Chasing Excellence: A Story About Building the World's Fittest Athletes


Ben Bergeron - 2017
    He believes that greatness is not for the elite few; that winning is a result, not a goal; and that character, not talent, is what makes a true champion. His powerful philosophy can help anyone excel at all aspects of life. Using the dramatic competition between the top contenders at the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games® as a background, Ben explores the step-by-step process of achieving excellence and the unique set of positive character traits necessary for leveling up to world-class. The mindset and methodology that have produced some of the greatest athletes in the world’s most gruelling sport can work equally well for golfers, lawyers, artists, entrepreneurs—anyone who’s willing to commit totally to becoming better than the best. By Chasing Excellence, you’ll discover how extraordinary it’s possible for you to be.

Make Peace With Your Plate


Jess Ainscough - 2013
    In Make Peace With Your Plate, Jess shares her journey from party-girl and cancer patient to healthy lifestyle ambassador.

Living with a SEAL: 31 Days Training with the Toughest Man on the Planet


Jesse Itzler - 2015
    His life is about being bold and risky. So when Jesse felt himself drifting on autopilot, he hired a rather unconventional trainer to live with him for a month-an accomplished Navy SEAL widely considered to be "the toughest man on the planet"! Living With a Seal is like a buddy movie if it starred the Fresh Prince of Bel- Air. . .and Rambo. Jesse is about as easy-going as you can get. SEAL is. . . not. Jesse and SEAL's escapades soon produce a great friendship, and Jesse gains much more than muscle. At turns hilarious and inspiring, Living With a Seal ultimately shows you the benefits of stepping out of your comfort zone.

Convict Conditioning: Ultimate Bodyweight Training Log


Paul Wade - 2012
    

Nancy Clark's Food Guide for Marathoners: Tips for Everyday Champions


Nancy Clark - 2002
    Clark writes this book from her passion for teaching the everyday champions that we all are how to use food to help achieve our marathon goals. She combines her personal experiences and professional expertise to teach us to eat well and enhance our energy. We learn what, when and how to eat to enjoy not only the process of training for the marathon, but also participating in the marathon itself with energy to spare.

The Poliquin Principles: Successful Methods for Strength and Mass Development


Charles Poliquin - 1997
    Both an exercise program and a reference manual with a ground-breaking new treatise on bodybuilding and strength training.

Own the Day, Own Your Life: Optimised practices for waking, working, learning, eating, training, playing, sleeping and sex


Aubrey Marcus - 2018
    Aubrey Marcus, author of the book is CEO of Onnit, a human performance company that he has built into one of the fastest growing companies in the world.How can we get the most out of our body and mind on a daily basis? Want to change your life for the better?Aubrey Marcus answers these questions in this handbook that guides the reader to optimise each moment of the day. With small, actionable changes implemented throughout the course of one day we can feel better, perform more efficiently and live happier. And these habits turn into weekly routines, ultimately becoming part of a lifelong healthy choice.From workouts and diet to inbox triage, mindfulness, shower temperature and sex this groundbreaking manual provides strategies for each element of your day. Drawing on the latest studies and traditional practices from around the world, this book delivers cutting-edge life hacks, nutritional expertise, brain upgrades and fitness regimes.Own the Day presents a path to change. It guides readers through a single 24-hour day of positive choices and optimal living that will form the groundwork for all their days to come. From foundational elements like workouts, diet, and mindfulness, to more routine opportunities to optimize your choices, such as shower temperature and inbox triage, readers will learn to make the most of every moment.Ultimately, Marcus creates a choose-your-own-adventure guide to living that brings the reader's mind, body, and spirit to life. It is a promise delivered on the back of real, concrete strategies for better living. And the all-encompassing results are what make this book's simplistic approach so successful. By focusing on optimal decision making for just one day —by making several small, key changes in your daily approach—you end up addressing your health at every level. And owning your day.

Triathlons for Women


Sally Edwards - 2000
    The book also explores overtraining, mental preparation, and time management. This revised edition includes a new chapter on transition training and equipment.

Deeply Holistic: A Guide to Intuitive Self-Care


Pip Waller - 2017
    Following the traditional framework of an anatomy book that explains each body system chapter-by-chapter, Pip Waller-an experienced practitioner and teacher-provides fundamental information and tips about exercise, diet, supplements, understanding and caring for your emotional and mental health, naturopathic principles from various traditions, and simple yet effective ways of working with spiritual energy. Based on the premise that an underlying vital force animates all life, which needs to be in balance for health to be fully present, this book is designed to support and promote our inherent tendency towards wholeness and equilibrium. Each chapter includes fun recipes to enhance our health and well-being.

Not Your Average 5K: A Practical 8-Week Training Plan for Beginning Runners


Jill Angie - 2015
    Building on the concepts taught in the best-selling book Running With Curves, Why You're Not Too Fat to Run and the Skinny on How to Start Today, Jill Angie gives you everything you need to finish your first race—and feel great about it—including a step-by-step training plan that takes into account all the challenges of being an overweight athlete in a size-six world.Where other training plans fail you, this book steps in and gets you to the finish line with ease, bringing out your inner runner girl and showing you that you're capable of so much more than you ever thought possible.This book is for anyone who wants to complete their first 5K. That means you don’t even have to be a runner right now. As long as you can walk for 3 miles, you will be able to do a 5K in two months. I promise. Also, this book is designed to train you to finish that 5K in a way that feels good to you, both mentally and physically. That means you can walk, run, skip, or even disco dance your way across the finish line. Now, if you’ve already done a 5K (or two… or five), this doesn’t mean you won’t get anything out of this book. Just the opposite, in fact. There is a truckload of helpful information here that will help you take your 5K performance to the next level.Praise for Not Your Average 5KJill Angie has created a 5K training plan that not only gets you to the finish line but addresses the #1 reason that many new (and experienced) runners face when taking on new challenges. Mindset. In this easy to follow program, Jill walks you through exactly what to do, when to do it, and how to get rid of self doubt, fear and anxiety known as your "inner mean girl" so that you finish strong, confident, and proud. Whether you struggle with the physical aspects, mental aspects, both or neither, this guide will have you totally prepared on race day. —Steve Carmichael, running coach and host of The RunBuzz podcast, www.RunBuzz.com"Not Your Average 5K is a highly readable and engaging book that will have you BELIEVING you can do a 5K in eight weeks and provides a roadmap with plans to accomplish it. It is authentic, thorough, and motivational from start to finish! We highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to do their first 5K." —Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano of Run The Edge, www.RunTheEdge.com

Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running: The Best Advice to Get Started, Stay Motivated, Lose Weight, Run Injury-Free, Be Safe, and Train for Any Distance


Dagny Scott Barrios - 2000
    Listen to their quiet breaths as they talk in predawn pairs, before the rest of the family wakes-- the lessons and questions they share to the rhythm of steady footsteps. 'I never thought I could...' 'I feel so much stronger...' 'I'm ready to take on a new challenge...'Women develop a special sorority on the roads. This bond is an understanding based on acceptance, an appreciation of how far they have come, a knowing wink that says how much is yet to be gained. And so they talk and share and grow-- and run. Singly and in groups, swiftly and slowly, they run."--Dagny ScottChoose the best clothes and accessories * Lose weight permanently * Train for any race, from a 5-K to a marathon * Run through Menopause * Be safe wherever you run * Deal with self-consciousness and body image * Prevent and treat injuries * Run during pregnancy * Eat for maximum energy

The Athlete's Guide to Recovery: Rest, Relax, and Restore for Peak Performance


Sage Rountree - 2011
    Hard workouts tear down the body, but rest allows the body to repair and come back stronger than before.The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery is the first comprehensive, practical exploration of the art and science of athletic rest. Certified cycling, triathlon, and running coach and yoga instructor Sage Rountree guides you to full recovery and improved performance, exploring how much rest athletes need, how to measure fatigue, and how to make the best use of recovery tools.Drawing on her own experience along with interviews with coaches, trainers, and elite athletes, Rountree details daily recovery techniques, demystifying common aids like ice baths, compression apparel, and supplements. She explains in detail how to employ restorative practices such as massage, meditation, and yoga. You will learn which methods work best and how and when they are most effective.Recovery is critical to performance gains. The Athlete’s Guide to Recovery offers recovery plans that target various training and race distances, in events from short distance bike races to ultramarathons, as well as examining recovery between seasons.This invaluable resource will enable you to maintain that hard-to-find balance between rigorous training and rest so that you can feel great and compete at your highest capability.

Running the Edge: Discover the secrets to better running and a better life


Adam Goucher - 2011
    By tapping into the transformative power found in the distance run, Running the Edge inspires readers not only to push their limits as runners, but as human beings in a relentless pursuit of excellence in everything. Borrowing from philosophical notions ranging from humanistic psychology and Buddhist monks, all the way to adrenaline junkies, Alcoholics Anonymous, and even the World of Warcraft, Goucher and Catalano take readers on a pilgrimage of self discovery and personal improvement. Six mirrors guide the way as Running the Edge methodically leads readers to a heightened awareness of their own personal attributes, and compels them to break free from the curse of normal and the chains of average by "running the edge" towards their maximum potentials. Interlaced with rich storytelling along with personal insights offered from elite runners: Alan Webb, Amy Yoder Begley, Chris Solinsky, Dathan Ritzenhein, Galen Rupp, Kara Goucher, and Paula Radcliffe, the book reads at a brisk pace worthy of its subject matter. Although there is a sharp focus on running, the principals and tenets outlined in Running the Edge could be equally applied to almost any passionate pursuit in life. Even non- runners will find the stories and philosophies enlightening, uplifting, and motivating.Fans of the book Running With The Buffaloes by Chris Lear will find an older more introspective Adam Goucher. He pulls no punches as he draws on his faults and short comings both as a runner and as a person. He recognizes the mistakes he has made in his training and life and uses that awareness to propel him forward in a quest of self improvement.

Strength Rules: How to Get Stronger Than Almost Anyone--And The Proven Plan to Make It Real


Danny Kavadlo - 2015
    Want to get classically strong--in every dimension of your life--gut, heart and mind…? In other words, do you want to be: More than just gym-strong? More than just functionally strong? More than just sport-specifically strong? Do you demand instead to be: Tensile Strong? Versatile Strong? Pound-for-Pound Strong? The Ultimate Physical Dynamo? A Mental Powerhouse? Then welcome to Danny’s World… the world of Strength Rules--where you can stand tall on a rock-solid foundation of classic strength principles…Arm-in-arm with a world leader in the modern calisthenics movement…Then… with Danny as your constant guide, grow taller and ever-stronger--in all aspects of your life and being--with a Master Blueprint of progressive calisthenic training where the sky’s the limit on your possible progress…Do Danny’s classical Strength Rules--and, for sure, you can own the keys to the strength kingdom… “I have been waiting for a book to be written on strength training that I can recommend to all of my patients, and Danny Kavadlo has delivered with Strength Rules. Danny has written a stripped down approach to strength that is accessible to everyone. He has distilled his wealth of knowledge and experience in coaching and bodyweight strength training into a program that is cohesive, scalable, and instantly applicable to all comers. He has also added a rock solid approach to nutrition and ample doses of inspirational story telling and philosophy, resulting in the gem that is Strength Rules. I dare anyone to read this book and still give me an excuse why they can’t strengthen their body and improve their health. No excuses. Get the book and get to work!”--DR. CHRISTOPHER HARDY, author of Strong Medicine “Strength Rules is one of the finest books on strength I've ever read. No ifs, ands or buts. Not just ‘bodyweight strength’--strength, period. If you want to learn how to unleash ferocious strength and power while also improving your health and ridding yourself of extra fat and joint pain, THIS is the book you need to own. If you are a bodyweight master, this is the bible you will want to go back to again and again, to keep you on the straight and narrow. If you are raw beginner--then get this book right now, follow the rules, and save yourself years of wasted effort! Strength Rules is as good as it gets!--PAUL WADE, author of Convict Conditioning Almost every strength exercise comes down to the basics. Essentially, Squat, Push and Pull. These three broad, essential movements are the granddaddies of ‘em all. Throw in some Flexion, Transverse Bends and Extension, and you’ve got yourself the tools for a lifetime of full body strength training. That’s why the exercises contained in Strength Rules are divided into these few, broad categories. Everything else is a variation. There is no reason to overcomplicate it. The Strength Rules mission is to help anybody and everybody get in the best shape of their lives Strength Rules lays out the truth clearly and succinctly, giving you the tools you need to grow stronger and persevere in this mad world—with your head held high and your body lean and powerful… The exercise portion of Strength Rules (titled ACTIONS) is split into three levels: Basic Training (Starting Out), Beast Mode (Classic Strength) and Like A Boss (Advanced Moves). Naturally, not everyone will fall 100% into one of these groups for all exercises in all categories and that’s fine. “Strength Rules by Danny Kavadlo is so good you can’t ignore it. It’s minimalistic. It’s low tech. It’s simple. It’s right.

Get Your Mind Right: 10 Keys to Unlock Your Potential and Ignite Your Success


Todd Durkin - 2020
    But that's only half the battle. A crucial aspect of creating any kind of success--whether in business, sports, health, or relationships--is having the right mind-set.In Get Your Mind Right, this world-class performance coach shares his top 10 principles to inspire you to find motivation, work hard, grow in your faith, think like a champion, and be the very best version of yourself, including- your thoughts ultimately determine your life and legacy- attack your fears instead of running away from them- habits will make or break you- master your time, energy, and focus- eat to get your mind right- recover like a champion- live a life worth telling a story about- and moreIf you're ready to start taking on your challenges with confidence, it's time to get your mind right!