Lean, Long, and Strong - Tredyffrin Township Libraries

Lean, Long, and Strong: The 6-Week Strength-Training, Fat-Burning Program for Women

By Wini Linguvic

Review by Roberta Earle

Recently I was given a copy of the book, Younger Next Year, which I dutifully read and decided to implement the recommendations for a comprehensive exercise program which has 2 main components – cardio and strength. Since I have the cardio covered, I needed to add strength training.

After reviewing several books obtained at the library, I settled on Lean, Long, and Strong. I liked this book as it is written by a woman for women and specifically focuses on strength training and fat burning. The program is extremely flexible. You can easily exercise at home, at a gym, or at your health club and the only equipment needed is a set of weights and an exercise ball.

If you find strength training repetitive, boring and time consuming, this book is for you. The author combines weights, yoga, and stretching into a unique program that can be done in about 15 minutes 4 times a week.

Depending on whether you would like to focus on upper body, lower body, core, or fat burning, you cycle through the set of exercises each week in a specific order. Each set of exercises targets the upper body, lower body, or core.

You progress from a basic level to an intermediate level to an advanced challenge level at your own pace. The explanations are easy to understand and the diagrams are especially useful.

After following the basic program for 6 weeks, I am stronger and plan to move onto the intermediate level for the next 6 weeks. Carving 15 minutes out of a day to improve overall strength is well worth the effort.