Hip & Thigh Workouts Books

The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics: A Philosophy for Achieving a Radiant Mind and a Fabulous Body

Jessica Porter

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Avery Amazon Marketplace: 102 new & used starting at $3.69

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Diets & Weight Loss -> Diets -> Healthy
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Nutrition -> Macrobiotics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Personal Health -> Women's Health -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 34 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Unsubstantiated claims 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I was disappointed by Ms.Porter's lack of a bibliography to back up some of the more controversial content in the book. Dairy causes wet spots in your lungs? (just one example that she never explains)

She seemed to shoot from the hip without backing up her statements. I am sure she is not a medical professional nor a nutritionist and should not be representing this information as remotely factual. The fact that she prefaces many of these statements with the wording that 'it can be debated' does not let her off the hook. The publishers should have demanded better. Anything can and will be debated. Most authors do not write books amounting to conjecture and have someone buy it. I am glad that I did not pay full price. I hope that people do their own research before taking parts of this book as the truth. Talk with your physician.

Editorial Review:

Heralded by New York magazine as one of the city's most popular diets, macrobiotics has become the latest trend in dieting, thanks to high-profile supporters like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Speaking to the generation of young women looking to extend their healthy lifestyles beyond yoga and Pilates, macrobiotic chef and instructor Jessica Porter offers fresh, contemporary, and accessible insight into one of the world's oldest, yet most popular, diets. She explains that by eating good quality whole foods, any woman can experience physical, sensory, emotional, and intellectual freedom.

The effects of eating a macrobiotic diet can extend beyond basic health to weight loss, beauty, better sex, and peace of mind. Cooking tips and recipes are combined with Jessica's no-nonsense philosophy and witty anecdotes to create a lifestyle book that will inspire women to hit the kitchen with an understanding of how to strengthen their minds and bodies through food.

Heal Your Hips: How to Prevent Hip Surgery—and What to Do If You Need It

Robert Klapper, Lynda Huey

Amazon Price: $12.21 List Price: $17.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $7.80

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Disorders & Diseases -> Physical Impairments
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Disorders & Diseases -> Surgery
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Alternative Medicine -> Healing

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Orthopedic surgeon Robert Klapper, M.D., loves to operate, but he'd rather help you avoid hip surgery. Klapper, Medical Director of Cedars-Sinai Orthopedic Associates, has teamed up with Lynda Huey, who specializes in water rehabilitation and training programs with clients such as Wilt Chamberlain. In Heal Your Hips, they present a self-help program for pain relief. The first program consists of 13 illustrated exercises, one minute apiece. Eight are done in the pool; the others in a carpeted room. Next, the authors cover healthy and unhealthy hips in a clear and spirited style (e.g., healthy hips work like two ice cubes rubbing together--slippery, with no friction); the main causes of hip problems; and medical tests. You learn how to take an active role in getting the right diagnosis, what to do for less pain, and how to get started with pool exercise. Then the book presents both deep-water and shallow-water aquatic therapy exercises to avoid or recuperate from hip surgery, and stretches to do on land. If you have had hip surgery or you want to avoid it, this book will be a valuable guide. The book is clearly illustrated with photographs. --Joan Price

Complete Book of Core Training, The: The Definitive Resource for Shaping and Strengthening the 'Core' -- The Muscles of the Abdomen, Butt, Hips, and Lower Back

Kurt, Brett, & Mike Brungardt

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hyperion Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $6.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

By comparing over 10 abs books, I concluded... 3 out of 5 stars.
17 of 17 people found this review helpful.

I purchased about 10 books from Amazon on abs in order to compare them. This one is fairly big, but there is a lot of white space on every page (you're paying for all of it). It also has confusing lay-out so that it's hard to use. If you're interested to know how it compares with other books, my conclusions are below...

If You Want to Trim Your Waistline: You can't trim your waistline without losing fat, and you can't lose fat around your waist without losing it everywhere (focusing on a muscle group like the abdominal muscles doesn't burn fat in that location, just a little bit of fat from everywhere on the body). So, if you want to trim your waistline, skip the ab workout books and go with a good, proven overall weight loss and fitness book like Bill Phillips' Body for Life. The Abs Diet is a similar program, but like all the Men's Health publications, it advertises a 6-week transformation, which is just a little unrealistic. Plan on more like 12-24 weeks to see really noticeable changes if you are fat.

If You Want Sculpted Six-Pack Abs: If you are overweight at all, see above--you can't get a six pack while you're overweight, and you can't lose abdominal fat by doing an ab workout, so go for overall fitness. However, if you are already lean, see below.

If You Want to Strengthen or Build Your Ab Muscles: If you're trying to improve for work, play, or rehab, you might consider the following books: The Body Sculpting Bible for Abs Deluxe DVD Edition contains decently up-to-date information and tells you exactly what to do and when to do it, based on a six-week fitness course. If you're looking for a similar book with more information, you can choose from The Complete Book of Abs or The Complete Book of Core Training. The Complete Book of Abs (1998) is a little out of date in terms of its dietary/nutritional recommendations, but it focuses more on exercises that develop the external abdominal muscles (the ones you see in a six-pack), including lots of variations on leg lifts, bicycle motion, and sit-ups. It will also give you more resources for creating your own program, and, if that's what you want to do, go with this one instead of The Body Sculpting Bible. The Complete Book of Core Training (2006) focuses more on the functional body core, including internal abdominal muscles, legs, etc., and includes more trendy exercises using medicine balls, exercise balls, yoga, etc. A different sort of book is Stronger Abs and Back (1997), which was written before the current fad of selling "core training," but contains the elements of core training because it gives good functional sports-focused advice. Its dietary recommendations are out of date, but it recommends a 24-week workout plan, which is much more realistic than the 6-week plans advocated by many of the other books.

If You Have Back Pain: See your doctor, and if he prescribes abdominal/core strengthening, see above.

My one-book recommendation: Body for Life.
My two-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back.
My three-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back + The Complete Book of Abs.
My four-book recommendation: Body for Life + Stronger Abs and Back + The Complete Book of Abs + The Abs Diet.

Hope this helps!!

Editorial Review:

From the author of the national bestseller The Complete Book of Abs comes the definitive book on the Next Big Thing in fitness -- core training

From the bestselling author of The Complete Book of Abs comes this comprehensive guide to a new movement in fitness: core training. The body’s "core" refers to the muscles that comprise the center of your body: the muscles of the abdomen, lower back, butt, and hips. With the increasing popularity of yoga and Pilates -- both of which depend on strong core muscles -- the fitness community has turned its focus from the abs to the core. The Brungardt brothers’ simple 9-week program is based on over 100 exercises and includes workouts appropriate for beginners and fitness enthusiasts alike. This book will help men and women of all body types and fitness levels to strengthen their core for better mobility, posture, and physique. Get ready to get fit!

The New Yoga for Healthy Aging: Living Longer, Living Stronger and Loving Every Day

Suza Francina, Jim Jacobs Photographer

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HCI Amazon Marketplace: 25 new & used starting at $9.97

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Yoga
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Hip & Thigh Workouts
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Personal Health -> Aging -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A step-by-step guide for the millions of baby boomers who want one simple practice for feeling and looking great—yoga!

One in five Americans is now moving toward the age bracket of "sixty and beyond," and while many are calling sixty the "new forty," this milestone is the perfect time to take stock in good health. One form of exercise that is proven to prevent or alleviate a host of physical and mental ailments for the last 5,000 years is yoga.

Now, under the guidance of a qualified and well-known Iyengar yoga teacher, who is also the author of The New Yoga for People Over 50, readers can reap the benefits of yoga with this gentle and clear guide written specifically with today’s baby boomers in mind. Filled with clear instructions, including the use of yoga props and modified poses, plus crisp follow-along photographs, The New Yoga for Healthy Aging takes readers step by step through the asanas (poses) that can prevent or lessen ailments such as osteoporosis, hip fractures, chronic pain, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. With heartfelt interviews and tips from some of America's most active yoga teachers and their older students—each sharing wisdom, insights and successes—readers will discover a source of inspiration that will help their practice evolve into more than just those moments they spend on the mat.

The Jump Off: 60 Days to a Hip-Hop Hard Body

Mark Jenkins, Jeff O'Connell

Amazon Price: $11.53 List Price: $16.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Collins Living Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $1.50

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Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Popular Culture
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Hip & Thigh Workouts

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Mark Jenkins, premier fitness instructor to the elite of the hip–hop world, presents a fast, effective two–month workout that uses hip–hop drive to attain an unsurpassed level of fitness in record time.

Mark Jenkins, celebrity fitness drillmaster, says 'if you want it, you gotta work it!' He's reshaping the world of hip–hop and film and now wants to give you a body like today's hottest movie and recording stars. With clients such as P. Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliot, D'Angelo, LL Cool J, Beyonce, and Brandy, Mark has developed an effective, motivating program, that gets results and keeps people coming back for more.

His program consists of intensive sport–specific training, flexibility, high–performance nutrition and supplementation. Exercises that can be performed without gym access keeps training practical and exhilarating. Training sessions are just an hour long, 3 or 4 times a week. Clients who train using this system can achieve an unsurpassed level of physical fitness, visual appeal and energy. This directly translates to improved posture, body awareness, voice quality, physical control, endurance and, ultimately, stage performance. Even if you're not a multi–platinum megastar, you're sure to benefit from looking and feeling like you are.

The Ultimate Body Book: 4 Weeks to Your Best Abs, Butt, Thighs, and More!

Linda Shelton, Angela Hynes

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Hay House Amazon Marketplace: 33 new & used starting at $10.95

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Indispensable variety of exercises and approaches for fitness seekers. 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 13 people found this review helpful.

The 400 page color atlas exemplifies the American style of big and luxurious. The book is encyclopedic on woman's exercises and has full chapters on yoga and weight training that suits women. Its print and design are neat. That is in addition to its wealth of information.

Though the book begins with a scare that BMI greater than 25 exposes people to cancer, hypertension, and other diseases, the book still reflects on long and deep experience of its authors on body shaping. That is demonstrated in the extensive number of exercises and approaches to active living. The authors' reliance on the information of the American Cancer Association, without exerting thorough research on the multifactorial nature of the causes of diseases, trivializes such scare.

The only barbell exercise in the book is the Romanian deadlift in a 45 lb bar. The rest of the exercises are done with machines, dumbbells, and bodyweight. I guess that is a practical solution to many people who lack any structured training or education in the field of fitness. The resistance training exercises are done by modern machines and dumbbells. Many photos were shot in exotic places as if the authors were living in a dream state far removed from real life.

Though the fitness industry in many parts of the world has geared towards large scale corporations that reflects on leasing expensive fitness machines and planning for making profit on few decades rather than few weeks, as was the case not long time ago, the book's reliance on expensive and extensive training equipments puts the reader is state of despair and confusion. Since most of the gyms that could afford buying diverse and expensive machines are located in crowded cities with congested traffic, many folks are discouraged from committing to such hassle of fighting traffic on the roads, parking lots, and on access to machines inside the gym.

The book has well done and accurate anatomical diagrams that depict the muscles involved in the targeted exercises. Had the authors educated themselves on the feasibility of training the spinal muscles as a central theme to resistance training they might have turned their book into a reliable and authoritative academic reference. Unfortunately, the emphasis on isolated muscles precludes the book from the genre of rigorous scientific references and limits its scope to folklore fitness training.

Mohamed F. El-Hewie
Author of
Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training

Editorial Review:

From America’s #1 women’s fitness magazine, boasting six million readers each issue, comes Shape magazine’s Ultimate Body Book, the follow-up to the bestseller, Shape Your Life. Linda Shelton, the magazine’s fitness director, put you on the road to living your best life—now she’s showing you how to achieve your best body the Shape way. This means getting lean and toned, having maximum energy, and possessing the head-to-toe confidence that comes from knowing you’re at your personal peak of fitness, health, and well-being.

Six-Week Bikini Countdown: Tone your butt, abs, and thighs fast combining Pilates with sele strength and cardio interval training workouts

Karon Karter

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Fair Winds Press Amazon Marketplace: 29 new & used starting at $11.75

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Pilates
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Ab Workouts

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Not just for Women! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Not just for Women! As a Doctor of Chiropractic I have encouraged patients of both sexes to buy the book. It is filled with great workouts that can challenge people of all fitness levels. Targeted at the muscles needed to stabilize and support your body (the "core"), not only will this help you tone, but strengthen as well.

Karon integrates exercises like Pilates (long a favorite exercise of dancers) with exercises usually only performed by elite athletes like "plyometrics" and interval training (made popular recently in an article published in The Australian Journal of Applied Physiology). Pilates was started by Joseph Pilates as a way to rehabilitate wounded soldiers during World War I. It emphasizes control, strengthening and stretching of key muscles in the body. Plyometrics uses quick short movements to help build strength, and speed. Interval training usually involves high speed workouts along with lower intensity workouts such as sprints, while performing a longer run. Interval training helps burn calories and increases cardiovascular fitness.

Karon's program is FUN! Her writing style is easy to read, follow, and is entertaining. She takes you from the basics, to more advanced exercises as your skills improve. By the time you're done you'll have a better body, not just a better "bikini body."

Editorial Review:

With a minimal time commitment any woman can sculpt away her body trouble spots

There isn't a woman on the planet who doesn't dream about looking great in a bikini-until they are faced with the huge amount of time and sweat equity involved in reaching swimsuit cover model shape. Feeling intimidated and overwhelmed, they give up before they start. However, readers can get a bikini body-not by working harder, but by working smarter. Exercise guru, Karon Karter, featured on The Natural Wellness Channel's "Pilates for Real Bodies" program, takes the best Pilates moves and combines them with the most effective leg, butt, and ab firming exercises to get in bikini shape in the shortest amount of time possible. Using targeted routines, women will re-sculpt and firm muscles in key trouble areas. Built around a 6-week timeline, Karon Karter offers a specific course that gives women the shortest legitimate way to sculpt their body to bikini perfection.

The Art of Yoga Sequencing: A Hip Opening Practice

Jodie Rufty, Liz Parks

Amazon Price: $15.80 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Outskirts Press Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $15.80

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Hip & Thigh Workouts

Editorial Review:

How to Create, Practice and Teach a Yoga Hip Opening Sequence

This is a sequence designed to show people how to stretch and strengthen the hip rotators. When your students understand how these muscles work in different asanas, they can do hip opening, back bending and twisting in a way that is safe as well as fun and invigorating.

In addition to providing a template that can be used to do or teach a hip opening sequence, this book also explains the logic behind the creation of a sequence designed to open the hips. Learn why it is easier to open the hips when you start with poses that externally rotate the legs and hips and then move gradually into more challenging poses such as Parivrtta Trikonasana (Twisted Triangle).

The Arthritis Handbook: Improve Your Health and Manage the Pain of Osteoarthritis (A DiaMedica Guide to Optimum Wellness)

Grant Cooper

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: DiaMedica Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $8.64

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Reference
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Disorders & Diseases -> Musculoskeletal Diseases
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Alternative Medicine -> Osteopathy

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

According to conventional wisdom, arthritis pain is an inevitable part of aging. Not so, says Dr. Grant Cooper in this practical, accessible guide. For those who do develop osteoarthritic conditions, this book offers a blend of commonsense advice, dietary info, targeted exercise, and tips on useful supplements. According to the author, sufferers can often entirely avoid the use of medication, injection therapy, and surgery — approaches that, when necessary, can be used as an opportunity to return to exercise and nutrition to slow the disease’s progress. The book features easy, illustrated exercises, including aerobics and strength training, that can be done at home, at a gym, or under a trainer’s or physical therapist’s supervision. Nutritional and supplement strategies — including glucosamine and fish oil — are presented in detail, along with suggestions for ways to keep on track. Dr. Cooper not only explores each topic in depth but explains how it fits into an overall holistic treatment program.

Anatomy For Women For Strength and Fitness Training

Mark Vella

Amazon Price: $13.57 List Price: $19.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: McGraw-Hill Amazon Marketplace: 41 new & used starting at $8.91

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Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Ab Workouts
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Exercise & Fitness -> Hip & Thigh Workouts

Editorial Review:

See How Your Muscles Work Before You Work Your Muscles!

Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training for Women provides magnificent visual insight into what happens to your muscles when you exercise. You'll be able to isolate specific muscle groups and design the most targeted program possible.

Anatomy for Strength and Fitness Training for Women gives you:

• 100+ muscle-by-muscle illustrations for an inside look at how exercise affects your muscles
• 70+ exercises--ranging from free weights to machines to yoga and aerobics--that will sculpt your entire body and will give you a sexy chest, toned arms and legs, slimmer hips, a strong back and shoulders, and flat abs
• Tips for good form to maximize safety and effectiveness
• Expert commentary on each exercise, covering everything from history to cautions and benefits
• Specific exercise programs for muscle tone and strength
• A difficulty rating for every exercise, ranging from beginner to advanced