“Body By You: The You Are Your Own Gym Guide to Total Women’s Fitness” by Mark Lauren

“[Mark] Lauren broke, and still holds, the Department of Defense’s long standing “underwater record” by swimming 133 meters, on one breath, subsurface, for 2 minutes and 23 seconds, until losing consciousness.”

You can’t beat those creds for an exercise guru.  Seriously though, not only can Mr. Lauren successfully train Special Ops forces, he’s developed a home-based, no equipment purchase required, fitness program first outlined in “You Are Your Own Gym” now tailored to meet the time constraints and physical requirements of women.  Based on “bodyweight” exercises, this program requires only that you pit your own weight against readily available surfaces such as doors and their handles, floors, tables, counters, stools, and chairs.

While I admit that I have issues with doors as props, picturing my husband saying “Now tell me again how this door ripped off its hinges,” I found this little program quite the heart-pounding challenge all accomplished within eighteen minutes in the privacy of my own kitchen.  Basically, you pull, squat, push, and bend your way through a routine that is clearly explained in prose and in pictures. So four categories with 25 graded exercises within each one for a total of 125 bodyweight maneuvers, many of which I will never perform in this lifetime (e.g. one-arm push-ups with hand elevated hip height and 2-second pauses).

That said, Mr. Lauren expects that you will progress only as far as you are able and at your own pace, and he fully explains how to advance without injury.  His patter through the book is encouraging, complete with enthusiastic sidebars titled “Hooya” which must be military talk for “you can do this” and “don’t give up soldier-girl.”  As with all habit changes—weight loss, diet change, smoking cessation, or exercise plans—this program will only work when you’re really ready to do it. But if the expenditure of time or money is your stumbling block, this could be the plan that changes your life and your body. 

The author has created an iPhone/iPad app for this bodyweight/your own gym thing for ( gasp) $2.99.  But it gets super reviews, especially from “mobile road warriors” (one reviewer’s term for those of us away from home for work or play). And shoot, I have no qualms about hanging off of hotel door handles and how amusing to have my iPad timing my moves and cheering me on.  I do think that “geriatric warriors” such as myself dealing with joint issues would also do well to spring for a trainer for an hour or two to modify moves such as “Sumo squats” and “Bulgarian Split Squats” to avoid injury.   Well, truth be told, trainer or no, I’m leaving Bulgarian Split Squats along with One-legged Squats and Assisted Pistols to women far younger than me.

I like Lauren’s plan, I appreciate his enthusiasm, I could live without his dietary advice.  Ready to take on an exercise program?  I recommend this book to you.  Hooya!