Living Longer Stronger: The 6-Week Plan to Enhance and Extend Your Years Over 40 (Paperback)

by Ellington Darden (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Darden (The Nautilus Diet), the former director of research at Nautilus, and the author of many books on fitness, here challenges his readers: follow his routines, and you'll be able to reshape your physique by losing 21 pounds of body fat within six weeks, he promises. But this is more than another quick weight-loss scheme or a pep-talk and guide to body-building. Chapters consider the benefits of exercise and how it can prevent men from aging prematurely. The author believes it is important to develop muscles for performance?leanness, as well as fitness. The good news: this can be done while simultaneously losing fat. So the book discusses equipment and how to use it. Darden also reconsiders the best strength-training exercises. But this is not enough in the battle of the bulge. So he provides sensible guidelines for healthier eating and living, making a point of distinguishing nutrition fallacies from facts, and insisting that it's unnecessary to waste money on protein supplements or free-form amino acids, which many body-building gurus have been known to promote. Although strength training and body-building may not be for everyone, those interested in learning more about the concepts, exercises and routines may find Darden's strategies exactly right.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Darden, a well-known fitness author whose books have sold more than three million copies, offers a program for men who are giving way--fitness-wise--to middle age. Always a proponent of strength training, Darden continues that predilection here, arguing that strength training becomes more important the older one gets since stronger muscles can alleviate much of the stiffening and discomfort associated with aging. The heart of the book is a six-week strength training program designed to reduce body fat and improve cardiovascular performance as well as develop muscles. Because banging around the weight room at the fitness club three times a week--no matter how intensely--is not enough to redefine one's fitness level, Darden also provides nutrition guidelines and advice on sleeping and reducing stress. This is a potentially beneficial program filled with solid, commonsensical advice presented in a clear, conversational style. Illustrated with black-and-white photos. Wes Lukowsky

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Pub. Group; 1st edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399519009
• ISBN-13: 978-0399519000
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,116 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Program Balances Diet with Strength Training, July 9, 2002

By	Jeffrey Harris "Jeff Harris" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Months ago, a close friend, who had recently put on some muscle and lost a bit of weight, after hearing Ellington Darden speak at a business seminar, gave me a copy of Ellington Darden's Living Longer Stronger. I read the book and put it aside. A few weeks later, I talked with a favorite university professor who had always been plagued with weight problems, and the subject came up again. He mentioned the success he had using Darden's program.

Over the years, I tried lots of popular diets, aerobic exercises, and strength training in various combinations and taken to various extremes. They all worked to one degree or another, sometimes for only a while, but ultimately fatigue and a back injury from overdoing them had left me resigned to being grossly out of shape. A trip to the emergency room and surgery shook me up and I decided, once again, to shape up.

I hoped Darden's program, which claimed it was possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, would work for me. I was skeptical, but desperate to try. I did have the assurance that both a scientific friend and a former college professor found this program truly helpful.

The program in Living Longer Stronger relies on moderation of all things, except drinking icy cold water: a gallon and a half a day. Calorie intake is reduced over six weeks, gradually but never drops below 1300 per day to prevent the body from conserving fat. Strength training increases gradually from 6 to 10 exercises every three days. Darden explains that two days of rest in between is necessary for muscles to go beyond recovery and increase in strength. He also recommends getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night.

I just completed six weeks of the Living Longer Stronger program, and will begin the cycle of calorie cutting again in a week or two. I followed Darden's nutrition guidelines, but ignored the specific foods listed in his meal plans. (I like cooking and couldn't bring myself to eat canned potatoes, bottled low-cal salad dressing, margarine or Sarah Lee's so-called bagels, but that wouldn't be a problem for a lot of guys.) I walked for half an hour after dinner, when I could. I trained on a friend's Bowflex every three days without exception. I drank ice water all day. A new body fat sensing electronic scale - a tool that wasn't available when Darden wrote this book-- made it easy to chart fat loss. In six weeks, I lost 45 pounds of fat, and put on 5 pounds of muscle. My waste is 5 inches smaller. I can even see some muscle definition on my shoulders. There are no stretch marks anywhere. After a week or two continuing to training and to drink lots and lots of ice water, I will ready to do another six week cycle of stress free weight loss.

The program is written for men over 40, but the book features at least one example of a man in his 20s who used the program with great success.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A system that works!, September 26, 1998

By A Customer

Following the workout and diet just as printed yielded exactly the results the author projected. The book is easy to understand and makes a rational case for moderate exercise and good diet with certain adaptations to permit weight loss and stabilization. This is no radical 'fad' diet, just good common sense with a couple of unexpected twists. Read it in good health!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive book for middle age fitness, June 25, 1998

By A Customer

Living Longer Stronger is a complete fitness book, covering both the diet and exercise aspects with equal aplomb.

His exercise routine are as efficient and comprehensive as they come in weight loss books. Moreover, he gives thorough explanations and diagrams on how to perform each exercise, so even novies can learn quickly and safely.

His diet recommendations, while not innovative, are sensible, familiar, and proven. He lays out all important aspects of a fat-loss diet -- minimeals, nutrients, scheduling -- such that anyone will understand.

But, what's really special here is his advice on making your body burn even more calories by a process called thermogenics. His major technique is superhydration, and it's revolutionary.

Living Longer Stronger is beautifully laid out and clearly written. You can tell alot of work has been done to make it glossy, yet highly useful. Diagrams, tables, plenty of before-after pictures abound give men a real physical education. And, although it's specifically written for men over 40, ALL men could gain from this quality book.

I don't think there's a better book today for men over 40, because the results on this program are consistently better than any other diet. The only real flaw with the book is that it's written in 1995, so you won't get the "Quickstart" program outlined in Flat Stomach ASAP. But, that nonwithstanding, this is THE Darden diet book to get.

Want to lose more than 3lbs of fat a week? Buy this one.