Work It Out

 Work It Out: A Mood-Boosting Exercise Guide for People Who Just Want to Lie Down by Sarah Kurchak, 208 pages.

This mental health-focused exercise guide for the absolute beginner is aimed mostly at people with mental health struggles, but it's modular piece-by-piece approach would be very helpful to anyone facing barriers to exercise for any reason. More than that, Kurchak's extremely sympathetic and honest book makes it feel possible to try, even if exercise has seemed insurmountable in the past. This book is funny, actionable, and very thorough about presenting choices (as well as the pros and cons of why some options may be better choices for some people). It's very creative in coming up with possibilities that are fun, practical, and approachable. It also includes flailing your arms in despair for a few minutes as an option for a basic way to get moving when everything else feels impossible, which I think really sets the tone for the book.

This is a very approachable, kind guide to exercise for people with no idea where to start, and I'm definitely planning on getting my own copy. 

A selection of January graphic novels

 Battlefields: The Night Witches by Garth Ennis with art by Russ Braun (2009) 79 pages

It is fascinating that Russia did have women pilots in their air force during WWII. Half the story is following a German squad pushing into Russian territory with one conscientious young man as our narrator. The other half focuses on just a couple of the women pilots who fly night missions dropping bombs. One in particular, Nadia Anna, achieves the rank of Captain and is a survivor despite a brief romance with heartbreak and her plane going down. The story succeeds in showing the horrific tragedy of war. The art work is a bit cartoon-y, but not far-off in portraying the gritty realism.

Hokusai: A Graphic Biography by Giuseppe Latanza and Francesco Matteuzzi (2021) 128 pages

I really enjoyed the art and the biographical story. Like Hokusai making woodblocks to stamp multiple prints of his art, some of the graphic novel's images are repeated. In between the story of his life there are full pages of text with historical background about Japanese art, or explaining terms and historical periods. Some of this felt repetitive, unfortunately, like a different author had lost track of what had previously been explained. However, this did not drastically lessen my enjoyment. I thought the book was aimed at teens at first, but it does mention and show a bit of the erotic art that Hokusai made during one part of his life.

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel (2021) 240 pages

I loved this even more than Fun Home. Bechdel is even more revealing about herself, and explores engrossing related topics. Exercise trends through the second half of the 20th century, Romantic poets, Transcendentalists, Kerouac, Zen Buddhism are all connected. She explores mountains as a symbol for human achievement. The aphorism "it is about the journey, not the destination" comes across.

Will Eisner's New York: Life in the Big City by Will Eisner (2006) 421 pages

I've read a couple of his other realistic graphic novels and highly recommend this one as well. "New York: The Big City" consists of short vignettes. "The Building" tells the backstory of four ghosts who hang around a particular intersection where a historic building has been torn down and a new one constructed in its place. These stories reveal the tragicomic world Eisner is drawn to portray. "City People" is filled with more observations in mostly one or two page vignettes. A longer tragic story is told in Collisions. "Invisible People" contains three longer stories. Sanctum tells the sad story of Pincus Pleatnik. The Power tells a symbolic story of a healer named Morris. Eisner says of Mortal Combat, "In relating the story of Herman, who became the unwilling prize in a clash of wills, I hoped to evoke the helplessness of a person caught in an intersection of the traffic of life."

Past Tense: Facing Family Secrets and Finding Myself in Therapy by Sacha Mardou (2024) 336 pages

A courageous memoir. I picked it up at my new comic shop because it is by a local St. Louis author. Her journey to overcome her anxiety and unpack her childhood trauma is fascinating. She specifically delves into a therapy model called Internal Family Systems (IFS) because she finds it helpful after some initial skepticism. Mardou's art style is a bit loose, but expressive. Freeing herself from generational trauma reveals truly healthy outcomes.

The secret to superhuman strength

 

The secret to superhuman strength / Alison Bechdel, 240 pgs.

Who doesn't love a good secret?  Alison Bechdel seems to tell a lot of secrets in her books.  This one does seem to get at the secrets...perhaps the meaning?  She tells of her lifelong obsession with fitness and how that fits into enlightenment...and how is doesn't.  This would have been worth the read if it just tracked the crazy fitness fads for the last 50 years or so.  The way in weaves in philosophical insights and theories makes it another fantastic foray into the award winning author/artists brain.

The RBG Workout

The RBG Workout by Bryant Johnson, 127 pages

Ever since I started working out seriously a few years back, I've been curious about the late great Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legendary workout regimen. This book, written by her longtime personal trainer, spells it out and tells you how to do everything properly. It includes lots of excellent cartoon illustrations of the late Supreme Court justice doing all of these stretches and exercises, and has modifications for those of us working out from home or for those of us who aren't as much of a strong beast as RBG (which, let's face it, is pretty much everyone). 

Have I tried the workout yet? Nooo... but I will! In the meantime, enjoy this photo of me dressed up as RBG for a Halloween workout this year. 

Anyway, I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to work out like a boss (or who just wants to bask in RBG's amazingness).

Eat Move Sleep

Eat move sleep: how small choices lead to big changes / Tom Rath 246 pgs.

Tom Rath boils it down into three things you need to be attentive to be healthy...what you eat, how much you exercise and getting quality sleep.  This book is organized into 30 chapters, each with a suggestion of a positive change in each of the three areas.  Most are things you have probably heard before but now you are encouraged to actually make the change.  Really nothing here seems all that big a deal, just start with the beginning of the list and work your way through, in 30 days, 30 months whatever it takes.  I like how this book boils it down for you.  Check out the website http://www.eatmovesleep.org/ for more information.

Burn The Fat, Feed the Muscle

Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle by Tom Venuto, 384 pages


Tom Venuto, a nutrition researcher and natural, "steroid-free" bodybuilder, has broken down this book on how to lose weight and gain muscle plus get that summer body that you always wanted (which, you know summer is right around the corner).  One thing I gotta say about this book, this book is awesome for people who want to actually lose weight, training to be a world star athlete or need some direction to start: cause finding to a workout plan is already hard as it is. I say this book is the way to go!!!!

The break down of this book suggest that you go on chapter 17 (pg. 304) while reading the book to get started working out immediately while reading the book from chapter 1. I totally agree. But if you're older or not familiar with working out, then I suggest consulting your doctor, and going to the burnthebodyfeedthemuscle.com free tools section to see how the workouts are done (and YouTube some exercises to make sure you doing the exercises right). The book is so easy to read compared to other exercises books I read (currently I'm reading The New Modern Encyclopedia Of Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger, which is 800 pages and is good if you seriously wanna be a bodybuilder or get toned, but for beginners and for leisure get this book). This book simplifies diet, which is definitely important, and debunks the myth on weights in general (which is more faster to lose weight than doing cardio) and why most females are scared of weights.

From personal experience: I did read this book and I still heavily reference it every day. And I do gotta say, it does works and my secret for gaining muscle. I would put a before and after pic but I don't want a our library have a high data plan and learning my lesson while after what I did to Fraggle Rock. But I feel awesome most times and glad I read this book.

Get up!

Get up! Why your chair is killing you and what you can do about it / James A. Levine 234 pgs.

I picked up this book thinking it would be another one of those "you should do THIS to solve all your problems" but then give some action plan that would require devoting your life to accomplish.  Instead, this is incredibly fun to read.  James Levine has studied obesity throughout his career and has had FUN doing it.  He shares all kinds of personal stories and insights and they will make you laugh.  He also tells you how to improve your NEAT - non-exercise activity thermogenesis.  These are the calories you expend just living your life.  These days that life includes a LOT of chair time.  Dr. Levine says we can make a huge difference by just standing up.  Get out of the chair and life a longer happier life.  Seems like a pretty decent trade off.

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The Athlete's Book of Home Remedies

The Athlete's Book of Home Remedies by Jordan D. Metzl 368 pgs.

I'm not much of an athlete but I originally checked this out for my husband and as I read, really liked the way the author breaks down the body parts, sports, types of injuries and how to prevent them.  He gives great workouts for increasing strength, flexibility and a reasonable healthy eating plan.  On top of all the good information, Dr. Metzl is a Mizzou grad so there is nothing not to like.

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Drop Dead Healthy

Drop Dead Healthy:  one man's humble quest for bodily perfection by A. J. Jacobs
402 pgs.

I'm a fan of A.J. Jacobs and have read two of his other books.  This one is along the same lines...research a topic and then try to implement what you find.  This time his focus is health.  Although the subtitle talks about bodily perfection, it isn't really the goal...just being more healthy and living a better life in terms of extending life by taking care of yourself.  Each month for two years A. J. focuses on one aspect of health.  Some of the months are better than others.  Along the way you get his commentary and notes on his life and family.  His wife Julie is certainly a gem and his 3 kids are in the adorable stage...I wonder how his writing will change when those kids become troublesome teens.  I am interested in some of the areas of focus in this book...living a quiet life (avoiding noise pollution), the treadmill desk and taking particular care of your hands are all interesting chapters that I did not expect.  Looking forward to the next topic of A.J.'s focus.

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