Treat Your Own Knees: Simple Exercises to Build Strength, Flexibility, Responsiveness and Endurance


Jim Johnson - 2003
    In this compact and accessible book, he shows readers exactly how to improve and maintain the functioning of their knees by enhancing the four crucial abilities every knee must have:** muscular strength** flexibility** responsiveness (proprioception)** enduranceA chapter is devoted to each of these four functions, showing why they are essential. The reader is shown exactly how to do simple home exercises designed to restore or improve that particular ability. The last chapter is a "master plan" that pulls together all the concepts and exercises into a time-efficient exercise program. The author guides the reader effortlessly through the exercise routine.Clear drawings illustrate the muscles responsible for knee pain and the exact way to do the exercises.All the information is based on research trials and studies and evidence from peer-reviewed journals. The author has chosen for this book the best techniques for relieving knee pain.

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.

Your Bones: How You Can Prevent Osteoporosis & Have Strong Bones for Life Naturally


Lara U. Pizzorno - 2011
    Today, by following the recommendations discussed in this book, she has strong, healthy bones. The medicines prescribed for osteoporosis should be your last choice: not only do they have terrible side effects, they cause retention of old, brittle bone instead of creating new, healthy bone! Your Bones will be an important handbook for anyone wanting to prevent osteoporosis in later life.

Yoga Anatomy


Leslie Kaminoff - 2007
    Whether you are just beginning your journey or have been practicing yoga for years, Yoga Anatomy will be an invaluable resource-one that allows you to see each movement in an entirely new light.Leslie Kaminoff is a recognized expert and teacher in anatomy, breathing, and bodywork. He is the founder of the Breathing Project, New York City's premiere yoga studio dedicated to the teaching of individualized, breath-centered yoga practice and therapy.

Running Your First Marathon: The Complete 20-Week Marathon Training Plan


Andrew Kastor - 2017
    Just as Andrew has helped me on my journey, he is sure to help you on yours.”—Ryan Hall, US Olympic Marathoner, holder of the US record in the half marathon, and marathon training expertAs a marathon training coach for world-class runners and Olympic medalists, Andrew Kastor knows what it takes to get to the finish line. Whether you are planning to run a full or half marathon, Coach Kastor’s marathon training program conditions you to set achievable goals, get in shape, and stay motivated. With an easy-to-follow 20-week marathon training schedule for building strength and endurance, plus expert advice from record-holding runners on what to expect, Running Your First Marathon is the only coaching you’ll need to go the distance.Running Your First Marathon lays out a goal-oriented marathon training program with: A 20-Week Marathon Training Program—detailed day-by-day marathon training schedules and space to track your progress Marathon Training 101—advice and tips from world-class marathoners on marathon training, fueling your body, avoiding injury, and race-day preparation Motivational Marathon Training Boosts—from Coach Kastor and other famous runners to help you stay on track during marathon training "Running Your First Marathon will not only inspire you but also help train your mind and body to unlock hidden potential."—Shalane Flanagan, Olympic Silver Medalist, NYC Marathon champion, American record holder, and marathon training pro

Foam Roller Workbook: Illustrated Step-by-Step Guide to Stretching, Strengthening and Rehabilitative Techniques


Karl Knopf - 2011
    Karl Knopf.Once used exclusively in physical therapy settings, the foam roller has made its way into yoga and pilates studios, gyms and homes. With this simple device, you can: •Improve core strength •Increase flexibility •Release tension •Alleviate pain •Rehabilitate injuries Foam Roller Workout offers 50 effective exercises paired with clear captions and step-by-step photos that will help you roll your way to better posture, balance and relaxation. In addition, special programs will enhance your sporting life, whether you hit the track, the court, or the slopes.

Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide For Athletes & Coaches


Greg Everett - 2008
    Includes sections on teaching progressions, lift analyses, error correction, programming, competition, supplemental exercises, warm-up protocols, nutrition, and sample training programs. "Simply the best book available on Olympic weightlifting." Don Weideman, Vice President, Pacific Weightlifting Association "Without a doubt the best book on the market today about Olympic-style weightlifting." Mike Burgener, USA Weightlifting senior international coach "Outstanding, Accurate, and Concise! A must read for athletes and coaches involved in the movements." Daniel Camargo, USA Weightlifting International Coach; President, Florida Weightlifting Federation. "Everett's Olympic Weightlifting text is one of the best instructional books for the sport to be published in years. This is a must have for every weightlifting/strength and conditioning coach's library shelf." Bob Takano, Member USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame "I highly recommend the book. I would strongly argue that this book belongs on the shelf between Pavel's Power to the People and Tommy Kono's Weightlifting: Olympic Style as the three books that will lead you to the next level. Dan John "This is the book I would recommend to anyone wanting to begin the sport of Weightlifting. Greg took material that has been discussed for decades by many many great coaches and authors and managed to present it with a clarity that has rarely, if ever, been achieved. I don t care how many years you have coached, or how many lifters you have coached, no one is going to read this book without coming across a few passages that make a light-bulb go off in his head. Greg has a way of taking material that has been argued and discussed to death, and presenting it in such a clear way that it makes you wonder why anything else ever had to be written or said." Glenn Pendlay "Everett s strengths are his attention to detail and intelligent, accessible progressions. You will love this book, and it will never end up at the used bookstore." Robb Wolf, NorCal Strength & Conditioning

Athletic Body in Balance


Gray Cook - 2003
    Traditional conditioning builds a fitness base, but modern sports training takes into account athletic movement patterns. Athletic Body in Balance is the first guide of its kind to show you how to train for smooth, fluid movement and prevent muscle imbalances, mobility restrictions, stability problems, and injuries.Physical therapist and sports conditioning expert Gray Cook has proven the effectiveness of his approach through the performances of athletes in the NFL, NBA, NHL, WNBA, and Reebok(R) University's sports training system. Cook's methods will help you identify functional weaknesses; correct imbalances; explore your potential; and refine sport-specific movement skills such as jumping, kicking, cutting, and turning. You will see where conditioning is breaking down and how to get your body back on track.Whereas other books concentrate on maximizing your strengths, Athletic Body in Balance focuses on exposing and overcoming your weaknesses to form a foundation for long-term training gains. Learn how to maintain what you gain and build on your improvements. Make this comprehensive assessment tool your training guide. Prepare and repair your body for ultimate athletic performance with Athletic Body in Balance.

Pose Method of Running


Nicholas Romanov - 2002
    Recent studies have shown that up to 85% of runners get injured every year, how natural is that? The most important question that running "barefoot" or "naturally" doesn't address is how we should run. Repetitive ground impact forces are at the root of most running injuries. A 30 minute jog can log more than 5,000 foot strikes; its because of this volume of movement that efficient

The Oxygen Advantage: The Simple, Scientifically Proven Breathing Techniques for a Healthier, Slimmer, Faster, and Fitter You


Patrick McKeown - 2015
    With a foreword by New York Times bestselling author Dr. Joseph Mercola. Achieve more with less effort: The secret to weight loss, fitness, and wellness lies in the most basic and most overlooked function of your body—how you breathe. One of the biggest obstacles to better health and fitness is a rarely identified problem: chronic over-breathing. We often take many more breaths than we need—without realizing it—contributing to poor health and fitness, including a host of disorders, from anxiety and asthma to insomnia and heart problems. In The Oxygen Advantage, the man who has trained over 5,000 people—including Olympic and professional athletes—in reduced breathing exercises now shares his scientifically validated techniques to help you breathe more efficiently. Patrick McKeown teaches you the fundamental relationship between oxygen and the body, then gets you started with a Body Oxygen Level Test (BOLT) to determine how efficiently your body uses oxygen. He then shows you how to increase your BOLT score by using light breathing exercises and learning how to simulate high altitude training, a technique used by Navy SEALs and professional athletes to help increase endurance, weight loss, and vital red blood cells to dramatically improve cardio-fitness. Following his program, even the most out-of-shape person (including those with chronic respiratory conditions such as asthma) can climb stairs, run for a bus, or play soccer without gasping for air, and everyone can achieve: Easy weight loss and weight maintenance Improved sleep and energy Increased concentration Reduced breathlessness during exercise Heightened athletic performance Improved cardiovascular health Elimination of asthmatic symptoms, and more. With The Oxygen Advantage, you can look better, feel better, and do more—it's as easy as breathing.

The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance


Tom Brady - 2017
    Jeter. Ali. Williams. These elite legends have changed the game, achieved the unthinkable, and pushed their bodies to unbelievable limits. Joining their exclusive ranks is Tom Brady. “Brady is the healthiest great champion the NFL has ever had, both physically and mentally” (Sally Jenkins, The Washington Post). The longtime New England Patriots quarterback, who in 2017 achieved his fifth Super Bowl win and fourth Super Bowl MVP award, is widely regarded as an athlete whose training and determination pushed him from a mediocre draft position to the most-revered and respected professional football player of his generation. In The TB12 Method, Tom Brady explains how he developed his groundbreaking approach to long-term fitness, presenting a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to his personal practice. Brady offers the principles behind pliability, which is at the heart of a new paradigm shift and movement toward a more natural, healthier way of exercising, training, and living—and one that challenges some commonly held assumptions around health and wellness. Filled with lessons learned from Brady’s own peak performance training, and step-by-step action steps to help readers develop and maintain their own peak performance, The TB12 Method also advocates for more effective approaches to strength training, hydration, nutrition, supplementation, cognitive fitness, recovery, and other lifestyle choices that dramatically decrease the risk of injury while amplifying and extending performance, as well as quality of life. After using his methods for over a decade, Brady believes that the TB12 approach has made him—and can make any athlete, male or female, in any sport and at any level—achieve their own peak performance. With instructions, drills, photos, in-depth case studies that Brady himself has used, as well as personal anecdotes and experiences from on and off the field, The TB12 Method is the only book an athlete will ever need, a playbook from Brady himself that will change the game.

The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running: Everything You Need to Know About Equipment, Finding Trails, Nutrition, Hill Strategy, Racing, Avoiding Injury, Training, Weather, Safety, and More


Adam W. Chase - 2001
    Combining all the health and fitness benefits of walking and road running, the outdoor adventure of sports such as hiking and mountain biking, and the spiritual renewal from a day spent communing with nature, is it any wonder that trail running is fast becoming one of the most popular fitness activities? Whether you're a complete beginner or have been hitting the trails for years, this fully illustrated, one-of-a-kind guide provides all the essential information including: finding trails and getting started; managing ascents and descents with ease; maneuvering off-road obstacles; strength, stretching, and cross-training; selecting proper shoes, clothing, and accessories; safety on the trail; racing and other trail events and more.

The Garage Gym Athlete: The Practical Guide to Training like a Pro, Unleashing Fitness Freedom, and Living the Simple Life.


Jerred Moon - 2016
     If you're not getting the best workout you can get... You're running the risk of being as far away from your ideal body as the Marianas Trench is from the surface of the Pacific Ocean. That's deep, buddy. Real deep. But here's something else to dive into, all puns aside: how many days are you going to let pass before you finally hit your fitness goals? Not those goals you see on TV. Not the goals your friends have. Your goals. The real ones that hit you at 3am and leave you staring at the ceiling in a wild mix of excitement and sheer panic. The ones that make you a little nervous to admit to anyone but your closest friends. Fitness is life. Moving faster, lifting more, and being better than pool-noodle flexible is the stuff that an optimal life is made out of if you ask me. And people have been asking me how to get the best body without necessarily putting your bank account on life support. That's when it hit me... Most People Are Hustling Backwards! Quick Test: if you want to know whether or not you're the President of the Backwards Fitness Hustlers Club, answer this: Why aren't you already working out on your terms? If your first thought was to pull an excuse out of that fine database you're calling a brain, I have bad news for you: you're not only hustling backwards, but you've voted yourself into the highest office in excuseland in the process! Become and Athlete Let's get down to business. This book is called Garage Gym Athlete: The Practical Guide to Training like a Pro, Unleashing Fitness Freedom, and Living the Simple Life, and it's exactly what it says on the tin. Instead of giving you DIY fantasies, I'm bringing DIY realities to the table. Want to save a bundle of money and still have a real reason to sell tickets to the gun show? This is your guide. Is orange your favorite color? If so, then you're in luck, because Home Depot is going to be in your future...quite often. I'm focused on turning average people into athletes, in both mind and body. That's the mission. That's the big plan. That's where my heart, soul, passion, and experience combine forces to help people go from zero to zealous, and from one to outrageously fit. When you pick up this book, you'll learn: - How to rearrange your budget and family objections so the ideal garage gym can come to life (this is way more effective than another game of Tetris, and much more fun - THE best way to build stability (without a crunch in sight!) - Exactly why you should thank the inventor of PVC (especially after you check out Chapter 13!) - A step by step guide to picking a quality barbell (hint: sporting goods get 3 things wrong, but I get you back on track quick) - A down in the trenches way to build a power rack (warning: for the bold and brazen, but you'll love it) There's plenty more coming your way in this guide. I made sure that if you check it out, you'll walk away with at least a handful of great tactics, tricks, and techniques to get the ultimate job done. Would You Like to Know More? At this point, you're at the usual buyer crossroads. Do I listen to the crazy guy, or click away? If you want to jump in headfirst to some great garage gym DIY, simply cross up and click the "Buy Now" button. That's it!

The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance


David Epstein - 2013
    In college, I ran against Kenyans, and wondered whether endurance genes might have traveled with them from East Africa. At the same time, I began to notice that a training group on my team could consist of five men who run next to one another, stride for stride, day after day, and nonetheless turn out five entirely different runners. How could this be?We all knew a star athlete in high school. The one who made it look so easy. He was the starting quarterback and shortstop; she was the all-state point guard and high-jumper. Naturals. Or were they?The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training?The truth is far messier than a simple dichotomy between nature and nurture. In the decade since the sequencing of the human genome, researchers have slowly begun to uncover how the relationship between biological endowments and a competitor’s training environment affects athleticism. Sports scientists have gradually entered the era of modern genetic research.In this controversial and engaging exploration of athletic success, Sports Illustrated senior writer David Epstein tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving this great riddle. He investigates the so-called 10,000-hour rule to uncover whether rigorous and consistent practice from a young age is the only route to athletic excellence.Along the way, Epstein dispels many of our perceptions about why top athletes excel. He shows why some skills that we assume are innate, like the bullet-fast reactions of a baseball or cricket batter, are not, and why other characteristics that we assume are entirely voluntary, like an athlete’s will to train, might in fact have important genetic components.This subject necessarily involves digging deep into sensitive topics like race and gender. Epstein explores controversial questions such as:Are black athletes genetically predetermined to dominate both sprinting and distance running, and are their abilities influenced by Africa’s geography?Are there genetic reasons to separate male and female athletes in competition?Should we test the genes of young children to determine if they are destined for stardom?Can genetic testing determine who is at risk of injury, brain damage, or even death on the field?Through on-the-ground reporting from below the equator and above the Arctic Circle, revealing conversations with leading scientists and Olympic champions, and interviews with athletes who have rare genetic mutations or physical traits, Epstein forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism.

The Science of Running: How to find your limit and train to maximize your performance


Steve Magness - 2014
    The Science of Running is written for those of us looking to maximize our performance, get as close to our limits as possible, and more than anything find out how good we can be, or how good our athletes can be. In The Science of Running, elite coach and exercise physiologist Steve Magness integrates the latest research with the training processes of the world's best runners, to deliver an in depth look at how to maximize your performance. It is a unique book that conquers both the scientific and practical points of running in two different sections. The first is aimed at identifying what limits running performance from a scientific standpoint. You will take a tour through the inside of the body, learning what causes fatigue, how we produce energy to run, and how the brain functions to hold you back from super-human performance. In section two, we turn to the practical application of this information and focus on the process of training to achieve your goals. You will learn how to develop training plans and to look at training in a completely different way. The Science of Running does not hold back information and is sure to challenge you to become a better athlete, coach, or exercise scientist in covering such topics as:· What is fatigue? The latest research on looking at fatigue from a brain centered view.· Why VO2max is the most overrated and misunderstood concept in both the lab and on the track· Why "zone" training leads to suboptimal performance.· How to properly individualize training for your own unique physiology.· How to look at the training process in a unique way in terms of stimulus and adaptation.· Full sample training programs from 800m to the marathon.