Do Life: The Creator of 'My 120-Pound Journey' Shows How to Run Better, Go Farther, and Find Happiness


Ben Davis - 2012
    Depressed, addicted to food, and morbidly obese, he thought he’d lost all hope. But after a Christmas Eve conversation with his grandmother, Ben promised himself that he would finally take control of his life. Ben decided to “do life,” and so can you. He started running—slowly at first, but as the pounds came off and his outlook on life started to change, he went faster and further. At first, he couldn’t run a mile, but before long he was running five, ten, and then twenty miles at a time. His father and brother joined him, and as a team they ran a marathon and went on to complete one of the hardest physical competitions in the world, the Ironman. Throughout his journey, Ben captured his transformation in a series of YouTube videos, inspiring countless others around the world to “do life” along with him. In Do Life, Ben shares more of his personal story--from his lifelong struggles with food and obesity to each goal that he set for himself along his journey, including the pitfalls, setbacks, and hard won victories. But in Do Life, Ben does more than tell his story. He illustrates how you can use his techniques to start living your own life to the fullest, whether that means making a complete transformation, losing weight, or simply running further. Running taught Ben how to “do life” and here he teaches you what he’s learned along the way—how to set aside crippling fear and self-doubt, finally find your smile, and ultimately share it with those around you. By sharing his discovery of what was holding him back and how he was able to push forward, Ben will teach you how to break free from any obstacle and live the life you’ve always wanted. Do Life isn’t just about diet or exercise, depression, or addiction—it’s about stepping out of your ordinary life and becoming who you want to be. It’s the story of one man who decided to live life his way. And it could be your story, too.

Running and Philosophy: A Marathon for the Mind


Michael W. Austin - 2007
    It features writings from some of America's leading philosophers, including Martha Nussbaum, Charles Taliaferro, and J.P. Moreland. A first-of-its-kind collection of essays exploring those gems of philosophical wisdom runners contemplate when out for a run Topics considered include running and the philosophy of friendship; the freedom of the long distance runner; running as aesthetic experience, and "Could a Zombie Run a Marathon?" Contributing essayists include philosophers with athletic experience at the collegiate level, philosophers whose pasttime is running, and one philosopher who began running to test the ideas in his essay

Men's Health TNT Diet: The Explosive New Plan to Blast Fat, Build Muscle, and Get Healthy


Jeff S. Volek - 2007
    It's as easy as knowing what to eat, and when to eat it. So whether you have a lot of fat to lose or just a little, TNT has a plan to fit your goals. In fact, TNT works not only for the guy who wants to lose 50 pounds of flab but also for the guy who wants to trade 10 pounds of fat for 10 pounds of muscle.Just as important, the TNT diet significantly reduces the risk for heart disease and diabetes, a finding that's been scientifically proven in studies at the University of Connecticut. The results of these studies, which you'll read about inside, are amazing.The best part? The TNT Diet and accompanying exercise plan couldn't be simpler. In fact, throughout the book, you'll find out why you can: - Stop counting calories. The TNT Diet reprograms your appetite, allowing your own body to regulate the amount you eat. So you'll never feel like you're on a diet, even though you'll look like it.- Go back to enjoying the foods you love-like prime rib, omelets, and even butter. Through a revealing report, you'll see why fat - even saturated fat - isn't the dietary demon it's been made out to be.- Exercise just 90 minutes a week. Instead of exercising in the so-called fat-burning zone, you'll learn how to exercise in the carb-burning zone. This is the secret to making your workouts both shorter and more effective.So what's stopping you? The Men's Health TNT Diet provides all the tools you need to dramatically transform your body - both inside and out.

An Accidental Athlete: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Middle Age


John Bingham - 2011
    I became an athlete. And not just any athlete, but a runner—all without taking a running step until I was 43 years old. Known by fans as "The Penguin" for his back-of-the-pack speed, John Bingham is the unlikely hero of the modern running boom. In this warm, witty memoir, the best-selling author and columnist recalls his childhood dreams of athletic glory, sedentary years of unhealthy excess, and a life-changing transformation from couch potato to "adult-onset athlete."Overweight, uninspired, and saddled with a pack-and-a-half-a-day smoking habit, Bingham found himself firmly wedged into a middle-age slump. Then two scary trips to the emergency room and a conversation with a happy piano tuner led him to discover running—and changed his life forever.In turns inspiring, poignant, hilarious, and heartbreaking, An Accidental Athlete is the story of the unexpected joys of running—the pride of the finisher’s medal, a bureau-busting t-shirt collection, intense back-of-the-pack strategizing. And one man’s discovery that middle age was not the finish line after all, but only the beginning.

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

To Be a Runner: How Racing Up Mountains, Running with the Bulls, or Just Taking On a 5-K Makes You a Better Person (and the World a Better Place)


Martin Dugard - 2011
    With an exuberant mix of passion, insight, instruction, and humor, bestselling author and lifelong runner Martin Dugard takes a journey through the world of running to illustrate how the sport helps us fulfill that universal desire to be the best possible version of ourselves each and every time we lace up our shoes. To Be a Runner represents a new way to write about running by bridging the chasm between the two categories of running books: how-to and personal narrative. Spinning colorful stories of his running and racing adventures on six continents, Dugard considers what it means to truly integrate running into one's life. As entertaining as it is provocative, To Be a Runner is about far more than running: It is about life, and how we should live it..

Science of Running: Analyze Your Technique, Prevent Injury, Revolutionize Your Training


Chris Napier - 2020
    Discover the hard science that will help you run faster, endure for longer, and avoid injury.Analyze your running style and learn how to enhance your gait for optimum efficiency and safety.Transform your performance with exercises targeting strength, flexibility, and recovery - each exercise annotated to reveal the muscle mechanics so you know you're getting it right.Understand the science behind your body's energy systems and how to train to maximize energy storage and conversion.Follow training and exercise programs tailored to different abilities and distances, from 5K to marathon.Whether you are new to running or an experienced runner, this book will help you achieve your goals and stay injury-free.

Zen and the Art of Running: The Path to Making Peace with Your Pace


Larry Shapiro - 2009
    Zen and the Art of Running shows you how to align body and mind for success on -- and off -- the track! Iron Man triathlete and philosophy professor Larry Shapiro coaches you to get out and run, train harder, and race the Zen way. Complete with case studies, testimonials, and training techniques, this right action guide will inspire you -- whether you're a seasoned runner or new to the sport -- to pound the path to enlightenment, one stride at a time.(text above is from the back cover of the book)

The Cool Impossible: The Coach from "Born to Run" Shows How to Get the Most from Your Miles—and from Yourself


Eric Orton - 2013
    In The Cool Impossible, Orton shares his wealth of knowledge in an inspiring step-by-step guide that will open up a new world of achievement for runners of all levels of ability and experience.The truth is: Athleticism is awareness. That simple phrase is at the core of The Cool Impossible. Athleticism requires awareness of form and technique, awareness of our effort level, and, most important, awareness of what we think (and don’t think). And with that awareness comes the possibility of endless potential and improvement, progress and mastery—and, ultimately, achievement that you never before would have thought possible.With a program focused on proper running form, strength development, and cardiovascular training, Orton will help first-step beginners, prime-time competitors, and enduring veterans reach “the cool impossible”—the belief that any achievement, athletic or otherwise, is within our reach. Inside you’ll find:* Foot strength exercises to catapult performance, combat injuries, and transform technique* A total-body strength program aimed at creating an athletic running body* Step-by-step run-form coaching for performance enhancement and lifelong healthy running* A run-training program providing the building blocks for endurance, strength, and speed* No-nonsense nutrition strategies for performance, health, and the ultimate running body* Visualization and mind-training tactics to run and live the Cool Impossible*And much more…Natural running is about so much more than barefoot running. It’s about the joy of running that we were all naturally born with and can reawaken. Like a favorite running companion, The Cool Impossible will be there with you, stride for stride and mile for mile, helping you go farther than you ever could have on your own.Includes a foreword by Christopher McDougall.

A Roadmap for BJJ: How to Get Good at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as Fast as Humanly Possible


Stephan Kesting - 2015
    Explanations (with photos) of how to use the six most important positions in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu to dominate your opponents. How to figure out which techniques you need to learn and practice next. What the highest percentage submissions and escapes are for each position. The background you need to avoid asking stupid questions in class. My best tips to maximize your training time, and to avoid injuries on the mat. And a ton of illustrations, photos, and links to important articles and techniques you must know.

Make or Break: Don't Let Climbing Injuries Dictate Your Success


Dave MacLeod - 2015
    Sooner or later, nearly all climbers get injured and it will be injuries that ultimately dictate how far you get in climbing, if you let them. Unfortunately, the data shows it takes over a decade just to get small proportions of medical research adopted in regular practice. Sourcing reliable and up to date advice on preventing and treating finger, elbow, shoulder and other climbing injuries is challenging to say the least. You need to be the expert, because there are so many strands of knowledge and practice to pull together to stay healthy as a climber, and no single source of advice to cover all of these. The book draws together both the cutting edge of peer reviewed sports medicine research, and the subtle concepts of changing your climbing habits and routine to prevent and successfully recover from injuries. It is a handbook on how to take care of yourself as a lifelong climbing athlete. By spanning the fields of climbing coaching, physiotherapy, sports medicine and behavioural science, it goes beyond the general advice on treating symptoms offered by sports medicine textbooks and into much more detail on technique and habits specific to climbing than the existing climbing literature base. You will learn how your current climbing habits are already causing your future injuries and what you can do to change that. If you are already injured, it will prevent you from prolonging your injury with the wrong climbing habits and rehabilitation choices. You will learn how the ingredients of prevention and good recovery come from wildly different sources and how you have been using only a fraction of them. Fully referenced throughout, the practical advice for diagnosis, rehabilitation and prevention of climbing injuries is drawn from up to date peer reviewed sports medicine research.

Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon: How to Be Your Own Best Coach


Brad Hudson - 2008
    Hudson is the most innovative running coach to come along in a generation. Until now, only a handful of elite athletes have been able to benefit from his methods. Now Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon shows all runners how to coach themselves as confidently and effectively as Brad coaches his world-class athletes. Becoming your own best coach is the ticket to running faster at any distance. First you will learn to assess your abilities. Then you’ll learn how to devise a training program specifically geared to you. Filled with easy-to-follow sample training programs for distances ranging from the 5K to the marathon and abilities ranging from novice to advanced, Run Faster is the cutting-edge guide for optimal performance.With Hudson’s guidance, you can train smarter and more effectively—and avoid injury. And you’ll soon be running faster than you ever thought possible!

Fitness Swimming


Emmett Hines - 1998
    Expert swim coach Emmett Hines has created 60 new workouts and 16 sample programs, each arranged into suggested training zones to correspond to your fitness level and performance goals. Over a dozen cutting-edge technique drills help you progressively build an effective freestyle stroke. The text covers stretching, warm-up and cool-down methods, heart rate zone targets, expanded instruction for stroke efficacy, progressive drills, conditioning tips, and fitness assessments. Fitness Swimming has all the information you need to chart progress and maintain peak performance.

Running with a Police Escort: Tales from the Back of the Pack


Jill Grunenwald - 2017
    Having always struggled with her weight, Jill was currently hitting the scales at more than three hundred pounds. Right then, Jill looked in the mirror and decided that she needed to make a life-style change, pronto. She enrolled in Weight Watchers and did something else that she—the girl who avoided gym class like the plague in high school—never thought she’d do; Jill started running. And believe it or not, it wasn’t that bad. Actually, it was kind of fun.Three months later, Jill did the previously unthinkable and ran her very first 5k at the Cleveland Metropolitan Zoo. Battling the infamous hills of the course, Jill conquered her fears and finished—but in dead last. Yep, the police were reopening the streets behind her. But Jill didn’t let that get her down—because when you run for your health and happiness, your only real competition is yourself.Six years and more than one hundred pounds lost later, Jill is still running and racing regularly, and she is a proud member of the back of the pack in every race that she has entered. In Running with a Police Escort, Jill chronicles her racing adventures, proving that being a slow runner takes just as much guts and heart as being an Olympic champion. At turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Running with a Police Escort is for every runner who has never won a race but still loves the sport.

The Impossible Long Run: My Journey to Becoming Ultra


Janet Patkowa - 2019
    One day… I wanted to explore the US in an RV. One day… I wanted to backpack in a foreign country. None of these things were happening because it seemed impossible to fit big adventures into a nine-to-five life. Until one day it hit me. One day was not just going to happen. I had to start taking the steps to make it happen and figure out how to fit it in. I got on the internet and searched for something to inspire me. I found the Becoming Ultra project. And thus began my journey to running a 50 mile race.