The Ultimate Body Shaping Bible -
Get in the best shape of your life with targeted workouts that tone and tighten everything.

I am a personal trainer who is big into weight training (for women and men). I am always happy to see new books that open the door to women, making the workout scene more approachable. This book is GREAT for newcomers to working out, giving lots of beginner pointers and direction. I like how it is laid out with the different levels, although I'd hardly limit your workout to the things listed in this book. If you are new, or just getting back into it, then this is a great start--very easy to read, very easy to follow directions. It is broken down into various body parts (I like that) and then into the author's idea of beginner-advanced workouts. (I personally think you can go much farther and get much more from your workout if you don't stop at "advanced" and introduce different routines.) There were some things in this book that I hadn't seen before and will integrate into my client's workouts, (as well as my own). Easy to follow, easy to read, easy to learn...Great book. – K. McAllister

I'm not an exercise 'guru' at all, I'm just a typically overweight, thirtysomething, stay at home mom looking for some help. I am very pleased with this book. The pictures are clear, large, and in full color. The directions couldn't be any easier to understand. I love how not only is it divided by the body part that we want to work on, but also each exercise is marked with a difficulty level. Not a lot of expensive equipment is needed. You will want hand weights, ankle weights, and a stretch band. Some other exercises require a ball and a step. There's so many other exercises in the book that I don't plan on going out and buying a ball and step until I've worked my way through more of the book. I was not offended by her use of the terms 'muffin top' or 'living dimple free'. I suppose this is because I know going into this that I can only be the best ME that I can be. This book can help me do that and chances are that the best me might still have a dimple here or there--but I'll be healthier overall. There is not a lot of focus on diet on the book. She mentions in passing that we can easily reduce our portions of most things we eat and not feel like life is over. She also mentions keeping cardio in your life. All in all, I'm impressed with the book.– T. C Gerlach

I'm not sure that this is the ultimate body shaping bible, but it definitely is a good illustrated book on the wide range of exercises to target and tone different muscles and body parts. The only reason I say that it's not the ultimate bible is that it totally leaves out the healthy diet part of the equation to getting a shapely body. There are little snippets in the book that gives you tips on what to eat (or not eat), eg. avoid bread and eat small meals, etc, but it isn't cohesive and organized. The tone of the book is fun and very light-hearted. The instructions to the exercises are concise and clear. The large illustrations are very helpful. In particular, I like that the author started by illustrating the correct posture to follow and the wrong ones to avoid. The book is divided into chapters of exercises that target the different body parts to shape up: abs, arms, legs, back, etc. Although the exercises are clear, the author failed to take it one step further to organize the different exercises into a plan that anyone can follow. She mentions that you would need to to cardio 3 times a week and the toning exercises 3 times a week also, but doesn't put it all together. It is nice to have the flexibility to pick and choose the different exercises for ourselves, but it's not something that novices are able to do well. Moreover, even though the exercises in the book can all be found on the internet or other books/charts, this book collects them all in one book. Overall, a nice reference book for the different exercises one can do to tone the different body parts. Some improvements could be made about including a typical exercise program/plan and more diet tips. – Yuni

Exercise routines can be talked to death but, without proper form, you'll more likely hurt yourself than help. The step-by-step photographs are excellent, some of the best you'll find in an exercise book. You should check out Amazon's "Click to search inside" feature to see for yourself. The Ultimate Body Shaping Bible offers four fitness levels from beginner to super-advanced with chapters divided into exercises that target your upper and lower body and your core. Karon Karter presents each exercise in plain, simple words. Even better, she uses as few words as possible to describe each exercise! You can read the exercise and review the color photographs in less than a minute. This book provides some diet suggestions and other health tips without going into detail on any one point. In fact, this would make an excellent coffee table book as well because you can flip back and forth, picking up diet tips and other health advice. In summary, the Ultimate Body Shaping Bible is an excellent reference book with large, step-by-step photos that help you understand each exercise and stay in proper form. Other exercise books I own are poorly designed, with small, black and white photographs and exercises that carry over 2-3 pages. Karter's book is easy to understand and easy to use. – Jared Castle

Thorough Exercise Handbook for Women with Color Photos to Guide You. The book provides doable 20 minute workouts with minimal equipment and clear instructions (with color photos). With a list price of $19.95, this book is a real bargain (and even more so at Amazon's discounted price).No expensive equipment is required for the workouts. All you need is a stability ball, a pair of 5 pound ankle weights, resistance bands (light, medium and heavy), a pair of 3 pound balls, yoga mat and dumbbells. Exercises can be done inside or outside. Cardio is to be done four times a week, and the exercises to be done every other day. The book is well-organized. Each of the three sections targets a different area (abs, lower body and upper body) and includes an overview of the targeted muscles (complete with a picture). Each section has 3-4 chapters (such as Bodacious Booty, Slimtastic Outer Thighs, Slimtastic Inner Thighs, and Cankles, Begone! in the Lower Body section). There are four levels of workouts (beginner, intermediate, advanced and super advanced) in each chapter. There are form tips and a series of color photos for each exercise to help the reader ensure that she has the proper form to avoid injury and reap the maximize benefit. I like that I will be able to use this book for the foreseeable future as I work my way up from beginner to super advanced for each exercise. The book seems to be aimed solely at women based on the tone and language. I don't imagine the goal of many men is to get their "chest cami-ready," for instance! There are a few tips regarding diet but exercise is the primary focus of the book (hence the title of the Ultimate Body Shaping Bible). I am not sure why other reviewers complain about the lack of detailed diet suggestions. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books offering a variety of approaches to lose weight thru dieting. This book is for people looking to get more toned in specific areas of the body. – S. D. Fischer

"The Ultimate Body Shaping Bible" features exercises to tone and tighten your entire body. The workouts range from Beginner to Super Advanced and each exercise is about 20 minutes in length. Within those twenty minutes you'll do three exercises that target a specific area (for example your outer thighs). You do three sets of reps and author Karen Karter suggests you do the workouts every other day. Karter also provides eating tips and suggestions for cardio workouts. There are three sections in the book: Abs Fab-You-Lous (a wicked flat tummy; de-wiggle your middle; fab abs); the Best Lower Body Workouts (bodacious booty; slimtastic outer thighs; slimtastic inner thighs; cankles begone); and the Best Upper Body Workouts (posture perfect; the deep plunge; sculpted sexy shoulders; amazing arms). Some of the exercises need no equipment - others require equipment such as hand or ankle weights, resistance bands, stability ball, a step, or bench.Although I prefer exercise DVDs where I can see what the instructor is doing, I found "The Ultimate Body Shaping Bible" to be very useful. It has detailed instructions and very useful pictures. Each section has an introduction that explains about the body area you are targeting, including the various muscles. Each chapter has a chart showing the various workouts in that chapter; the payoff for doing the exercise; total time the workout should take; how many times a week you should do the exercise; the number of sets and reps; and equipment needed (if any) for the workout. Each exercise has plenty of pictures, detailed instructions, and fabulous form tips. For the most part Karter targets the appropriate exercise for each level although I do question her having beginners using 10 - 15 pound dumbbells. There is a wide variety of exercises including exercises like biceps curl; chest press; cobra; dip your toes; front plank, oblique twist; plie squat with calf raise; shoulder press; reverse curl; triceps kickback; and so much more. The twenty minutes allotted are perfect for targeted toning and combined with cardio workouts are very effective. – Drebbles

This is certainly an excellent beginner's book when it comes to what exercises to do, why to do them, and how to do them. The photos of the author, Karen Karter, doing the exercises, and the really nice illustrations of the muscles involved in each exercise are clear and sharp. The instructions Karter writes are great, and she gives lots of encouragement, as well as funny quips like get a "wickedly flat belly!" and "simply 'Di' best butt!" The exercises are generally basic "pilates" type exercises with a few twists...but those are very sound, proven exercises that everyone knows work. And if you don't like an exercise book encouraging you to work hard to be "sexy" and so you can get your chest "cami-ready," this may not be the book for you. Good exercises but "fluffy" conversation!The book is divided into 3 sections -- Abs Fab-You-lous, The Best Lower Body Workouts, and The Best Upper Body Workouts. Included at the beginning of each section is information on doing cardio to combine with the flexibility and resistance exercises, tips on eating healthy, & ways to perfect your form when exercising for maximum results. Each section is then divided into chapters with exercises for beginners, intermediate, advanced, and super-advanced. Each chapter devotes the 1st few pages to the beginner exercises, followed by pages of intermediate exercises, and so on. As far as cons with this book, I had a difficult time with all the vast information provided. The book is literally crammed full of information, and sometimes the information is in different-colored boxes or sections on the page, and I found myself having to jump from one section to another instead of it being a "smooth" read. This became very irritating after a while, and overwhelming. And especially irritating was the fact that I simply could not find a section where your weekly routine is actually laid out for you -- e.g., do these exercises 3 (or 4 or 5?) days a week, cardio on alternate days (everyday?), etc. A beginner would need some guidance along those lines; more experienced exercisers, probably not. In addition, in order to get a, say, intermediate workout, you have to go to each of the 3 sections and look for those exercises, instead of all being listed in one place. This can get complicated if you're on a stability ball and flipping around in a book to find what you need. All in all, I think the book is worthy of the cost simply because of the excellent exercises and the obviously qualified author/instructor, but the design of the book could have been made much more user-friendly. – K. Robertson

At this point, I'm thinking this is a great book! It's easy to follow and has thorough information for the best exercises for the entire body. There are a lot of large color photographs and the instructions for each exercise is concise and easy to follow.The specific workouts are clearly labeled as Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. At the bottom of each page there are helpful notations! The Fabulous Form Tips give you specific instructions about focusing on your breathing, how to prevent back or neck strain etc., and The Payoff Tips are the benefits that the exercise will have for you. I've just started the program and I'm enjoying the fact that I'm on the way to a healthy and stronger body. I feel very inspired and wish the best of luck to others who try these workouts. The book tells you how, the work is up to us! – Judith Miller

On the plus side this is a well organized book with nice graphics and high quality photos. It has groups of exercises to target specific body parts - abs, thighs, shoulders, etc. For each exercise listed, there are instructions along with a set of photos illustrating what to do. I liked the ab section because it had lots of exercises to do beside standard crunches.On the downside, I didn't see notice many stretches included in the book, so if you just followed the exercises in the book and did nothing to counteract all of the toning exercises, you might be setting yourself up for aches and pains from overly tight muscles. Also, the book itself didn't have any really compellingly unique information. There are thousands of books and even free web sites with similar basic exercise information, like how to do crunches and leg lifts. So if you already have own a book on how to do basic exercises, you probably won't find anything new in this book. If you are short on cash you can most likely get the same type of information for free from most health magazine web sites. However, if you are looking for a comprehensive book with basic exercises to tone various body parts and don't already own any similar books or want to spend time looking up free information on the web, then you may find this book of interest. – Soccer Mom

Gotta admit it - I hate to exercise - walking my dog - not a problem. But taking the time out to exercise? I will always find an excuse not to do it.So I was curious to see if this book would help to motivate me to start doing some exercises. My problem with a lot of exercises is that I'm never sure I'm doing them correctly. Is my back flat enough? How should I hold my legs? The best thing about this book is that there are tons of pictures showing you exactly what you should do. Parts of the body are broken out into sections, with a page at the start of each section showing what each level (beginner, intermediate, and so on) should do (ie the total time it takes to do the section, how often, and so on). As much as I loved the pictures and set up of this book, it is overwhelming to this out-of-shape girl - there's so much here to choose from. Yes, each workout is 20 minutes. But which should I do? I guess I'll use that as my new excuse. – Dog Lover

This book is an east-to-follow guide but requires additional inexensive equipment.I love this book! The large photos and easy to follow instructions will (fingers crossed) help me for weeks to come. I used to belong to a gym but higher fees and finding the time to go made me look for at home options.This book is well organized and makes finding specific excercises a breeze. It's divided into three sections:
1. Ab Fab-You-lous
2. The Best Lower Body Workouts
3. The Best Upper Body Workouts
They are color coded to make finding them even easier. I hate excercise books that force me to search contents and several pages to find what I'm looking for - this one places everything I need with a flip of the color coded pages. The exercises are also rated by workout levels:
1. beginner
2. intermediate
3. advanced
4. super advanced
It contains plenty of exercises for each level. Some workouts require additional equipment to complete the excercise:
1. 3 lb. weight ball
2. large exercise ball
3. dumbells
4. resistance bands
5. ankle weights
6. steps
I did not want to purchase additional equipment but I had a few of these items already. The photos are a great help with proper positioning and the author also provides extra tips. Overall, I enjoy using this book for my morning routine. There are plenty of useful health tips provided by the author that makes this a great purchase. – Margaux Paschke

Karon Karter won me right over when she said in the introduction that "Skinny Starts in the Kitchen". That is oh so true. All these exercise will come to naught if you stuff your face with fast and fatty foods.
Chapter 1 of this book is definitely where I need to and have been spending my time. It's called "Abs-Fab-You-Less and it's your guide to getting a wickedly flat tummy and what girl doesn't want that.
Chapter 2 tells you how to "De-Wiggle Your Middle" an area I needed a little help on. Yes, I eat right, but you know how it goes, as the years go by so does your figure. Now I've got to work at it and this book has been a boon. I've worked through all the exercises and I'm doing them regularly, along with walking, jogging, swimming and eating right. You do all that and you'll be a happy camper, figure and fitness wise. – Katie Osborne

This book is really for the beginner exerciser as most intermediate or advance exercisers will know most of these moves. The book offers beg, intermed, and advance exercises in abs, lower, and upper body parts and provides tips on how long to do each level before moving up. The book also mentions that spot toning doesn't burn fat, cardio does, so it offers a variety of cardio (interval, walking etc) workouts at the beginning of each section. It also describes the body parts being worked with pictures which can be helpful to understanding what the moves are trying to work.My one problem with the book is that it doesn't really give information on how to put it all together. It simply tells how many times to do cardio and each type of activity (3x a week on non consecutive days), but now how to combine upper and lower or whether or not to do another type on the opposite days of one activity. It would have been nice to have a chart or overview on how to have a total body workout plan. – Leslie Truex

I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would at first. I'm more into intense exercising for brief periods but as I reflected on it I realized this book was written mostly for women who might have never exercised or if they had probably weren't real weight lifters. It has some pretty decent examples mixed in with some that aren't really all that Hard.
* If you wanted to make better use of your time I would suggest instead of those resistance bands and weighted balls that you spend your money either on a cheap barbell set and weight bench and add in clean and press, the snatch and barbell deadlifts in the middle of the week. Or buy a Body Weight exercise book such as the ones written by John Peterson.*
Those exercises where Ms Karter is lying on those platfroms that step aerobics use could then be performed on a bench if you had purchased a weight bench.
+ She admits up front that this isn't a diet book but you already know what foods are healthy. You don't see a Twinkie Diet book. If you need a specific Diet I highly recommend Atkins. Up front the author says you won't find any Skinny Bitch tips and that is a good thing. Those crazy wacko vegans that write those books are the kind of fruitcakes that spread bad info and lies about the Atkins diet. Read some of the 1 star reviews on Skinny Bitch and you'll see what I mean.
** I'll close but I disagree with the author about abs showing .. I think they are sexy. Just look at Valerie Bertinelli on those Jenny Craig commercials. Which is another specific diet you could use if you need specific guidance on what to eat.
* Once you get in shape go out and do the things you've always wanted to. Take Dance classes, tennis or golf lessons etc. That's what being in shape is good for.. enjoy your life. – Wildman Keith

The excercise plans laid out in this book are just marvellous! The book is divided into the areas of the body you want to focus on (abs, arms, back, etc) Each body section has 3 workouts - beginner, intermediate and advanced. Each workout should take only 20 mintues or so and are meant to be done after a cardio workout.My issue with the book is that it would really benifit from either an audio cd or DVD to go along with it. Working out from a book is really not that great. The warnings for position errors etc would require you to be reading/hearing the instructions as you execute the move so it may get a bit annoying having to stop and refer to the book. I was impressed enough by the book so that I went online to find the dvd that might accompany it - there isn't one! I hope there are plans to come out with a dvd in the near future since the layout and the excercises really seem like something that make a lot of sense. – liat2768

This book was all about making your body supple and toned. Never does this book recommend you do anything that would take you out of your comfort zone. Many of the exercises are ones that I have been doing for ten plus years. If you like pilates, you will like this book. In addition, the photos contained in the book are beautiful and instruct you in a clear and concise manner.It is helpful if you have hand weights, ankle weights, resistance bands, and anti-burst exercise ball. I also like that the book does not focus on things I do not need, such as lots of recipes and diet advice. Overall, it was a book I greatly enjoyed and will use as a reference in the future. – S. Whitworth

It is a well-crafted and useful book.She writes a little bit about eating, and about cardio. She emphasizes the importance, but she is writing a book about exercise - not about cardio and nutrition. She leaves that to others, choosing instead to focus very cleanly on exercise. You will need an exercise ball, steps or a bench, a few sets of dumbbells, leg weights, resistance bands, weighted balls, and a few other items. The book is organized by body parts and by difficulty. For each part, exercises are presented for the beginner, intermediate, advanced, and'super-advanced' levels. The exercises are described in good detail. Required equipment is listed. The illustrations are very good. For each major group of muscles, the author provides an overview of the anatomy involved. She lists tips on maximizing the benefits of the workout. On the downside, the author does not describe which muscles are being worked in each exercise, and some of the 'benefits' are not well described. – A. D. Boorman

I'm not sure that this is the ultimate body shaping bible, but it definitely is a good illustrated book on the wide range of exercises to target and tone different muscles and body parts. The only reason I say that it's not the ultimate bible is that it totally leaves out the healthy diet part of the equation to getting a shapely body. There are little snippets in the book that gives you tips on what to eat (or not eat), eg. avoid bread and eat small meals, etc, but it isn't cohesive and organized.The tone of the book is fun and very light-hearted. The instructions to the exercises are concise and clear. The large illustrations are very helpful. In particular, I like that the author started by illustrating the correct posture to follow and the wrong ones to avoid. The book is divided into chapters of exercises that target the different body parts to shape up: abs, arms, legs, back, etc. Although the exercises are clear, the author failed to take it one step further to organize the different exercises into a plan that anyone can follow. She mentions that you would need to to cardio 3 times a week and the toning exercises 3 times a week also, but doesn't put it all together. It is nice to have the flexibility to pick and choose the different exercises for ourselves, but it's not something that novices are able to do well. Moreover, even though the exercises in the book can all be found on the internet or other books/charts, this book collects them all in one book. – Yuni

The first thing you will notice about this book is the sheer weight. It's a heavy book and it should be...this bible covers every aspect of every workout, for every body part you can imagine. She outlines what to do, how to do it and then gives you the payoff sentence that says what it will do for you.The workouts are in color with easy to understand language and pictures. There are helpful hints throughout the book to burn more calories and variant workouts for ones that are listed. The book has 3 sections: Abs Fab-You-lous, The best lower body workouts and the best upper body workouts. The ab section is 60 pages, lower body is 86 pages and upper body is 56 pages. These are then broken down into beginner, intermediate, advanced and super advanced routines. I have no doubt that if you use this book, you can tone any area of your body utilizing the methods described here. – D. Couse

First of all, this is a beautiful book. The pictures of the different exercises are fabulous. I love that is shows you the correct form and is sectioned off in target areas, such as abs, lower body, and upper body. It has modifications and has variations at four different levels of fitness: beginning, intermediate, advanced and super advanced. Each workout is supposed to be 20 minutes.The introduction talks plainly and down to earth about the realities of spot toning and what can and cannot be accomplished (ie. can't have flat abs unless you do cardio to lose the fat sitting on top of those abs!) She also talks about how "skinny starts in the kitchen" and how your serving sizes are probably way too big. She recommends paying yourself for completing workouts as an incentive. This section also mentions the equipment you will need for this book: an anti-burst stability ball; a pair of 5 pound ankle weights;resistance bands; a pair of 3 pound balls, and various dumbbells. She uses a step aerobics platform in there which is not on the list. (I would also recommend a mat for the floor.) Basics of the plan are: 3 days a week on a targeted areas for 2-4 weeks and 50 minutes of cardio 4 days a week. The cardio she recommends in listed at the beginning of each section. It seems to be geared toward a treadmill, but she says you can do these things outdoors also. The problems I found: The cardio is not for beginners. It has a warm up at 3.8-4.0 on the treadmill. Now I was 350lbs and I could not even go 3.0 when I first started getting in shape! 100lbs later I am sweating at 3.8 mph. It even has running. If you out of shape don't do this just because it says to...be smart. I wish she had said something about this but she didn't. Also, 50 minutes may be a lot for some newbies. Second major problem I found was there seems to be only targeting one area at a time then you ditch that newly toned area and focus exclusively on a different area. What about maintaining what you have worked so hard for? I wanted to see her have a section where the different areas are combined to make a complete, total body workout: abs, lower and upper together. Bottom line: this is a great REFERENCE book for how to do all these different exercises. Don't use it for anything more than that. The pictures alone make this worth the money, however I am only giving it 3 stars because it could be so much more!! – Teacher Jeanne

If you have never exercised, this would be a tough first book to use. I tried to understand the routine that Karen Karter was recommending and never quite "got it". I have exercised for many years and have worked with a personal trainer. I think that the weights are too heavy that she recommends for exercises such as a squat with dumbbells. This was rated as a "beginner" exercise, and the author says to use 10 to 15 pound weights. I think a beginner is good to start with 1 to 5 pound weights. It gives you the experience of using weights and reduces the risk of injuring yourself. If you are a beginner, I recommend a book such as Joyce Vedral's Definition: Shape Without Bulk in 15 Minutes a Day. The workouts are simpler, clearly laid out, and require only 1, 2, and 3 pound dumbbells. It is out of print, but there are many used copies available for a low price.I liked the instructions that Karen Karter gave with each exercise. There are a lot of different exercises with detailed pictures, instructions, and safety tips. I wish she had talked more about safety in the introduction and how to learn the exercises with proper form. I don't see any instructions on how to breathe properly. The pictures are great and it would be tempting to try to perform them without reading the sections called "Fabulous Form Tips". The layout of the book is impressive. The pictures and instructions for individual exercises are clear. I liked the detailed pictures of the muscles and explanations of the muscles being worked. Very nice. There is a complete index of all the exercises. The required equipment list given in the book is: an anti-burst stability ball properly sized for your height; a pair of 5 pound ankle weights; light, medium, and heavy resistance bands; a pair of 3 pound balls, and various dumbbells. In looking through the exercises, it looks like you would need an incline weight bench for some of the exercises. So, I took away two stars because of some of the lacks I have described. I had to give one back because the book is well laid out, the pictures are great, and I loved the Fabulous Form tips. I do recommend this book as a reference for experienced exercisers. – Cyclista


I bought this book for my girlfriend. She loved the pictures and the way they were laid out showing you exactly how to do the exercise. This is truly an exercise bible. It is very large and very detailed. If you are looking for a book to show you how to shape every portion of your body this is it. – Danny Nox

The very large and beautifully photographed/illustrated book has tons of information for the beginning, intermediate, and advanced exerciser. The photos of how to do certain exercises properly and also how to modify them is worth the money for beginning exercisers. If you are intermediate and/or advanced, you have probably seen most of these before, although, there were a few new ones for me. There were things that I liked about this book:
1. Like I said above, the photos showing proper form are invaluable for beginners. Sometimes, when you are exercising along with a DVD, it is difficult to know if you are exercising with good form.
2. The anatomy forms (a human shape with muscle detail) gives the exerciser a clue what to focus on during a particular set of exercises.
3. The modifications for each exercise in every set are not found in every exercise book and/or DVD. Modification may be the key to someone starting a program and continuing.
4. The corny phrasing. I like it when presenting such a daunting subject, the author is able to laugh at herself and make the work more fun. "Di Best Butt" "Getting a Wickedly Flat Tummy", etc..just makes me smile a bit.
Things I didn't like too much:
1. The organization of the workout. The book starts out with great information regarding cardio, strength training, nutrition and equipment needed (dumbells, stability ball, resistance bands, etc.)
If a beginning exerciser were to follow this book as written, they would do 50 minutes of cardio, 3X a week and then 20 minutes of abs. The abs are broken into three different exercises to start. After doing this for 2 to 4 weeks, then he/she would move on to another set of 3 ab exercises. THEN move on to lower body then upper body. Too isolated.
2. On the same wave as #1, there is not routine to practice for all over toning. Some people may be able to pick and choose a balanced 20 minute workout, but why should they? There should be a few pages devoted to sample routines.
For the illustrations, photographs, and proper form information, this book is very well thought out. For everyday use to build an exercise program, I think it's lacking.– Trish

This book by Karon Karter, the fitness contributor to Google Docs, is one of the most complete books detailing exercises for women. There are three main sections of the book: Abs, Lower Body and Upper Body. These three main sections are further divided into specific body parts or problem areas that each have a plan for beginner, intermediate, advanced and super advanced levels, so you can continue to use the book as your fitness level progresses. Each workout program is 15-20 minutes in duration and she also includes a cardio program and diet tips that are specific to each section of the body. The moves are based on pilates or basic weight training, and are explained well with tips for proper form. Also, there are clear directions and the pictures are bright and in color.Equipment required for the exercises include a resistance band, exercise ball, ankle weights, free weights and a mat, which is a bit much.Overall, it is a really nice book and probably great for all levels of exercisers who are looking for a detailed exercise plan that is easy to understand. It is very complete and well-written, but as some one who has exercised for years I don't find that I'm learning moves I haven't seen in many exercise videos or fitness magazines. However, she provides many form tips that will help make each exercise more effective so you can get the results you want. This will help you whether you are using this book or not. – K. Harrell


The Ultimate Body Shaping Bible by Kareon Karter has a lot of great ideas. Her plan is for you to eat right, do cardio, and follow up with some basic toning/strengthening and conditioning exercises. She provides clear pictures that show a demonstration of each targeted exercise. Her ideas are well-presented and written. My one, major critique of this book is that it's overwhelming! You are supposed to find a 'target area' to concentrate on, go to that chapter of the book, and do the presribed exercises for 20 minutes. This is a 288 page book! I feel like the ideas are good, but will I ever get through all of these exercises?It goes back to the notion that I can either get busy and do what is needed this month, or I can continue and do what isn't working... no matter what, next month, I can be in better shape or I can be where I am now! I believe that if I follow her ideas in this book, I can be in a much better place in one short month. So, I will stick with this comprehensive, overwhelming book... It's just what I need. – Mom of Four Sons


Fitness is one of my main hobbies and passions in life, and I'm an avid collector of fitness books, equipment, and DVDs. Because of that, I was eager to pick up a copy of this new book, and it's a fantastic one!The book is designed for women of all fitness levels and abilities, and one of its strengths is that all of the exercises can be done at home, with a small investment in the following exercise equipment: a stability ball, some dumbbells, a small weighted fitness ball, an exercise mat, and a pair of ankle weights. However, the cardio workouts that she recommends (all of which are based on doing interval sets, which studies show to be better at fat-burning) do require the use of a machine (such as a treadmill or an elliptical) or the ability to walk or run outside, so just be forewarned about that. The author also states in her introduction to the book that by following a healthy diet and her exercise regimes, you can expect to lose about a pound a week. Several other weight-lifting books I own only give exercises for various body parts without putting them together into routines, but what is nice about this one (and definitely one of its strengths) is that this book is divided up into weight-lifting routines that are based on the "trouble spot" you'd like to "tone" up. (I put "tone" in scare quotes since, as the author Karon Karter also explains, it's impossible to spot-tone a problematic body part; a healthy diet and cardio are the best ways to reveal the muscles that these kinds of exercises will help you develop.) There are three main sections to the book: one with abs exercises, one with lower-body exercises, and one with upper-body exercises. Each section starts off with an overview of the muscles you'll be working within the exercise routines, and some general tips and pointers for cardio and diet options that will maximize the fat-loss effects you can expect by doing the exercises. Each of those three main sections is further divided into the following chapters: A Wicked-Flat Tummy; De-Wiggle Your Middle; Fab Abs; Bodacious Booty; Slimatastic Outer and Inner Thighs (two separate chapters); Cankles, Begone; Posture Perfect; The Deep Plunge; Sculpted Sexy Shoulders; and Amazing Arms. Yes, the chapter titles are silly, but each chapter covers four different workout series (from "Beginner" all the way to "Super Advanced"), and each of those four workouts contains three exercises that are proven to build muscle. Since each chapter covers so many possibilities, this book should really be helpful for all levels of fitness. Another big strength of the book is the color photos. Each exercise is illustrated with two or three color photos of the author doing the move so you can see all phases of the exercise. Below each set of photos are also some form pointers so you can make sure that you are doing the exercise properly. The only downside to this book is that the meal/diet information doesn't seem to be very in-depth, and it was hard for me to figure out how the author expects the reader to combine workouts. For instance, if a reader wanted to work on both shoulders and arms, Karter doesn't really explain how to juggle the workouts so that you can do both. Other than that, it's a very useful book that should be good for both novice and more experienced weight lifters. If you already own several other books that cover how to do exercises to hit these trouble zones, then you definitely don't need it, but if, like me, you're always interested in expanding your fitness routines, it's a good addition to your fitness library. – Leanne