This was one of my first EXSC/Physical Education books that I purchased for my major. It really is a good text book that I kept over the years just for that reason. The book takes a very good approach to understanding wellness and fitness, and how they relate to the student and each other. The author deals with things like overcoming personal obstacles. There is even a table that discusses health and wellness definitions.

There are several areas where the book talks about how and why you should as a teacher should emphasize certain areas. One of them is understanding that change is a good thing, and this book is a very good tool to help deal with the curves life seems to throw us.

While I enjoyed the book as a whole, there was one section I felt was very good. The author encourages students to overcome problems with physical fitness. Whether the idea was weight loss or body building, the book used examples and definitions to accentuate why our choices affect us in the long run. Healthier choices and changing your behavior is a key step in increasing your quality of life.

It's a very thorough text book that covers many subjects, especially how to achieve overall fitness and wellness. Many of the chapters deal with wellness as a positive component for optimal health. This book is a text book, but the ideas are for anyone: athletes, students and teachers.

Throughout the book you will notice the author emphasizes body, mind, emotions, and spirituality. These traits when combined with inspiration and behavior changes to build programs that not only motivated the students but also increased the chance of those people getting and remaining active. Just by getting active you start to develop positive physical and mental health. By maintaining a proper diet, regular physical activity, and healthy habits we see a dramatic increase in a person's behavior and outlook. This positive outlook permeates through the individual's life; we're happier with things around us like freedom, environment, and health.

Some of the author's innovations and ideas did not pertain exactly to myself. However, there were several opportunities for me to go off on my own and make programs and regimes suited for my own quirky traits and habits.

I know there were several student "help/features" in the book. I did not use many of them, as I read the book from the point of a student. I spent most of my time doing those things that the professor wanted rather than the work in the book. However, I think one might benefit greatly by working through student features; I would definitely suggest doing some of the student bonus things into your curriculum.

To Main Book Review Page