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The personal trainer to such celebrities as Halle Berry, Christian
Slater, and Angela Bassett presents his amazing five-week program
for achieving a celebrity body by working out less and eating
more.
If you're eating three meals a day, exercising an hour or more a
day at the gym, and not getting results, you're eating too little
and working out too much.
Harley Pasternak's Five Factor Fitness shows the five moves
for the five/five-minute workout cycles (totaling twenty-five
minutes) five days a week. Pasternak explains how to do this at
home or at the gym through detailed instructions and illustrations.
He includes recipes and a five-week meal plan for the five meals a
day, and each meal takes just five minutes to prepare. Nothing in
the recipes requires a trip to a specialty or health food
store.
In five weeks, you'll have the celebrity body you've always dreamed
of, and it won't have taken much of your time.
Great Little BookReviewed by T. Stephens, 2009-05-05
Loved this book. Not much of a meal plan but enough to get started with. I love the workout. I noticed a difference after one week. I had not worked out in a long time. This was very easy to do and see results. Make sure you have a bench to do your workouts on. Follow his plan and you will see results.
5-FactorReviewed by Brenfer, 2009-04-06
For the most part the book was good, although, some of the recipes were not as simple as indicated. The fitness section is excellent.
Almost greatReviewed by Robin L. Opp, 2009-02-15
I really loved this concept. I've done the workout on two seperate occasions and I do well with the structured approach. I try and stick with the food concept as well but even if I don't follow that completely I still end up losing weight and toning from the work outs. My frustration with this is that there is nothing beyond. Everyone knows your muscles get used to the same exercises over time so you need to keep changing it up. I would love to see a follow-up to this book!!!
Good, sound, realistic planReviewed by Deanna in Cali, 2008-12-02
After having been obese pretty much since I was a fetus, and
wasting years on fad diets [Slim Fast, Atkins, Cabbage soup, The
Zone, etc.] I finally made the committment to lose weight the
healthy way (by eating right and exercising) about 7 years ago.
It's been a long journey and a process of trial and error, losses
and gains, but overall, I've managed to lose 65 (only 60 more to
go!). Though I've had success on my own (and with some help/support
of Weight Watchers), I bought this book basically to get some fresh
ideas for meals and workout routines so I don't get stuck in a
rut.
What I love about this book is it is REALISTIC, specifically in the
duration and type of exercises included, the results you can
expect, and best of all, the fact that Harley cuts you some slack.
You don't see sentences like: "You can never eat x food again" or
"You must run 5 miles a day" (in fact, he discourages running as it
is hard on the joints).
The workout plan simply consists of a little cardio to warm up, 2
strength exercises, some ab work, and a bit more cardio to finish
up. As someone who despises cardio, and doesn't run unless there's
an ice cream truck in front of me or a serial killer behind, I
appreciate that i don't have to spend a lot of time on any one part
of the rountine. When I read the exercises for the first workout, I
thought, "Okay, this looks easy." Wrong! Though I've been strength
training for years, the high amount of reps Day One called for was
very challening. I intend to complete the whole 5 week plan, and
I'm excited to see what the results will be with this new way of
working out.
The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 is that I have a
couple of issues with the food plan. While Harley claims the diet
portion is not lo-carb, virtually every meal is loaded with meat
and dairy, which he refers to as "high quality protein sources".
Large quantities of animal protein are rough on the kidneys and can
deplete the body of calcium. Though he doesn't specify how many
grams/portions of protein one should eat daily, I'd imagine a
vegetarian would have to eat PLENTY of egg whites and cottage
cheese to get in the servings suggested. And a vegan would have to
practically live on soy-based meat substitutes.
While it won't yield the quicker weight loss, a diet centered
around vegetables and fruits first, then whole grains and legumes,
and healthy fats [nuts, olive oil], plus some seafood and limited,
organic dairy will get you the most nutrients and is best fr your
heart. While not totally excluded, grains, beans, and starchy
vegetables (like sweet potatos) play a limited role in Harvey's
plan.
The other part of the food plan that I have a problem with the
recommendation to have a "sugar free beverage" with each meal.
While this of course can refer to water and unsweetened tea, Harley
also has no problem including artificially-sweetened drinks, which
are loaded with chemicals. I guess if you don't mind your body
being a science lab, this won't be a problem for you. I personally
choose to stay away from Frankenfoods like that. I give him BIG
props, however, for allowing a "cheat day" once a week.
Absolute gemReviewed by jacki, 2008-10-28
I have struggled to lose wght all my life. I've done everything from hours of cardio to Pilates to whatever. Nothing has ever helped me lose wght, tone up, and keep it off except the exercises in this book. Pasternak is a genius for coming up with this regimen because it is so easy. I don't really follow the meal plan because it is fairly restrictive- I just do the exercise and I still lose a ton of wght pretty quickly. I have to admit that I do miss the shape my body had when I was doing Pilates regularly but I had to do ~45-60mins of Pilates to get those results as opposed to 25-30mins of 5 Factor Fitness. Needless to say I very highly recommend this book. Also try The Shangria La Diet by Roberts if you need help with appetite control.
