Product Description

Joe Decker, who broke the Guinness World Record's 24-hour Physical Fitness Challenge, shows how anyone can get on the road to fitness in just one month. Readers can:

- Get motivated and inspired by Joe's amazing personal weight-loss story
- Harness the secret of interval training to get fit quick - Boost metabolism with a variety of indoor/outdoor cardio activities that make fitness fun
- Monitor progress and keep on track with a customized workout log
- Jumpstart fat-burning potential with simple strength-training moves in the gym or at home
- Take advantage of day-to-day meal plans and recipes incorporating good carbs and good fats

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #743291 in Books
• Published on: 2005-01-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Amazon.com Review
Following Joe Decker's 4-week fitness program is like having your own personal trainer educating and motivating you and directing your daily exercise and eating. Decker went from an overweight, partying, greasy-food-overeating bartender to the Guinness Book of World Records' "world's fittest man" by completing an array of 13 grueling athletic endeavors in 24 hours, including 130 miles of combined cycling, rowing, hiking, and running; 3,000 ab crunches, 1,100 jumping jacks, and a total of 278,540 pounds among 10 different weight-lifting machines. Now a personal trainer, Decker presents his four-week "Shock Your Body" fitness program. His daily exercise program combines a variety of cardio options with illustrated weight-training and stretching exercises. His eating plan isn't a diet, but rather a process for understanding nutrition and changing how you eat, with complete, daily menus (it's a bit annoying, however, that he prefaces all 12 recipe titles with "World's Fittest Man"--e.g., "World's Fittest Man Catfish Creole," "World's Fittest Man Super Stir-fry with Chicken," and so on). Tips, facts and myths, write-in charts, and Decker's pep talks help to personalize the program. Recommended for people who want to make a big change and need information and structure to put it into action.

About the Author
Joe Decker is an ultra-endurance power athlete, renowned fitness trainer, syndicated fitness columnist, and motivational speaker who has helped thousands of people get fit and lose weight. Eric Neuhaus is a writer, journalist, and former television producer for ABC News's 20/20.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
INTRODUCTION
FROM FAT TO FITTEST:
BECOMING THE WORLD’S FITTEST MAN

I looked over at the bright red lights glaring from the digital clock next to my bed: 6:00 A.M. I had hardly gotten any sleep last night. Truthfully, I had just fallen asleep after three days of nonstop partying. I dragged myself out of bed and stared at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t believe what I looked like. And I felt like hell. My eyes were puffed up, swollen and red, almost popping out of my sunken, ashen, white face. The rest of my body was in no better shape. My head was throbbing from the huge meal and cocktails I had whipped up the night before. I was a wreck. I really couldn’t believe that reflection was me. How had I gotten here and how was I going to escape?

Looking in the mirror I disliked the image I saw. On top of that I felt aimless and without purpose in life. I was living in a dingy room in the heart of New Orleans with no career or direction to keep me going. I was depressed and felt my life had amounted to nothing. I had hit rock bottom. I did the only thing I could think of doing. I picked up the phone and called my parents for help.

That’s one thing about my parents. They were always there for me. From my lowest point, there, in New Orleans, on the verge of self-destruction, to my highest achievement, which I’ll tell you about later, becoming the World’s Fittest Man, I never lost touch with my family and my farm-town roots. You’ll see—I may be the World’s Fittest Man now, but I started out as nothing more than a chubby farm boy.

I grew up in central Illinois, in a small town called Cuba. Cuba has a population of about fourteen hundred, if you count the cats and dogs too. Most people either farmed or worked at a factory. It was a great place to grow up but definitely not a very fitness- or health-conscious area. Life in Cuba was simple—just one bar, one gas station, and a general store.

My parents, Daniel and Diane, and my three younger brothers all were raised in an old farmhouse. It was very primitive living. In the winter things got so bad that the pipes would sometimes freeze and my brothers and I would play with Weeble Wobbles on the frozen bathtub or toilet. It was during these cold winter months that we would have to use an outhouse. A wood-burning stove was our only source of heat, so all of us would sleep in the same room for warmth. We would hang blankets over the doorways and throw the mattresses on the floor. I actually liked the closeness of it all.

We all worked hard around the house and on the farm to survive. All of it wasn’t so bad, except when the temperature dipped to twenty below. Then, milking the cows and chopping the wood at five in the morning wasn’t so much fun. It was a downright pain in the ass. My dad worked hard at the local Caterpillar factory and farmed most of his life, and my mom was a custodian at the local grade school. They are the hardest-working people I have ever met and I think that’s where I got most of my drive and determination.

We always enjoyed big family suppers and breakfasts together, the kind you’d probably see on The Waltons. Unfortunately, most of those big meals were filled with fat and lard. My mom was a great cook, but she didn’t think too much about fat content or calories. Our typical meals were nice big juicy steaks, fried chicken, and my favorite, biscuits and gravy. Lots of bacon grease, which was kept on the stove in a can, and Crisco fried foods. As you can imagine, all that kind of food made me a chubby boy.

It never seemed fair to me that I was the chubby one and my brothers were thin and lean. They seemed never to gain weight. Why were they so thin and I so chubby? That question drove me crazy, but it made me more determined to work harder at getting myself in shape.

The school bus was the worst. Since my brothers were younger, they could do little to stop the older kids who teased and taunted me about my weight. I vowed somehow to lose the weight one day and get even with those older guys on the bus.

Things changed when I got to high school. I used my “extra” weight to excel at powerlifting and then slimmed down to play football and run track. As I became more popular, I also made honor roll just about every semester. Losing those extra pounds really boosted my self-confidence. No longer was I the chubby boy who got picked on but an athlete who excelled on the football field and in the classroom. But all of that changed in an instant.

In my senior year I suffered a really bad football injury. My left calf got smashed up after a few hard smacks. All the nerves were so damaged that I couldn’t feel anything from the knee down. At first the doctors thought it was just a bruise but then realized the damage was much more severe—so severe that they considered amputation. Luckily for me they figured out it was anterior compartment syndrome. They sliced a thirteen-inch incision down my calf to release the pressure and finally ordered me on crutches for a couple of months.

The unlucky part is that those few months kept me off the football field and in front of the television. Not surprisingly, that was a formula for rapid weight gain. I packed on over thirty pounds, consuming mostly pizza, Twinkies, and Coca-Cola. In so little time I had become the unhappy “fat boy” again. More than anything, I was depressed. The football scholarship that I had hoped would be my ticket to college and out of small-town Cuba suddenly disappeared. It was like my worst nightmare had come true and I couldn’t wake myself up to stop it.

Since my parents couldn’t afford college without the help of a scholarship, I decided to join the army right after graduating from high school. I planned to pay for college after a short stint in the military. I was shipped off to Fort Benning, Georgia, eager to start my basic training. What I hadn’t planned for next was failing my first army physical-fitness test. Those months on the sofa eating nothing but junk food had left me in awful physical shape. I could barely do ten push-ups and I huffed and puffed through a two-mile run. I was just about crawling the last stretch. I felt like Bill Murray’s character in that hilarious movie Stripes. But what was happening to me wasn’t a comedy at all. It was the worst kind of tragedy. My drill sergeant ordered me into the unofficial military “fat-boy program.”

As you can imagine, being eighteen and sent off with all the other military physical-fitness failures was completely humiliating and embarrassing. I was even too ashamed to write home to my parents. I was their first boy to move out of the house on my own, so they had high expectations for me. More than anything I didn’t want to let them down. What a disappointment it would have been for them to learn of my failure.

So while all the other recruits were relaxing after dinner or on weekends, I was out there working my butt off doing extra push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups. And that’s no joke. For meals all the “fat boys” were placed on a special eating program different from the rest of the recruits’. Cottage cheese, fruit, and salad were some of our staples. I remember looking over at the desserts the others were enjoying. Once I got so tempted I couldn’t stop myself. One of the drill sergeants learned of my unhealthy indiscretion and punished me with more push-ups (above and beyond the extra we did anyway).

Let me tell you this, that weight didn’t just melt away. I’m sorry to tell you that no magic pill or crazy diet got me back in shape. What did was lots of hard work, sweat, and commitment. I set a goal and really stuck to it. I worked hard to lose every single pound. Nothing came easy. But eventually I did it. I passed the next physical fitness test with flying colors and proudly joined the other recruits.

After my three years of service with the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, New York, I headed off to pursue my real dream, college. I moved back to Illinois and enrolled in a prelaw program at Western Illinois University.

After two years at college I became disillusioned and restless. I guess it’s pretty common to feel that way. I didn’t want to be a lawyer and wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with my life. I figured some time off might help me decide.

I packed up my bags, tossed them in the back of my white Ford pickup truck, and roamed around the country. Eventually, I ended up in New Orleans working as a bartender. If you’re a tourist, New Orleans is a great place to visit because the party on Bourbon Street never stops. It’s Mardi Gras twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. If you happen to live and work on Bourbon Street, it’s easy to find yourself in the center of that never-ending party. And that’s exactly what happened to me.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m pretty much an all-or-nothing kind of guy. Without a real focus like the army or school, I turned to eating and partying excessively. So when it came to partying, I became the best partier in New Orleans. I partied hard—so hard my friends had a nickname for me. They called me the “Mess” because I had no self-control or discipline. Working as a bartender at some of the wildest bars like the Bourbon Pub and Razoos didn’t help either. I’d get off work, have a few drinks, then start partying, sometimes for three days straight when I had a few days off. During these partying binges I hardly ate. I’d sleep for a day or so and then eat nothing but pizza, hamburgers, and french fries. The whole thing became a horrible, vicious cycle. I’d feel great when I was “flying” on partying and food, but then I’d come down and crash really hard, like falling out of a ten-story window. The only way I could get myself up and off the ground again was to perpetuate the cycle.

My lifestyle was killing my body from the inside out. I had no hope or integrity. The only thing keeping me going was my family. They left many messages on my answering machine, begging me to come home. “Joe, we love you and care about you. Please come home.” Those words s...

Customer Reviews

Better than Liposuction !!! - Great motivator
This book is the best and so is the author - Joe Decker.
This book is a total package. This is not another lose weight, get fit gimmick. Joe Decker has truly put together a great tool for improving ourselves, not just physically but also mentally.

I am a single mom in my mid 20's. I have gone through struggles I don't think anyone can imagine. At times, I felt so depressed that I thought I would never get out of the hole I was in. About three weeks ago I was listening to the radio on my way into work and Joe Decker was being interviewed. Immediately, I liked him and decided to buy his book. Now, I am not a book reader, I don't buy books and if I do I usually return them to the book store. I decided to give this book a try. I love it.

Through healthy eating and exercising I have started to lose weight. I feel so good. I exercise an hour 5x a week. I have never kept to it for three weeks in a row.
I am so glad that Joe Decker after his personal success he has given back to all of us the tools of survival and health through his book. Through e-mail he also helps you by answering any questions and he motivates you. By the way HE RESPONDS!! not someone working for him.

This book has been the best thing I have ever invested money in.
Also, I did try liposuction 5 years ago, It doesn't keep you thin or fit. I gained 60 lbs. after it. It was a waste of money!

World's Best Kept Secret
Where did this guy come from? Why haven't we all heard of him before?!? I got this book for Christmas and can't believe how much sense he makes and how well thought out this plan is. Joe is a man after my heart: clearly he doesn't wnat to promise more than he can deliver, but what he can deliver is amazing. After only a few days I really feel like I have started on a lifetime solution to my weight problem rather than a limited time quick- fix--and I wouldn't have done it without the common sense and encouragement that Joe provides in this book of exercises, tips, and recipes. This book isn't just a complete plan, it's also the memoir of a guy who has been worse off than I was and who totally turned it around. Like he says, if he can do it, so can I, and he gives great tools to back that up.

Only In My First Week, But This Plan RULES!!!
Here for a change is a complete wellness book that pulls no punches from an everyday man who has paid his dues and come out in tip-top shape! Mr. Decker's powerful story of overcoming addiction and weight-gain begins this book as he travels the world trying to find himself. What he finds instead is the party-boy lifestyle that lands him fat, addicted and out of shape on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. His comeback includes an epiphany that reveals, like many of us have, a fierce determination to overcome his personal history and his personal demons. By erring in the opposite direction, Joe triumphs over many of the most bizarre fitness challenges I have ever read about, becoming an inspiration to countless people on the journey.

This program is real and honest and makes no false promises. In fact, its only real promise is that there are no promises to be made. By analyzing your past and your goals, you are encouraged to develop a new program tailor-made to suit you. What is so excellent here is that it is so all-encompassing. I have learned about cholesterol, both good and bad, blood pressure, heart rates, and blood sugar levels to name a few. The eating section finally explains carbs and fats, protein and diet myths in a way that is easily understandable and applicable to me. He even includes his ten 'fittest foods' for consideration.

Next comes the extensive four week 'Shock Your Body' section, which is what I started this week. It is so complete and easy to follow...not necessarily easy, but incredibly rewarding! And like I said, this book is about REAL change, and Joe makes it clear that it is a lifestyle change. There are great recipes that actually work and a great section on fitness workouts that is easy to follow and easy to tailor to suit your own level of fitness. Along the way he debunks many myths about diet and exercise. He even gives you a web address so you can talk to him directly and he answers your questions personally via email! I am so happy to have been turned on to this guy, and feel like there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I cannot recommend this program enough!