Book Review - Body for Life
Body for Life by Bill Philips
Bill Phillips has studied the transformations of tens of thousands of people, and it’s clear that he knows what works. Bill Phillips’ Body for Life programme is one of the most popular diets on the market today.
The Book
Bill Phillips’ Body for Life is an inspiring book that outlines a comprehensive diet and fitness programme. The Body-for-LIFE book is a simple and easy to understand step-by-step fitness guide. The principles are easy to understand, but powerfully insightful. If you’re looking for life changing results it’s certainly worth reading, and following. Success stories designed to motivate and encourage people can be found in the book. It is intended to be a lifestyle change, the key to achieving and maintaining the perfect body.
Body For Life Basics
Body for Life is an intense exercise and nutrition programme based on the goal to achieve quick results in order to keep you motivated to continue in the long-term. The programme lasts 12 weeks. It involves weight training for 3 days/week and aerobic exercise for 3 days/week. The diet consists of six small meals/day, six days/week, consuming foods such as vegetables, brown rice, poultry, and fish. You may eat as you like and do no exercise on the last day.
It offers an intense 12-week diet and exercise programme incorporating weight training exercises and aerobic exercises to people’s regular schedules.
It teaches you to eat healthier while eating smaller portions of food throughout the day. 5-6 meals per day. A fist sized portion size is emphasized A typical meal might consist of one portion of protein, and one portion of carbohydrate. You add a vegetable to two of the meals.
For one day each week you are allowed to ‘cheat’ and eat your favorite foods.
Aerobic Exercise 20 minutes 3 times per week Lift weight 3 times a week (45 minutes per session).Weight training can elevate the metabolism for up to 48 hours post workout — a benefit not provided by cardio.You must be willing to exercise regularly in order to use the Body For Life plan. When people diet without exercising, their bodies burn muscle in addition to fat. This results in a lower metabolism, which is exactly what you want to avoid if you are having difficulty with your weight.
The Programme
There are two keys to the Body-for-LIFE programme: 1. Daily, brief, progressive workouts. Alternating 20 minute aerobic workouts using intervals, and 45 minute weight training workouts using a “high-point” technique. They are designed in a way that periodically drives you to reach higher highs. The 20-minute aerobics workout is a “High Intensity Interval Training” (HIIT). You start with two minutes of warm up at a level 5, then move to level 6 for a minute, then 7. This portion of your workout is aerobic. You should be able to carry on a broken conversation, breathing deeply but not out of breath. Your level 8 should have more effort and drive to it, taking you slightly out of your comfort range. Your level 9 effort is a “high point” and should be somewhat anaerobic. After your level 9, you drop back down to a level 6 aiming for active recovery. Then you repeat the cycle again. The fourth time through this cycle, you add a “high point” - a level 10, after your 9. After your 10, you’ll get the most benefit from your 10 if you get your breath back to a fully conversational level before stopping.
Your weight training workouts are also geared to achieve the same kind of high point. The 45-minute weight-training workouts focus on hitting intense high points. The first set of 12 reps is an essential stretch and warm-up. You then move to a higher weight for 10 repetitions, higher again for 8 reps, maximal weight for 6 reps, then dropping to lower weight for a “compound set” - 12 reps followed immediately by another 12 reps using a different exercise for the same part. The last couple of reps in your final 12 should require everything you’ve got.
2. Frequent, limited, high-quality meals: Six meals a day, consisting of a portion of protein, and a portion of carbohydrates, and since you’ll be building muscle and burning fat, about a gallon of water daily to support these metabolic processes. You judge your portion size by the size of your open palm or closed fist. Add water containing vegetables such as spinach, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, celery, green beans and cucumbers, among others, are excellent, and have very low caloric content. One day a week you take a Free Day, an opportunity to choose “unauthorized” foods. The free day may help counter the risk that your body senses a fasting state, you’re trying to convince your body that it doesn’t have to lower its metabolism, shed muscle, or defend its fat stores in response to the change in its “environment”.
Conclusion
I think that Body For life is an excellent programme for people who want to lose weight, or people who are already at their ideal weight but want to lead a healthier lifestyle. The diet is remarkably sensible compared to most other diets on the market today. The workouts are effective and do not take excessive amounts of time. If you’re interested in this book find it here …http://www.amazon.co.uk/Body-Life-Mental-Physical-Strength/dp/0007149670/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262091290&sr=1-1