Core Performance Essentials: The Revolutionary Nutrition and Exercise Plan Adapted for Everyday Use

I bought the original Core Performance and found it very informative. I was in the mode of lifting to get bigger instead of better. But, I also found the workouts to be very daunting with the time and equipment I have at home. Core Performance Essentials is more for me. It is Core Performance for Dummies, simpler workouts that still improve your performance as a weekend warrior. The only thing I see missing is the regeneration stretches. I gave my copy of Core Performance to a friend and never got it back and wish I still had the list of stretches. I now do yoga instead, FITtv's Namaste Yoga works great. I would recommend this book if you like me want to improve but do not have the time to be a professional athlete.

Regardless of age/gender, you should buy this book. I just turned 40, have 3 kids and live a very busy lifestyle. The principles in this book are simple to understand and incorporate everyday. This book was recommended to me by a business associate of the author. It was specifically recommended because it is the 'easiest book the author has written for incorporating fitness into the normal person's lifestyle' (i.e. for those who do NOT have the time to spend an hour or more at the gym each night). For me, the book is really two books; (1) nutrition 101 and (2) exercise for life. For nutrition, the author makes it easy to understand the theory of nutrition (i.e. eating). He starts with theory, then grocery shopping, and then the eating schedule. This book does recommend more frequent mini-meals, rather than big dinners. Anyways, some very sound basics to answer the question of what you should put in body for maximum performance and health. For exercise, the author asks you to commit 30 minutes a day to a core performance workout (ok, with a shower its 45 minutes). For novices, the Core is essentially your mid section (abs, stomach, butt, thigh, shoulder, back, etc.), but the program really hits every muscle group. As for the program, you can do all the exercises at home, without investing in costly equipment. The exercises focus on flexibility, endurance and strength and really do work. I started the program a little over 3 weeks ago and can already "feel" and see the difference. For the record, I've had lower back issues for 6+ years and since using the Core Performance it's never felt better. Not once have I have to 'roll out' of bed in the morning. Live longer, feel healthier, and look better. Some motivation, 30 minutes per day, and this book are all you really need. Thanks Mark for making professional athletic training programs applicable to the regular guy!

I like this book so much that I have already bought 5 for other people that I want to live long and strong with me, and I am buying more this week! It is very simple to read, and it is a very simple to follow plan of exercise and nutrition. It is really working for me. I highly recommend it. I like the exercises better than Pilates or Yoga and feel they are actually more effective and take less time.I love eating more often and it seems to be boosting my metabolism some.

Mark Verstegen, founder of a training center serving professional athletes, uses sports training analogies for "athletes" (ordinary people) playing the most important game, the "Game of Life". The premise is that everyone needs good basic training to take good care of one's body and function well for daily activities such as unloading groceries. Verstegen focuses on exercises to develop the "pillar" -- essentially one's core plus hips and shoulders. Functional strength needed for everyday life as well as athletics comes from developing this pillar, not from doing something very isolated like bicep curls that one might want to do for cosmetic rather than functional reasons. The author rejects "body-building-based" workouts that isolate one muscle since most movements in daily life and sports involve multiple muscle groups working together at the same time. This training supports those movements and is thus also highly efficient for developing overall functional strength and coordination. This book is more concise than his previous book and much more well organized for beginners (probably most people). It takes you through 4 levels of increasingly challenging but similar exercises. Each level has sections such as Movement Prep, Prehab (preventing injury rather than Rehab later), Stability, and Strength. Overall an immensely helpful fitness book for everyone from beginners to athletes. It changed my thinking about what kinds of resistance training to focus on with limited time.

Core Performance Essentials is a streamlined version of Core Performance. It will bring out the athlete in you , help you move better, prevent injury and just plain feel good. Everyone from beginners to advance individuals can put some or all parts of this book into their current workout program. Coach Verstegen's unveiling of Movement Prep to the non-athletic world revolutionized how we warm up. Core Performance Essentials is simply the best book there is for functionally performing better in life.