Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training


Mark Rippetoe - 2005
    With all new graphics and more than 750 illustrations, a more detailed analysis of the five most important exercises in the weight room, and a new chapter dealing with the most important assistance exercises, Basic Barbell Training offers the most complete examination in print of the most effective way to exercise.

The Genius of Flexibility: The Smart Way to Stretch and Strengthen Your Body


Bob Cooley - 2005
     The Program: THE MERIDIAN FLEXIBILITY SYSTEM® provides stretches for 16 unique muscle groups with physiological and psychological benefits.

The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding: The Bible of Bodybuilding, Fully Updated and Revised


Arnold Schwarzenegger - 1985
    Plus, all the features that have made this book a classic are here: -Arnold's tried-and-true tips for sculpting, strengthening, and defining each and every muscle to create the ultimate buff physique -The most effective methods of strength training to stilt your needs, whether you're an amateur athlete or a pro bodybuilder preparing for a competition -Comprehensive information on health, nutrition, and dietary supplements to help you build muscle, lose fat, and maintain optimum energy -Expert advice on the prevention and treatment of sports-related injuries -Strategies and tactics for competitive bodybuilders from selecting poses to handling publicity -The fascinating history and growth of bodybuilding as a sport, with a photographic “Bodybuilding Hall of Fame” -And, of course, Arnold's individual brand of inspiration and motivation throughout Covering every level of expertise and experience, The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding will help you achieve your personal best. With his unique perspective as a seven-time winner of the Mr. Olympia title and all international film star, Arnold shares his secrets to dedication, training, and commitment, and shows you how to take control of your body and realize your own potential for greatness.

Convict Conditioning: How to Bust Free of All Weakness Using the Lost Secrets of Supreme Survival Strength


Paul Wade - 2010
    That is to say, for us humans who live lives of such relative security that we cultivate our strength and power more out of pride and for a sense of accomplishment than out of an absolute need to survive in the wild. The professional athlete hones his body to function well in a sports event-rather than to emerge safe from a life-or-death struggle. And even those in our military and LEO rely more on the security of their weapons and armor than on their own personal, raw power and brute strength to carry the day. There remains one environment where exuding the necessary degree of authoritative strength and power can mean the difference between life or death: the maximum security prison. In maximum security, the predator preys on the weak like we breathe air. Intimidation is the daily currency. You either become a professional victim or you develop that supreme survival strength that signals the predator to stay at bay.Paul Wade spent 19 years in hell holes like San Quentin, Angola and Marion. He entered this world a gangly, terrorized weakling and he graduated to final freedom, pound-for-pound one of the strongest humans on the planet. Paul Wade dedicated his prison life to the cultivation of that supreme survival strength. And ironically, it is in America's prisons that we can find some of the great, lost secrets of how to get immensely powerful and strong. Paul Wade mined these secrets as if his life depended on it-and of course in many ways it did.Finally free, Paul Wade pays his debt to society-not just with the horrors of his years in the hole-but with the greatest gift he could possibly give us: a priceless set of progressions that can take ANYONE who has the will from abject weakling to strength specimen extraordinaire.

Foundation: Redefine Your Core, Conquer Back Pain, and Move with Confidence


Eric Goodman - 2011
    Eric Goodman and Peter Park shifts the training focus from the front of your body to the back. By strengthening the full posterior chain and correcting poor movement patterns, you will maximize power, flexibility, and endurance and say goodbye to back pain.

The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation: A complete, step-by-step, gene reprogramming action plan


Mark Sisson - 2011
    First, you'll learn eight Key Concepts that represent the most important day-to-day elements living Primally, then tackle five Action Items that will enable you to literally reprogram your genes toward a long, healthy, and energetic life. The Action Items are presented in a fun and life-transforming 21-Day Challenge, featuring daily diet, exercise, and lifestyle endeavors with corresponding journal exercises. You'll transition out of the regimented, carb-dependent, fat-storing Standard American Diet (SAD), the chronic, overly-stressful exercise patterns recommended by Conventional Wisdom, and other health-compromising elements of hectic modern life. Instead, you'll smoothly implement the evolution-tested lifestyle behaviors of our hunter-gatherer ancestors to promote optimal gene expression. By eating Primally, you'll transform from a "sugar-burner" into a Sisson's so-called "fat burning beast", where stored body fat becomes your preferred fuel choice, and energy, hormone, metabolic, and immune function are optimized automatically. With an intuitive mix of Primal workouts, you'll get exceptionally fit in only a few hours per week -- and have fun while you're at it!The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Transformation is stocked with photos, diagrams, concise section summaries, workout descriptions and photos, resource lists for Primal-approved foods and foods to avoid, recipe suggestions, and detailed real-life success stories to help you stay confident and focused on your Primal journey. Unlike many complex, regimented, quick-fix programs, the Primal Blueprint 21-Day Transformation is a simple, sensibly-paced journey shaped by personal preference and a strong emphasis on enjoying comfortable modern life. The material is scalable for everyone, from Type-A fitness die-hards who might benefit from a more relaxed approach, to couch potatoes who need motivation to take that first step. Mark Sisson guides you in a light-hearted, irreverent tone that will make you feel comfortable and inspired, and never intimidated. You can expect quick results in the first 21 days (fat loss, improved energy levels, fitness, and blood test markers), but your 21-Day Transformation is only the beginning of a life of ease and contentment that is possible when you live in harmony with your genetic requirements for health and longevity.

Your Body Is Your Barbell: Lose Weight and Get into the Best Shape of Your Life in just 6 Weeks Using Nothing but Your own Bodyweight


B.J. Gaddour - 2014
    No machines. No space. No hassles! With Your Body is Your Barbell, a reader will have no excuse not to get into the best shape of his or her life…simply, easily, and in just 4 weeks in the convenience of his or her own home. How? Using nothing more than what God blessed—a body with unlimited potential.Metabolic training expert BJ Gaddour, CSCS, who Men's Health magazine calls one of the "100 Fittest Men of All Time," has created a remarkably efficient and effective body-transforming diet and workout program based on just a handful of simple moves, the Bodyweight Eight. These no-equipment-required exercises are all one needs to build a strikingly symmetrical, perfectly proportioned, and classically beautiful physique, just like BJ's. (Not long ago, he was a fat guy with bad knees and an addiction to ice cream sundaes.)But it doesn't stop there. Once readers master each legendary fitness feat with perfect form, he will use BJ's "Sweat Spectrum," scalable, step-by-step progressions to go from ground zero to super hero. From these exercise variations, readers can construct hundreds of personalized workouts. Dozens of sample workouts are already demonstrated through big, bold how-to photographs within the book, and organized by goal, duration, intensity, and targeted body zone. This is the only book a man or woman needs to achieve the body he or she has always wanted anywhere…and without gear.

The Spartan Way: Eat Better. Train Better. Think Better. Be Better.


Joe De Sena - 2018
    Like Spartan training, living The Spartan Way requires endurance to reach your finish line, the goal that inspires and drives you to succeed no matter what obstacles are thrown in your path. De Sena believes you can gain that endurance in just thirty-six days by following the ten Spartan Core Virtues, timeless principles to help you embrace adversity and overcome any challenge, and making them a permanent part of your own personal core. The Spartan Core Values include:Self-Awareness—Know yourselfCommitment—Be dedicatedPassion—Discover your purposeDiscipline—Practice diligencePrioritization—Put your house in orderGrit—Push your limitsCourage—Face your fears and your failuresOptimism—Look for the positives Integrity—Act honestly Wholeness—Live as a SpartanDe Sena turned this philosophy into a lifestyle—and so can you. With The Spartan Way, you’ll discover your true north, unleash the warrior within, and transform your life to 10X your maximum potential.

Bike Fit: Optimise Your Bike Position for High Performance and Injury Avoidance


Phil Burt - 2014
     Do you suffer from lower back pain after a long weekend ride? Do your shoes wear out on one side more than the other? Are you experiencing numbness in your hands, or knee pain? Phil Burt, Head Physiotherapist at British Cycling and Team Sky Consultant Physiotherapist, has worked with hundreds of cyclists to help them solve these and many other classic cycling niggles. In this book he outlines his methods to help you analyse your position and get the best from your bike. The right BIKE FIT can mean the difference between a good ride and a bad one, but a professional fit can cost more than you paid for your bike. The information is all here. Let Phil Burt guide you through your own BIKE FIT, to ensure your bike and body work in harmony. Packed with useful diagrams, step by step diagnostics and case studies, this is the must-read for any cyclist keen to get a performance advantage.

Strong: Nine Workout Programs for Women to Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism, and Build Strength for Life


Lou Schuler - 2015
      Forget the elliptical machine and the candy-colored Barbie weights. Female athletes are hungry for real fitness. They want to be Strong.   By now, it’s common knowledge that women can and should train the way men do. Today’s women want to be strong, with lean and athletic physiques. Fitness author Lou Schuler and renowned strength coach Alwyn Cosgrove present a comprehensive strength and conditioning plan to help women burn fat and build muscle by getting them off the machines and revolutionizing how they work out. Offering direct guidance and proven tools to help readers enhance their strength and get truly fit, Strong provides:•  A three-phase training program, including nine unique total-body workouts •  More than 100 exercises, with detailed instructions and step-by-step photographs •  Simple nutrition guidelines to cut through the barrage of trendy diets in magazines •  Inspiring success stories from women who have used this training program   Schuler and Cosgrove’s The New Rules of Lifting for Women has empowered tens of thousands of women inside and outside the weight room. Filled with the latest research distilled in Lou and Alwyn’s signature direct style, Strong will help women remake their physiques and reimagine their lives.

How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle


Matt Fitzgerald - 2015
    Elite athletes have known this for decades and now science is learning why it s true. In his fascinating new book "How Bad Do You Want It?," coach Matt Fitzgerald examines more than a dozen pivotal races to discover the surprising ways elite athletes strengthen their mental toughness.Fitzgerald puts you into the pulse-pounding action of more than a dozen epic races from running, cycling, triathlon, XTERRA, and rowing with thrilling race reports and revealing post-race interviews with the elites. Their own words reinforce what the research has found: strong mental fitness lets us approach our true physical limits, giving us an edge over physically stronger competitors. Each chapter explores the how and why of an elite athlete s transformative moment, revealing powerful new psychobiological principles you can practice to flex your own mental fitness.The new psychobiological model of endurance performance shows that the most important question in endurance sports is: how bad do you want it? Fitzgerald s fascinating book will forever change how you answer this question and show you how to master the psychology of mind over muscle. These lessons will help you push back your limits and uncover your full potential."How Bad Do You Want It?" reveals new psychobiological findings including: Mental toughness determines how close you can get to your physical limit. Bracing yourself for a tough race or workout can boost performance by 15% or more. Champions have learned how to give more of what they have. The only way to improve performance is by altering how you perceive effort. Choking under pressure is a form of self-consciousness. Your attitude in daily life is the same one you bring to sports. There's no such thing as going as fast as you can only going faster than before. The fastest racecourse is the one with the loudest spectators. Faith in your training is as important as the training itself.Athletes featured in "How Bad Do You Want It?" Sammy Wanjiru, Jenny Simpson, Greg LeMond, Siri Lindley, Willie Stewart, Cadel Evans, Nathan Cohen and Joe Sullivan, Paula Newby-Fraser, Ryan Vail, Thomas Voeckler, Ned Overend, Steve Prefontaine, and last of all John The Penguin Bingham"

Roar: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life


Stacy Sims - 2016
    Stop eating and training like one.Because most nutrition products and training plans are designed for men, it’s no wonder that so many female athletes struggle to reach their full potential. ROAR is a comprehensive, physiology-based nutrition and training guide specifically designed for active women. This book teaches you everything you need to know to adapt your nutrition, hydration, and training to your unique physiology so you can work with, rather than against, your female physiology. Exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist Stacy T. Sims, PhD, shows you how to be your own biohacker to achieve optimum athletic performance.Complete with goal-specific meal plans and nutrient-packed recipes to optimize body composition, ROAR contains personalized nutrition advice for all stages of training and recovery. Customizable meal plans and strengthening exercises come together in a comprehensive plan to build a rock-solid fitness foundation as you build lean muscle where you need it most, strengthen bone, and boost power and endurance. Because women’s physiology changes over time, entire chapters are devoted to staying strong and active through pregnancy and menopause. No matter what your sport is—running, cycling, field sports, triathlons—this book will empower you with the nutrition and fitness knowledge you need to be in the healthiest, fittest, strongest shape of your life.

The Wim Hof Method: Own Your Mind, Master Your Biology, and Activate Your Full Human Potential


Wim Hof - 2020
    You can overcome disease, improve your mental health and physical performance, and even control your physiology so you can thrive in freezing temperatures.” With The Wim Hof Method, this trailblazer of human potential shares a method that anyone can use—not just extreme athletes or spiritual masters—to supercharge your capacity for strength, health, and happiness.Wim Hof has become a modern legend for his astounding achievements, such as withstanding extreme temperatures, breaking world records, and running barefoot marathons over deserts and ice fields. In his gripping and passionate style, Hof shares the story of how he developed his method, along with testimonials and new insights from the university research studies on its amazing results. With guidance suited for any reader—young or old, sick or healthy—you’ll learn how to harness three key elements of Cold, Breathing, and Mindset to take charge of your own mind and metabolism.Yet the most important result of Hof’s method goes beyond improved health or performance—it is a path for reconnecting with your spiritual nature. “With these practices, you awaken to your inner source of power and fulfillment,” he says. “You find you can control your destiny.”

What Doesn't Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength


Scott Carney - 2017
    Our ancestors crossed the Alps in animal skins and colonized the New World in loin cloths. They evaded predators and built civilizations with just their raw brainpower and inner grit. But things have changed and now comfort is king. Today we live in the thrall of constant climate control and exercise only when our office schedules permit. The technologies that we use to make us comfortable are so all-encompassing that they sever the biological link to a changing environment. Now we hate the cold and the heat. We suffer from autoimmune diseases. And many of us are chronically overweight. Most of us don't even realize that natural variation—sweating and shivering—is actually good for us. What Doesn't Kill Us uncovers how just about anyone can reclaim a measure of our species' evolutionary strength by tapping into the things that feel uncomfortable. When we slightly reimagine how our body fits into the world, we can condition ourselves to find resilience in unfamiliar environments. The feeling that something is missing from our daily routines is growing and has spawned a movement. Every year, millions of people forgo traditional gyms and push the limits of human endurance by doing boot camp style workouts in raw conditions. These extreme athletes train in CrossFit boxes, compete in Tough Mudders and challenge themselves in Spartan races. They are connecting with their environment and, whether they realize it or not, are changing their bodies. No one exemplifies this better than Dutch fitness guru Wim Hof, whose remarkable ability to control his body temperature in extreme cold has sparked a whirlwind of scientific study. Because of him, scientists in the United States and Europe are just beginning to understand how cold adaptation might help combat autoimmune diseases and chronic pains and, in some cases, even reverse diabetes. Award winning investigative journalist, Scott Carney dives into the fundamental philosophy at the root of this movement in three interlocking narratives. His own journey culminates in a record bending 28-hour climb up to the snowy peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro wearing nothing but a pair of running shorts and sneakers.

Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance


Alex Hutchinson - 2018
    But over the past decade, a wave of dramatic findings in the cutting-edge science of endurance has completely overturned our understanding of human limitation. Endure widely disseminates these findings for the first time: It’s the brain that dictates how far we can go—which means we can always push ourselves further.Hutchinson presents an overview of science’s search for understanding human fatigue, from crude experiments with electricity and frogs’ legs to sophisticated brain imaging technology. Going beyond the traditional mechanical view of human limits (like a car with a brick on its gas pedal, we go until the tank runs out of gas), he instead argues that a key element in endurance is how the brain responds to distress signals—whether heat, or cold, or muscles screaming with lactic acid—and reveals that we can train to improve brain response.An elite distance runner himself, Hutchinson takes us to the forefront of the new sports psychology—brain electrode jolts, computer-based training, subliminal messaging—and presents startling new discoveries enhancing the performance of athletes today and shows how anyone can utilize these tactics to bolster their own performance—and get the most out of their bodies.