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.

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 rookies 130

In-Line Skating 131

Essential skating gear 132

Skating the right way 132

Skating tips for rookies 132

Exercising in Water 133

Essential water exercise gear 134

Swimming with good form 134

Swimming tips for rookies 135

Part III: Building Muscle and Strengthening Bone 137

Chapter 10: Why You've Gotta Lift Weights 139

Considering Five Important Reasons to Pick Up a Dumbbell 139

Staying strong for everyday life 140

Keeping your bones healthy 140

Preventing injuries 141

Looking better 142

Speeding up your metabolism 142

Building Muscle: Myths and Reality 143

Looking at questions of strength 143

Wondering about body shape 145

Asking about fat versus muscle 146

Chapter 11: Your Muscles: Love 'Em or Lose 'Em 149

Seeing the Big Picture 150

Looking Over Your Shoulders 153

Deltoids 153

Rotator cuff 154

Getting Your Back 155

Trapezius 155

Latissimus dorsi 156

Rhomboids 157

Erector spinae 157

Checking Out Your Chest (Pectorals) 158

Taking Up Arms 160

Biceps 160

Triceps 161

Forearm muscles 162

Getting a Core Understanding of the Abdominals 162

Rectus abdominis and company 163

Internal and external obliques 164

Bringing Up the Butt and Hips 165

Gluteus maximus 165

Hip abductors 166

Leg adductors 166

Looking at Your Legs 167

Quadriceps 167

Hamstrings 168

Gastrocnemius and soleus 168

Tibialis anterior 169

Chapter 12: Demystifying Strength Equipment 171

Using Weight Machines 171

What's new in weight machines 172

The advantages of traditional weight machines 173

The drawbacks of traditional weight machines 174

Special tips for using weight machines 175

Cutting Loose with Free Weights 177

The advantages of free weights 179

The drawbacks of free weights 179

Special tips for using free weights 180

Using benches with free weights 182

Pulling Your Weight with Cable Pulleys 182

The advantages and disadvantages of cable pulleys 183

Special tips for using cable pulleys 183

Getting into the Swing of Things with Kettlebells 184

The advantages of kettlebells 185

The drawbacks of kettlebells 186

Special tips for using kettlebells 186

Stretching Your Routine with Tubes and Bands 186

The advantages of tubes and bands 186

The drawbacks of tubes and bands 187

Special tips for using tubes and bands 188

Training with Weighted Balls 188

The advantages of medicine balls 188

The drawbacks of medicine balls 189

Special tips for using medicine balls 189

Relying on Your Body as Strength Equipment 191

The advantages of using your body weight 191

The drawbacks of using your body weight 191

Special tips for using your body weight 192

Chapter 13: Designing a Strength-Training Program 193

The Building Blocks of a Strength-Training Workout 194

Choosing your weight 194

Planning your workout 195

Considering time and speed 198

Setting up and changing your routine 198

Considering your core 200

Lifting Safely and Effectively 202

Lifting weights the right way 202

Making sense of the instructions 204

Following a Simple Total-Body Workout 204

Squat 205

One-Legged Squat 207

One-Arm Dumbbell Row 209

Dumbbell Chest Press 211

Dumbbell...