The Men's Health Guide To Peak Conditioning

This is a great book for anybody interested in getting in shape, lose weight, feel better, become stronger, gain energy and strength. You name it and probably will find a related topic in this book. This is probably the first book that gives you enough information to help you put together a customized program for your specific needs. There are specific sections of this book dedicated to specific lifestyles (inactive man, working man, traveling man, family man, country living, city living, oceanfront living, etc.), age (The twenties, the thirties, the forties, over 50), sports (Bicycling, running, swimming, tennis, baseball, basketball, in-line skating, golf, racket sports, football, hockey, soccer, etc), interests (burning fat, body shaping, advanced shaping, better sex, preventing injuries, sleeping, nutrition, time-management, etc.). This is a very comprehensive book, that you may find useful as a reference on exercises for every aspect of your life. I lost more than 200 lbs about six years ago, during a period of about eight months, and went from pants 44 to 32. Prior to star changing my eating and exercise habits I bought this book and "Men's Health Hardbody Plan" which is another excellent, easy to read, comprehensive and complete reference that I give most of the credit for my success. With both books I have been able to keep the weight off for more than six years. In short terms, based on my experience I can recommend this book, and its a great reading as well. Another tools you may want to consider, to complement this book and your strategies for boosting your metabolism, loosing weight, and even more important keeping that weight off are: - A Body Fat Monitor or Scale. This will help you monitor your progress, to assure that the weight you are loosing is fat (fat lost = increased metabolism) and not muscle, water or bone mass (decreased metabolism). - "Ultrametabolism: The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss", which is another very practical, readable and insightful book, focused on how to boost your metabolism. - "The Abs Diet: The Six-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life". - A Heart Rate Monitor Wrist Watch. This is an excellent tool that will help you monitor and control your Heart Rate in order to keep yourself in a burning fat state (increased metabolism). - "The Hard Body Plan". Excellent strategies, programs and workouts, aimed to increase your muscle mass. If you are focused only on your diet, the first three may be worth considering. If you exercise, or want to start doing it right, the last two are for you. If you do both, all the four recommended options can improve your results.

I got this book over 6 years ago, when I was a little guy in grade nine. I still find myself constantly referencing it for different excercises and movements. The book lends itself to nearly all demographics, lifestyles, and shapes & sizes. This is definatly a worthy addition to any home fitness library. I highly recommend it!

This book is a product of the magazine of Men's Health, a magazine devoted to men's health issues, including but not exclusively fitness related. This book is 352 pages of sections that match the tone and style of the magazine -- it is like a collection of pieces that may well have been part of the magazine.The book is divided into six main parts: Part One: The Peak Lifestyle Part Two: Achieving Peak Conditioning Part Three: Achieving a Peak Body Part Four: Workouts for Every Scenario Part Five: Body Maintenance Part Six: Getting Equipped The book also has a good index.Part One: The Peak Lifestyle This short 20 page section is really an introduction. Fitness is different for different men. How does one decide what kind of fitness he seeks? This part on the Peak Lifestyle gives pointers to deciding what level of fitness is desired, making goals, making time, basics for eating right, getting rest, and most important, GETTING STARTED! Part Two: Achieving Peak Conditioning The very first part of this section starts with weight lifting, because this is the basic core of how to build up a body for any fitness level, starting from the very basic, so experts might skip this. However, it is good at introducing the difference between free weights and machines, sets, reps, and what to aim for. Next is aerobic exercise, an area of equal importance. That doesn't just mean running, but running is a great means to aerobic fitness. It lists the hits and misses for biking, running, walking, cross-country skiing, stair climbing, step aerobics, dance aerobics, and swimming. The section goes on to talk about cross-training, flexibility, mental conditioning, and some basic movement ideas and tips. It includes pictures that show the right techniques and movement positions. Part Three: Achieving a Peak Body This and the next part are the real heart of the book. This section shows the exercises for each particular body area: Arms, Arm joints, Hands and Forearms, Shoulders and Neck, Chest, Abs, Back, Buttocks, Legs, Leg joints, Feet, and Bones. There are different numbers of exercises for each area, and different goals in mind. They are organised in different ways, but primarily by stretches versus strength. There are literally hundreds of different exercises and stretches explained here.The section has pictures that show the proper way to do all the exercises, and descriptions in plain language. Many of these exercises require equipment; some are gym exercises, some are pool exercises, but most can be done from home.Part Four: Workouts for Every Scenario This section continues from the last one in setting up a core routine to follow and then making adjustment depending on goals. There are beginner and advanced routines, as well as one for shedding the fat. There is even a section on the Inactive Man, the Career Man (designed for a busy guy who doesn't have much time) and the Travelling Man. The section continues with a sport by sport breakdown of what you should be

When I got this book I was a scrawny senior in high school. Now, into my second year of using this book I've more than doubled, even tripled the amount of weight I use during my workouts. It's also taken my 5" 11" figure from being a measily 130lbs to a much more noticible 165lbs. 35lbs of ALL MUSCLE thanks to following the workout recommendations in this book. Even decreased my already small body fat composition from 12% to 8%. I can not recommend this book enough! Take control of your body now!

I'm one of those guys that does a lot of researching before I begin any major endeavor. I also read a lot on a lot of different subjects. Take my word for it, if you are about to commit yourself to a major fitness regimen and have never done so before, this book will be invaluable to you. It seems as if the authors have literally sifted through all of the other books and magazines (and as you know there's a lot of junk out there), picked out the important stuff and then run it buy the experts before it made it into this book. The book is also a great motivator, always reminding you to set reasonable goals and then giving you advice on how to stay focused on them. You get a lot for your money and this book is worth every penny.P.S. As a gay guy, there were occasional references that made me feel a bit excluded. It would be nice if the "men" in Men's Health was truly inclusive. I wish I could expect equity but on balance I'm still very satisfied. There are also some very friendly books out there like "Basic Training" by Jon Giswold and any of the books from the brothers Brungardt.