Reviews for Total Body Transformation: The Acclaimed Wholistic Fitness Personal Training System That Unites Yoga and the Gym!

The average rating for Total Body Transformation: The Acclaimed Wholistic Fitness Personal Training System That Unites Yoga and the Gym! based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2007-12-20 00:00:00 Richard Lubbers Steve Ilg, you lovable psychopath, god bless you and your named plants and your bike, Grunt. I was the "yoga student who never hit the gym", not a "gym rat who never hit the mat" before I met you. I put on 13 pounds of muscle when I followed Green Tara for six weeks - it was not a good look for me at the time, although my triceps were very handsome - and I felt like an athlete rather than just an in-shape person. I think this is a good exercise program for men, because whoever you are, you will look like a man after you do it. There is a WEALTH of information here, and it is not just a diet/exercise book. Steve Ilg will make you want to be a better person, and fitness is just one of the conduits for that. He asks his students to address weight training, cardio, power yoga, diet (vegan, mostly), and meditation and spiritual health. The result feels a little puritanical, but in a nice way. Following this program to the T is very extreme and very difficult if you don't do some of these things already. I think if I tried it again, I would find it much easier than I did when I read the book the first time. I have used parts of it off and on for years- organizing cardio/yoga days, long cardio days on Saturdays- and when I feel like my posture is suffering I'll use beeper guru from time to time! I did/taught a lot of yoga in 2009, and when our studio shut down, I was left with a burnt-out feeling. So I took Ilg's advice: try the cardio you suck at! Running replaced yoga, and his advice about cardio training was really helpful for me then. What is extremely useful about this book is Ilg's upfront attitude about scheduling. Take a day off from working out each week to plan meals and schedule the week. You will need two- or three- hour blocks in your day to accommodate your new daily routine. It is a fascinating experiment to conduct on yourself, if you're interested in that. You'd have to do it with your partner or live alone for it to work, though. I don't follow this program any longer because it doesn't suit my needs right now, but I'm sure that I will try it again in the future, and it still informs the regular decisions I make about exercise. It's still the only fitness book I own.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-08-13 00:00:00 Neil Perron I actually really like this book, despite its embarrassing title. He talks about the importance of combining yoga, meditation, cardio, nutrition (focused on vegetarianism) and strength training. He encourages a greater reverence for more North American exercise (strength training and cardio)... putting more presence/meditation into it. He encourages you to focus on your breathing and to be in the moment. I've only read the first third, the two other thirds are meant for more intense training. He wants you to follow his particular program, but it seems much too difficult. I just took his general ideas and put my own program together. His yoga program seems all right, but I find it somewhat hard to follow. I'd rather go out to a class.