Yoga Fitness for Men: Build Strength, Improve Performance, and Increase Flexibility Paperback – Illustrated, May 8, 2018

Review Yoga Fitness for MenYoga Fitness for Men by Dean Pohlman is one fantastic book. This is the first day of publication. I received my pre-ordered copy. I was so impressed that the book jumped 25 other books in line to be read. I reviewed each and every page of the 190 page book.Dean dispels several myths and then presents a very reasonable approach to using yoga for athletic, for body repair, for strengthening. Dean presents 55 poses, 25 workouts and 3 programs 2 for 12 weeks and one for 16 weeks.Each of the 55 poses is presented on facing pages with starting posture or pose with complete detailed instructions, pro tips, if you can’t quite reach the full pose, text bubbles on the large well images that present the pose very very well. The only thing better would be to be in a class with Dean correcting your pose.Each workout is on one or two facing pages with small images from the pose presentation and instruction.Each workout is listed with references back to the workouts.Dean himself is the model for all the many images in the book. Dean displays each and every pose in good detail, with easily followed directions.The formatting and layout is superb. The images are all superb.And I only saw one Sanskrit word in the whole book. Dean does mention the “spiritual” aspects as possible, then just does not ever refer to them again. There is no music, no chanting, no prolonged holding of hands in prayer position.A purist could argue with the English names of the poses, the choice of poses, and the emphasis on athleticism and posture and body repair.I highly recommend this book for all men with even a passing interest in doing yoga, as this makes yoga accessible to men of all ages. This is a fitness centric book doing exactly what it claims, “to get [men] stronger, improve mobility, and prevent injury.”

As a physical therapist, part of my job includes home or gym exercise regimens that my patients can follow seamlessly and most importantly, incorporate into their daily lives. Yoga is one of them. In fact, there are certain poses I recommend on a daily basis. One thing I explain to busy folks - it does not have to be a full routine. You can absolutely pick certain poses you like and do what works for you!Dean Pohlman does exactly that in this book. He simplifies the techniques with stunning easy to follow high quality photos using a step-by-step approach that goes straight into the details of the exercises. He provides logical and easy to understand instructions including: “what you feel” and “what you shouldn’t feel”. The introduction is quite short and then dives into individual routines almost immediately. These routines are categorized into positions while doing the poses: standing, kneeling, balance, seated, front-lying, and back-lying.The second part of the book is quite useful as it provides workouts to follow. This is great for those who simply want to open the book, pick a goal for the day and then just follow the list. A great example is stiff neck relief - which starts from a progressive mobility drill on the thoracic and lumbar spine and included arm/shoulder movements as well as core work. There are also balance, restorative and strengthening programs that are easy to follow. Last but not the least, you can pick your difficulty, and even body region: shoulder, ankle, hip, etc.One tip I would give since it is hard to keep the actual book open when you’re trying to follow the techniques is take a photo of the routine and use your phone or iPad as a way to follow through the routine. Or get the kindle version and you can view it using the kindle app and then follow along the routines. Take a snapshot of your fave routine and you’re set! I see a spring bound version in the future!

This well thought out guide is both instructional and motivational. I bought both the paperback and Kindle versions, finding benefits of both that I outline below.For years I’ve purchased other yoga books and videos, and ‘Yoga Fitness for Men’ is the best guide I’ve found that shows how to complete 55 yoga postures in a simple, yet comprehensive manner. The author, Dean Pohlman, provides tips on how to benefit from the posture if you’re “Not There Yet,” that is, not as flexible as you’d like to be. He’s also the model in the book, so he demonstrates he can “walk the talk.”The GENIUS of the book are the 25 workouts and the 3 programs in the final third of the book. I know basic postures, but I’m always at a loss how to logically string them together into a workout, transitioning from one to the next. This part of the book solves this problem for me. Small pictures of the postures are laid out like a filmstrip to comprise a workout (see an example in the picture). To complete the workout you simply move from one posture for the next; he even has recommendations on how long to hold the pose. The workouts are of varied lengths with the shortest at 7 postures, the longest approaching 30. With with this variety it’s easy to find a workout to fit your daily schedule.Both the paperback and Kindle versions are easy to use when focusing on a posture. The power of the Kindle is when following the workouts you can tap the picture to jump back to the posture instruction if you want to review Pohlman’s tips for max benefits; as you’d expect, there is a back button to get back to the workout for the next posture. You can flip back and forth easily in the book too since the page number of the posture is printed on the posture picture in the workout as a quick reference. It’s obvious much thought and planning went into this book.Even though I’m a life long runner (almost 40 years on the road), I don’t consider myself an athlete, but found the author’s athletic background and approach motivating. By focusing on the correct way to perform these postures I have more flexibility and strength in my hips, legs, and core for a more powerful stride with increased stamina. I guess I’m living up to the book’s subtitle, “Build Strength,” “Improve Performance” and “Increase Flexibility.”I’m looking forward to the author’s next endeavor!Women should use this book too.