Customer Reviews

The World's Fittest You

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is the best and so is the author - Joe Decker.
This book is a total package. This is not another lose weight, get fit gimmick. Joe Decker has truly put together a great tool for improving ourselves, not just physically but also mentally.

I am a single mom in my mid 20's. I have gone through struggles I don't think anyone can imagine. At times, I felt so depressed that I thought I would never get out of the hole I was in. About three weeks ago I was listening to the radio on my way into work and Joe Decker was being interviewed. Immediately, I liked him and decided to buy his book. Now, I am not a book reader, I don't buy books and if I do I usually return them to the book store. I decided to give this book a try. I love it.

Through healthy eating and exercising I have started to lose weight. I feel so good. I exercise an hour 5x a week. I have never kept to it for three weeks in a row.
I am so glad that Joe Decker after his personal success he has given back to all of us the tools of survival and health through his book. Through e-mail he also helps you by answering any questions and he motivates you. By the way HE RESPONDS!! not someone working for him.

This book has been the best thing I have ever invested money in.
Also, I did try liposuction 5 years ago, It doesn't keep you thin or fit. I gained 60 lbs. after it. It was a waste of money!

Joe Decker has authored the best fitness book you'll ever need. It is grounded in reality, not deception and myth making. If you are attracted to promises like "rock hard abs in 30 seconds," don't bother with this book. Joe is a realist about what it takes to get and stay in shape: it requires time, commitment, and effort, six days a week. You're fooling yourself if you think 20 minutes a day three times a week is enough. Decker outlines a well-balanced approach, including cardio, strength training, and flexibility. Other books I've consulted emphasize one of these areas over the other, focusing only on weight training, or cardio activities like running or biking. But Decker's approach is comprehensive and sound in every respect. And within each of these three areas (cardio, strength, flexibility), Decker provides challenging guidelines on workout frequency, intensity, and technique. Joe's program is all about variety, a key to avoiding boredom, a killer if you want to persevere. The illustrations are helpful, and the workout plans can be tailored to any level, beginner through advanced. I like his suggestion that you should add an "out of the box" fitness activity each week, as well as a yearly "mega-event" like a triathlon or some other fitness competition. This book has really helped me put together a realistic, motivating, and effective fitness program, and got me off a stagnating plateau.

I couldn't have asked for a better gift to start out the new-year than Joe Decker and Eric Neuhaus's The World's Fittest You. The book's approach is straightforward and easy to follow. From recipes to work out tips, Joe's book is really inspiring me to make major changes in my life this year.

The thing that works best for me in the book is the fact that it emphasizes that it is geared towards working on yourself regardless of where you are on the fitness spectrum. The title is perfect because the book truly is centered on ?you?. It is all about becoming the fittest you can become. It never makes any phony claims about quick fixes like so many of the fitness and health books out there today. And, it understands that we are all in different places on the fitness and health scale.

I also find the book?s exercise photos to be really clear and user friendly.

I highly recommend this book.

Where did this guy come from? Why haven't we all heard of him before?!? I got this book for Christmas and can't believe how much sense he makes and how well thought out this plan is. Joe is a man after my heart: clearly he doesn't wnat to promise more than he can deliver, but what he can deliver is amazing. After only a few days I really feel like I have started on a lifetime solution to my weight problem rather than a limited time quick- fix--and I wouldn't have done it without the common sense and encouragement that Joe provides in this book of exercises, tips, and recipes. This book isn't just a complete plan, it's also the memoir of a guy who has been worse off than I was and who totally turned it around. Like he says, if he can do it, so can I, and he gives great tools to back that up.

After reading Joe Decker's book I wrote him the following e-mail:

Dear Joe?just to let you know that your book is being a help and inspiration to me. I'm 234# this morning down from 250. Yesterday I moved to a new hole in my belt, and this a.m. I put on a pair of formerly too-tight jeans, grinning from ear to ear.

Yeah, I know, that's still too heavy, but I'm making serious progress and will continue.

Thanks again for your help!

* * *

Mr. Decker's book makes it clear that you won't lose weight nor become fit without steady, the-rest-of-your-life effort. There are no secrets, no short-cuts. But he also tells how you can do both, and offers examples, inspiration, and explanations. He is an excellent example himself, having gone from pudge to fit, back to pudge and finally to the title of The World's Fittest Man, as well as becoming a fitness and training expert.

The book is in readable, plain English, no psycho-babble nor fancy body-chemistry language. If you want help in losing weight, becoming fitter, or both, The World's Fittest You is an excellent choice.

Here for a change is a complete wellness book that pulls no punches from an everyday man who has paid his dues and come out in tip-top shape! Mr. Decker's powerful story of overcoming addiction and weight-gain begins this book as he travels the world trying to find himself. What he finds instead is the party-boy lifestyle that lands him fat, addicted and out of shape on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. His comeback includes an epiphany that reveals, like many of us have, a fierce determination to overcome his personal history and his personal demons. By erring in the opposite direction, Joe triumphs over many of the most bizarre fitness challenges I have ever read about, becoming an inspiration to countless people on the journey.

This program is real and honest and makes no false promises. In fact, its only real promise is that there are no promises to be made. By analyzing your past and your goals, you are encouraged to develop a new program tailor-made to suit you. What is so excellent here is that it is so all-encompassing. I have learned about cholesterol, both good and bad, blood pressure, heart rates, and blood sugar levels to name a few. The eating section finally explains carbs and fats, protein and diet myths in a way that is easily understandable and applicable to me. He even includes his ten 'fittest foods' for consideration.

Next comes the extensive four week 'Shock Your Body' section, which is what I started this week. It is so complete and easy to follow...not necessarily easy, but incredibly rewarding! And like I said, this book is about REAL change, and Joe makes it clear that it is a lifestyle change. There are great recipes that actually work and a great section on fitness workouts that is easy to follow and easy to tailor to suit your own level of fitness. Along the way he debunks many myths about diet and exercise. He even gives you a web address so you can talk to him directly and he answers your questions personally via email! I am so happy to have been turned on to this guy, and feel like there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I cannot recommend this program enough!

This book is very infomative in regards to getting fit and staying fit. Mr. Decker reached a low in his fitness and realized that if he didn't do something about it, it was going to kill him. His story is inspirational and even entertaining. He has a good overall approach to fitness, including weight training, cardio-vascular training, and nutrition. He also doesn't believe in denying enjoyment in life, but it can be done healthily. He also puts the emphasis on YOU, don't try to do what he did, do what works for you and puts you where you need to be. Just don't forget the spiritual side of life we need to take care of the "temple" God gave us but we also need to keep a proper prespective on who we glorify. 1 Timothy 4:7-8

This book is very helpful, encouraging, motivating, and informative. Joe is very personable and welcomes contact on his book regarding fitness questions. It's a keeper.

Joe's story is interesting: he grew up in central Illinois in a small town called Cuba, he tells us," Cuba has a population of about fourteen hundred, if you count the cats and dogs".Other than being passionate about fitness...he also has a sense of humor, I like that.

I read his very moving childhood story.The way he was bullied by other kids, because he was " fatso".What can I say?-here is a trainer who cares enough, and it pushes him to be vulnerable with his audience.This made me admire Joe even more. This is before he mentions his football injury, a sad story that lead him to being mindless. If you've got any kids, this story will remind you about giving your kids a balanced childhood.From his testimony I learnt that we shouldn't dwell on making our kids super athletes, and neither should we make our kids believe that sports, social affirmation, or being involved with school activities will make them fully complete.A child has to be comfortable in their own skin, first and foremost-without all that cheerleading,football team,Lacrosse, swim team nonsense.From Joe's story, I learnt the importance of self love and acceptance. Thank you for this message Joe.

Joe later tells us about his military basic training-it was an experience and a half.He had to stick it out completely, otherwise he would have been stuck in the " fat boy program". This was funny, like I said before this man is candid about everything.

The book has a unique tilt to it.Any extreme person would find it useful, because Joe is an extreme person. At one point he was a heavy drinker and horrible eater, and he then swings from one end of the pendulum to another-into being an extreme athlete.

His transition from being a binge and heavy drinker was very emotional.He tells us of how he got into a gradual routine that started with working with an old set pair of beat-up sneakers. This man had been pushed to the bottom of the barrel. He goes on to describe the chin up bar that he used.Then there was the light walking that he took. Such a moving testimony indeed....this man had actually began his transformation process.So encouraging was his progress that he decided to join Western Illinois University, where he earned a b.A in exercise science.

Joe is a man who has lived and also understands fitness, he just didn't wake up yesterday and then decided to publish. He earned his stripes.At the end of the day, it is a good read, especially for those who have been exercising.It might be too overwhelming to a novice exerciser.

I skimmed through this book in one evening. I got it to get some encouragement and some information to add to my workout program. But as someone who already eats a nutritious diet and excersizes daily, there wasn't much in this book I haven't read before. But I did get the impression that it would be a good book for someone trying to start eating healthy and excersizing. I noticed a lot of good info that has been proven to be good, scientific data by other authors, not the fad diet or "8 minute a day" programs taught in other books. But the info is really presented in a basic fashion. Which, as I said would be good for someone just getting started, but if you are looking for something to motivate you or educate you to the next level, this isn't going to do it. If I was rating this as a beginner, I would have given it 4 stars, but since it didn't have much for me specifically, I give it just 3.