If there exists a Fountain of Youth, exercise is it. The evidence, of course, is vast, with a multitude of studies highlighting the remarkable, life-enhancing benefits of staying fit. Whether your goal is to live to be 100, run a marathon, reduce your waistline, or just get the most from daily life, functional fitness is the foundation for active and dynamic living and the best quality of life you can have.

And the good news: Even a small amount of regular exercise can make a substantial difference. In fact, you can extend your life, increase your energy, and reduce your chances of acquiring a long list of medical conditions by getting as little as 15 minutes of exercise a day.

But even with knowledge of the benefits of staying fit and a desire to enjoy them, the world of fitness is not easy to navigate. In this era of multiple fitness fads, media-promoted health “gurus,” and an avalanche of exercise products and approaches, reaching your fitness goals can be challenging.

How do you find the right fitness program for yourself—one that is both scientifically sound and also appropriate for your own needs and goals?
If you already exercise but you’re not reaching your fitness goals, how do you get the best long-term results from your fitness work?
Moreover, how do you succeed in staying motivated, setting and meeting goals, and fitting exercise into an already busy schedule?
In Physiology and Fitness, international fitness expert Dean Hodgkin delivers inspiring and effective answers to these questions and more, showing you a new, scientifically based way to reach your own optimum fitness and to keep it for life. Physiology and Fitness presents a groundbreaking approach to fitness education that brings together scientific knowledge with results-driven practice in a wholly integrated system, allowing you to enjoy the rich vitality and health that prime fitness offers—whatever your age or current fitness level.

Experience the Extraordinary Rewards of Optimum Fitness

In 24 visually detailed lectures that include interactive demonstrations, as well as twelve 30-minute home-workout videos, Hodgkin takes you on a fascinating, eye-opening tour of your anatomy and physiology, showing you how your body functions and maintains itself and how all of its processes respond to exercise.

In Physiology and Fitness, you’ll learn in detail what happens inside your body when you work out and how to use that knowledge to feel your physical best and reach results such as

high and consistent energy for work, home life, and recreation;
a well-toned and flexible body;
a healthy body weight;
improved psychological well-being;
reduced stress and minimization of its physical effects;
improved physical agility, coordination, and balance;
reduced risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, low back pain, and numerous other conditions; and
extension of the prime of your life and youthful activity.
This course provides a comprehensive fitness resource, whether you’re new to exercise, you work out regularly, or you’re an advanced fitness enthusiast.

Master the Science behind Exercise

In Physiology and Fitness, you’ll investigate the fundamental health-related components of fitness, comprising cardiovascular capability, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and body composition. Using vivid diagrams and animations, Hodgkin leads you on a compelling discovery of the science involved, including these vital subjects:

The cardiovascular system: Study the miraculous mechanism of your heart and vascular network, how and why exercise strengthens your heart, and the role of cardio work in all phases of fitness training.
The muscular system: Discover the complex system of your muscles (the matrix of all physical movement), their individual functions, and how resistance training works to strengthen and tone your body.
Spinal engineering: Learn about the anatomy of your spine, spinal motion, and the important principles of “core strength,” with a focus on ways to target the spine-related muscles in exercises that promote back health.
The science of stretching: Learn about the vital role of stretching and flexibility in long-term health and longevity, and practice three types of stretching techniques for improving your range of motion, posture, and ability to relax.
The authentic laws of weight loss: By grasping the physiology of calorie burning, the laws of cardio and resistance training, and the principles of weight loss and maintenance, you’ll be better prepared to realistically achieve your optimal body composition.
Countering the aging process: Learn astonishing facts about aging, how numerous conditions we associate with getting older are actually the result of inactivity, and how exercise dramatically slows and can even reverse the effects of aging.
Workouts for Maximum Results

Following the 24 core lectures, the final section of the course presents 12 workout videos, each one finely honed to maximize your training time as you put your knowledge into practice. Featuring female and male models who are learning these routines for the first time, these 12 videos emphasize workouts that involve equipment—and those you can perform without it. In addition, the equipment used in these exercises is probably equipment you already have lying around, is inexpensive and easy to find, or (in most cases) can be improvised. Workouts include these types:

Body weight workout: Using only the weight of your body against gravity, you can do this sequence anywhere, anytime, working all areas of your body in 13 highly efficient exercises for functional fitness.
Dumbbell workout: A great approach for toning your physique, this weight training workout uses a range of dumbbell exercises that target alternating muscle groups in your arms, shoulders, legs, chest, and abdominal areas.
Step interval workout: With a simple step board platform, this workout combines cardio and strength training in a comprehensive range of exercises to burn calories, improve balance, and tone your body.
Balance board workout: This particular workout is highly effective for developing and improving your agility, balance, and core strength—and also involves 20% more muscle fibers than you’d use during a flat-surface workout.
A Thorough and Comprehensive Body of Knowledge

Highlighting his presentation with cutting-edge research from many sources, your instructor incorporates not only hands-on demonstrations of key points but video commentary from leading health experts, including Professor Steven Novella on the myths of fitness and aging, Professor Robert Sapolsky on stress reduction and exercise, and Professor Jason Satterfield on the link between exercise and a healthy mind.

A provocative and engrossing speaker, Hodgkin packs his lectures with surprising and enlightening information about fitness and the body, including these diverse topics:

The vital effects of exercise on your respiration, joints, and bones
Practical and effective ways to overcome barriers to exercise
How to stay active in the workplace, and how to integrate exercise into numerous daily activities
Proper and safe ways to exercise and to protect yourself from injury
How fitness training positively affects mood, well-being, and self-esteem
The remarkable benefits of balance training, water exercise, and exercise during pregnancy
How inactivity and sedentary living pose very real risks to your health
The astounding benefits of walking, for both overall health and weight loss
An Unprecedented Opportunity in Fitness Training

No other fitness program you will find offers this integrated body of materials and flexibility as a learning system. You can use the filmed workouts directly,
each one carefully constructed to make the most effective use of your exercise time. Or you can use the course material, demonstrations, and accompanying video glossary to build on the workouts, shaping your own fitness program to your personal preferences and modifying it over time as your needs change. With nearly two hours of DVD extra features such as

a comprehensive video glossary,
video FAQs, and
a 3-D model highlighting the body’s major muscle groups
Physiology and Fitness is a vibrant and engaging way, one you won’t find anywhere else, to learn about health and fitness.

In this course, Hodgkin delivers an unmistakable message: Your ability to enjoy the best of life, day by day, year by year, is intimately related to your physical resources and the care of your body. Physiology and Fitness offers you nothing less than the chance to change the course of your own health and vitality—to build a strong, energized, and vital body, and to know the pleasure and freedom of optimum fitness for life.

About Your Instructor

International fitness expert Dean Hodgkin has presented master classes and seminars to fitness instructors in more than 30 countries. Voted Best International Fitness Presenter at the One Body One World awards in New York, he has appeared on numerous television and radio programs worldwide.

A three-time World Karate Champion and a two-time European Karate Champion, Hodgkin earned a B.Sc. honors degree in Mathematics and Management Studies from the University of Portsmouth. He continued his education at Leicester College, where he was awarded the Certificate in Exercise and Health Studies by the Physical Education Association of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the leading qualification in the field at the time. Since then he has accrued a wide and impressive array of vocational qualifications and is a regular attendee at conferences focused on the latest health and fitness research findings. At the 2012 International Fitness Showcase—Europe’s largest group exercise event, attracting more than 7,000 participants—Hodgkin received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his services to the fitness industry.

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36 Lectures
30 minutes / lecture

Components of Fitness
How Fit Are You?
Overcome the Barriers to Exercise
Your Heart in Action
The Fitness of Breathing
You Can Reduce Stress
Fitness and Pregnancy
Refuel, Recover, and Reenergize
Thinking—The Brain-Body Connection
Healthy Joints for Life
Protecting Yourself from Injury
The Amazing Benefits of Balance
Fueling Fitness
Why Everyone Should Exercise in Water
The Secret Life of Muscles
Strong to the Bone
Getting Your Back on Track
21st-Century Yoga
Walk Your Way to Fitness
The Amazing Benefits of Stretching
Stay Active—Defy the Aging Process
Sitting Disease
Exercise for Weight Loss
Mobilizers and Stabilizers—Managing Your Abs
Body Weight Workout
Medicine Ball Workout
Step and Interval Workout
Dumbbell Workout
Combat Workout
Fitness Ball Workout
Balance Board Workout
Kettlebell Workout
Plyometrics Workout
Resistance Band Workout
Training Bar Workout
Stretching Routine