View source for Home Workout for Beginners: 6 Week Fitness Program with Fat Burning Workouts for Long Term Weight Loss by James Atkinson

{{infobox1
|title=Home Workout for Beginners: 6 Week Fitness Program with Fat Burning Workouts for Long Term Weight Loss
|author=James Atkinson
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Lifestyle
|summary=The sort of workout which doesn't require expensive equipment or a gym membership and which is explained with enthusiasm and thoughfulness about safety.
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=136/5h48m
|publisher=www.jimshealthandmuscle.com
|date=January 2019
|isbn=978-1500831189
|website=https://jimshealthandmuscle.com/
|cover=B07ML4Q55J
|aznuk=B07ML4Q55J
|aznus=B07ML4Q55J
}}

James Atkinson has all the qualifications which you need in a workout instructor and he looks the part.  He's been actively involved in the health and fitness arena for more than twenty years and he spent nine years as a member of 9 Parachute Regiment, Royal Engineers.  He has another qualification which means a lot to me: he's been on the other side.  There was a time when he was overweight and not particularly strong.  As a child he was slow to develop.  This means that he ''understands'' what it's like and he knows how his clients feel: it's much more helpful than the twenty-something who was born super-fit and with an attitude problem.

We start with the preparations.  You get advice on clothing and footwear and the only equipment which you're going to need to buy is a set of resistance bands.  They're available in a range of prices but {{amazonurl|isbn=B06XXBQ9GZ|title=these}} seem to be a well-received mid-price option.  There's a stress on having a healthy diet and given that it's the one I've followed for years I can confirm that it delivers well and is easy to maintain without being expensive.  There are even recipes which you can download.  Atkinson  feels that if a regime is to be successful then it's got to be appropriate, convenient, progressive, planned and diverse: his workout fulfills all of those criteria.

You're taken through the six-week programme step by step, exercise by exercise.  I've a minor quibble in that he refers to 'biceps', 'triceps' and 'glutes' without explanation on occasions.  There will be people who're not quite certain what to grab, but that's me being picky.  Otherwise Atkinson is inspirational, anticipates problems and senses where you might feel uncertain.  You get hints such as the fact that the order in which you do your exercise really does matter and he's very sound on safety.

Atkinson is inspirational.  What you get is his enthusiasm.  There's nothing tricksy in his writing: it's far more honest and straightforward than that.  If you're worried that the workouts might be beyond you, I'm a woman of what might charitably be called upper middle age.  The week-one resistance training was a bit of a challenge, possibly because of the newness of what I was doing, but the cardio workout (which I expected to be something beyond my capabilities) was no problem at all.

I listened to an audio download of the book for which I'd like to thank the publisher and it was narrated by Matt Addis. I've listened to Addis narrate a number of books and what's always delighted me is his range of voices and the way that he can make me feel as though I'm listening to a play with added commentary.  This time that wasn't what was required and thankfully it wasn't what I got.  Addis delivers Atkinson's ''enthusiasm'' but does it in a voice which slips neatly into the background: all the care and thoughtfulness comes over but otherwise, the voice is that of a knowledgeable trainer helping you to achieve your best.  Thanks, Matt.  If you'd like to know more about how Matt prepares for a recording you'll find the answers in [[The Interview: Bookbag Talks To Matt Addis|our interview with Matt]].

Shelve ''Home Workout for Beginners: 6 Week Fitness Program with Fat Burning Workouts for Long Term Weight Loss'' neatly between [[Keep Your Health and Fitness For Life: Don't Let Age Be A Barrier by Stuart Roberts]] and [[Live Forever Manual: Science, ethics and companies behind the new anti-aging treatments by Adrian Cull]]. 

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