Product Description
The 6-Week Strength-Training, Fat-Burning Program for Women
A strength-training program especially for women that will produce results in workouts of just 12 minutes or less-from the coauthor of the bestselling BodyChange
When personal trainer Wini Linguvic teamed up with one of her high-profile clients, Montel Williams, to write BodyChange, the book made The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists, climbed to #1 on Amazon.com, and sold over 200,000 copies. Now she tailors her precision body-sculpting methods just for women in workouts that integrate the “flow” and stretching of yoga to produce the even more impressive real results of strength training. Finally, an expert women can turn to for a program designed to create the fabulously fit, lean, long, strong body that today’s woman yearns to achieve.
o Features beautiful, large full-color photographs of the author doing each exercise, accompanied by detailed instructions for completing each move
o All exercises can be done at home with hand weights and an exercise ball
o Specific workouts focus on firming key trouble spots such as abs and core, butt and thighs, or upper body
Lean, Long & Strong : The 6-Week Strength-Training, Fat-Burning Program for Women
Price: $4.57
Hello, my name is Jim and for years I've looked for a strength training and weight loss program that I could stick with and the would work for me. I've started this blog to share some great articles and resources I've discovered in my journey to change my lifestyle.
“No one dies from weak biceps” is my favorite sentence in the entire book. Also, the foreword is very eloquent and concise. The book photos and printing style are superb as well.
As a 20-year personal trainer, the author’s experience has evolved along the normal path many athletes follow. First, she discovered the great potential of strength training and how it empowers women to lead healthy lifestyle. She has gone through the various phases of repulsion, attraction, and finally obsession with a sport long viewed as men’s territory. Now, she appreciates the value of being long, lean, and strong. That helped her have great and effortless everyday living. Second, she realized that she must rev her heart in order to endure long and monotonous activities. That took her to aerobics. She realizes right away that although aerobics is vital to the health of the lung and heart, aerobics does not build up muscle mass. Third, she discovered yoga and ventured into flexibility training.
The three phases of evolution of personal trainers and athletes took 20 years of her life in order to experience their rational significance. Yet, the author claims that you could change your life with only 12 minutes of strength training, four days per week, in addition to 20 minutes of aerobics, three days per week. That is an unrealistic proposal. Furthermore, she suggests that if you do the aerobics and the strength training in the same day then you should split them into two sessions. That is also impractical, since all the exercises in the book are very low on load-volume. The last promise of achieving apparent body change in 21 days is equally bogus.
The common belief that unmotivated people would be stimulated to engage in exercise if promised short and easy routine is simplistic. Change in health and fitness requires commitment to consistent exercising and discreet eating, drinking, and sleeping mannerism. It is not worth it that professional trainers or educators attempt to delude people with false hopes. Reasoning with others in realistic fashion strengthens the mutual trust and supports them in coping with the tortuous challenges of learning to exercise wisely. It is much wiser to exercise three days a week than seven days as the book suggests. Training 4 days with weights and 3 days of aerobics would leave very little time for relaxation, even if the exercise load is sub-minimal.
The major shortcomings in the book are:
1- It starts with crunches on an exercise ball, followed by back extension. No sane person should start exercising from the core. People should be advised to perform total warm up, toe to head, before exercising the abdominal or lower back. Otherwise, serious neck or spinal injury could ensue due to contracting major and strong muscles on cold start.
2- There is only one deep squat pose on page 154, the rest of squat and deadlift exercises are partial and extremely low on resistance. The lack of heavy and deep squat and deadlift results in the characteristic flat butts and loss of lumbar curvature. That is attributed to unduly weak glutei, hamstrings, and spinal erectors. The flat lumbar curve and wasted buttocks and quadriceps are early signs of osteoporosis. Bone density at the lumbar spines is the primary index for gauging osteoporosis.
3- There is no single barbell exercise in the book. No dips. No chin ups. No running or jumping exercises. Those are the golden standards of strength training.
4- The photo of the author on the book cover is more feminine and pleasant than the inside photos due to change in hairstyle and posing in side profiles. That shows gloomy facial expressions. In addition, many of the ball exercises are repeated redundantly for no good reason.
5- The book’s theme revolves about the regional anatomy of legs, core, and arms. Those regions are exercised on four levels of difficulty: basic, intermediate, challenge, and express. That renders exercise a quite challenging activity. The book is missing a single focus that links all the pieces of the puzzle along one goal.
Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training
Rating: 4 / 5
Comment by Mohamed F. El-Hewie — December 27, 2009 @ 3:08 pm
I was looking for a book that would help me strengthen and tone my muscles. Help me get a routine going that I can stick with. As I’ve gotten older I have lost a lot of muscle mass and I feel it’s important to gain most of that back. Now that I’m alone I need to be able to take care of myself and do for myself. I believe this book will do the trick. It has helped Montel Williams out as this woman is his personal trainer.
Rating: 5 / 5
Comment by C. L. Monroe — December 27, 2009 @ 3:37 pm
This book is easy to understand with quick simple workouts that really get your body working out. I never thought I could get my heart rate up with such simple work outs but I really did on this one! I often worry that I’ll hurt myself doing exercises the wrong way but she’s good at pointing out what to watch for to make sure you’re doing it right. The exercises are short and easy to do before work or while dinner’s in the oven. And I can adjust the number of reps I do to make sure I have that sore great work out feeling the next morning! Hope you all enjoy it!
Rating: 5 / 5
Comment by D. Slosberg — December 27, 2009 @ 4:51 pm
I just received this yesterday and have read it pretty much from cover to cover. This is a wonderful tool for people who are committed to their workouts and really want to see results. The photos, explanations, etc. are excellent. It is laid out in a very systematic and organized way. I love how she includes both easier and harder options for each exercise and stretch and how she integrates stretching throughout the workout rather than just at the end. I’ve been teaching fitness classes for years and thought I would breeze through the workout I did this morning, but I found it challenging. I’m looking forward to seeing changes in my body. I like having a guide to go by in choosing what exercises and stretches to do each time. This book is a great find!
Rating: 5 / 5
Comment by E. Ivey — December 27, 2009 @ 6:43 pm
I’m not sure that this book is for the individual who is already in shape. I have been working out for years and even while using heavy weights, I did not feel like I worked my muscles sufficiently. I also felt like some muscle groups were left out in the advanced portions. I do agree with the other reviews about the great production and instruction.
Rating: 3 / 5
Comment by fitmom24 — December 27, 2009 @ 7:06 pm