Strength for Life: Shawn Phillips' Ultimate Fitness Plan for Long-Term Health & Wellness (2008) - Perfect for Home Workouts, Gym Training & Sustainable Weight Management

I received this book a couple of weeks ago and am very pleased with the entire book and completely recommend it.This book is excellent for those who really don't know much about fitness and nutrition, but it's also good for those who know quite a bit, but need something new to tweak their routines.And, that's why I purchased the book. Every so often, I feel a workout slump. I change my workout routines every month or so, as recommended and usually work out with weights 3 times per week and do HIIT cardio 3 times per week. I understand how to eat properly and do so consistently (unless I make a conscious choice to eat something less healthy). However, even so, I find that I often dread training. Truly. And, I might waste a couple of hours just putting off my training, because I dread it so much. Consequently, I need a book like this to get me on track. And, this one absolutely does. As a matter of fact, this entire week of training has been entirely different and I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow! And, believe it or not, I enjoyed my High Intensity Interval Training (Cardio) today for the first time in at least 6 months.Shawn Phillips is an excellent writer. His tone is engaging, conversational, and accessible. After the entertaining introduction, he talks about getting to a meditative state when working out. It's really not difficult, either, but may take some practice for some. I find that working out in my gym at home is much more productive for me than working out at the Y, for instance, and have been doing this for some time for this very reason. It's so important to focus on the muscles you're working out and tune everything else out.He recommends a 12 day period of rest and extremely light workouts to get ready for the program ahead. This includes ensuring one gets enough sleep. Sleep is incredibly important when training! And, it's something I haven't been getting enough of for several months prior to reading this book (even though I was aware of its importance!). I have since made sure I get at least 7 or 8 hours per night.Even though Phillips' stresses the importance of this 12 day period, I, uh, skipped it. Only a couple of weeks prior to reading his book, I made some major changes, and I just couldn't bring myself to go back to the three extra-light workouts per week. However, the advice here is still worthwhile.After the initial period, Shawn explains his Transformation program, and I think it's excellent. I haven't followed it exactly, but I have changed my workout schedule quite a bit. I don't want to explain too much of the book here in the review, but I have to say, I like my new schedule quite a bit and all the information here makes complete sense.Nutrition isn't ignored, either, and he provides a lot of information. For those who have been following a clean and healthy diet for a while, not much of this is new or groundbreaking, but I've found that I still learned something new.The claims of this title-- "The Fitness Plan for the Rest of Your Life" is a bit lofty! However, I would say that the information you get here will definitely help you for the rest of your life even if there is some new groundbreaking information in the future and even if you only use some of the what you find here.