I took a seminar from Rachel at the Perform Better Summit and I really liked her presentation.  She and her husband Alwyn own a gym in Southern California and during her talk she showed snippets of their 8 week challenge programs for women.  During these challenges, women aren’t allowed to get on the scale but they do bring jeans that don’t fit anymore to use as their barometer.  I loved that the focus of the challenge was not on the scale but on building strength and conditioning so I decided to check out her book: “The Female Body Breakthrough”

It’s a 16 week program that specifically targets women and teaches how to effectively train for Fat Loss.

Heavy on Science AND Humanity

This book does not eschew humanity in favor of science.  From the very beginning of the book Rachel overcomes many of the common objections women would have with a program like this:  (no under eating, no long treadmill workouts, no pink dumbbells, etc) Even though Rachel is very firm in overcoming objections about the program, she is not condescending towards the reader.

She understands that these are new concepts for many and while she is firm about her principles, she backs it up with sound research.

This book is also written in a conversational tone which is refreshing because sometimes fitness authors who want to show off their science backgrounds write with an authoritarian tone that reads: “MY WAY IS THE ONLY RIGHT WAY. LOOK AT ALL THE BIG WORDS I AM USING”  This book is easy to read and easy to follow.

Good for Women who live in the real world

Rachel is not out of touch from those of us who live in the real world.  She also covers EVERYTHING we can think of when it comes to women and training including: how to plan your workouts around your cycle, hormonal issues, and what happens to our reproductive organs past childbirth.  This is not your typical book that simply focuses on meal plans and workouts.  Rachel has it covered from the start all the way to maintenance level.

She gives the list of foods that people should focus on and shows how to formulate a meal plan but it’s nothing restrictive and I LOVE what one of the Testimonials said:  I am no longer afraid of cookies!

The workouts are solid and what I would recommend to my clients.  A combination of Strength Training/Conditioning workouts.  She does spend quite a bit of time teaching about why steady state cardio isn’t the best for Fat Loss which will be eye opening for many people and why you don’t need to use machines.  All solid principles I believe in.

Empowers Readers

The focus of this book is on becoming a Fit Female and all that it entails. I liked that the focus of the book was how great you will FEEL rather than how great you will LOOK.  I also liked that there wasn’t a focus on: restricting, self loathing, waiting to be happy until you reach your goal, and fitness martyrdom.

When discussing the maintenance portion of the program she said: “You don’t need to live in a bubble in order to make this work”.

Splurges are allowed and worked in the program so there’s no extremism here.  I appreciated that there wasn’t any promoting unrealistic expectations or self obsession.

Rachel spends quite a bit o time addressing MINDSET which I believe is the most important component of any plan.

On a Personal Note…

I connected with Rachel’s story in many ways.  She did a figure competition (she actually got on stage) and afterward she was the heaviest she had been in years.

This book was right on time for me and in some ways this book was a relief to read.  What is covered in the book is what I was doing before it all fell down.

While reading the book, I felt ALIVE and FIRED UP instead of overwhelmed and defeated.

I definitely recommend this book!