By Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent, M.A.

• About the book • Read excerpts • Reviews of the book • Buy it at Powell's or Amazon

The Stuff You Really Want To Know About Fitness

So you're probably thinking: Another fitness book? This country needs another fitness book like it needs another reality TV show. Ah, but this one's different. You already know that exercise will make you look better, feel better, and live longer, so Fitness For Dummies doesn't waste a whole lot of space telling you that. This book does something more important: It tackles your fears. Maybe you're afraid of struggling to lift a 3-pound weight when the guy next to you is hoisting a 70-pound dumbbell like it's a beer mug. Maybe you worry that operating a stairclimber requires a degree in mechanical engineering. Maybe you're afraid that no matter what exercise routine you start, sooner or later you'll end up back in the recliner.

Fitness for Dummies, by Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent, gives you the tools to ease these fears. You won't find a "miracle" 10-day exercise program in this book. Instead, you'll learn how to spot a good routine when you see one - whether it's at a health club, on TV or the Internet, or in a book, magazine or video. You'll find out how to distinguish the qualified exercise instructors from the posers and the high-quality exercise equipment from the schlock. You'll learn strategies to combat exercise boredom and to keep going when it would be easier to just put your feet up.

The fact is, among people who start an exercise program, half quit within eight weeks. With Fitness For Dummies in hand, you can avoid becoming that statistic. The book will give you the knowledge and motivation to make sure that you stick with fitness for the rest of your life.

From The Pages Of Fitness For Dummies

From Chapter 18: Choosing A Health Club

Some health clubs will try anything to rope you into a membership. Be prepared to combat these slimy sales strategies:

• Limited offers: "You must join right now," the salesperson will say, "or I can't give you this special deal. I'm really sorry, but the sale ends today." The truth is, if you come back tomorrow, the club may offer you an even better deal so that you don't walk out again. Suzanne's gym seems to have a membership "special" going on every day of every month. If it's not the "Valentine's Day Join-With-Your-Partner Special," or the "March Madness Special," it's the "April After-Taxes Special" or the "May Get-Ready-for-Summer Special." What prospective members may not realize is, these specials aren't so special. Month after the month, the offers are pretty much the same.

• Creating fear or insecurity: The salesperson may rattle off death statistics for men your age who don't exercise - or tell you that women just a few years older than you disintegrate from osteoporosis because they don't work out. The salesperson may even tell perfectly healthy women that they are fat. This was a common practice at a gym where Liz used to work as a trainer. The salespeople would try to get the trainers to test the body fat of prospective members - and then inflate the numbers. Liz, of course, refused to participate in this scheme. Watch out: Some clubs try to make you feel as if you cannot go on living one more minute without a gym membership.

• An answer for everything: If you say that you have to ask your wife, the salesperson may attack your manhood: "What's the matter? You need her to tell you what to do about your health?" If you say you can't afford it, they'll say, "How can you not afford to invest in your health?" They'll whip out the contract and keep inching it across the desk toward you. Be prepared to walk out, even as they tell you how insane you are for doing so.

• The bait-and-switch: The newspaper ad tells you one price, but when you go in, the salesperson says, "Oh, that sale ended yesterday, but I can give you this offer." Or, "You misunderstood the woman on the phone - we can't give you the first three months free." Always ask who you're talking to so you can name names. Bring the newspaper ad along so you can use it for proof.

From Chapter 23: Buying Cardio Equipment

Home cardiovascular machines have gotten pretty fancy, and the array of choices can be mind-blowing. Should you go with the bike? The rower? The bike-rower? The bike-rower-stairclimber-treadmill-automatic slicer-microwave oven?

Actually, although the choices are many, we're pleased to report that your chances of buying a high-quality machine are better than ever. Since the first edition of this book was published, the frenzy to market gimmicky cardio machines - riders, gliders and such - has come to a near halt. (Infomercial producers seem to have switched from hawking schlocky cardio contraptions to hawking bogus weight-loss supplements, described in Chapter 26.)

Which type of home cardio machine is the best? Our answer hasn't changed from the first edition: The best machine is the one you'll use. That's why it's so important to test out several machines before you bring one home. You don't want to end up with a space-eating, dust-collecting monster that you can't wait to unload in your next garage sale. This chapter helps you sort through the different options. Once you've bought your equipment, read Chapter 7, which describes how to use good form on each type of cardio machine.

Reviews Of Fitness For Dummies

Fitness for Dummies has been translated into more than a dozen languages, including Italian, Spanish, Russian, Dutch and Croatian. (Yes, Croatian.) The book also has been featured and reviewed in dozens of newspapers and magazines nationwide. Here's a sampling of the reviews.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: You have to wonder if we really need Dummies books on such topics as grilling, wine and running. But if ever a topic deserved the treatment, it's fitness. And this book delivers. Small wonder many magazines and newspapers, including this one, ranked it as the best fitness book of the year when it was published. It's clear, it's comprehensive, it's a good reference book and an easy, cover-to-cover read. And in a lighthearted way, the book demystifies a lot of the mumbo jumbo and marketing hype surrounding the process of getting into shape.

LOS ANGELES TIMES: Another in the now-long line of books for "Dummies," this fitness guide is a fun and useful book for people who want to get in shape but don't have a clue about where and how to start. Since this is a guide for the novice, the chapter on "Ten Fitness Rip-Offs" is a wise addition.

DES MOINES REGISTER: It's Day Two of the Big Resolution, and you're determined to keep it this time. So throw out the rest of the holiday sweets, put on your sneakers and sweats, and . . . sit down to read a book. In all seriousness, you should educate yourself before you start a diet and/or exercise program. Reading books on the subject isn't an equal substitute for consulting a nutritionist or personal trainer, but it's cheaper and will give you a head start on the fundamentals. One good book is: Fitness for Dummies by Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent. This member of the "Dummies" family provides a comprehensive overview of different fitness programs and types of equipment, without the jargon that many workoutaholics throw around. It includes diagrams and explanations of the major muscles of the body.