Workout - Working Out and Not Getting the Right Results?

Whether you are a fitness addict with a personal trainer, a ready-to-reform couch potato, or, like most people, are struggling to incorporate exercise into a busy lifestyle, the perfect fitness program for you is one that is compatible with your body type.

The man who Fit Magazine calls "the Shape Master," world-renowned fitness guru Edward J. Jackowski, Ph.D. and author of Escape Your Shape: How to Work Out Smarter, Not Harder (Simon & Schuster, 2001), disputes the conventional wisdom of some doctors, trainers and others who advocate one-size-fits-all exercise programs. Such generic programs, cautions Jackowski, "at the least do nothing for you, and under certain circumstances, can actually make your problem areas worse."

Jackowski, founder of Exude, the nation's largest one-on-one fitness company and the "Escape Your Shape" routine, offers specific workouts to help people get in shape simply and easily, for optimal fitness, energy and health. He empathizes with the frustration people feel when they make an effort to work out but see little or no change in their body shape, or worse, bulk up when they want to slim down. Too often the problem, he reports, "is that you may be exercising for somebody else's body type."

Dr. Jackowski characterizes body types as four basic shapes: the proportionately balanced Hourglass( ; the smaller on top, larger on bottom Spoon( ; the wider on top, slimmer hipped Cone( ; and the straight up and down Ruler(. After using his guidelines to determine which type you are, you can work out with the specific patent-pending "Escape Your Shape" exercise routine for your body type. The routines are simple and easy to perform wherever you are, using items as readily accessible as a jump rope, a floor mat and a portable aerobic bar.

Marissa, a 40-year-old professional, who lost 30 pounds and 31 inches in six months, has high praise for the Escape Your Shape program. "This program is about freedom as well as results," she says. "I am no longer tethered to my health club, wondering whether the seat was at the right height or I was using the right weight. I enjoy the benefits of a great exercise program and don't spend hours at the gym. I feel so much healthier and happier. It is the perfect workout for my busy lifestyle."

Michael, 44, another Escape Your Shape true believer, was a self-confessed lapsed athlete who started each day with two cups of coffee and two buttered bagels. A Ruler( , he says that as his business grew so did his girth. He lost 52 pounds and 30 inches, and gained renewed self-esteem. Thousands of delighted men and women from 18 to 80 who have "escaped their shape" now know how to incorporate exercise into their daily lives. An added benefit: healthy eating habits that provide significant weight loss, lower blood pressure, improved cholesterol levels and more energy. Judith, 57, says, "Your approach seemed too simple to work. For someone to get fit without even leaving the house is a small miracle for me."

A study conducted by Jackowski and medically approved by physicians of 300 adult male and female Escape Your Shape participants over a six-year period demonstrated the effectiveness of his body type methodology. He advises people who are serious about their health that it takes more than minor lifestyle adjustments, such as walking instead of driving to work or taking the stairs rather than the elevator, as some "experts" suggest to get in shape and be healthier.

What Jackowski offers is a realistic and enjoyable exercise program, designed to take into account the hectic pace at which most of us live our lives. Many people enthusiastically begin an exercise program, but because they are not exercising correctly for their body type they do not get the desired results, drop out, and feel guilty. With his program the results are so dramatic within the first 30 days or less, that people are motivated to continue, says Jackowski. "The stress alleviating effects of becoming physically fit are as satisfying as the physical transformations," he reports.

For additional information on how to change your body for the better, visit www.exude.com or call 1-800-24-EXUDE.

Courtesy of ARA Content, www.ARAcontent.com, e-mail: info@ARAcontent.com