Customer Reviews

The RealAge(R) Workout: Maximum Health, Minimum Work

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First some context: My wife and I have been reading, applying, and reviewing physical fitness books for about nine months now ("see All My Reviews"). We didn't plan to carry on so long but with appreciative feedback from friends and acquaintances we haven't been able to stop! As always, keep this in mind ... we aren't gunning for the Olympics or super-model status. We're just average, middle age people interested in life-long fitness for health and weight control reasons. Your goals may differ from ours.

The RealAge Workout is a new release and we rate it somewhat higher than another book we like, Harley Pasternak's Five Factor Fitness. In fact it's the first book to come along that we can rank as high as our long running favorite, Joe X by Avery Hunicutt. There's a lot of philosophical similarity to RealAge and Joe X, but the presentations are vastly different. RealAge is excellent for fitness beginners and those that are very "numbers-driven," while Joe X will be appreciated more by those with some fitness experience and may now struggle with boredom or burnout.

If by chance you are familiar with the popular health guru and author Andrew Weil, both RealAge and Joe X provide workouts that are consistent with Weil's Healthy Aging message.

If you click on "search inside" you'll see the RealAge workout is made up of four phases, each 30 days long.

Phase 1: Walk 30 minutes/day
Phase 2: Add 7-10 minutes of core strength training, every other day
Phase 3: Add 8-10 minutes of non-core strength training, every other day
Phase 4: Add 21 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 times/week

The book details modifications to the phases for people that are not beginners but is adamant that everyone start at phase 1 and progress in sequence.

The author prefers dumbbells over barbells or weight machines. Both free-weights and weight machines are presented in the exercise descriptions. The descriptions are good and a nice reference for whatever program you subscribe to.

The book details a comprehensive pre-test that is recommended before beginning phase 1.

In addition to detailed descriptions of strength exercises, warm-up/stretch exercises are also provided.

A significant difference between RealAge and Joe X is Joe X puts more focus on breathing technique to the point of synchronizing it to your exercise form. (It probably doesn't make a physiolgical difference but it does seem to help with the mental challenge of staying fit.)

A RealAge workout, if followed to the letter, will on average be somewhat longer than a Five Factor or Joe X workout. All are typically 5-day/week regimens.

Almost no question will be left unanswered. Instructions are detailed and complete. Though RealAge is actually a collaboration of authors, the presentation is consistent, clear, and concise. We liked the professional writing style but at times found the fixation on linking the workout to Dr. Roizen's numbers driven "real age" concept irritating. It smacks of being a marketing gimmick, though we have to admit it's a pretty effective one! Who doesn't want to be told their real age is actually younger than their chronological age?

We don't plan on changing our own routine as we are quite satisfied with results but The RealAge Workout is a great and safe way to get started on your physical fitness program.

Beg, buy, or borrow this book & get started on the 4 phases over 120 days to take control of your destiny of aging: walking, strengthening foundation & non foundation muscles,then stamina. Dr. Roizen's books have been best sellers & this latest release should join the list. He explains it in a way that makes it very simple for everyone to incorporate the steps into their daily lives. It is based on walking, as he says, not everyone rows, swims, or bikes their way to work or up steps, etc., but everyone walks. Lots of charts, pictures, questions & answers pertaining to aging, etc. Even if you don't exercise, or like to exercise, read this book, begin the program, and see if you don't see results over time. Time can be rolled back, & you will have more energy. And who doesn't wish that?

I really like this book. Michael Roizen knows his stuff. The book is so informative and you know it's information that you can trust because of his reputation.
This is broken up into 6 chapters. The first chapter is The Real Age Promise and then chapters 2-5 are phases 1-4 (talks about strengthening and stamina etc) and chapter 6 is dedicated to Fitness FAQ's - Myth or Fact.
Throughout the book is the usually info about why we should all exercise, and then when it comes to the actuall exercises, there are plenty of pictures to demonstrate each routine and tips on how to perform them acurately.
This book is geared toward anyone interested in keeping themselves in tip top form and good health and anyone wanting to boost their fitness. You will be surprised at how soon your body responds to regular workouts and you also do surprisingly feel a little younger.

I am on the tail-end of treatment for breast cancer (surgery, chemo, and now radiation.) I have been sitting around doing almost nothing, and feeling out of breath just going up the stairs. I already had Dr. Roizen's first RealAge book and loved it, so I decided to try this workout book to see if it could help me get moving again. I immediately read the 59 pages for Phase 1, walking, and went for my first walk in months. I have been doing it now for 2 weeks, and feel so much better already; can hardly wait to do Phase 2! Many thanks to both Dr. Roizen and Tracy Hafen for getting me moving again. I not only feel better physically, but mentally also.

I really liked this book-take home message you don't have to kill yourself to get results. It's the little things over time that will improve your health and outlook on life. Very easy to use and can really start at any phase and get results. Bottom line keep on exercising no matter how little each day and watch your real age numbers fall!

As a longtime exerciser and believer in careful diet, I've been following the Roizen books for some time. This one has a little good advice, but is quite thin on how to get into physical fitness for the sedentary. He has only one mention each on bursitis and tendonitis -- just the advice that you should go slow to avoid them -- nothing on pulled muscles or injured tendons. Nor does he show alternate forms of various exercises for those who have an injury. He never mentions Pilates or Tai Chi. Yoga is mentioned once, a throwaway line about it as a form of stretching.

In a lifetime of exercising, I have learned that even when I maintain pretty good fitness -- 15,000 steps a day, stretching daily, weights twice a week -- I often encounter challenges such as hip and shoulder bursitis. An Achilles tendon injury took 18 months to heal, even following the advice and rehab program of an excellent orthopedist. And what are you supposed to do if you get a six-week long sinus infection? Some exercise books address these common issues, but you won't find much help here.

He does say if you have arthritis you have to keep moving. That advice is golden, but it doesn't help with the type of injury, as of a tendon, for which you should stop moving and try a different workout until you heal.

His almost total emphasis seems to be on building muscle, preferably by going to the gym. The book is padded with multiple versions of the same exercise. He doesn't say what we're supposed to do when we inevitably encounter speed-bumps such as Achilles tendonitis or rotator cuff injuries. Maybe it would be better titled You, Bulking Up.

As to endurance, walking is recommended, but he doesn't give much advice about what to do if you have an injury that prevents walking. A broken leg is supposed to be the only reason to avoid your daily 30-minute walk. How about pneumonia?

I think his emphasis on muscle-building is fine, but he gives short shrift to endurance and stretching, which are just as important to everybody, especially older adults.

And speaking of older adults, what's with these photos of cute 30-something models illustrating the moves? Where are the 50, 60, and 70-year olds who might have bought this book to get some advice? (At least he's avoided the annoying little elf-guy in the You books.)

But you got to give it to the guy, he does preach the good word on exercise, and I do get his message that muscle mass burns fat.

Borrow it from the library or buy it used.

The book is interesting, good advice and easy to follow the instructions. I have been regularly going to the gym since I was 17 years old, now I am 79 and with an estimated age between 71 to 73. The exercises and texts in this book have been in my routine, plus some advice from Reail Age page many years ago.
I would recommend its reading for starters and gym participants. It has interesting information on how to evaluate your age in the successive steps on the road to a healthy body and mind.

Data driven, right on the money, no guarantees except that hard work in all likelihood will produce results!

I really liked this book because it showed a workout that anyone can use no matter what their age. I found it to be age-specific for someone older who is not as flexible.

This book is informative and simple to follow. Easy reading. Very helpful and encouraging.