[.ca] Smart Exercise: Burning Fat, Getting Fit (ISBN 0395661145)

From Amazon.com:
The best-selling author of The New Fit or Fat offers a feast of useful information and practical advice in this comprehensive guide to exercise and training. Helpful to anyone designing a fitness program, whether it's to lose a "spare tire" or train for a marathon.

not all that:
the book is too biology/chemistry related. I was looking for a more practical hands on approach to exercise. This is great if you are already very knowledgable and perhaps you are in the profession of exercise. For your average person it was way too detailed. A whole chapter was on the Kreb Cycle. Who cares tell me what exercises are most beneficial. He also refutes alot of theories that have been long standing in exercise yet he does'nt provide proof of his way.

Solid, accessible information:
This book is for anyone who wants to get in shape permanently and learn about the theories underlying different workouts. With Covert Bailey's help, you will be able to design a program based on your goals without having to hire a personal trainer. Not that I have anything against trainers, but I am not a fan of paying people do what I can easily do for myself. Also, personal trainers will often just tell you to do x, y and z without ever explaining WHY you should do it or why a particular workout is the most effective. After reading this book, I incorporated wind sprints into my training instead of just plodding along at the same pace for the duration of my run. Following his advice, I concentrated on running faster for a set period of time --not necessarily at top speed -- and then slowing down, hence forcing my body to learn to recover under stress and increasing my fitness level in a shorter amount of time. I now understand why you are burning sugar and not fat if you are exercising to the point that you are out of breath and why your body produces lactic acid when you tax it. I am not saying that I could now go out and teach a course on biochemistry, but I've been able to use the information to work smarter in the gym. And that was the whole point of my reading this book. The author does get a little technical in some parts, particularly in the discussions about Krebs Cycle and ATP, but you don't have to get bogged down in every little detail to be able to make this book work. If you can just grasp the basics of what he is saying, you will be far ahead of the average exerciser. The best thing that I took away from this book is the understanding that the benefits of exercise occur not just during the actual activity, but also in the aftermath while your body is recovering. You may only burn 350 calories during a workout, but you will also change your metabolism. Not bad for a 30-minute investment of time. Thank you Covert Bailey!! I've been recommending this book to all my friends and family who are trying to get in shape.

Smart Book - Smart Author:
Covert Bailey is a master at making physiology easy to understand for the average person. If you are looking to improve your health and get into better shape, then you should have this title on your bookshelf. It does a great job of helping you to understand what works and what doesn't. Much like Bill Phillip's book Body For Life, this book stresses that exercise is the key to reducing fat and improving overall health. It explains why diet alone won't help you to lose weight permanently, and what the benefits of cardiovascular exercise are. When you finish reading this book, you will have a basic understanding of how the human body works, what makes people gain weight, how muscle is formed, how fat is formed and how to take it off permanently. Medical techno-babble is translated into terms that absolutely anyone can understand. His humor and amusing metaphors make for an enjoyable reading experience as well. ...This book is worth way more than it sells for. It is packed with useful information, good science and great advice.

Exercise advice for the scientifically-inclined:
I bought and read this book when it first came out and refer back to it often. As many people have suggested, Bailey does not shy away from detailing the biochemistry of exercise thought he does a pretty good job of presenting some very complex material in a simple manner (he has a PhD in chemistry or something like that from MIT and it shows). I have no science background myself so I found the book to be fascinating---particularly where he addressed the effects of low-carb diets way before they became the fad they are today (p. 35-38). On the whole, the best exercise book I've read.

Biochemistry for the unfit non-scientist:
The great thing about this book is that it is of particular help in the first weeks after starting to exercise properly before there are any visible results. The book explains in some detail the processes that are underway from the first day that exercise levels are begun or increased. So it inspires the reader not to stop when there are no visible results from exercising, by explaining exactly what changes in body chemistry are occurring each time exercise is undertaken and what internal and external results WILL occur if the reader continues with an exercise routine. Now I can understand exactly what is happening and why the scales may be going up a couple of pounds one week while the tape measure stays the same or my waist shrinks by an inch. It is truly motivating! As a non-scientist I was a bit concerned that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the biochemistry but by taking notes of what was being explained it all came together like a jigsaw. And the fact that I had to think about what was being said meant that it has stayed in my head as a logical argument instead of just being trite phrases. Excellent book.