The Spark: The Revolutionary New Plan to Get Fit and Lose Weight-10 Minutes at a Time

While I am no coach potato, I tend to start exercise programs and not stick with them. I am hopeless at following diets that require me to structure my day around eating or not eating certain types of food. Plus, as a working mother of two, I just can't adhere to a plan that requires a lot of time and effort. At 45, I had almost given up on the idea that I could lose weight without applying some super-human effort. I wasn't overweight according to the charts but I wasn't terribly thrilled about how I looked in my clothes. Since reading this book three months ago, I have since lost 15 pounds without feeling particularly deprived or overburdened with exercise. Most importantly, I feel and look great. While it's true that this book could be summed up in a lot fewer pages, I found the examples and case studies to be motivational. I was initially skeptical that exercising in 10-minute intervals could be effective - but all I can say is that it's worked for me. I've been very happy to recommend this book to everyone who's asked me what my "secret" to success is.

As an overweight, stressed-out, 40-something professional, I am thrilled to find this book! The SPARK is exactly what I needed to get my body moving again. I am one of those who had fallen for the 1-hour a day exercise trap, and if I didn't have an hour, which I usually don't, I just didn't exercise. I love doing my three to four SPARKS a day, knowing I am doing my body far more good than waiting for that elusive day when I can fit in 45 minutes or more for my workout. This is a wonderful concept, and so doable! It's working!! Thank you!

Let's see??? What is the percentage of our nation's population that is actively involved in the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for exercise/activity??? Is it 1%? How about the percentage of the population that knows they should and sometimes do exercise, or are active but not on a regular basis?? Is it 1%? I'm not certain myself any more. The fitness industry is my profession and has been, in one way or another, for my entire adult career. I know without doubt, as a nation, we are less heathly and more unfit than ever in our history. Dr. Gaesser has done it again. As in his work of Big Fat Lies, He has challenged us with our traditional thinking, plus given us the opportunity to open doors for the millions of unfit individuals in our Country. This book is a must for the individual who wants to be more active, but doesn't think they can. And, from my perspective, even more importantly it is for those of us in the fitness profession who need to see beyond the limited horizons we have created for ourselves in the industry. It is our opportunity to provide a viable opportunity for those who have been turned off by the illusive ideal fitness model, who feel they can't keep up, can't find the time, can't do the work, just can't. Is the "Spark" concept only for the unfit? I don't think so. My husband and I, both fitness professionals, and former competitive athletes have found ourselves liberated from our own fitness constraints! How many times have we skipped a workout because our busy lives interfere with our ideal 60 minute fitness plan. Do nothing, or "SPARK" our morning with a 10 - 15 minute focused bout on the rowing machine, or other activity??? We're sparking! And, we're benefiting!!!Step outside your fitness/or lack of fitness box and open your mind to Dr. Gaesser and Karla Dohertys' unique and liberating focus on fitness!!! It will guide you, challenge you and open new doors!

I recommend this book to anyone who has such a busy life that exercise just never seems to make it off the back burner. The 10 minute exercises fit into my daily routine. The book explains all the routines very clearly and the fitness tests in the book are a good place to start. To make the strength exercises work best you will need to get a set of hand weights. I was a bit skeptical at first, but after starting the program I realized just how much you can get into 10 minutes. The intensity scale for gauging effort is so much easier than always trying to figure if you're heart rate is okay. I look forward to my daily sparks. The mix of aerobic, strength and stretching, and the fact that they are only 10 minutes, gives me options and variety that I've never seen before in a fitness program. The way the book is written makes it interesting to read. The personal stories of one of the authors, and the comments of the people who have gone on this program, are interwoven nicely around the basic plan. Also, if you are a carbohydrate lover this book will appeal to you.

This book really works for me. As far as fitness programs go, this is by far the most unique I have come across. Unlike other books, which focus on either aerobic exercise, or strength training, or stretching, this program has a "total" fitness approach, but without having to exercise more than 10 minutes at a time. Bingo! If you're like me and just don't have the time to exercise for 30-40 minutes at a time, then this program should appeal to you. The book clearly lays out the ground work for the short, 10-minute exercise sessions, and takes you through a day-by-day three week progression that's virtually impossible not to be able to fit in. Some experienced exercisers may find the progression rather slow--in that case just skip to the third week chapter and go from there. Another refreshing feature of the book is that it is based on research that one of the authors (Gaesser) conducted at the University of Virginia on mostly middle-aged women, who all completed the 3-week spark program. The results mentioned in the book convinced me. I just started the program and already notice a difference in the way I feel. The 10-minute sessions are easy to fit into my day and that is something no other exercise prgoram ever offered. The nutrition plan is easy to follow...no calorie restriction. I've already tried a couple of the recipes and they are great.