Cassey Ho's Hot Body Year-Round

January 5, 2015
Certified Pilates instructor Ho, best known for her energetic YouTube Blogilates videos, offers a gorgeously laid-out exercise and diet regimen that aligns with nature’s calendar. Ho sets the tone when she warns that side effects of her Pop Pilates system, which combines traditional Pilates and intensive mat exercises, “include smiling, laughter, and happiness.” Part One discusses diet (lean, grass-fed meats and wild-caught fish, whole grains, and no soda or animal fat), rules for drinking water, and the “importance of a strong core.” Part Two, the bulk of the book, offers spring, summer, fall, and winter sections, each beginning with the season’s Pop Pilates “moves,” followed by its “eats,” which include a cute in-season grocery list, delectably photographed recipes, and a sample seven-day meal plan. Every workout, meanwhile, is accompanied by a large photograph of the always-grinning Ho demonstrating the move, with a seasonally appropriate backdrop: the summer section features Ho on a beach; for winter, she’s seen near what appear to be the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Ho’s relentless cheeriness, contrasted with the book’s Spartan recipes (“vegan French toast,” “egg(less) salad sandwich”), may prove tough to swallow for some, but her book, aimed squarely at women, will undoubtedly appeal to her existing fans and to dedicated readers of health and lifestyle magazines. Agent: Will Hobbs, CAA.