cover image Feeling Fit in Your 40s

Feeling Fit in Your 40s

Richard Benyo. Atheneum Books, $14.95 (220pp) ISBN 978-0-689-11581-3

Similar to other volumes on maintaining or increasing physical fitness, this one's chief distinction is that it's aimed at the baby boomers, who are now turning 40. Benyo, a runner and fitness columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, and Provost, a nurse and triathlete, urge readers to avoid foods high in cholesterol, cigarettes, recreational drugs, too much alcohol and pollution. They recommend the consumption of fruits, vegetables and foods high in fiber, and are highly critical of fad diets. Coauthors of The Advanced Indoor Exercise Book, etc., they point out that exercise, preferably aerobic, with some anaerobic, is helpful, and they prescribe ways to battle against stress, get more effective sleep and unwind during time set aside for relaxation, like vacations. Good advice, surely, but none of it new. (January 26)