Workouts that Travel
September 28, 2009 by Easy Exercises · Leave a Comment
Top 10 Exercise Mistakes and How To Fix Them
September 20, 2009 by Easy Exercises · Leave a Comment
101 Ways to Work Out with Weights Effective Exercises to Sculpt Your Body and Burn Fat
July 29, 2009 by Easy Exercises · Leave a Comment
101 Ways to Work Out with Weights Effective Exercises to Sculpt Your Body and Burn Fat
Another follow-up to our successful 101 Ways to Work Out on the Ball, this book targets another piece of inexpensive yet powerful equipment - dumbbells. Many people buy them but either use them incorrectly or not at all because they’re not sure how. This book gives 101 different exercises for upper and lower body that you can do in the gym or at home. Strength training can actually change the shape of your body, improve your metabolism, and build bone strength - but most women aren’t sure how to do it. This book makes it easy to reap the enormous benefits of weight training?in your own home.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars LOVE this book!
101 Ways to Work Out With Weights got me started lifting weights again after several years of neglect. I don’t care for gyms and this book has helped me develop a great weight lifting program in the comfort of my own home. And I never get bored because there are so many exercises, combinations and routines I can do, many of which I’d never done before. Excellent descriptions and photos ensure I’m lifting properly.
4 Stars Excellent book
There was far more information in this book than just weights. The author really has put a lot of effort into creating a rounded book filled with relevant information. I’m very happy with this.
5 Stars Fresh Ideas for Weights
I decided to purchase dumbbells instead of renewing my gym membership, so I was looking for fresh ideas for home workouts. This book has a lot of compound exercises that are great at breaking up the monotony of the usual sets. The challenge of learning new techniques brings such a breath of fresh air. I intend to buy her book of stability ball exercises as well since I’ve found this book so valuable.
5 Stars I LOVE this book!
I LOVE this book! It gives so many different workout options. I have never seen so many good ideas incorporated into one exercise book. It even gives recipe ideas for healthy eating. The illustrations are very helpful and it is very easy to interpret how to do each exercise correctly. I’m just a beginner but this is the right tool for advancing.
5 Stars Great book. Great buy.
This book is really great. There are a ton of exercises broken down by body part that can perform in the privacy of your own home with very minimal equipment. It is clear, concise, informative and very well illustrated. I definitely recommend it.
Mens Health Huge in a Hurry Get Bigger Stronger and Leaner in Record Time with the New Science of Strength Training Mens Health Rodale
May 23, 2009 by Easy Exercises · Leave a Comment
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars This book is a necessity
All basis were covered in a very simple and easy to understand way. The book is well written and the concepts are easily integrated into the real world. I’ve been in the field for 10 years, held many certs, and have a degree in Kinesiology. I highly recommend this book.
4 Stars Some Good Information From Huge In a Hurry
I was reading an article published by this author on another website. He seemed to not only have some good education, but good experience in the health & fitness world. So I figured he would write a good book.
The book is very good- Easy to read, good continuity, logical order. Some of the principals he emphasizes really make sense. I certainly recommend the book.
As with any good review, one should point out the negative. As a certified personal trainer and gym owner, let me offer a word of caution. When it comes to exercise- everything works, and nothing works forever. This “system” will work for someone who doesn’t currently train like this. Eventually, you’ll have to change the exercises, the daily/weekly/monthly frequency, the intensity, and the set/rep range. Which he certainly explains well (muscle adaptation). As a book buyer and someone looking for “The Answer” to how to get results in a hurry, no one book contains that. When it comes to exercise, always do a little more than you did last time, and do it a little different. And remeber - You Can’t Out Exercise A Bad Diet.
5 Stars complete a to z programming (not just for the novice)
I bought this for a friend of mine who is getting back into the gym after being out since high school and not liking how his body and health is becoming. Having read Waterbury’s stuff at T-nation I knew I liked his sort of bravado style and solid science base. Since this book offers total lifts and my buddy is doing way too many bicep curls, I knew he would benefit from reading it. And hearing from an expert rather than me telling him what to do.
But he has yet to see this book since I am keeping it for a while. I’ve done Ripptoe, followed the forums, and been pretty heavy into Rosstraining, so I figured I knew what I was doing in the gym.
Also, last year I read Alan Aragon’s “Girth Control: The Science of Fat Loss & Muscle Gain” so I figured I was also good to go on nutrition. This book, though, puts the nutrition all together for me with an ideal to follow, and also nails a solid weight training program: each exercise, how many reps, and a novel idea of utilizing speed to maximize muscle recruitment. I am really excited to be following it.
My “pretty good” diet is now going for 100% and I know I am going to drop that forever over 5lbs of belly fat. Chad says stick with it for 4 weeks because he knows trying to get enough protein, meal planning, etc., are a challenge but worth the payoff.
I am intrigued by the idea of using speed: the power of the mind thinking of executing a lift fast — a heavy lift may indeed not go fast, but by thinking fast you are mobilizing big muscle recruitment. And it’s true that you challenge your core with stabilization.
Before starting his program, I was basically killing myself twice a week at the gym. Good exercises but unfocused. Comparably, Waterbury’s program looked too easy. I’ve been doing front squats, lunges, pullup and chinup variations, lots of core work, his program was just not going to be enough, I thought. So I skipped over his recommended 3 week intro exercises and got right into it. Probably a mistake since the movement: speed, is very challenging. Not to mention, if you have never done bulgarian split squats then trust me that you will be cursing his name after driving out some of these. I think my nutrition is the only thing that has saved me with all it’s anti-inflammatory power and also finally getting my full 1g/lb protein requirement.
I feel like I purchased a great personal trainer for $20. This book is complete for me: from a total dietary program to a total lifting program.
Someday my friend will get to read it and I am going to get a copy for my nephews back in the midwest who are into wrestling since Waterbury even offers a program on how to effectively meet a weight-class while maintaining performance ability. Wish I had that knowledge back in the day of my high school wrestling with plastic suits and jumping jacks in the sauna.
5 Stars Solid weight lifting principles put into an action plan
I first read an article by Chad Waterbury in Men’s Health. I was impressed with the content and workout plan in that article so I bought the book. I have a background in sports physiology and this book has solid weight lifing principles. I am 34 years old and have been lifting off and on since I was 14. His programs are suitable for beginners and advanced lifters. I have followed the plans for about 6 weeks and have seen great results in my muscle size and strength. The difference is the “way” you lift. Gone are the straight sets and reps. If you are bored with your current workouts and/or not seeing results (as I was) this book is for you.
5 Stars Simple
Very easy to read and the ideas just make sense. No long winded explanations about muscles and how they work. Normal non-fitness people can understand it and follow the workouts per their level.
This book is taylor made for athletes, teaches you to build muscles that you actually use for sports and use everyday. Builds muscles in a way to avoid common injuries from sports.
Simply the Best all around Fitness book written in decades
8 Minutes in the Morning A Simple Way to Shed up to 2 Pounds a Week Guaranteed
May 21, 2009 by Easy Exercises · Leave a Comment
8 Minutes in the Morning A Simple Way to Shed up to 2 Pounds a Week Guaranteed
With 8 Minutes in the Morning you will:
NOT do aerobics, NOT spend hours in the gym,
and NOT be on a starvation diet.
What’s Jorge’s get-slim secret? Just 8 minutes of his unique strength-training moves done in the privacy of your home. A few minutes each morning is all you need to lose up to 2 pounds a week. Add the cutting-edge eating program that teaches you how to eat the right fats to satiate your hunger and cut your calories, plus a daily dose of motivational support from Jorge, and weight loss has never been easier!
Jorge’s fat-burning program includes:
- Two super-quick moves a day
- A delicious eating plan where you don’t count calories and you must eat fat
- Daily pep “talks” to help you hit the ground running
- Access to Jorge’s online community that will help keep you encouraged and connected
- Plus, you’ll find Jorge’s brand-new “On-the-Go” Weight-Loss Travel Cards inside.
So get ready to look slimmer, sexier, stronger in just 8 minutes!
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Great for beginners!
I first discovered 8 Minutes in the Morning about 7 or 8 years ago. I was overweight, unhealthy, and did little to no exercise. I found an article on the internet that described the basic philosophy and provided a week’s worth of exercises. I started out by doing this for several weeks. It was simple and very doable for me. I’m not a morning person so it was nice that it only took 8 minutes. I also started noticing that I felt stronger and more toned. This plan helped me get into the habit of working out and helped me get more physically fit so that I could take on more strenuous exercise. I soon added aerobics and started eating healthier. Eventually, I started doing aerobics 3 days a week and full body strength training twice a week. I think this book is an excellent way for people to get started in fitness but after a while I think you would have to make a change or you may reach a plateau. Over the course of the past couple of years, I unfortunately gained the weight back (totally my fault) so I’m trying to lose it again. I have always gone back to this workout so this time I bought the book. The book provides some motivational tips and encourages journaling which I think is good for some people but it also seemed like an advertisement for Jorge’s other products and services. It seemed there were references to his website on almost every page which got old. But, overall, I do like this book and I’m glad I purchased it. It is helping me get back on track again!
5 Stars AWESOME!
This is a practical GET IT DONE motivating tool. It is an easy step by step process in which it not only works your body but your thinking as well. I used the book as a workbook, journal in it everyday and followed the process. I lost over 10 pounds the first month and more importantly felt that I had changed my thinking in regard to exercise and food.
2 Stars A solid concept with a poor plan of execution.
Let me first state that the central idea of 8 Minutes In The Morning, raising metabolism through daily strength training, is a very solid concept, though certainly not original to this author. Basically, you start every day with two rapid pace strength training exercises (push ups, dips, lateral raises, squats, etc) with the intention of firing up your metabolism for extra calorie burning throughout the day. I personally think this is a great idea…but it is not the Holy Grail of weight loss quick fixes the author advertises.
There are two hidden catches with Jorge’s plan that are not suggested by the title and initial information, power-walking and diet. The author advises incorporating a walking plan into your regiment to burn extra calories, thus raising total time spent exercising to around…oh… thirty-eight minutes a day…which of course is more realistic. Throw in the very calorie restrictive diet essential to success, and you quickly find that it is a little more taxing of a plan than a breezy eight minutes lifting a dumbbell before work.
This book is not about “burning” fat, in the way cardio exercise does. Rather, this book is about raising metabolism, which is of course a good thing. Strength training exercises are picked because they raise metabolism for longer periods than cardio. However, the author is misleading, as many cardio exercises, particularly running, cycling and heavy bag boxing, have strength training aspects to them which will have the same effect on your metabolism.
The book includes a vaguely complicated eating system that has since been abandoned by the author in favor of his 3-Hour Diet book, and thus should be considered relatively worthless. In the 3-Hour Diet, the author suggests incorporating the 8 Minutes in the Morning plan in the diet…thus if you really want to follow Jorge, you should also read that book, which has a much better explained and comprehensive diet plan.
However, the diet in this book and the 3 Hour Diet are both seemingly for people around 150lbs or less and do not take into consideration the extra nutritional needs of larger people.
That being said, with power walking included, the exercise plan detailed in the book, while simplistic, probably is a good plan for a number of people with limited experience with exercise, or for whatever reason simply hate to exercise. If you have any experience with sports or exercise in the past, or are currently active, you will probably find nothing of value in the exercise plan.
Two other notes: I found the author’s personal history to be extremely annoying. The author portrays himself as having nearly eaten himself to death as a child, showing a vaguely chubby childhood picture and providing anecdotal evidence of having two grandmothers who frequently fed him while he avoided exercise and was never picked first for sports at school. It is a lame attempt to portray his in-shape self as “one of us” in the battle of the bulge.
Finally…I am not entirely sure the author’s claims that you can build muscle mass on this exercise and diet plan are feasible. First, some exercises are repeated only once a month in the plan, or 12 times a year. Nearly all strength training programs recommend doing exercises 2-3 times a week to build muscle. With the very low calorie (I’d estimate at around 1400 per day) diet plan, it simply isn’t possible to build muscle. Building muscle requires extra calories to rebuild tissue. If you are feeding your body less calories than its resting metabolic rate AND power walking and lifting weights…there simply isn’t the calories available to build muscle. It’s a shaky claim that most muscle building experts would refute.
So there you have it. If you are looking for a means to get your body doing at least some kind of exercise and looking for the minimum….well this is the minimum, but you’ll be better off doing much more if you can.
4 Stars Practical Advice
Practical advice, easy to follow thru strength training routine. I am a weight consultant & I recommend this book to all my client! I don’t agree 100% with Jorge when it comes to nutrition advice, nevertheless this is a great book.
5 Stars The Best Look at How to Loose Weight
I’m not going to rave completely about this book, but it is simply the best and most complete method of how to loose weight and keep it off. It is aimed at women more than men, but the things in the book are effective for men as well. He explains how the body works, which gives you better insight on why we eat what we eat in order to loose weight. It explains that carbs are just as important as protein, and that (certain) fats are just as important as vegetables. I was surprised to learn how fruit is healthy but does not help weight loss at all. Many books cover just excercise and others just food. This book gives you a solid routine for both. The food plan & excercise plans are very realistic even for the worst coach potato. I was dieting/excercising on my own and plateaued after a month - no weight loss for two weeks. I forgot I had this book, opened it up again, followed the plan, and BAM after two days I started loosing weight again. It works.
