I purchased this book for my sister for Christmas & asked her to review it. Here is what she said…
This is a great book. The information is great and will be a great reference for years to come. It helped put things together scientifically that I was wondering about in the gym. It has helped me train better.
The only thing I have found that is a minor issue is that some of the references do not match up. An example would be on page 32 table 3.3b references for what page to find the exercises on do not all match up. Sumo deadlift is not on page 178 but on page 180. The information in this book makes it easy to overlook the printing errors and is a valuable tool for the everyday woman who is looking to make the most out of her time in the gym.
I love this book. It has the nuts and bolts needed to build a fit female body.
The biggest challenge as a personal trainer is convincing women of the importance of strength/metabolic training. The result of Cosmo diets and workouts is a brainwashed public with severe misconceptions about health and wellness. Rachel Cosgrove’s “The Female Body Breakthrough” is absolutely spot on with what appropriate training should be. Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, this book provides solid information about training. It caters to the audience that is usually the most skeptical about functional training and strength training: woman. For that I am especially grateful as I now have a much needed resource for my female clients that always seem to question some of the fitness theories that disagree with commercialized celebrity fad workouts.
The reason I gave this book three stars instead of 5, is simply because Ms. Cosgrove gives you a variety of intermediate to difficult exercises but gives you no recourse to ask questions (for safety etc…)- unless of course you want to fork out another $99.00 to join her website.
I find this very irresponsible of her as many of these exercises are difficult and someone could easily injure themselves – especially if they have preexisting conditions. Ms. Cosgrove is obviously a “business person” before being a “personal trainer”. If you want to get help either with questions regarding anything in the book be it diet or proper form, you are routed to her personally owned gym where you can fork out $299.00 for a one on one with a trainer or you can pay the $99.00 a month for her website and join group discussions where your questions don’t get a straight forward answer.
As a seasoned gym-rat, a Kinesiology Major, a CPA and avid outdoor-sport-enthusiast, I found Ms. Cosgrove’s blatant dislike for cardio exercise on stationary machines misleading. While I agree that weight training is essential to any exercise program, I also find that women especially, need the extra boost of a mild to moderate cardio program at least 3 days a week, and not everyone has the room or physical strength to tackle her “warm-up” or her “metabolic conditioning”.
All that being said – I do like the way the book’s exercise program starts with a “base phase” and gradually works up. It is wonderful for making sure that the exerciser has a good strong foundation to build on. The exercise programs are tough and give you a great workout – but it is definitely NOT for a beginner.