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Sebastopol, CA?You get up in the morning with the shades yanked down, after having collapsed under the covers at some indeterminate time past midnight (which followed hours in front of a computer). Luckily, you'd set the coffee maker on a timer, so a quart of strong joe waits on the kitchen counter. Twelve ounces of that washes down a toasted bagel smeared with extra margarine and jelly, as you're out the door on the way to a 45-minute car or train commute. It's just the beginning of a marathon bout of sitting.

Now, in Fitness for Geek: Real Science, Great Nutrition, and Good Health (O'Reilly Media; May 2, 2012), Bruce Perry explains what cubicle dwellers, home office addicts, and the rest of us tech junkies can do to reverse "chair living," get moving, and eat right. Indeed, Perry doesn't flinch from offering technical or scientific information in Fitness for Geeks. And along with a little homespun wisdom, he gives a provocative look at what we can do to step away from our computers and step into a healthier life.

In Fitness for Geeks, Perry discusses:

• The best times of day to eat and what to eat.
• Why eating carbs before exercising isn't healthy.
• Why you can get a beer belly, even if you don't drink beer.
• The best exercise routines to lose weight, and maintain a healthy weight.
• What two things matter most in keeping a healthy lifestyle.
• How to find your way around the gym, especially the weight room.
• The pros and cons of yoga.
• What apps are the best for exercise, and how to use them.

Bruce W. Perry played college soccer in New York, then amidst a varied career in journalism and software engineering finished literally (ask his knees!) hundreds of road races and multisport events. He's since moved on to family life and recreational alpine hiking, skiing, and resistance training. He has also written two recent software books for O'Reilly Media. After an unguided youth, he now hangs out weightlifting in gyms again, and climbs with guides now, recently Piz Palu in the Swiss Alps, Mt. Whitney's Mountaineer's Route, and Mt. Rainier. Follow his blog at fitnessfg.com.

View Bruce W. Perry's full profile page.