Rating: 
Summary: An Inspirational, life changing read
Review: Before I read this book I was a 92 year old, sedentary female with ostioporosis. i could not lift up grocery bags, i had a great deal of trouble climbing stairs and i used a walker. when an old friend suggested i read this book, i was skeptical. i was a old woman, and if i tried lifting wheights my bones would break. But I ended up reading it anyway. i started with lifting half puond wheights and followed miriams exercises. after about a month, i was doing five pounds and also was useing ankle wheights. after staying with the exersises for about three months i started feeling alot more spry, and i foung myself doing things i hadn't done for years like climbing stairs with ease and going for walks. its been two years now since i started the exersises, and i am in great shape. i have regained alot of muscle and my bones are stronger. ive thrown away my walker and i have much better balance. this book has changed my life and the way i live. i can now play with my grandchildren and ive even started going for jogs. I may still be in my ninties, but i feel like im twenty again.
Rating:
Summary: An Inspirational, life changing read
Review: Dr. Nelson shows all women how we can keep fit and not fall victim to the latest "fad." The program does require some equipment, the most difficult to find being the 20 pound adjustable weight ankle cuffs which you work up to. (mine are on 10 pounds, BTW.) NEVER walk around with any kind of ankle weights, it tears the cartilage in your knees. This has NOT been on Oprah, it is NOT the "workout du jour," it's a simple, effective workout program for women of all ages and strengths. She has the research to back her up--this lady knows her stuff. You will not be "ripped" like someone with the World Wrestling Federation!
Rating:
Summary: Good info for all women
Review: Dr. Nelson shows all women how we can keep fit and not fall victim to the latest "fad." The program does require some equipment, the most difficult to find being the 20 pound adjustable weight ankle cuffs which you work up to. (mine are on 10 pounds, BTW.) NEVER walk around with any kind of ankle weights, it tears the cartilage in your knees. This has NOT been on Oprah, it is NOT the "workout du jour," it's a simple, effective workout program for women of all ages and strengths. She has the research to back her up--this lady knows her stuff. You will not be "ripped" like someone with the World Wrestling Federation!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Excellent book. Loads of good information. Good starting exercises. If you're looking for a few dozen exercises, don't get this book. But if you want somewhere to start, get in shape, find out the advantages of doing weights, then this is a great book for starting. I am so much more informed than I was. Great book.
Rating:
Summary: 14 months, 170 workouts, and 30 lbs later...
Review: Fourteen months ago, my size 12 blue jeans were starting to feel just a little bit more than tight. I had just seen the pictures of myself at my sister's wedding...and they weren't pretty. They made me realize that I had gone from always having been extremely slender to well, to put it politely, junoesque. I started this program March 4, 1999, after reading an excerpt from Strong Women Stay Slim in the Reader's Digest. I was looking for a program that I could do for the rest of my life. It had to be one that did not involve going to a gym, since I have a 100% failure rate with exercise dependent on a gym. It had to be one that helped me drop the 30 lbs. I had picked up since taking a sedentary job in the suburbs. It had to be forgiving of my sometimes irregular schedule. It had to get me back in shape for my 25th high school reunion. After six weeks of following the exercises in the Reader's Digest Article, I was already seeing results, so I bought Strong Women Stay Young, and added the ankle weight and abs exercises from the book to my program. I also started taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator, and walking to the store instead of driving. (I did do the program an average of three times a week, rather than the recommended two.) By the time my high school reunion rolled around, I had dropped the extra 30 lbs (without dieting -- just sensible eating). So many people at work have commented in the change in my appearance and have asked how I did it, that I've taken to carrying Reader's Digest reprints of the original article around to hand out when asked. My thighs and my upper arms have slimmed down and firmed up. My belt went from too tight on the largest hole to too loose on the smallest. I continue to get stronger and to improve my sense of balance. And my jeans are now a size six... Some of the other reviews raise concerns that this program is too mild to be effective. Perhaps that's true, if you're looking for serious bodybuilding, or want to train for a marathon. But as for me, I wanted to be stronger and slimmer. I am. I wanted a program that I would actually do, instead of one that I would drift away from. Fourteen months later, I'm still working out. My experience is that this works, if you actually do it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, long overdue.
Review: From a very long time women were told that looking good was of utmost importance. This was without regard to health or fitness and how age affected these parameters. Witness the whalebone and other types of corsets, the spike heeled shoes and the numerous weight loss programmes on the market (some of which are downright dangerous). Now there is a book, backed by solid research, that allows women of all ages to remain fit and healthy for a lifetime. I am certainly going to recommend this book to all the women I know. Bentley Norville
Rating: 
Summary: Woefully Inadequate
Review: I am a gym owner and have been in the fitness industry for 22 years. I am a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a senior Coach with USA Weightlifting. My clientele consists of the broadest possible range of people, from high school athletes to the frail elderly, and I have a wide base of experience in dealing with people of all levels of ability. While the theoretical background and supporting research detailed in this book is adequate, the actual programs suggested as an application of the concepts are ridiculously easy, utilize ineffective exercises, and in my opinion are a waste of time. For instance, on page 145 of the paperback edition, the author recommends a load of 5 lbs. for "leg exercises" for a person beginning at the "advanced" level. I cannot express sufficiently my disagreement with this absurdly conservative approach. After stating in the blurbs and in the text of the book that insufficient intensity is the problem with most exercise programs, she gives us one of incredibly insufficient intensity.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting, Practical, and Motivating!
Review: I am recommending this book to all the adult women in my life. It contains a hype-free, do-able program, along with lots of encouragement, user-friendly advice, interesting medical/fitness info, and the results of scientific research into how this program has transformed the lives of ordinary women. I am a 40 year old certified fitness instructor, and I'm constantly encouraging my clients to get their hands on this book. This is one book most women should have in their library. The info contained therein will help you to really understand and get excited about what strength training can do for you, which can help motivate you to take the first steps, (or to hang in there if you've already begun) to a stronger, healthier, more energized you.
Rating: 
Summary: OK For Beginners With Strong Wrists
Review: I bought this and gave it away to a friend who's never exercised. Good basic stuff, but nothing new for anyone who already has an exercise program. A FATAL FLAW: the authors never address the wrist issue and suggest exercises that, in my experience, will hurt wrists if they are already weak or threatening carpal tunnel. Since this is a very common problem with women over 40, I feel that it should be addressed. Some of the illustrations actually show women using weights in a way that might exacerbate wrist damage. I struggle with the problem daily and my trainer won't let me near upper body weights--not even 5 pound weights--unless I have my wrist reinforcers on. Such precautions are not given in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Same Old Advice
Review: I did not like this book because the exercises were not
shown in detail enough for you to easily do them.
The advice and exercises were really the same thing you
could put together yourself after looking through some
magazine articles. Not much new or helpful here. I was
expecting help in strengh training and there is just not
enough here.
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