Customer Reviews

PACE: Rediscover Your Native Fitness

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I have been using Amazon for virtually all of my online purchases since early 1999 and have never had a bad experience with a merchant...until now. Dealing with this merchant has been an absolute nightmare!!! I made the mistake of paying an additional $59.95 to join his online forum, Pace Power, which included free "gifts" including a DVD (a few minutes of Dr. Sears giving a powerpoint presentation with the camera on him and containing virtually NO additional information), a Body Fat Composition Chart (a single piece of typing paper folded in half) and an additional copy of the book which I don't need. I am in the 6th week of the program and the forum is still not available. Last week I got an e-mail stating that my credit card has been charged an additional 9.95 for the forum that does not exist. I sent several e-mails asking to be removed from this program. My e-mails were not answered. I finally got in touch with their customer service. I will only say that I have never encountered an individual as unpleasant as the person who answered the telephone. Hopefully, my subscription is cancelled and my credit card is removed from their system.

Before you order the book you may want to Google Dr. Al Sears. His background is interesting (see for yourself). He is definitely primarily interested in selling supplements...he even promotes HGH (human growth hormone). After reading the book I decided to try out the program. First I tested my fitness level. Using his instructions measuring recovery time, I was already in exceptional shape. This surprised me because although I have been exercising consistently for over 30 years I had not exercised in 3 months. I decided to put myself on the intermediate program and have kept PRECISE records using my heart rate monitor and my True treadmill. I would have liked to discuss the results in a forum. I have always enjoyed sprinting, but feel that endurance is important also. I need to be able to spend two hours mowing the lawn using our push lawn mower and shovel wet heavy snow in the winter. It is also important to be able to go on long bicycle rides with our grandchildren and hike in the woods and mountains. A good fitness program gives you speed, endurance and good health. Check out books by Kenneth Cooper or Jeff Galloway. Dr. Sears compares his 10-20 minute program to running marathons. Most of us are somewhere in between.

I ordered this book a few months ago. This book is not well written, and there is no real clarity to the program. I was left with too many unanswered question. I wrote to Dr Spears a couple of times to try to get the answers and got no response. There is no forum, no blog, no nothing, and the only other information I have found on the internet is people with the same unanswered questions I have. This has tuned out to be a great benefit for Dr. Sears because now is is charging to join his Pace Power group and if your lucky you can get answers to your questions. Of course I do get several emails a week from him selling some product or another...but the same product can be bought from another company at a much cheaper price. All I see in Dr.Sears is a greedy man who does not support his own work. Don't buy this book until you can get a least some Scientific evidence and some suppor from other people who have used this program.

First off, I don't work for the publishing company and this is my first review on Amazon. I am a bit confused about what everyone is reviewing...the book or the shipping service???? What does one have to do with the other?

In review of the book - I have found it to be an incredible asset to my day. The book itself is a quick read which allows you more time to work out. It is the first fitness book I've read that gives you specifically designed workouts for every type of "cardio" machine you can think of, including jumping rope and swimming. It teaches you to continue to challenge yourself on a daily basis - something a lot of us don't do when it comes to our fitness.

I have been working with the program since the middle of August and have seen great results. I enjoy that I can get better results in 20 minutes than I ever did in 45 minutes - most people like the idea. More is not always better!!!

As for the emails and the solicitations from Dr. Sears...simple solution, take your name off the mailing list instead of writing complaints about it!

I do agree the forum is something else to be desired and would not recommend spending the money per month on it. Instead, get your friends to join the program and discuss successes and difficulties with each other! But, do try the program - it works!

Although I agree that aerobics aren't a smart way to exericise, Dr Sears' explanations of why this is the case are primitive, incomplete, and not totally accurate. But it's his claims about weight-training that are completely off-base: Saying that training with weights won't make you stronger is the height of absurdity. All we have to do is look at the thousands of great athletes who've become much stronger due to weight training. Compare these men to, say,(the well-known internet presence), Dr Mercola, (a Sears exercise program follower), and then tell me, WHO'S STRONG? (No offense, Dr Mercola, I like you, but I'm not gonna work out at all if it's gonna makes me look like you.) Everything I've heard about Sears' program reminds me of the "Tabata" protocol: In a nutshell, for a short period, work as hard & fast as you can,(rowing, swimming, running, cycling, swinging a dumbell or kettlebell, burpees, jumping rope, or punching a heavy bag), followed by a short period of rest..repeat. If you're an athlete, make the activity, times and number of reps resemble your sport,(Ex: boxers punch the bag 3 minutes, rest one, for 12 rounds, sprinters run 10 seconds, 'rest' in the time it takes to walk back the starting line, repeat as long as you can maintain good speed, not more than 8 minutes). If you're not an athlete Tabata has generic timings you can checkout online, for free.

I have changed my approach to exercise since reading this book and I feel great (I may have lost a couple pounds but I am not sure) I am not over-sore like I used to be, and I am still in shape. I have cut back on exercise by about 70% and I feel I am in at least as good if not better shape than before. So you can't argue with that.

A lot of people are complaining that the service from Al Sears's company is bad. That may or may not be the case, but the point is that the book is really good. I would give it 5 stars if it wasn't for the fact that, yes, like many readers, I still had a lot of questions after reading the book, but could not get an answer from Dr. Sears. I did email him but I got a courteous email back that he can't give advice via email because (and I am paraphrasing here) he could get sued if he gives the wrong advice. I agree. As frustrating as it was for me, doctors are only covered by their insurance if they see patients in their office, and I was invited to make an appointment with him. Ok, I live 2000 miles away from his office, so that's not gonna happen. But I understand why he didn't want to give me feedback. I don't know why there isn't a forum, but nevertheless....

The book is really good. Being an avid athlete, as well as a competitive one before, I thought I knew a lot about exercise, but the book helped me change my mind about common misperceptions about long distance aerobic exercise and other commonly held beliefs about exercise. It's rare, after reading 100's of books on exercise, that I can still find a book that changes my mind and helps me learn something new.

I've been doing PACE workouts for 4 weeks now, and I've lost 9 pounds. I am NOT affiliated with Dr. Sears or the publishers of this book in ANY WAY. I just found some info online and decided to try it. My lung capacity has increased, my endurance has increased, and I've found that I'm consistently able to increase my speed at the top interval of the workout almost every time I do it. I have 2 small kids and a young baby at home, and I don't have time for long workouts. Plus I'm still getting caught up on all that lost sleep! This is SO DOABLE because I can do it in less than 20 minutes without feeling guilty about not working out longer! I've added this to my normal routine of 15-minute strength training workouts (T-Tapp), alternating between the two, and apparently it's working very well! Try this...you won't be sorry!

I was interested in trying this method because doing what I thought was healthy wasn't working and many times after working out I felt I had wasted my time. The book is well written and simple to follow. The first workout I did following this program just rocked!! In a fraction of the time I was finished and completely satisfied with what I had done. I began seeing visible results by the end of the first week and I could really feel my body "tightening up". The workouts are short so I never feel I don't have the time, and unlike the duration exercise I was doing before, I never feel like I wasted my time. Even if you're a little tired, you just can't have a bad workout. This has been a great answer for me and you can apply it to anything.

PACE: Rediscover Your Native Fitness

This is great information for those of us who want to be fit and healthy, but don't really have a lot of time to go to the gym or out for long jogs. This is very helpful in getting you fit quickly and without spending hours at it. The diet information is helpful too.

However, I thought the book was rather expensive, and that may put a lot of people off, which is too bad.

Do you think you need long punishing workouts to improve your fitness? Think again. Dr. Sears has developed a PACE workout program that allows you to, literally, pace yourself and prevent or reverse heart disease in the process.

Unlike conventional interval training regimes, the PACE program focuses on the rest periods between the intense intervals. After you exert for several seconds or a minute you have a recovery period of 1-2 minutes or more in which you focus on getting your heart rate to within 20 beats of its resting rate. In this way you increase your lung capacity (and your longevity) and strengthen your heart.

Dr. Sears provides many different examples of PACE workouts, none of them lasting longer than 15-20 minutes, using the outdoors, pool and many different types of equipment. There's enough variety to appeal to anyone. You can use any style of exercise you want as long as you progressively increase the intensity and focus on lowering your heart rate during the recovery periods. You have the freedom to adapt the program to your own preferences and fitness level.

I have exercised in this way for several years now with good results and find it easy to incorporate these type of exercises into my daily routine. Sometimes I bike up and down the hill in front of my house in intervals. Other time I just sprint in the backyard or use an aerobic step and run up and down it for one minute intervals. I've found that the key is letting the heart rate return almost back to normal during the rest interval and really like that rest is just as important as the exercise.

He cites several credible research studies when making his case that endurance training is actually harmful to you and PACE workouts are superior. Although technical at times, his arguments are accessible to anyone interested in losing fat, increasing their longevity, and having a strong heart and lungs well into old age. You won't regret reading this book and trying the PACE workout.

PACE is essential for 3 reasons: It burns fat, protects your heart and boosts your lung volume. (Your lung volume is the number one predictor of overall health and longevity.) This is a truly revolutionary program and deserves to be on the front pages of every newspaper in the world.

PACE corrects the problems with aerobics and cardio by turning on your body's natural fat burner. It also builds up reserve power in your heart and lungs, which is what you need to prevent heart attacks and stroke.

When I started my PACE program, I got results right away. In just 3 months, I went from 35% body fat all the way down to 12%. And I've never gained any of the weight back. PACE is the easiest and most reliable fat burner I've ever tried. What's more, my breathing has never been deeper. My lungs feel resilient and I have energy to burn. PACE put me on top of my game, and I intend on staying there...