The Complete Book of Pilates for Men: The Lifetime Plan for Strength, Power & Peak Performance

I want to add my support to the general consensus that this is a great book, but I want to add a few more things.1. The illustrations give a very precise and clear picture of correct form. Other books that use photographs might have nice glossy pages and color pictures. I find the monocromatic drawings in "The Complete Book" much more helpful. Positional details for the neck and arms are clear, and the design is visually pleasing.2. Dispite what some other reviewers have said, the suggestions "For Men" are very helpful. I agree that this book is still excellent for people who aren't men. That doesn't mean that it's not especially helpful to men, particularly guys who are new to pilates. Exersise instructions seem to be tailor made for me, someone who (before using this book) had a tight back and hamstrings. Other books seem to offer modifications if you're not strong enough, but this book really helped me improve my flexibility quickly, effectively, and without killing myself.3. This book's introduction helps place pilates in the relm of manly exercise. Let's face it, there's something manly about dead lifting and bench pressing that pilates doesn't have. Lyon discusses both the manly history of Joseph Pilates, the origial Joe Six-Pack (of abs, not beer), and the way pilates can help other manly endevors. That helps us men get overourselves, onto the mat, and into...Let's just say that the body you'll get from routine use of this book will get you more of the right kind of attention then a whole shipment of axe body spray.And that's something no man would say no to.

When it comes to "self study" guides for pilates, yoga, etc. it seems to me you've got to find the book or DVD that works best for you.With yoga my favorite guide of all time is Richard Hittleman's 28 DAY YOGA EXERCISE. The simple, figure-against-black photographs and straight-forward descriptions are exactly what I needed to learn (decades ago now--my mother gave me my first copy!). For busy folks Hittleman provides easy-to-follow routines.Having bought several pilates books and a DVD, none of which did it for me, I had stopped looking for a pilates book. Then I chanced to see PILATES FOR MEN. 10 minutes later I bought it.Like Hittleman's approach it's the accessibility and ease-of-use that does it for me. The pencil drawings are excellent, with the required movements easy to see. The text is straight-forward. And the exercises are presented in the order you might use them in. This is just what I needed given the way I process "kinesthetic instructions on the page" and a fairly busy life.The trick is to get a copy of this book in your hands and get a sense of how you might use it learning pilates or brushing up and how it might serve you in developing a plan to squeeze into your life.Personally, I'd say this is a classic. But who knows and only time will tell.Dr. Kirtland C Peterson

Well, I always thought Pilates was for women. At least around here, there are several women's classes at the "Y", but nothing for men. When my wife began bragging about how much she loved her class, I threatened to go, even though I was a man. Instead, I started looking for something for men and found this book.Did you know Pilates was originally developed for men? I didn't. Now I do.Wonderful exercises, but they are not easy, so don't think you can take on the ones desiged for someone that has been doing them. Start at the beginning and enjoy how strong you begin to feel (after a bit of pain...). Then move on. This is a wonderful book for men to use, even if you are in an area where Pilates classes for men are offered. I'm positive it would be a great add on.Extremely valuable. Great book. Get yourself started on making your core stronger. It is so important for you as you age.Buy this book...and no, the author did not pay me to say that, but I'd be willing to accept cash, checks or trinkets...whatever. Great book.

This is a great book. My pilates instructor recommended it to me and I use it on a weekly basis. It is great for seeing how the exercises should be done and for listing out routines that you can do at home (and in the correct order).BUTI do not recommend trying to do the routines in this book without first getting a basic understanding of Pilates from a really great instructor who can help you modify the exercises for your body and physical needs. The illustrations show the most advanced forms of the exercises only. Although there is a section at the end of each exercise description that talks about modifying poses I think it's worth going to an instructor (and if you can a private one) to really understand the modifications, how to protect your back and how to properly engage your powerhouse. Without that basic understanding you could really hurt instead of strengthen your body. Particularly your back.Then once you have done that, this book is a great supplement to see where the exercises are going, how they build into routines that are more difficult and for when you have to miss a session and want to work out at home.I am giving it four stars instead of five because I don't think it makes it explicit enough how crucial it is to modify the exercises when starting out. I have been doing Pilates for four years, twice a week with a private instructor and there are still exercises in the book I can't do.

Il matwork non è solo il gioiello di Pilates, ma anche - purtroppo - il più impegnativo modo di praticarlo. Questo libro, con descrizioni dettagliate e disegni esplicativi, espande notevolmente il repertorio degli esercizi, soprattutto di livello intermedio / advanced. E' inoltre un validissimo supporto per ogni istruttore di matwork che desidera convertire alcuni degli esercizi classici del reformer anche per l'allenamento a corpo libero.Il libro non è solo "for men" ma per tutti coloro che vogliono raggiungere i livelli più alti del Pilates matwork!

Mil veces mejor que return to life. Este si debería ser un libro indispensable

Its great book!

THere are muck better books on Pilates.

Nachdem ja die Pilates Methode vielfach auslegbar ist und jeder Trainer so seinen eigenen Stil bevorzugt, fand ich die Idee dieses Buches recht einzigartig: Gezielt auf die Belange der Männer einzugehen. Zunächst war ich skeptisch, ob die Verständlichkeit aufgrund zuvieler englischer Fachbegriffe leidet, aber falsch: Durch die reichhaltige Illustration mit Bleistiftzeichnungen sind die Übungen sofort verständlich.