Train Your Heart for a Brand-New Start Professional athletes and weekend warriors alike have long looked to the father-son team of Jim and Phil Wharton for the cutting-edge advice on fitness. Now, following on the success of the bestselling The Whartons' Stretch Book and The Whartons' Strength Book, they present The Whartons' Cardio-Fitness Book, the ultimate guide to building endurance and heart health through cardiovascular training. Give them thirty minutes three times a week, and the Whartons will give you a better body, more energy, and a stronger heart. By becoming heart-fit, you'll not only lose extra pounds and decrease stress, but also help ward off heart disease, develop stronger bones, and build a healthier future. Special features of this book include: ¸ The seven myths about endurance training and your heart ¸ An owner's manual to your heart ¸ Setting goals for fitness and weight loss--and finding the time to work out ¸ Customizing a workout for ten different cardiovascular activities--walking, racewalking, running, jumping rope, aerobic dancing, swimming, in-line skating, cross-country skiing, cycling, and rowing--with detailed six-week training schedules for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels ¸ Flip art to illustrate proper techniques ¸ Taking your workout to the gym ¸ Fueling your training with the right foods ¸ Special tips for children and older athletes

Describes a method of reducing pain and back injury that has been used by celebrities, Olympic medalists, and other sport figures.

"The Cardio-Free Diet" is a revolutionary four-phase program that emphasizes strength training to boost the metabolism, build lean muscles, and achieve all the same heart-healthy benefits of cardio in much less time.

Introducing Active-Isolated Stretching, the revolutionary yet remarkably simple flexibility program—featuring 59 stretches for over 55 different sports and everyday activities! Whether you’re a serious competitor or weekend warrior, you know that proper stretching before and after your workout can improve your performance, increase your flexibility, help prevent injury, and make you feel better. But did you know that the traditional way of stretching—lock your knees, bounce, hold, hurt, hold longer—actually makes muscles tighter and more prone to injury? There’s a new and better way to stretch: Active-Isolated Stretching. And with The Whartons’ Stretch Book, the method used successfully by scores of professional, amateur, and Olympic athletes is now available to everyone. This groundbreaking technique, developed by researchers, coaches, and trainers, and pioneered by Jim and Phil Wharton, is your new exercise prescription. The routine is simple: First, you prepare to stretch one isolated muscle at a time. Then you actively contract the muscle opposite the isolated muscle, which will then relax in preparation for its stretch. You stretch it gently and quickly—for no more than two seconds—and release it before it goes into its protective contraction. Then you repeat. Simple, but the results are outstanding. The Whartons’ Stretch Book explains it all. Part I contains the Active-Isolated Stretch Catalog, with fully illustrated, easy-to-follow stretches for each of five body zones, from neck and shoulders to trunk, arms, and legs—over fifty stretches in all. Part II offers specific stretching prescriptions for over fifty-five sports and activities, from running, tennis, track, and aerobics to skiing, skating, and swimming. You’ll also find advice on stretching for daily activities such as driving, working at a desk, lifting, and keyboarding. Part III discusses stretching for life, with specific recommendations for expectant mothers and older athletes. It also includes specific stretching exercises that could help you avoid unnecessary surgery. Give Active-Isolated Stretching a try for three weeks. You’ll never go back to your old stretching routines again.

Describes the history and techniques of wild animal affection training as perfected by Ralph Helfer.

Jim Karas's health and fitness book shot to number one in its first appearance on the New York Times's 'Advice and How-to' bestseller list. To capture an increasingly cynical fitness market, Jim needed a unique approach. And he found it. He turned his business training into practical, easy-to-follow steps to lose weight. He used simple tried-and-tested business analogies to draw parallels with weight-loss, with fantastic results. As a result, anyone familiar with the principles of business can lose the pounds his way, using simple ideas like mission statements and monthly targets: weight-loss is profit after all. This book maps out the exact route to follow, not just to lose weight and become fit, but to remain that way. Blowing the lid off the old excuses, Jim motivates the reader through the programme and gives them the desire to succeed.

Demonstrates a technique of preventive muscle stretching based upon reciprocal innervation of muscle tissue, the agonist-antagonist reflex. With each exercise, the type of flexion and the muscle groups used are provided. The Mattes Method of Active Isolated Stretching is a myofascial release and therapeutic treatment for deep and superficial muscles, tendons and fascia.

A valuable health resource from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Natural Mind and Spontaneous Happiness. “Dr. Andrew Weil is an extraordinary phenomenon,” says the Washington Post. And indeed, this expert in healthy living, alternative healing, and the mind-body connection has helped millions of people find relief from what ails them. Called “the bible of natural medicine” by Larry Dossey, MD, Natural Health, Natural Medicine is a comprehensive resource for everything you need to know to maintain optimum health and treat common conditions. This landmark book incorporates Dr. Weil’s theories into one useful and readable reference, featuring general diet and nutrition information as well as simple recipes, answers to readers’ most pressing questions, a catalogue of over a hundred home remedies, and numerous practical tips. This new edition includes updated scientific findings—and has been expanded to provide trustworthy advice about low-carb diets, hormone replacement therapy, Alzheimer’s, attention deficit disorder, reflux disease, autism, type 2 diabetes, erectile dysfunction, the flu, and much more. “Weil, a Harvard Medical School graduate and a member of the advisory panel for the Congressional Study of Alternative Cancer Therapies, advocates preventative health maintenance as a means of combating future painful and expensive therapies. The handbook proposes methods of creating a healthy lifestyle, offers advice on guarding against potentially fatal diseases, provides information on natural treatments, and recommends these treatments for specific common ailments. Controversial in its challenge of orthodox medicine, the manual stands out as a useful resource for its clear, concise writing style, its practical advice, and its thoughtful examination of the important issues facing contemporary health care.” —Library Journal

Physical inactivity is a key determinant of health across the lifespan. A lack of activity increases the risk of heart disease, colon and breast cancer, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression and others diseases. Emerging literature has suggested that in terms of mortality, the global population health burden of physical inactivity approaches that of cigarette smoking. The prevalence and substantial disease risk associated with physical inactivity has been described as a pandemic. The prevalence, health impact, and evidence of changeability all have resulted in calls for action to increase physical activity across the lifespan. In response to the need to find ways to make physical activity a health priority for youth, the Institute of Medicine's Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education in the School Environment was formed. Its purpose was to review the current status of physical activity and physical education in the school environment, including before, during, and after school, and examine the influences of physical activity and physical education on the short and long term physical, cognitive and brain, and psychosocial health and development of children and adolescents. Educating the Student Body makes recommendations about approaches for strengthening and improving programs and policies for physical activity and physical education in the school environment. This report lays out a set of guiding principles to guide its work on these tasks. These included: recognizing the benefits of instilling life-long physical activity habits in children; the value of using systems thinking in improving physical activity and physical education in the school environment; the recognition of current disparities in opportunities and the need to achieve equity in physical activity and physical education; the importance of considering all types of school environments; the need to take into consideration the diversity of students as recommendations are developed. This report will be of interest to local and national policymakers, school officials, teachers, and the education community, researchers, professional organizations, and parents interested in physical activity, physical education, and health for school-aged children and adolescents.

MACHINE OF DEATH tells thirty-four different stories about people who know how they will die. Prepare to have your tears jerked, your spine tingled, your funny bone tickled, your mind blown, your pulse quickened, or your heart warmed. Or better yet, simply prepare to be surprised. Because even when people do have perfect knowledge of the future, there's no telling exactly how things will turn out.