The Year 1 Challenge for Women: Thinner, Leaner, and Stronger Than Ever in 12 Months (Build Muscle, Get Lean, Stay Healthy Series) Paperback – February 19, 2014

I bought this because I felt I probably could adapt the exercises to home workouts using the equipment I have, but nope. Unless you have a professionally equipped home gym with items like a captains chair, you will need a gym membership for this. Unfortunately, that’s not an option for me, so I returned this. The 3-star rating is only because I was unable to do the program to give a thorough review. I feel the publisher should prominently disclose that this program will require you to invest in a gym membership.

I'm a wife, mother, and an elementary school teacher. I meal plan, lesson plan, plan appointments...plan, plan, plan. I DON'T want to plan my workouts. In fact, I wasn't working out because it was one more thing I had to think about and plan.I like Mike Matthews--I've bought his Thinner, Leaner, Stronger book and his cookbook, both on my Kindle. After reading his blog for some time now, I trust what he says. I really like that I don't have to think about structuring my workouts, he's done all the work for me. I'm only 2 weeks in, so I can't comment on how effective it's been for me, but like I said, I trust what he says and I'm sore, so I believe it's doing what it should be doing! Maybe I'll be a "before and after" success story on his blog someday...but I've got to get better at the eating part for that to happen ;)I went back and forth about taking off a star because it should be spiral-bound. I know sometimes the author doesn't have choices in components of a book--perhaps Mike didn't with this one. Or perhaps it would have made it way more expensive. In the end I am reviewing this based on the content, and the content I feel is five stars. If I were working out in a gym (I work out in our home gym) it would be a different story because it would make the book less user-friendly for me. At home it's not as much a problem.I have had to come up with alternatives to gym machine exercises he's included. Use bodybuilding.com to look up alternatives. I also use their website to watch the videos to make sure my form is correct.**EDIT--I've been using this book as my workout plan for 9 weeks now and I LOVE it. I am seeing progress I've never seen before with any plan I've ever done (mostly The Firm and Cathe Friedrich tapes). I didn't start working on the food part until almost a month ago (read his Thinner, Leaner, Stronger book OR go to his website MuscleForLife.com and look up "meal planning") but it all WORKS. I'm tracking my progress in a Google Sheet and my weight/body fat is going down while I'm putting on muscle. My only complaint is that I'm losing time each day from flexing in the mirror, lol! I can't wait to see what happens in the next 2 months.**EDIT #2 on the spiral bound edition-- I love this book!! I finished the first one I bought, which this review was written for and then bought the newer edition with the spiral binding. It is a big improvement both with the binding and how it is organized with 5 day, 4 day, and 3 day a week workout plans. I use the 5 day/ week option because I can fit the workout into my morning routine, but sometimes it takes me longer than 5 days to complete a week. I'm still seeing improvements on my modified version.This last year I've worked on my consistency in working out and I'm finally in a place where I can say I am consistent (read the book Mini Habits by Stephen Guise if you too struggle with this--helped a lot for me). I'm still working on the food part, but I'm getting better with it. I think the best testament to the effectiveness of this workout plan was our recent trip to Miami. It's rare that I am happy once I see the pictures that are taken on a beach vacation, but this year was the exception. It is a regular occurrence that when people find out that I have kids in their twenties, they don't believe it. I credit Mike's advice for that--when you are toned you look younger. Don't think that you have to lift impossibly heavy weights to get the body you want either. If anyone saw what I'm putting on the bar they'd think I was a wimp. But I'm a wimp who regularly gets under the bar and lifts it. I highly recommend this book!

I stumbled upon The Year One Challenge for Women while searching for a comprehensive fitness program that could help my mom achieve her fitness goals. As someone who had struggled with weight and body image issues, I was looking for a program that would not only help her lose weight but also help her build lean muscle and get stronger.I decided to give this book a try, and I must say, it was a game-changer for my mom's fitness journey. The program is well-structured, easy to follow, and comes with a detailed meal plan that makes it easier to stay on track.The workouts are challenging but doable, and she said she could feel herself getting stronger and leaner with each passing week. I also appreciate how the author emphasizes the importance of proper form and technique to prevent injury and maximize results, especially for women not familiar with many exercises.What I loved most about this program is that it doesn't involve any fad diets or extreme measures. It's a sustainable approach to fitness that focuses on building healthy habits and making long-term lifestyle changes.Overall, I would highly recommend The Year One Challenge for Women to anyone looking to transform their body and improve their health. It's not a quick fix or a magic pill, but if you're willing to put in the work, you'll see amazing results. My mom is proof of that!

I wish I'd read the 1 star reviews before I purchased this as I would have understood that this book doesn't meet expectations. The content should have just been an additional paragraph in TLS which I already have but also found it not easy to navigate/implement without having to re read sections over and over again. I thought this book would give the basic steps and breakdown of how to implement TLS but it was woefully deficient. I got it in kindle version so even more unhelpful than maybe the physical book.If I'd picked this up on a shelf I'd never have purchased it. As it's a kindle when you get a sample they're often super random and hard to tell what the actual book would be like. REGRET buying! Cannot find a way to return for a refund even though only purchased a few days back.

When I first received this book I was expecting there to be a little more knowledge inside and felt a little disappointed. Why I was disappointed I honestly do not know as it is probably one of the best 10£ that I have ever spent. Being able to log your daily workouts and having guidance to what you need to do everyday is so motivating. I look forward to the gym everyday knowing what I have to aim for and knowing what I did last time!

I expected more of a read and instructions, but it’s more journaling

Purchased this and Thinner Leaner Stronger to kickstart my sister's fitness journey, and consider this the best investment made yet! This workbook provides any fitness newbie or veteran with structured workouts and eliminates guesswork from the equation, which really makes it analogous to hiring a personal trainer of your own. My sister has the habit of aimlessly wandering around while at the gym and only half-heartedly applying some of the exercises/form adjustments I suggest to her; with this workbook in her arsenal, she gets straight to task on her scheduled routine for the day. More importantly, recently she has been making a conscientious effort to hit the gym after work, and asks to accompany me when I would have had to drag her by the heels previously! I have demoed a couple of workouts myself (with slight modifications to hit certain muscles in lieu of the ones targeted) - they make sense, get results, and are concise enough to complete in under an hour, which is a godsend for anyone who hates spending more time in the gym than necessary. Would highly recommend if you'd like to simplify and streamline your routine, or if find yourself reading a lot of fitness books but never know where to start!!

I cut the cover off because it's too awful to be seen with in the gym. But the take-home, here, is that I am being seen at the gym! I go five days a week for, maybe, 40 mins and, while I'm still using baby weights, I have noticed a distinct improvement in muscle tone in two weeks and have lost half a stone. And I eat like a horse. I love the precision of the programme (I bought the TLS book and spent a week going through it; recalibrating my macros according to Mike's regime has made a huge difference) and I can see my progression, week to week. I'd prefer that it was spiral-bound, hardcovered and A5 sized because it's getting destroyed in my gym bag and it's too bloody big. Nobody needs pages that huge. However, I'm motivated, I'm (dare I say it?) muscular and I'm holding my own amongst the massive men in the weights room. Who, I might add, are really sweet when it comes to removing all the heavy weights from the barbells.