The Well-Built Triathlete: Turning Potential into Performance


Matt Dixon - 2014
    Dixon details the four pillars of performance that form the foundation of his highly successful purplepatch fitness program, showing triathletes of all abilities how they can become well-built triathletes and perform better year after year. The Well-Built Triathlete does not focus narrowly on workouts and training, but instead gives equal weight to training and workouts, recovery and rest, workout and daily nutrition, and functional strength and mobility. Dixon considers the demands of career and family to prepare athletes to achieve their goals through a realistic, practical ecosystem of stress and recovery. The Well-Built Triathlete is Dixon’s guide to every aspect of triathlon performance. Chapters on swimming, cycling, and running explain the most effective ways to train for each. His pragmatic approach to stretching, recovery, and effective strength training shows athletes where they can recover valuable time. A purplepatch section shows how triathletes can achieve long streaks of high performance. Dixon’s whole-athlete approach to triathlon will help triathletes become greater than the sum of their workouts. By becoming better all-around athletes, well-built triathletes will train and race faster than ever.

Swimming Anatomy


Ian McLeod - 2009
     "Swimming Anatomy" includes 74 of the most effective swimming exercises, each with step-by-step descriptions and full-color anatomical illustrations highlighting the primary muscles in action. "Swimming Anatomy" goes beyond exercises by placing you on the starting block, in the water, and into the throes of competition. Illustrations of the active muscles for starts, turns, and the four competitive strokes (freestyle, breaststroke, butterfly, and backstroke) show you how each exercise is fundamentally linked to swimming performance. You'll also learn how exercises can be modified to target specific areas, improve your form in the water, and minimize common swimming injuries. Best of all, you'll learn how to put it all together to develop a training program based on your individual needs and goals. Whether you are training for a 50-meter freestyle race or the open-water stage of a triathlon, "Swimming Anatomy" will ensure you enter the water prepared to achieve every performance goal.

Breatheology


Stig Åvall Severinsen - 2009
    All factors which have a strong direct effect on your daily health and longevity.Get updated on the newest training techniques from sports and modern science and travel back to ancient India to enjoy their holistic philosophy of life.Whether you wish to perform better in sports, corporate life, recover from illness or improve your stress tolerance in a hectic everyday life – the concept of breathology will guide you in the right direction.

Chasing Kona: From back of the pack smoker to racing the Ironman World Championships in Kona


Rob Cummins - 2017
    There was some sort of bike race on and I half watched while lighting another cigarette off the butt of my last one for a minute before switching channels again. Just as I hit the button on the remote the commentator mentioned something about the athletes swimming before and running afterwards as well as racing the bike. I thought he said something about the run being a marathon but that couldn't be right. This sparked my interest and I switched back, but he was talking about something else so I waited for him to get around to describing exactly what this race was. I didn't have long to wait as he said they first did a 2.5 mile swim, then 112 miles on the bike all topped of with running a marathon. I was stunned. I didn't think that would be physicially possible and as I lit another cigarette I wondered how many days did they have to do it. I guessed it would have to be three days. Swim the first day, bike the second and run the third but it still sounded like a crazy thing to do. Then he said that they did it all in the one day, one after another without stopping. I was completely incredulous. And hooked. I remained glued to the TV and learned that these bronzed, muscular Greek God looking athletes weren't all professionals either. There was an amateur or "age group" race as well Although I could hardly tell the difference between the pros and amateurs. They all looked unbelievably fit. As I sat there mesmerised I swore to myself that I'd race there someday. I'd stop smoking and drinking and somehow do "The Ironman" At the time I had no idea what that meant or how I would do it and after a while as things have a way of doing I got busy with life and I forgot all about The Ironman and Hawaii. I forgot until several years later when I had actually given up smoking and had taken up triathlon. It had taken me two years and sixteen races of swimming breast stroke before I learned to swim properly. I never once looked even remotely like Kona material but I wanted to have a go at doing an Ironman. It took another three years before I plucked up the courage and lined up for my first one in Nice, France. I finished in the last quarter of the field, hours behind the athletes racing for those precious Kona slots. Nothing I had done up to then had given any indication that I should have had a reason to believe I had a chance at qualifying, but three years later when I asked Aisling, my wife if she thought it was possible she immediately said yes and then she added let's do it. Aisling's belief in me started us on a journey that led to me treading water on the most iconic start line in triathlon, waiting for the cannon to fire at the start of the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. This is how we overcame all of the odds and discovered what it would take to get to the Ironman World Championships. This is our Kona story.

Just Ride: A Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike


Grant Petersen - 2012
    Forget the ultralight, uncomfortable bikes, flashy jerseys, clunky shoes that clip onto tiny pedals, the grinding out of endless miles. Instead, ride like you did when you were a kid—just get on your bike and discover the pure joy of riding it.   A reformed racer who’s commuted by bike every day since 1980, whose writings and opinions appear in major bicycling and outdoor magazines, and whose company, Rivendell Bicycle Works, makes bikes for riders ready to opt out of a culture overrun by racing, Grant Petersen shares a lifetime of unexpected facts, controversial opinions, expert techniques, and his own maverick philosophy. In 87 short, two-to-three page chapters, it covers:Riding: Count Days, Not Miles; Corner Like Jackie Robinson; Steer with Your Hips, Shift with Your LegsSuiting Up: The Shoes Ruse; Ponchos—the Ultimate Unracer’s GarmentSafety: #1 Rule—Be Seen; Helmets Aren’t All They’re Cracked Up to BeHealth and Fitness: Why Riding Is Lousy All-Around Exercise; Saddles Don’t Cause Impotence; Drink When You’re Thirsty—Not Before Also includes chapters on Accessories, Upkeep, and Technicalities, and a final chapter titled “Velosophy” that includes the essential, memorable thought: Your Bike Is a Toy—Have Fun with It.

Stretching Anatomy


Arnold G. Nelson - 2006
    Expanded, enhanced, and updated, the best-selling "Stretching Anatomy" returns to show you how to increase range of motion, supplement training, enhance recovery, and maximize efficiency of movement. You'll also gain a detailed understanding of how each stretch affects your body."Stretching Anatomy, Second Edition," is like having an X-ray of each stretch, only better. Not only do you see full-color illustrations of the muscles in action, but you also see how a change in position can alter the muscle emphasis and difficulty and how variations can improve safety and effectiveness. A new Stretch Focus section details the procedure and benefits of every exercise as well as safety considerations and variations according to skill level.Each exercise describes how to stretch, when to stretch, primary and secondary muscle emphasis, and which muscles are activated for support. Stretching programs provide three levels of difficulty, including light stretching that can be used to aid in recovery from soreness and injury. A new chapter on dynamic stretches covers the most effective exercises for athletic warm-ups, while another chapter shows you how to customize a program based on your individual needs, including a program of passive static stretches proven to help lower blood glucose.Whether you seek increased flexibility, better athletic performance, or reduced muscle soreness and tension, "Stretching Anatomy" is your visual guide to proper stretching technique.

A Mind of Your Own: The Truth About Depression and How Women Can Heal Their Bodies to Reclaim Their Lives


Kelly Brogan - 2016
    It is a symptom.Recent years have seen a shocking increase in antidepressant use the world over, with 1 in 4 women starting their day with medication. These drugs have steadily become the panacea for everything from grief, irritability, panic attacks, to insomnia, PMS, and stress.  But the truth is, what women really need can’t be found at a pharmacy.According to Dr. Kelly Brogan, antidepressants not only overpromise and underdeliver, but their use may permanently disable the body’s self-healing potential. We need a new paradigm: The best way to heal the mind is to heal the whole body.In this groundbreaking, science-based and holistic approach, Dr. Brogan shatters the mythology conventional medicine has built around the causes and treatment of depression. Based on her expert interpretation of published medical findings, combined with years of experience from her clinical practice, Dr. Brogan illuminates the true cause of depression: it is not simply a chemical imbalance, but a lifestyle crisis that demands a reset. It is a signal that the interconnected systems in the body are out of balance – from blood sugar, to gut health, to thyroid function– and inflammation is at the root.A Mind of Your Own offers an achievable, step-by-step 30-day action plan—including powerful dietary interventions, targeted nutrient support, detoxification, sleep, and stress reframing techniques—women can use to heal their bodies, alleviate inflammation, and feel like themselves again without a single prescription.Bold, brave, and revolutionary, A Mind of Your Own takes readers on a journey of self-empowerment for radical transformation that goes far beyond symptom relief.

Smart Exercise: Burning Fat, Getting Fit


Covert Bailey - 1994
    Smart Exercise is a comprehensive guide to exercise and a lucid explanation of how our bodies stay fit or fat. Most important, Smart Exercise reveals the world's best-kept secret about fitness: keep your muscles in peak form and everything else will follow. Using his famous sense of humor to great effect, Bailey explains how muscles function, describes the multiple benefits of a good workout, and shows why muscle efficiency is the key to lowering body fat and improving general health. Take Covert's Home Fitness Test, make this book your exercise bible, and enjoy the benefits of being in the best shape of your life.

Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Strategies to Sleep Your Way to A Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success


Shawn Stevenson - 2014
    Here's just a sampling of what you're going to discover: Why you need to sleep more and exercise less to get the best fitness results.  How to feel more energized and refreshed on less hours of sleep.  Why poor sleep quality depresses brain function and leads to poor performance.  What supplements are safe and helpful, and which ones to avoid (this will shock you!)  What exercises you can do to instantly improve your sleep quality.  How the clothes you wear to bed can depress your hormone function.  Why sleep is the missing ingredient in long-term fat loss (clinically proven!)  Why going to bed at the right time is more important than how many hours you sleep.  What mineral deficiency can cause severe sleep problems (and how to fix it).  The surprising impact that intimacy has on your sleep quality.  How to calm your mind so that you can fall asleep faster.  This and much more inside, so open the book and begin to Sleep Smarter now!Shawn Stevenson is the creator of The Model Health Show, featured as the #1 Nutrition and Fitness podcast on itunes, and a leading health expert who's transformed the lives of thousands of people around the world. A graduate of The University of Missouri - St. Louis with a background in biology and kinesiology, Shawn went on to be the founder of Advanced Integrative Health Alliance, a successful company that provides Wellness Services for both individuals and organizations worldwide. Shawn is a dynamic keynote speaker who has spoken for TEDx, universities, and numerous organizations with outstanding reviews. To learn more, visit the author's website at TheShawnStevensonModel.com

Return of the Kettlebell: Explosive Kettlebell Training for Explosive Muscle Gains


Pavel Tsatsouline - 2010
    Several champions made astonishing, almost mysterious, strength and muscle gains--at least two broke new powerlifting world records—thanks to kettlebell training. Pavel decided to reverse engineer this "What the Hell" effect experienced by the champions—so all others could benefit from their success. Return of the Kettlebell presents the final fruit of Pavel's research—combining the very best of ancient lifting wisdom with modern day scientific breakthroughs. Central to Pavel's new program for explosive muscle gain is the skillful use of double kettlebells. Discover smokers like the Double Clean, classic strength builders like the Double Snatch and Double Press and enjoy the supreme intensity of the Double Clean and Jerk. Like the Breakfast of Champions, consume what's on the Return of the Kettlebell menu and watch yourself grow—and grow! Chapter 1: The Science of Big Heresy, but it works! Maverick superstar Vasily Alexeevev snuck this renegade method past the apparatchiks' noses—and packed serious pounds of beef on his grateful students in record time… Page 2 Why the Russian kettlebell beats all comers as the ideal tool for repetition quick lifts… Page 3 Why "fast eccentrics" are now all the rage among serious hypertrophy experts Understand how to manipulate Z-band streaming for faster muscle growth… Page 4 Shoot from both barrels! How a double whammy of "quick wacks" and "slow squeezes" will leave no muscle untrashed in your quest for explosive growth… Page 5 3 styles of Russian kettlebell training—which one is right for you?… Pages 6–8 Chapter 2: Explode and Grow This "Smokers' Delight" will jack your heart rate through the roof… Page 11 The best starting position for more powerful—and safer—shoulder contractions… Page 13 The ladies' way to trouble-free Double Cleans… Page 17 Yes, this will build monstrous biceps—but you'll be risking a serious injury… Page 19 Bad idea! Why "scooping" can only hurt your future strength development… Page 20 The difference between anatomical and biomechanical breathing—and which to choose for greater strength development… Page 21 The essential prerequisites for a powerful Double Snatch… Page 22 You MUST employ this secret in the Double Snatch—or risk your back and face… Page 24 Could this method be the best ever upper back and shoulder builder?... Page 26 Employ this little-known method for the ultimate in lateral deltoid development… Page 28 How to correctly perform the Viking Push Press—for way more powerful quads and tris… Page30 The 2 biggest problems a beginner faces with the Push Press—and the perfect solution to both. The correct grip for optimal explosiveness in the Snatch… Page 33 The essential prerequisite for maximal force transmission in the arms and legs… Page 34 The correct neck position for a truly effective Push Press—and a great way to save your back… Page 36 The 4 major keys to efficient and painless shock absorption 3 important reasons NEVER to raise your heels when push pressing… Page 40 Why it's best to stay "light" with the Viking Push Press… Page 43 Risk being accused of steroid abuse—when you gain like crazy from this ultimate kettlebell lift… Page 46 How to optimize your Clean and Jerk—for inhuman results 4 superb Russian drills to i

The Happy Body


Aniela Gregorek - 2009
    That only happens in Hollywood movies that portray professional athletes exercising for hours every day until they’re exhausted. Real athletes never do that. They train only to the point that they can recover for the next day’s training. Their progress comes in small increments, not heroic triumphs. Unfortunately, movies have persuaded people that they can become lean and fit virtually overnight. Even the weight loss and fitness industry bought into this distortion and began pushing people to become like Rocky. When that approach failed, because people were injuring themselves or burning out or jumping from one program to another, trainers began to entertain their clients instead of finding solutions to their problems. If you want to become truly lean and fit, you must work at it like an athlete, following a structured routine—and that is easier and more pleasant than you may expect. The principles that work for athletes also work for ordinary people of all ages. Athletes, of course, have coaches. The Happy Body program, on the other hand, will teach you everything you need to know to be your own coach. This innovative program establishes, for the first time, exact scientific and testable methods and goals to engineer your own weight loss and fitness within precise time periods. That empowers you to self-correct your progress at every step. The Happy Body is a total health program, not just an exercise or diet plan. It will teach you to safely lose 1.0 to 2.5 pounds every week, and keep them off, without getting stuck at plateaus. You will have full control over the process, right down to the ounce. In addition to teaching you how to lose weight, the program will also help you to restore the flexibility and posture you had as a young child, and to be leaner, stronger, and faster than you have ever been. In essence, The Happy Body program will not only make you as youthful as you were at twenty, but twenty as you would have been if you had followed the program at that age.

Core Awareness, Revised Edition: Enhancing Yoga, Pilates, Exercise, and Dance


Liz Koch - 2003
    Developed by somatic educator and author Liz Koch, the book's Core Awareness movements, stretches, and mindfulness explorations are designed to enhance sensory development and shift readers from the standard paradigm of the body as an "isolated object" to a holistic paradigm of the human being as part of a living process of dynamic expression. This shift in perspective offers practitioners and teachers of movement, yoga, pilates, bodywork, exercise, and dance an empowering model for self-healing and the key to increasing strength, gaining flexibility, preventing injury, and improving resiliency.Describing the practice of moving from one's core, Koch highlights the importance of engaging the psoas muscle—located on either side of the spine—to integrate the body, mind, emotion, and spirit. Koch also discusses the pelvis as the foundation of our physical core and the vital connection with our bones to gain a sense of support, nourishment, joint integrity, skeletal balance, and healthy muscle tone. Rewritten with updated information, this revised edition includes 247 new photos and 25 new Core Awareness explorations—with 64 in total. A suggested reading list at the end of the book provides resources for continuing the development of the ideas presented within the book.

Yoga for Regular Guys: The Best Damn Workout On The Planet!


Diamond Dallas Page - 2005
    Chock-full of smartass humor and a whole lot of attitude, Yoga for Regular Guys is an illustrated fitness program that men can relate to because Dallas understands the things men care about: improved strength and endurance, a better sex life, reduced stress levels, and (maybe most importantly) access to ridiculously hot yoga babes. Every chapter offers clear, step-by-step explanations of yoga poses and circuits along with hilarious full-color photos of "regular guys" in action. Written in conjunction with Dr. Craig Aaron an athletic trainer for numerous members of the NFL, NBA, and World Wrestling Entertainment Yoga for Regular Guys is a comprehensive fitness program that's fun, irreverent, and empowering. So what are you waiting for?

Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding: The Complete A-Z Book on Muscle Building


Robert Kennedy - 2008
    Featuring the most up-to-date information and 800 pages of color images, "Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" presents a user-friendly book that offers valuable information on nutrition, supplements, exercising, and posing.

Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect Your Brain for Life


David Perlmutter - 2015
    But a medical revolution is underway that can solve this problem: Astonishing new research is revealing that the health of your brain is, to an extraordinary degree, dictated by the state of your microbiome - the vast population of organisms that live in your body and outnumber your own cells ten to one. What's taking place in your intestines today is determining your risk for any number of brain-related conditions.In BRAIN MAKER, Dr. Perlmutter explains the potent interplay between intestinal microbes and the brain, describing how the microbiome develops from birth and evolves based on lifestyle choices, how it can become "sick," and how nurturing gut health through a few easy strategies can alter your brain's destiny for the better. With simple dietary recommendations and a highly practical program of six steps to improving gut ecology, BRAIN MAKER opens the door to unprecedented brain health potential.