Editorial Review

When Bob Anderson first published Read more

Reviews (65)

Great Book
This book was exactly what I was looking for.I play softball regularly and am approaching the age of 50, and I was looking for specific stretches to help me prepare to play.The book contains specific instructions and illustrations and is easy to folllow.Their are specific stretches to help with all kinds of activities, and the author has a long history of working with athletes.

Indispensable to fitness for all ages and sports.
In the good old days of typewriters, carbon papers, and stencil sheets, literary authorship served society at highest ethical, scientific, and artistic standards. In contrast, today's word processors and graphic software attracted to the field of book publishing plenty of con artists and commercial profiteers. This book on stretching by Anderson demonstrates the utmost dedication of its author to public welfare. Without sophisticated cameras or elegant graphing capabilities, the author was able to present all aspects of motion of human stretching by relying on hand-drawn sketches.
Essential to workout injury free
It you enjoy running, walking of jogging you must stretch. If you like weightlifting you must stretch. If you play any kind of sport,.. again you must stretch. And guess what if you are not currently engaged in any physical activity, still will benefit a lot from stretching.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletic Training And Conditioning    2. Consumer Health    3. Exercise    4. Health & Fitness    5. Health/Fitness    6. Stretching exercises    7. Exercise & workout books    8. Sports & Outdoor Recreation   

Reviews (52)

disappointing for beginner
I had read all the rave reviews so was disappointed by my own experience.I am a new-comer to multisport competition.I found this book to be too much theory and not enough practicality; what was practical was presented in an incohesive way.I could see this being good for the serious triathlete, but for me, I found better use out of Eric Harr's book and on the internet.

Like reading a scientific paper
This book went above and beyond everything that I expected. The author gives references for virtually every point that he makes. He is clear about his standpoint when it comes to a lot of issues, such as POSE running, and explains his reasoning.
Good for someone wanting to progress
This is the only pure triathlon book I own, so I can't compare, but it answered 95% of the questions I had about how I go about improving from being a bunch finisher. The other 5%, well I suppose the author has to draw the line on detail somewhere. For example, the section on swimming skills is a 3-4 page summary of the total immersion swimming book.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletic Training And Conditioning    2. Sports    3. Sports & Recreation    4. Training    5. Triathlon    6. Multidiscipline sports    7. Reference works   

Reviews (8)

No detail left unexplored
An impressive level of detail, covering absolutely every aspect of training for a full ironman.This will serve as a constant reference for me as I embark on my training, and I highly recommend this as a reference guide for those even enagaged in a 1/2 iron or shorter-distance triathlon.

Highly recommended!
This was very helpful for my first triathlon.Good and useful information.

A little confused
First of all let me say that this is about the best ironman training book out there.However, there are several severe flaws.First, the authors are confused about their audience.It is never clear when they are talking to novices and when they are addressing elites. They float around willy-nilly first addressing one then the other.Warnings are given to beginners right in the middle of long spiels obviously addressed only to pros.I believe this book is probably meant for novice to intermmediate triatheletes. But the authors are inconsistent in their approach to this.Second, most of the equipment information is very shallow but nevertheless useful to novices.However, once again the intended audience is unclear.Thirdly, the training bricks, many workout, and much of the advice are clearly geared to triatheletes who are very advanced.Any first-timer is going to overtrainand many advanced atheletes will as well if they utilize some of these workouts.They authors recommend no more than two breakthough workouts per week!!Is anybody else reading this?So once again the audience is unclear.If the authors are going to address novices then they need to do so in a consistent way throughout the book.The same with elites and intermmediates etc.Despite these flaws I managed to extract a great deal of useful information from this book and will continue to use it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletic Sports And Games    2. Ironman triathlons    3. Sports    4. Sports & Recreation    5. Track & Field    6. Training    7. Triathlon    8. Fitness training    9. Multidiscipline sports   

Reviews (117)

Buy It
I finished the Honolulu Marathon in good enough condition to walk another couple of miles to the hotel immediately afterwards all thanks to this book. The book touched my life in the way only the best of books can. Your search for a really good first time marathon how-to book is over. Buy it!!!

Very Good!
They got it down. It's a sixteen week course, providing you are up to speed with the preliminary 11 week training program.(That's the ablility to jog 30 minutes - 4 times a week) I am on my last long run this weekend of week#13 at 18 miles (the first long run was 5 in week 1)and then the last 3 weeks before the marathon is all tapering back. I am confident, and have not a doubt that I am, by this time, a marathoner, and will finish. That is the goal emphasized by the book, and that will be fine by me ...(this time..)!!

I just finished about 2 hours ago!
I'm sitting here typing this with salt on my face and a medal around my neck.I have this book to thank for finishing my first marathon, and I couldn't be happier.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletic Training And Conditioning    2. Marathon running    3. Running    4. Running & Jogging    5. Sports    6. Sports & Recreation    7. Track & Field    8. Training    9. Fitness training    10. Sports & Recreation / Running & Jogging    11. Track & field sports, athletics   

Editorial Review

"Periodization," nutrition, stretching, peaking--who knew that so much went into riding a bike? Joe Friel's Read more

Reviews (28)

The most complete book there is...
Better than the Carmichael books, hands down. If you are a noodle around cyclist...this is not for you. However, if you are willing to read the book, do the tests to determine your fitness, and then develop your plan, and stick to it, it will make you a much better cyclist. I went from the back of the pack, struggle to keep up cyclist(got dropped several times) last year, to a front of the pack, much stronger cyclist this year. A buddy and I put togather a program last fall, and followed it thru over the winter, and now we are much better and stronger. The only other factor in my improvement was probably my Computrainer, which I rode all winter long. The workouts, along with the computrainer did the trick. The only downside to the book is that to get the full value of it you need some way to measure watts, and if you don't have the needed equiptment, you may not get the full benefit.

Fantastic
This is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to get into or improve on already existing road racing skills.

Much better than the competion
I had read all the Chris Carmichael traning books, and found them lacking.There isn't enough detail about what lies behind his programs to allow one to adapt them very well.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Cycling    2. Cycling - General    3. Sports    4. Sports & Recreation    5. Training    6. Fitness training   

Reviews (30)

The starting line for triathlon training
There are bigger triathlon books, and there are books with more detailed training schedules.There are books to hone your swimming, and books to make you run faster, but there is probably no better book for starting the sport of triathlon than Eric Harr's
Triathalon Training
Great guide for someone trying to get their feet wet in this sport.
Great Training Schedule
I really liked what Eric had to say about the training schedule and heart rate zones. I have been training in target heart rate zones as he says, and I have seen a lot of improvement versus just putting miles in. It was also a fun and inspiring read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Exercise    2. Sports    3. Sports & Recreation    4. Track & Field    5. Training    6. Triathlon    7. Sports coaching    8. Track & field sports, athletics   

Reviews (6)

I really liked this book.
Very informative and layed everything out nicely. I'm going to order the Paleo diet book as I'm not a long distance athlete and more into the crossfit type training.This book would seem to be easily applied to gaining strengh/Muscle with a couple small "tweaks" as the authors put it.

More appropriate for strength athletes
The authors play a rather silly game of exclude the middle.
Carbo drinks and jels in Paleo times
If Paleo people were so fit and healthy why do authors of this book put so much empahsis on importance of sports drinks? How about soda bicarbonate to improve one's performance, or caffeine? So where do we draw the line? Either promote NATURAL way of nourishing our bodies or lets have a list of supplements (as long as they are still legal) to give an athlete the edge. Too bad our ancestors did not have access to energy jels. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletes    2. Consumer Health    3. Diet/Nutrition    4. Diets - General    5. Health & Fitness    6. High-protein diet    7. Nutrition    8. Prehistoric peoples    9. Training    10. Diets & dieting    11. Health & Fitness / Diets   

Reviews (47)

Comprehensive Workout Program
This is a comprehensive program that includes both nutrition and exercise. Although there is nothing new in the nutritional part of the book (unless all you've ever read were fad diet plans), it's nice to have it included with the workout concepts. The program is meant to develop balanced fitness - strength, muscle mass, flexibility, power, and endurance - without shortchanging any component. There is an emphasis on recovery and good nutrition
One of those rare things that is what it says it is.
I thought I was in shape; I was wrong, but I ma getting there now.This book set me up to take the next step....... which can be found on the last page of the book!

Core Performance: The Revolutionary Workout Program to Transform Your Body and Your Life
Easy to understand, large amount of important information, with easy to understand diagrams & pictures. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletic Training And Conditioning    2. Bodybuilding    3. Consumer Health    4. Exercise    5. Health & Fitness    6. Health/Fitness    7. Physical fitness   

Reviews (16)

Excellent book, inspiring and motivating
I was new to cycling, and I had no idea what I am doing, tried different sources of information, however nothing like this book, its very friendly and targeted towards beginners and even advanced cyclist, the book took me to a whole new level I would not even dream about, very simple and practical to use, unlike other books where they describe advanced training schedule that's not quiet possible if you are working or a full time student like me, it has chapter about female cyclists, very interesting and helpful. The book also describe nutrition thoroughly a subject always overlooked by beginners.
Great training guide for any long distance ride
I've recently decided to ride in my first 200 mile ride and thought I better prepare myself mentaly as well as physically.So I purchased this book.
Kind of Lame
I did not get much out of this book.It looks like a lot of ideas were copied from long distance running data. Important issues like clipless pedals were skimmed over. Also I would like to have seen a chapter on common breakdowns and how to avoid them.Training and nutrition were discussed to death..... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cycling    2. Cycling - General    3. Sports    4. Sports & Recreation    5. Training   

Reviews (14)

Great book
This book was very easy to read and comprehend the material.It provided basic sound advise in regards to mental athletic strategies.There was a wealth of references to very successfull athletes.I would recommend reading this book if you enjoy sports psyching techniques.

Well worth the time and the price. If more tactics, better
Many readers said that it's clumsily written. I really cant agree so. It's a little repetitive especially in the second half of it. However, the author did quote a lot of real life examples including successful players' personal quotes to stress the importance of the mind on performance. The key message had been well delivered, for sure. However, it would be better if he could tell more on the "how" side, as in page 9, "One key to achieving success in sports is learning how to focus on the task and not let negative thoughts intrude. The mind can concentrate on only one thing at a time. So, rather than suppress what you dont want to happen, you must focus on what you do want to happen or on some neutral thought. In working with the placekicers, I use a distraction technique. I ask them to create a word that, when said to themselves, will block out all negative thought and help relieve tension."
Not well written, rehashes other books.
I have just about every book on the topic of sports performance.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletic Training And Conditioning    2. Sports    3. Sports & Recreation    4. Sports Psychology    5. Training    6. Sports & Recreation / General    7. Track & field sports, athletics   

Reviews (1)

The Standard by Which Others are Compared
This huge book, now in its 12th edition was begun in 1963. It is intended for the education of atheletic trainers. Its primary concern is in preventing and when necessary treating sports injuries.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Medical    2. Sports & Recreation    3. Sports Medicine    4. Training    5. Medical / Sports Medicine    6. Track & field sports, athletics   

Reviews (5)

GREAT SWIMMING BOOK
This book is an excellent training guide for the swimmer at any level.I have been swimming for many years and after reading this book I have taken my skills to a higher level.I feel much stronger in the pool and my endurance has really increased.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book to anyone who loves to swim.

unbeatable
Of all the training books out there today, this is the only one i have seen that really speaks to the swimmer specifically!This is an invaluable resource for any swimmer or coach.I would recommend this to the novice swimmer or a pro. Two thumbs up!

A Real Splash!!
I found that this book increased my speed, strength, and endurance.Often times, by increasing strenght, swimmers lose efficiency in their strokes.I found that this book did a great job increasing stroke power, while reiterating the need to maintain stroke efficiency.A GREAT BUY! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bodybuilding & Weight Training    2. Sports    3. Sports & Recreation    4. Sports & Recreation / Bodybuilding & Weight Training    5. Sports & Recreation / Swimming    6. Sports & Recreation / Training    7. Swimming    8. Training    9. Athletic Training And Conditioning    10. Exercise    11. Health & Fitness    12. Physical education and training   

Reviews (23)

Great book to keep your workout goal oriented and interesting
This book is great!I have always had a problem falling into a workout rut, and this book has designed a fun golf workout that changes every two weeks. I would recommend this book or any book in this series to someone who is training for a specific sport.The book is simple to read and you can download blank workout sheets from their website so you can track your progress.The book also has pictures explaining each exercise that is well organized by muscle group.Golf season has not started yet but I am looking forward to getting out there and crushing some great shots.

New Edition is Way Better
I'm a multi sport athlete who trains all year round regardless of what sport I play. I bought a few of these Ultimate Guide to Weight Training books, and they definitely helped me train specifically for the different sports that I play. Then about a year later I received an email from amazon that there was a new edition out.These upgraded editions are even better than the originals, with more articles and a lot more sport-specific information. I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who plays a lot of sports or wants to specifically focus on training for one sport in particular.

Ultimate
This was a quick, easy and informative read for the novice weight trainer/improving golfer.Very nice! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bodybuilding & Weight Training    2. Golf - General    3. Health/Fitness    4. Sports & Recreation    5. Sports & Recreation / Bodybuilding & Weight Training    6. Sports & Recreation / Golf    7. Sports & Recreation / Training    8. Training    9. Athletic Training And Conditioning   

Reviews (13)

Have followed the plan and have seen NO results!
As far as I am concerned, '8 Minutes in the Morning to a Flat Belly' was a total waste of my money.I've been following this workout and eating plan for over four months now and have seen no reduction in neither my belly size nor my weight.Frankly, I was seeing more results from my old Denise Austin Low Impact Aerobic Workout tape than this, so it looks like I'm saying goodbye to Jorge and going back to Denise.Sorry Jorge, I gave it my best shot but your plan just doesn't work for me.

Great Exercises!
I really love the exercises in this book, and they really do help me! I have been adding more than just these exercises to my routine (mostly walking), but for toning, I love these.
Waste of money
Bought this book and his other waste of money book (3-Day Diet). Much better books on diet and eating right on Amazon then this trash. Don't waste your money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletic Training And Conditioning    2. Consumer Health    3. Exercise    4. General    5. Health & Fitness    6. Health and hygiene    7. Health/Fitness    8. Physical fitness    9. Reducing diets    10. Weight loss    11. Women    12. Health & Fitness / Weight Loss   

Reviews (49)

Great book for beggining marathoners!
This book makes it easy for a runner who wants to jump to the marathon level.It gives you a step by step training guide along with nutrtional tips as well.

too short.
I am training for my first marathon and thought this book would be a good resource. It's got some good motivational stuff, but the book is just about basics; I didn't feel it had any "meat" so to speak. You can read it cover to cover in an hour or so, and I didn't come away with anymore information than I could find on marathon websites. Save your ten bucks and do the research on the net, buy a different book, or even better - join a marathon training group headed by a veteran marathoner.BTW, I did pick up Nancy Clark's marathon nutrition book - that is a great resource.

easy training guide!
I went from a 4:40 marathon to a 4:24 marathon (2nd marathon).Not bad!I'm using this training plan again and going for 4:15.I like this book because it cuts to the chase, it's easy to read and just gives the basics.There are training plans for longer times than 4 hours as well. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletic Training And Conditioning    2. Marathon running    3. Running    4. Running & Jogging    5. Sports    6. Sports & Recreation    7. Track & Field    8. Training    9. Fitness training    10. Sports & Recreation / Running & Jogging   

Reviews (22)

Good for the neophyte, nothing new
This is a good book to have if you know nothing about nutrition and want to learn some of the basics. You can collect all the basic information here through general Internet research. True, it's nice to have it all in one place in a logical format, but I really expected much more detailed advice for a book targeted specifically to endurance athletes than 'you need to manage your carbohydrates over the length of the event'-type advice. Not worth the money in my opinion.

Easy to digest (sorry!) and helped my riding a lot
Ryan's writing is clear and effective. I had some of the basic concepts, but reading her book really clarified how to eat before, during, and after long bike rides. Since reading her book I've set a number of PRs for long rides, due in large part to changing my pre-ride and recovery eating habits. I strongly recommend this book to any endurance athlete who wants to feel better while running or cycling. It's the next-best thing to seeing a nutritionist in person (which I also recommend).

Worthwhile Sports Nutrition Book
As a coach, I want my athletes to not only be training well, but using sound nutritional strategies.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Athletes    2. Exercise    3. Health & Fitness    4. Health/Fitness    5. Nutrition    6. Physiological aspects    7. Sports & Recreation    8. Training    9. Fitness & diet    10. Popular medicine    11. Sports training & coaching   

Editorial Review

It's hard to argue with success; it's even tougher to emulate it. But ifyou want to train like a Tour de France winner, you couldn't do much better thanlearning the tricks of the trade from two-time champion (1999 and 2000) LanceArmstrong.Read more

Reviews (38)

Junk
I planned to write that this book is useless, but it is actually worse - it is downright annoying. Unless you are interested in how Lance surfs the net after a training ride or who his girlfriend is, you will find it far too vague to be of any value.

A "must have" for every cyclist
Lance's name and picture on the book's cover has the major selling appeal. However, it's also the book's drawback. Why? The book says that "inside you find the exercises, ridind schedules, endurance builders, and mental tricks that brought Lance back to the pinnacle of cycling". Sorry, but you will not find this in the book. The book is obviously written by Chris Charmichal, not Lance. You will find in the book every aspect of cycling a beginner should know. An expert that lacks training discipline will also find the book very usefull. But as mentioned before, you will not find Lance's training regiment to win Tour the France. If the book have had the following title, "The Chris Carmichael Performance Program for Cyclists", it should have earned 5 stars. As a "Lance Armstrong Performance Program", it earns just 4.

addicted to cycling
this is a fabulous training guide for anyone who is addicted to cycling ... who needs a runner's high when they can spin/cycle?the drills included in the boook are amazing.great book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bicycle racing    2. Cycling - General    3. General    4. Nutrition    5. Sports    6. Sports & Recreation    7. Training    8. Cycling    9. Fitness training   

Reviews (2)

Must-read book for power meter users
If you presently train with a power meter on your bike or are thinking of getting one, this is a must-read book.Authors Hunter Allen and Dr. Andy Coggan are eminently qualified to write this book which is the first full-length book devoted solely to the subject of training (and racing) with an on-bike power meter.Hunter allen is a full time coach of cyclists and triathletes who uses the power meter as a key element in his training approach.Dr. Coggan is renowned as a widely published exercise physiologist and is also an avid master's cyclist.
A Comprehensive Book on Cycling Training With Power - Finally!!
To understand where I am coming from: I am a licensed cycling coach and serious cyclist.I've been using a bicycle power meter (PowerTap) for years, and training with an indoor power-based trainer for even longer.For full disclosure, I have also met both authors in-person, and I know one of the authors quite well.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Bicycles    2. Cycling - General    3. Sport Riding And Racing    4. Sports    5. Sports & Recreation    6. Training    7. Sports & Recreation / Cycling   

Reviews (5)

Good variety for your workouts
I've been fitness swimming for several decades which usually means go to pool, swim a mile. I recently started working through the workouts in this book with some triathlon friends. Still manage to get my mile but every day takes a different focus, my swimming has improved and I enjoy it more. Each page is something fresh and different. While the pages are waterproof, you do need to spend a few minutes and wipe EVERY page dry when you get home, not a big deal. Or stick the book in a ziplock bag and avoid the wet pages problem in the first place.
Great Training Tool
I have been using this book now for 2 months and I have enjoyed the variations in the works that I get each time I go to the pool, it can not replace the value of a coach, but as a training tool it can't be beat.
A good tool, but with one serious flaw..
The workouts and the book overall are good, and for the self-coached athlete, much better than trying to think up a workout every day.There are two main sets for each workout, one longer than the other, but they could use more differentiation - one may be 2600 meters and the other 2300 meters.It should be more like 2600 and 1900.Or slip a third option in the middle.Of course, if you are reasonably experienced, it's not had to extrapolate whatever distance you plan to do for the day.Read more

Subjects:  1. Sports    2. Sports & Recreation    3. Swimming    4. Training    5. Triathlon    6. Multidiscipline sports    7. Swimming & diving