Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth about Exercise and Health [Hardcover]

It's too eager and strained and takes itself far too seriously.

Funniest line (not on purpose) is when she's recounting the story of the guy who started spinning heading a 12-hour marathon (sadly without all the cheerleading pep talks from the front of the room), and 10 hours into the ride he tells everyone to go outside and get some fresh air.

But they're all puzzled 'cause the windows are open.

Eric Schlosser would've made a joke about the strange obsession and disconnection suburbanites have with "fresh air," but Gina didn't get it. They thought he was weird....some kind of strange solo athlete type (who actually goes outside)...

...The kind who actually goes outside to excercise instead of riding a bike and having a teacher push you over a microphone??? Schlosser probably would've gotten the guy to admit he can't believe his winter bike training method has morphed into a neurotic suburban mom sport and is now drinking himself silly as he's a big joke among "the boys" or something.

This is just too bizarre. If you're an over-achieving yuppie type obsessed with indoor climbing gyms or any other indoor excercise and heart monitor gadgets, this is up your alley.

But for the rest of us who're looking at our watches waiting for the baby boomers to get old and in bed already and stop with their silly little "we've gotta live forever" fads, Cliff notes would be better. Or some kind of women's magazine article you could flip past.

If you're curious, wait for it at the library.

--Erika

What I found frustrating about this book is the author's incessant insinuations of her own lifestyle into the text. Aside from the book reading like an infomercial for "Spinning" (is she on retainer?) must I read about the skin tight bicycle shorts her and her dear husband wear to the "Mount Everest" challenge, a story I may add, that stretches across at least 2 full chapters (possibly three, I starting skimming about halfway through). The concept behind this book had some strength, track the origins of fitness in our culture, attack some of the myths that pervade the dialogue on the subject, and perhaps come up with a few basic tenets that all could follow. What Ms. Kolata does instead is discourse ad nauseum about the appearance of the various Spinning teachers she interacts with, pats herself endlessly (hey all that exercise made her flexible I suppose?) on the back for being in such good shape/working out so hard and generally turning what was probably (at best) a 150 or so page book into a droning piece of self congratulation that stretches to nearly 300 pages.

The only reason I give this book one star is that buried deep within all those self congratulatory pages is a good message for all of us. Eat right and exercise!