Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is by far my favorite strength training book that I have read or that I own. One of the most popular reviews of this book lambasts it for being more or less sexist and condescending. You know, as a woman who does consider herself a feminist, I actually have to respectfully disagree with that assessment. Having read the passages in question, the authors do mention that they can point you to exercises to do if the appearance of wearing high heels without actually having to do it is your goal, or to exercises that would produce a more natural spine alignment. It seemed to me more about giving options based on opinions about aesthetics. For me, personally, I think feminism shouldn't have to exclude any idea about wanting to be attractive to prospective or current mates. I've been married nearly 13 years, and I'm going to be 40 in less than 2 months, and recently my hubby told me he thought I looked stunning. I'm not going to lie, I loved that, because it matters to me that my mate finds me attractive and at my age, I don't take those kind of compliments for granted anymore. And I believe strength training has a vital role in that. It also helps me to de-stress and maintain my health goals. And that, if anything, would be my one criticism of this book, but I think it applies to many of the fitness books on the market. I think more of the emphasis should be on health. Looking the best a person can brings confidence, but age will usually remove one by one the things our society values as attractive. But higher levels of physical fitness are great for maintaining health and well being. Also, other reviewers have noted that this book heavily encourages gym equipment over free weights. This is certainly true, however, it does explain in great detail how to do all of the exercises with free weights if this is your choice, as it is mine. Owing to the personal circumstances of our family, working out at a gym doesn't work for me. Because I recognize that they recommend the gym equipment usually because it comes with a decreased risk of injury for beginners, I wasn't personally bothered by their repeated advice on that, especially since the explanations for the free weights was quite well done. Overall, I think this is an excellent book for women who are interested in strength training.