Harry Lodge, Bill Fabrocini and I have a great new book out…and we’re nuts about it. Here’s the story.

THE BEST GUIDE TO EXERCISE (AND LIFE) EVER

This little book will simply change everything. We have some remarkably good news that will (a) save your life (b) solve some of your most vexing Christmas gift problems and (c) make America a much, much better, cheaper, happier place to live.

I speak of the publication, at last, of Harry’s and my delicious, new book, YOUNGER NEXT YEAR: THE EXERCISE PROGRAM. I should say, Harry’s, mine and Bill Fabrocini’s; he designed the program and he is the great man in the field.

Hotsy-Totsy Offer for Early Buyers: If you have the wit to buy the book (or a bunch of them, as I strongly urge) before January first, you are in line for a nifty, free WEBINAR which Billy and I will put on, live, early in the new year from Aspen. See instructions at the end.

You will perhaps think that I exaggerate. Not a bit of it. This simple-sounding little book really is the cat ‘s whiskers. It’s better than that … it is the whole cat.

Let’s take these claims, one at a time:

A. Save your life

Absolutely true. It is known that working out, pretty hard (for you), six days a week for the rest of your life is the single great key to being fitter, more amusing, more energetic, more creative, sexier and radically healthier. That was the great claim of the Younger Next Year books, some ten years ago, and it just gets more and more obvious. Today everyone with half a brain knows it.

If that’s known, what’s so new? Well, this seductive little book will save your life by making it radically easier, more obvious and more fun to carry out that advice effectively. And doing it in-effectively can be worse than not doing it at all. Much worse.

All of us think we know how to exercise. In fact, we don’t know squat. Let me ask you some questions, to give you an idea: What is your maximum heart rate? Oops, you don’t know, do you? And you probably don’t know that an aerobic regimen that is not built on that simple knowledge is, well… stupid. Sorry. But it is bone-easy to figure out (and to stop being dumb); read the book.

Another one: Does it make sense for an old girl or an old boy like you (say, fifty or sixty) to do “intervals”? (Notice that we did not ask you, What are intervals? We are not going to treat you with contempt.). The answer is very ornate and very important. Depending on which way you go (there are two, legitimate answers), your life will be very different. Read the damn book!

And another: What is the role of those scary machines in the gym, in a well-designed strength program? That’s an important question and the answer will surprise a lot of you.
Hint: there still is a place in a sane life for the machines but it is a rather small space. And using them to the exclusion of real whole body exercise can make a hash of your body…worse than not working out at all. How come? For heaven’s sake, read the book!

Or this one: Is there an answer, as you age, to horrendous muscle loss (it’s called sarcopenia and you’ve got it bad; fail to get the book and you will lose 10% of your muscle mass every decade for the rest of your pathetic life!) Yes, my dear fellow, there certainly is an answer. Do the right stuff, and you can skip life-ruinous sarcopenia almost completely; I did and I am 117 years old. Read the book or die!

Is there an answer, as we age, to mounting arthritis pain, bad backs and loss of range of motion and flexibility? Yes, my sweet petunia, there is… and a remarkably effective and comprehensive one at that. We all live in glass boxes, defined by range of motion, and they normally shrink over time. Until they are about the size of a coffin… one of those old wooden jobs, with no room to scratch your nose. And you go tip-toe-ing around like an old fool, bent over and tapping your cane. Amazingly, there is a near-complete answer to that in a little, ten-minute warm-up regimen that Billy and I do every single day. There is no question that you should do it too. None! Read the damned book or shrivel away to nothing! Good grief!

This puppy is only 160 pages long. It’s an easy read. And it’s funny. You can read it in a day and enjoy it! But here’s the real miracle: despite being easy and fun, it is the best, most comprehensive and most effective exercise books ever written, especially if you are over 40. No joke. It is drop-dead smart (because of Harry and Bill), it is cutting edge (because of Bill), and you can understand it (because of me, by heaven). It is also seductive, so there’s a decent chance you’ll actually do the exercises and, you know, change your life, in the knick of time. It is so damned smart that it works for those who are just getting back into exercise and for Masters Athletes. That’s quite the little boast and absolutely true.

This is not your grandfather’s exercise book. There has been a profound revolution in exercise – especially strength training – in recent years. What you learned twenty or thirty years ago turns out to be wrong. Dangerously wrong. Hint: the old “army sit up” is one of the worst things you can do for your back. Another hint: correct posture (which you probably don’t know about) and a strong core are the secrets of life. One more hint: the old system “trained muscles”. The new one “trains movements.” The techniques are fundamentally different. Unless you are burning to be on the cover of Muscle Bound Today, building muscles, not movements, is dangerous and foolish. And no fun.

There is a whole new way of looking at exercise. Bill Fabrocini – the brains of the critical “strength” part of the book – is almost certainly the smartest guy in the country and one of the most respected, in his field. I have spent years with him and I still learn something important and new, almost every time we do a program together (we spend a lot of time together in Retreats and such). He is a genius in the field, he cares like crazy, and he has become one of the best communicators around. The program is rock-solid and inspirational, because he designed it.

Harry is the key to so much, of course. He tells you about the scientific revolution that underlies the revolution in aging and behavior. He reminds you, here, of some of the most important things you learned in Younger: remember C-6 and C-10 and the dance of life? If you’ve forgotten, you urgently need a refresher; Harry provides a beauty. Harry does his part in brief but critical clips. Easy to follow and very, very important.

My part is telling the story and showing you that it can be done by mere mortals (I am conspicuously mortal). And maybe making you laugh once or twice. Do you know how many exercise treatises will make you laugh? I know the answer to that question because I have slogged through so many of them. None, sir. Not one. Except this one. Read the damn book! It will make you laugh.

B. The Ultimate Christmas Present

The haunting and unpleasant question rolls around every year: What to give to your father in law. Or your boss. Or your best friend. Or – if you are the leader of a company and give a damn about your executive cadre and employees – what to give to all of them. Give ‘em this book and show ‘em you really love them and care what becomes of them. If we’re talking a bulk purchase for your execs or other employees, we have terrific deals (roughly half off or six bucks a pop on orders over 10 copies!). Buy ten and give ‘em to family and friends. Buy 200 and give em to your top employees … a gift that really matters for a trifling $1500. Wow! (details at the end). Your employees will be flabbergasted at your generosity. AND the company will do much better next year. BECAUSE TRUE NORTH, for a well run company, is the fitness and health of the executives and employees. You will save dough on health costs and make dough on better and more aggressive decisions at all levels. Because fitness makes you smarter, more decisive and way more effective all around. Give ‘em the book!

C. Change America!

This claim is just the least bit grandiose but it is also true. The greatest country on earth is a swamp of idleness and rotten food, and it is sapping our strength and effectiveness, as individuals and institutions. It is a miracle that we are as effective as we are, given the fact that we don’t move any more AND eat mountains of poisonous garbage. By and large, books don’t change lives. Younger Next Year has been a curious exception to that rule; It has changed thousands of lives. Changed ‘em a lot! We’re pretty sure this one will too. Read the Book and Change the Country!

Thanks and have a great holiday,

Chris

PS: To order ten or more (fifty percent off, plus mailing), contact the estimable Jenny Mandel at Workman, Jenny@Workman.com. She’s terrific.

For the Webinar: Order a copy of Younger Next Year: The Exercise Program and send your receipt to promotions@workman.com by January 5, 2016 and receive an exclusive invitation to an online webinar with Chris Crowley and Bill Fabrocini, P.T. on January 13, 2016. You will receive a confirmation and more details shortly after that. I hope a lot of you will do this: it gives me an excuse to go to Aspen… sneak in a few runs. CC