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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Terrific Book For Jump-Starting A Return To Training!, June 8, 2002
This review is from: Your Body Revival: Weight Loss Straight Talk (Paperback)
For those of us sadly discovering middle age seems to also mean extra inches and unwanted pounds, this new book, "Your Body Revival" by famed bodybuilder and fitness expert Dave Draper is a godsend. Anyone familiar with either Draper himself, a consummate sixties bodybuilder who quickly ran through the pantheon of available titles by winning Mr. America, Mr. Universe and Mr. World to become famed as the blond bombshell, or with his unusual gifts as a writer as displayed in previous books such as "Brother Iron, Sister Steel" ... , this new offering of "Your Body Revival" is no great surprise. Indeed, for the mature fitness enthusiast unable to find adequate relevant personal guidance in mass circulation magazines that are more exclusively geared to the needs of younger athletes, this latest book is a unique and valuable offering that presents a plethora of suggestions that help both a more mature fitness enthusiast as well as a younger neophyte to manage his or her way toward specific physical goals. Draper is one of those rare souls who is more interested in making a contribution to the sport by helping the everyday guy with his or her training issues than he is than with training potential bodybuilding stars for the posing platform. Not that Draper does not coach bodybuilders, for he surely does, but to date his main focus in his books has been more directed with helping "everyman" to strive for personal excellence. And it is this strain of thought that runs so memorably and helpfully through the chapters of this tome, as well. Draper clearly points the reader in the right direction, motivating and stimulating him or her with the voice of experience, probing at old fallacies and false promises, and summarizing, in concise and clear language, what the sound, basic nutritional facts are for the more mature athlete. In doing so, he also provides a simple recipe or regimen for the athlete, one that will provide a maximum of lean muscle mass and which will also capitalize on fat loss at the same time. In this short book, big Dave emphasizes the "vital importance of muscle and bodybuilding", and even provides sample workout routines designed to reach these goals. And the book contains nuggets of useful information for all readers, regardless of their own circumstances or fitness level. In fact, in reading the book, you will quickly become amazed by the breadth of knowledge Draper applies to the subjects under discussion. It is obvious to even a casual reader that the book is carefully researched and meticulously written. Then again, one would hardly expect any less from the original blond bombshell, and a guy who brushed shoulders with everyone from George Eiferman to Steve Reeves to Larry Scott to Arnold Schwarzenegger to Tony Curtis to the late Sharon Tate. In his introduction, Draper describes the sixties bodybuilding experience as being a time of relative innocence, before it became a mainstream fitness activity, and before it became corrupted by big power and big money, and it is that kind of personal ethos of seeing physical culture as a meaningful way of life and as a natural set of activities for someone interested in living a natural and healthy lifestyle that comes through here and makes this book so worthwhile. Like "Brother Iron, Sister Steel" before it, and like the many more books that we readers hope will follow, this is a book to be read and savored as words of carefully gathered experience, as words of training wisdom from the most gracefully aging bodybuilder of the 20th century. Dave Draper has become a quiet legend for those of us who matured in the shadow of his many accomplishments, for he is a guy who always managed to walk with a singular dignity and purpose, someone who never sold out to the more crass and commercial forms of strength sports "entertainments" we so often see in today's publications. This book gives us the honest information we need to strive more successfully toward our own realistic physical fitness goals. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Advice from a "Master", July 15, 2002
This review is from: Your Body Revival: Weight Loss Straight Talk (Paperback)
Dave Draper knows fitness. With a resume that transcends mere "bodybuilding", and a style that is both colorful and vivid, he imparts that knowledge in a way that is inspiring, and clearly calculated to help others succeed. "Your Body Revival" is quite a different book than Dave's "Brother Iron, Sister Steel" (one of the best books ever written for the iron crowd. "Body Revival" is more of a call to action, primarily for the overweight, but written to motivation even hard-core gym rats. Dave takes on the "fad diet" pushers, and debunks a lot of the falsehoods that are out there regarding weight loss. His approach is more geared towards those wishing to make life-long positive changes, and he is very clear nutritionally of the way to proceed to lose weight and improve your body. There is a lot of information on fats, protein, and the importance of a healthy balance of foods. Of course this is a Dave Draper book, so you know part of the program is going to involve weightlifting. Dave is an absolute believer in the value of resistance training in combatting the fat epidemic, and he offers a number of insights on training as a key to developing a healthier you. Where this book excels is in the motivation/positive thinking area. Draper's writing style feels like a conversation, and his accent on the importance of mental attitude, goal setting and improved self-esteem is all-important for the development and maintenance of a successful program. He even provides a web address to readers to link up and track the success of their program, and provides regular updates to this book, and the tools he uses as part of the program (all for no charge). Some of the material was a little too basic for my tastes, but I always enjoy the motivation supplied by Dave's writings. This is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in pursuing a new fitness/nutrition program, and are unsure which of thew 32,086 (or is that 87) books or programs to try.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Book About Weight Loss- Getting in Shape on Market, July 7, 2002
This review is from: Your Body Revival: Weight Loss Straight Talk (Paperback)
If you are intertested in a book about getting and staying in shape through proper eating and exercise, look no further. This is it. Dave Draper is the guy. There is no one better. Forget all the pills and the ads on tv and order this book. This is the nitty gritty truth. This is how to do it. Buy this book and you will know all you need to know...and you will discover, it is not as difficult as you thought. This is a clear, well-thought-out, series-of-thought-patterns by a mature adult that is worth more than a casual read-through. It is worth careful consideration and if you are not on a healthy path, it will gently nudge you back on goal. And if you are already on the right road, it will make you feel good about yourself. Draper is at the top of his form in "Your Body Revival" with years of practical experience behind him. Forget the diet of the moment (remember Oprah and Rosie with all those diets are still fat) and enter the fitness experience of a lifetime. What ever happened to Dave Draper? He is still here, ripped and lean...and he is willing to show you how you can be as well. --ron dobrin...
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