During my Personal Training certification course we were told not to read and/or believe anything written in fitness magazines. The fact is some of what is published is not accurate and unless it is backed up by research doesn’t work. Tufts University in Massachusetts puts out the publication that was recommended.
In spite of that I read most of the fitness magazines at one time or another. Not all, but most. In fact at one point, I had subscriptions to at least 3 or 4 including Muscle and Fitness, Living Fit, and Shape. I stopped them all.
Why? Because each month I felt like I was reading the same material (although Muscle and Fitness is a slightly different genre than the 2 others I mentioned) over and over again. After all, how many ways can “Flatten Your Belly in 6 Weeks” be written (not necessarily a real article.. my own title.. but you get the idea) or “Get the Abs You Want by this Summer”??
The point is that most of us, short of liposuction WILL NOT get a flat belly ever! I have been working out for much of my adult life and it isn’t flat..are they going to tell me something I don’t know which will work in 6 weeks?
Self sells itself a little differently than others by virtue of its name if nothing else. It alludes to the fact that this isn’t just about exercise and fitness and that is true. It has nicely eclectic articles. The cover of May’s Self issue which I am reviewing here has a very pretty model who is not bulimic looking, thank goodness, and I will say that this magazine is going for the healthy look, not the anorexic one.
One cover title is “You give: 20 minutes at home You get: flat abs, lean legs, the works." I am not putting this in the trashy tabloid category..Not at all, but come on- 20 minutes will get me all that?? I spend 2 hours in a gym 3-5 days a week and I still have cellulite!
At $2.99 the magazine is reasonably priced. I picked it up among others at the airport a few weeks back after being away from all magazines for awhile. This is a great magazine. I will say that I like it with the qualified “I would love it more if I were 10 or 20 years younger.” Self unlike Living Fit is geared to the 20s and early 30s age bracket. It isn’t advertised as such but it is easily discernable by looking at the models and reading the articles. One exception to this is Cybill Shepard selling Easy Spirit Shoes. She’s 50.
Some very good sections of this magazine include: the FLASH sections in health, beauty, and fitness. These are tidbits of information – good information – not an entire article though. Some may not like the layout because of the tidbit type of information – some pages have 10 2-liners; some have 5 paragraphs.
In Flash Fitness you’ll read “Expecting? Start sweating. It’s safe for sedentary moms-to-be to launch a workout program during pregnancy, according to a study of pregnant women conducted at the University of Miami. The only caveat: Start slowly and do frequent “talk tests” during exercise: If you’re too breathless to chat, you’re overdoing it.” . Three lines in the magazine – that’s it and it is chock full of items like this.
I do want to make a point here. I am NOT SURE it is ok for pregnant women to exercise. I haven’t read the original research, it is not put out by Tufts University and I would NOT believe something so important. See your doctor first, please.
In Beauty Flash you’ll read “ Makeup that sticks For sweatproof blush, use gel or liquid formulations and goes on with only 2 more lines.”
Kathy Smith, an expert in fitness trainer is this magazine’s personal trainer and contributing editor who answers questions and gives tips.
Generally all the articles are short and easy to read. There is very little that is technical and the average person would enjoy perusing this magazine for some tips and interesting articles. There is a very good quiz of “Test your sun-smarts and save your skin” – an easy-to read 4-page guide to sun safety. There is also a very good article On “Will you Inherit your mother’s body?" and "16 Secrets of self-esteem.” In addition the May issue has a 4-page article on food poisoning which is very informative.
Self, in the Bill Phillips (Body of Life) mode has a 4-month challenge complete with exercises, nutrition tips and goals. It is very good and I would recommend it for someone just starting out. You can pick up the back issues at the library and go from there.
In summary, this 218-page magazine is one of the better ones on the market. Just realize that what you are reading in Self this month will be in Fitness next and was probably in Shape the month before.
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