Working Out

Men's Health: The Book of Muscle--The World's Most Authoritative Guide to Building Your Body
$35.00
My take on this book is that it does everything that I wanted/expected it to do. I am by no means an expert and did browse a few other titles before settling on this one. I don't see what another book with similiar content could do for you that this one cannot. It has some background information on muscles and how they work, nutritional information, and VERY detailed explanations of every single workout that are included in 3 different plans...beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Each plan has information on sets, tempo, and frequency.

I read some reviews here before purchasing and some of the complaints that I stumbled upon were as follows...

-the book offers too little information on fat loss, and concentrates meerly on muscle building. First off, read the title of the book, if you want a book on fat loss programs this is not your best choice...this book will guide you to put on muscle, although it does offer some information on fat loss strategies...this is not the focus here.

-the book doesnt tell you "why" your doing what you are, and doesnt allow for deviations within the program due to injury or other reasons. First of all, if you actually READ and not just look at the workout programs you will be reassured many, many times the "why" behind their strategy. Secondly, in many of the excersise descriptions (not in the workout plan itself) you will read what specific injurys will make certain workouts more difficult, and ways to get around them.

I really don't see how anyone concerned with building muscle, from beginner to moderatley advanced does not find this book helpful. Almost every single excersise in the book is given with multiple variations, common flaws, and execution strategies. Each excersie is also shown with extremely detailed step by step photos and instructions for correct execution.

If your just getting started, or are trying to add some structure and variation to your normal routine this book is excellent. Each workout is broken down into 4 phases, usually with 4-3 week sessions in each one. Example: your first 3 weeks in the intermediate program call for 3 different routines each once a week. It is so nice to have something to follow while never becoming mundane in the gym. I look forward to working out even more with this plan, because I never become bored and know what I am doing is most beneficial to me. BUY IT!

Working Out, Working Within
$15.95
Although the book Working Out, Working Within: The Tao of Inner Fitness Through Sports and Exercise by authors Jerry Lynch and Chungliang Al Huang is centered in principles aimed for the athlete, it is a book that helps one navigate not only athletics, but is an essential playbook in the game of life.

In it, they define their formula for a successful life. And, trust me on this one, it's not what you may think.

To begin The Way then, it is important to first define what authors Lynch and Al Huang describe as the "physical life." According to them: The physical life is "a sacred path of self-discovery and meditative time to be with yourself." If this sounds like the path you'd like to take - read on!

The Tao teaches us that in many cases to "lose" or to be unsuccessful in any "wordly" endeavor is to make strides ahead. According to Taoists - to detach from outcomes and results is the most important thing one can do in this lifetime. To them, success means we must meditate on our insecurities in effort to find inner peace and then - as authors Lynch and Al Huang say: "learn to yield, flow and blend with external forces through non-resistance." Perhaps I'm mistaken, but the most difficult task for us mere mortals, is learning humility by letting go of the ego associated with "worldly" progress.

How to have external victory in the Taoist sense? In effort to have "inner success" which is the ultimate Taoist quest, is to remember that there is less need for external victory. They believe, when we let go of our own need to win, there is less tension, less anxiety and stress and with a reduction of these pressures we can then achieve the best external result. I tend to agree with them.

Here's why summarized in one of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Success in this life therefore is the luminous reflection of all inner victories you experience... through physical activity it is coming to terms with your inner most self and how it impacts your entire world as you feel it deep within your soul."

In this author's opinion, we could all do worse than to view our "physical path" from a broader scope. Yes, I do believe most humans need a reminder that the true challenge is to work "within," and we could all benefit by doing so. Moreover, Taoists believe, the rewards we experience as a result of our physical life are meant to be personal and private - they are a mere by-products of the greater challenge: to live authentically.

When I fall off my path of spiritual thinking and Taoist action (which I do on a daily basis, I promise you), I continue to revisit The Tao of Inner Fitness. In conclusion, I share with you this quote that has remained faithfully beside me since it's first reading:

"Playing like a winner regardless of outcome is a sure path to winning for a lifetime."

French or Foe?: Getting the Most Out of Visiting, Living and Working in France
$16.95
Many French expressed their frustrations with the stereotypes about the French that Ms. Platt puts forth in her book(s) so I won't go over that end of things.

My beef was with how she portrayed Americans--as a general mass of bumbling, ignorant oafs (allowing herself multiple opportunities to demonstrate how superior and culturally competent she was over the majority of her fellow countrymen.) As someone whose job it was to bridge the divide between cultures rather than widen it, I was shocked to see her carelessly throw out cliche after cliche about Americans: makes me wonder what bs she was telling all of the French executives who were taking her classes. The chapter where she discusses the difference in parenting was particularly insulting--she mentions in one example that it is common for American children to simply waltz into the homes of their host, even those that they don't know on a familiar level, open the fridge and help themselves! I would have been instantly punished had I done this growing up, nor would I allow my own child to do this. I think the majority of individuals in the US would consider helping yourself to the contents of someone's fridge as poor manners (unless you were invited to do so or were on very close terms of friendship). She ends her chapter on parenting with a sad vignette about a French family who spent an extended time in the US while the father was on a work assignment. In this vignette, Ms. Platt illustrates how the American culture the French family's teenaged daughters absorbed from their brief stay in the United States resulted in a series of devastating maladies upon their return to France, including a suicide attempt, terrible grades and and a poor marriage decision. One of the horrible sins the teenagers picked up in the United States that led to their demise? Talking back to their parents. I am not denying that talking-back is a nasty habit that a French parent might find dismaying, but I can hardly believe that the teenagers' admiration of adolescent American sass started the snowball of maladies that happened upon their return to France.

Her most recent book about French relationships--When Herve Meets Sally-- was worse. She begins the book with a story about a newly-arrived American who arrived at a dinner party so naive and ignorant that she goes on and on to her embarrassed host about how much their geographically-desirable apartment must cost, characterizing this woman's poor behavior as as typical American manners. I would venture to say that anyone with a modicum of manners would practice a bit more tact that this crass dinner guest and it frustrates me that she used this antidote as another cliche example of typical, offensive American behavior. I won't even go there about how she basically defends philandering men in that book--its insulting to everyone--French men (a majority who don't cheat) and French and American women.

As someone married to a French citizen, I will say that some topics in her book were at least someone accurate--the information about the grands ecoles and the respect of the engineering profession, the description of French dinner parties, the 10 magic words, the reluctance to use the bathroom in public quite as often as we do, privacy (particularly as it relates to closing of doors)...

If you're looking for a very good book about French culture without such blatant stereotypes, try reading Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow, a Canadian couple. It is excellent.

So How's That Hope and Change Working Out for You?; bumper sticker
$2.49
suitable for application to any smooth surface