How do you workout with a book?

[lettucia]

Hello,

Lately I've seen a lot of threads about working out from a book, especially to get good a basis for yoga and strength training. It sounds like something I'd like to do, but so far I haven't had much success working out with a book. I have a pilates book, but I hated having to stop between every exercise, read the instructions for the next exercise then try it and start again for the next exercise. So is there a trick I didn't get yet? Do you memorize the whole routine and instructions before starting? Do you really stop and start between every exercise?

Thanks in advance for any advice on this. I've seen Rodney Yee's Balance book in the store last night and would love to take it on holidays, but I need to know how to use it first!

Lettucia

[Peggy T]

I have Siler's Pilates flashcards and I love them. But I didnt use them to learn from. I like it that I can just go thru them without all the chatter. Saveas about 5-10 minutes.

[Vee]

I like working out with a book - you can go at your own pace, use your own music. Sometimes when I go to the gym I cary a workout book along.
Another advantage with a book is that you can make up / vary your own routines.

The trick is to learn each exercise and master doing it with good form first. During the learning phase, you dont focus on doing a target number of reps. You just do as many reps as necessary so that you dont need to read the whole description before doing the exercise. This way, when you do a "real workout" you just need to refer to the book for a quick visual clue of what exercise to do next. As with video workouts, you reach a point where you dont need the cues after going over the routine a few times.

[Lucysql]

The first 2-3 times I do a routine from a book, I do reference the book frequently, right before starting each new exercise. After that, I've pretty much got it. I'll occasionally check back just to make sure I'm still in good form.

I'll also type up the routine from the book so that once I'm familiar with it, I don't have to keep checking the book to see what comes next.

HTH.

[Joanna]

I always read the book first to learn the instructions, then follow along either using a cheat sheet I type up, or just by using the pictures. I am familiar enough with yoga that I can follow along with something like Rodney's book just from the pictures (except on Mondays where he does several variations per pose and you do need to pause between exercises to read the text). I have trouble following the ones where a particular pose or exercise goes over more than one page (or two-oage spread) but as long as youc an see the whole move in one spread and there is a clear and attractive layout I can manage. Some suggestions for good follow-along books:

1) Most of the Joyce Vedral books are great for this. Generally is is one pose per page with large, clear pics but quite a few of them have follow-along summary charts too. I like the Bathing Suit Workout, 12-Miute Workout and Weight Training Made Easier, which I losy and must try to re-trade for :_)

2) Debise Auston's books are great, especially her Pilates one. The layouts are very nice, there is LOTS of info and from pointers etc. and it is quite easy to read the text once and then follow along with only the pictures.

3) The 8 Minutes in the Morning series by Jorge Cruise is very easy to follow along with---great page layout, clear pics, little charts etc. if you are into that. Not sure if I buy into the 8 minutes is enough concept, but you could always do a few days worth at once. I only have the first book and it feels like enough for me, but there are quite a few volumes in the series and if the others show up cheap at my used bookstore, we'll see.

4) Om Yoga by Cundi Lee has great tabbed sections per day of the week and summary charts to see the whole day's workout at once. Plus the book has a lie-flat coil binding. The explanations are not the most detailed (and my friend Natasha was really creeped out by the cartoons) but if you have a good refrecne book already with the poses, this can be a great quick practice book.

5) I have written quite a bit about Rodney's books so I won;t repeat that. But they are great, and Moving Toward Balance contains a TON (a whole eight weeks) of practices.

6) Finally I would like to thank Beth for recommending the Body Shop Yoga book. It has about 20 little 4-5 pose routines in it. They all fold out into these adorable and very inviting little spreads. A great find because it does not have to be this whole production, it is just a few poses, enough to feel good but not enought o feel like you need to set aside an hour :-)

Joanna

[Megan]

The original Callanetics book has a few pages at the back just listing the exercise routines and leaving room for you to make notes on form or reps. So what you can do is use the instructional setion to learn how to do the exercises and then you'll only need the few pages that list the workout routines. Of course, it's always good to refer back to the instructional section to check form.

[hch]

Originally Posted by lettucia

So is there a trick I didn't get yet? Do you memorize the whole routine and instructions before starting? Do you really stop and start between every exercise?

I've actually done both.

When I first took up Pilates I did something similar: I read the instructions beforehand but kept referring to them because I'd never done Pilates before. My first full Pilates session took 45 or 50 minutes, but mostly because I wasn't comfortable going on my own yet. Soon after, though, I found that I had internalized the instructions (or at least thought so ) and didn't need to refer to the written ones again, and the session shrank to 10 or 11 minutes.

I've found that I do tend to like memorizing sequences, which for me are usually differing yoga sequences, from books in libraries where I don't have a card. My memory works well for this sort of thing, at least for the short term, and it helps when the asanas are familiar or variations thereon.

See what works for you, heh.

[lettucia]

Thanks to all for the replies. It sounds like you guys have a much better memory than me. It would take me years to memorize a routine or the instructions for a position like that.
I might buy a yoga book and try it while I'm on holidays. I won't be able to bring my tapes or DVDs anyway.
I think I really like to have a voice guiding me and telling me what to focus on while I am doing the pose, though, so maybe I should stick to videos.

Thanks again for the feedback!

Lettucia

[bzar]

WARNING - OLD THREAD!

i like these suggestions - what was the longest it took you to learn a routine from a book, in terms of session length and number of sessions?

i want to try this with a book i am reading.

i once tried to dictate the exercises to a tape recorder, but i just felt so dorky when i played it back, listening to my own voice! i probably should have put some music in the background.