Workouts For Working People: How You Can Get in Great Shape While Staying Employed (Paperback)

by Mark Allen (Author), Julie Moss (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In 1982, Julie Moss was leading the women's field at the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon. With the finish line banner in sight, her body collapsed. She staggered and fell, got up, fell again. The second-place woman passed her to win. Moss crawled across the finish line, reached one hand across it, and fell onto her back, smiling.

For 15 years, Mark Allen's "job" was training and racing as a professional triathlete. He won the Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon six times and the Nice Triathlon 10 times. And he married Julie Moss.

Now Allen and Moss have a child, and their commitment to family supercedes their commitment to athletics. They've learned to carve fitness time into their busy day. In Workouts for Working People, they give advice for staying in top shape even though you have a job and a family. They each give their individual perspectives, with occasional help from their child, Mats, who speaks authoritatively about how fitness can be fun. They write in a warm and accessible style for the beginning exerciser with sensible, simple advice. Though the goals they suggest may seem grandiose to a novice exerciser--get ready for ski season, work up to running for 45 minutes--the strategies for reaching those goals are accessible no matter what your level. Their tips are practical: How do you fit workouts into limited time? How do you know if you're working out aerobically? Fifteen strength-training exercises and 10 stretches are explained and illustrated.

If you want to go beyond the general, Allen and Moss present two progressive programs: Lifestyles Basic for beginners, which eases you gradually to the point of burning 1,000 calories a week; and Lifestyles Advanced, which gets you the rest of the way to burning 2,000 calories per week, which is optimal for health and longevity benefits. --Joan Price

From Library Journal
Triathletes Allen and Moss know a lot about getting in shape: each is an "Ironman" champion. Their book, written in "his and her" paragraphs, with occasional comments by their son, describes the ways they have trained and makes recommendations for exercise, weight training, and diet to achieve optimal fitness. It is hard to see why they titled the book as they did, however. Aside from one chapter, which advises you to get up earlier, work fewer hours, and work out over lunch, there is nothing on how people whose work is not training for triathlons can manage. The appended resource guide lists sports associations and marathons and triathlons by season. Excellent for full-time athletes (or wannabes) but of little use to the average nine-to-five set.
-Susan B. Hagloch, Tuscarawas Cty. P.L., New Philadelphia, OH
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Villard; 1st edition (February 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0375752706
• ISBN-13: 978-0375752704
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #316,205 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Champion Triathletes to Champion Coaches, February 14, 2000

By	Dennis McMinn (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

Mark Allen and Julie Moss hit a key market with their book, Workouts for Working People. Finding the right mix of fitness in ones life is tricky when trying to juggle the responsibilities of jobs and family, but Mark and Julie show us how it can be done. While working out is second nature to these two world class triathletes, the addition of a son (Mats, who also contributes to the book) and the reality of having to adapt to "real" life after their competitive careers ended, Mark and Julie show us ordinary folks how to handle it all. The book covers training, nutrition, weights, stretching and even kids fitness. Included are workout schedules for weightlifting and training programs for completing a 10k to an Ironman. In addition, Mark and Julie offer their own favorite and simple to make recipes in the nutrition chapter. An interesting part of the book is that they offer their own 'life' experiences throughout the book and this offers a nice "one-on-one" feeling for the reader. You feel like they are your friends and your coaches and you get encouraged to workout reading this book. It makes you think twice about just sitting on the couch and watching t.v. In my opinion, everyone, from the "newbie" beginner to the competitive athlete can learn something from this well-rounded book written by two of the most famous triathletes in the world.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Allen and NIKE Team Endorphin, February 15, 2000

By	Keith Phillips (Beaverton Oregon) - See all my reviews

This book is an absolute must for anyone serious about doing their best. Allen and Moss use a very down to earth approach that applies not only to world class athletes, but also for former couch potatoes who want to get in shape.

Highly recommended. The Keithster

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A REAL book!, November 11, 2001

By	TheCafeWriter (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

It's for real. You have two world-class athletes - not bodybuilders or celebrities or fitness models, but two of the fittest people in the world here.

What makes this book different? (1) The Allens recognize that most people have other priorities in life, such as jobs and kids, and therefore can't live in the gym for 2 or 3 hours a day. (2) They also recognize - unlike many athletes - that not everyone shares their passion for their sport. They don't expect you to open this book wanting to do an Ironman of your own as they've done, but they won't discourage you from training for one either!

The book is loaded with sound, honest advice, tips, encouragement and motivation. If you want to get fit, well, you have to work at it. They're not trying to sell you seminars or supplements or some 'magic bullet' that only slims your wallet. They're not trying to relive past glory days either - the anecdotes are purposeful: meant to instruct and/or motivate.

There's several different 18-week workouts here, depending on your goals. All of them offer a balance between cardio (ANY cardio - not just running/swimming/cycling) and weight training. During the week, most workouts are about 30 minutes to an hour, with a longer one on the weekends, and an optional one for the true weekend warrior. Plus, the Allens offer plenty of suggestions for squeezing fitness into a busy schedule for full-time employees and full-time moms.

This isn't another feel-good-because-you-showed-up 'exercise' book. This book is for people who are serious about trying to raise their level of fitness, no matter what shape they're currently in.

I also strongly recommend reading it thoroughly for some of the nuggets hidden inside. For example, 5-6 small meals, each about the size of your two palms held together. An easy visual guide to portion sizes that you always have with you! How can you lose? Or better still, how can you not?