Customer Reviews

Six-Week Bikini Countdown: Tone your butt, abs, and thighs fast combining Pilates with select strength and cardio interval training workouts

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not just for Women! As a Doctor of Chiropractic I have encouraged patients of both sexes to buy the book. It is filled with great workouts that can challenge people of all fitness levels. Targeted at the muscles needed to stabilize and support your body (the "core"), not only will this help you tone, but strengthen as well.

Karon integrates exercises like Pilates (long a favorite exercise of dancers) with exercises usually only performed by elite athletes like "plyometrics" and interval training (made popular recently in an article published in The Australian Journal of Applied Physiology). Pilates was started by Joseph Pilates as a way to rehabilitate wounded soldiers during World War I. It emphasizes control, strengthening and stretching of key muscles in the body. Plyometrics uses quick short movements to help build strength, and speed. Interval training usually involves high speed workouts along with lower intensity workouts such as sprints, while performing a longer run. Interval training helps burn calories and increases cardiovascular fitness.

Karon's program is FUN! Her writing style is easy to read, follow, and is entertaining. She takes you from the basics, to more advanced exercises as your skills improve. By the time you're done you'll have a better body, not just a better "bikini body."

I am going on a cruise in June and would love to be in a 2 piece suit, while not scaring others. So I found this book and decided to give it a try. I am on Week 4 and have lost about 50% of my belly. You will be challenged and I spent the first two weeks eating Ibuprofen, but it is totally worth it!! The exercises are deceptively easy - you feel it the next day though. Totally worth the money and time. It would be nice if there was a DVD for the Pilates portion of the workout so you learn to do them correctly.

This book is amazing! It has great pictures that clearly demonstrate each exercise. It's a combination of cardio, weights, and pilates.

I used to take Karon's pilates class in Dallas. The pilates exercises in her book are a page from Karon's classes! I've moved away from Dallas, and have not found a pilates class that even compares to hers. This book is my saving grace!

I'm a week into her program and find it very easy to follow. I would highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to tone up with a variety of exercises. It's a great read!

As a current pilates addict of Karon's, this book is giving me a great way to change up my workout routine to include weights and cardio. I've seen tremendous results from taking her classes, and I'm already seeing the difference that this book is making, in the short time that I've been following it.

If you are looking for an exercise book that is easy to follow and will deliver the results, then this is the book for you!

The exercises found in this book are great, BUT I was concerned when I saw one of the "healthy" eating tips supported having only yogurt for dinner. When you are doing about an hour of exercise a day your body needs nutrients to replenish and be healthy! Having too few calories will help you lose weight, but may also make you nauseous, irritable, and tired, none of which is attractive even with your best bikini body!

I bought this book 4 weeks ago and am in love with it. The workouts change every week so you never get bored and their fun. Also the book has tons of color photos and each exercise is clearly described.
I am seeing changes in my body and I'm not even done with the 6 week program.
If you want a workout program that you'll enjoy and get results than this is the book for you!

I followed the book exactly and I achieved the promise results in the short time span of 6 weeks. This book is no joke! I cannot express how much I recommend this book, if you want amazing results quickly then simply buy it. A+

I got this book to replace my expensive bootcamp classes and it has been an excellent replacement. The workouts are easy to follow, of medium to difficult intensity, and target each muscle group over the 6 weeks. A weeks worth of work-outs are printed on one page so you can see what's in store easily and each of the exercises from that week are demonstrated in easey-to-follow pictures. I found this helpful because it gave me a the week-at-a-glance and I could prepare myself accordingly. Also, not a lot of fancy equipment is involved, handweights and a treadmill (although alternatives are suggested also). As an intermediate "exerciser", I thought some of the exercises challenging, depending on the recommended running speed or the amount of weight being used but the book provided many suggestions on how to modify the exercises. Also, there's not a lot of unnecessary verbage and "chatter" -its a very simple and straightforward book. The only thing I don't like are the random full-page glossy pictures of the author frolicking in her bikini- I'm not sure if its meant to be inspiring or sexy but it just came across as weird. And its definitely not for people who exercise occassionally and now want to get in shape quickly- but it states that up front. This is for people who are used to activity and just need to ramp up their regimen. Overall a good buy and if you can devote the hour a day, a great alternative to bootcamps and gyms.

I enjoy this because it is well organized, well explained, and well rounded. There is no doubt this book will get you in shape. This is not a beginners book, but don't be too intimidated by it. The real challenge is the amount of weight or the length of time. I think that if you had some idea of what you were doing, you could modify those things.
Depending on where you start, it might take you more than 6 months, but this book will get you bikini ready!

This is an excellent book for those looking to slim down and tone up in the promised time-frame. The book provides easy to follow instructions aided by well shot pictures. I highly recommend this for those looking to tone up for the summer.