Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body

I never thought I would be lifting weights for the first time at the ripe old age of 67, but that is what Mike Matthew's book, written specifically for women, has allowed me to do. The book provides many research studies to back up the author's theory of fitness. His plan for proper nutrition, weight-lifting, and the inclusion of cardio exercise is reasonable and very doable - even for a senior with a bad knee and a lot of arthritis. I am becoming stronger than I have ever been. The book comes with Michael Matthew's comprehensive web site (musclesforlife.com). It contains many articles he has written on diet, nutrition, and exercise; it also contains forums where he answers readers' questions. I you have a personal question about adapting his recommended program to your needs, Mike responds quickly to email. He willingly gave me suggestions for changing some exercises to accommodate my aging joints. He also posts videos about topics of interest to his readers. Here are a few of Mike's simple concepts that make this book so logical for me: 1. It is important to build/maintain muscle in order to lose fat and maintain that loss. 2. Muscle requires more calories than body fat - even when you are at rest. Increased muscle = increased metabolism = fat loss. 3. The right amount of cardio exercise burns fat, but too much burns muscle as well. 4. Because of a limited amount of testosterone, women lifting weights will not "bulk up" and look masculine. I once thought I was quite fit. Until injuries and osteoarthritis interfered, I ran or performed other forms of cardio activity almost every day. I have never had good upper body or core strength, however. With age and inactivity, I found myself unable to perform some household chores, e.g., climbing, getting up from the floor, doing heavy gardening, etc. Following the program in Thinner Leaner Stronger I am getting stronger without having to spend a lot of time doing exercises. My program: 1. I go to the gym 5 days a week for about 40-50 minutes, doing 4 different exercises at each visit, mostly with free weights. 2. I exercise one major muscle group each day: Back; Chest/Abs; Arms; Shoulders; Legs. 3. I do 20-30 minutes of cardio 5 times a week, but not close to the time of my weight lifting (lifting in a.m., cardio at night). 4. My cardio is HIIT (high intensity interval training): I walk my dog while alternating 30-45 seconds of sprinting with walking. 5. I do no weight lifting or cardio one day a week. 5. I eat about 1400 calories per day: low fat, mostly slow carbs, and enough protein to support muscle growth. 6. One meal a week is a "cheat meal," when I eat whatever I want. I am slowly losing fat and gaining muscle. I was a bit sore at first, but nothing that stopped me. Every week I am able to lift more weight on the exercises than I was able to lift the week before. If you want to get in shape and lose fat, I cannot recommend this book enough.

UPDATE after 45 days: Download the free companion workout app which helps you track the TLS book workout: It's called Stacked. Helps you document all the TLS exercises and track your progress!!! _________________________________________ You can literally buy this book and trash every single copy of Shape, Oxygen, and Cosmo you have, discontinue the crazy dangerous CrossFit, and kiss Jillian Michaels goodbye. I've seen it, done it, plus 20 years in the Army, many marathons and two babies later determined that these do not work. Michael Matthews' book does! When I hit 40 I could feel my energy starting to dip and I was starting to see ever so slight indications that my body was past its peak despite keeping a fairly steady weight. I researched and determined that weight training was the way to beat it, and I let myself lift heavier than I thought was appropriate for a woman. After about 2 months I started to get firmer and was hooked. I became a regular at the gym, but my routines were all "winging it," trying to copy what I saw in magazines, on YouTube, and at the gym. I was getting the easy newbie gains, but I wasn't confident that my splits would get me to the next level that I wanted to achieve. I'm now at month 6 and have plateaued. I have been looking for a routine road map that is logical, based on evidence-based medicine using statistically significant studies (former pharma rep here!), simple, and minimizes my time at the gym. I'm divorced with two kids and a demanding career, so I have my limits. I have paid a personal trainer, but I noticed that he's not really willing to prescribe a sound routine for me because he wants me to stay with him for a revenue stream. I didn't want to be shelling out $$$ to see gains. I found TLS after borrowing a friend's copy of The Shredded Chef. I thought that nutrition would solve all my problems, but after checking out the Muscle For Life site I knew that though nutrition is the main factor, my routine wasn't focused enough to get me much further. Since all the magazines and blogs were so confusing and this Kindle edition was only $7 and change, I purchased the Kindle TLS. I downloaded it onto my phone and can take it to the gym for reference. The book lays a great foundation of how are bodies are built, how there are physiological variations amongst us, what the science proves about exercise, and how this translates to a sound lifting routine that will produce results. The road map for the best weight training approach is so clear, so direct that there's no question of what you should do and how you should do it when you walk in the gym. When I read the TLS formula on page 150 of the Kindle edition it was like reading the Rosetta Stone. I have been searching for this formula for the last 4 months and I'm REALLY excited to apply it. TLS also prioritizes the exercises which is helpful since some of them were clearly not equal but I wasn't sure which was most effective. I'm tweaking my diet a bit, but I'm very sure that I have the key to reduce body fat and get the shoulders and butt I want. I've got my cellulite reduced quite a bit, but this formula is going to get me all the way there. Final word of advice: This book is so concise and complete you won't need any other investment when it comes to programming your own routine. It could help any woman who has been hitting that elliptical or zumba class without much change. Not bad for less than $8! Find a trainer you trust and pay for a session or two to walk through proper techniques for the 5-6 major compound moves that you must master. Then plug that TLS formula into your phone and get to it!

A lot of other reviewers comment that this book is not for experienced weightlifters and gave it negative reviews for that. This book ("Thinner, Leaner, Stronger," or TLS) wasn't written for them - it was written for people like me. I've been a regular (4-6 times/week) gym rat for at least 12 years. I started doing conditioning for varsity sports in college, but after I quit sports, I continued working out quite regularly in an attempt to lose/maintain weight and stay healthy. I'm sad to say I've mostly been doing it wrong. The good thing about TLS is that it convinces you that the best way to achieve fitness and lose fat is to lift heavy weights, high intensity cardio, and diet. I was missing the heavy weights part. I'd lifted weights for conditioning in sports but soon stopped after I quit sports. Since then, I had done basically every kind of exercise out there, including group fitness classes and a boutique boxing gym, in order to stay motivated. Many of these mix cardio and strength training (sometimes with weights, sometimes with body weight) into the same 30-60 minute exercise. I always felt like I was getting a good workout but had trouble looking leaner even though I'd sit on the elliptical or treadmill for almost an hour a day. I've now been following TLS for a little more than 2 weeks. It's not enough time to prove the theory, but it's enough to let me know that this is a great way to work out. It isn't as difficult as some cardio-heavy routines I've done in the past, and I feel like I'm already looking leaner and losing weight. I like that the author goes to great lengths to prove that the workout he suggests, the diet, and the supplements are the best proven ways to achieve lean fitness. If you're wondering whether or not this book is for you, I would suggest reading Mike Matthews' website, "Muscle for Life." Most of the advice, except for the specific workout, are included on that website. The best thing about this workout is that Mike Matthews will answer your questions, either by email or on the website forum. I love this book so much that I want to tell everyone I know about it. I don't because that would just be annoying - but I can't help it. This book has converted me. I believe I've found the best way to be leaner, thinner, and stronger after 12 years of essentially wasting my time. And you'll notice no bigger theme in this review than that I hate wasting time. However, I want to point out that this book is not necessarily for everyone. That's why I suggested reading the articles on the website first. Here are some of the downsides of this fitness approach: - It's best for people who are already in decent shape and used to working out. People just starting to exercise regularly for the first time in their lives might want to adapt some of the exercises, such as less intense cardio to start and lifting in the 8-12 rep range for the first few weeks. - You'll need access to heavy weights and gym equipment, including a bench, olympic weights, bar, and power rack at a minimum. I priced this out and think it would cost around $1000 to outfit a home gym, less if you can find equipment on craigslist. Your only other option is a gym membership. I've been working out at home lately and prefer home workouts to going to a gym because of the amount of extra time it takes (driving there, changing, showering afterwards, driving back home). But because of the startup cost, as well as the lack of space in my home, I got a gym membership. The downside to all this is that most people don't keep up with fitness routines despite their best intentions to lose weight and then they stop using their gym memberships or their home gym. So this is money down the drain if you can't keep up with it. Gyms are actually relying on people purchasing memberships and then just not going. It's their business model. I personally resent the extra time it takes to go to the gym, even though I've done it for years. Working out at home is my preference. Someday I will save the money to do so. - This workout is best for people who can devote 45-60 minutes 5-6 days a week to working out. That's just elapsed time doing the workouts, not the extra time I mentioned for getting to/from the gym. It's a little bit longer than fits comfortably in most working folks' schedules. More specifically, the workout requires lifting heavy weights for 3-5 days a week (the routines take about 45 minutes) and then doing 20-30 minutes of cardio 3-5 days a week. The author recommends separating the lifting and cardio by several hours. That isn't possible for me because of my job, and it isn't possible for most people. The alternative is to do the cardio workout right after the lifting workout, squeezing it into the 60 or so minutes if you're really disicplined about rest times and very organized with all the equipment you'll need. Otherwise it takes 15+ minutes longer. Or you could do the minimum 3 lifting days a week and separate 3 cardio days per week. I suspect the fitness improvement will be slower and/or less impressive this way, but it's technically possible. The reason this bothers me is that I've found that I can keep to a workout routine best if it's less than 60 minutes per day, which is a bit tight for this program if I lift 5 days/week with cardio right after. - I am struggling with the diet, which emphasizes a particular proportion of macro nutrients in addition to calorie deficit, specifically, 45% protein, 20% carbs, and 35% fat. Calorie deficit I can do, but somehow I have to eat 160 or so grams of protein per day and less than 70 grams of carbs, which I haven't managed to do so far. It seems that protein supplements more than once a day would be required. My natural diet of whole foods seem to be 33% protein, 33% carbs, and 33% fat. At the same time, this is a low carb diet, and I've found with willpower issues that it's easier just to reduce calorie intake than it is to worry about exactly what you're eating. I don't mind dieting so much if I can have a frozen lean cuisine pizza for dinner to calm my food cravings. This is not possible on the diet in TLS. - The supplements section is fairly informative, but I'll point out again the startup cost involved in purchasing supplements. Luckily, supplements are technically optional since they just don't help as much as diet and workouts. The reduced star to my review, despite the fact that I love this book, is due to the downsides to the program listed above as well as the fact that there is no quick reference guide to the major topics (workout, diet, supplements). Instead, you have to read through all the text to find the piece of information you're looking for. In other words, the information should be summarized more simply, since there are more than a few details to keep straight. I wrote the author about this and he mentioned it will be improved in a future edition of the book.

Okay so I just got the book yesterday and I'm already halfway through. no this is probably going to be a long review first of all the book is a lot thicker and goes through a lot more than I expected it to. but that's a very good thing a list of why this book is great for beginners and then I'll list off reasons why it's good for experts or people who are not new to the fitness realm. Why it's good for beginners. I have so many people ask me advice on how to get fit how to lose weight how to do this what to eat what to not eat and although I knew a lot of all the information already I just didn't know how to word it or had to help them some person that asked didn't even know what a calorie was which you know there was a point where I didn't know what a calorie was either. Well this book makes it very simple and makes it scientific reasoning and proof and understanding of what protein is of what a calorie is of what it does for your body of what carbs are. There is no lies or things made up to get you to buy more protein bars or protein shakes and he even gets down to the secrets of what's really behind all of the programs out there. The fitness industry does not want you to know these secrets because they're not secrets at all but the fitness industry has wanted to do nothing but make a money off of us so they make so many promises and half truths and use big fancy words and we get so many different advice and stories and sometimes they even contradict each other. This book digs deep into all of that so that you can understand the scientific truth to everything and to understand all that is a huge step. It will also help me know how to teach other people when they reach out to me for help because he wears it so simply and he sets it out step by step so that you can learn more easily and he validates everything through science so it's not just more information contradicting each other you know what's true and what's not true. so if you're a beginner and you're trying to lose weight get toned gain muscle whatever your goals are this is the ultimate book and I wish I would have gone at years ago because even though I knew a lot of the information already from doing my own research just as he did it was great to have it validated and to understand it so clearly. sometimes I yo-yo diet because I don't know what the truth is and where to go and I always learn something new and then this new program comes out and then they say it's the opposite of what I should be doing it's just all very confusing and I think we can all agree on that this book is not that. Please take a chance on this book and don't just judge it by its cover or read the first few pages read it from the start to the end. It will definitely be worth your time. Why is it good for experts? Okay so I've been a fitness junkie Fred I don't know how many years I'm also a recovered anorexic. Fitness is always been very important to me but it's never been more important to me than it is now for personal reasons so basically I knew a lot of this information already. But the reason why this book helped me so much is because sometimes even experts fall into the trap of a lot of the lies that the fitness industry tells us and we even pass it on to other people with good intentions. This book will simplify validate all the different things that you've been learning to know the exact science and to know exactly how it all works so you know exactly what you're doing and I do believe that they're even personal trainers out there who should read this book because you can also learn a lot on how to talk to people on how to motivate them it even has a section in the book on things that would help with having self-control and even explains the science behind the dopamine and your brain that you produce and release when you're craving chocolate and when you want that cupcake that's in front of you or that huge slice of pizza. And he's very real about everything. Another few things that I'd like to add that's great about this book is that it makes me laugh quite a bit of times he's definitely got a sense of humor writing this book and that makes it a whole lot less boring and yes there are times where it does get boring but you know what it's worth it. If you read this book and you put it into practice into your life you will never have to make another program you won't need supplements and yes you'll still get to have your foods that you enjoy but you'll also know what you're putting into your body how your body is going to respond to it. and he has a good portion of the book that's all about how to work on the inside of you and not just the outside of you because if the inside is not working too then it's going to be hard to keep working on the outside because it does take a lot of self-control especially when that dopamine in your brain wants you to eat everything in sight or want you to skip that workout. Almost everything you've been taught and all these programs and in the fitness industry and even on Instagrams are all a lie and a sham. And before reading this book like I said I already knew a lot of the information but I'd get so confused like what's true what's not true and so reading this really validated a lot of it sometimes I would see the title of a chapter and it'd be like oh I know about all this but then I decided to read it anyway because he really does get into the science of it he doesn't just share his opinions he shares facts. I'm actually a little jealous that I did not come up with this book LOL another reason why I wanted to read this book is because my goal is to become a personal trainer but I have a hard time simplifying things for people and I make it far too complicated and people just get overwhelmed so that's something that I really have to work on in this book is really taught me on how to do that too so if you're a new it personal training or that's your goal this is another good book to read as well but again even if you're a beginner at this book is awesome as well. Getting fit doesn't have to be so complicated. when you're first learning about everything it seems a little complicated and it seems like a lot when you see how thick the book is but then once you get the hang of it it's really not. But again I'm only halfway through the book so I haven't even gotten through the workout part of it all I've only gotten through a lot of the nutrition lies in the fitness industry the facts of fitness. And there are a few things that I didn't know that I did learn since I'm recovering anorexic I had no clue that it was a lie that my metabolism was broken after reading this book I learned that that's false your metabolism just can't break. It only slightly slows down even when starving and is very easy to repair. Just one more thing I want to add he does not sugarcoat things he says that the way they are even if you don't want to hear it. I bet there are so many programs in Instagram and stuff like that that can't stand this man for writing this book because he speaks the truth and they can't make money off the truth. the fitness industry wants you to keep coming back wants you to keep buying supplements want you to keep buying their secret special sauce and as he put it it's all hogwash! There is no secret there is only science and once you learn the science behind it all that's when you can really make progress. I can't wait to put this into practice and stop getting confused between all the different information that I've been getting because now that I know the science behind it all there's nothing that can stop me you can't argue with facts!

This book has been a total life changer. I've been on a Paleo diet for the past five years or more. I couldn't figure out why I could not lose weight or change my body composition when I was "eating clean" and exercising consistently. It turns out that if you eat A LOT of "clean" food, it still adds up! I've been a competitive weight lifter for over a decade, and I've read a lot of books on fitness and nutrition, and this was the first book that actually put together convincing science, clear guidelines, and a no-nonsense approach to changing your body composition while getting stronger. Because of this book, I now understand how the optimal combination of macro-nutrients (protein, carbs, and fat) in your diet can fuel a healthy body. I learned how to use a customized macro-nutrient combination for meal planning and meal timing for workout prep and recovery. I understand how to track my food so that I have plenty of food for my body type and goals, but no more than I need. I'm eating carbs and I'm no longer scared of them. I'm full and satisfied at the end of the day, and no longer stressed about what I'm eating. The diet and exercise plan is clearly laid out in the book, with helpful summaries at the end of each chapter (which I refer back to frequently). The easy to follow formula has only added clarity and not additional work to my life. It turns out that these phrases don't actually make sense without context - "eat less carbs," eat less sugar," "eat more protein." The book debunks myths and makes you feel empowered with information and a road map for success. Perhaps the most interesting part of the book offers advice about they psychology of change. Our mind can be our biggest asset or our most daunting enemy when trying to reach personal goals. This book provides useful ways to identify (and preempt) personal sabotage. I've followed the plan outlined in this book for the past two months, along with the help off the "One Year Challenge" companion journal The Year 1 Challenge for Women: Thinner, Leaner, and Stronger Than Ever in 12 Months (Build Muscle, Get Lean, Stay Healthy Series) to track of my lifts at the gym. I've lost eight pounds and gained muscle mass and strength.I have much more energy and precision related to pre and post workout meals. Most importantly to me, I have confidence because I finally have a plan that I can track methodically and see progress. It's also great to show up to the gym with a game plan and to simply focus on the getting the work done. The numbers are easy to follow, and they don't lie. If you follow the plan, then it works. Finally, Mike Mathews, the author, says several times in the book to contact him directly if you have any questions. It was hard for me to believe that he actually meant it! I decided to shoot over an email with my gratitude and questions. He replied within one day with an incredibly helpful response to all of my questions and additional encouragement. He's obviously committed and making a huge difference. Even if you've read every fitness and nutrition book under the sun. I highly recommend you give this one a try.

I think the dieting principles are fantastic for women especially as we're more likely to have done multiple fad diets (yo-yo dieting). On that note, I get really pissed at his attitude, very common from fitness bros, that if a diet isn't working for you, it's cuz you're messing it up. He used a starvation experiment done on MEN (who have less metabolic down regulation response to restriction than women since they don't have to support life) and their metabolisms down regulated by 20% in 6 months on 1500 cal. While most diet recommendations for women are usually 1200. Women often do this for YEARS! It's very likely a woman with a history of dieting has a metabolism functioning more than 20% below what the Mifflin St Jeor formula will give. He recommends a 20-25% deficit to achieve weight loss. But somehow that same 20% is insignificant when it comes to metabolic slow down and if you're not losing weight, it's cuz you're cheating or can't measure properly. I really hate that dismissive, judgemental, condescending attitude coming from someone who's supposed to be helping you. But his diet method does address something most mainstream diets never tell you to do, which is reverse diet back to maintenance calories every 6-8 weeks to reverse metabolic slow down. If you have a history of dieting and calorie deficits are not working for you, do a reverse diet before you start your cut! Get your metabolism to where it should be first. So you can eat as much as possible while cutting, feel you're best, have better workouts, recovery and muscle retention. The workouts are definitely not a bad place to start if weightlifting is new to you. There's lots of compound movements, hit every major muscle group. But it's all sagittal plane movement except for lateral shoulder raises. You never train frontal or transverse plane hip movement. This will result in less full looking and less functional hips. Most women care more about their hips than any other body part. This will give you some basic, large, prime mover strength that may make other hip work easier. It's not a bad starting point. I'd read it for the diet info and the mindset. If you're completely new to lifting, do this plan for the first 3 months. Then read The Glute Lab by Brett Contreras and get the best training plan for the enviable booty women dream of and strong, functional, healthy hips.

At age 70, after two broken ankles, being in a wheelchair for 3 months, (in 2020), herniated disc surgery (which failed in 2021), severe osteoporosis, numbing my pain for 9 months with Oxycontin and alcohol (now sober for 4 years) and not enough strength to get up off the floor...I decided to do a deep dive into what could possibly renew my strength. Thankfully I found Michael Matthews. I purchased, read and re-read, 'Thinner, Leaner, Stronger' along with 'The Year One Challenge for Women' written by Michael. (Although my favorite book written by Michael is 'Stronger Than Yesterday'. He helped me laugh. When I first started my journey, I called it "Fighting to Live." The process was daunting, but I was able to take Michael's advice and adjust the workouts to my ability. At the beginning of 2024 I could only lift my body weight or a mere 2-3 pounds through the planned workouts. I set up a home gym and after working on my own for about 6 months, I took a leap and through Michael's website was able to connect with a wonderful coach who was incredibly supportive and understanding. It was the added incentive I needed. Now, a year and a half since my first workout, I am able to dead lift 70 pounds, bench press 55 pounds, squat 45 pounds, but most importantly, I can now get up off the floor with little effort. I have also dropped from 170 pounds to 150. (And counting....) I recently hit a snag in my workouts, and emailed Michael for advice. Believe me when I say, Michael takes an interest in every client. He personally responded to my cry for help, through email, and again bolstered my confidence in his program. He gave me several suggestions on how to progress while dealing with some of my mobility issues. Oh...and did I mention...I am in pain before working out and pain about 2 hours after working out, but the miracle happens during my hour to hour and a half weightlifting program. My body is in absolutely no pain at all. My doctors keep telling me it's because, 'motion is lotion' and that the progressive weightlifting I am doing, releases endorphins...natural opiod-like peptides produced by my body that act as pain relievers and mood boosters. I would HIGHLY recommend Michael Matthew's programs, book, website, coaches and supplements. Because of his instruction, this 71-year-old woman is still 'fighting to live' through weightlifting 3-5 days a week!

I absolutely love that Thinner Leaner Stronger (TLS) is completely science-based, citing several studies and experiments that support the overall themes employed in the TLS program. Whether you are new to your fitness journey or you have been active for a while and are looking for ways to improve your body composition, this book provides the knowledge and tools necessary to achieve the success you want to achieve. Though the book is titled Thinner Leaner Stronger, the keys to bulking, maintaining, and cutting in relation to body fat are all explained thoroughly. Mike Matthews also gives access to the TLS in 1-year program, which I have been following for approximately 2 weeks now and am already beginning to see results in body measurements overall. I highly recommend giving this 1-year program a try and not being discouraged if you try it for the first couple of weeks and don't see the results you expect. While I've previously noted that I have seen overall results, I began to see a slight increase in my weight despite my strict adherence to a meal plan designed to cut body fat. However, after reviewing body measurements, including body fat, arm circumference, waist circumference, leg & calf circumference, etc, I can see that the weight gain is not fat gain, but actually gains in lean mass. To top this all off, the author of the book, Mike Matthews (and his team) are super responsive to emails sent asking questions about any of his articles, books, meal plans, supplements, etc. This type of support is UNPARALLELED! It is of note that the meal plan directives should be followed along with the work out plan in order to make this program work for you. Mike Matthews provides all the tools to help you calculate the specific caloric / macronutrient needs tailored to your current body composition and fitness goals, but you can also purchase a custom meal plan (details provided in TLS 1-year program annex) if you want to simply remove the guesswork and get started. These plans can be tailored to a wide variety of diets/lifestyles, including vegan/plant-based, vegetarian, pescatarian etc. I personally have a plant based meal plan that is affordable to execute and not-so-time-consuming after a long day of work. I am so glad I gave this product a try, and I can't wait to see my progress after seeing it through!

preso per curiosità , io seguo il libro versione maschile , in realtà il metodo differisce molto poco fra uomo e donna cambiano principalmente come si organizzano gli esercizi che per le donne si enfatizzano più le gambe e glutei . come ho scritto per la versione uomo ... seguendo le indicazioni e faticando ed impegnandosi si possono avere risultati concreti ed anche discretamente rapidi , ovvio niente miracoli ... ma funziona c'è anche un bellissimo capitolo motivazionale cosa che manca in altre guide simili . da una approccio al fitness completo dieta allenamento e psicologico.

Mike Matthew did all of the research to optimize an exercise plan, an eating plan and which supplements are needed, and which ones to ditch. There is too much information available about fitness and after reading through the tedious studies, he documented the answers most people are looking for. There are many reasons to like this book: it teaches a lot of basic terminology, you will understand the number of calories & what kind of calories you want to take in when you are either cutting, maintaining or bulking, there is no "diet" - you eat what you want to work towards your goals, I learned more than enough about supplements, and why you should include cardio in a muscle building plan. Even though I am familiar with most barbell/dumbbell workouts, I still needed to ask questions & watch videos to make sure I had the technique/form right and it was a few years since I worked inside a power cage and needed more than simply reading a book to use it for for the military & bench press. One my favorite perks is you can email the author directly and he will respond to you within a few days...so when I didn't find information or somehow I missed details while I was reading the book, his website and/or listening to his podcasts on YouTube, I could shoot him a few questions and he happily responded. The only regret I have is that I didn't buy the paperback, I bought the electronic version. I found it hard to read from the beginning to end, I liked to jump from topic to topic but maybe that's just me. Also, I had an injury related to clumsiness that gave me time to do a lot of meal planning then once I returned to the training, I liked to review the lifting chapters the evening before. This book was the perfect way to reshape my cardio & strength activities and give me the know-how to reduce my body fat by 10%.

Esto lo escribo como hombre, ya que adquirí el otro libro de Mike "Bigger Leaner Stronger" y me pareció excelente, entonces decidí comprar este para mi esposa. Quiero decir que el libro es muy bueno, una buena parte es igual que la edición para hombres, pero realmente tiene muchísimas cosas especiales para ellas, el "ratio" de los nutrientes, como organizar tus alimentos y las rutinas un poco diferentes en cuanto a reps y tipos de ejercicios. El libro se basa principalmente en rutinas de peso, y peso libre en su mayoría. Hay muchos mitos de que si una mujer hace pesas, se vuelve "masculina" o se le va a hacer una espaldota y demás, pero todos ellos son solo eso, mitos. El tener más músculo limpio, quema mas calorías por si solo, además, el "tono muscular" que tanto se busca, se logra principalmente con ejercicios de peso, por lo tanto, recomiendo a toda mujer hacer pesas aunado a su rutina de cardio, pues los resultados serán mejores. Recomiendo este libro a toda mujer (y parejas hombres de mujeres) que quieran construir un mejor cuerpo, más sano, y más fuerte.

📚It’s a big-big book, I was expecting a little notebook size lol. This book is very thick and almost A4 in size. It has a lot of useful info and despite me already knowing a bit about fitness I lost 2,5 kg in the past few weeks since I started this program, and I am not hungry or suffering through the process. My workouts finally make me feel strong and my muscles started showing much more. The book contains all the information you need: workout programs for a year, meal plans and the method of putting these together yourself to fit your lifestyle and preferences. It is like a mini personal trainer course, you can complete for your own self. I can only recommend this book and this method to all the girls trying to loose weight, build muscle or both at the same time. Get this book, you won’t regret it! 💪🏻

Livre très sympa à lire et programme très cohérent,mis à part le côté diet qui n'est pas du tout facile à suivre mais qui a le mérite de faire comprendre aux lecteurs que le chemin est long et difficile et qu'il n'y a pas de recette miracle qui dure. Par contre on ne peut pas dire que ce soit un livre destiné uniquement aux femmes (marketing?!) c'est plutôt le petit guide pratique TLS pour tous.