Strength Training For Women [Paperback]

I have purchased several books devoted to strength training. I have to say, this book is the best I have found--by far.

What makes this book exceptional is how thorough it is and also how much variety it offers.

Exercises for home users--both those who use dumbbells, those who use resistance bands and those who use stability balls or all of the above--are offered. Exercises for gym dwellers are also given. This book caters to everyone in a very balanced manner.

The book covers upper body, lower body, core exercises and lots of stretching ideas.

While, sometimes, strength training can get confusing because one often questions which exercises are best, how much weight you need to use and how many reps to do, this book really does simplify the whole thing.

Also, there are both modified and advanced descriptions and photos for each exercise.

Usually when you come across a book on strength training, you see the same, basic moves you've seen (and probably done) a million times before. But Joan Pagano includes variations of moves even I, a fairly experienced exerciser, had never seen before.

The layout of the book is visually stimulating. Along with photos illustrating each exercise, there are illustrations showing which body parts are being used with each move.

The book was well-written as well. Joan's instructions are concise and encouraging.

Recently, I decided I wanted to start working out during TV commercials--just to add a bit of boost to my fitness routine. I found many exercises within this book I will be doing while watching TV.

I think this is an excellent book for an advanced exercise looking for a some new ideas. But more importantly, this is an awesome resource for a beginner. I will be purchasing this book for friends and family who are daunted by the idea of doing strength training. I suggest you do the same.

I checked this book out from the library 3 weeks ago, renewed it, and now am purchasing the book.

Target Audience:

- Beginning to intermediate level

- Women

- Home exercisers like myself who wish to obtain few equipments at a moderate cost

This book has the following sections:

A. First Moves: To get you started. Explains why and how to use the programs in this book to exercise.

B. 4 for Life: 4 exercises for full-body conditioning, if you never do anything else.

- Programs at a Glance

- Warm Up

- Individual Exercises

- Stretches / Cool-down

C. Lower Body Program

D. Upper Body Program

E. Core Body Program

(Sections C-E include the following)

- Programs at a Glance

- Individual Exercises

- Stretches

F: Useful Programs: 4 programs that combines individual exercises from sections B-E for some popular fitness goals

Great things about this book:

(1) Clearly written instructions for each exercise

(2) Easy to follow suggested programs, depending on your fitness goal and level

(3) Well-organized content

(4) Visually appealing diagrams, photos, and layout design

I like to workout at home with video fitness DVD's. With this book, I have been able to customize and add to my existing programs to target specific areas as well as full-body conditioning while purchasing very few low-cost equipments. It has been a very helpful tool, and is a book that I will refer to over and over again.

Joan Pagano's first love is yoga, and it shows in the type of exercises in this book. She also appears to have a cross-disciplinary interest in physical therapy; I recognize several exercises (all excellent) which I learned from physical therapists in recovering from injuries.

I give Ms. Pagano an A+ for both clarity and variety. The book has clear descriptions of exercises, and excellent photos with a white dotted line showing the muscles each exercise is supposed to work. I was able to understand how to properly perform several stretches which had been unclear in other books. The variety is excellent, including many exercises for rubber resistance bands and for those big, fun, colorful stability balls. I was pleasantly surprised to find several pages on exercises for improving posture.

Where the book really shines is in providing a safe, approachable beginning for women who are either very out of shape or recovering from illness. For example, she de-scarifies the push-up, that ultimate symbol of military-grade fitness, by showing four less physically demanding variations in order of gradually increasing difficulty.

But I do have one major caveat: If you're hoping for a serious weight training book--which will help you build muscle--this is not the one. Ms. Pagano seems to seriously underestimate women's strength. Doesn't she know we lift grocery bags, babies and suitcases in airports? The section on push-ups, for example, fails to include the standard 'man's" push-up. I would think that working through the other four would be with a goal of getting there, to the most difficult one. Nowhere in the book does she ever show a barbell, and her choice of dumbbell weights (mostly 3-8 lbs, with a maximum of 15 pounds recommended once in the book for lat rows) is almost insulting. Three to five pounds might be okay for a beginner looking to learn proper form, but after a few weeks most women can lift a lot more. Lifting weights which don't challenge your muscles will just waste your time, and very likely lead to discouragement when you see no results.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for yoga and physical-therapy style exercises for general well-being and injury prevention. It would also be useful as an adjunct to a serious weight-training program found elsewhere--just take the weight recommendations with a grain of salt and listen to your body instead.