TBR Pile Review: Train Happy – An Intuitive Exercise Plan For Every Body, by Tally Rye

Blurb

Let go of the ‘exercise rules’ and learn to love working out and moving your body in a multitude of ways! 

Personal Trainer and Broadcaster Tally Rye is on a mission to change the way we think about exercise, encouraging you to approach it with a mindset of self-care rather than the traditional self-punishment narrative. Gain knowledge and tools that enable you to navigate your path to a health first, holistic approach to fitness which includes insights from leading experts in body image, mental health and intuitive eating.

As you read, you will discover the wonderful physical and mental health benefits of regular activity and then start to feel their effects as you follow Tally’s 10-week training plan. The plan is designed to slot into your life in a sustainable and flexible way, providing resistance workouts, bodyweight workouts and weekly challenges to keep mixing it up which can all be done in the comfort of your own home.

My Review

I’m ambivalent about this book.

If you’ve never heard of intuitive eating then it’s a good introduction and the extension of the concept to exercise is interesting and quite well explained. There’s a lot of interviews with experts on different subjects related to the main thrust of the book. I liked the use of diverse body types in the illustrations and in the pictures for the exercise plan. It’s encouraging to those of us who will never look like a fitspo influencer.

On the other hand, that exercise plan is not ‘for every body’. I’m not exactly as fit as I used to be, but even when I was really fit, I would have struggled to get into the first week of the plan. Too much equipment needed, too much time. The author falls into the trap of assuming everyone has time for multiple work out sessions a week, has the space to work out or the money for the equipment or a gym membership. And don’t get me started on the complete lack of adaption for people with limited mobility. At the same time she mentioned the inequities of the current paradigm of the fitness and diet industries.

It’s a good introduction to the ideas of body neutrality, weight neutral movement and their benefits for mental and physical health, but I wouldn’t try the exercise plan unless you already have a reasonable level of fitness.