Strength for Life: The Fitness Plan for the Rest of Your Life (Hardcover)

by Shawn Phillips (Author)
Key Phrases: nutritional awareness, nutrition shake, cardio training, Base Camp, Nutritional Freedom, Focus Intensity Training (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Advance praise for Strength for Life

“Strength training is unsurpassed in its ability to create superbly sculpted muscles and increase balance, strength, and stamina while ridding the body of unwanted fat. Shawn Phillips has developed an outstanding holistic program that will help you to reach these goals quickly–regardless of age or current fitness level. His unique mind-body approach keeps you constantly motivated, enabling you to achieve true strength for life.”
–Nicholas Perricone, M.D., F.A.C.N., author of The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet

“This is the first book to take you through a 12-week transformation and beyond. It’s like finally hearing the rest of the story. In week 13 and afterward, you set yourself for a lifetime of strength and fitness.”
–Lynn Lingenfelter, 1997 Body-for-LIFE co-grand champion

“Strength for Life is truly fantastic! This is a book and a message that every single person can identify with and be inspired by.”
–Larry North, founder, Larry North Fitness Clubs

“Do you want to be in control of your life? If you do, the answers are in the pages of Strength for Life. This book illustrates the difference between exercise and training. Now my mind is right and my body is ready, and so far each session has been more productive. It reminded me of why we seek to be fit, and seek the ultimate goal of our lives.”
–G. Porter Freeman, 1997 Body-for-LIFE co-grand champion

“Strength for Life is a superb handbook on physical transformation, leading to a complete life transformation, a novel and tremendously effective technique. Highly recommended!”
–Ken Wilber, author of The Integral Vision

“Shawn Phillips is the epitome of form following function. There is no need to suffer through exercise when you hack away the inessentials and focus on what really matters: Strength.”
–Ti... --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
Advance praise for Strength for Life

“Strength training is unsurpassed in its ability to create superbly sculpted muscles and increase balance, strength, and stamina while ridding the body of unwanted fat. Shawn Phillips has developed an outstanding holistic program that will help you to reach these goals quickly–regardless of age or current fitness level. His unique mind-body approach keeps you constantly motivated, enabling you to achieve true strength for life.”
–Nicholas Perricone, M.D., F.A.C.N., author of The Perricone Weight-Loss Diet

“This is the first book to take you through a 12-week transformation and beyond. It’s like finally hearing the rest of the story. In week 13 and afterward, you set yourself for a lifetime of strength and fitness.”
–Lynn Lingenfelter, 1997 Body-for-LIFE co-grand champion

“Strength for Life is truly fantastic! This is a book and a message that every single person can identify with and be inspired by.”
–Larry North, founder, Larry North Fitness Clubs

“Do you want to be in control of your life? If you do, the answers are in the pages of Strength for Life. This book illustrates the difference between exercise and training. Now my mind is right and my body is ready, and so far each session has been more productive. It reminded me of why we seek to be fit, and seek the ultimate goal of our lives.”
–G. Porter Freeman, 1997 Body-for-LIFE co-grand champion

“Strength for Life is a superb handbook on physical transformation, leading to a complete life transformation, a novel and tremendously effective technique. Highly recommended!”
–Ken Wilber, author of The Integral Vision

“Shawn Phillips is the epitome of form following function. There is no need to suffer through exercise when you hack away the inessentials and focus on what really matters: Strength.”
–Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (April 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345498461
• ISBN-13: 978-0345498465
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,545 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Thumbs up for exercise program, down to nutritional plan, September 3, 2008

By	Dan I. (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

I wish I could have given this book 2.5 stars. I had great hopes for this book. Like many, I have participated in the 12-week Body-for-Life challenge. While the challenge itself was beneficial and I achieved great results, I was left wondering "what now" after the 12 weeks were done. Therefore I was thrilled to find "Strength for Life" and it's program for extending exercise past a 12-week program throughout the year and to fit it into a busy lifestyle.

The book is laid out similar to Body-for-Life, and Shawn Phillips program also covers a 12-week period. Initially, however, he incorporates a 12-day "base camp" for warm up purposes and to get your body ready for exercise. There is no explanation for the length of 12 days other than simply to have a catchy system of 12-days base camp, 12-weeks strength program, 12-month fitness plan. The 12-12-12 program - cute. He also spends a lot of time on the mental approach to fitness and intensity levels, similar to his brother Bill.

In his actual 12-week strength program, Phillips utilizes super sets instead of the drop sets used by his brother in Body-for-Life, and also throws in some circuit training on the weekend - called the Fit Circuit. Like Body-for-Life, he also recommends HIT cardio training on non-strength training days. This is a nice alternative program to Body-for-Life, but nothing revolutionary. I do like his variety based on body parts rather than the "one-size-fits-all" approach with Body-for-Life. Shawn Phillips clearly explains why he changes up sets and reps for different body parts to achieve a better workout.

Phillips 12-month approach to fitness seasons is something I liked. He divides fitness into three areas - strength, stretch, and stamina - and proposes a 4:2:1 ratio of activities in a "season" thus rotating the focus area every 12 weeks or so. While he recommends one 12-week strength training session a year, I like to idea of using the Body-for-Life system for 1/4 of the year and the Strength-for-Life system for another 1/4 of the year, both sandwiched between programs with a flexibility and aerobic focus. I think this type of approach to fitness will help keep things fresh and avoid the boredom typical with most exercise programs. I am looking forward to giving it a try!

The section on nutrition is very elementary and nothing you haven't read before (eat good fats, whole grains, lean protein) and like Body-for-Life Phillips recommends eating 5 smaller meals a day. Of course with that recommendation comes, what else, the emphasis on nutritional shakes. His push for the consumption of his own nutritional shakes is evident throughout the book. If he is not directly pushing shakes (p. 92 "consider using a quality nutrition shake in your daily plan", p. 93 "I created Full Strength, the next-generation nutrition shake - the future of fast food", p. 102 "an ideal time for a quality nutrition shake", etc.) he is placing the product in sample meal plans and referring you back to those pages elsewhere in the book. Phillips even blatantly adds his own terms to the glossary to push his product ("shake brake - a brief five minute break for refueling your body and recharging your mind that is integrated in Full Strength premium nutrition program designed by Shawn Phillips", "Full Strength - the world's finest, most premium total-nutrition shake designed by (guess who?)"). As I questioned some of Phillips nutritional recommendations, I thought I would check out the "about the author" page to see what his credentials are. This is all it says:

"Shawn Phillips is CEO of Phillips Performance Nutrition, maker of the world's total-nutrition shakes. He lives with his wife, son, and daughter in Golden, Colorado."

I think that explains things.

Although the exercise routine in this book is nothing revolutionary, it is a nice variety on the Body-for-Life and Gold's Gym programs and I would recommend it for a 12-week change-up. Phillips "seasons" approach to exercise and fitness could be a nice way to keep things fresh and keep people exercising year-round. If you can get past the blatant marketing of Phillip's nutritional shakes, this book is a nice complement to other fitness programs. I just recommend you skip chapter 10 ("Your Path to Nutritional Freedom") and instead check out some quality books on nutrition like SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life by Steven G. Pratt and Kathy Matthews and The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete by Artemis P. Simopoulos.

Hopefully I have provided a fair, accurate review of this book. There are many positive reviews of this book, but many are by people (22 out of the total 41 reviews so far) who have reviewed only one product (this book) and that makes me suspicious. I definitely recommend picking this one up, at least from your local library as I did, and check it out. Throughout all the nutritional shake marketing hype there is some solid fitness advice in the area of strength training with weights. Good luck with your fitness goals!

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended... easy reading... encouraging tone., May 1, 2008

By	Patrick D. Goonan "www.meaningful-life.us" (Pleasanton, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book by Shawn Phillips is destined to be a bestselling book. While it builds on some of the ideas in Body for Life, which I believe is the best selling fitness book of all time, it is unique in many ways with a more integral approach to fitness, strength development and life as a whole.

Interestingly, Body for Life: 12 Weeks to Mental and Physical Strength was written by Shawn's brother. The major difference that I see is focusing on multiple dimensions that make up fitness including the development of aerobic capacity in a systematic, time effective manner with a lack of fluff.

This book is easy to read, but it has everything you need to know to get stronger. It is written with an encouraging tone and obviously the author practices what he preaches based on the cover photo and other photos I've seen in his other titles. If you liked Body for Life, you will love this book because it goes even further. I suspect Shawn built on what his brother learned along the way with his book as well as his own deep experience.

There are other good reviews that detail the contents of this book, but if you are looking for a fast track and well-rounded program, this may really be for you. I've tried out the workouts and advice here and was very impressed. I must say some of the workout advice may not be appropriate for a beginner, but the program is progressive and you can always start with less and work up to more.

I used to be a Teaching Fellow in physiology and I also did biological research for a living. While I don't believe in a one size fits all approach, this is certainly a good guideline for both men and women. If you want other more specific and detailed information on strength building, I also recommend the following... Build Muscle Lose Fat Look Great: Everything You Need to Know to Transform Your Body, Brawn, 3rd Edition and Beyond Brawn: The Insider's Encyclopedia on How to Build Muscle and Might (Brawn). For supplemental diet advice or more information as it relates to the health of the skeltal system, see FrameWork.

I hope this review was helpful. I don't think you can go wrong with this well-organized, progressive and innovative approach. It is balanced and really considers every dimension of life and how it contributes to overall fitness. It also treats the body and mind as a unit. Interestingly, Ken Wilber reviewed this book and it quoted on the product page. Ken has over 20 books in print some of them for 20 years and is the only living author that I'm aware of who has been asked to do a compilation of his life's work by Random House. I have read much of Wilber's material and reviewed most of it on here. I also compiled a listmania list on my profile page for those who would like to know more.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strength For Life!, May 23, 2008

By	Kendra - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I received this book a couple of weeks ago and am very pleased with the entire book and completely recommend it.

This book is excellent for those who really don't know much about fitness and nutrition, but it's also good for those who know quite a bit, but need something new to tweak their routines.

And, that's why I purchased the book. Every so often, I feel a workout slump. I change my workout routines every month or so, as recommended and usually work out with weights 3 times per week and do HIIT cardio 3 times per week. I understand how to eat properly and do so consistently (unless I make a conscious choice to eat something less healthy). However, even so, I find that I often dread training. Truly. And, I might waste a couple of hours just putting off my training, because I dread it so much. Consequently, I need a book like this to get me on track. And, this one absolutely does. As a matter of fact, this entire week of training has been entirely different and I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow! And, believe it or not, I enjoyed my High Intensity Interval Training (Cardio) today for the first time in at least 6 months.

Shawn Phillips is an excellent writer. His tone is engaging, conversational, and accessible. After the entertaining introduction, he talks about getting to a meditative state when working out. It's really not difficult, either, but may take some practice for some. I find that working out in my gym at home is much more productive for me than working out at the Y, for instance, and have been doing this for some time for this very reason. It's so important to focus on the muscles you're working out and tune everything else out.

He recommends a 12 day period of rest and extremely light workouts to get ready for the program ahead. This includes ensuring one gets enough sleep. Sleep is incredibly important when training! And, it's something I haven't been getting enough of for several months prior to reading this book (even though I was aware of its importance!). I have since made sure I get at least 7 or 8 hours per night.

Even though Phillips' stresses the importance of this 12 day period, I, uh, skipped it. Only a couple of weeks prior to reading his book, I made some major changes, and I just couldn't bring myself to go back to the three extra-light workouts per week. However, the advice here is still worthwhile.

After the initial period, Shawn explains his Transformation program, and I think it's excellent. I haven't followed it exactly, but I have changed my workout schedule quite a bit. I don't want to explain too much of the book here in the review, but I have to say, I like my new schedule quite a bit and all the information here makes complete sense.

Nutrition isn't ignored, either, and he provides a lot of information. For those who have been following a clean and healthy diet for a while, not much of this is new or groundbreaking, but I've found that I still learned something new.

The claims of this title-- "The Fitness Plan for the Rest of Your Life" is a bit lofty! However, I would say that the information you get here will definitely help you for the rest of your life even if there is some new groundbreaking information in the future and even if you only use some of the what you find here.