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The fitness world is constantly evolving, and so should your knowledge. As a personal trainer, fitness instructor, or strength coach, staying informed and building your professional library is essential to delivering results for your clients. From recovery and program design to hypertrophy science and high-intensity training, these ten books provide everything you need to excel in your career and stay ahead in the ever-changing fitness industry.
Why professionals love it: Many fitness and wellness resources stress the importance of getting in a good workout. Often overlooked is recovery. Smarter Recovery delivers evidence-based information and practical advice to effectively integrate this essential step into any routine. With 58 exercises and stretches for recovery and mobility, Smarter Recovery breaks down the most effective tools, techniques, and methods.
What readers are saying: "Conversations about recovery often come with vague explanations that lack practical application. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth with Smarter Recovery by Pete McCall. In this book, Pete provides clear and comprehensive explanations of the science behind fatigue, recovery, and training adaptation, along with real-life practical applications that you can instantly put into practice. If you want to better understand how you can help your athletes get the most out of their training, Smarter Recovery is the only place to start." —Kevin Carr, CFSC, LMT
Why professionals love it: Every person’s body is different. Short, tall, or big all over, training should be designed to accommodate an athlete’s different joint angles, bone lengths, and overall body structure. In Strength Training for All Body Types: The Science of Lifting and Levers, Lee Boyce and Melody Schoenfeld have teamed up to create a unique resource that explains how different bodies manage various exercises and how to best take advantage of physical attributes to optimize those movements.
Why professionals love it: In Secrets of Successful Program Design: A How-To Guide for Busy Fitness Professionals, noted fitness and program design expert Alwyn Cosgrove and his director of programming, Craig Rasmussen, share Alwyn’s proven system for creating programs that take clients from where they are to where they want to be.
What readers are saying: "I’m a young coach, I have read a bunch of books and taken many certification courses to educate myself in the world of training, but nothing helped me and gave me as much confidence for training clients as your book. I used to think programming was so complicated because of all the programs I saw other trainers write. Your book helped me realize that programming is simple, it’s just been over-complicated by many in the industry." – Matthew Monos
"Well written and an excellent resource for fitness professionals." – Marc Booysen
Why professionals love it: Smarter Workouts gives the solution to efficient and effective workout programs that use only one piece of equipment. Choose the goal of your client: improving mobility, strengthening their core, or a sweat-inducing conditioning work. Then select one of seven equipment options to perform the workout. Smarter Workouts is the go-to guide for smart, effective workouts.
What readers are saying: "Lots of great useful, science-based information to safely and successfully train your clients. The book is well written with some passionate fitness views. The workouts and exercises deliver a great variety of ways to enhance your clients training." – Deb Smith
"It’s full of information and exercises I will be able to use with clients." – Jayne Glandorf
Why professionals love it: A Professional’s Guide to Small-Group Personal Training is a much-needed resource designed to successfully leading training sessions for small groups. With over 70 exercises and 12 sample programs, fitness instructors will maximize training hours and increase revenue potential while creating a fun, safe, and motivating environment for their clients.
Why professionals love it: The Language of Coaching focuses on the impact that communication has on an individual’s ability to learn and perform a movement. Written by performance coach Nick Winkelman, the book examines how instruction, feedback, and cueing can significantly affect training outcomes and will help you adapt your language to the learning needs of those you support.
What readers are saying: "The book is easy reading, and full of wonderful ideas and tips. Knowledge of this information would have been quite helpful when I was beginning to Coach." – Richard Howell
"Must read for anyone working in movement sciences." – Garrett Holle
"Excellent source for coaches, teachers, therapists. This is a well researched book told in the form of a story. A must have for coaches." – Oscar Agramonte
Why professionals love it: Written by Brad Schoenfeld, PhD, an internationally renowned expert on muscle hypertrophy, Science and Development of Muscle Hypertrophy, Second Edition, is the definitive resource for strength and conditioning professionals, personal trainers, sport scientists, researchers, and exercise science instructors. No other resource offers a comparable amount of content solely focused on the science of muscle hypertrophy and its application to designing training programs.
Why professionals love it: The Warm-Up is the first book to describe the science of the warm-up and provide guidelines to maximize its effectiveness through the process of constructing effective RAMP-based warm-ups —looking at the warm-up not only as preparation for the upcoming session, but also as tool for athletic development.
What readers are saying: "The various activities that Ian Jeffreys presents and the order presented are clear and very easy to understand. Mr. Jeffreys uses the acronym RAMP for his warm-up and makes it easy to remember what type of activity to place where in the warm-up for the best outcome for the athlete/client... A very practical addition to your training repertoire." – Greg Mack