A Minimalist's Approach to Exercise: The New Science of Fitness for Those Who Value Their Time

There is something terribly wrong with the state of exercise as we know it presently. Sales of treadmills, running shoes, gym memberships, and yoga classes are at an all-time high, but so too are our national levels of obesity and type II diabetes. Ever since the 1960s the exercising public has been told to stretch for flexibility and to perform low-intensity steady-state aerobic exercise for their cardiovascular systems and some form of resistance training to keep their muscles strong. With regard to diet, they have been told to restrict or omit macronutrients such as fats and carbohydrates and lots of other advice with regard to calorie-counting. Could it be that this information, however well intended, was mistaken? And is it really necessary to devote so much time to the pursuit?

Fitness researcher and pioneer John Little has spent more than twelve years researching the actual science underpinning our most prevalent beliefs about exercise and has come away from the enterprise convinced that we need an entirely new paradigm, one that would involve reliance on briefer workouts. He presents this revolutionary new approach in A Minimalist's Approach to Exercise.

Among the fascinating revelations presented in this book:

• Certain types of exercise can actually make you less healthy and fatter.
• Taking large doses of food supplements might actually shorten your life and put you at greater risk for disease.
• Stretching to become more flexible or to recover quicker from injury has been found to do neither of these things.
• Resistance training, once considered to be the weak sister of exercise, is now looking like the best form of exercise one should engage in.

The new protocols that Little exposes offer a far safer alternative for those looking to become stronger, fitter, and healthier without spending their lives in the gym.

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–David Fischer, author