the reader for what is much more than a post-binge fitness fad. ForFit for Lifeis, says Fiennes, a way of life; a manner of eating and exercise that can not only make you look better but which will also enhance your energy levels, improve your base fitness levels and probably prolong your life.With the caveat that most of us probably wouldn't be up to polar expeditions (even if we did have the desire!) Fiennes goes on to convince even the most doubting couch potato that tip-top fitness is within everyone's reach. And the biggest surprise of the book is that he succeeds. Starting at a very low level--"The Fitness Basics"--is a very clever thing to do, because before you know it you have raced through the warm-up exercises, have finished the strength training section and are in the "Moving into the Top 2 Per Cent" chapter thinking "maybe I can run a marathon after all".Step by step, Fiennes takes you through genetic disposition to laziness, what's good (and bad) to eat and how to choose a sport and start an exercise programme, all the time assuring you that he is really the laziest person in the world who has to be cajoled into movement before every super endurance, life-threatening trek or expedition he takes part in.Illustrated extensively with photographs taking you through every recommended exercise, this book really is all you need (aside from motivation), whether you just want to reach a good general level of fitness and health, or go on and become an outstanding endurance athlete. Packed with sound advice, a number of training regimes for every level of fitness, (including the I-haven't-got-off-the-sofa-for- 20-years level) and a host of personal anecdotes and motivational tips,Fit for Lifeis a great fitness book for the real person. Trips to fashionable gyms and expensive lycra do not feature highly in this programme--personal motivation, outdoor sports and sensible eating do. A great antidote to the fitness fads of recent years. --Lucie Naylor
horrifically abused. Now forging a career in the environment movement he is co-opted by the Secret Hunters - a group who track down the perpetrators of genocide to exact their revenge
almost died countless times lost nearly half his fingers to frostbite raised millions of pounds for charity and been awarded a polar medal and an OBE. He has been an elite soldier an athlete a mountaineer an explorer a bestselling author and nearly replaced Sean Connery as James Bond. In his autobiography he describes how he led expeditions all over the world and became the first person to travel to both poles on land. He tells of how he discovered the lost city of Ubar in Oman and attempted to walk solo and unsupported to the North Pole -- the expedition that cost him several fingers and very nearly his life. His most recent challenge was scaling the north face of the Eiger one of the most awesome mountaineering challenges in the world. Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes OBE 3rd Baronet looks back on a life lived at the very limits of human endeavour.
Advantages: Awe Inspiring Disadvantages: Not for the faint hearted.
...Some people may show a slight frown on a Christmas morning when they open an envelope containing a £20 Waterstones gift voucher, sat there amongst a sea of discarded wrapping paper wondering how it came to this.
Not me sir. A useful gift, that will be put to good use on broadening my mind as opposed to polluting it with cheap ale. Waited for the sales I did, and got my merry behind down to the famous bookshop, with youthful excitement, and an eagerness to learn.
I picked up the autobiography of SirRanulphFiennes; adventurer, explorer, military man and athlete. Keen to learn of his exploits and daring quests to be the first, I knew I would not be disappointed. Fiennes is a man's man. Calling a spade a spade, combining his daring pursuits with a natural charm and dose of humbling memoirs makes this exceptional reading. I defy...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Opens your eyes Disadvantages: horrific honesty
...The Secret Hunters by RanulphFiennes is about the journal of a man called Jacobs and is about a group of individuals who want justice for people who were victims of genocide in the 2nd World War. It’s unusual because the book isn’t a journal itself, but the actual journal was actually found in a hut by RanulphFiennes when he was on an lecture expedition to the South Pole. There were lots of scientific record logs in the hut and Fiennes and another lecturer cabled the British Polar Research Institute who suggested they bring the books back to Cambridge for conservation. It was only when he got back to Cambridge that Fiennes realised that one of the books was not a scientific record. Although he had the journal since 1995 he only started trying to prise the pages apart and read the contents in 2000 and then took it to his publisher...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
07.04.2008
18.11.2006
