Most Helpful Customer Reviews
100 of 100 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book if you're serious about fitness, May 17, 2010
This review is from: Gold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program (Hardcover)
I bought this book even though I am a man and a senior citizen because I admire Dara Torres and also because I heard her talk about her approach to dynamic stretching. If you are serious about your fitness this is an excellent book that covers all the areas - stretching, diet, strength, cardio fitness, and active rest and recovery. Also I like her perspective as a person who has been successful in overcoming the challenges of competing at a world-class level although twice the age of many of her fellow competitors.
As I write this the only other reviewer gives the book one star, essentially for two reasons. First the reviewer says you need access to a gym, a cable system and a partner to make use of the book. Second the reviewer claims the five week timeframe shown on the cover is misleading because the program will take 15 weeks to complete. Regarding the first criticism, while some of the exercises require equipment not all do - many of the stretches require nothing more than your own body. In addition, one should ask where fitness ranks among your priorities - is joining a gym all that difficult for most people who take fitness seriously? YMCA's are everywhere and not all that expensive. In addition, Dara mentions inexpensive equipment such as a BOSU and resistance bands. I belong to a gym and also have a BOSU and resistance bands at home. This is not expensive or exotic equipment. I was in a gas station convenience store last week and I noticed cigarettes cost $50 a carton - now that's expensive, not to mention they will kill you.
Regarding the five week time frame, I have a couple of points. First Dara says she picked five weeks because she thinks it will take the average person about five weeks to LEARN the exercises. This is not a "five weeks and you're done" program, rather like any sensible fitness project it is a life long journey. In addition the book actually has three five week programs which you can perform depending on your motivation and goals. Finally, I think all but the most naive buyers understand all books come with a certain amount of marketing hype, which is probably why whoever designed the cover put the five week timeframe on it. I'll bet you Dara would be the first to stress that her advice is very much about the long term, not a miracle quickie fix.
I use a Kindle for a lot of my reading, but I decided to get the paper copy of Gold Medal Fitness even though it does come in a Kindle version. I did this because I use exercise books as references and I have found the Kindle not so good if you want to refer to certain sections over and over again. Plus pictures and how-to diagrams don't show up well on the Kindle.
I am a 66 year old life long exerciser and former collegiate gymnast who currently teaches resistance band and balance exercises to older Americans. I have read and own a lot of exercise books. I believe this book will be a valuable addition to my knowledge about fitness training and my own personal training program.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Practical advice from an elite athlete, June 7, 2010
I really enjoyed reading Dara's new book and I disagree with some of the previous reviews. I thought the book was straightforward and liked the fact that Dara writes it for the masses, not just her colleagues who are other elite athletes. The exercises can all be done from home and she also gives tips on how to do the Ki-Hara workouts that helped her to reshape her body after having a baby, and also helped her to combat the arthritis pain she had in her knee. The nutrition part of the book is also quite simple and perfect for someone who doesn't want to do a lot of cooking or meal planning. This is one of the few fitness books that I've read cover to cover and have gone back to for advice. I know that I will never be in the shape that Dara is in, but I can utilize her advice to lose weight and gain energy.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good Exercise Tips, but Poor Nutritional Advice, September 2, 2010
This review is from: Gold Medal Fitness: A Revolutionary 5-Week Program (Hardcover)
As a swimmer, I was really excited about reading this book. I enjoyed the sections detailing Torres' physical routines as well as her advice and attitudes regarding exercise, but was disappointed with much of the rest.
The food and nutrition chapter is not really worth reading as the advice Torres gives is misguided at best. She says that all people should take dietary supplements because "we cannot get everything we need from food." This is untrue. Torres also continually refers to "clean" food, which is apparently unprocessed food, but she later suggests that low-sodium, packaged or frozen foods are acceptable and that Klondike bars and Fudgsicles make good desserts. She also calls mayonnaise a dairy product (it is made from an emulsion of oil and eggs) and says mustard is laden with sugar (perhaps processed mustard is, but traditional mustards are not), which also make me feel a bit leery about her food recommendations. Furthermore, the 35-day meal plan she provides does not have nearly enough calories for an active person. I also wonder how different her diet actually is from her suggested plan, especially as it is not representative of the "several small meals" she says she eats most of the time.
Fortunately, the chapters on strength training and stretching seem useful and good additions to a cardio routine. The photos and descriptions are clear and helpful. The techniques and progression training methodology also seem very well thought out. It is true that machines are required for some of her strength training moves, but they aren't unusual ones. A minor detail unrelated to the exercises is the incorrect explanation of Ki-Hara, the stretching technique, as being two Chinese words, when they are actually two Japanese terms.
I would recommend using this book as a source for some new strength exercises and stretches, as well as to gain some additional perspective into reaching one's fitness goals, staying aware of your body's needs, and realistically thinking about how to fit workouts into your life. I wouldn't, however, use any of her eating advice.
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