful information. EVERYONE could get something out of this book!

In 1996 after I went to US from India, within a year, I was overweight and then the fitness blues started. I went thru several cycles of extreme exercising, dieting, pain and give-up. During the same time I wanted to find a no-nonsense fitness literature. One of the criterias of my search was to avoid the books boasting photographs of ideal bodies. When I saw this book, I trusted my instinct and bought it. For four months I followed the programs (from this book) from "program before program" to "basic program 2" and reduced several kilos. During this time, I did not clearly follow very important advise from the book about increasing the training progressively. I had to give up because I was doing too much after getting encouraged by initial results.

It is 2006 now. Almost 10 years are over and the book itself stayed with me all these years. At the back of my mind a dream stayed to complete first 5 basic programs from this book. The authors claim that after completing the fifth basic program, a person will be physically fit as per the American College of Sports Medicine's guidelines for an healthy adult.

From Feb-2005, I started following programs from this book again (from the beginning). I was then 82 kilos. I had promised myself to write an amazon review of the book after losing 10 kilos. Now after one year I have lost 12 kilos. In November, after completing "the basic program 5" and after getting in good shape I took up serious running as a sport/hobby. Recently from Amazon, I bought a copy of this book as a gift to a friend.

If followed methodically by listening to all the advise by the authors, this literature has capacity to build a foundation for serious athletic capability in a person. The programs are designed with purpose of letting you focus on performance (training) without letting you worry about what next. Every exercise is explained in easy to understand words with crisp clear illustrations. The illustrations and explanations are precise and it is strongly advisable to follow them correctly for best results.

As I started losing kilo after kilo, I developed interest in nutrition, general fitness and subsequently invested into other related resources. Everything is paying off now. I have told myself to continue the training as I have realized that fitness is always a journey and not a destination.

From last November, I started preparing for marathon and have already run couple of road races with lesser distances. These days, I feel euphoric when I hit the road or when I go to the gym and follow the last set of programs named 'fine tuning' from this book. While following the book, I have also developed great respect for the authors.

In my opinion, the front page (cover) of the last edition was better than the latest edition. The front page of the last edition has coloured illustrations by Jean Anderson who also made the illustrations for the entire book.

I really like this book - perfect for beginners and almost beginners who want to develop and maintain their own fitness programs without the use of a personal trainer. There are many different programs to choose from, ranging from very easy up to fairly challenging. They all seem very realistic and require modest committment of time (30 to 60 minutes daily). Each program has a stretching, strength and cardio component. One program requires no special strength training equipment and there are a couple of programs suitable for a fully equipped gym. The rest fall in between - perfect for those of us with a very modest home gym. The programs focus is on fitness, not body building, and is really geared for the average person. There are clear illustrations of how to do the stretches and lifts and lots of good ideas on a variety of cardio fitness activities. I also like the ideas on hotel room workouts for us business travelers.

I have two criticisms of this book. First, I felt that many of the ab excercises were not realistic for a beginning level of fitness. I felt that some of them were too stressful on the lower back so I made substitutions. The second is that although Burke is a former cycling team coach, he really didn't give much information on cycling. I choose that as my form of exercise and I would have appreciated a specific progressive program for cycling. He does have a 10 week progressive walking program for beginners though.

If you are a beginner or someone returning to fitness after a long absence, this is a great book that really does a good job of emphasizing the importance of doing anything other than sit around. If you are someone who is familiar with working out or who is already fairly healthy this may provide you with some few hints, but I would stick with Getting Stronger for the strength training and Stretching for flexibility. I'm a half-way in shape 35 year old that exercises somewhat regularly and this book was just a little too rudimentary for me. I was looking for more involvement with the Lifelong Fitness portion of the title, but found it to be more towards getting people started.

Whether you are a couch potato or ex-jock, Getting in Shape presents a straightfoward, descriptive, illustrated guide to fighting the battle of the bulge.

Filled with nearly three dozen workouts, the authors competently provide a considerable amount of information in a concise, 200+ page format. Drawings help take the guesswork out of how to stretch and lift weights properly. Health related topics including diet, exercise and anatomy are easy to read and informative.

My only real knock against the book is that its binding is the standard paperback type. I'd prefer a spiral-bound book that can be layed open without weighing down the ends. I have found it helpful to open the book to the particular workout I'm doing to help me keep track of the stretches and exercises. Granted, this is a minor gripe, but I'd buy another copy of it if they had a better binding.

I would encourage anyone who is looking to improve her/his health to give Getting in Shape a look! Best wishes for a long and healthy future! Don't give up!

For someone who is not physically fit at all, I thought I'd be intimidated by any literature that may even elude to working out. This book, with its helpful illustrations & detailed instructions, is a wonderful starting point for anyone trying to get into shape. It will take you step by step & explain why the steps are there in that order. Very helpful & valuable!

Lots of specific workouts, and specific topics like advice for pregnant women, those with arthritis, etc. Very little background or general topics, like how many reps is best, etc. It felt constraining. Also, virtually nothing on weight machines - the workouts use free weights only.

I found this book to be well written and illustrated for both the first time user and for anyone just wanting to bush up on technic. I would recommend this book to anyone

I just received this book from Amazon and was greatly dismayed to find that pages 119 - 150 are missing, and pages 89 - 118 are repeated in their place. That's like Ford shipping a car with the engine installed in the trunk - what a basic mistake! Now I have to go through the effort to return the book and wait 7 - 10 days for a refund after they get it back!