Upside Down Fitness by Manisha Israni (Book Review: 4.75*/5) !!!

The books on fitness are hit these days in the bookshelves because of new inclination towards health and lifestyle of the new generation. Since last ten years, I have come across many fitness books but not much of them have stayed in my mind for the sole reason that they suggested something following which is so difficult and impractical that you would want to live the way you are than making any changes to your daily routine. But surely there are few fitness books which makes things easy for you by giving you practical and simple solutions to be healthy, cutting your fats, getting rid of the unwanted belly etc. that you actually end up noting down and implementing it in your day-to-day life. One of such fitness books which has already taken place in my favorite shelf is first-time author, Manisha Israni’s “Upside Down Fitness”.  The greatest confidence shown by the author is that her name is not mentioned on the Cover page at all but completely focuses on the topic.

The cover page and the title of the book shall make you little resistance in picking it up as you might presume the book to be displaying the impossible postures as the way to be healthy but this is not the case at all. Authoress is just trying to tell us that her version is completely different from others which is practical, doable and manageable. Manisha Israni’s book is very interactive. You can easily complete this book within a single sitting because of the way it has been written where you feel someone has actually understood your nerves and telling you only things which are specifically meant and customized for you. Right from the 1^st chapter to the last chapter, author has shown wonderful display of experiments, researches, knowledge and practices that she has herself gone through to understand the benefits of certain lifestyle and activities in our lives.

The book talks about how to create SMART goals with the same explanation of SMART as we are taught in our MBA books. In the very next chapter, she has introduced us with some interesting facts about how we can instantly replace certain unhealthy foods with the healthy foods without actually cutting down our appetite but enforcing ourselves in eating more healthy stuffs. Author then talks about how we should make our exercise routine interesting rather than making it a TASK for us. She has introduced some great exercising methods, meditation techniques etc. with tips on how to exercise in a shorter time to gain maximum effect rather than scheduling it for an hour and never ending up accomplishing it.

In one of the other chapters, she has given us the list of supplements that we should have as per our bodily needs. In yet another chapter, she has given list of multiple recipes for every type of people- vegans, vegetarians, non-vegetarians etc for all types of eating time- breakfast, lunch, dinner, tiffin, snacks etc. One of the chapters similarly comprises of the Workout Plans for the whole week again for different reasons for why you would like to exercise:- Losing fats, gaining weight, maintaining weight, want of flat tummy etc. My favorite chapter is the one which is written about redefining happiness. The wonderful tips given and explained in this chapter for always being happy assures me that author can end up writing another book only on happiness, self-help, motivational topics.

This book is one of the best books on fitness but let me also talk about certain things which did not go well with me:- In the chapter where author has explained Workout Plans, some jargons are used for the Workout activity which a general person would not understand and shall have to google which takes away the charm from the chapter. Similarly, in the chapter where smart meals are discussed, there are no images for the recipes discussed which makes it difficult for anyone to try preparing it without knowing how it should end up like. Author could have at least given some QR code or Youtube link where she could have shown the whole preparation method. Similarly, some ingredients are totally unheard of. Their Hindi names could have also been mentioned for ease of understanding. Other than these petty points, there is nothing else which stops this book from surprising you. I give this book 4.75* out of 5. Yes!

It's a great co-incident that on this Women’s day, I have ended up reading a book by a female author and giving one of the highest ratings. Waiting for 2^nd book by Manisha Israni now.

Thanks.

ABHILASH RUHELA!!!