Book picks similar to
Easy Strength by Dan John


fitness
health
training
non-fiction

Tactical Barbell - xld: Definitive Strength Training for the Operational Athlete


K. Black - 2014
    Save yourself years of wasted time and effort and learn correctly.Tactical athletes are a unique breed. You need to physically operate at an extraordinarily high level in stressful situations. Often in dangerous environments.Face it. As a SWAT operator, front line soldier, or other operational athlete, you have to be a Jack of All Trades. Let’s take that a step further. You have to achieve some degree of mastery. You have to be strong, have incredible levels of endurance, and be capable of sustained anaerobic bursts of activity. All while tired, hungry, cold, or worse. You can’t train like a bodybuilder. You can’t be sore for a week after ‘leg day’. You may not have the time to spend five days a week in the gym solely on weight lifting. You can’t afford to specialise like a powerlifter. After all, you have other attributes you need to spend an equal amount of time on, such as conditioning, or martial arts. Anyone in the operational field knows it’s a constant juggling act trying to become (and stay) superhuman.So how do you achieve extreme levels of functional strength, while still maintaining time and energy to train your other attributes equally?This book will provide you with that answer. You will receive strength programming designed to fit in with your training and lifestyle. Periodization based, with a simple progression model that allows for a great degree of customization. You won’t find cables, balance boards or medicine balls in this program. What you will get is a reliable, repeatable cutting edge system to increase your strength dramatically. In a manner that leaves you time and energy to train all those other things you need to be good at. No fluff. No frills.If you’re in the tactical arena, you know talk is cheap. There is a built in strength testing component in this program. You will know whether or not your strength has increased, and by how much. Simple.Written by a twenty year veteran of the military and federal law enforcement. The author has spent a significant amount of his career in extremely physically demanding units, as an infantryman, paratrooper, operator and Subject Matter Expert on a federal Hostage Rescue Team.

New Functional Training for Sports


Michael Boyle - 2016
    New Functional Training for Sports, Second Edition produces the best results on the court, field, track, and mat, not just in the weight room.Michael Boyle, one of the world's leading sport performance coaches, presents the concepts, methods, exercises, and programs that maximize athletes' movements in competition. A series of functional assessments help in determining the design of a specific plan for each athlete. Self-reinforcing progressions in exercises for the lower body, core, upper body, and ultimately total body give athletes the balance, proprioception, stability, strength, and power they require for excelling in their sports. Sample programs assist in the customization process and ensure each aspect of preparation for physical performance.Boyle also draws on the latest research and his wealth of experience to offer programming advice and recommendations on foam rolling, stretching, and dynamic warm-ups.New Functional Training for Sports goes beyond traditional exercise descriptions and explanations, incorporating full-color, high-definition composites of foundational movements as well as online access to video demonstrations, commentary, and analysis of key exercises.New Functional Training for Sports is a refined and expanded version of Boyle's original work published more than a decade previously. This edition offers the most current functional training expertise to apply to your specific purposes.

Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning


Thomas R. Baechle - 2000
    In this text, 30 expert contributors explore the scientific principles, concepts, and theories of strength training and conditioning as well as their applications to athletic performance.Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning is the most-preferred preparation text for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) exam. The research-based approach, extensive exercise technique section, and unbeatable accuracy of Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning make it the text readers have come to rely on for CSCS exam preparation.The third edition presents the most current strength training and conditioning research and applications in a logical format designed for increased retention of key concepts. The text is organized into five sections. The first three sections provide a theoretical framework for application in section 4, the program design portion of the book. The final section offers practical strategies for administration and management of strength and conditioning facilities.-Section 1 (chapters 1 through 10) presents key topics and current research in exercise physiology, biochemistry, anatomy, biomechanics, endocrinology, sport nutrition, and sport psychology and discusses applications for the design of safe and effective strength and conditioning programs.-Section 2 (chapters 11 and 12) discusses testing and evaluation, including the principles of test selection and administration as well as the scoring and interpretation of results.-Section 3 (chapters 13 and 14) provides techniques for warm-up, stretching, and resistance training exercises. For each exercise, accompanying photos and instructions guide readers in the correct execution and teaching of stretching and resistance training exercises. This section also includes a set of eight new dynamic stretching exercises.-Section 4 examines the design of strength training and conditioning programs. The information is divided into three parts: anaerobic exercise prescription (chapters 15 through 17), aerobic endurance exercise prescription (chapter 18), and periodization and rehabilitation (chapters 19 and 20). Step-by-step guidelines for designing resistance, plyometric, speed, agility, and aerobic endurance training programs are shared. Section 4 also includes detailed descriptions of how principles of program design and periodization can be applied to athletes of various sports and experience levels. Within the text, special sidebars illustrate how program design variables can be applied to help athletes attain specific training goals.-Section 5 (chapters 21 and 22) addresses organization and administration concerns of the strength training and conditioning facility manager, including facility design, scheduling, policies and procedures, maintenance, and risk management.Chapter objectives, key points, key terms, and self-study questions provide a structure to help readers organize and conceptualize the information. Unique application sidebars demonstrate how scientific facts can be translated into principles that assist athletes in their strength training and conditioning goals.Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning also offers new lecture preparation materials. A product specific Web site includes new student lab activities that instructors can assign to students. Students can visit this Web site to print the forms and charts for completing lab activities, or they can complete the activities electronically and email their results to the instructor. The instructor guide provides a course description and schedule, chapter objectives and outlines, chapter-specific Web sites and additional resources, definitions of primary key terms, application questions with recommended answers, and links to the lab activities. The presentation package and image bank, delivered in Microsoft PowerPoint, offers instructors a presentation package containing over 1,000 slides to help augment lectures and class discussions. In addition to outlines and key points, the resource also contains over 450 figures, tables, and photos from the textbook, which can be used as an image bank by instructors who need to customize their own presentations. Easy-to-follow instructions help guide instructors on how to reuse the images within their own PowerPoint templates. These tools can be downloaded online and are free to instructors who adopt the text for use in their courses.Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, Third Edition, provides the latest and most comprehensive information on the structure and function of body systems, training adaptations, testing and evaluation, exercise techniques, program design, and organization and administration of facilities. Its accuracy and reliability make it not only the leading preparation resource for the CSCS exam but also the definitive reference that strength and conditioning professionals and sports medicine specialists depend on to fine-tune their practice.

Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training


Tudor O. Bompa - 1994
    Bompa revolutionized western training methods when he introduced his groundbreaking theory of periodization in Romania in 1963. Today, periodization is the basis of every serious athlete's training.Periodization is a scientifically based method for structuring short- and long-term training plans. Grounded in current research on exercise physiology, athletic psychology, and training methodology, periodization varies the intensity and volume of training to optimize the body's ability to recover and rebuild. This results in better performance and less risk of injury."Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training, Fourth Edition" presents Bompa's latest refinements to the theory he developed. Formerly titled "Theory and Methodology of Training, " this long-standing classic has been translated into nine languages and has come to be regarded as the definitive reference on training theory. Now in its fourth edition, it's even better organized, easier to read, and more up-to-date than before.No other book discusses planning and periodization in such detail or with so many specific, practical examples from a variety of sports. Periodization clearly describes-the underlying principles of effective training;-the objectives and components of an effective, comprehensive, long-term training program;-proven strategies for optimal peaking; and-how to train for better motor ability, working capacity, skill effectiveness, and psychological adaptability.Learn how to train for maximum gains with insights from the man who pioneered the concept of periodization. With Bompa's Periodization, you'll build stronger, faster, more durable athletes for better performance.

Scientific Principles of Strength Training


Mike Israetel - 2015
    Checking in at nearly 400 pages, Scientific Principles is co-authored by Dr. Mike Israetel (author of The Renaissance Diet), Dr. James Hoffmann (Exercise Science Professor at Temple University) and Chad Wesley Smith (Top 10 Raw Powerlifter of All-Time). This trio of authors has given Scientific Principles a unique combination of scientific and practical knowledge, not found in any other text. Covered in Scientific Principles of Strength Training are...-In depth definitions of important strength training and programming terms.-Nuanced discussions of the following foundational training principles and how they can influence your training and program design...SpecificityOverloadFatigue ManagementSRAVariationPhase PotentiationIndividual Differences-Various powerlifting periodization schemes and their strengths/weaknesses-Myths, Fallacies and Fads in PowerliftingScientific Principles goes far beyond just giving you sets and reps to use for a few weeks or months, rather it will empower you with knowledge to create effective training programs and make informed answers to tough training problems for a lifetime.

THE Complete Keys to Progress


John McCallum - 1993
    Here they are: the full collection of the original John McCallum articles, classic gems. If you were to only buy one book - ever - on how to train, this is it. 288 pp.

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.

Squat Every Day


Matt Perryman - 2013
    Thoughts on Overtraining and Recovery in Strength Training.

Muscles: Testing and Function, with Posture and Pain


Florence Peterson Kendall - 1971
    The thoroughly updated Fifth Edition is completely reorganized and has new, expanded treatment and exercise sections in each chapter. Other features include a new section on post-polio syndrome, additional case studies comparing Guillain-Barré to polio muscle tests, a new full-color design, and a first-of-its-kind chart of upper extremity articulations. A bonus Primal Anatomy CD-ROM contains a three-dimensional interactive model of the human body. Students can rotate the model and add or subtract layers of anatomy to strengthen their knowledge.

The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer


Gretchen Reynolds - 2012
    With the latest findings about the mental and physical benefits of exercise, personal stories from scientists and laypeople alike, as well as researched-based prescriptions for readers, Gretchen Reynolds shows what kind of exercise—and how much—is necessary to stay healthy, get fit, and attain a smaller jeans size. Inspired by Reynolds's wildly popular “Phys Ed” column for The New York Times, this book explains how exercise affects the body in distinct ways and provides the tools readers need to achieve their fitness goals, whether that's a faster 5K or staying trim.

ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless, Injury-Free Running


Danny Dreyer - 2004
    This new edition is fully updated with fresh insights and innovative training techniques from one of the sport's leading voices. Danny Dreyer teaches us how to heal and prevent injuries and also to run faster, farther, and with much less effort at any age or ability.With more than 150,000 copies in print, this groundbreaking program makes running safe and fun for beginning and seasoned runners, while also giving competitive runners the edge they seek. ChiRunning employs the deep power reserves in the core muscles, an approach found in disciplines such as yoga, Pilates, and in this case T'ai Chi. Make knee pain and shin splints a thing of the past Experience the natural efficiency of the midfoot strike Dramatically reduce your potential for injury Transform your running with our new 10-step training program ChiRunning provides powerful insight and transforms running from a high-injury sport to a body-friendly fitness phenomenon. Join the revolution!

Bigger Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body


Michael Matthews - 2011
    I'm pretty sure muscles lack cognitive abilities, but this approach is a good way to just confuse you instead.You don't need to burn through buckets of protein powder every month, stuffing down enough protein each day to feed a third world village. You don't need to toil away in the gym for a couple of hours per day, doing tons of sets, supersets, drop sets, giant sets, etc. (As a matter of fact, this is a great way to stunt gains and get nowhere.)You don't need to grind out hours and hours of boring cardio to shed ugly belly fat and love handles and get a shredded six-pack. (How many flabby treadmillers have you come across over the years?)You don't need to completely abstain from "cheat" foods while getting down to single-digit body fat percentages. If you plan cheat meals correctly, you can actually speed your metabolism up and accelerate fat loss.In this book you're going to learn something most guys will never know: The exact formula of exercise and eating that makes putting on 10 to 15 pounds of quality lean mass a breeze...and it only takes 8-12 weeks.This book reveals secrets like...The 6 biggest myths & mistakes of building muscle that stunt 99% of guys' muscle gains. (These BS lies are pushed by all the big magazines and even by many trainers.) (Page 28)How to get a lean, cut physique that you love (and that girls drool over) by spending no more than 5 percent of your time each day. (Page 61)The 4 laws of muscle growth that, when applied, turn your body into an anabolic, muscle-building machine. You'll be shocked at how easy it really is to get big once you know what you're doing... (Page 32)How to develop a lightning-fast metabolism that burns up fat quickly and leaves you feeling full of energy all day long. (Page 41)The carefully-selected exercises that deliver MAXIMUM results for your efforts, helping you build a big, full chest, a wide, tapered back, and bulging biceps. (Page 91)A no-BS guide to supplements that will save you hundreds if not THOUSANDS of dollars each year that you would've wasted on products that are nothing more than bunk science and marketing hype. (Page 100)How to get shredded while still indulging in the "cheat" foods that you love every week like pasta, pizza, and ice cream. (Page 83)And a whole lot more!The bottom line is you CAN achieve that "Hollywood hunk" body without having your life revolve around it--no long hours in the gym, no starving yourself, no grueling cardio that turns your stomach. Imagine, just 12 weeks from now, being constantly complimented on how you look and asked what the heck you're doing to make such startling gains. Imagine enjoying the added benefits of high energy levels, no aches and pains, better spirits, and knowing that you're getting healthier every day.SPECIAL BONUS FOR READERS!With this book you'll also get a free 75-page bonus report from the author called "The Year One Challenge." In this bonus report, you'll learn exactly how to train, eat, and supplement to make maximum gains in your first year of training. By applying what you learn in the book and in this report, you can make more progress in one year than most guys make in three, four, or even five (seriously!).

Every Day Is Game Day: The Proven System of Elite Performance to Win All Day, Every Day


Mark Verstegen - 2014
    Special Operations Forces. As founder and president of EXOS, Mark Verstegen has trained the world’s top athletes in sports including the NFL, Major League Baseball, and worldwide soccer powers, along with the most elite “tactical athletes”—U.S. Special Operations Forces personnel.More than a decade ago, Verstegen’s groundbreaking book Core Performance revolutionized the fitness industry and made core conditioning and functional training mainstream. In his new book, Verstegen presents his most hardcore program yet: a demanding system that challenges readers to perform at the highest level.Borrowing heavily from his regimens used by the military and NFL-combine hopefuls, Verstegen breaks the system down into tough but easy-to-follow workouts that help readers become faster, more explosive, and more powerful while moving with greater efficiency and with far less potential for injury. If you’ve ever wanted to perform like the top sports champions or elite fighting forces, this is the book for you.

Dynamic Stretching: The Revolutionary New Warm-up Method to Improve Power, Performance and Range of Motion


Mark Kovacs - 2009
    That is why so many top trainers recommend dynamic stretches.Dynamic Stretching teaches how to effectively prepare your body for physical activity while simultaneously improving strength, power, speed, agility and endurance. With more than 50 exercises—fully illustrated with step-by-step photos—this book shows how to take your workouts and abilities to the next level:•Develop full-body range of motion•Enhance full-body motor control•Increase flexibility, balance and muscular endurance•Improve force generation and reaction time•Correct major and minor muscle imbalances

Brother Iron, Sister Steel: A Bodybuilder's Book


Dave Draper - 2001
    America, Mr. Universe and Mr. World, can tell it. Training techniques, exercise descriptions and nutritional strategies form the book's foundation, but what glues this book together are Dave's personal experiences and insights, humor and candidness, all of which speak to the heart and soul. The delight in the iron work, the play of the steel and the redefined motivation will have you striving forward to reach your fitness and training goals. Further your iron journey—or take your first steps—as you find yourself caught up in the style and rhythm that are Draper's alone. You'll see the lessons of Brother Iron, Sister Steel hit home as your training enthusiasm abounds. In your next match with the weights you'll see the work of your muscles with new clarity under the guidance of Dave's insight.