Customer Reviews

Kathy Kaehler's Celebrity Workouts: How to Get a Hollywood Body in Just 30 Minutes a Day

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

 

 

In her book she says that the sub-title of this book "How to Get a Hollywood Body in Just 30 Minutes a Day" sounds a little gimmicky. You aren't going to look like Jennifer Aniston tomorrow, but you are going to be healthier and fitter as you follow this program. She focuses on getting healthy and feeling comfortable with the body shape you have. A fun mix of walking, light weight training, yoga, stretching and a handful of fun exercises that make you feel like a kid on the playground. The exercises have easy to follow illustrations, and written directions. It includes a group of exercises to help you ease back into a fitness program, recipes and fun celebrity photos and quotes that are reminiscent of reading "People" in the grocery store check-out. A good bonus: there isn't really any equipment that you need to buy that you probably don't already have.

This is a great resource. Kathy Kaehler sets out five different workouts for Monday-Friday, plus a 5-minute "amazing abs" workout to be done on three non-consecutive days each week. (There's also a "start-up" workout to get you up to speed if you're a new or lapsed exerciser.)

The workouts are fun and work each part of your body in different ways--there's a lot of core work and exercises using the body's own resistance. She mixes up the routines so you don't get bored and so your body doesn't get too accustomed to any one thing.

While the photos may make it look like the workouts are a piece of cake, they're not. They're challenging and effective, and she explains how you can adapt them as you get stronger.

The celebrity gossip is almost an aside--Kaehler is clearly a pro who knows her stuff, and her reasonable take on diets is refreshing (she notes that client Jennifer Aniston is a Zone devotee, for example, but mentions that she herself doesn't advocate such restrictive diets). Her tone is friendly, professional, and encouraging throughout. Hearing first-hand about her battles with food and post-pregnancy pounds puts you at ease and makes you feel she understands that most of her readers aren't part of the Hollywood world.

As one other reviewer mentioned, a lot of the equipment she uses is stuff you may already have around the house (a jump rope, two sets of relatively light weights, a deck of cards, etc.), making the workouts cost-effective and travel-friendly.

My one beef with the book, if you could even call it that, is that I think Kaehler tends to underestimate how long it takes to perform the workouts. The "5-minute" abs workout generally takes me quite a bit longer, although maybe I'm just unusually slow.

All in all, highly recommended.

I really enjoy Kathy Kaehler's approach. The jazzy title aside, she has a very friendly and encouraging way of telling us to be real about genetics and what we can and can't change. For instance, she turns it to herself, saying that she will never have the slim hips of Claudia Schiffer or the long, long legs of Julia Roberts. BUT, as she also says, we can all improve what we DO have. We can, with consistent good nutrition and a fitness program, become our OWN best selves.

Why the jazzy title, then? Well, for one thing, like it or not, celebrities sell...they grab our attention. But there's also a more "noble" reason. As Kathy says, while it's counterproductive to try to look just like any of these Hollywood women, we can use some of them as examples of people who make a commitment to health and fitness and fit this into very busy lives.

Also, there are stories of improvement that can be inspiring. Claudia Schiffer who went from being barely able to do one push-up to doing three sets of fifteen. Jennifer Anniston, whom Kathy says she considers "a perfect example of how you can change your body with regular exercise and a healthy diet." But she makes the note that "she wouldn't have been successful if she had altered her habits for a few weeks or months, then stopped." All through the book, you get the message that these are real women, just like us, with the exception that they're famous...and if they can improve, so can we.

I just checked this out of my library two days ago, so I haven't actually done any of the exercises yet...I'm planning to follow the plan this week. But based on my experience with Kathy's "Workout Class" video, I have no doubt that they'll be both challenging and effective!

I do plan to buy this book because I really appreciate the combination of Kathy's sensible, realistic way of looking at things, her friendly and encouraging way of expressing herself and her obvious skill as a trainer.

I have always been the type who has a hard time sticking to an exercise routine. After the birth of my third child, the pounds didn't melt away as easily as with the others and I got Kathy's postpartum DVD with Cindy Crawford.I got addicted and loved Kathy's down to earth approach-she gives reminders about form but is not overly exuberant like some trainers. After several weeks I loved the results so much that I checked out this book from the library. There are parts that are still extremely challenging for me,even after about 6 weeks, but I am doing her daily routine faithfully. I ended up purchasing the book from Amazon after enjoying my library copy so much. She really stresses fitness as a lifestyle and gives some great advice and recipes in the book. Plus I can't help but love the celebrity tidbits.

Great book, I recommend it. There are a lot of excersizes that I'd never tried before, as well as some old but good ones. Really tageted the muscles that are the most troublesome, and hard to get to, like back of thighs and arms.

Not a huge workout fan, but Kathy makes it easy and fun. It changed my life overnight. I lost 5 pounds in the first week. Kudos Kathy!!!

I am an avid fitness fan. I read a lot of health and fitness books. This book was just okay. I didn't feel like it gave any real definitive information that would be helpful. It was more like a story book to me... nothing really useful in it. I'd say save your money and try a different one.

I first saw this book while walking by the book store...quite accidentally really. I LOVE the exercises in this book. They are easy to do, and they can be done while watching TV or in your hotel room. Kathy mentions something about doing exercises while watching a half hour TV show and it stuck with me...why wouldn't I? She loves jumping rope and I never realized how much fun it really is. I use to do it all the time as a kid and it brings me back to those youthful times =) Although I am not crazy about the name dropping of the celebrities and her entire 'how I got here & who I know' story, the exercises are easy to follow and gives a good workout with items you would have around the house even! When I go on the road I take my jump road and a deck of cards (used in a few of her exercises) and I am set! I also like the fact that she lists what muscles are being targeted with each exercise. She has an early morning workout, arms, legs and abs. There is even a boot camp workout.

If you want some exercises that are fun and effective that you can do anywhere in 30 minutes, this book would be worth taking a look at.

I was very disappointed in this book. I enjoy Kathy Kaehlers videos and a book she wrote for teens on fitness but this one.....nope. This book is a about Kathy's association with famous folks. Thats not why I bought the book, that kind of thing I can get in a tabloid. I wanted a fitness book. It was really irritating to read and I gave it a pretty good shot before I thought....what a waste of my time and money. This book was Kathy's famous friends .....blahhh

I returned the book. Cumbersome. Not what I expected after a promo on TV had gotten me interested. Signed up and doing Jazzercise instead.