Deep Fitness
The Mindful, Science-Based Strength-Training Method to Transform Your Well-Being in Just 30 Minutes a Week
by Philip Shepherd & Andrei Yakovenko
“I have read thousands of books in my life, and none of them truly changed it. This book did. And not a moment too soon. When I was 25, I could get away with the wrong fitness approach. At 58, I can’t. My body demands that I listen close, and give it just what it needs. Deep Fitness shreds the misguided notions of well-being that have led me astray for decades and replaces them with clear wisdom and transformative tools. This book may well save my life.”
—Jeff Brown, author of Grounded Spirituality and Hearticulations
Deep Fitness - the book
The popular understanding of exercise and its benefits lags about fifty years behind contemporary research. Deep Fitness brings you up to date on that research, introducing you to a recent revolution in our understanding of human health – one that can help you boost your strength and vitality, reduce your risk of chronic disease, and turn back the clock on aging.
Researchers have discovered that muscle does far more than move our limbs. It is the source of over 600 messenger molecules that promote well-being in every tissue throughout the body. The health of your muscles, it turns out, provides the bedrock on which your metabolic health rests. On the one hand, this news is alarming, because our bodies tend to lose significant muscle mass after the age of thirty. On the other, it is empowering, because it points to the simplest way of improving your overall health: give your muscles the opportunity to grow stronger—something anyone can do.
That doesn’t mean you need to devote hours every week to exercise. Deep Fitness introduces Mindful Strength Training to Failure (MSTF), a workout that is so simple and efficient, you can steadily increase your strength with just one or two half-hour sessions a week. By doing so, you’ll be achieving a state of ‘deep fitness’. The term refers to a state of overall well-being that will mitigate the risk of chronic diseases, promote vitality, help to avoid falls, pre-habilitate joints, bones and tendons to resist injury, support cognitive functioning and psychological health, diminish the risk of all-cause mortality, and increase your quality of life.
Deep Fitness includes over 30 illustrated, step-by-step exercises suited for all ages—some that can be done at home using your body weight or a resistance band, others that can be done in your local gym. With MSTF, each exercise is done slowly and mindfully, so that every session offers a mental reset that helps you become more present in both the workout and your life. This is a new approach to fitness and well-being, communicating in layman’s terms the most up-to-date, science-based, time-efficient method you can use to start optimizing your health today.
Published by North Atlantic Books, 2021. Also available as an audio book through Audible, iTunes and other audio booksellers.
While this book is available for sale on Amazon, we highly encourage you to request it through your local, independent bookstore.
Deep Fitness Explained
Join Philip Shepherd and Andrei Yakovenko as they speak about the principles in their book "Deep Fitness"
Strength training for all
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Deep Fitness also contains a chapter offering detailed support for you to do your own Mindful Strength Training workout either with just your body weight and resistance bands, or weight machines. Complete with color photos demonstrating proper technique, this book speaks to anyone looking to stay or get strong.