Fitness For Dummies 3rd Edition

434 Pages·2005·4.25 MB·English

Fitness
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
3
RD EDITION
by Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent,M.A.,
with Tere Stouffer Drenth

Praise for the first editions
of Fitness For Dummies
“Hey who are you guys calling a dummy? When it comes to fitness, like
most male American slugs, I’m actually more of a complete blathering
moronic idiot. This book will come in handy for those of us who don’t
know a fat gram from Phil Gramm or a donut from a bagel. Now all I need
to know is how to look cool and studly in the gym while sweating
profusely.”
—Steve Elling, Raleigh News & Observer
“This book is a joy to read — written with wit and style, it comes as a wel-
come reassurance that both razor-sharp accuracy and first-rate writing
can co-exist in the same package.”
—Jonathan Bowden, M.A.C.S.C.S., Senior Faculty, Equinox Fitness
Training Institute and Contributing Editor, Fitness
magazine
“Fitness For Dummiesis a smart buy for the exercise enthusiast. It’s the
fitness equivalent of carbo-loading.”
—Orange County Register
“This is one of the most comprehensive, authoritative — and entertaining
— fitness books I’ve ever seen.”
—Men’s Fitnessmagazine
“No one is more of a dummy when it comes to exercise than I am. Until I
read Fitness For Dummies, I thought taking a book like this off the shelf
counted as a workout. Now I know better. It’s only a warm-up!”
—Phil Rosenthal, Columnist, Los Angeles Daily News
“The exercise content and evaluations in this book are outstanding. Liz
and Suzanne are the ultimate professionals, and Fitness For Dummieswill
help all exercisers maximize their potential.”
—Fitnessmagazine
“Fitness For Dummiesis the definitive book for people who would like to
achieve a stronger, healthier body.”
—Mark Allen, Six-Time Ironman Champion
“Suzanne and Liz have created an insider’s guide through the maze of mis-
information about fitness. Before you buy an exercise gadget, a gym mem-
bership, or a fitness video, read this book!”
—Women’s Sports & Fitnessmagazine
“Fitness For Dummiesis a real rarity: a fitness book written by fitness writ-
ers — two of the best. It’s full of smart, jargon-free, common-sense advice
for anyone who’s interested in fitness. These two are not afraid to tell the
truth. It’s like getting the word from a trusted friend.”
—Shapemagazine
“I am duly impressed with the newest entry into the For Dummiesseries.
From dispelling myths such as how we really burn fat to a comprehensive
look at every choice of equipment on the market today, this book
becomes a trustworthy, truly helpful guide to getting in shape.”
—Diana Nyad, World Record Holder, Longest Swim in History, and TV
Broadcaster
Fitness
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
3
RD EDITION
by Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent,M.A.,
with Tere Stouffer Drenth
FitnessFor Dummies®, 3rd Edition
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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About the Authors
Suzanne Schlosbergis a magazine writer known for her humorous approach
to health and fitness. She is a contributing editor to Shapeand Healthmaga-
zines and coauthor of Weight Training For Dummiesand Kathy Smith’s Fitness
Makeover.She is also the author of The Ultimate Workout Log,Second Edition,
and an instructor in UCLA Extension’s Certificate in Journalism Program.
Suzanne writes frequently about her fitness adventures — from her failed
tryout for The American Gladiators to her record-setting victory in Nevada’s
Great American Sack Race, a quadrennial event in which competitors run 5
miles while carrying a 50-pound sack of chicken feed on their shoulders.
Suzanne also has chronicled her two bicycle treks across the United States.
She never travels without her weight-lifting gloves and has put them to good
use at gyms in Zimbabwe, Morocco, Guam, and the Micronesian island of Yap.
A Los Angeles native, Suzanne refuses to walk anywhere, including the
Starbucks 0.4 miles from her house — to which she commutes daily in her SUV.
Liz Neporentis a certified trainer and president of Plus One Health
Management, a fitness consulting company in New York City. Her job is to
make sure the members of more than a dozen fitness centers in hotels and
corporations throughout New York are happy, motivated, and exercising on a
regular basis.
Liz holds a master’s degree in exercise physiology and is certified by the
American Council on Exercise, the American College of Sports Medicine, the
National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the National Academy of
Sports Medicine. She is coauthor of Abs of Steel, Buns of Steel: Total Body
Workout,and Weight Training For Dummies.She also wrote Fitness Walking For
Dummies.Additionally, she is the Gear Editor for Shapemagazine and a regu-
lar contributor to The New York Times.She appears regularly on TV and radio
as an authority on fitness and exercise.
Liz is an avid runner and has competed in more than two dozen marathons
and ultra-marathons. She’s also a devoted sports climber, walker, hiker, and
weight trainer. She lives in New York City with her husband, Jay Shafran, and
her greyhound, Zoomer.
Tere Stouffer Drenthis a fitness writer and retired professional runner who
now spends her days hiking, walking, and snowshoeing with her workout
partner, a chocolate Lab named Maxine. She is the author of Marathon
Training For Dummiesand coauthor of Fit Pregnancy For Dummies.
Authors’ Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to Mitchel Gray, our photographer, and all the
models depicted throughout this book: Nancy Ngai, Shel Bibbey, Terry Certain,
Aja Certain, Annemarie Scarammucia, Melody Fadness, Yvonne Mitchell, Chris
Stothard, Stacy Collins, Val Towne, James Jankiewicz, Jay Shafran, Doris
Shafran, Melissa Saxon, Patty Buttenheim, Sunshine Hopkins, and Jane Scott.
Thanks, also, to our agent, Felicia Eth, for staying on the ball. At Wiley, we’d
also like to thank Acquisitions Editor Tracy Boggier, whose vision guided this
project, and Project Editor Elizabeth Kuball, who managed our book project
with grace, humor, and exceptional skill. Technical Editor Randall Broderdorf
added tremendous value to the book with his spot-on recommendations and
additions.
From Suzanne:
I’m grateful for input from Sarah Bowen Shea, Mary Duffy, Daryn Eller, Daniel
Hernandez, Jim Kraft, John Lehr, Wendy Niemi Kremer, Jennifer Schlosberg,
and Dana Sullivan. Nancy Gottesman performed her usual function of allow-
ing me to kvetch whenever I felt like it.
Special thanks to my family — particularly my parents, my grandparents, and
my sister — for understanding my absence from various events while I worked
to meet my deadline. And thanks Mom, Dad, Espy, Jen, and John for helping
me move in the middle of all of this!
Finally, I couldn’t have a better coauthor than Liz Neporent, a good friend, a
great wit, and the supreme maven of all things fitness.
From Liz:
Many thanks to my Plus One partners, Jay Shafran, Mike Motta, and Bill Horne.
Thanks also to the entire Plus One staff, with special gratitude to Grace De
Simone, Holly Byrne, Baze Amiri, Lemont Platt, Bob Welter, Jamie Macdonald,
and Tom Maraday. And, as always, I’m grateful to the individual site managers
for making my job so easy and giving me the time to do all my extracurricular
projects: John Buzzerio, Shel Bibbey, Kathleen Troy, Jason Ferrara, Terry
Certain, Nancy Ngai, Nancy Belli, Mary Franz, Laura Girodano, Tom McCann,
and Carrie Wujick.
To my parents, sister, brothers, nieces, nephews, and all of my in-laws:
Thanks for your encouragement. Ditto to my good friends Patty Buttenheim,
Gina Allchin, Norman Zinker, and Mary Duffy. I also appreciate Frank Tirelli,
Lucy McGovern, Pam DiPietro, and David Wildstein for helping out with orga-
nization and proofreading.
A very special thanks to my husband, Jay Shafran, who is without a doubt the
most supportive person on the face of the earth. And a very special thank-
you to my coauthor Suzanne Schlosberg. It is always fun, entertaining, and
enlightening to work with you.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration
form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition
Media Development
Project Coordinator:Emily Wichlinski
Project Editor: Elizabeth Kuball
Layout and Graphics:Carl Byers,
(Previous Edition: Wendy Hatch) Lauren Goddard, Joyce Haughey,
Stephanie D. Jumper, Barry Offringa
Acquisitions Editor:Tracy Boggier
Proofreaders:Leeann Harney,Jessica Kramer,
Copy Editor:Elizabeth Kuball
Joe Niesen, Carl William Pierce,
(Previous Edition: Donna Love)
Indexer:TECHBOOKS Production Services
Technical Editor: Randall Broderdorf
Editorial Supervisor:Carmen Krikorian
Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker
Editorial Assistants: Courtney Allen,
Nadine Bell
Cover Photos: © Royalty-Free CORBIS
Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan,Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services