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Fitness Illustrated
Tired of the same old fitness advice? You know the drill: Eat less, exercise more, and life will be grand. Sounds easy enough, so why don’t the results follow? And most of all, what can you do to achieve your fitness goals?
Fitness Illustrated allows you to see exercise and activity from a whole new perspective. In this one-of-a-kind guide, author Brian Sharkey takes you inside each type of activity to show you what works, what doesn’t, and why! You’ll go beyond the basics to see how your body changes with increased activity. From how muscles gain size and strength to the effect of aerobic activity on heart and lung function, this is fitness as you have never seen it before.
Straightforward explanations, expert advice, and hundreds of full-color illustrations and photographs make Fitness Illustrated your guide to these matters:
• Improving aerobic fitness, strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility
• Shaping and toning your body, including your core
• Coping with various health issues such as arthritis and preventing heart disease
• Managing weight with nutrition and activity
• Preventing and treating injuries, muscle cramps, and joint pain
You’ll also learn to separate fitness fact from fiction, design fitness programs around the activities that you enjoy, and reduce stress and add life to your years.
Whether you want to complete a 5K run, manage your weight, or improve muscle tone and definition, Fitness Illustrated is your personalized map for reaching your fitness goals!
Fitness Illustrated allows you to see exercise and activity from a whole new perspective. In this one-of-a-kind guide, author Brian Sharkey takes you inside each type of activity to show you what works, what doesn’t, and why! You’ll go beyond the basics to see how your body changes with increased activity. From how muscles gain size and strength to the effect of aerobic activity on heart and lung function, this is fitness as you have never seen it before.
Straightforward explanations, expert advice, and hundreds of full-color illustrations and photographs make Fitness Illustrated your guide to these matters:
• Improving aerobic fitness, strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility
• Shaping and toning your body, including your core
• Coping with various health issues such as arthritis and preventing heart disease
• Managing weight with nutrition and activity
• Preventing and treating injuries, muscle cramps, and joint pain
You’ll also learn to separate fitness fact from fiction, design fitness programs around the activities that you enjoy, and reduce stress and add life to your years.
Whether you want to complete a 5K run, manage your weight, or improve muscle tone and definition, Fitness Illustrated is your personalized map for reaching your fitness goals!
- GenresNonfictionFitness
328 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2010
1 person is currently reading
27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 30, 2010
Received this one today; won it in the LibraryThing Early Reviewers October 2010 lottery.
Review cross-posted from Library Thing.
Sharkey, Brian. 2010. Fitness illustrated. Champaign IL: Human Kinetics, c2011.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free via the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.
Summary: This book belongs in public libraries and in the general collection of colleges and universities. It is a great primer and introduction to fitness and its concepts. In other words, it is a great introduction to the subject for general use but of little use to students of kinesiology, recreation, and associated disciplines except as a resource for them to share with those newer to the subject. It could also serve as a textbook for a general fitness education class.
Individuals should get the book from their local library; use interlibrary loan if you need to. I say this as I do not believe it will serve one well over the long-term. That is, if you actually make use of the ideas in the book you will quickly move on to requiring more in-depth resources.
Contents:
Activity and fitness : Why Get Fit?
Understanding aerobic fitness : O2 and You
Aerobic fitness training : A Gentle Pastime
Aerobic programs : Have It Your Way
Understanding muscular fitness : Strength and Endurance
Muscular fitness training : Shape Yourself
Muscular programs : Designed for You
Nutrition and weight control : Eat to Live
Health issues and exercise tips : Overcoming Hurdles
Fitness facts and fallacies : What's the Truth?
Vitality and longevity : Add Life to Your Years
This book serves as a good primer to the basics of fitness, including nutrition and weight control. It does a good job of providing information for people of all ages, as well as for people with minimal or less knowledge of fitness concepts.
Another group of readers that would benefit would be those with better knowledge of fitness but from several years ago. If your primary basis of fitness knowledge is greater than ten years old (as was mine) then you may well benefit from this book.
It is a quick and easy read and is well and generously illustrated. In fact, when I first received it and flipped through it I knew that one of my gripes--if I had others--would be all of the pictures. Over 90% of the pages has a picture on it. To me it seems designed for those who cannot be bothered to read something with more than a few dozen words on a page, those who need images to keep their attention, those who are easily distracted, and so on. But now that I have read it I will say that they do serve a function. My personal preference is still for less pictures and for more words and content that I can actually make use of. All that said though, it is my preference and the book works as it is.
Again, I recommend this book for all public libraries and general collections of college and universities. It is up-to-date, written by a leading researcher in the field, and provides a great jumping off point for those new, or returning, to fitness, no matter their age or ability.
Review cross-posted from Library Thing.
Sharkey, Brian. 2010. Fitness illustrated. Champaign IL: Human Kinetics, c2011.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free via the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.
Summary: This book belongs in public libraries and in the general collection of colleges and universities. It is a great primer and introduction to fitness and its concepts. In other words, it is a great introduction to the subject for general use but of little use to students of kinesiology, recreation, and associated disciplines except as a resource for them to share with those newer to the subject. It could also serve as a textbook for a general fitness education class.
Individuals should get the book from their local library; use interlibrary loan if you need to. I say this as I do not believe it will serve one well over the long-term. That is, if you actually make use of the ideas in the book you will quickly move on to requiring more in-depth resources.
Contents:
Activity and fitness : Why Get Fit?
Understanding aerobic fitness : O2 and You
Aerobic fitness training : A Gentle Pastime
Aerobic programs : Have It Your Way
Understanding muscular fitness : Strength and Endurance
Muscular fitness training : Shape Yourself
Muscular programs : Designed for You
Nutrition and weight control : Eat to Live
Health issues and exercise tips : Overcoming Hurdles
Fitness facts and fallacies : What's the Truth?
Vitality and longevity : Add Life to Your Years
This book serves as a good primer to the basics of fitness, including nutrition and weight control. It does a good job of providing information for people of all ages, as well as for people with minimal or less knowledge of fitness concepts.
Another group of readers that would benefit would be those with better knowledge of fitness but from several years ago. If your primary basis of fitness knowledge is greater than ten years old (as was mine) then you may well benefit from this book.
It is a quick and easy read and is well and generously illustrated. In fact, when I first received it and flipped through it I knew that one of my gripes--if I had others--would be all of the pictures. Over 90% of the pages has a picture on it. To me it seems designed for those who cannot be bothered to read something with more than a few dozen words on a page, those who need images to keep their attention, those who are easily distracted, and so on. But now that I have read it I will say that they do serve a function. My personal preference is still for less pictures and for more words and content that I can actually make use of. All that said though, it is my preference and the book works as it is.
Again, I recommend this book for all public libraries and general collections of college and universities. It is up-to-date, written by a leading researcher in the field, and provides a great jumping off point for those new, or returning, to fitness, no matter their age or ability.
May 25, 2011
Continuing with my "fitness" reading, I rated this book 3 1/2 stars. It reads like a long magazine; lots of pictures, fun facts, exercise plans, profiles of individuals at different ages and stages and motivational quotes. This book provides a basic overview of fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle changes; all the things we know we should do but choose not to. If you are true fitness buff you are probably already well-versed on the content of this book and may not enjoy it. However, if you are starting on or not too far into your fitness journey, I believe you will gain some knowledge. This would have been a quick read if I had had the time to sit down and read it in one sitting; but alas there are too many books and so little time.
February 20, 2013
I picked this up because of the running/training injuries Dan and I have had; I want to learn how to treat my body the best way I can. This book was definitely helpful and easy to read, but I only gave it three stars because it wasn't really pertinent to my specific needs (general needs -- as stated in the first sentence of this review -- yes), which of course, was due to my inexperience in choosing appropriate books in this genre. It did give me an great overview that led me to understand what my specific needs are and where I need to go for that. Hmm... You know, on reflection that merits an extra star. So. Four stars.
Seriously, though. My second nonfiction cover-to-cover read in less than two weeks. Check me out.
Seriously, though. My second nonfiction cover-to-cover read in less than two weeks. Check me out.
July 7, 2012
This book often has information so basic that it is the kind you could find on a cereal box. Other times it "explains" things like for early-teenagers level. It includes crap like "...however, if you cut a major nutrient source from your diet like meat, problems can arise". Say that to professional Ironman triathlete Brendan Brazier or ultramarathoner Scott Jurek.
May 18, 2013
Human Kinetics consistently impresses me by taking the latest research and simplifying it into concepts I understand and can use. This book continues in that tradition, offering a general guide to lifetime fitness. A sample insight I gained is that card exercise isn't about the heart itself as much as increasing the ability of the muscles to take in and use oxygen.
September 30, 2015
Book covers a lot a health basics. Looks a bit like a magazine. Would be a great book to give someone starting out in fitness. Covers an area that discusses how to go from sedentary, to physically active, to training. Had some nice walking programs for beginners. If you are a fitness pro you'll have covered much of this already.
November 4, 2010
great, basic book on what it means to be fit...and what steps to take to get there. We all know it's about making smart choices and staying active and this book shows you how to do just that!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews