Taller, Slimmer, Younger: 21 Days to a Foam Roller Physique

The bulk of this book is the actual 21 day program. Each day you get about 10-15 minutes of moves plus some tips on how to become aware of/improve that area of the body. I was impressed that I was able to read all about the program (first 15 pages) and get started with the exercises on day 1. I did end up ordering her specific foam roller and it is a huge improvement over using the foam roller I started with (mine was not as wide or long as hers, had no texture, and was maybe a bit too hard for some of these moves). I enjoy doing the routines and have been able to work them, along with 5 minutes of rebounding, into my daily routine in the evenings after our LO is asleep. The routines get my blood flowing and leave my body feeling alive and invigorated yet able to fall asleep soon after. I like the advice at the end of each routine as well, which, if applied, has the potential to be life-changing. I have to read the instructions thoroughly. Some of the moves are a bit complicated, and there are some that feel very difficult (for example the jack-knife) but start small and you will find that your body learns fast. I'm 5 months pregnant, BTW. Definitely worth the time and money investment, IMO. (Anthony's wife)

I am giving this book 5 stars not because it is perfect but because I enjoy using it. I have had foam rollers for years but never really used them much until I got this book. Somehow, a daily 10min program of pre-selected exercises is just what I needed to do regular foam rolling. The first part of the book is mostly fluff that has no value for me. It tells you all about how amazing foam rolling is and how it will fix all your problems in just a few minutes a day. This is followed by an exercise section with 20 days of exercises. Each day has about 5 exercises which together should only take up about 10 minutes. For the most part that is pretty accurate which I appreciate a lot. As mentioned above, the book is not perfect. Most exercises are pretty straight forward for someone like me who exercises a lot. However, some descriptions are unclear. Sometimes the pictures to the exercise are missing (though there is space) or don't match the description (in one exercise the foam roller is not mentioned at all but is shown on the picture). And there is no modification ever in case your flexibility does not allow you to follow the instructions. As another reviewer mentioned, the terms up and down are often different from a normal definition of up and down. The pictures are black and white and often such that I can't tell the difference between the left and right leg making it harder to follow the instructions. I hope the author and editor read the amazon reviews and take them to heart. Maybe a next edition will be even better than this one.

There is much hype about this book. I am glad that I got a chance to read it and will implement a few things here and there. It is more like a restorative yoga approach as oppose to a true foam roller routine. Also her foam rollers are astronomical in price. I ordered mine from amazon basics at the same density. I found this book by an article she was featured in. Later, I found that she was also featured by G.Paltrow's website/blog/ezine. Had I known that, I may have not even made the purchase. All in all, it is helpful if you would like to learn a solid restorative yoga routine that utilizes the foam roller as a tool. However, in all honesty, the only thing that classifies this as a foam roller routine is the fact that you use one.

Lots of great information and stretches

So, I used this book with a roller a couple of years back, but lost interest as i am prone to do. I decided I needed to restart the regimen, but didn't realize I still had my original book. Boo! Wish I had someone to gift this too, but I'm not buying another roller.

I completely agree with the reviewer who questioned if this book was edited - it clearly was rushed to press to meet demand after she was featured on a certain celebrity's lifestyle website. Many of the worded instructions do not explain the movement pictured, there are pictures missing and/or the pictures do not correspond to the instructions given. Example: pg 58 - there is no written mention of using the roller for this lunge exercise. In the 2 assisting pictures, the roller is used in one and not the other and there is no reference indicating that the roller is optional or more or less advanced. There are educational videos out on the internet that help demonstrate what the book is trying to explain, but that does complicate what is supposed to be a quick 10 minutes-a-day investment. All that said, I blame the publishing house for this, not the author. The exercises are gentle and effective. I've been using it for 8 days and I already feel good stretches in muscles I haven't used in a long time. I find that if I read ahead a day, review the exercises over and over, google what needs clarifying, then I can visualize what I need to do tomorrow. Looking forward to completing the full 21 days. Oh, and I bought a roller before I read the book. The oneI chose is compressed styrofoam or polystyrene or similar. It hurt like the dickens! I broke down and bought the LoRox and it IS more gentle. There are probably other brands that fit the bill, but I decided to just go for the recommended one.

As a Pilates instructor I really loved this book. So many of my clients need a massage and now I have a go to book on exercises that can help relieve muscle tension and still give them a good workout. I also am a huge fan of the LoRox foam roller. It's just want you want in a foam roller. Great book, thank you!

You know, the ideas in this book are good, and I think the technique can be beneficial. But as a book, this fails. There's a 21-day program, where she gives you exercises to do each day, and then a "Glossary" of exercises in the back. Ok, but it's like no one edited or copy-edited this book. Some exercises are missing the corresponding illustrations, or the description tells you to do something not shown, or the opposite of what is shown. The "Glossary" is literally the exact same exercises as from the front, with the exact same instructions, except totally useless because the book has no index. So there is no way to look up individual exercises -- you have to flip through the whole book to get the same misleading instructions you already got. Annoying and redundant. If there were better descriptions, or a guide to modifying the moves for different levels, or more advanced exercises, then it would be useful. And no real guidance on how to make your own program (ie, doing this would be good for x). As published, this book is lousy.