[.ca] Weight Training Made Easy: Transform Your Body in Four ... (ISBN 0446671096)

Narcissistic, simplistic, and shallow:
You would have to have high immunity to seeing so many photographs of a narcissistic woman, repeated unnecessarily, over and over, on pages 87 through 158, then the same photographs repeated on pages 168 through 173, then on pages 186 through 191, then on pages 206 through 212. Each chapter opens with the author's picture performing some sort of self-absorbing acting out. In Chapter 1, the author claims that her workout routines lead to "loss of ALL excess body fat, from 75 to 100 pounds" with only FOUR days a week of 20 to 30 minutes of ID exercises (ID is her term for Isometric Dynamic exercises). She also claims to rid of cellulite, increase metabolism, and lower blood pressure. With her Ph.D. in English literature, she claims to master health issues as a pro. Out of all machine exercises, she defines the FIVE BEST MACHINES as: (1) Lateral Pulldown, (2) Leg Extension, (3) Leg Curls, (4) Leg Press, and (5) Seated Calf machines. That includes 4 out of 5 exercises of the lower body, with only the lateral pulldowns targeting the upper body. Any person with average knowledge about weight training would choose a machine for each major region of the body, with particular emphasis on the upper body in the case of training females. Thus, a proper choice of machines must include: (1) Shoulder Press machines, (2) Flat Bench Press, (3) Back Extension, (4) Abdominal machines, in addition to a leg exercise machine. Thus, the legs do not get all the attention, while the trunk, shoulders, and chest are ignored. Exercising with 3-pound dumbbell pairs, for three sets, of ten repetitions, is a total waste of time. It will neither cause fat loss, nor cause muscle gain. The Pyramiding, in Chapter 5, with three sets, at 12 to 8 repetitions, with dumbbells ranging from 3 to 10 pounds, is still inadequate to develop strength. The book advocates isolation of muscles and split-session training claiming that muscles need 48 hours to recover. Thus, you will not see compound exercises such as lifting a 10-pound weight from the floor upwards. The author completely ignores lower back exercises such as the stiff-legged deadlift, good mornings, or back extension and seems to believe that the back consists only of the upper back muscles. The author thus ignores the millions of years of human evolution of learning how to exercise all muscles, every day, in farming, hunting, and rearing off springs. The squat form is lousy (improper feet stance, inadequate squatting, poor chest thrusting) and more so when it is done with 3-pound dumbbells. In addition to filling the book by repeating the same photographs 4 times, the book indulges in many unnecessary exercises such as: seated straight toe raises, then standing toe raises, then seated angled toe raises, then standing angled toe raises. It is not true that this simplistic and excessively inadequate weight training would lead to loss of excess body fat or to any noticeable muscle mass. Her claim that aerobics would not do it is also untrue, since her exercise description entails ridiculously low resistance at low number of sets. With 8 to 12 repetitions per set, that is hardly anaerobic training. One has to increase the weight and reduce the number of repetitions below five, in order to induce muscular stimulation.

Oh, am I sore!! Horray!!!:
This book can take you from beginner to advanced (advanced is a great challenge for those "seasoned" women who already weight train!) You can build that muscle base your body so badly needs, define it and fine tune it for the perfect body you've always dreamed of! Also includes an eating program for maximum effectiveness. This author doesn't fool around! I'm an "on again, off again" weight trainer and it's been a long time since I've found something that gave me that great feeling of accomplishment that this book did!

Great starting point:
I really like this book. It was easy to get into a workout routine with relatively little soreness and surprisingly quick results. Dr. Vedral starts you off slowly and builds you up in what was a very safe and pleasant experience for me. I used this only for the weight training and did not use her dietary suggestions. Changed the shape of my body very quickly without a lot of fancy equipment or time.

Good beginner book:
There are both rave and slanderous reviews on this page. I am a certified personal trainer. Let me try to help the consumers with this issue. Joyce Vedral has written a very concise and helpful book for a beginning female weight trainer who perhaps does not have the means to join a gym and/or hire a professional trainer. The book has solid information that illustrates proper form for a full-body safe workout. There are no miracle cures for weight loss. Joyce simply speaks the truth about this. Yes, cardiovasuclar exercise and calorie curbing are necessary for weight loss if weight loss is your goal. Weight loss is not the only reason for doing weight training. Adding muscle mass through weight training improves the body's toning and definition (one will not see the improvement however, if body fat reduction is the goal and the other two components for successful weight loss are eliminated from the program). You don't have to follow Joyce's advice on diet to benefit from her weight training program. Yes, you can go to Weight Watchers and do this program. There is nothing magic about weight loss. Adding muscle mass will also increase metabolism slightly. The fringe benefits include increased bone density and when done properly, reduced risk of joint or back injury. My advice would be to hire a nationally certified personal fitness trainer if you have the means. If not, I believe this book would be a useful tool for a woman beginning weight training. Yes, some of the exercises are "outdated" in the sense that the industry keeps inventing new tools and new ways to vary a workout and make it more interesting and sometimes safer. However, the exercises Joyce teaches are perfectly sound and helpful in a beginning program. Be far more cautious of books claiming miracles than one offering solid, no-BS advice. I have Joyce's book in my fitness library and have recommended it to women over 40 who cannot afford a personal trainer. Joyce's success is an inspiration to others - that in itself is quite an attribute.

58 - turnaround!:
On my 58th birthday at the end of January, I was despairing of my figure and my general, if not poor, certainly not great, health. Always effortlessly slim throughout my life, my mirror now showed the thickening of advancing age and I was subject to aching back and legs and a general lack of energy. I had bought Joyce Vedral's book some months before but never opened it. Now with a trip to South Africa booked for a month ahead, the impetus to avoid looking like a blimp on the beach was there. So I worked out daily, following her instructions to the letter - and after that one month my body had changed to such an extent that, on arrival in South Africa I found that all the summer clothes I had bought for this holiday during January were now too large! I actually had to buy new clothes there! This is absolutely true. Delighted, I continued the exercises while there and I have kept up the weight training ever since my return. At last I can wear clothes with waists again, my general aches have disappeared and my energy level is so much higher. I have now been exercising this way for only two and a half months, with no dieting (although I have always eaten sensibly)and I feel I have shed at least ten years in just about every way. I have just sent this book to my 86 year old mother. It's never too late! I really recommend it.