A 4-step guide to better health

Yes, the very fit woman lifting a kettle ball on the book's cover is author Dr. Vonda Wright -- a practicing orthopedic surgeon, frequent TV expert and author of "Fitness After 40" -- not a model. But you can be more like her if you adopt her "four practical steps for thriving: A Vision, Action, Attitude and Achieve." If you do, in six months, you can improve your health -- and thrive, she says.

Photos of Wright and a hunky middle-age man clearly demonstrate exercises you can do at home, but you might want to ask a trainer if you're doing them right. She also offers tips on everything from nutrition to brain sharpeners.

"Did you know that there are 33 chronic diseases whose severity is diminished by a mere 30 minutes of exercise a day?" she writes.