Shape Your Self review

My 'Shape Your Self' review

Martina's latest book was published by Rodale Books on March 21, 2006. The full title is:
Shape Your Self : My 6-Step Diet and Fitness Plan for Achieving your Personal Best - Whatever your Age or your Challenge
I bought it online (it's the best solution if you live outside the U.S.A.) and here's my review (forgive me for my poor English, please!).

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The book makes pleasant reading as it's written in Martina's typical style, very direct and heartfelt, studded with funny anecdotes related to Martina's personal experiences, also on the grounds (i.e., it's not a mere collection of theories). It provides more than 50 pages of exercises, all well described and accompanied by excellent photographs showing Martina and her trainer Lisa Austin. Developed in order to stimulate your muscles at various levels, they are subdivided in core exercises, strength exercises, functional exercises, body-shaping exercises, corrective exercises for posture and foam roller stretches. The workout plan is set for three different levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) and lasts four weeks. But the physical workout is for Martina just a piece of a bigger plan aimed at improving your general lifestyle, which also includes some relevant psychological issues and a healthy nutrition. You will find smart advises to recharge and energize your body, modify some habits (for example, by getting a quality sleep and putting more quietness in your life) and learn "thinking positive" in everyday routine. The book is completed by a 28-day-meal plan full of recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, many of which are Martina's own inventions (some recipes are a tribute to Italian cuisine! Being Italian, I simply loved it :-). It also contains information about organic foods and products.
I enjoyed 'Shape Your Self' a lot. Reading implies that you let the author's words flow into your deep self and your personal situation gives these words a unique and special meaning which applies to you. As regards me, I went through this book in a particular moment of my life, as I'm the mother of a 2-year-old daughter and I'm expecting my second one right now. Thus I'm deeply concerned with learning everything related to children world and care. Martina's book really "... echoed the voice that was whispering inside me..." [page XIX] and shaped some intuitions I get by following my daughter's growth day by day. Martina gives prominence to the role of nature and I agree with her. Nature should be considered as the keystone of our choices, a criterion that may help us to weigh up the contradictory messages we receive from society, as well as to choose which lifestyles are healthy (natural) for us as human beings and which are not. Martina writes: "... From the day we are born, most of us bounce into this world healthy. Then something goes wrong. That 'something' is us..." [page 3]. I noticed that children follow a natural instinct before our habits condition them; babies are constantly in movement if you only let them free to behave naturally. They love movement, it's their way to learn the world and how to interact with it. If something changes, it's because we interfere, for example by putting them in playpens, reducing their space to explore in the name of safety (instead of adapting the house or, at least, the rooms where family spend the most part of the day). If only we would remember to consider nature a main criterion! We might easy understand the importance of movement, healthy food and emotional balance. I'm also beginning to learn about the holistic approach to health and medicine that Martina dates back to Leonardo Da Vinci and which I had already appreciated in other wise authors, like Dr. Christiane Northrup. Martina's message goes right in this direction. 'Shape Your Self' is also arranged in order to give you a lot of highly original tricks. I found very helpful her suggestion about the gradualness of changes: "... This is neither a fad nor an overnight program. It's a way of life..." [page XII] and "... Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path..." [page 13], as well as her advice on cheating: "... It's okay - indeed, it's healthy - to cheat every now and then. I don't believe in overdoing anything..." [page 7]. What a relief, in comparison with so many strict diets and programs, almost impossible to follow without ever feeling guilty! As initial steps I personally decided to focus, among other things, on paying attention to the glycemic index of foods, drinking more water (I identified dehydration as a possible source of the occasional fatigue I've recently experienced) and prioritizing: "... You don't have to be a superhero every day..." [page 102]. I think this motto suits everybody fine, but particularly young moms, thank you Martina!
I definitely suggest Martina's book as a positive, inspiring reading, which follows an already well consolidated holistic knowledge and which may help you to improve the quality of your life.

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'Shape Your Self' links
Martina's presentation of "Shape your Self" - from Martina's official website
Rodalestore - to buy the book online
Amazon.com - to buy the book online
Barnes & Noble - to buy the book online

'Shape Your Self' promotion and news
Interview - from the Bradenton Herald
Article - from the WTA Tour website
Article and video - from CBS News online
Interview - from CNN.com