Product Description

At last comes a book which stands out from the welter of fitness advice offered by improbably shaped models and musclemen. For Ranulph Fiennes, described by the GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS as 'the world's greatest living explorer', physical fitness is no fad: it has enabled him to withstand the rigours of desert and glacier alike. The book includes research into body types and environmental effects; advice on self-motivation, diet and basic food control and guidance on avoiding stress, illness and injury. Beginning with basic exercises designed to help you maintain a minimum level of fitness and progressing through to training regimes tailored to those who are aiming for greater heights in sport, adventure or everyday life, FIT FOR LIFE provides practical help and encouragement to take you as far as you wish to go.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46323 in Books
• Published on: 1999-11-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Ranulph Fiennes' caution "only the fit survive" at the beginning of this book prepares the reader for what is much more than a post-binge fitness fad. For Fit for Life is, says Fiennes, a way of life; a manner of eating and exercise that can not only make you look better but which will also enhance your energy levels, improve your base fitness levels and probably prolong your life.

With the caveat that most of us probably wouldn't be up to polar expeditions (even if we did have the desire!) Fiennes goes on to convince even the most doubting couch potato that tip-top fitness is within everyone's reach. And the biggest surprise of the book is that he succeeds. Starting at a very low level--"The Fitness Basics"--is a very clever thing to do, because before you know it you have raced through the warm-up exercises, have finished the strength training section and are in the "Moving into the Top 2 Per Cent" chapter thinking "maybe I can run a marathon after all".

Step by step, Fiennes takes you through genetic disposition to laziness, what's good (and bad) to eat and how to choose a sport and start an exercise programme, all the time assuring you that he is really the laziest person in the world who has to be cajoled into movement before every super endurance, life-threatening trek or expedition he takes part in.

Illustrated extensively with photographs taking you through every recommended exercise, this book really is all you need (aside from motivation), whether you just want to reach a good general level of fitness and health, or go on and become an outstanding endurance athlete. Packed with sound advice, a number of training regimes for every level of fitness, (including the I-haven't-got-off-the-sofa-for- 20-years level) and a host of personal anecdotes and motivational tips, Fit for Life is a great fitness book for the real person. Trips to fashionable gyms and expensive lycra do not feature highly in this programme--personal motivation, outdoor sports and sensible eating do. A great antidote to the fitness fads of recent years. --Lucie Naylor

Review
'Ranulph Fiennes' caution "only the fit survive" at the beginning of this book prepares the reader for what is much more than a post-binge fitness fad. For Fit for Life is, says Fiennes, a way of life; a manner of eating and exercise that can not only make you look better but which will also enhance your energy levels, improve your base fitness levels and probably prolong your life. With the caveat that most of us probably wouldn't be up to polar expeditions (even if we did have the desire!) Fiennes goes on to convince even the most doubting couch potato that tip-top fitness is within everyone's reach. And the biggest surprise of the book is that he succeeds. Starting at a very low level--"The Fitness Basics"--is a very clever thing to do, because before you know it you have raced through the warm-up exercises, have finished the strength training section and are in the "Moving into the Top 2 Per Cent" chapter thinking "maybe I can run a marathon after all". Step by step, Fiennes takes you through genetic disposition to laziness, what's good (and bad) to eat and how to choose a sport and start an exercise programme, all the time assuring you that he is really the laziest person in the world who has to be cajoled into movement before every super endurance, life-threatening trek or expedition he takes part in. Illustrated extensively with photographs taking you through every recommended exercise, this book really is all you need (aside from motivation), whether you just want to reach a good general level of fitness and health, or go on and become an outstanding endurance athlete. Packed with sound advice, a number of training regimes for every level of fitness, (including the I-haven't-got-off-the-sofa-for- 20-years level) and a host of personal anecdotes and motivational tips, Fit for Life is a great fitness book for the real person. Trips to fashionable gyms and expensive lycra do not feature highly in this programme--personal motivation, outdoor sports and sensible eating do. A great antidote to the fitness fads of recent years.' - Lucie Naylor, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW

About the Author
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Bt, OBE, the world's most celebrated contemporary adventurer and explorer, has been a leader of major expeditions for 26 years, becoming in 1993 the first man to walk unsupported across the Antarctic continent.

Customer Reviews

Any age, any fitness level, this is the book for you!
I was 16 when I first read this book, I'm now 18 and still use the programmes. I hope to run a Marathon either this or next year. My mum read it and has lost 2 stone!!! Whatever you goal, weight loss, to build muscle, to be able to run marathons, or just to live a little longer and more healthily; this book will have advice and a programme for you to follow to get exactly what you want, if you are prepared to give up some time for exercise and re-stock the fridge! May I also recommend you check out some of Ranulph Fiennes novels, may sound like I'm working for him or something but I feel like I owe him something, thanks to this book.

Excellent for those who want some useful advice
I bought this book a number of years ago. I had been advised to give up playing squash by a cardiologist (he said as I was past 30 that 'squash is a dead mans game' ) I wanted to develop my fitness levels and having been a social squash player I was starting from quite low base. The book takes you through a wide range of issues on fitness including diet and other factors. It helps you identify what you want to do; be it the gym, swimming, cycling, walking etc and provides clear and understandable guidance on how to set and realise achievable goals and then take them beyond if you wish to do so. I would recommend it to anyone interested in reviewing a fitness routine, or their attitude to health in general.

A sceptic won over by this excellent book
I approached this book with some scepticism because of the vast number of badly written self help books, diet books and fitness books on the market. I am in my early forties and (like many)prone to putting on weight, but I have used gyms, trained and been interested in fitness training for many years, having read many books on the subject. I thought this book would be the equivalent of an anectodal after-dinner speech by the great celebrity explorer, with a bit of fitness and advice thrown in for good measure. To my surprise and continuing pleasure, I could not have been more wrong.

I have never read a book on this subject which combines so much practical advice with such readability and sheer interest. Unlike one reviewer, I do find myself dipping into it - there is so much information in it I feel I come away each time with an interesting snippet or at least a refreshing slant on a familiar topic.

The style is very readable - Fiennes gives it to you straight, and cuts to the chase, with little of the woolly rubbish included in many other "lifestyle" manuals. He is especially good on motivation (I suppose to be expected from someone who had to motivate himself to some fairly hefty achievements).

The chapter on the benefits of being fit is excellent, as are the sections on general food control. This is a very realistic book...

I think the system he sets out (for both exercise and food control) is very good indeed. He acknowledges that relapses are normal, and advises that as long as you know what you are doing and do it whenever you can, your fitness level will increase accordingly. Sound advice for those prone to fits of depression at the scale of the task facing them.

I would recommend this book to just about anyone, from couch potatoes who find motivation difficult to fit athletes who want to move into ultra endurance events, from those who simply want to eat more healthily to those who want to prepare their bodies for Antarctic expeditons (Fiennes, in his fifties, is also alive to the fitness requirements of older persons). I was extremely surprised at how non-elitist and universal it is. It is also interesting and not a little inspiring to read about Fiennes' own experience, which is illustrative and informative rather than an intrusive part of this excellent book.