Body For Life Success Journal
By Bill Phillips
HarperCollins, 2002 - 312 pages

The recently published (November 2002) Success Journal is designed to help participants of the Body For Life Program complete their 12 week transformation.  This thing costs $18.17 at Amazon.com and $20.76 at Barnes and Noble.com.  If you buy it at a retail store it will set you back $25.95, the retail price.

The success journal is set up to help you (1) establish goals (2) follow the eating & fitness routines (3) provide inspiration during the 12 week challenge and (4) hopefully transform your life after completing a 12 week program.  

Having finished a 12 week program in 2001 and, having failed to finish 3 prior programs, I can say that this journal should help people start and complete a program.  The journal would probably be of little value to those that haven't read the book but, if you are planning to buy the book and follow the plan you should pick up a copy of this Journal.

As part of the Journal you are forced to record your planned vs. actual results for fitness, food and daily goals each and EVERY day.  This thing truly forces the program upon you, which is a good thing for many who feel they might lack the discipline to complete such a program.  The book truly enables people to measure their results on a daily basis and track their progress throughout the entire program.  

Body for Life, like any other fitness/health plan, will only allow you to get results based on your effort. If you gorge yourself with food or don't exercise like he says, don't expect to get the kind of results that people in his book have gotten.

Body For Life, while it is somewhat a promotional vehicle for EAS Myoplex, is a very sound book on nutrition and exercise. Most importantly, Mr. Phillips tries to get people to look within themselves and try to find out what they want out of a fitness program and goals in life. It is definitely a combination of self-help book meets exercise.

Mr Phillips applies bodybuilding concepts (6 meals a day, weightlifting and cardio) and has tweaked them somewhat so that non-bodybuilders can get excellent results out of the program in a very short period of time.

Regarding nutrition - 6 meals a day - this is recommended to keep insulin levels more level throughout the day and to help shuttle nutrients to your cells. He also has a "free day" once a week where he tells people to eat whatever they want (pizza, cheeseburgers, whatever your weakness is :.)

His 20 minute cardio sessions, entitled HIIT (high intensity interval training), can really work a person hard and are great for those that have every excuse about not having enough time in the day!

His "high point" mentioned when lifting weights is what weightlifting is all about. It is why bodybuilders get phenomenal results and the average guy (who works out daily) may look the same year after year. Lifting weights is key to long-term metabolism - the avg. person loses 0.7 pounds of muscle after the age of 25, which contributes to why we gain weight. We lose muscle naturally and continue to eat (normally more) while exercising less as we get used to our jobs!

Bottom Line: If you are interested in your health you aren't going to go wrong following the plan.  In 2001 I dropped 50 pounds from my peak weight before putting about 15 back on.  

 

About the Author: Bill Phillips is the founder and editor in chief of Muscle Media® magazine and the creator of EAS (Experimental and Applied Sciences). Michael D'Orso is the coauthor of Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement and Winning With Integrity: How to Get What You Want Without Selling Your Soul.