Review of Journey to Fitness — Chronicles of a Working Woman

I have read Linda Lanfear’s book Journey to Fitness twice. I don't read most books twice, in fact most aren't worthy of being read more than once. While there is a book or two I've actually read three or more times — James Joyce’s Portrait of An Artist As A Young Man comes immediately to mind — but most of those times it was a high-school or college course requirement to do so.

In the case of Linda Lanfear’s Journey to Fitness there was no such requirement. I wanted to read it the first time, and I felt so good about what I had read that I wanted to read it again.

Why was it worth reading more than once? It was deceptively simple, brief, and straightforward, while at the same time it addressed very common and sometimes very complicated issues that visit most all of us on such a fitness journey. I could relate and so will you.

Truth-in-advertising, the book is described right up front as not being an exercise prescription book or a nutrition/diet book. It simply — or sometimes not necessarily so simply — describes the ups and downs of one person’s six month journey to life-enhancing fitness: the stumbles and doubts that accompany any such journey, and the exhilaration of experiencing hoped-for success.

How will reading this book make a difference in your life? YOU will ultimately decide what difference it makes. Linda Lanfear’s client in this book describes the importance of "choices: YOUR choices." But the inspiration, the I-can-relate-to-this reality, and the palpable satisfaction of achieving goals you honestly weren't quite sure were achievable anymore will drive your interest in paging through this book.

I didn't finish the book in one sitting, but I inevitably found myself curious about “what happened next,” each time after I had put the book down. Most books don't achieve that type of engagement.

As I said at the outset, the book is deceptively simple and short. It also progresses in real-time because it relies on the email journaling of the client and the reflective comments of the coach/mentor/book-author, Linda Lanfear. This provides a context, purpose, and methodology of this very individual, very personal journey. You will likely see a little, or most likely a lot of yourself in this journey.

Linda Lanfear’s approach with her client is low-key. Linda plants fitness seeds, encourages their necessary “watering” (actually Linda has many highly relevant things to say about the importance of drinking half your body-weight in ounces of water each day). She creates or suggests opportunity for clever and useful ways to get moving, even when you are not officially exercising, and takes enthusiastic, vicarious pleasure in what happens next. She’s obviously good at what she does. Linda is patient because she instinctively knows that your success awaits you if you too learn the value of well-informed patience.

Linda is knowledgeable and responsible. She doesn't over-promise, but at the same time she knows — because of her multiple prior successes over the years with this approach — that life-changing satisfaction awaits the client that “stays the course.” Her highly enthusiastic, highly personal individual testimonials from past and current clients express this sentiment far more compellingly than I possibly could. But I will weigh in here by saying that if you're not currently a client of Linda’s and are considering your own “Journey to Fitness,” get a hold of this book and read it, get inspired, and launch your own journey.

Without doubt, the student must be ready and committed. Perhaps you've heard the expression: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Well, when you're ready to do this fitness journey thing for yourself, you will be mighty lucky to have a teacher of the caliber of Linda Lanfear appear in your life.

Are you as prepared for your success as she is?

Al Rumaks
ACSM Certified Fitness Director and Health/Fitness Instructor
Assistant Manager at Kirkwood Fitness and Racquetball Club