My 5 Favourite Fitness Books

I’ve been fascinated by exercise and fitness for probably 30 years now, and there are some books and resources that have had a massive impact in shaping my journey, and that I still refer back to on occasion for insight and inspiration. I thought I’d share some of my favourites here (click on each image for a link to Amazon or webpage):

Bruce Lee – “The Art of Expressing the Human Body”

This was the first exercise book I ever got, back in the late 90’s. I’m not sure that I’d recommend it to people in general, that is unless you are a fan of Bruce Lee as a martial artist and want to see how he trained.

It’s not exactly written by him, but was collated from his own workout journals and interviews with his students. Through it you can follow the evolution of his all-too short-lived journey of physical training, and can’t help but wonder where he might have gone if he had had longer.

For me, it provided a fascinating introduction to a wide range of exercises and training methods featuring martial arts and strength training that broke from the conventional bodybuilding gym staples. He wasn’t just training to look good, he was training to be effective, so it was probably my first exposure to the concept of Functional Fitness before the team was even popularised.

I also loved the title; “The Art of Expressing the Human Body” – it conveyed that exercise can be about the joy of movement, rather than the obsessive pursuit of muscle or persecution of fat, that were the main “fitness” themes at the time.

 

Frederic Delavier’s “Strength Training Anatomy”

I can’t remember when I go this – probably somewhere in the mid 00’s. It was a rare book on gym exercise I found in a book shop (remember them?) with beautiful illustrations of exercises alongside detailed anatomy labels and useful training and technique insights.

The diagrams are slightly caricatured with the models showing superhero levels of musculature to facilitate the identification of multiple muscle groups and labels but they have inspired me over the years. Having browsed it many times over the years it has helped me to understand anatomy and physiology better to train my clients.

Two caveats:

1. It is primarily aimed at bodybuilders, so approach with that in mind with regard to tips on technique and training.

2. Mr Delavier certainly seemed to enjoy drawing his female models partially nude. That may not be as acceptable today, but if you can look past that the book still holds real value.

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Greg Glassman – “What is Fitness?”

Not exactly a book (though the CrossFit Journal articles are a mine of information), this is the article that changed it all, certainly for me, and maybe for the world of fitness.

In 2009 I was looking for a way to train that would benefit the martial art I was then practicing. I enjoyed weight training and I enjoyed martial arts training and I enjoyed running. But doing all three took a lot of time!

On a martial arts forum (remember forums?) CrossFit was recommended by those who worked in law enforcement and needed to have strength and fitness to keep themselves safe. It sounded legit.

I found CrossFit.com, devoured all of the free content from the CrossFit Journal and then subscribed to continue learning about it. The only problem was that CrossFit gyms in the UK were few and far between at that time.

This single article though changed how I (and many others) thought about fitness – prioritising function over vanity, effectiveness over aesthetics.

Again, in parts it hasn’t aged well: the vilification of female body-building due to how the most extreme competitors look was sexist and an unnecessary low-blow. But again, if we can look past that we can find an approach to fitness that has revolutionised training culture over the last 20 years, arguably bringing more women to strength training than any other influence.

Dr. Kelly Starrett – “Becoming a Supple Leopard”

Dr. Kelly Starrett is a physical therapist and was one of the founders of CrossFit San Francisco – one of the early powerhouses of CrossFit. He brought his clinical expertise in the CrossFit space by helping athletes to move better, improve mobility and treat movement issues.

Whilst this book appears to be largely for CrossFitters because the first two thirds analyse technique and mobility requirements of fundamental CrossFit exercises (very useful to CrossFitters and fitness professionals), the final third is a bible of mobility techniques that I use almost daily and refer back to monthly. Using resistance bands, lacrosse balls, barbells and kettlebells I’ve learned to treat and improve movement issues that have helped so many of my clients.

Christopher McDougall – “Born to Run”

I can’t quite remember when I first read this, or why I picked it up, but I’m very glad I did.

It’s entertaining, enlightening and provocative.

Nominally, the book is about Chris’ adventure seeking out a “legendary”, “lost” tribe of central Americans who have a claim to the best runners in the world, and he then participates in one of their ultra races alongside a motley crew of other top American endurance runners. And it’s an entertaining story in that respect alone.

But what it also does is it explores our love/hate relationship with running, including why we evolved to become the slow but steady runners of the animal kingdom, how the running shoe industry broke our running technique causing an epidemic of running injuries, and the book kickstarted the barefoot/minimalist shoe revolution that persists to this day (and I remain an advocate for).