Real Fitness for Real Women: A Unique Workout Program for the Plus-Size Woman

In just one session a week, Rochelle Rice takes you through a series of special routines that can boost your metabolism, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and make your body more firm - no matter what you weigh.

"Women don't have to be thin to be fit," writes Rochelle Rice. Fitness is not about weight, but about the body, mind, and spirit. Her exercise program, designed for the physical and psychological needs of plus-size women, aims to empower women to get active and reclaim the joy of movement. Real Fitness for Real Women emphasizes exercising for the health and psychological benefits--and the pleasure of it!--rather than for weight loss.

Most exercise books, videos, and gyms, frankly, are demoralizing for large-size women. They usually emphasize the goal of slimness, with impossibly slender women demonstrating exercise routines that would be uncomfortable, even risky, for large women. Rice, instead, studied the biomechanics of large women and developed a six-week, 25-exercise program based on their particular needs.

Everything you need is here: step-by-step warm-up, aerobic dance (starting with just five minutes), strength training (without weights), stretching, and meditation. Each exercise is explained clearly and most are illustrated by photographs of plus-size women. Unfortunately, the aerobic moves are not illustrated, which can make them confusing to novice exercisers. (An accompanying video would be wonderful.)

Besides the exercise program, Rice emphasizes the emotional and spiritual components: getting motivated, creating support, and battling binges, illustrated using stories about other large women. Rice is a certified fitness trainer with a master's degree in plus-size exercise. --Joan Price