The Strength and Toning Deck: 50 Exercises to Shape Your Body [Cards]

Shirley Sugimura (Author), Nicole Kaufman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004

Strength training is one of the most effective ways to improve overall health and achieve a toned and fit appearance. Building strong, healthy muscles boosts your metabolism, increases your energy level, promotes good posture and balance, and helps prevent osteoporosis and injuries. With the 50 exercises in The Strength and Toning Deck, you can start right away with a basic conditioning program and progress your fitness training at your own pace.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shirley Sugimura Archer, M.A., is a certified Pilates trainer, wellness educator at Stanford University School of Medicine, award-winning author, popular speaker, and Master Trainer of certified fitness professionals worldwide. She has a masters degree in

Nicole Kaufman is a freelance illustrator whose work has appeared in several publications and books. She lives with her family in Sonoma County's beautiful wine country.

Product Details

• Cards: 50 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811842770
• ISBN-13: 978-0811842778
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,700 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkably useful and accessible tool for fitness, August 18, 2005

By 

Larry Diamond (Stanford, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Strength and Toning Deck: 50 Exercises to Shape Your Body (Cards)

If you are having neck or back problems, or are just out of shape, this deck provides a really clear and effective menu of simple execercises for getting fit. You don't have to master them all at once, but there is plenty to choose from to strengthen and tone just about every part of the body. I have found Shirley Archer's techniques and clear instructions, in this and other decks, extremely helpful in managing neck and back problems, tight hamstrings, stiff legs, computer-tired shoulders (they're all related). The descriptions are quite explicit, the illustrations are very helpful, and you can easily take the cards with you when you travel. Highly recommended.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great tool for keeping fit on the go, March 27, 2005

By 

Cindy Zedeck (Palo Alto, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Strength and Toning Deck: 50 Exercises to Shape Your Body (Cards)

This deck is a great tool to help you add strengthening and stretching into your overall exercise plan more often. The deck is easy to take with you, on business or on vacation. The workouts are written so you can squeeze it into a short time interval or a longer one depending on what you

have. The cards are easy to follow, even for kids. This has been a great tool for me to use as a fitness instructor for children to get them more involved in these types of activities. It is fun for them to each pick a card and then in turn lead the whole group in that particular stretching or toning exercise. I highly recommend the deck for anyone who likes to keep things simple while seeking some guidance and structure to their exercise plan either at home or on the go.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strength training made accessible, May 23, 2005

By 

April E. Durrett (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Strength and Toning Deck: 50 Exercises to Shape Your Body (Cards)

Strength training has never been my favorite activity, but I'm trying to add it into my exercise routine as I know how valuable it is for me, especially as I age. This product made the idea of strength training very accessible through the clear drawings and instructions on each card. I appreciated the author's suggestions for how many repetitions I should do as well as how long I should rest between sets. I like the drawings that showed the locations of the muscles and the scientific and common names for the muscles. I appreciated how you could do many of the exercises without weights or bands. I envision the exercises will be great for when I travel. I found the safety tips valuable and appreciated the author's suggestions for decreasing or increasing intensity. I also liked that the author gave several recommended sequences of exercises including quick total-body workout, core workout, upper-body workout and lower-body workout. I'd recommend this product for both people new to strength training and for experienced exercisers who want a helpful workout tool.