Challenge Yourself - Leanness, Fitness and Health - At Any Age
by Clarence Bass
$20.95 + $4.60 shipping fourth class or $9.35 priority in USA only
The key to becoming - and staying - lean, fit and healthy is to continually challenge yourself
in an intelligent and thoughtful way. That's what this book is about. It explains how
Clarence Bass has continued to improve for more than 45 years - and how you can do the
same. The other books get you started and this book will keep you going for a lifetime.
Cutting edge, Challenge Yourself includes psychologically sound techniques for staying
motivated, the latest developments in diet and nutrition, detailed new routines for beginners
and intermediates (weights only), Clarence's current routine, athletic-type strength training,
high-intensity aerobics, longevity and health topics, and exciting personal profiles.
It's a lifetime approach for leanness, fitness and health that will work for you!
224 pages, $20.95 +$4.60 media mail shipping or $9.35 USPS priority mail
shipping in USA. For encrypted ordering along. For shipping on multiple
items call or e-mail (see below).
What Readers Say:
"I would just like to say what a great book Challenge
Yourself is. I have learned so much and am still learning more
reading it the second time round. I have often heard people say Life is a
journey, well training is also a journey and I had completely lost my way over
the years. Your books Lean For Life, Challenge
and the Ripped video have put me back on the right track. I know it
is very very early days, but I have already had people ask me how I lost weight
- do I lift weights? It's at least ten or twelve years ago since I've
heard anyone say that to me and it's nice to hear."
"I especially like the way Mr. Bass examines the HIT vs. High
Volume exercise quandary, admitting that both work, providing expert opinion and
research studies, and then explains why he opted for the system he
prefers."
"Just finished reading your latest book. The last
section on inspiring individuals really helped me see what truly motivated
people accomplish throughout their lives. After finishing the book I feel
more confident that I can deal with the challenges that lie ahead."
"Your writing is wonderful - personable, warm, and insightful
from an experienced master trainer. It's refreshing to see someone so
muscular and ripped, who is also intelligent and warm with a sense of
humor."
"I think what comes through is the joy you take in the doing
and achieving. That's missing in much that has been written about
training. The idea is not to reduce training to say the
"excitement" level of tooth brushing but rather to find some purpose
and personal meaning in the whole thing. That's a great take home message.
To keep a constant main message and then have everything revolve around it is
really a great accomplishment. Thanks for giving me and so many other
people direction, guidance, and the joy of personal satisfaction."
"Challenge Yourself is an inspiration and a
wealth of information. I carry it with me like a bible. Ihave
read it cover to cover 3 times now and learn something new each time."
"I have been lifting weights for years, but your new book Challenge
Yourself has given me a renewed determination to make progress. By
the way, I'm 80 years old (you give me inspiration!)
"You have changed my world for the better."
"I firmly believe that had I not adopted the principles
espoused in Challenge YourselfI still would be jogging four days
a week in the pursuit of slowing the aging process. While the latter
approach is certainly better than inactivity, it will not slow the natural
decline in function to any significant degree. Thanks so much for the
enlightenment."
"Thanks for one of the few sensible books on a weight
training lifestyle that I have ever seen (not an exaggeration)."
"The wisdom and clarity with which you write is
incredible. I have since purchased Challenge Yourself and
found it surpasses your previous books."
"Here's a little secret. I feel I have a better grasp and
understanding of fitness and nutrition from reading your books - not attending
classes [at my university in fitness management]."
"I have many books/videos on weight training and bodybuilding, and
without a doubt the Ripped series and Challenge Yourself
are the best and most informative of the lot. I wish I had them when I
first started training."
"I have just finished reading Challenge Yourself At Any Age
and I am on fire...your diets are tasty, simple and easy to follow...and I don't
have to spend fifty dollars on meal replacements every 10 days. I have
seen great results and I owe it all to you."
A 48-year-old female reader wrote: "I recently purchased Lean
For Life and Challenge Yourself. These books are
wonderful! I've finally found a "program" I can get my arms
around! While I doubt I'll be following your exercise program as you
designed it, what I will do is adhere to your philosophies and methods...and
insert my own preferences for exercises. I am already incorporating your
nutrition and eating habits and can see and feel a difference in a short
time. (I love your website because you give in-depth answers to questions
I have but don't know where to go for an answer.) You continue to motivate
me to be MY personal best and this has been a tremendous help. I no longer
want to be like "her" or "her" I just want to be the best I
can be!!!"
"Challenge Yourself simply slapped me off the couch and
back to the gym! It is truly one of the most motivating books I have ever
read."
"I have followed your training career through your books and
magazine columns for the past decade. Your books have a very personal feel
to them. Very open and honest; never afraid to admit mistakes and learn
from them. The constant evolution in your thinking and your ability to take from
other's experiences/ideas and make them practical to your own goals is
refreshing and thought provoking as well."
"Challenge Yourself is very inspiring and as usual, packed
with solid information. When I want to check out the latest in health and
fitness I check your website or your books. The breadth and depth of your
work is amazing."
"If I hadn't come across you on the web, I would never in a million
years pick up one of your books at the bookstore because I wouldn't think that a
book with a picture of a muscle guy on the front would have anything in it for a
diabetic grandmother."
"Challenge Yourself is the best example I've seen of a
comprehensive bodybuilding book, as related to personal diet and training
experiences, even topping Ripped 2 and 3. I
especially enjoyed your dissection of volume and HIT training systems, and why
each work. I also appreciated the way you could outline reasons for almost
everything in your diet. My only disappointment was that I didn't use
express mail."
I thoroughly read and enjoyed your book Challenge. It opened my eyes about the
glycemic index and you are the first one that put it into a perspective that I could
understand."
"I think the most exciting part of Challenge is the evidence (empirical and otherwise) that
high intensity, low duration and frequency strength AND aerobic training is the way to go. I
personally believe that it's the results and adaptations from exercise that offer the
tremendous health benefits but the act of exercising itself is actually a negative burden place
on the body. Many people fail to make this connection and unnecessarily wear themselves
out (literally)."
"Your book was just what I needed, as I was very confused at which philosophy to follow,
hit or high volume. You hit it right on the nail, both "camps" have good ideas and can work
great together, and the periodization is easy to follow, not like some routines I have seen."
"I was inspired by the story about John North on page 182. And you! Wow! If this is aging
- then I want some."
"You have done it again with Challenge Yourself! What a tremendous book!
Captivating, enthusiastic, informative and inspirational! Every part of the book had
something that spoke directly to me."
"I have only had time to read the first 150 pages but already I can tell you that this is the
best and most informative books of yours or anyone else's yet."
"As always, your books cause me to rethink my own training. Best of all, they are "great
reads." I'd like to order two more copies. I refuse to let my only copy out of our home!"
"The discussion on single vs. multiple sets was the most logical, well presented explanation
of the topic I have ever read."
"I thoroughly enjoyed your new book, Challenge Yourself. You have definitely improved
since Lean For Life. I never would have believed that anybody could stay so hard at 60.
It is an exciting time in the fitness world. With people like yourself breaking stereotypes of
the aging body, you offer much for the rest of us to look forward to as we age. Thanks!"
"One of my favorite parts of your books is the detailed table of contents...You do such a
nice job of distilling the scientific information into a practical format."
"I consider it a masterpiece on health and fitness and I'm recommending it to all my friends."
"Where your books really stand out above the rest is that you explain it so well that the
reader thinks that he is there with you!"
"Thank you for being one of the most thoughtful, innovative, non-dogmatic sources of
fitness information out there."
"I really appreciated the health chapters in Challenge Yourself, because I often feel that
there is nothing I can do to stave off the genetic legacy of disease. But your example and
also the clinical evidence you present have renewed my hope that I can control the majority
of my physical destiny through the right eating and exercise plans."
What Experts Say:
Challenge Yourself is the 8th book by Clarence Bass, a master of
self-experimentation who also examines research evidence as part of his tireless
search for outstanding fitness and an ultra-lean body. Challenge Yourself is my
favorite of his books. Here he explains his diet, weight training, and aerobic
exercise protocols and provides a rationale for each. Now in his 70s, Bass
continues to amaze with his sub-3% body fat and athletic ability. Never one to
follow fads, Bass adheres to the basics of training and the outcomes speak
volumes. This is a fascinating and inspiring book that covers with clarity the
fundamental principles of fitness.
Joel Minden, Ph.D., CSCS
Departments of Psychology and Kinesiology
California State University, Chico, CA
www.joelminden.com
"In the end, Challenge Yourself succeeds in the
way all good books do: Even after you've put it down, Bass gets you
thinking about your diet, the way you train and even the way you live your
life."
Joe Kissel, Muscle & Fitness magazine book review, May
2000
"A new book by Clarence Bass is a major event in our
field. His work has set the standard of quality since Ripped
was introduced 20 years ago. Given the clarity of writing, the expansive
and prescriptive information and the overall presentation, Clarence's books are
in a class by themselves. With this project he has taken on the daunting
task of producing a book that surpasses his prior works - and he has
succeeded."
Challenge Yourself is a book you should not
miss. It may be the only training book for which the brief description on
the cover truthfully captures its essence: "A guide to intelligent
training by the foremost proponent of the all-around fitness
lifestyle." Read it and, indeed, challenge yourself physically and
intellectually."
Richard A. Winett, Ph.D. Editor and Publisher, The Master Trainer
"With all due respect to Clarence Bass, when I heard that he was about to publish a new
book (his 8th), I thought to myself, "Old wine in new bottles." After all, Clarence is
responsible for writing, to my mind, the definitive texts (the Ripped Series and Lean For
Life) on getting and staying lean. Surely, I thought, "He's got nothing left to say." Well, my
initial reaction couldn't have been more wrong! In his most meticulously researched and
detailed book yet, Challenge Yourself - Leanness,Fitness & Health - At Any Age,
Clarence continues to "deliver the goods."
Kevin Fontaine, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
[Challenge Yourself] is packed with well-thought-out, well researched ideas. Everything
that Clarence says makes perfect sense. If you're an aging baby boomer like me, Clarence
is your guy. You will be inspired."
Joe Dillon, Healthy Lifestyle Corporation, Torrance California
"This book offers sound advice from an accomplished veteran weight trainer who is
committed to helping you succeed in your fitness program. Challenge Yourself is written
in a nurturing, reader-friendly manner that is ideal for the beginner or for someone who has
had difficulty adhering to other programs. Make no mistake -- this work also contains
enough research-supported nutrition and training information that will satisfy even the most
die-hard, experienced trainees. Challenge Yourself has it all, including a history lesson
and rare photographs featuring some classic muscle. But most importantly, Challenge
Yourself offers safe effective advice from a man who knows."
Greg Bradley-Popovich, MS, MS
Exercise Physiologist and Sport Nutritionist
Challenge Yourself Book:
USA shipping only: $20.95 + $9.35 ($30.30) USPS priority shipping;
or $20.95 + 4.60 ($25.55) media shipping; New Mexico
residents must add tax. Please call or write for
instructions WE DO NOT SHIP INTERNATIONALLY.
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS PLEASE SEE AMAZON WHICH CARRIES OUR BOOKS.
If you have questions before ordering, or would like to order this book in
combination with others, please call 1-505-266-5858
or e-mail : Questions about Challenge Yourself
If you are interested in
seeing the prices on all the books offered by our company go to
the ORDERING page