Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth About Exercise and Health

Kolata, Gina

ISBN 10: 0374204772 / ISBN 13: 9780374204778

Published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 2003

About this Item

First edition, 2003, stated; first printing, full number line. Inscribed and signed by the author on the title page: "To Linda with best wishes / Gina Kolata." The book is square and unmarked; one corner and spine ends bumped; a short closed tear to the top edge of one page. The dust jacket is not price-clipped (original price $24.00); edgewear at spine ends and corners; Brodart protected. Seller Inventory # 006997

Bibliographic Details

Title: Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth About ...

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York

Publication Date: 2003

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good +

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good +

Signed: Signed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

The bestselling science reporter for The New York Times tells us what works and what doesn’t when we work out

Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth About Exercise and Health is Gina Kolata’s compelling journey into the world of American physical fitness over the past thirty years. It is a funny, eye-opening, brow-sweating investigation into the fads, fictions, and science of fitness training.

From the early days of jogging, championed by Jim Fixx— who later died of a heart attack—to weight lifting, cycling, aerobics, and Spinning, Kolata questions such popular notions as the “fat-burning zone” and “spot reducing,” the effects of food on performance, how much exercise helps build fitness, and the difference between exercise to help the heart and exercise to change the body. She explains the science of physical fitness and the objective evidence behind commonly accepted prescriptions. Along the way she profiles researchers and mavericks who have challenged conventional wisdom, marketed their inventions, and sometimes bucked criticism only to back down from their original claims.

Ultimate Fitness spotlights the machines and machinations of the fitness industry, and cuts through the marketing and hype not only to assess what is healthy, but also to understand what our obsession with staying healthy says about American culture today.

About the Author:

Gina Kolata is a science reporter for The New York Times and is the author of, most recently, Flu. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.