Dr. Bob Arnot's Guide to Turning Back the Clock (edition 1996)

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0316051748, Paperback)

Let's say you're a 50-, 40-, or even 30-year-old man. Maybe you want to evict that donut of fat that's moved into the space where your waist used to be, or it could be that the hike upstairs has you rethinking that downstairs bathroom you never installed, or perhaps you just saw a picture of your 19-year-old self in your football uniform. Or maybe you just want to be healthier and fitter than you already are. Well, you can be--and Dr. Bob will tell you exactly how to do it, with an engaging writing style, vast enthusiasm, and an emphasis on fast results.

In this for-men-only book (because "It has become politically incorrect for men to write books for women"), Dr. Bob Arnot--of NBC News medical correspondent fame--will convince even the most committed sloth that a 25-year-old body can be only months away. According to Arnot, revolutions in fitness technology, nutrition, and sports medicine now make it possible for a middle-ager to bench press the years back to a biological age of 25 or so--in as little as six months. Arnot calls on an impressive array of experts and scientific findings to bolster his prescription: an eat-as-much-as-you-want diet of low-fat, whole-grain foods--and play!

Arnot offers advice on sports as play for adults (alpine skiing, aerobic tennis, power blading, mountain biking, and snow blading--also known as cross-country skiing), including the challenges of new skills, getting the right coach, smart training, and fast recoveries. Nutrition plays a big part in the Arnot regimen, and he offers up information on nutritional snacks and sports food, multicultural cuisine ideas, as well as recipes and dietary supplements.

"If there is a fountain of youth, it is the heavy metal in your local gym," Arnot says, because the real fitness pitfall for the not-20-anymore man is muscle loss. From deltoids to dumbbells and pecs to pull-ups, Arnot runs down gym musts and hows in an illustrated weight-training program. Add Arnot's visualization techniques and aphorisms to the mix ("Conventional Wisdom: Go with the flow. New Paradigm: Aging is a cultural trap that programs men to abuse, misuse, and disuse their bodies"), and men past the "golden age" of their 20s may well find that the goal of getting fit, staying fit, and rewinding the biological clock is truly within reach. --Stefanie Durbin