Review by naomisorge -- Wellness Toolbox by Don Roberts
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Review by naomisorge -- Wellness Toolbox by Don Roberts
[Following is a volunteer review of "Wellness Toolbox" by Don Roberts.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Don Roberts wrote Wellness Toolbox to dispel some of the myths around health and wellness that have been proliferating since the spandex-and-cardio trend of the 1980s. He seems qualified to do this: he has been a fitness trainer and nutrition expert since 1991 and owns a gym. One whole section of the book contains photos of Roberts and his wife competing in fitness competitions and before/after photos of clients.
The book is divided into four sections. Section 1 is dedicated to physical fitness. Section 2 is composed exclusively of competition and client photos. Section 3 is all about nutrition, and Section 4 is where he covers aspects of wellness that don’t fit neatly into the previous sections. This includes information on sleep, emotional health and meditation, among other things.
Sections 1, 3 and 4 follow a simple myth/fact format, where Roberts states a piece of conventional wisdom, followed by the word “myth” or “fact” and an explanation with quotes from research. The myths and facts are interspersed with a few personal stories from the author’s life. These didn’t resonate with me, and I found them boring, but other readers might enjoy the personal touches. The format makes it easy for readers to read the book start to finish or to follow their curiosity and dip in and out of specific topics. For this reason, the name of the book seems appropriate.
I chose Wellness Toolbox because I am interested in the field of wellness myself, particularly around nutrition and well-being. I find that one way to sustain the motivation to eat well and take care of my physical and mental health is to keep up to date with developments in the field. This book fits in perfectly with my strategy.
Most of the information here echoes what I’ve read in recent blogs and magazines, especially when challenging accepted ideas about saturated fat and sugar. There were quite a few new things that I highlighted to come back to later. Among these titbits was the fact that you can build more muscle if you visualize your workout before you even go to the gym. And did you know that some types of cancer have evolved to feed on the high levels of sugar in our blood? I definitely said no thanks to dessert after reading that! Keep your eyes peeled for the recipe for “Thieves Oil,” a blend of essential oils that is 90% effective against airborne bacteria.
On the other hand, a good edit would improve this book. Some of the writing is grammatically incorrect or misuses words, and the author’s habit of hyphenating every number was distracting, for example, “[He was my] lifting partner for 10-years.” Further, some sections of the book contain comprehensive information such as lists and instructions for how often/how much to do something, but some don't. You would have to do more research if you wanted to act on the advice in these sections.
I think this book deserves a solid 3 out of 4. The wealth of modern information about health and fitness would make it a fantastic reference for beginners or those who have come back to wellness after being out of the loop for a while. It’s also great for those who already feel confident but want to keep up to date and discover a few new facts. The need for editing and inconsistency in the amount of information provided in every section prevents it from being a 4, but overall the book was worth the time spent reading it.
******
Wellness Toolbox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
3 out of 4 stars
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Don Roberts wrote Wellness Toolbox to dispel some of the myths around health and wellness that have been proliferating since the spandex-and-cardio trend of the 1980s. He seems qualified to do this: he has been a fitness trainer and nutrition expert since 1991 and owns a gym. One whole section of the book contains photos of Roberts and his wife competing in fitness competitions and before/after photos of clients.
The book is divided into four sections. Section 1 is dedicated to physical fitness. Section 2 is composed exclusively of competition and client photos. Section 3 is all about nutrition, and Section 4 is where he covers aspects of wellness that don’t fit neatly into the previous sections. This includes information on sleep, emotional health and meditation, among other things.
Sections 1, 3 and 4 follow a simple myth/fact format, where Roberts states a piece of conventional wisdom, followed by the word “myth” or “fact” and an explanation with quotes from research. The myths and facts are interspersed with a few personal stories from the author’s life. These didn’t resonate with me, and I found them boring, but other readers might enjoy the personal touches. The format makes it easy for readers to read the book start to finish or to follow their curiosity and dip in and out of specific topics. For this reason, the name of the book seems appropriate.
I chose Wellness Toolbox because I am interested in the field of wellness myself, particularly around nutrition and well-being. I find that one way to sustain the motivation to eat well and take care of my physical and mental health is to keep up to date with developments in the field. This book fits in perfectly with my strategy.
Most of the information here echoes what I’ve read in recent blogs and magazines, especially when challenging accepted ideas about saturated fat and sugar. There were quite a few new things that I highlighted to come back to later. Among these titbits was the fact that you can build more muscle if you visualize your workout before you even go to the gym. And did you know that some types of cancer have evolved to feed on the high levels of sugar in our blood? I definitely said no thanks to dessert after reading that! Keep your eyes peeled for the recipe for “Thieves Oil,” a blend of essential oils that is 90% effective against airborne bacteria.
On the other hand, a good edit would improve this book. Some of the writing is grammatically incorrect or misuses words, and the author’s habit of hyphenating every number was distracting, for example, “[He was my] lifting partner for 10-years.” Further, some sections of the book contain comprehensive information such as lists and instructions for how often/how much to do something, but some don't. You would have to do more research if you wanted to act on the advice in these sections.
I think this book deserves a solid 3 out of 4. The wealth of modern information about health and fitness would make it a fantastic reference for beginners or those who have come back to wellness after being out of the loop for a while. It’s also great for those who already feel confident but want to keep up to date and discover a few new facts. The need for editing and inconsistency in the amount of information provided in every section prevents it from being a 4, but overall the book was worth the time spent reading it.
******
Wellness Toolbox
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The MISOGI Method by Jody B. Miller
