The 10-Minute Total Body Breakthrough

I have been reading books lately on various physical fitness programs. I have been into the martial arts and physical fitness (Judo, Jujitsu, Grappling, Karate-Do, Boxing, kickboxing, Military Fitness programs, and numerous others) for more than 60 years. Now that I am into my senior years I am always looking for new information on fitness and health improvement.I purchased this spiral bound 290 page (The 10-minute Total body breakthrough: get in the best shape of your life with 4-3-2-1 by Sean Foy, with Nellie Sabin and Mike Smolinski) book for a bargain price on Amazon. Even though I have read a great number of books in the past promising to get you physically fit if you follow their program, I admit to being impressed with the practical approach used in this volume. This book is organized into eleven chapters.The first chapter (It’s about time!) explains how this program was started. The second chapter (Fitness at the speed of life) focuses on how the 10-minutes a day program can change your life. Motivation factors are covered in chapter three. Chapter four is about “the science behind 4-3-2-1.” A new look at nutrition is explored in chapter five. The remaining chapters cover the actual programs which include the three levels in this fitness program. One of the many things I like about this book are the flip cards at the end where you can actually create your own personal workout.The main thrust of this fitness program is to do 4 minutes of High Energy aerobic exercises, 3 minutes of resistance muscle strengthening exercises, 2 minutes of core strengthening exercises and 1 minute of stretching and deep breathing.If you are seeking a simple to follow total fitness program you can complete in only ten minutes, this is a manual you should check out. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced physical fitness enthusiast you can benefit from this kind of fitness program.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Tactical Principles of the most effective combative systems)

Overall, this is a great book. If I could give it a 4.7 or 4.8 stars I would. It just barely falls short of 5 stars as discussed below. Anyone serious about their health should consider reading this excellent book.For folks that seldom or never exercise, this 10 minute (actually 15 minutes) approach is likely a godsend. For those that are willing to commit to exercise and good health, this is more likely a stepping stone to either an enhanced version of this program or a more complete, traditional program.The author addresses several facets of fitness within one tome -- motivation & commitment, eating/healthy diet, exercise routine & timing, explanation of each exercise, testimonials and the science behind his unique approach. As a result some organizational choices had to be made. I would have preferred a different organization -- the flow seems awkward to me -- but his choice seems to work.The first 6 chapters are excellent reading for anyone interested in their health and wellness. The chapters are filled with interesting research and solid advice. Even if one never did a single one of the exercises that follow, these first 6 chapters would benefit the reader and add to their wellness.The next 3 chapters cover in detail every exercise at each of the 3 levels of difficulty. There are many exercises I've never seen before. They can be surprisingly challenging. These detailed chapters are very helpful and a welcome part of the book. Be prepared to study each exercise before hand so your can complete the entire 10 minute workout without constant reference to the book. The point of the 4-3-2-1 program is to pack everything into a continuous 10 minute routine.The next chapter is a daily guide moving the reader (you are expected to be exercising as you read!) through what to eat & do each day at each of the three levels of fitness. The daily guide covers 28 days at each level. One can either repeat the 28 day cycle and stay at a given level of difficulty (fitness) or move on to the next level and the 28 days guide for that level. This is probably the chapter that is most important to a successful fitness/wellness program -- taking the mystery out of how to integrate all of the parts of the program. Following the "recipe" is always much easier than coming up with your own program to integrate your new learnings.The 4-3-2-1 routine is a unique approach to fitness and health. The science seems to be sound. It wasn't really clear, however, until I actually started trying out the exercises how the routine works. By that I mean, his 4-3-2-1 concept is easy to understand -- 4 minutes of cardio/aerobics, 3 minutes of resistance/muscle building, 2 minutes on your core (more muscle building) and 1 minute of stretching & breathing. What wasn't clear until I started the exercises was how each part of the 4-3-2-1 workout is broken down. It turns out that the routine is actually 15 minutes not 10 as there is a 5 minute warm-up before you start the day's exercises. The 4 minutes of aerobics is broken into 8 - 30 second intervals. This is where the interval training concept comes into play. The 3 minutes of resistance is comprised of 3 different 1 minute exercises. The 2 minutes of core is similarly broken into 2 different 1 minute exercises. And the stretching is broken into 2 different 30 second stretches.As previously stated, many of the exercises I've never seen before. They are a nice blend of motions involving many different muscle groups. Some are more challenging than they appear. I'm sure if all one is looking for is to improve their health and level of fitness, this program will provide exactly that in 15 minutes of exercise 3 times a week. Another nice feature of this program is that at Level 1 there is no equipment needed (except a chair & a wall). Level 2 introduces a jump rope, resistance bands and a stability ball (and a door & step). All very inexpensive. Level 3 introduces weights and a medicine ball -- all pretty standard fair at a gym or well equipped home gym. No special machines. Nothing expensive. Another fine point of this book.Without jumping to Level 3 where the weights are introduced, I'm concerned about dropping my current weight training routine. Yes, my current routine takes much longer than 10 minutes but I feel the results are worth the time. I may try repeating the 10 minute workout 3 or 4 times in one exercise session. I guess some experimentation is in order. Rather than dropping my current program I'm electing to follow the 4-3-2-1 program on the days that I'm not using my traditional weight training/cardio program. When I get to Level 3 I may drop my existing program depending on the results I'm seeing from levels 1 & 2.My only complaint, and the ONLY reason I didn't give the book a 5 star rating, is the food section follows the traditional non-wisdom we've all been taught as the result of big companies putting profits ahead of health and wellness. The comments about eating fewer meals more often, having a daily food plan and how to build a menu without overeating are all excellent. The list of allowed, cautionary and avoid foods are pretty typical which means I don't agree. For a book so meticulously researched, there is a HUGE lack of research in the food section. Will the average American be healthier following his food guidelines than by continuing on their traditional American diet? Absolutely! But to be truly healthy, changes need to be made to his food plan. For example, the author advocates, "Eat Real Food" then goes on to say, "Eat low-fat or non-fat yogurt". If that's "real food" I'd like to know where the low-fat or non-fat cows come from that produce the low-fat or non-fat milk to make the yogurt. Real food contains the fats our bodies need. After World War II people were trading art work, gold and jewelry to buy olive oil, lard and tallow. Vegetables and other foods were more readily available but the fats were not. Our bodies require healthy fats. In fact, our bodies burn fat first. It is excess carbohydrates that get turned into body fat not animal fats and healthy oils. Check out the Weston A. Price Foundation and other groups that promote healthy eating of "real foods".If the book included longer workouts for those that want to train or build and integrated the food wisdom of groups like the Weston A Price Foundation, this would be a sure 5 stars. In any case, it is 4+ stars and should be read by anyone interested in trying a new approach to health, fitness and wellness. This book seems especially appropriate for people that do not regularly exercise and need a sound way to get started on their way to a new and healthier lifestyle.

As a life coach, I would absolutely recommend this program to clients who want an exercise program and lack of time is keeping them from doing it. If you have more time, you can certainly do his program by either repeating the workout or doing more than one workout. I love his balance of kinds of exercise and care for covering every major muscle group. Tons of variety, which is another thing I really appreciate. You can't get bored with this. If you follow his program exactly, you'll not do the same exercise for about 4 weeks, I think. For me, it works better to do the same workout a few times to really get the hang of it, but once I get all 28 ten-minute workouts down, the combinations are endless with the flip cards. He also spends a great deal of time at the beginning explaining why this works ... I find that very interesting and helpful, and I think that understanding this will make an exercise program more effective, but if a client doesn't want to read that part, they could go straight to the exercise (and maybe a coach could spend some time explaining the important points of why and how). Definitely get the spiral bound -- I don't know how the flip card system could be included in the hardbound and that's a major part of what makes this program great. His claim is that, in 10 minutes, you can get as much of a workout -- and possibly better -- than in 30. My happily sore muscles attest to that.

I bought this book as a recommendation from someone else (not on Amazon), but am so glad I did. It's very good value for money, with lots of sensible, helpful and manageable advice, and I'm actually doing the programme. (Too soon to say whether it works !!!)

Not to our liking. Would have preferred the DVD.

Exactly what I expected. Easy to read/follow instructions...some good routines for the time-challenged! I would recommend it if you wanted stuff to do in a non-gym environment.