A captivating blend of reportage and personal narrative that explores the untold history of women’s exercise culture--from jogging and Jazzercise to Jane Fonda--and how women have parlayed physical strength into other forms of power. For American women today, working out is as accepted as it is expected, fueling a multibillion-dollar fitness industrial complex. But it wasn’t always this way. For much of the twentieth century, sweating was considered unladylike and girls grew up believing physical exertion would cause their uterus to literally fall out. It was only in the sixties that, thanks to a few forward-thinking fitness pioneers, women began to move en masse. In Let's Get Physical, journalist Danielle Friedman reveals the fascinating hidden history of contemporary women’s fitness culture, chronicling in vivid, cinematic prose how exercise evolved from a beauty tool pitched almost exclusively as a way to “reduce” into one millions have harnessed as a path to mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Let’s Get Physical reclaims these forgotten origin stories—and shines a spotlight on the trailblazers who led the way. Each chapter uncovers the birth of a fitness movement that laid the foundation for working out today: the radical post-war pitch for women to break a sweat in their living rooms, the invention of barre in the “Swinging Sixties,” the promise of jogging as liberation in the seventies, the meteoric rise of aerobics and weight-training in the eighties, the explosion of yoga in the nineties, and the ongoing push for a more socially inclusive fitness culture—one that celebrates every body. Ultimately, it tells the story of how women discovered the joy of physical strength and competence—and how, by moving together to transform fitness from a privilege into a right, we can create a more powerful sisterhood.

With 32 more exercises tailored to women. "A fantastic resource... which can be used by any woman interested in improving her health and physique... The book's ease of use, colorful pictures, and most importantly, the anatomical illustrations, help set this book apart from other similar exercise books. This book would be a great addition to any public library or academic library with a kinesiology program." --American Reference Books Annual, on the first edition Women have been joining gyms and running clubs, hiring personal trainers, attending boot camps and entering marathons -- where they now outnumber men -- and participating in all variety of fitness activities in record numbers. They are taking disease prevention seriously by working to ward off the onset of diseases and conditions such as depression, heart disease, osteoporosis, dementia and breast cancer. Anatomy of Exercise for Women provides women of all ages with exercise programs that will bring great benefits in physical fitness, psychological well-being and meeting the challenges of daily life. Like all of the books in the series, this title has: Detailed, full-color anatomical illustrations for all the exercises Annotations identifying the active and stabilizing muscles Concise how-to instructions for each exercise Identification of the specific muscles that benefit the most from each exercise Suggested modifications for different levels of difficulty A glossary of anatomical terms. Exercises are presented individually and then also in pre-designed workouts that let women focus on what they want most to improve: Leaner Legs, Thighs and Glutes; Arm Toner; Core Strength and Stability; All-Over Toner; and Working the Waistline. The Beginner's and Back to Basics Workouts are excellent overall programs. Stretching exercises help to alleviate stress and fatigue, improve posture and increase flexibility. The "Anatomy of..." series has revolutionized how people can approach their fitness needs. More than 500,000 copies of the series have sold. The books are ideal references for beginning exercisers and amateur athletes, elite competitors, trainers, physiotherapists, coaches, sport injury clinics, yoga, Pilates and fitness instructors, team doctors and specialist professionals.

Women and Exercise is an invluable resource for all physicians, from general practitioners to specialists seeking information outside their specialty, who need up-to-date information and expert advice about women and exercise.

It is well-established, through extensive peer-reviewed published research, that physical activity and exercise training can impact the reproductive endocrine system of women. This ground-breaking, comprehensive title presents a range of unique insights into the opposite question: how the reproductive endocrine system of women affects their exercise ability. More precisely, the thematic question explored in this work is: if exercise affects reproductive hormones, conversely then could the reproductive hormones have physiological effects unrelated to reproduction that influence the capacity of women to exercise? In exploring this question, the goal is to better understand the unique physiology of women and whether female sex hormones might account for some of the variance in physiological performance between amenorrheic and eumenorrheic women, and within women across the age span as they experience menarche to menopause. Sex Hormones, Exercise and Women: Scientific and Clinical Aspects synthesizes the research by exploring the physiology and psychology behind these occurrences. This novel title will not only be of interest to researchers, exercise scientists, graduate students, and clinicians; it will also serve as a source of valuable information for female athletes and their trainers in the context of preparing for competitions.

Exercise, Nutrition and the Older Woman: Wellness for Women Over Fifty is a comprehensive guide to the major wellness issues for women over fifty. The author is a physician who explores diet, exercise and lifestyle choices from a medical perspective. The book assists in the design and implementation of programs to optimize good health and quality o

The Exercising Female: Science and Its Application is the first book to provide students, researchers, and professionals with an evidence-based reference on the exceptional scientific issues associated with female participation in sport and exercise. Based on the latest research, and treating women as a unique population, the book seeks to critically evaluate current debates, present the science underpinning female sport and exercise performance, and inform applied practice for the exercising female. Featuring contributions from leading scientists from around the world, and adopting a multidisciplinary approach—from exercise physiology, endocrinology, and biochemistry to psychology, biomechanics, and sociology—the book includes chapters on topics such as: Exercise and the menstrual cycle, contraception, pregnancy, motherhood, and menopause. Body image, exercise dependency, the psychology of sports performance, and homophobia in female sport. The Female Athlete Triad, bone health, musculoskeletal injury, and breast biomechanics. Nutritional requirements for the exercising female, immune function and exercise, and cardiovascular health. Filling a considerable gap in book literature around the science of female sport and exercise, this is crucial reading for any student studying female sport and exercise science, researchers of female sport, and any coach, sport scientist, strength and conditioning coach, sport psychologist, physician, or physiotherapist working with female athletes.