If you purchase a BX Plan book don’t forget to leave us a review. You can simply leave feedback on Amazon or send us an with your thoughts and comments. Here’s what some of our customers have said about the women’s Plan.
“I tried Helen Mirren’s 12-minute-a-day workout and this is what happened.”
Before beginning my two-week stint, I had been living an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, hunched over my computer and cooped up on the Tube – not dissimilar, I suppose, to an Air Force pilot confined to a cockpit. Before beginning my two-week stint, I had been living an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, hunched over my computer and cooped up on the Tube – not dissimilar, I suppose, to an Air Force pilot confined to a cockpit.
But still, I scoffed at first. Arm circles? Too easy. Lateral bends? Sure. A plank? No problem. Jogging on the spot? Hopping on one leg? Simple. But to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’d been dreading the onslaught of January, all those smug fitness fanatics with their selfies and New Year resolutions, harping on about Dry January. But doing just 12 minutes a day for two weeks has made me feel fitter than ever.
Mirren admits that she hasn’t maintained a fitness regime consistently throughout her life (good news for us mere mortals), but says she always kicks off a renewed bout of good health with this.
On its own, the 12 minutes doesn’t give me quite enough of an endorphin boost – but now that it’s in my repertoire I’ve enjoyed incorporating it into other activities: as a warm-up or as an extra to do when I get home after going for a jog. And I prefer doing it to music, rather than in silence, but it can be done either way.
I prefer doing 12 minutes in the morning ready for the day ahead, but I’ve occasionally managed to rouse myself from the sofa to do it in front of the TV after work. I get bored easily, so I’ve added variations over time: using two legs instead of one for the leg raising exercise, and then introducing a small dumbbell between my feet.
Even a little exercise makes me feel better than absolutely none, a habit I’d slipped into before the new year. And the sense of achievement at completing such a seemingly small feat plays tricks on the lazy voice in my head, the one that can’t be bothered and feels like it has a mountain to climb.
After all, if I can be proactive enough to do 12-minutes a day, what’s to stop me from doing more? It worked wonders for my confidence and my lifelong foe, ‘ gymhibition ‘ – that irrational, unhelpful fear of looking stupid while working out.
As Helen Mirren said herself: It has nothing to do with clothing or makeup. Just put your shoulders back and chin up, and face the world with pride .
By Madeleine Howell, Telegraph journalist, 1 February 2019
“Good Book”
Small book and easy to follow. No equipment or gym membership needed.
By Mandy M, 27 April 2017
“Muffin-top also much better. The beauty of this is it was designed…”
My parents and some of their friends used this and I have too since from my mid-20s (now nearly 50). 2 weeks of exercises is enough to remove back pain for months. Muffin-top also much better. My parents and some of their friends used this and I have too since from my mid-20s (now nearly 50). 2 weeks of exercises is enough to remove back pain for months. Muffin-top also much better. The beauty of this is it was designed to have maximum effect with minimum effort (quick, no equipment needed, gradual build-up making it easy to maintain) on basis of studies of new recruits during wartime. No gimmicks, a great book. This edition, sadly, goes for a modern-lifestyle-text and doesn’t tell you the compelling background of the exercises. However, it is clear and easy to use! This is not high aerobic but brings you to a good level of muscle-tone, suppleness and ready (aerobically) to improve quickly if you want to go further.
By Glasgowgirl, 26 June 2017
“just get fit”
Perfect, used this routine years ago and it really does increase your fitness.
By Amazon Customer, 5 April 2016
” “This book is an ideal choice for any woman with limited time but a desire to be fitter and healthier””
“PHYSICAL FITNESS: 12-Minute Plan for Women” is a guide aimed to help women with busy schedules, not-gym-friendly budgets, or a general lack of motivation to get in shape, stay in shape, and look in shape. “PHYSICAL FITNESS: 12-Minute Plan for Women” is a guide aimed to help women with busy schedules, not-gym-friendly budgets, or a general lack of motivation to get in shape, stay in shape, and look in shape. It has tips on how to make working-out a part of your daily life, and fun, conversation explanations to back up the reasoning behind each part of the regimen. As a plus, the majority of the book is detailed, step-by-step guides on each aspect of the workout regimen, with easy-to-follow pictures on all the techniques, such push-ups and leg overs (I had no idea what “leg overs” were, so that was really nice.) I’ve read exercise books before. Every time I look in the mirror and notice that “toned” isn’t exactly what I’d call myself, I read them all again. But let’s be honest, after I’ve worked a long day, or a margarita calls me more than a treadmill, what I really don’t want to do is 30 minutes of running or 15 minutes of sit-ups. Nobody does. It’s so unappealing that I say the one thing we all say: “I’ll do it later.” When I read the title of this book and it said I’d be able to work out all the key parts of my body in 12 minutes – again, I was waiting for the catch. I read a companion to this book, FIT KIDS, which was centered on children between seven and seventeen years of age, and wondered the same. I was pleasantly surprised that the only catch in that book was sticking to the routine, and even though I’m beyond the target age group, I picked up that regimen with my kiddos. But what works for a seventeen-year-old girl isn’t going to have the same effect on an adult woman, and that’s the sneaking suspicion that made me pick up this book.
Once again, I’m pleasantly surprised that there are no “upgrades” to the time. It really is just 12 minutes out of your day. And it’s not 12 minutes of a 10 mile run – it’s scalable to fit my current fitness level, and works out my whole body.
And “whole body” really is the keyword here, because exercise routines I tried in the past seemed to focus mainly on building muscle. As a woman with a desk job, what worries me isn’t just my muscle tone – it’s my body reminding me, “Hey, I was supposed to hunt tigers a few thousand years ago; you haven’t moved your butt all day!” This workout is broad and focuses on more than my abs or legs, which my back is grateful for after a long day.
By drangelmedicinewoman, 26 july 2016
“What I Liked Especially”
I really liked this book’s conversational but authoritative writing style. Usually a workout book places itself in an ivory tower and then tells the rest of us how we’re doing it all wrong. “If you’d knock it off with the donuts, you’d feel better!” But this one feels like it was written by an actual person who actually likes Cheetos as much as I do,
I really liked this book’s conversational but authoritative writing style. Usually a workout book places itself in an ivory tower and then tells the rest of us how we’re doing it all wrong. “If you’d knock it off with the donuts, you’d feel better!” But this one feels like it was written by an actual person who actually likes Cheetos as much as I do, but doesn’t want the backache or the dread of bikini season, like I do.
One line I really liked was: “We have all heard about ‘the burn’, or exercising until it hurts. What nonsense. Pain is not necessary in order to get fit.” This is something I’ve never heard in any exercise advice – and it was followed with practical, manageable tips on how to make my workout feel thorough without also feeling like I’ve been chain smoking for 90 years.
It got to the point
It isn’t so much a “workout book” as a brief but interesting introduction explaining the principals behind the workout plan, and then a reference guide to a regimen. It didn’t take time to make me feel fat and irresponsible about my life choices, only to give me a few quick tips on what to do. The value was clearly to keep this book on my coffee table so I could quickly skim over it to remember what my workout schedule was – and then actually work out. The plan is about saving time, and even the book itself saved me time.
It was scalable
The only thing I hate more than hitting the ground running with a workout regimen is starting at the kiddy stage and feeling like I’m wasting my time until I get far enough ahead to make a difference. This book lays out the facts as they are and gives you enough credit to find your place on the chart. I started at the first stage, and in a few days, was already another five forward until I felt I’d reached “my level”. Better yet, since I can see how many more stages there are, I have a manageable goal to reach and I know I can keep upgrading, without being “cut loose” as some workout books do so that I’m encouraged to buy the next one. This gave me all I needed right off the bat, even with a schedule so I could monitor my progress.
It was all-encompassing
When I was still waiting for the catch in this “12-minute plan”, it mentioned warm-ups and I figured, “Yep, that’s where it is. A 12-minute workout plus another 12 minutes of warm-ups.” If I wanted to commit to more time, I would have already. But that’s the thing – the workout includes the warmups automatically, still making it 12 minutes even in total. I really liked this part because it made the whole system feel trustworthy. This book is already looking out for my health and endurance, knew I wouldn’t want to commit to more, and made sure I got the most out of my 12 minutes.
All-in-all: I recommend this as a guidebook that is easy to commit to, actually effective, and worth picking up if you’re a woman who wants to get in shape or just feel better without sectioning off huge portions to your day. I’m really glad I decided to give this a shot – now I can work out with my kids without feeling like I’m only getting half the results.
Read Less…
By Jenny B, 16 July 2016
“Best (and simplest) exercise regime ever”
Years ago I came across the best exercise book ever, The Royal Canadian Air Force XBX Plan for Physical Fitness for Women. My copy disappeared and I was never able to replace it since the original was out of print. This book reproduces that plan with clear instructions and pictures.
Cannot recommend it highly enough.
By Shas, 1 September 2015
“Five Stars”
Great Book
By Jane Cooper, 14 December 2015
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