[.uk] TBK Fitness Program (ISBN 1403392595)

Wonderful Little Fitness Book:
This is a wonderful little health and fitness book that I would recommend to anyone. It has more useful information packed into it than other books that are longer and more expensive. The nutritional advise is sound and extensive though, personally as a semi-vegetarian, I believe he puts more emphasis on eating animal protein than is necessary. But there are short concise chapters on eating to loose weight, and how to better prevent chronic illnesses such as heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer. There is a section on stress management that, again, is short, too the point and very helpful. The main weakness of the book is that there are no photos demonstrating the exercises which would be very helpful, but which probably would drive up the cost of the book. The drawings are adequate but could be better. The exercise section is a real gold mine. The author describes many, many exercises to strengthen and tone the entire body from head to toe without the use of one single piece of equipment. He shows ways to do push-ups that I never heard of before, along with many exercises you can do while simply standing up that strengthen the entire body that are very simple to do. Exercises that I was completely unfamiliar with even though I am no stranger to fitness. And they really work too. Especially helpful is the fact that he even gives the reader many samples of routines to use. So you've got a menu of specific workouts to choose from that use absolutely no equipment and can be done in a very small space if need be. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars was because of it's use of mediocre drawings instead of photos. But other than that this book is outstanding and probably the best health and fitness book I have ever read.

Great fitness book:
I am actually writing this review in response to J. Rogers review that it was disappointing. I purchased Dr. Katz's book about a year ago and actually found it very well researched and informative. I wanted to counter Mr. Roger's claims. 1. No originality??? Although there are other "paleo" diet books around, none I have bought have had any real exercise program. Plus the "poorly designed drawings" are, in my opinion, very original, and show a sly sense of humor (those who own the book know what I mean). I am not a scientist or doctor but the list of references in the back did impress me. I believe Dr. Katz spent a lot of time researching the diet and backing it up with solid evidence instead of simply making sensational claims like many other programs do. 2. Poor design - I agree that this isn't published by Stephen King's publisher. Obviously, this is a self published book, but the text was clear, the drawings, although crude, did have a certain cartoonish wit to them, were adequate to allow me to follow any of the exercises and although many of the exercises are simple, that was a good thing. I'm your average 45 year old spare tire inactive kind of person. I would not have been able to follow a program filled with only boot camp type exercises. I thought Dr. Katz did a good job of throwing in a mix of different exercises, some easy, some hard. I have to say, although I am no Tom Cruise today, I did lose 20 pounds on this program. 3. Mr. Rogers claims that there are much better books around. Like which ones? If the purpose of a fitness book is to allow one to become healthy, lose weight, and get into shape, this book was simply amazing. I must have bought at least 20-30 other diet and exercise programs over the years, but never have I been so impressed. Not because of the production quality, because this isn't an art book, but because of the content.

Ditto:
I can't add anything others haven't already said, but I'll give this book another hearty thumbs-up. I've read it and put it to use for four months so far, and the results are even better than I'd hoped for. I was overweight; now I'm not. I was narrowly focused on a few exercises; now I'm exercising my whole body daily in a balanced, effective way. I feel healthier than ever. My only reservation (other than the drawings, which other reviewers have mentioned) is that the prescribed hunter-gatherer diet may not be ideal for everybody. For me it works like a charm, and I plan to stick with it for life. Other people may have to modify it to suit their individual body type (and there's information on that in such books as "Eat Right for Your Type" and "The Metabolic Typing Diet").

Usefull but flawed:
This book is well written and provides good info about the right and wrong fats etc. with a fine critique of the weaknesses inherent in medical research. There is an ample list of excercises all of which are performed without weights. The weak point is in the diet he suggests: "The hunter gatherer diet". Model your diet after such tribes since he believes it the "most natural". No bread (even this has been eaten since antiquity) No beans and legumes. No rice or grains (the reason he provides is that nomads don't have time to grow this stuff). As many carbs as you want in the form of fruits and even honey. Meat galore - and he would prefer you eat it raw of the carcass if not for the danger of bacterial contamination. Admittedly, by cutting out all grains and legumes and execise alot you will certainly lose weight. Nonetheless this is all a fad for which he offers little logical rationale. I would choose not to model my eating habits after tribes who even today have an average life expectancy of 45! For a good exercise book that doesn't require weights I'd definitely suggest "Pushing Yourself To Power" by John Peterson.

All You'll Ever Need!!:
This is the perfectly logical, no nonsense book that I've been searching for for the past twenty years! Based upon the evolutionary principles that make us who/what we are, TBK fitness cuts directly to the point and illustrates what we need to do, in simple terms, to follow a sensible diet and bodyweight fitness program that will get the average person, (and beyond!) up to optimal fitness. Folks, your search is over. This is the one!!