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Summary: Body for Life
Review: It is a great book and an easy read. Much of the book is motivational, using letters from people who have been on the program and won the "Body for Life" contest. I skipped over most of this area.This is an excellent book for someone who really has the desire to get in GREAT shape. It details a very simple plan that will allow you to lose weight and feel great for the rest of your life. You must have the desire to get on a program though. Buy this book, read it, and DO IT!! I lost over 20 lbs, and went from 21% body fat to less than 10% in 90 days. That was nine months ago, and I am still doing the program. The first three weeks are the toughest, but your workout and eating will become habit after that, and great things will happen to your body and self esteem.
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Summary: Body For Life works
Review: I started the Body For Life program in July 2000. I weighed 225 lbs at 6 ft and was primarily a couch potato. In my first 12 weeks I lost 45 lbs while retaining muscle mass. I have now moved on to more extensive programs while retaining the basics of Bill Phillips' diet plan. I can tell you, this fundamental, non quirky approach works: Diet, cardio, weight training. I am 43 years old, weigh 172 lbs, and am in the best shape of my life because of the Body For Life program. It's a fantastic way to start on your path to fitness. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
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Summary: Pump You Up?
Review: The answer is yes. This is a well-written book with practical advice. We all see the most fashionable diet and health trends on the bookstore shelves, but we also all know in our hearts that the only way to be healthy is to make the necessary lifestyle changes. It does require work, but it also doesn't have to be difficult. Bill Phillips plan is practical, and requires a only a reasonable amount of work from you. You'll work hard, and you'll sweat, but you won't spend hours at the gym, and you definitely won't starve. I recommend this simply due to the fact that it's easy to do, and easy to understand. Your own common sense will confirm this for you if you choose to read and implemnent the Body for Life plan.
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Summary: Insider's Guide to the Mindset of Changing Your Life
Review: This book is about more than Body Building, it is about taking charge of your life and Getting Fit Mentally and Physically. It is filled with inspiration and common sense. The inspiration comes from looking at the photos inside both covers and reading the success stories of these same Everyday People. No matter what age or (un)fitness level you are now at, it is very easy to find one or more of the before photos that you can relate to. I was inspired by a 60 year old doctor (I'm 57) named Jeffery Life who had a very similar build before he started the program as I did. I figured if he could do it, I could too. The common sense comes with the nutrition and exercise information. Specially the eating. It isn' a diet, it a way of eating ... often, in small portions, protein rich food. Once you learn your portion size, the rest is so very easy. No measuring or weighing. Just look at your palm ... that is the size of a portion (say a chicken breast) ... make a fist ... that is the size of your baked potato. It's no more complicated than that. Simply beautiful. I have lost 20 pounds in 8 weeks and I look better than I have in years. I am eating right and enjoying the weight training and the cardio. I can't wait for my next vacation in Mexico. By then, I hope to bring my own "six-pack" Ten Stars. ***** *****
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Summary: Common sense approach and an easy read
Review: The entire concept for Body for Life is sensical approach to fitness for those that were not endowed with wonderful genetics. I am living proof that this book can be the spring board for a life dedicated to fitness. Mr. Phillips has a book that is very good at giving you the basics on how to eat for muscle gain and weight loss and while this book may be bashed as hype it really works for beginners. If you are someone that already has the knowledge of weights and nutrition then this book is not going to give you much in the way of new ideas. However, if you are the couch potato or weekend warrior then this is somethhing I would recommend to get you off your butt. The book just makes you feel good because of the power Mr. Phillips has behind his message. I'm not saying this book will change your life, but it might, and it is something you can read in a couple days. RECOMMENDATIONS - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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Summary: It Works
Review: I used the book and the recommended exercise routines exactly as prescribed. I also used the recommended supplements, and I went from 178 pounds 25 % body fat to 155 pounds 8.5 % body fat in 12 weeks. I would highly recommend this eat right/exercise routine because there is no counting calories, you never get hungry and you have dramatic results with only 4 hours a week in exercise. The photographs are not fakes, my photos were just as impressive as those printed in the book.
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Summary: I do not believe the hype
Review: And hype it is... The hype of looking buff. If you are somewhat experienced in weight lifting or fitness, this book is not telling you anything your trainers in your gym should not know (read: have to know to be called a trainer). If you are an absolute beginner: this routine lets you start off badly, using the wrong exercises, using wrong habits (why need supplements, when a balanced diet provides you everything - as promised by the book itself?). Using fake pictures to illustrate the "before-after" differences does not help to make it credible either. Are we really suppossed to believe that all of these are real??!! And though I can accept that people do benefit from it, simply by exercising and watching their diet, the sales talk through out the book is just silly. I do not see myself getting in a life habit of writing down my feelings after I had a snack (as illustrated in the book on keeping a daily diary; 'just had a snack - I really feel great, not hungry at all!!' - owh goodie!), just to keep motivated, or to have it change my life! A beginner's program should focus on small muscles groups, that would increase strenght (one legged squat/deadlift, etc), with plenty of stretching, building up to reach a high fitness level (I do not say "bulk up"). If you want to acheive this goal: ultimate fitness, I suggest you buy "Maximum Fitness" by Stewart Smith. Sorry folks: this is a 52 week program of hard work and sweat. But being fit or becoming fit is just not that easy. Obtaining the results shown in the pictures, in three months time: it is physically impossible!
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Summary: Good but don't overlook its real purpose
Review: It is more of a promo for a nutritional supplement company, which (once you contact them) will send you endless ads for their products.
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Summary: Another way to "skin a cat", so to speak
Review: In all the years that I've read books about losing weight, getting fit, dieting, exercising, and all that jazz, I've come to the conclusion that just about anything works if you stick to it and if it is realistic for your lifestyle. Like the others, I'm sure this works, maybe better than most, but is it realistic for the average person? There is a lot of good information here that a person can incorporate whether they stay strictly on this program or not. Phillips explodes the myth of "The more exercise, the better". No, it is the efficiency and intensity of the exercise that brings results, and rest is as important as the actual exercise. The program alternates days of aerobic exercise and strength training, and, inevitably, gym membership is an unstated requirement (unless you have your own equipment, which few do). The dieting portion of the program seems overly restrictive, to me, as a rather short list of acceptable foods is provided. Thank goodness there is one "free day" a week provided, or else I suppose hardly anyone could stick with it for any great length of time. And, unfortunately, eating six meals a day as opposed to three may not be workable for some in certain employment situations, Myoplex or no Myoplex. (Myoplex, by the way, is a shake-type supplement manufactured by a company owned by the author of the book. I couldn't tell you if it tastes as nasty as most protein shakes or not, since I haven't tried it). As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and if this is your way, more power to you.
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Summary: Lots of words, little information
Review: I so excited about this 12 week program that I ran out to the local bookstore and paid [...]sells it for. It turns out this book rambles on with a bunch of motivational stuff we've all heard before. He trys to get you to feel sorry for him by his deep passion for those that have trained incorrectly and haven't tried hard enough. VERY LITTLE information is actually given on how a person needs to exercise and the typical list of 'good foods' is given. More pages are filled with silly questions being answered and even more pages of 'real life stories', who cares. I was looking for the latest news on how a person needs to exercise and in detail, not about how 12 or so other people did. For his challenge you need to send in reciepts showing you have used EAS products ($$$$) so his concern isn't for your success, his concern is getting more of your hard earned cash in his pocket. Trust me, there are MUCH better books on getting fit out there. Read those books, eat right, and save your money. Leave this book at the [...]. Next time, I won't trust all the hype and I'll read it in the store before I buy it. I was robbed.
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