Stronger

LoveReading Says

This book would have been invaluable to me five years ago, when I decided that although I had so far been lucky with my weight so far, my metabolism wouldn’t be my friend forever and getting into a regular exercise routine would be beneficial for when I got older. That’s not to incorrectly categorise this book as about losing weight, because it’s so much more useful than that. The focus of Stronger is to show you how to use strength training to help you age better and be independent throughout your later years. Developing and maintaining core muscles not to get visible abs but so that you can keep your balance and avoid dangerous and life changing falls. Incorporating squats into your exercise not because you’re trying to look like a gym-fluencer but because that is the exact movement that you’ll always need to be able to get up from a seated position unaided. Improving your grip strength so that you can catch yourself if you trip. These practical applications of common strength training exercises seem so obvious and I’m sure I’m not the only one that’s been privileged enough that they have never occurred to me before. 

Written from David Vaux’s personal experience of recovering from injury and helping other people after retraining as an osteopath, Stronger takes you through why you need to start establishing an exercise routine as early as possible and stick to it. It emphasises the importance of strength training as well as cardio in maintaining overall health and vitality into older age. And having an active retirement free from frailty and high risk of illness and injury is something I’m sure we all hope for.

For me and those that have already started down the road of strength training, this book validates some of the benefits of regular exercise that I have been experiencing (better joint stability, noticeably fewer colds); reinforced things I still need to improve in order to continue to progress (my grip strength needs a lot more work and I’ll be incorporating the exercises in this book into my routine); and also provided me moments to reflect on how far I’ve come, (remembering when I tried to do a vertical shoulder press with light weights and couldn’t move my arms for a week, so needed to practise with literally nothing first then build up). I’m still going to hate lunges with a violent passion, but I’ll try to find solace knowing that I will be grateful for the suffering I endured when I get older. 

For those at the start of their exercise journey, in clear language and with exercises for all ability levels Stronger delivers the whys, whens and hows to build strength so you can lead a vital, active and independent life, long into retirement.

Charlotte Walker

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