Customer Reviews

Smart Exercise: Burning Fat, Getting Fit

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bailey's style can be technical and overbearing but the man knows what he's talking about. I had been exercising for about 3 years when I found Covert's book. I had lost and kept off 30+ pounds but I wasn't really getting any closer to heavenly body I wanted to have.

I could run 5+ miles, cycle about 30 and walk 20 without hurting too much. But I couldn't seem to lose that last ten or so pounds, not to mention get the definition I wanted to have in certain trouble spots like my thighs.

I did killer workouts, sometimes running in the morning and cycling at night for only minute changes in my physique. It was so frustrating I wanted to give up.

I wasn't a fat or out of shape person but I wasn't able to get the results I wanted though I was working very hard. It wasn't until I read Smart Exercise and began using wind sprints and longer aerobic sessions in conjunction with a small split weight-training routine that my body began to look and feel significantly different.

I learned how to eat to fuel my body, how long I could work out and what the best frequency was. I learned that more is not always better and I definitely learned the value of allow my body to recover. With Bailey's help I developed a schedule and routine that allowed me to lose 10lbs in a little under eight weeks. I literally went from burning 500 calories in a 45 minute session to burning over 700 in 35 minute session because of windsprints and cross-training. With what seemed to be 70% of the effort, I was getting twice the results.

If you're at plateau and you want some good advice. Or if you've been working out for a while and want to develop a more efficient routine, this is an ideal book to buy.

The clearest, most practical book I've ever read on fitness and using exercise to feel fit and lose fat. Smart Exercise taught me about our body's three different fuel systems, and what the effects of different kinds of exercise are on them. Now I know how hard to exercise, how often to exercise, how long to exercise, and how to vary my workouts appropriately for best results. In a "past life", I ran regularly, and completed three marathons (last one in 1992), but then my third child arrived, and I got too busy raising (and chauffering) children to spend all that time running. I gained 30 pounds, and floundered badly in my efforts to design and stick to an exercise program. The information in Smart Exercise has been both informative and motivating. So far, I've dropped 10 pounds, and I'm enjoying my exercise quite a bit more. I especially appreciate the book's emphasis on helping us make sense of the science, and helping us apply common-sense principles to cut through all the propaganda, hype, and misinformation surrounding fitness and its relationship to weight loss. I consider myself an honorary Missourian (the "Show Me" state), and this is a book that lives up to the "show me" standard, with all its points backup up by credible scientific research. Smart Exercise has been immensely helpful, and highly MOTIVATING in designing my own exercise program, and making sure it is doing what I want it to--feel fit, lose the spare tire, and live longer. If I could have only one book on fitness and exercise on my bookshelf, this would be the one.

I bought this book because it was recommended in a mens' fitness magazine as being one of the best fitness books of the decade and I don't regret it. I've read a lot about diet and exercise and after a while it all sounds the came, but Mr. Bailey's book tackles the subject of exercise in a more in-depth manner. He doesn't just tell you that low-intensity full-body exercise is good for burning fat. He explains why in a convincing manner and the explanation goes beyond the "standard" stuff you tend to see in magazines. And it's not just about burning fat either. He explains what are the best ways to work out so that you can improve your aerobic fitness or how to train your short-term engery system for sprinting, etc...

Beware that there is some discussion of biochemistry -- so you will see references to scary-sounding terms like the Krebs cycle, glucose, lactic acid, pyruvic acid, and triglycerides. However, he doesn't go into horrible, boring detail about these subjects. In fact, having some familiarity with this from previous biology classes, I think I might've enjoyed a little more in-depth treatment of these areas, but then that depends on what you're interested in. Don't worry -- it's not super-complicated. He doesn't go through all the steps of the Krebs cycle for instance. He gives you enough to illustrate the points and to show that he knows what he's talking about.

Some might find his cute humor style annoying. For instance, he talks a lot about making you a "better butter burner". And he sometimes makes up silly stories that are not true to illustrate a point. It didn't bother me, but some people might be bothered by his lack of political correctness. He is quite liberal in his use of the word "fat people". He is pretty consistent in calling them "fat" rather than "unfit". Not being into political correctness, I found this amusing rather than offensive.

One other caveat is that the book is a little bit depressing at times in that it talks a lot about fat people (his phrase, see above :-) don't burn fat well, have a smaller range in which they can rest, have difficulty exercising at the proper intensity for results, and basically are just at a tremendous disadvantage while fit people burn fat well and have many advantages in getting fit. Might be depressing to you, but if it's true, you need to know so that you can take the right steps to get on the slow road toward fitness.

This book really will help you be smarter about how you exercise. Smarter, at least, in the sense of targeting your exercise program to reduce fat. Bailey doesn't spend a lot of time talking about cardoivascular fitness as a goal unto itself or building a hard body or other exercise goals you might have. I think he assumes these subjects are by now thoroughly covered by others. And although he does talk some about diet, this is no diet book. He focuses on the correct exercise approach to getting rid of fat.

For the most part, this book succinctly describes Bailey's account of the biochemistry of burning fat. He describes how fat is (and isn't) burned by the body and how to increase its fat-burning efficiency.

The book is somewhat technical and therefore dry for those not fascinated by biochemistry. Bailey tries to make up for this with insufferable cleverness. But the book is well worth toughing it through. It's not terribly long, and an investment of a couple of hours will arm you with enough knowledge to structure your workouts for maximum fat-burning efficiency, if that is one of your goals. Which kinds of exercise increase the body's ability to burn fat? Which kinds of exercise actually burn the fat most efficiently? They are not the same kinds of exercise, and both kinds need to be developed. There are also sections on improving athletic performance that are probably insufficient for serious athletes but which are very helpful for active amateurs like me.

I read the book about a year ago, and, although it wasn't the most entertaining book I've ever read, it has really helped my understanding of how to train and (yes) how to burn fat. I've really benifited from it.

I enjoyed this book so much I gave it to all of my personal training clients for Christmas last year. If you have seen those health rider infomercials then you probably recognize Covert. You will be pleasantly surprised with his knowledge of exercise physiology and his great analogies and explanations of how your body burns fat and what it takes to keep it off. Covert has a knack for taking the most complex, scientific subjects and breaking them down so anyone can understand them. Some topics can get a little heavy but for the most part you will learn fact from fiction and get a few laughs along the way. Whether you are ready to get back on track, a weekend warrior or a hard core fitness enthusiast you can learn something from Covert. Take that four letter word D-I-E-T out of your vocabulary and get ready for realistic solutions to maintaining your health and exercising smarter.

Get smart and fit with Covert Bailey's Smart Exercise. This well known fitness author has produced several great books over the last decade. Bailey's clear perception of excess fat as a lack-of-fitness problem is very useful. Although a few very heavy-eating fit people might be overweight, in general "being fat" is a state of not being fit. Attaining fitness will reduce and end fatness. Becoming fit, in Bailey's view, occurs at the level of the muscle cell. Aerobic exercise involving breathing heavily is the key type of exercise for allowing muscles cells to train to burn fat. Building muscle and making that muscle an efficient furnace of calories is the key to being trim. As Bailey says, use aerobic exercise to "be a better butter burner."

The basic Slimming Partner movement recommendation is to move under your own power, especially walking, for at least an hour per day. Although walking is a wonderful, healthy activity for everyone, Covert Bailey would probably urge activity more demanding than walking, such as adding wind sprints to a walk. For someone quite overweight and out of shape, wind sprint would mean just a faster walking pace, maybe with some uphill. Bailey feels that the, the normal walking pace people choose is too slow to provide big fitness and weight control rewards. He advocates higher levels exertion as a way to become fitter faster, supporting his ideas with a fairly detailed view of how muscles train on the level of the cell.

The book's analysis of training at the level of the muscular cell is informative and useful in creating positive mental images of the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise. Graphics are provided that help understanding of fairly complex subjects, energy metabolism with ATP and cellular enzymes. Bailey quickly and clearly states these subjects in ways most helpful to the person wanting to lose fat: Train your aerobic system, which he also calls your fat-burning system. This is easier to do if you can mentally visualize your trained muscle cells pulling fat out of your system and burning it as fuel.

In general, this book is an excellent addition to the library and reading list of anyone interested in becoming less fat and more fit.

Covert Bailey is a master at making physiology easy to understand for the average person. If you are looking to improve your health and get into better shape, then you should have this title on your bookshelf. It does a great job of helping you to understand what works and what doesn't.

Much like Bill Phillip's book Body For Life, this book stresses that exercise is the key to reducing fat and improving overall health. It explains why diet alone won't help you to lose weight permanently, and what the benefits of cardiovascular exercise are.

When you finish reading this book, you will have a basic understanding of how the human body works, what makes people gain weight, how muscle is formed, how fat is formed and how to take it off permanently. Medical techno-babble is translated into terms that absolutely anyone can understand. His humor and amusing metaphors make for an enjoyable reading experience as well.

...This book is worth way more than it sells for. It is packed with useful information, good science and great advice.

This book is for anyone who wants to get in shape permanently and learn about the theories underlying different workouts. With Covert Bailey's help, you will be able to design a program based on your goals without having to hire a personal trainer. Not that I have anything against trainers, but I am not a fan of paying people do what I can easily do for myself. Also, personal trainers will often just tell you to do x, y and z without ever explaining WHY you should do it or why a particular workout is the most effective. After reading this book, I incorporated wind sprints into my training instead of just plodding along at the same pace for the duration of my run. Following his advice, I concentrated on running faster for a set period of time --not necessarily at top speed -- and then slowing down, hence forcing my body to learn to recover under stress and increasing my fitness level in a shorter amount of time. I now understand why you are burning sugar and not fat if you are exercising to the point that you are out of breath and why your body produces lactic acid when you tax it. I am not saying that I could now go out and teach a course on biochemistry, but I've been able to use the information to work smarter in the gym. And that was the whole point of my reading this book.

The author does get a little technical in some parts, particularly in the discussions about Krebs Cycle and ATP, but you don't have to get bogged down in every little detail to be able to make this book work. If you can just grasp the basics of what he is saying, you will be far ahead of the average exerciser. The best thing that I took away from this book is the understanding that the benefits of exercise occur not just during the actual activity, but also in the aftermath while your body is recovering. You may only burn 350 calories during a workout, but you will also change your metabolism. Not bad for a 30-minute investment of time.

Thank you Covert Bailey!! I've been recommending this book to all my friends and family who are trying to get in shape.

I bought and read this book when it first came out and refer back to it often. As many people have suggested, Bailey does not shy away from detailing the biochemistry of exercise thought he does a pretty good job of presenting some very complex material in a simple manner (he has a PhD in chemistry or something like that from MIT and it shows). I have no science background myself so I found the book to be fascinating---particularly where he addressed the effects of low-carb diets way before they became the fad they are today (p. 35-38). On the whole, the best exercise book I've read.

What Can I Say ... this book is changing my life. I re-read sections of it daily for best results. I now find that (1) lifestyle changes, (2) exercise for strength and endurance, and (3) nutritional diet balance are UNIFIED ELEMENTS for a more healthy life. ALL three must be in place if desired results are to be achieved.

The work is substantial primarily because it complements other writings by the author. The author has created a body of work in this weight-health discipline that sets worthy standards.

I would recommend to the publisher, editor, and author that an abstract of this work be prepared and widely distributed to the general public. The abstract, "Covert Bailey's Synethesis, would make an excellent daily reminder.