Look Great at Any Age: 6

Schoenfeld, a personal trainer and the brawn and brains behind the Look Great Naked fitness aids (think book, videos, website), here assures women that""strength training is the fountain of youth,"" and that even those who've never touched a dumbbell can be on their way to better health in no time. Aimed at women over 35, this guide covers exercise's effects on physical and mental health; offers three different workouts prefaced by plenty of explanation and encouragement; gives sensible diet advice; and provides a one-week sample meal plan that's heavy on the greens (and the green tea). Schoenfeld chooses breadth over depth in parts of this slim guide, but his workouts--the core of the book--are clearly illustrated and easy to follow, and he includes enough mild-mannered but convincing evidence for the efficacy of strength training that only the truly inveterate aerobicist would doubt him. (Aerobic training is important, he says--just not quite as important as building up the muscles that will help burn the fat.) The subtitle promises a lot, but Schoenfeld gives his audience solid guidance along the road to increased fitness.