Smart Exercise: Burning Fat, Getting Fit – The Muscle Guide to Peak Fitness and Health

by Covert Bailey

Best-selling author Covert Bailey has revolutionized thinking about health and fitness. Smart Exercise is a comprehensive guide to exercise and a lucid explanation of how our bodies stay fit or fat. Most important, Smart Exercise reveals the world's best-kept secret about fitness: keep your muscles in peak form and everything else will follow. Using his famous sense of humor to great effect, Bailey explains how muscles function, describes the multiple benefits of a good workout, and shows why muscle efficiency is the key to lowering body fat and improving general health. Take Covert's Home Fitness Test, make this book your exercise bible, and enjoy the benefits of being in the best shape of your life.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Fitness, Self Help

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Covert Bailey was born in 1931, and briefly attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, before dropping out to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1952. After graduating from the Army Language School in Monterey, California, he served in the U.S. Army in Germany during the Cold War. After his service, he re-entered college and earned a bachelor's and a master's degree from Boston University in geology. In 1967 he enrolled in the master's program in nutritional biochemistry. He began his career as a nutritionist working for the California Dairy Council, giving lectures on diet, and gradually built up his skills as a lecturer. From 1978 to 1999, he authored or co-authored 8 different books on health, diet, and nutrition.

Reviews

[Wendy Hughes]

Covert Bailey wrote a book called fit or fat back in the late 70s it was basically an introduction to aerobic exercise! I read it, highlighted it, and reread it many times, it was my fitness Bible.
So when I came across smart exercise I thought it would give me more “smarter“ ideas how to best get fit. It was written in 1994 so actually almost 20 years old.
The book has lots of information about how muscles work, fat, enzymes, sugar storage in the body, the Krebs cycle, lactic acid, ketosis, metabolism, glycogen, diet, heart rate, setpoint, carbs, caffeine, sweating, protein, lifting weights, blood pressure, cholesterol, stress, heart attacks and how all of these relate to exercise! The book had great information!
But when it came to the exercise part I felt it was written for top athletes. He would say, well too bad if you’re overweight, fatso, exercise is what you need but it’s not going to work as effective for you, you lazy good for nothing deadbeat. OK maybe he didn’t say those exact words but that’s how I felt! So instead of motivating me like I had hoped I felt like oops, you’re old and out of shape things are just gonna be hard for you to ever get healthy and in good shape.

[Jeff Keehr]

Covert was a Public Television celeb for a number of years, the latest fitness guru. His background in biochemistry made him an expert on how the body processed food and how it reacted to exercise. I always enjoyed his books and lectures. Here is my review from 1995: How to check your fitness and how to become fit without injury.

[Erica Sunday]

While informative I enjoyed the author’s humor and laughed out loud while reading.

[Keisha Colson]

The book is good... and we especially like the video !!

[Jeff]

It's getting a bit dated, but this is still one of the best "exercise" books I've found.
Bailey (my former phys ed prof at Missoula in 1978!) is well qualified, reliable, and funny. He's not afraid to say what he thinks, and what people really need to know. After this book, most things on exercise are just fluff ("eat this not that"). Covert goes into the biology and tells you Why. I keep rereading this book every few months.

[Foxthyme]

Covert Bailey can relate exercise physiology like nobody else. He dispells exercise myths and clarifies the best ways to get the most out of your physical activity. How to be a 'better butter burner.' Forget all the fad stuff, go with Bailey.

[Laurence A.]

Besides getting an easy education in the many chemical reactions that go into our metabolism, I came away with a resolution to warm up.
I am far from being a fitness fanatic, I just love to get out and move whenever I can.
This book was on Debbie's shelf and piqued my curiosity.

[Beate Bjørsnøs]

I loved reading this book! Interesting explanations (funny examples) and daring language towards lazy people. Unfortunately I think he might have selectively chosen his references to match hos theories. An update with a good source list would be nice.

[Beth A.]

I re-read this book whenever I am about to start an exercise program. It has a lot of great information about fitness and is very motivating.

[Jenny]

Jeff sent this to me and has been so excited for me to finish it....but I have been browsing through it for almost 2 years now!

[Kelly]

It's a bit out of date ... but Covert does a great job of explaining what's happening in your body when you exercise. Very accessible.

[Snohotom]

This book really taught me the basics of exercise fundementals. I highly recommend it.

[Edit Ostrom]

Loved it. The only book ever to inspire me to exercise daily. Thanks, Covert Bailey!

[Bernie]

Most thorough book on exercise out there.