A review by linorosa
Body by Science: A Research Based Program to Get the Results You Want in 12 Minutes a Week by John R. Little, Doug McGuff
4.0
The idea of training 12 minutes a week is tempting, but sounds like infomercial garbage. However the book backs it up.
The gist of it is you work out once (or twice) a week by doing 5 exercises. Each exercise has one set, and it should be done as slow as possible. Aim for 45 to 90 seconds and adjust for the next time to stay on this range. Progress is measured by the time under load (TUL) and weights used.
It goes very deep into the science of movement, metabolism, fat loss, but I wish there was a bit more practical advice on the programs themselves. Some of the explanations are better than I've read anywhere else.
Some ideas that stuck:
- Fitness should be defined as being limited to not impact health. There are programs that look more efficient, but have long-term health effects.
- Running, cycling will not make anyone lose weight. Also, they only train for that specific activity (no wonder why running on a treadmill feels so much different than on asphalt)
- Good machines are better than free weights. First reason is because they're safer. Second is because our bodies aren't equally strong on the full range of motion of exercises. Good machines discount for that, making each exercise "easier" on the part that our body is weaker, and thus improving the efficiency of the exercise by removing bottlenecks.
The gist of it is you work out once (or twice) a week by doing 5 exercises. Each exercise has one set, and it should be done as slow as possible. Aim for 45 to 90 seconds and adjust for the next time to stay on this range. Progress is measured by the time under load (TUL) and weights used.
It goes very deep into the science of movement, metabolism, fat loss, but I wish there was a bit more practical advice on the programs themselves. Some of the explanations are better than I've read anywhere else.
Some ideas that stuck:
- Fitness should be defined as being limited to not impact health. There are programs that look more efficient, but have long-term health effects.
- Running, cycling will not make anyone lose weight. Also, they only train for that specific activity (no wonder why running on a treadmill feels so much different than on asphalt)
- Good machines are better than free weights. First reason is because they're safer. Second is because our bodies aren't equally strong on the full range of motion of exercises. Good machines discount for that, making each exercise "easier" on the part that our body is weaker, and thus improving the efficiency of the exercise by removing bottlenecks.