"You're only as old as your spine." --Joseph Pilates Have years of office work wreaked havoc on your posture Has your upper back taken on a slumped, rounded look Do you appear or feel older than your age Or do you carry yourself in a manner that expresses balance, confidence, and high performance to everyone around you Over recent years, Pilates has become a popular exercise program, especially among women. Many books on the subject have been published with lithe female bodies stretched across their covers. Daniel Lyon aims to break the preconception that Pilates only benefits and appeals to women. "This couldn't be further from the truth," he asserts. "Joseph Pilates was a cigar-smoking boxer, acrobat and gymnast, and he developed his exercise program from that background for men first." Lyon's book is designed specifically with men in mind, at a time when the number of male Pilates practitioners has rocketed to about three million and will likely continue to grow at an exponential rate. For athletes, working stiffs who rarely exercise, and men recovering from injuries, Pilates for Men offers an inspiring do-it-yourself program that adapts to all experience levels and requires nothing more than floor space, an exercise mat, and the desire to look and feel your best.

Lyon walks you through forty "traditional mat" and sixty-plus "reformer on the mat" exercises, each one brilliantly illustrated and accompanied by inspiring, easy-to-follow instructions. Pilates focuses first and foremost on connecting the strongest parts of the body, or the "powerhouse"--Joseph Pilates' term for the abdominal muscles, hips, lower back muscles, and the buttocks. All other body parts branch out from this core. While the Pilates philosophy applies to both men and women, Lyon has tailored his program to target trouble spots for men and help them achieve a strong, lean, masculine aesthetic. Men tend to have more body strength, but less integrated strength or flexibility than women; they tend to be tighter in the shoulders, back, legs, and throughout the hips. Following the six principles of Pilates--control, center, concentration, precision, flow, and breath--Lyon offers a straightforward, time-efficient program that has proven to make men fitter, healthier, sexier, and altogether more confident. Pilates for Men will appeal to any man who believes in self-empowerment and seeks a competitive edge in all aspects of his life.