The Women's Health Big Book of Exercises: Four Weeks to a Leaner, Sexier, Healthier You!

I had been with a trainer for the last 7 months and stopped going now to save money. I got this book to try and help me put together my own work-outs at home to keep the weight I've lost off. I got the book yesterday and spent a good hour or more flipping through the book, and it's amazing! The first part of the book breaks working out down really simply so even people who have never worked out before can understand their bodies while using weights (or body weight). It gives you facts on why lifting weights is so great for you (I knew most of them already, but it's very motivating still and it was a nice refresher after my trainer). It also gives you a section on common questions such as "how many reps?" and "how much weight should I use?" and then gives very detailed, easy-to-understand answers. Then it lists "the essentials" for equipment if you want to start building a home gym or deciding what to use at your gym. The next section tells you how to use both the nutrition and excersise part of the book to get the most benefits. I loved the diet section because it gives you a couple examples of what your day's meal plan might look like and then gives a chart of the types of foods you can eat and what is considered under that category (for example, high quality proteins: beef, cheese, etc. Low starch veggies: broccoli, artichoke, etc. and natural fats: avacados, butter, etc.) It tells you how to do the workouts in enough detail to really easily understand. Do work out A on Mon, and Fri and workout B on Wed and then switch it up next week, so easy! It even gives the part of your body to work out, how many sets, reps and how long to rest! Throughout the book, it's organized by muscle group and what exercises to focus on those groups. It shows an anatomy book type graphic of the muscle group and gives you the names of the muscles and what they do for your body (loved this!). For each muscle group, there's one or two "main moves" that you can master before doing variations. Then it lists many variations of the excerise. For push-ups, for example, the push up is the main move and then there are variations such as Incline push up, decline push up, modified push up, weighted push up, etc. Many pages have a side panel with fitness tips and also "muscle mistakes" to tell you things that you're probably doing wrong and how to fix it. There's an illustration for almost every exercise (I only saw a couple that didn't have them) and each image has arrows pointing to parts of your body and saying how to have them during the workout ("your palms should face forward", "the dumbbells should nearly touch", "your body should form a straight line from your knees to your shoulders") which is helpful when trying a new exercise so you know if you're having good form. In the back of each section there's a specific work out plan to target that area ("get the perfect _______") which is awesome. Also, in the last pages of the book, there's warm-up exercises, "Best Workout" plans and a chapter for "Nutrition Secrets." I read reviews before I purchased the book and many people were upset that you needed so much equipment to use this book. In my opinion, yes this book has a lot of its variations that require equipment BUT how do you expect to work out at home and not have ANY equipment, not even dumbbells? Tons of the exercises can be done if you just have dumb bells and a swiss ball. You can replace a workout bench with a chair or coffee table, bar bells with dumbbells, etc. You can get creative (but safe!) at home and still do most of the work-outs even if you don't have a gym membership or a complete home gym. There's even a section on The Best Body-Weight Workouts :). Overall, I am SO satisfied with my purchase and I can't wait to really start getting into this book and doing all the exercises!

**Second Update - 2 YEARS AND COUNTING** My husband and I are STILL using this guide on an almost daily basis as we both continue to strength train/exercise 3 - 5x week. Since we just rounded the corner on 2 years of consistent at-home exercise, we finally felt qualified to invest in more gym equipment ($$) and have now converted half our garage into a home gym (though I maintain my stance that you do NOT need hardly any equipment to get started!!!). This book has kept our routines varied and even though we to look for inspiration in other sources (online, etc.), we continue to come back to this guide to give us tips, proper form, new exercises, etc. If I can become an exercise person SO CAN YOU! **Update - 1 year using this book and still going strong** It's been almost a full year since my original review and I still use this book constantly - its dogeared and well loved! Using the suggested exercise routines in the back, I've gone through about 4 different "12 week" programs, and still have many options to choose from. The combinations are limitless and the book has grown with my strength and only become more helpful! I continue to do strength training 3x/week (my husband too!) and alternate with cardio or other kinds of workouts. Ichange up my strength training routine utilizing the suggestions in this book about every 4 weeks. If I come across a suggested exercise that uses equipment we don't own, I do some googling for improvising the exercise, or target the same muscle group with alternatives suggested in the book. IE, we don't own a rack and things like inverted rows are difficult without a bar, but I've managed to use YouTube inspiration to do inverted rows with cables over doorways, etc. Since buying this book, we've gradually expanded our equipment - starting with adjustable dumbbells (1-50lbs), a stability ball and a yoga mat. Truly, that kept us busy for almost 6 months (and could keep me busy a lot longer, but my husband's weight needs exceed my own). We've since added a chin up bar, some cables/resistance bands and are now at the stage where we're looking to invest in more equipment (a rack, barbell/weights, adjustable dumbbells 50-90lbs). This book has been wonderful in getting us started without the need to buy a lot off the bat, saving us from making irrational, expensive home gym decisions. This is truly the best $17 I've ever spent on myself and my health. If you are truly committed to doing it. If getting to a gym or being around competitive gym rats scare you, start with this book and some simple tools. I am so much stronger already, and so much less intimidated by strength training than I once was. I plan to continue to use this book as my 'proper form' and exercise suggestions bible. **Original Review** This was an awesome book for someone like me, who has typically relied on cardio workouts and has felt pretty unequipped in how to begin weight and resistance training. After having read repeatedly about the importance of weight training for people as they age to maintain muscle mass and weightloss/ weight maintenance, I committed to figuring out where to start. I'm in my mid-30's, have a healthy BMI and typically work out at home (either via walking/running/biking around the neighborhood or on a home treadmill). As much as I'd like to have access to a gym, I know myself well enough to know that it would be hard for me to squeeze a gym visit into my daily life as a working mom. Someone I knew recommended this book and it is chalk full of the information I needed: exercises I can do at home (with or without extra equipment). It includes all kinds of information on how to start, what exercises are good for beginning and how to develop more advanced workouts depending on your goals. It has full body options as well as targeted muscle groups. Every exercise has pictorial examples and discusses proper technique/form, as well as modifications for making each exercise easier or harder. I've been doing the "beginners" routine for six weeks and am now shifting to the other routines in the book. I love how the book "grows" with my improvement and can continue to offer value as my fitness improves. In reading the reviews, some people complained that the Men's Health Big Book of Exercises was the exact same book with a man pictured doing the routines rather than a woman. With this knowledge in mind, I told my husband that the books were identical and he felt comfortable just using my book to develop his own routine (inspired by my increased interest in resistance training). He has been a marathon runner for several years, but is now also focusing on these exercises as well. As a result of our commitment to this book, we've been gradually adding some equipment to our home (though this is not necessary to begin!). We agreed not to rush into buying anything expensive, but after about 4 weeks of both using these books, we found an adjustable dumbbell set on Craigslist. We're both able to use them (at different weight settings) and they take up a lot less room than a full set of traditional dumbbells. Otherwise we just use a yoga ball and yoga mat. As we continue to grow our fitness, we may consider investing in more - but don't let a lack of gym equipment stop you from beginning.

I've always been athletic, but admittedly I've gone through several LONG periods of inactivity. If you've been lucky enough to work with a trainer, the exercises in this book will be familiar. And since I've had wonderful trainers, they taught me how to do these exercises correctly. What is great about this book, they provide several workout options and some great eating advice. The first workout presented is The World's Greatest 4-Week Diet and Exercise Plan. The Workout is Broken into Workout A and Workout B, first in chart form and then a breakdown of the exercise categories (core, glutes/hamstrings, shoulders, etc.) and where you can locate those exercises in the book. The eating plan is doable. I like healthy foods, but not as much as I should for optimal health. Fortunately I'm in a place right now where I not only want to change my eating, but I'm actually craving healthier foods. The eating plan is simple, and I'm thinking to myself, "I can actually follow and enjoy this." Foods are presented in chart form: Protein/Vegetables/Fats. Best of all, they explain why you can have whole fat milk and whole fat sour cream, and why it's okay to have bacon or sausage with your eggs. Farther into the book are specific workouts depending on what you want to do with your body, for example: the Wedding Workout, the Hard Body Workout, the Prenatal Workout, and several more. Of particular interest to me is the Bikini Body workout and the Skinny Jeans workout. If you've never done weight training before, this book does a great job explaining why weight lifting is important and why you will not become bulky as a result. It also does a good job of explaining how great weight training is for burning fat. I would say this is a very good primer for someone who hasn't worked out before, and a good reminder of the things we've learned but might have forgotten. My trainers taught me well, and this book is a great supplement. I recommend buying the actual book. I first bought the Kindle edition, but a book like this works better if you can turn the pages and have a reference while doing your workouts. There is a photograph of every exercise and its variations. This is the third book I've bought published by Men's/Women's Health, and they always do a great job of keeping it simple and informative. And inspiring.

The book has been very helpful. I've been doing one of the planned workouts now for 3 weeks and have been seeing results! I like that there are alternative exercises to those done with the gym machines since I don't want to have to always go to the gym to get my exercises done. This book was recommended to me by a fitness expert--I found it to be a great book, and I'm now recommending this book, and the Men's version, to several of my friends. I've shown it to my Physical Therapist, and she thought it was a good book and is planning to buy it too. On the con side, I've noticed that someone else has complained that their book began to fall apart in a short period of time. I've experienced the same thing; pages have started to become detached and I'm having to tape them back into the book!

Love that it gives you a work out to follow and page numbers to the information for each movement. The pictures are very helpful

Update 2/19/16: I didn't stick to the four week program as I found the exercises went challenging enough for me. I also did some more research and learned that total body workouts might be better for weight loss than having 'leg day' and 'upper body day'. This week I switched to the total body workouts that start on page 400. There's an A, B, and C workout for three days a week. I do my cardio on my days off from the total body weight training. I'm pleasantly sore, and glad to have this book as a guide. I still highly recommend. I purchased this book as guide to help me fulfill my New Year's resolution of losing weight. I've always been an on/off exerciser/runner but never lifted weights out of fear of doing the exercises wrong and feeling intimidated by all the people at the gym. I follow lots of health/fitness gurus on social media, but sadly those sites usually just show off people's results and leave the rest of us wondering how we can actually achieve the same. I joined a new gym where I feel comfortable and I purchased this book along with Lou Schuler's New Rules of Weight Lifting (NRWL) for women because they both had great reviews and were reasonably priced here on Amazon. This book is the winner hands down. For one, it doesn't talk down to women like they don't understand even the simplest things like NRWL does. The pictures are detailed and in color (unlike NRWL) There is an easy to follow nutrition plan. It also includes clear explanations of how many sets, reps, and workouts in a week you should do, which muscles are being targeted, as well as a detailed explanation about when and how much cardio you should do in conjunction with your weight training. There is a four week plan spelled out for you (which I will start in the AM) or you can make your own by putting together a combination of the exercises in the text. (No need to be intimidated about putting together your own plan as there is a lose template where you pretty much plug in your chosen exercises). The possibilities are endless. There are even guides to warm ups and getting your workout done in a busy/crowded gym, and a prenatal plan in the back. I'll update at the end of my four week beginner course.

Having done a Master's in Kinesiology, I would definitely say that there is not really enough information to guide people into creating their own work outs and I would still recommend that beginners planning on major changes still seek a professional personal trainer until it is sure that proper form is known to prevent bad injuries. Whilst I originally purchased this book to add variety to my work outs, the section I use most is at the back where professionals have created work out plans for various needs, such as preparation to run a 10K, bikini season, etc. THE MOST AMAZING PART: I am a size 6, but I definitely have some extra weight that could be lost. I recently purchased my wedding gown and my mother had a little bit of difficulty zipping up the dress. Additionally, squeezing into the corsette that went with the gown was incredibly suffocating. This didn't bother me too much as I knew I would be losing weight within the time to my wedding so I ordered the gown to be delivered and quickly consulted this book. One of the pre-planned work outs in the back is the 'Wedding Workout', which claims to be able to tone your shoulders, thighs, narrow your waist, and lose weight. After the first week, my gown arrived and I tried it on so that my parents could inspect the beading and embroidery. I was surprised that I didn't have any trouble getting into the corsette and even more shocked that the gown FELL RIGHT OFF MY BODY! I had to hold up this strapless gown and the lady helping in the bridal store had to use all these extra clamps just to make the gown fit and stay up long enough for it to be inspected. I will say that not every one of these work outs has worked for me. I had first tried to train for the 10K using the work out plan they provided and I could not keep up, but this might just be me for not being that well trained in the cardio department. Last year, I had tried the 'Hard Body Workout', also in the back section of the book, and I managed to really tone up and lose 10 lbs. The book also contains information on diet, but I have mainly been a healthy eater so I merely skimmed the section, but from what I could tell, it doesn't just tell you what you should eat, it actually gives detail as to what each food does for your body. I have not seen the Men's Health version, but other reviewers have said that it is pretty much the same, except it has male models. I would expect that the planned work outs in the section at the back would be different seeing as men would not need a 'Bikini Workout'. That being said, I would think that, if one person has this book (men's or women's) in the household, there is no need to purchase the other since the exercises are the same, unless the goal is to use the pre-planned work outs in the back section. All in all, I love this book and I highly recommend it for anyone who already understands the correct body form for these exercises to avoid injuries. I have a friend who is a personal trainer and she constantly consults this book to devise varied exercise plans for her clients.

If you have experience with personal fitness, this book is not for you. If you are like me and your knowledge is limited to what you learned in elementary PE and high school gym class, then this book is for you. What I like about the book: * It's organized into chapters that focus on particular body type parts (e.g., shoulders, core, hamstrings & glutes) and explains: what the muscle groups are in that area, how we use them on a daily basis, and what types of exercises will strengthen that area. Then there is page after page of target exercises and variations. The chapters also each include a good stretch for that area and a suggested workout for it. * There's a chapter for dynamic warmups. * There's a chapter with different exercise routines for the whole body, all with page numbers to help you find them in the book. * There are side notes discussing research on different moves and what you may be doing that is typical but wrong. For example, I was only doing static stretches, which are good but should be part of my stretching routine, not the entire routine. * Another thing I like is actually what some reviewers have complained about. Once an exercise is presented in the book, there are generally three or four more pages of variations of the exercise. For a newbie like me, these are great. It lets me develop a routine and vary it up so that I don't get bored and can increase the intensity when I'm ready. I don't think there's anything that would keep me from buying the book if I knew then what I know now. I did one of the routines in the back of the book and thought, "This is weak. I don't even feel like I'm putting in any effort." Well, I woke up sore the next day, so clearly I was wrong. I'm getting stronger and becoming more knowledgeable about my own health and fitness. I hope to eventually outgrow this book, but for now it's perfect for me.

I love this book. I waited for the updated 2017 version and I'm glad I did. I'm middle aged and was brought up in the days when they said 'no pain no gain' and weights for women was frowned upon!! I wanted to get myself back in shape as middle age spread had been taking it's toll but I had no clue where to start. What I've learned is that only pounding away on the treadmill will get you knowhere - other than suffering with joint pain that is - and that a clear defined programme designed to build muscle will change your life. I've carefully taken notice of getting the right form and using proper techniques for lifting weights - everything is minutely explained and illustrated and gives me confidence to keep working hard. There are hundreds of exercises to do using easily available equipment at home or at the gym or even using nothing. I particularly like the work out programmes and successfully followed the 'I want my body back' 12 week programme. I'm getting on in years and I've learned so much from this excellent book. So much information. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Absolutely love this book! Large size book, numerous clear photographs of the exercises with complete explanations and instructions. I like how each body part is separated into sections and there is also a section for exercises to work out multiple body parts. Info also on healthy eating provided. I purchased this years ago and couldn't find my copy and was excited to get it again- they've improved it a lot since- including the larger thicker size book with much more info. I purchased one for my sister and then promptly purchased another for myself. Great to devise a work out plan at home. You can select which version of each exercise you want to do based on which equipment you have at home- not much is required additionally. You can see your body weight for a lot of these, or buy a barbell or dumbbell, or select equipment. They don't necessarily suggest you go out and buy it all. In my former life, I was an avid gym rat and since having kids, it's hard to travel to gym back and forth. Even when I used to go to gym, I would have the old copy handy (several years ago) and find ways to make my workout fun and varied a bit. I know in this day and age, the info is easily extracted via Internet, however, nothing beats having the book handy and having marked out which pages of exercises I want to do. Beginner to advanced can use this book. I worked out with my baby beside me while laying on the floor and managed to get a good glute workout in!

Its a nice book. People like me who are new to gym gain very good knowledge. It is very elaborately explained in pictures how to do particular excercise perfectly. Go for it if you are a gym goer and are not sure what to do.

It’s a bit of a con. I bought the women’s health one and men’s health one at the same time thinking they would be different. The books are exactly the same but with pictures of women for the exercises. All exercises and wording are identical.

Très bon livre!! Pleins de d'intéressantes choses à apprendre! Je recommande ce livre pour les débutants ainsi que pour les confirmés! Très bonnes illustrations, propositions de nombreux programmes et explications concernant les correctes positions à avoir! Je ne suis vraiment pas déçue de mon achat :-)