The Vail Method
Getting Better Not Just Older
The Vail Method’s actionable fitness advice will help audiences physically improve with age.
Matthew Ehrlich’s prescriptive health book The Vail Method concentrates on optimizing health and athletic performance during the aging process.
With advice on nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and personal well-being, the book puts the weight of its work on those looking to shave minutes off of their marathon times, or perhaps to maintain their athletic performances, into their forties and beyond.
The opening chapter is written with a general audience in mind. It is engaging, sharing common complaints about aging. Still, it takes away from the book’s main focus, which is on helping those with healthy lifestyles calibrate and optimize their plans. The following chapter concentrates on outdoor exercise opportunities in Vail, Colorado; it includes insightful examples of active lifestyles, but is more location-specific than the information and advice that follows.
Much of the book’s helpful advice focuses on following a plant-based diet that’s designed to meet the nutritional needs of athletic people. It includes an accessible overview of recommended resources, including classic texts like Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease and the documentary “Forks Over Knives.” Specific recommendations regarding getting the nutrients needed for endurance exercise bolster this preceding material.
Personal examples from Ehrlich’s eating plan are included, with photographs of portion sizes and foods that pack a protein punch. Such illustrations are helpful, showing that people committed to plant-based eating need more than a sprinkle of quinoa or garbanzo beans if they want to follow a rigorous exercise regimen. It dispels concerns about not getting enough protein and gives devotees the green light to occasionally break the rules without guilt.
Photographs and graphs are also used to show how fitness routines can be optimized, illustrating interesting information about athletic performance in an accessible way. Prioritizing straightforward text over medical jargon, the book’s case for a heart-rate-based training program focused on building endurance becomes clear. Connected advice would be easy for anyone who wears a fitness tracker to follow.
Combining a consistent cardio routine with stretches and strength-building exercises for runners and bikers, this is a book that flows well. It illustrates form where necessary and will be especially useful to those who already know their way around a gym. The Vail Method’s actionable fitness advice will help audiences improve their health, maintain dietary discipline, and design workout routines that will lead to improvement with age.
Reviewed by
Charlene Oldham
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
