Product Description

In Ultimate Fitness, Gina Kolata, science reporter for The New York Times, takes a fascinating journey into the fads, fictions, and genuine innovations that have defined the world of physical fitness. From weight lifting for men and women in the early days, to jogging in the 1970s, cycling in the 1980s, aerobics in the 1990s, and now Spinning, Kolata explains the science of conditioning and the objective evidence behind commonly accepted prescriptions. Ultimate Fitness is also a book about the individuals who have challenged and influenced or failed to influence the industry, and the many of us who have participated in this multimillion-dollar corner of American culture.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #429649 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Everyone knows that exercise is a good thing. But when New York Times science reporter Kolata (Flu) set out to investigate the claims of various fitness regimens, she found that "the tiny pearls of good science are buried in mountains of junk." Much of the accepted wisdom about exercise, it turns out, is false-from the belief that endorphins cause an exertion-induced euphoria to the notion that all individuals, with sufficient effort, can become fit. An avid devotee of "spinning," a type of stationary biking that mimics actual road conditions, Kolata brings both personal enthusiasm and journalistic skepticism to her subject. She traces the history of the fitness movement from the ancient Greeks through the 18th and early 19th centuries, when feats of strength and endurance became a popular means of entertainment. By the 20th century, increasingly sedentary living prompted a new interest in fitness: the jogging fad emerged in the 1970s, followed by aerobics, weight lifting and other activities. Kolata looks at hard data about exercise, but also interviews enthusiasts and promoters, whose devotion to their regimens sometimes transcends the available facts. People exercise for different reasons, Kolata finds. For improving overall health, moderate exercise appears to be sufficient. To improve physical appearance, intense effort is required. To reach a sense of exhilaration and strength, however, one must actually love physical exertion for its own sake. The "truth" about exercise, Kolata concludes, may lie in the view of psychopharmacologist Richard Friedman, who suggests that "exercise is more often a marker of health than its cause." Illus. not seen by PW.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
On a thorough debunking mission, NEW YORK TIMES science reporter and exercise enthusiast Gina Kolata takes an unblinking view of the exercise industry. Reader Eliza Foss is engaging and friendly, capturing the author's voice effectively as we examine the truths and myths of exercise. The pity is that there seem to be far more of the latter than the former, and Kolata mines the facts from the fiction of each major fad. From jogging to spinning, she paints a colorful picture of the origins and originators of the exercise industry and the ultimate benefits we receive as we doggedly stalk our fitness goals. D.J.B. © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Ever since baby boomers discovered they might not live forever, health and fitness, as well as looking young and svelte, have been major national fads. Whether one wants to develop six-pack abs or simply climb a flight of stairs without wheezing, sorting through the shams and quackery of exercise claims can be a full-time job. Kolata, science reporter for the New York Times and something of an exercise authority by avocation, takes on that task with the fervor of a marathoner. She deconstructs many assertions and myths, and much of the hyperbole of exercise enthusiasts trying to make fortunes off of an unsuspecting public. She reveals the truths behind several so-called scientific studies and asks why certain people will never exercise while some will never stop. Eighty-six-year-old exercise icon Jack LaLanne admits to vanity, but most exercisers like the feeling of control exercise affords. Having researched her sources and done her homework, Kolata also comes up with seemingly sound advice about exercise, weight lifting, personal trainers, machines, pills, and potions. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Basic info & history - but no revelations - why "ultimate"?
This is a good history of exercise in the United States and discussion of basic information on fitness. The author has investigated the more commonly held myths about fitness and written out her findings clearly. However, I was disappointed that there is much more history (at least 2/3 of the book) than real news about exercise. Most of the myths explored in this book have been "debunked" by others before; the knowledge is not new if you've done any ready about fitness at all since 1990. (The only thing new I learned, in fact, is that studies have proven that different people's bodies respond differently to exercise - and that approximately 1% do not respond AT ALL. Yikes!) Overall, this is a good book, just not as "ultimate" as I was led to expect.

Narcissism masquerading as Insight
Like the author, I am a bit of a fitness buff. I workout regularly, (actually am a member of one of the several gyms Ms. Kolata calls home), watch what I eat, and ensure there are places to work out when I travel.

What I found frustrating about this book is the author's incessant insinuations of her own lifestyle into the text. Aside from the book reading like an infomercial for "Spinning" (is she on retainer?) must I read about the skin tight bicycle shorts her and her dear husband wear to the "Mount Everest" challenge, a story I may add, that stretches across at least 2 full chapters (possibly three, I starting skimming about halfway through). The concept behind this book had some strength, track the origins of fitness in our culture, attack some of the myths that pervade the dialogue on the subject, and perhaps come up with a few basic tenets that all could follow. What Ms. Kolata does instead is discourse ad nauseum about the appearance of the various Spinning teachers she interacts with, pats herself endlessly (hey all that exercise made her flexible I suppose?) on the back for being in such good shape/working out so hard and generally turning what was probably (at best) a 150 or so page book into a droning piece of self congratulation that stretches to nearly 300 pages.

The only reason I give this book one star is that buried deep within all those self congratulatory pages is a good message for all of us. Eat right and exercise!

General Knowledge of Exercising
Fitness and health, seems to be only a trend that has been around at the most for 100 years however little do many people know that it dates back to the Ancient Greeks. Gina Kolata gave this insite in her most recent book. Continueing on she discussed the different fads and trends about eating well and training the body that have changed so many times since then that as a result many theories about fitness have evolved.

In Gina Kolata's most recent book, Ultimate Fitness: The Quest For Truth About Exercise and Health, she goes into a great depth and descriptions of early beginnings of weight lifting all the way through the current craze of Spinning and the theories that have followed along in the years. Many of these I too I have known about from my experiences from weightlifting and also a few are common sense that most people should already know. This book is great for giving general knowledge of health, your body, and general awareness of what is going on when you exercise. Before she goes too deep into the theories of exercising she first explains the history of where it all began. Such as the first people to start looking into health and nutrition were the ancient Greeks. It wasn't to much longer that Hippocrates then wrote a book about health called Regimen in Health. Another great influence of fitness and health was a man by the name of Galen who was one of the great physicians of the gladiators. He completed a book called On Hygien which discussed who exactly needs to exercise and what should be counted as exercise. Great people like these two were very influential in the creation of exercising and health. Along with these men were those who were the great firsts of exercising.

Kolata explained that exercise during this time and years to come was merely for enjoyment and a form of entertainment. Races were not won by the first to cross the finish line but yet to see how far or fast you could do something. She showed that during this time there was no personal records. All of the events that were accomplished were because of wagers at were placed.

Some of the theories that have been developed over the years also includes a formula of what maximum heart rate is. Through research she discovered it can be calculated by taking 220 minus your age, the result will give your typical maximum heart rate. She also explains how you get older your maximum heart rate will also change to be come less. Furthermore she goes into depth of what the difference is between a fat burning zone and a cardiovascular zone is. How each of these work you the muscles and fatty tissues in your body differently. Such as how the best heart rate to lose weight and gain muscle is to have it at about 60 to 70% of your maximum heart rate.

For most people that work out it is obvious to see that some people are naturally more muscular or defined than other people. She discusses that this is not always because these people always work out and are in top notch health but because of their genetics. Only about 10% of the human population can gain significantly the rest slowly gain and an astonishing another 10% cannot receive any results what so ever. With people that do exercise, it was interesting to read of her conclusions of what a Runners High is and if it even exists. She believed that it does exist and it is from the great exhilaration of exercising. She discussed how exercise is now even used for very depressed people. The results that were found that everyone was become very well and were even coming off their anti-depressants. This has been common knowledge for quite sometime because of the belief of endorphins and how the interact on the brain and person.
Finally, Kolata discusses the great business that has came about with exercise such as gyms, supplements, magazines, trainers, equipment, etc. She talks about how it is all about making the money now, such as with the supplements that are now being produced and how most of them the FDA writes warnings about them but those never seem to make it on the actual supplement bottle. The companies that make these are not caring about the people who use them and the harmful effects that will happen to their bodies.

I feel like that Kolata went a little too far with her personal life and how Spinning was so great. It almost felt as if she was promoting it for a health club.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it gave me some great ideas for my personal life and how I exercise. But this book is particularly for beginner people who don't know much about their bodies and or exercising in general. I would recommend this book to almost anyone because it to would help out other people in their day