Every Wednesday, Gretchen Reynolds singlehandedly influences how millions of Americans work out. In her Phys Ed column for The New York Times, she debunks myths, spurs conversation, and creates arguments among her readers by questioning widely held beliefs about exercise.
Expanding upon her popular columns, Reynolds tackles the questions we all have and (sometimes) ask about exercise. Consulting experts in physiology, biology, psychology, neurology, and sports, she uncovers how often we should exercise, how long workouts should be, how to avoid injury, and how to find the right form, routine, and equipment for our goals.
She also reveals some surprising answers, like:
©2012 Gretchen Reynolds (P)2012 Gildan Media, LLC
"[This audiobook] delivers answers to many perennial training questions [and] does a great job of myth-busting some well-established beliefs. It's a great guide for the mindful athlete who wants to gain all the benefits of physical training while minimizing downtime from injury or over-training." (Danny Dreyer, Founder of Chi Running and co-author of Chi Running, Chi Walking, and Chi Marathon)
"There has never been a better time in history to grow stronger, faster, and smarter; there has never been a more helpful book than Gretchen Reynolds's The First 20 Minutes. Smart, clear, and beautifully useful, this is the new fitness Bible for the modern age." (Dan Coyle, author of The Talent Code and Lance Armstrong's War)
"The First 20 Minutes is packed with interesting tips and insights. Pickle juice for cramps, who would have ever thought! Gretchen Reynolds once again delivers a winner." (Dean Karnazes, uber athlete and New York Times best-selling author of UltraMarathon Man)
caffeinated
"Good info."
There are hundreds of good tips in this book. It dispels dozens of bits of long-held exercise dogma with plenty of hard science. I would put it in my top five books on exercise and nutrition, and I plan to download the Kindle version and will refer to it often.
An Information Systems Analyst involved in setting up new businesses.
"A great read, but a little too carb centric."
Okay I learnt a LOT from this book and would definitely recommend it. Gretchen squeezes a lot of the most recent findings related to exercise and nutrition into a concise and informative narrative.
This book has changed the way I think and do my exercise and have already incorporated HIIT style running sessions in my training with great results. There are many other gems of information but I won't spoil it. If you are remotely interested in fitness or just turning back the biological clock this is a must read.
Notes from a low-carb perspective...
Unlike other books the author does not unnecessarily demonise fat, but seems not ready to make the leap to saying fat can be healthy, and Gretchen still conveys a carbohydrate centric view of diet which was a mild but not unexpected disappointment.
In the end her only concession was saying high fat diets are fine if you exercise, I might argue similarly for carb based diet, but thats still not mainstream opinion. Even if you are keto / paleo there is still plenty to learn from this book. enjoy.
"Good info."
Not sure if I agree with everything she says, but it was a good book
"Amazing New Research Well Written in Lay Terms"
The research on exercise physiology has never been summarized so well before. Gretchen Reynolds does an outstanding job of presenting the research in an especially helpful manner. I am a medical doctor & runner who finds her writing enlightening & refreshing, as well as inspiring.
She is comprehensive, yet summarizes exercise physiology research in an extremely helpful manner.
She reads beautifully with appropriate emphasis in her voice.
It would need to be a documentary. "Even very little exercise preserves the brain, as well as the entire body."
I would recommend this book to everyone.
"Narrator made this book impossible to listen to"
Maybe Ms. Reynolds, but definitely not Ms. Saltus
I can't really judge the content, because the narration was unbearable
She sounds detatched, overly cheerful, and condescending all at once. From the way she reads, including a slow pace and strange emphasis, I get the impression she doesn't fully understand what she is reading, and/or assumes the listener will not. Ugh!
Disappointment that such a poor narrator was chosen.
If this title interests you, get it in print.
"This book doesn't translate well to audio"
There is some important and interesting information here, but the narrator is not a great audiobook reader. So many of the better readers use their voice to help guide the listener to what is most important. This one seems excited about everything, which, ironically, made the book feel monotonous. She might do better with a different kind of book. Until I checked, I thought the book had been read by the author.
"Not sure of her sources."
I was not impressed the amount of documentation of the book. I do not know what Ms. Reynolds qualifications are. She is obviously a proponent of High Intensity Training.
I was simply not a fan of Ms Saltus's voice quality and she is obviously not medically trained. There were several words that we not pronounced with emphasis on the right syllables.
i drive a truck on the night shift. i love hearing interesting stories, i need some action to keep me awake :)
"good information"
yes, it is full of reasonable information that reinforces the notion of living healthy.
sure
the performance was fine
yes
"Great Overall Review of Current Exercise Science"
This book is a great review of the current science of exercise, diet and health.
I am a Physics and Engineering student.
"Learn To Live Forever"
I'm obviously just kidding about living forever, but this book had a lot of useful information on how to be more healthy. Some of the info I didn't need to know, but most of it did pertained to me. The narrator was excellent; one of the best I've heard. I am very happy I listened to this book and have modified my workouts because of it. If you exercise I recommend this book. I think you will enjoy it and also learn from it. .