Customer Reviews

Health & Fitness in Plain English: How to Be Healthy, Happy, and Fit for the Rest of Your Life

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book in conjunction with "The Ab Revolution" and since putting the advice contained in both into practice, I feel better and more importantly, I feel like I'm getting much more out of my workouts. The books advocate incorporating fitness strategies into your daily life, not just during an hour or two doing obligatory "exercise". I am a real gym rat and enjoy the time I spend there, but I never gave much thought to working on my fitness level throughout the day. For example, now I run up the four flights of stairs at work several times a day to work on my anaerobic capacity, thanks to the abs book and the info on abs in the Health and Fitness book I get a lot more out of my time spent on the stairmaster and elliptical machines because I maintain proper posture.

I always have a million questions related to proper stretching, proper weightlifting technique (eg lower weight more reps? or more weight fewer reps?), etc. and this book is proving to be an invaluable reference tool - so much so that now I schlep it around in my gym bag.

The author does a very good job of explaining complicated exercise physiology so that people like me understand and can apply the concepts. I feel like I'm really progressing now whereas before I always wondered whether I was working hard enough, etc. I've been on a weightloss/fitness building mission for almost a year now and now I'm as motivated as I was in the beginning because I feel like I know what I'm doing.

This book does a good job of summing up healthy habits for most aspects of health and exercise. It offers insight into causes of problems and measures for prevention, as well as treatment. One thing this book does not suggest, is to "buy this product for this, buy this product for that and yet another fabulously expensive miracle herb for all your health needs." No bull here, everything you need to make lifestyle changes with good reasons.

I have 3 of Dr. Bookspan's books, and have utilized her extensive website as well. I was amazed at how quickly her methods worked on fixing my pain, pain that I had for years. No doctors, chiropractors, trainers have been able to do what Dr. Bookspan accomplished in about 5 minutes. And that is no exaggeration -- literally 5 minutes of stretching and re-posturing and I felt 80% better. And I continue to feel better every day. I hope this works for you as well. It is miserable to live with pain. This is the first review I felt compelled to write, but I feel very strongly about spreading the word - genius!

This book is for those who are more interested in exercising safely and effectively, than in hopping on the bandwagon of the latest fitness trends. Advice you can trust on all aspects of health and fitness.

This book is written by a practicing exercise physiologist with years of experience in rehabilitation and a history of athletic accomplishments. She addresses nutrition (no need for supplements), exercise (no need for a gym), stretching (too much or improper technique can cause irreversible damage), and health and fitness myths.
Don't listen to trainers who have experience from only working in a gym and who only have 8 hours of "training certification" from a certificate mill. Get advice from a practicing PhD in exercise physiology.

I like the book a lot. . . but Bookspahn's no nonsense writing style is spare to the point of malnutrition. But an exercise book is probably more valuable for the quality of the information it provides. Bookspahn doesn't make wild claims. She focuses on what is provable and sensible. The end effect is that the reader is given helpful information and some confidence that it is correct. There are many exercise books and a bewildering array of claims made in each. Bookspahn is not an advocate, but a patient explainer of the basic science of the body, the muscles, exercise and nutrition. I am not a fitness buff nor do I have training in sports medicine.

After years of pain, doctors, chiropractors, a hip replacement, and still the original problem, I finally understand why it happened and how to help myself by doing the right "exercises" the right "way". This book has not only helped me with my back pain, it has also given me so much information on how to be -- well, just what the title of the book says! Thank you Dr. Jolie Bookspan!

...of Ms. Bookspan after having found her website. The information helped me with some lower back discomfort I was having, so much so, that I wanted to have the books. The website is a bit confusing to navigate and I can get lost in it for hours following this interesting lead and that. I thought the book would put the information in a more orderly fashion. Plus I like having a book in my hand. I'm not always by a computer. I am grateful to her having that website available and for her giving the information for free. You don't have to buy the book to access the material, so kudos to you Jolie for that service.

What I like is her honest pragmatism. She's lived in several Asian countries and in doing so, has been exposed to other ways of doing things. I think this has created in her an outlook that dispenses with some of the dishonest practices in the American medical practice and, instead, gives some very down-to-earth methods of improving and maintaining health. (For an example of that kind of medical dishonesty read Men Who Control Women's Health.... for an historical overview on the horrors the medical industry has perpetrated on women, a doctor for example, bragging about the 15 minute hysterectomy as a real income producer, whether needed or not). Although I can't remember if I read on Bookspan's website or in the book the following example, here's an example of her honest pragmatism: She talks about receiving mailings to increase cash flow into her practice by doing certain spinal procedures for disk repair. These repairs, according to her, eventually break down and cause problems far worse than the initial problem. But your won't find your own doctor telling you the truth about that, even though that doctor knows the eventual outcome. Bookspan offers some simple exercises and daily lifestyle practices to create spinal health instead of the surgery. I deeply appreciate her honesty in exposing this and offering an alternative. I wish we had more in the medical profession like her.

She also offers stretches and advises on traditional stretches that aren't good for you, giving a better alternative. The crunch for example, is a definitive no, and she says it doesn't help your stomach muscles and may actually injure them. She gives the alternative that increases shape and strength without causing injury. She also addresses common stretches in practices such as yoga and weight lifting that are harmful and gives a better alternative

It's not perfect. About food and obesity, not much here other than the usual if you eat too much and don't move, you get fat, the rest of the book makes up a lack of depth on that topic I'd recommend Helena Schaar's Fast & EZ Calorie, Fat, Carb, Fiber & Protein Counter for her info on how many calories you need daily for your size as a supplement to Bookspan.

I would recommend any of Bookspan's books that are relevant to your needs. I've bought three of them and am very pleased with them. Because this will be used as a reference book, I may have these plasticized and put into a spiral binder.

I read this book after 'Googling' for some solution for my years of neck and shoulder pain. I am fortunate to come across this author.
More than seven years of problem, several thousand dollars spent on this - no one
(no Dr., no physio , no chiro, no surgeon) pinpointed the root cause.
I found the root cause with the help of Bookspan. I am able to fix the root cause.
I am slowly recovering from the damage I did to myself over years.
Even if you do exercises, if you dont do them correctly you are in trouble.
Another lesson learnt!

Lot of misconception about exercises made clear in this book.

What is the point in doing exercise for 30 min. but continue to do the same mistakes in life style, postures and habits? The author keeps asking this question in several places and patiently explains the root cause of several problems and provides SIMPLE solutions. The book is worth millions! A gift to humanity!!!

Cheers.
Ponmudi

I found this book very useful for trying to figure out what to do and what not to do if you have a bad back (i.e., herniated disk). I like that the author examines existing exercises and discusses what is good or bad about them with regard to your health. For example, she points out that sit ups aren't necessarily good for your back and that there are other more productive ways to develop a healthy back. A similar point is brought up with regard to exercises where you bend over. She points these things out over and over until you really have it burned in your mind that you don't really need to do these things that might hurt your back.

I also really liked the exercises that she recommends, however, they are located in different areas throughout the book. I had to go through the book a second time to make a list of these useful exercises because they aren't easy to find. A final section that lists each exercise and how to do them would have been appreciated for easy reference. The lack of this section is why I gave it only 4 stars.