Customer Reviews

Look Hot, Live Long: The Prescription for Women Who Want to Look Their Best While Enjoying a Long and Healthy Life

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This book surprised me. It's one of the best fitness books I've come across in a long time, and believe me, I've read a lot of them! But it seems to fly under the radar of most people, and I noticed no one has even reviewed it for quite a long time. This is too bad, because this is a truly excellent fitness book. The title is a bit dopey, but the content is top notch, and there is a wealth of great information contained in this compact volume.

Some points that I really noticed are:

1. The book is very intelligently written. She doesn't talk down to you, she doesn't over-explain anything, yet she provides clear and useful details to support what she says. She EXPLAINS things well. Some of it might be too technical for some, but if you wish to skip over details, it's easy to do.

2. The material is organized extremely well. And after each section she puts a capsulized review of what she just discussed. For those who wish to scan thru or just find essential points, this is a useful area. It also helps you find areas you might want to review and re-read in more detail.

3. The sections on targeted exercises were excellent. She describes the best exercises for the various body parts, and explains how to perform the exercises. She also explains how the wrong form can affect the exercise, which I found extremely useful. I learned quite a few things in this area...how I was doing certain exercises completely wrong. I have not yet read any book in which this level of detail was included about form. Everything she writes is clear and very concise.

4. There's a great section in the back of the book giving various routines. This is something I had really wanted to find because I always felt overwhelmed in setting up an appropriate routine for myself.

I learned a lot from this book, and one thing I liked in particular is that so many salient points are combined into one very manageable and readable book. Although Dr. Lydon is an M.D., she states right at the beginning that everything she knows about nutrition and exercise was learned AFTER she finished medical school. She is a fitness buff herself and not only has the medical background, she has applied what she preaches. She is a living example of what she teaches. She is very frank and forthright in her presentation, and this has actually become one of my top favorite exercise/nutrition books....and it makes a very good reference, too. I will be using this book a LOT, and I recommend this book for anyone who is serious about getting into good shape and gaining the knowledge to do so.

I was familiar with Dr Lydon's work as a columnist for Oxygen magazine, & was impressed enough with her writing to purchase this book.
First of all, Chris Lydon is a medical doctor (MD), so she's not hawking the latest fad. This book presents facts, & the research to back it up.
I really like the way Dr Lydon explains why she takes a certain viewpoint e.g. why liquid creatine should not be your preferred option. The point by point review of important points to remember at the end of each segment is also great.
All in all, I found it to be a thoroughly worthwhile book.

I believe this book is a wonderful gift to bestow amongst your female friends who are interested in living the fitness lifestyle. While Ms. Lydon will break out into medical jargon and get very technical, she also capsizes into bullet format after each detailed section a set of 'cliff notes' for review and easier understanding.

As a doctor, she eschews the woefully mismantled food pyramid and discusses the need for MORE protein and MORE balance. Ms. Lydon does not go for fads and does not believe in starvation tactics. Her section on supplements is helpful as she talks about supps that have real supportive data and what not to waste your money on.

Her training philopshy is basic yet detailed and speaks of the dreaded overtraining syndrome which many enthuasiasts are not careful to pay attention to.

I am extremely impressed with this book and as a personal trainer am likely to buy a few copies to give to clients who would like to walk the walk -- not just talk the talk. Her writing style is charming and upbeat without sounding sophomoric. You get a feeling that she is truly portraying herself and her love of the lifestyle.

I would love to see Ms. Lydon write more books on the subject matter.

Christine gives guidance and advice for people to live longer lives by being healthier using very nutritional alternatives to high fat/carb diets while incorporating exercise routines to fit all levels of ability and time restrictions.
Her medical and fitness modeling background gives substance and real life experience to her book. I loved reading and will use it to help guide my new start to a healthy lifestyle!

Deanne

I found Dr. Lydon's book to be extremely helpful to get my life back on track. My eating habits have improved, I am maximizing my workouts, and I feel great! I look forward to more stuff from her.
Thanks

I found Dr. Lydon's book to be extremely helpful to get my life back on track. My eating habits have improved, I am maximizing my workouts, and I feel great! I look forward to more stuff from her.
Thanks

This is a health/fitness book with an emphasis on strength training. Written by a doctor who is a nutrition consultant and a personal fitness consultant to Hollywood celebrities, it dispenses valuable facts and tips on nutrition and exercise routines.

Part 1 tells us the basics of nutritional science. Dr Lydon gives us just the correct dosage of facts and figures to keep us informed. She also debunks some fad diets and nutritional myths. There's nothing groundbreaking or sensational here, but just some honest and scientific facts. Only a few supplements are recommended - nothing exotic or amazing. Dr Lydon distinguishes herself from other authors of anti-aging books with a section on exercise by showing that she really knows her field.

Part 2 is a prescription for a strong and shapely self. Again, Dr Lydon dispels strength training myths about women turning into hulks after a few workouts. Encouraging muscle hypertrophy is not just about looks and vanity. It also helps keep metabolic rate up (hence help weight loss), reduce risk of osteoarthritis and even lower blood pressure.

After extolling the merits of strength training, Dr Lydon goes on to help design a routine. She begins with basics going into terminology like strip sets, drop sets, ascending, descending sets etc. Even for those not new to strength training, this has a few useful tips on how to get more mileage out of a workout. A few safe supplements are recommended. We're also warned against overtraining and exericise addiction.

The book then zooms in on body parts, muscle groups and gives tiips that even experienced bodybuilders will find valuable. The appendices offer a good reference for calorific values and glycemic indices of various foods. There are also exercise tables offering a guide for workout routines.

This is an excellent book on fitness and healthy living which I would recommend to any friend, male or female, who is interested in better health and physique. In an age when sensational, "revolutionary", misleading and unorthodox ideas consistently win the hearts of readers and get into the bestselling list, more factual, concise and honest books like this should be promoted.