The latest and greatest in getting fit and staying that way!
Fitness For Dummies, 4th Edition, provides the latest information and advice for properly shaping, conditioning, and strengthening your body to enhance overall fitness and health. With the help of fitness professionals Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent, you'll learn to set and achieve realistic fitness goals without expensive fitness club fees!
- Achieve motivation and social support from social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook
- Take advantage of digital resources such as e-exercising programs, video instructors, digital training systems, apps, and more
- Gives you the latest tips and methods to test your own fitness level, set realistic goals, stick with your program, and get great results
- Shows you how to spot where fat is sneaking into your diet
- Get the most out of high-tech exercise machines and equipment, plus tips for using dumbbells or a simple jump rope to achieve results
- Offers step-by-step instructions on creating a home gym on a budget
Featuring all-new informative fitness photos and illustrations, this revised edition of Fitness For Dummies is all you need to get on track to a healthy new body!
Autorentext
Suzanne Schlosberg is a fitness writer whose work has appeared in Shape, Health, Fit Pregnancy, Ladies' Home Journal, and other magazines.
Liz Neporent is a health and fitness expert and correspondent for ABC National News. She is a frequent contributor to Shape, Self, and Fitness magazines.
Inhalt
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
What You're Not to Read 3
Foolish Assumptions 3
How This Book is Organized 3
Part I: Getting Your Butt off the Couch 4
Part II: Going Cardio 4
Part III: Building Muscle and Strengthening Bone 4
Part IV: Limbering Up with Flexibility, Balance, and Mind-Body Exercise 5
Part V: Getting Fit in Health Clubs and Home Gyms 5
Part VI: Exercising for All Ages and Stages 5
Part VII: The Part of Tens 6
Icons Used in This Book 6
Where to Go from Here 7
Part I: Getting Your Butt off the Couch 9
Chapter 1: Establishing Your Plan of Attack 11
Understanding What Fitness Means 11
Setting Goals and Tracking Your Progress 13
Assessing your current fitness level (yes, this class has tests) 13
Setting multiple goals and rewards 13
Putting it in writing 15
Selecting Exercises That Are Right for You 17
Staying Motivated to Make Exercise a Habit 17
Getting inspiration from others 18
Training for an event 19
Keeping it interesting 19
Dressing the part 19
Staying realistic 20
Chapter 2: Testing Your Fitness 21
Reviewing Your Health History 21
Talking to a tester at the gym 22
Assessing your health history yourself 22
Vital Signs: Following Your Heart 23
Determining your resting heart rate 23
Knowing your blood pressure 24
Discovering how fit your heart is 25
Estimating Your Body-Fat Percentage 26
Getting the lowdown on fat measurements 26
Measuring body fat 27
Measuring Your Strength 31
Measuring your upper-body strength 32
Testing your core strength 33
Measuring your lower-body strength 34
Stretchy Stuff: Checking Your Flexibility 35
Checks and Balances: Standing on One Foot 38
Recording Your Fitness Test Results 38
Making Sense of Your Test Results 40
Chapter 3: Watching What You Eat: Nutrition Basics 41
Keeping an Eye on How Much You Eat 42
Deciding What's for Dinner: Food, Real Food 44
Figuring Out Fat, Carbs, and Protein 45
Getting the real deal on fat 45
Choosing your carbs carefully 46
Avoiding high-protein propaganda 48
Getting the Scoop on Supplements 48
Fueling Up 49
Timing your meals 49
Eating before you work out 50
Snacking during your workout 50
Refueling after your workout 50
Drinking Plenty of Fluids 51
Chapter 4: Educating Yourself 53
Judging Fitness Media Reports 54
Starting with reliable publications 54
Watching out for sensational headlines 55
Considering credentials and biases 56
Making sure there's a source 56
Remembering that advertisers can influence content 57
Being wary of celebrity endorsements 58
Putting limited stock in personal stories 58
Asking whether a study is newsworthy 58
Watching for outdated information 59
Evaluating Scientific Research 59
Paying attention to the experiment 59
Noting that results can be manipulated 60
Checking the math 61
Not assuming cause and effect 61
Putting a study in context 61
Trusting Credible Coverage 62
Chapter 5: This Doesn't Have to Happen to You: Avoiding Common Injuries 63
Reducing Your Risk of Injury 64
Recognizing When You're Injured 65
Identifying Common Exercise Injuries and Ways to Avoid Them 65
Inside information: Surveying injuries to muscles, bone, and more 66
Looking at injuries by body part 69
Treating Sports Injuries with RICE, RICE, Baby 75
Part II: Going Cardio 77
Chapter 6: Cardio Crash Course: Getting the Right Intensity 79
Comparing Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise 80
Understanding the Importance of Warming Up and Cooling Down 81
Warming up 81
Cooling down 82
Using Simple Methods to Gauge Your Level of Effort 82
The talk test 83
Perceived exertion 83
Measuring Your Heart Rate 84
Looking at what heart rate tells you 84
Understanding your target zone 86
Finding your maximum and target heart rates 86
Measuring your pulse 88
Chapter 7: Creating a Cardio Program 91
Following a Cardio Plan 92
Doing cardio for good health 92
Doing cardio for weight loss 93
Doing cardio to maximize your fitness 96
Fun Ways to Dial Up Your Fitness and Burn More Calories 97
Interval training 98
Uphill battles 99
Tempo workouts 100
Lifestyle movement 100
Putting It All Together: Sample 6-Week Exercise Programs 101
Sample beginner program 101
Sample intermediate program 102
Estimating How Many Calories You're Burning 104
Knowing When to Give It a Rest 106
Chapter 8: Using Cardio Machines 109
Treadmill 110
Who will like it 111
Why the treadmill may not be your thing 111
Treadmill user tips 111
Elliptical Trainer 112
Who will like it 113
Why the elliptical may not be your thing 114
Elliptical-trainer user tips 114
Stationary Bicycle 114
Who will like it 115
Why the bike may not be your thing 115
Stationary-bike user tips 116
Stair-Climber 117
Who will like it 118
Why the stair-climber may not be your thing 118
Stair-climber user tips 118
Rowing Machine 119
Who will like it 120
Why the rower may not be your thing 120
Rowing-machine user tips 120
Chapter 9: Exercising Outdoors 123
Walking 123
Essential walking gear 124
Walking with good form 124
Walking tips for rookies 125
Running 125
Essential running gear 126
Running with good form 127
Running tips for rookies 128
Bicycling 128
Essential cycling gear 129
Cycling with good form 130
Cycling tips for …