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The Female Body Breakthrough: The Revolutionary Strength-Training Plan for Losing Fat and Getting the Body YouWant
The ultimate guide to strength training for sustainable fat-loss, increased energy, and healthy body image for women who want to be in great shape, look amazing, and feel sexy and empowered The key to losing fat and getting a strong, sexy body can’t be found in the pages of some fancy diet book. It can’t be found in a magic pill. According to strength coach, Rachel Cosgrove, the key to shedding fat and keeping it off can only be found on the strength-training floor. After trying—and failing—diet after diet, hundreds of women have turned to Cosgrove and her revolutionary Fit Female strength training program to finally get the fit, strong, and healthy bodies they’ve always wanted. Her clients have lost up to 70 pounds, dropped up to six dress sizes, and drastically changed their body shapes and muscle-to-fat ratios. Now any woman can get the same results with The Female Body Breakthrough. A program for every female who is tired of starving herself, exercising for hours with no results, and feeling bad about it all, this revolutionary plan uses a combination of innovative strength training and sensible nutrition. The 16-week program includes: A 2-week Bodyweight-Only Jumpstart Phase that will help women adjust to strength training while seeing results in just days Over 100 fully illustrated warm-up moves and innovative strength-training exercises using everything from dumbbells and barbells to bands and straps A comprehensive nutrition plan including nutrient-timing strategies that work with workouts, satisfying foods that promote optimum health and energy, and even an indulgent snack every day A Do-It-Yourself guide to program design so women can craft a program that works toward her personal goals and with her schedule
Written in an accessible, girlfriend-to-girlfriend tone, The Female Body Breakthrough delivers doses of motivational advice, testimonials from real Fit Females, and all the know-how any woman needs to get a strong, healthy body.
- GenresHealthNonfictionFitness
458 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
35 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 6, 2009
I met the author of this book when we were both attending a marketing seminar. Good so far but more for younger women than I am. It's inspired me to crank my workouts up a few notches, though.
Added later: great motivational ideas here, and clearly has some terrific exercises/workout routines. I found it too much to assimilate on my own and made the trainer at our gym read it so she could help me work out a plan of action appropriate for my age and my condition.
Best take-away: don't concentrate on your weight but on how you feel and how your clothes fit. I've definitely been inspired to push myself harder during my workouts.
Added later: great motivational ideas here, and clearly has some terrific exercises/workout routines. I found it too much to assimilate on my own and made the trainer at our gym read it so she could help me work out a plan of action appropriate for my age and my condition.
Best take-away: don't concentrate on your weight but on how you feel and how your clothes fit. I've definitely been inspired to push myself harder during my workouts.
Read
July 1, 2011The book has a sound workout philosophy and good eating guides. I did not feel like it was really harnessing all the muscle power it could with the exercises. I preferred the workouts in the The New Rules of Lifting For Women, but it did add some variety.
I also did not care for the way she referred to women as bitches and girls. There is no need to continue those sexist terms. It isn't a huge deal, but it is distracting and I found myself discounting what was said in the book more because of it.
Overall, not bad for a starter program.
I also did not care for the way she referred to women as bitches and girls. There is no need to continue those sexist terms. It isn't a huge deal, but it is distracting and I found myself discounting what was said in the book more because of it.
Overall, not bad for a starter program.
May 9, 2011
I like the workouts a lot, and I enjoy the ideas that Cosgrove is trying to convey. Her prose isn't my style though and I found her nature of repeating the same things over and over kind of annoying. That being said, I've been hauling the book with me to the gym every week and I've been enjoying the pain!
July 12, 2011
Giving the book 4 stars right now but I plan on purchasing it and putting her advice in effect. I'll give it 5 stars if I follow the plan and somehow lose weight. One point: her overemphasis on what BITCH (Be inspiring, totally confident, and hot) stood for got old VERY quickly.
June 11, 2013
What I got from this book was that building muscle is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. Nothing particulary new there. I wasn't overly inspired by the stories. Had a few issues with a couple of points she made in the book.
September 9, 2018
Nothing new.
November 28, 2019
Notes:
Great info on strength training but nutrition info is terrible. No progress can be made without whey protein powder and you must cut out all dairy and wheat products (and sugar, naturally)
Great info on strength training but nutrition info is terrible. No progress can be made without whey protein powder and you must cut out all dairy and wheat products (and sugar, naturally)
September 8, 2013
This 2-star rating is based on just reading (okay, I did skim some towards the end) the book, and not trying the workout program. I do plan on embarking on the program within the next couple of weeks, and after I finish I will revisit this review, and bump up/down the stars accordingly.
After finishing the program in The New Rules of Lifting for Women, I wanted to try something else, something that is also targeted to women and lifting. This got decent reviews here and on Amazon, so I checked it out.
My main complaint is the tone. Maybe there are plenty of women out there that respond to excessive use of exclamation marks, repetitive instruction, and eye-rolling blurbs, but it really turned me off. Here's an example: "On Halloween, women have permission to show off their bodies, and man, do they! Feel good about yourself this Halloween and wear the sexy outfit you've always had your eye on but have never had the guts to pull off." Ugh, this makes me gag just to write it down.
The before and after stories did not inspire me, and after the first five or so, I just stopped reading them. They made the book feel like the print version of an infomercial.
The repetitiveness. Do women really need to be told the same thing, over and over in a different way? Cosgrove doesn't want me to walk/run/do other cardio for workouts. I get it. I don't need to have it pounded into my brain with a sledgehammer. Same with all the principles and secrets and such. The whole book make me newly appreciate the cut-the-crap, straightforward way TNROLFW (referenced above) book handles the introduction to the workout.
The last way I preferred that other book over this one is how Schuler describes how to do each exercise (if needed) at a home gym environment. I do not go to a gym to workout, and Cosgrove assumes that is where her readers will be. After all, how else can a BITCH fit woman(a gag-worthy acronym you'll learn about in the book)hope to "turn heads and get some attention (in a good way)" without going to a gym outside her house?!
Still, I'm buying the book because the workouts look solid and challenging, and the photos depicting the exercises are well done. Now that I've read the book, I don't need to go back over the parts that bugged me, and I can focus on the important part. To reiterate, my 2-stars is given solely to the non-workout section of this book.
After finishing the program in The New Rules of Lifting for Women, I wanted to try something else, something that is also targeted to women and lifting. This got decent reviews here and on Amazon, so I checked it out.
My main complaint is the tone. Maybe there are plenty of women out there that respond to excessive use of exclamation marks, repetitive instruction, and eye-rolling blurbs, but it really turned me off. Here's an example: "On Halloween, women have permission to show off their bodies, and man, do they! Feel good about yourself this Halloween and wear the sexy outfit you've always had your eye on but have never had the guts to pull off." Ugh, this makes me gag just to write it down.
The before and after stories did not inspire me, and after the first five or so, I just stopped reading them. They made the book feel like the print version of an infomercial.
The repetitiveness. Do women really need to be told the same thing, over and over in a different way? Cosgrove doesn't want me to walk/run/do other cardio for workouts. I get it. I don't need to have it pounded into my brain with a sledgehammer. Same with all the principles and secrets and such. The whole book make me newly appreciate the cut-the-crap, straightforward way TNROLFW (referenced above) book handles the introduction to the workout.
The last way I preferred that other book over this one is how Schuler describes how to do each exercise (if needed) at a home gym environment. I do not go to a gym to workout, and Cosgrove assumes that is where her readers will be. After all, how else can a BITCH fit woman(a gag-worthy acronym you'll learn about in the book)hope to "turn heads and get some attention (in a good way)" without going to a gym outside her house?!
Still, I'm buying the book because the workouts look solid and challenging, and the photos depicting the exercises are well done. Now that I've read the book, I don't need to go back over the parts that bugged me, and I can focus on the important part. To reiterate, my 2-stars is given solely to the non-workout section of this book.
August 2, 2013
First off, full disclosure, I've only read the book and not done the program. At this time I work out 5-6 times per week via Yoga, cycling outdoors, swimming, and walking on the treadmill. I bought this book some time ago but have only read it this week. I plan on adding in some of the weight training exercises from this book starting this month.
Second disclosure: I am not certified in any sort of physical training capacity. I have done a ton of research over the years, but that doesn't make me an expert, of course.
There are some things about this book with which I agree:
1. If you don't have time to do anything else, you should strength-train.
2. You should not starve yourself to lose weight and/or to get into shape.
3. You cannot out-train a bad diet.
4. You should eat fat.
5. The quality and intensity of your work out will yield better results than just marking time on a static machine.
6. Static weight-lifting machines don't do a body good.
Okay, so what do I think this book gets INCREDIBLY wrong?
1. Yoga is only stretching. Ummmm, no, it isn't. And Rachel, if you've actually ever taken an Ashtanga Yoga class or really, ANY Yoga class, you would know that. Yoga uses your own body weight to build muscle. Those exercises you have in the back, such as the Bird Dog, Lunges, Pushups, Cobra, Squat, and Plank? Those are all YOGA!!!!!! So how can you say that it's not worth anything???
2. The entire book is written as though you as a woman exist solely to be attractive to a man. There's nothing wrong with being attractive, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to be attractive to a man (or a woman). But there is something wrong with telling women that you MUST conform to a certain size/shape to be attractive. Thanks for setting us back!!
3. No one work out program works for everyone. For example, you tell people that they must eat breakfast. Guess what? That doesn't work for everyone. Nor does fueling before/after workouts. You have to listen to your own body and figure out what it needs/wants.
Deeply disappointing. Very harmful to the female psyche (and I'm not even a feminist and I am saying that!) And full of some really crappy advice.
I'm hanging on to this solely for the description of some of the strength-training moves, but really, I could have gone to many websites and found the same thing.
Second disclosure: I am not certified in any sort of physical training capacity. I have done a ton of research over the years, but that doesn't make me an expert, of course.
There are some things about this book with which I agree:
1. If you don't have time to do anything else, you should strength-train.
2. You should not starve yourself to lose weight and/or to get into shape.
3. You cannot out-train a bad diet.
4. You should eat fat.
5. The quality and intensity of your work out will yield better results than just marking time on a static machine.
6. Static weight-lifting machines don't do a body good.
Okay, so what do I think this book gets INCREDIBLY wrong?
1. Yoga is only stretching. Ummmm, no, it isn't. And Rachel, if you've actually ever taken an Ashtanga Yoga class or really, ANY Yoga class, you would know that. Yoga uses your own body weight to build muscle. Those exercises you have in the back, such as the Bird Dog, Lunges, Pushups, Cobra, Squat, and Plank? Those are all YOGA!!!!!! So how can you say that it's not worth anything???
2. The entire book is written as though you as a woman exist solely to be attractive to a man. There's nothing wrong with being attractive, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to be attractive to a man (or a woman). But there is something wrong with telling women that you MUST conform to a certain size/shape to be attractive. Thanks for setting us back!!
3. No one work out program works for everyone. For example, you tell people that they must eat breakfast. Guess what? That doesn't work for everyone. Nor does fueling before/after workouts. You have to listen to your own body and figure out what it needs/wants.
Deeply disappointing. Very harmful to the female psyche (and I'm not even a feminist and I am saying that!) And full of some really crappy advice.
I'm hanging on to this solely for the description of some of the strength-training moves, but really, I could have gone to many websites and found the same thing.
April 23, 2010
Feisty and funny, trainer Rachel Cosgrove’s latest book finds her on a mission to destroy once and for all the myth that lifting heavy weight is
not for ladies. On the contrary, she argues, heavy lifting does wonders for the female body, boosting baseline metabolism and building muscle tone
far better than steady-state aerobics. Training with weights is also far more supportive of regular-life activities, she argues — from lifting bulky briefcases to hoisting wiggling kids — rendering useful around the clock the real-body fitness that women gain from lifting maximally.
This is essentially two books in one. The first describes the lifestyle habits required to support maximum fitness for your body type (addressing issues like emotional eating, the relationship between exercise and hormones, and self-care), and the second outlines Cosgrove’s 16-week, four-phase program for strength building, with tips for recovery and regeneration as well as maintenance.
Cosgrove is not interested in helping you achieve waifdom — her goal is to help women achieve the peak level of fitness and health for their particular body type. This is a terrific guide to strength building for any woman who may have hesitated to try it in the past, with useful information for trainers of both genders
not for ladies. On the contrary, she argues, heavy lifting does wonders for the female body, boosting baseline metabolism and building muscle tone
far better than steady-state aerobics. Training with weights is also far more supportive of regular-life activities, she argues — from lifting bulky briefcases to hoisting wiggling kids — rendering useful around the clock the real-body fitness that women gain from lifting maximally.
This is essentially two books in one. The first describes the lifestyle habits required to support maximum fitness for your body type (addressing issues like emotional eating, the relationship between exercise and hormones, and self-care), and the second outlines Cosgrove’s 16-week, four-phase program for strength building, with tips for recovery and regeneration as well as maintenance.
Cosgrove is not interested in helping you achieve waifdom — her goal is to help women achieve the peak level of fitness and health for their particular body type. This is a terrific guide to strength building for any woman who may have hesitated to try it in the past, with useful information for trainers of both genders
April 16, 2015
I'm giving this three stars because I think it could be very useful for those stuck in the cycle of starving themselves and hopping around like mad to lose a few calories, only to gain all the weight back (and then some) when that inevitably stops working. I had real trouble getting through this book though, because there was so much pep talk and silly stuff to wade through to get to the useful information. I don't like the slightly low(ish)-carb leanings of the diet, but it does emphasize a whole-foods diet and eating enough, which is important. The nutrition plan should be a breeze for anybody who's used to doing strict diets--so long as you're willing to eliminate sugar. I think what the author says about strength training vs. endurance exercise is true, but I was hoping for more bodyweight exercises; I don't like the idea of depending on machines and equipment for my health. In spite of my criticisms, I think The Female Body Breakthrough is leagues better than most other fitness or diet books out there, and would be great for somebody trying to stop the dieting cycle, if they can stand the fairly regimented exercise plan, which requires going to the gym at least every other day.
March 12, 2010
The four-star review is based mostly on having read the book, not having put into practice its suggestions yet. That begins this week.
Some of the prose style is a bit irritating, a little too girlfriend-powah! for my liking, but there's still a lot of good information in here. I really like that it's a comprehensive workout plan that focuses on strength training while also accommodating a caloric deficit; my first choice was going to be New Rules of Lifting for Women, but I've been told that program is very, very difficult to run on a deficit.
I was hoping for a little more guidance in the food section, and a little less "well, tough luck; you're just gonna have to treat food as fuel from now on!" I do believe food should also nourish the soul, and there are ways to do that without reverting to the SAD.
Overall, a good resource and something I'd probably recommend even just as a starting point when you're adjusting to the idea that conventional dietary and fitness wisdom isn't working for you.
Some of the prose style is a bit irritating, a little too girlfriend-powah! for my liking, but there's still a lot of good information in here. I really like that it's a comprehensive workout plan that focuses on strength training while also accommodating a caloric deficit; my first choice was going to be New Rules of Lifting for Women, but I've been told that program is very, very difficult to run on a deficit.
I was hoping for a little more guidance in the food section, and a little less "well, tough luck; you're just gonna have to treat food as fuel from now on!" I do believe food should also nourish the soul, and there are ways to do that without reverting to the SAD.
Overall, a good resource and something I'd probably recommend even just as a starting point when you're adjusting to the idea that conventional dietary and fitness wisdom isn't working for you.
June 3, 2012
The workouts in this program are solid, and Rachel is sweet and intelligent. However, I had to give this book a lower rating because of the way it was written. I have heard Rachel in interviews, and she is enthusiastic and energetic. Well, so is her book, but it doesn't come through well on paper. There are so many! exclamation points! That it's distracting!!! Plus, the tone is very 'it's just us girls talking, and you ladies know what I'm talking about, right?' In short, it's not a book for the fairly serious, non-girly types like myself. Even so, I was able to overcome the tone issue and read the book front to back in a matter of days because there is some great information in it. The workout programs are great, and she doesn't try to punish your body by putting you through 6 days of weight training like a lot of books. The explanation of how the workouts are structured could be clearer, but it only takes a little effort to figure out (and if you can't, just Google it an you'll probably find a better explanation online).
January 16, 2013
Excellent workouts and overall information for women on being strong and fit. Solid information on eating.
Lost a star on two points:
1 - I could have done without the BITCH acronym and female bonding talk.
2 - The overall information could have been pared down so it was less repetitive and more organized. I have to flip back from section to section to find out when and for how long I'm supposed to do which set of exercises followed by which booster or finisher or metabolic workout or whatever. Having some sort of color coding with summaries for all of what is supposed to happen in each phase would be helpful.
3 - A lot of vocabulary that is new, a lot of acronyms - DIAL phase for example - don't add value especially as I can't remember what any of them stand for. Phase III would be sufficient.
You know, I upped it back to 5 stars simply because there are no bicep curls. Thanks, Rachel, I wish you would write another.
Lost a star on two points:
1 - I could have done without the BITCH acronym and female bonding talk.
2 - The overall information could have been pared down so it was less repetitive and more organized. I have to flip back from section to section to find out when and for how long I'm supposed to do which set of exercises followed by which booster or finisher or metabolic workout or whatever. Having some sort of color coding with summaries for all of what is supposed to happen in each phase would be helpful.
3 - A lot of vocabulary that is new, a lot of acronyms - DIAL phase for example - don't add value especially as I can't remember what any of them stand for. Phase III would be sufficient.
You know, I upped it back to 5 stars simply because there are no bicep curls. Thanks, Rachel, I wish you would write another.
April 27, 2010
A friend is doing the exercises in the back of the book and said that it makes her feel really good. I was curious and want to add some strength training to my routine. This was a great and realistic book and I liked that it was tailored to real-life, busy women. I'm starting the strength training tomorrow. Hopefully I'll feel stronger, more toned and build my bone mass over time.
I also liked that Cosgrove tackled very female issues, and that she wants her readers to build healthy bodies over time. Some of the language was a bit "rah, girl power" but all in all, this was a useful book and we'll see how things go. I want to feel better in my body, so this was my main reason for reading it.
I also liked that Cosgrove tackled very female issues, and that she wants her readers to build healthy bodies over time. Some of the language was a bit "rah, girl power" but all in all, this was a useful book and we'll see how things go. I want to feel better in my body, so this was my main reason for reading it.
December 16, 2010
As a endurance cardio junkie, this book introduced me to a new way of exercising. I have been lifting consistently for a long time, but I would have never even considered not doing my 90 minute spin sessions or runs, etc. As with most fitness books, I like the exercise strength portion, but tend to differ some on the nutrition. (I eat very little meat or soy, and that makes following this pretty hard for me). She does, however, have a nice focus on whole, real foods. Overall, I think this book is great for someone who has plateaued with their current fitness regime and needs a reprogramming of what can be done to get fit.
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October 14, 2012I'm about to finish phase 3 out of 4, and must say I really like the workouts. I hurt my knee over a month ago, so I've mostly been sticking to the upper body exercises and have skipped all of the interval training days. But, I'm happy with what I've done and look forward to repeating the program, hoping to be able to do everything.
***Disclaimer: You have the get past her girlfriend-y, BFF, rah-rah cheerleader writing style. I think it was unnecessary for the book and takes away from the fact that she is very knowledgeable about her weight training.***
***Disclaimer: You have the get past her girlfriend-y, BFF, rah-rah cheerleader writing style. I think it was unnecessary for the book and takes away from the fact that she is very knowledgeable about her weight training.***
May 25, 2010
Currently in the middle of this 16-week workout and it's awesome. The emphasis is on body-weight workouts that challenge a lot of muscle groups at once, in dynamic movements that also challenge your balance and complimentary muscles--which in the end gives the best kind of muscle definition. Lot's of core work and special dynamic stretching to compensate for spending lots of time at a desk. Good stuff!
May 28, 2013
This really works if you follow it properly!
Recommended by my trainer, he follows her principles and I lost 25.5 lbs in 6 weeks in 2012. I continued following the guidelines and have lost a lot more. It works! To be successful, you must do the hard work!
I loved the food suggestion section and that she had you change one thing at a time. Her workouts are clear and easy to follow. With a few pieces of equipment, you have a full functioning gym.
Recommended by my trainer, he follows her principles and I lost 25.5 lbs in 6 weeks in 2012. I continued following the guidelines and have lost a lot more. It works! To be successful, you must do the hard work!
I loved the food suggestion section and that she had you change one thing at a time. Her workouts are clear and easy to follow. With a few pieces of equipment, you have a full functioning gym.
November 1, 2011
Good basic concepts, lots of information. Main complaint -- not very user friendly for a nook -- the exercises and their explanations don't appear on the same pages. I think a video would be much more useful. Plan to implement many of the concepts. As with many self-help books, there was a lot of "fluff" to get through to the most important concepts. I'd love the Cliff Notes.
December 20, 2009
I bought this again, because I like her husband and his work in the training world. This book had great information (workouts, diet advice), but read too much like a silly women's magazine, like Shape for me to love it.
July 20, 2010
Rachel's program is fantastic. When you stick to it, it really works. The best thing to note is that your body will change, but your weight may not, and you're still improving your overall health. Fully recommend it!
November 4, 2011
Rachel Cosgrove comes across as a real woman who has been down the same road. She tells a great story. I think there could have been about the the number of success stories and it would have been just as effective.
April 17, 2015
Great program but disappointed there are no workout logs or videos. The book has good before and after photos/stories of women in their 20s, 30s and 40s -what about women in their 50s? Does the program work for them?
December 17, 2009
I'm currently reading this book and cannot put it down. So much information on nutrition, resistance training and aerobics. To be the best you can be it is a must read.
July 26, 2010
This is written by the owner of the gym where I work. She is amazing, and so far I have really been motivated by her book. Still have a lot to go, though, so we'll see!
December 27, 2010
Fabulous! Can't wait to try this.
February 14, 2011
I dig the workouts. (And let's be honest, I didn't really read this book from cover-to-cover.
August 25, 2011
Have not put it practice yet, but the information is great. I am hoping to start the program next month. It read a bit cheesy for me, however, these types of books usually do.
April 18, 2012
Good specifics on mechanics for workouts. Still so many exercises involve a gym so not so helpful if you are looking outside a gym.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews