Champions: Body for Life

Nothing motivates like impressive-but-believable before and after photos, and you’ll find loads of them in the new Champions: Body for Life. The book provides a comprehensive plan: “Just four hours a week—no more than 46 minutes of weight training three times a week; 20 minutes of aerobic or cardiovascular exercise three times a week.”

Flipping through the book, you’ll see many charts, tables, quotes and, of course, those inspiring before and afters. Once you start reading, however, you’ll understand the process and the mind-set necessary for achieving results. For example, one of the stories is from Alexa Adair, the daughter of 1998 Body-for-Life Challenge champion Kelly Adair. Alexa relays her story of hitting rock bottom and disappointing herself and her mother with numerous false starts on the road to a fit physique. Her story is a common one of fizzling out quickly, but she finally broke through—she’s the girl on the book cover, along with Mark Unger.

Mark’s story is titled “The Mirror Incident,” and you know that means suddenly realizing you’re falling down the fat well fast. At 39 the former Marine saw his fit physique “buried beneath layers of cheesecake, Breyers mint-chocolate-chip ice cream and chicken Alfredo.” It was actually his wife’s blunt appraisal of his body that kicked him into gear: “You’re the skinniest fat man I know.” Ouch!

The book provides a detailed week-by-week account of Mark’s and Alexa’s transformation journeys, as well as bonus before-and-after stories of past Body-for-Life winners and competitors. The photos alone will rev up your exercise engine, but there’s plenty of great info too, including supplement recommendations; diet tips and tricks, like cravings control; the 20-minute aerobic solution; sample meals and diets; and motivating quotes.

The last quarter of the book is “Body-for-Life Tools.” Here you’ll find the nuts and bolts you can use for your own transformation, including the 46-minutes-or-less weight-training solution. All of the exercises are illustrated with start and finish photos along with performance tips. You can photocopy the book’s charts and plans to stay on track. Then there are the Body-for-Life meal plans, with favorite healthful recipes from many Body-for-Life Challenge participants.

Last but not least, what better way to end the book than with the Body-for-Life Champions’ Yearbook—page after page of before and after photos of all the winners since 1997.

If you’re looking for motivation and information about getting back in top shape, this book is a treasure trove. Read it, get inspired, and then apply the information for your very own transformation.

—Becky Holman
www.XtremeLean.com