Great exercises for overall health

I wish I had this book decades ago.
Such a great reference for how to strengthen the muscles that keep us moving, which really matters as we age.
Also like the inclusion of foam roller exercises as those are helpful to overall health. ( )

The author provides a series of exercises with pictures and descriptions to enable correct performance. The exercises focus on different muscle groups. These exercises are typically part of a yoga exercise program. They are also commonly used by physical therapists for rehabilitation. It is a nice reference book for cross training exercises. ( )

Over 50 Exercises That Support Cross Training: A Revolutionary Guide To Prevent Injury by Kalina Keilah requires the reader to have acknowledge of exercises and poses regularly practiced in such disciplines as pilates (superman, isometric core situp, dead bug, pelvic tilt), yoga (cat/cow, plank, bridge, trunk rotations, pigeon, child's pose, thread the needle, figure four, lizard pose, butterfly stretch, frog, hip roll, forward bend, and breathing techniques), and callistatics (clam shell, squats, lunges, hamstring stretch, quad stretch, side bends).

The book offers an abridged version of the exercises that prepare the body for the rigorous body building practice of cross training. The author expects the reader to know what it means to hold the body in a straight line - shoulders over pelvis, legs hip width apart, feet straight, knees over ankles. Oftentimes, students don't recognize that one foot is positioned slightly crooked or a knee is slightly past the ankle. Athletics, even professional ones, fall into bad habits. The book is a written remainder about how to hold the body when performing these exercises to avoid falling into postures and habits that negatively impact the body.

The author, Kalina Keilah, starts off the book informing readers what the purpose of the selection of exercises she chose to outline for the book achieve. Namely, preventing injury as one ages, gain stability for the rotator cuff and shoulder region, strengthen the abdominal muscles and stabilize your spine, support a neutral pelvis, hamstrings, calves, and hip flexors, aid mobility, and warm up exercises before cross training.

She does not reinforce that the long term effects of these benefits is to prevent osteoporosis, scoliosis and stenosis of the spine, and tears in the meniscus and Achilles tendon to name a few, which keep one out of pain with age. At the close of the book, Keilah does outline that some benefits of the exercises she focuses on include: increased blood flow, range of motion, deduce pain and risk of injury, and assist with elimination of lactic acid. The benefits are much more but only an individual educated in fitness would know and recognize them.

Keilah provides diagrams that show how to use weights, resistance bands, foam rollers, stability ball, massage ball, stepper, and one's own body weight. Accompanied by descriptions about how to perform the exercises, though she does not inform readers where they should feel the exercise working.

Keilah expects the reader to have knowledge about disciplines like pilates, yoga, and callistatics, along with experience about how to perform the exercises correctly and where to feel the exercises working on the body. But then again, the book is geared towards individuals who are enthusiasts about crossing training, and would likely have this knowledge and experience. It is certainly a good companion for athletics and cross training enthusiasts, who need that daily remainder about how to hold their postures correctly and avoid negatively impacting their muscles. ( )

The subtitle of this book is Revolutionary Guide to Prevent Injury. I kept looking for the evidence of revolutionary. What makes this book revolutionary? The why of it all was missing.
Here were the cons for me:
1. The information was cookie-cutter and very abbreviated.
2. The layout of information was confusing. Starts with Rotator Cuff then Abdominals. What is so important about the rotator cuff?
3. Abbreviations were not explained. What is TA, RA, EO?
4. Not a lot of information about proper form except shoulder winging. No explanation about why shoulder winging is so bad, either.
5. There was no prep on what equipment one would need: dumbbells, stability ball, cables (gym membership?), resistance bands, foam roller, small ball for feet.
6. There were inconsistencies with illustrations as well. Back and glute muscles are clearly defined but not abdominals.
7. Some information was repetitious (not helpful when the "book" is only 88 pages long): what is the difference between "angry cat/flat back" and "cat/cow" or the hamstring stretch on page 61 from the hamstring stretch on page 71?
8. Descriptions about how to perform exercises were lacking. How do you do 10 - 15 reps on each side of angry cat/flat back? Illustrations do not match instructions.
9. What is a subscapularis and why should I care?
10. Someone could hurt themselves if they do not chose the proper weight or use proper form, but there is no guidance on either.

I did like the section on foam rolling, since I hate foam rolling. The Theragun saved my life.
In short, there was so much more that could have gone into this book. ( )