This is one of the first books to integrate the most successful fitness principles from East and West. An all-round fitness programme that includes topics on:
- Understanding your body and its response to exercise, how to do them and why they work
- Nutrition, the other side of the exercise equation
- Exercise and eating for people over 50.
Since its publication the fusion fitness approach to health and exercise extolled by the book has become widely accepted, particularly in the United States.
There are more than 130 photos and illustrations to take readers stage by stage through all elements of the Fusion Fitness programme.
For over 25 years, the author has studied a wide range of disciplines including yoga, Pilates, the Alexander Technique, callanetics, and Chinese martial arts. Focusing on exercises that integrate the best and safest elements from these disciplines, she presents a balanced exercise regimen for optimum strength, endurance, coordination, and cardiovascular fitness. Dozens of photos, illustrations and charts are included as well as a chapter for exercisers over 50.
Customer reviews (amazon.co.uk):
Fusion Fitness is an excellent and informative book that I would recommend to everyone with an interest in staying healthy and exercise. What allows it to stand out in this overcrowded market is it’s educational approach. It doesn’t just tell you how to get fit, it tells you why you are getting fit. By using the invaluable advice provided I have managed to make significant advances in my own fitness and wellbeing. Easily my best buy this year.
– A customer 17 December 2002
The only reason I didn’t give this book five stars is that Chan Ling is a somewhat pedantic writer. This book is exactly what I was looking for!
Most of us are far from perfectly fit, and most have weak and unbalanced muscle groups—and yes, a lot of us are over 50. I want to improve my core strength and develop overall muscle tone in a way that really works—and I don’t want to be sidelined by injuries. Chan Ling’s approach provides an overall synthesis of the concepts from many practices, including western science, and distills out the most beneficial techniques. There’s no focus on meditation or spirituality. There’s no focus on peak performance. Her goal is to provide a strong base to build on, and do that quickly, simply, and with low risk of injury—and to explain why it works.
I’ve tried lots of exercise regimes. Yoga sounds great, but it puts too much stress on some of my joints, I can’t get into most of the postures, and I always have the nagging feeling that I’m not progressing much at all toward my goals.
Tai chi is great in some ways, but limited in many others, and I’m bad at the choreography aspect. I’ve looked into Pilates—it seems to really strengthen the core, but proper execution is key, and who can afford the classes? There are tons of exercise books out there, and most of them are just variations on standard, mindless calisthenics and weight training.
I’ve tried putting together my own routines, and I do have a pretty nice stretching sequence that works well for me. I do a lot of walking. But I need more muscle toning that doesn’t overwork one area while overlooking others—but I did’t know how, exactly, to accomplish this. What I do know is that the local aerobics class is not the answer.
Chan Ling goes into lots of detail about physiology, explaining why certain things work, why certain things are risky, and how to work with your body and give it what it needs. For example, I found the clear descriptions of the abdominal muscle layers and how they work very enlightening. The exercises are clearly explained and manageable in number. This is good, basic, sensible, thoughtful exercise!
– Meg in Madison 20 September 2008
