I’ve been following Rachel Cosgrove on Twitter and reading her blog for a while now. Of course, I’ve heard about the amazing gym she and her husband run together, and know many fitness gurus really respect her professional expertise. If you’ve seen pictures of Rachel, then you know that she’s a lovely and fit woman. And often, when you see someone in great shape, it’s almost instinctive to assume that it’s just easier for them to stay fit than it is for everyone else. I have to admit, I assumed that about Rachel. I knew from reading her blog that she struggled with the same body image issues that all women do. But when I read her new book, The Female Body Breakthrough, I was shocked to learn that Rachel had gone through periods of being significantly overweight, and even struggled with an eating disorder.
And that’s part of the magic of The Female Body Breakthrough. In it, you get dozens of stories of real women who struggled to achieve their ideal bodies, and finally managed to transform into “fit females.” Tying them all together are the brutally honest and exposed first-person accounts of Rachel’s own struggle and transition from fit but flabby aerobics instructor to fitness model, to overweight woman, to fit female. So believe me when I say that Rachel knows your struggle and knows how to help – SHE HAS BEEN THERE!
Now beyond the appeal of Rachel’s candor, there are many other things I loved about this book:
- Rachel provides a complete package: dealing with self-image, goal-setting, fitness, nutrition, and maintenance.
- The fitness plan focuses on resistance training and high intensity interval training (HIIT). As a result, her workouts take about 60 minutes each – making it easy to fit in the three hours a week required for the beginning phase of the workouts. You are not “allowed” to exercise more the six hours per week.
- Rachel debunks the common wisdom that running helps you develop a fit body, and actually bans the use of treadmills during her 16-week program.
- The nutrition plan focuses on eating protein and vegetables or fruit at every meal, eliminating processed carbs, and ditching soda – even diet soda! I feel like I could have written it myself.
- Best of all, Rachel forces us to acknowledge our default jealousy for fit and sexy women, and gives us a new definition for the word B-I-T-C-H to express how we SHOULD be thinking about these women.
This is not a weight loss book. It doesn’t tell you about some new gimmick that will help you drop weight on the scale. In fact, the barometer Rachel recommends you use to gauge your progress is not weight, but an awesome pair of jeans that are two sizes to small. If you prize losing weight above all else, this book will require a mindset change for you. This book is about changing your body to one that is fit, healthy, and sexy. That might involve weight loss, but it might not. Either way, who cares when you look awesome in your skinny jeans?
It’s probably pretty evident by now that I’m a big fan of this book. I would recommend it to any woman who has struggled to lose weight and wants a tool that will help her finally reach her goals. I also think that the tools Rachel provides can even be helpful to people like me, who have gotten our fit bodies, but still need a push every now and then to keep us there.
But if you’re going to use it properly, PLEASE do not just skip to the 16-week nutrition plan and 16-week fitness plan. The plans are great, and you should follow them, but the book is so much more than just a workout and eating regimen.
Do I have anything negative to say about the book? Very little. First, as kettlebell junkie, I’m able to tell you that the picture of the fitness model demonstrating kettlebell swings isn’t ideal. The model is squatting too much. So if you know how to do a good kettlebell swing, don’t be confused by the picture in the book. The only other criticism I have is that, for someone already doing significant weight training in the style Rachel promotes, the base phase may seem a bit too easy. I actually tweeted Rachel to inquire whether someone in this situation should skip the 4-week “base phase” program, but she responded that they should not. So someone like me might find it hard to get excited about Rachel’s workouts for the first four weeks. However, I think bringing maximum intensity to exercises like the step-up in Workout A and the overhead squat in Workout B may make help to compensate.
Where to get it: I purchased my copy of The Female Body Breakthrough from Amazon.com, for $14.95 and a got free shipping. If you click the links in this article, they’ll take you to the Amazon, where you can purchase your own copy.
About this review: The book reviewed was purchased with my own money. Links provided are affiliate links to Amazon.com. I will receive a small commission of 6% if you purchase the product featured using the link I’ve provided. Please review my “Referrals” page for more information.
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I’m a fan of Rachel’s blogs and articles, so I’m pretty eager to check the book out (for information).
Thanks for the review!
Please let me know how you like it!
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I’m just starting (day two). I have a long history of dieting. I have recently lost 60 lbs., and have put 10 back on. I am nervous about eating more. I would greatly appreciate any input from anyone whose story is similar to mine.